It was his fault that he hadn't taken it seriously.
Originally, most of the spiritual power of the gods in the Celestial Realm came from the power of faith in Shenzhou. Although he was born in the ancient prehistoric era, the power of faith wasn't completely without influence on him.
The entire Henan Prefecture had abandoned the gods of the Celestial Realm and instead believed in a false god. Here, his spiritual power would naturally be affected.
At that time, Yaohua had asked the old man to believe, presumably because she had noticed that his spiritual power was somewhat restricted.
But no matter how restricted it was, it shouldn't have reached such a state.
Unless...
After a moment's thought, Chongming's gaze fell on those angry believers.
"Using the method of sacrificing souls to suppress the power of the upper god," he murmured, then suddenly took a step towards the believers.
"Master, don't go over there!" Yaohua quickly grabbed his sleeve.
Under the moonlight, the upper god leaned to the side, his handsome face half - hidden. "Don't worry."
Chongming's sleeve slipped through Yaohua's fingers like quicksand. She instinctively tightened her grip, but it was too late.
"Mo Qing, protect her well."
Before leaving, Chongming's voice fell beside Mo Qing's ear. Mo Qing, who had been hesitating whether to stop Chongming, was immediately stunned.
Yaohua wanted to follow, but was held back by Mo Qing. "Sister, you have to trust the upper god."
"No!" Yaohua struggled. "He has lost all his spiritual power. Going over there is just courting death!"
The upper god, though supreme, would be just a mortal without spiritual power.
How could Yaohua just watch him die?
"Lord Chongming is no ordinary god. Sister, don't be impulsive!" She struggled so violently that Mo Qing had to use almost 80% of his strength to hold her down.
"Sixth elder brother, don't force me!" Yaohua took a deep breath. A blaze of fire flashed in her eyes, like golden foil scattered in her pupils. Spiritual energy gathered in her palm, and the next moment it was about to land on Mo Qing's arm.
Mo Qing gritted his teeth, a look of hurt flashed across his face. "You can hit me."
"I'm sorry, sixth elder brother. Master can't be in danger. I just want you to let go. I have no intention of hurting you."
Yaohua closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the spiritual energy in her palm had already landed on Mo Qing!
The phoenix fire on Mo Qing flared up suddenly, but then quickly went out.
Hiss—
A sharp intake of breath came from beside her ear. Yaohua looked down and saw that Mo Qing's arm was already bloody and mangled.
At the last moment, in order not to hurt her, he had actually withdrawn the phoenix fire!
"Sixth elder brother!"
Guilt welled up like a tide, choking Yaohua's nose and mouth, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Sister, you can't go over there." Mo Qing's face was pale with pain, but he still didn't let go. "Trust Lord Chongming. When have you ever seen him do something without confidence?"
Yaohua opened her mouth, but when she saw his bleeding arm, her heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe.
Master and elder brother.
They were both protecting her in their own ways.
If only she were stronger.
Master wouldn't have to go into battle alone.
Elder brother wouldn't have to stop her by getting hurt.
"Sister, don't worry. If Lord Chongming dies, elder brother will give his life to you."
As soon as Mo Qing finished speaking, he felt a hot sensation on the back of his hand.
He looked down. It was a tear from Yaohua.
"I don't want your lives."
In the distance, the tribulation thunder rumbled. The moonlight was suddenly covered by surging dark clouds, and the booming sound echoed between heaven and earth.
Mo Qing was just a bit confused about who in Shenzhou was about to undergo the tribulation when the girl in his arms suddenly revealed her true form.
A somewhat bald but still incredibly cute little phoenix.
Spiritual power was rampaging inside Yaohua's body. She felt that every breath she exhaled was like a ball of fire.
The fire wasn't hot. Instead, it was very comfortable.
But something outside was tightly binding her, preventing her from feeling even more comfortable.
Just as she was about to break free forcefully, a voice suddenly rang in her mind.
Don't hurt him.
So, her figure instantly shrank to the smallest size and finally turned into a blazing red flame that rushed towards the sky.
From the rolling dark clouds, a silver - white lightning bolt emerged, followed closely by the tribulation thunder, which aimed straight at the flame and fell.
Mo Qing came back to his senses from the shock. He quickly transformed into his true form and rushed up to block the tribulation for Yaohua.
However, inside the flame, Yaohua's figure suddenly swelled and she rushed straight towards the thunder.
Bang—
The air suddenly froze.
Then a powerful airflow erupted from the phoenix.
The heavens and the earth trembled.
At this moment, Chongming had reached the crowd. He looked up and saw the little phoenix rushing over like a shooting star.
The flowing fire surrounding her illuminated the entire night sky.
Her colorful and gorgeous feathers seemed to be the only color in the world.
At this time, Chongming raised his hand. His spiritual power had already recovered.
The power of faith from the little phoenix had overwhelmed the believers of the false god.
The painful wails of the believers echoed across the land.
The phoenix circled above the crowd and finally flew in front of Chongming. Its lush tail feathers gracefully swept through the air, and the tip of the tail drifted in front of Chongming's eyes. The phoenix leaned over and nuzzled affectionately against his neck.
The auspicious aura of the phoenix soothed the believers.
Chongming activated a formation in his palm. With a wave of his hand, it landed on top of the believers' heads.
The barrier formed by the power of faith instantly shattered, and the vague pressure that had been weighing on them disappeared immediately.
Yaohua landed on the ground under the protection of the phoenix fire. Her hairpin had been scattered by the tribulation thunder, and the hem of her skirt was burned unevenly.
However, at this moment, she didn't notice any of it. She just rushed straight towards Chongming.
"Master!"
Chongming opened his arms and hugged the little phoenix into his embrace. His long and strong fingers smoothed her disheveled hair.
"You did a great job."
He looked at the moon hidden behind the dark clouds, his eyes as deep as an abyss.
The phoenix had temporarily summoned the heavenly thunder and resolved this calamity in the best way.
There were still traces of tears in Yaohua's eyes. She pursed her lips and hugged Chongming tighter.
"Master, didn't you promise to let me stay with you?"
It was as if something had gently touched his heart lake, causing ripples. Chongming's eyes flickered slightly, and he just kept smoothing her hair.
Mo Qing rushed over in a hurry. Seeing that they were both safe and sound, he immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Chongming looked up and saw his bloody arm. He paused slightly, then raised his finger. A white light landed on Mo Qing's arm, and in an instant, the severely injured arm was completely healed.
"Thank you, Lord Chongming!"
Chongming shook his head slightly. "These believers are under the Soul - Burning Curse. Although the curse has ended for now, it still hasn't disappeared."
Mo Qing understood. "My lord, rest assured. Sister's auspicious aura has already dispelled most of the curse. Leave the rest to me."
With that, he transformed and spread his majestic wings, quickly flying into the air.
Bestowing blessings as a phoenix was extremely exhausting to one's cultivation. Mo Qing was still a minor. It would take him a long time to recover from this blessing.
Yaohua quickly went to help.
Rong Chu walked up to Chongming's side.
"My lord."
Chongming turned his head.
"My lord, did you go alone because you were certain that the little princess would summon the tribulation thunder?"