A clear liquid trickled to the ground. Suddenly, the crack widened, and a fluffy baby phoenix wriggled out.
"Phoenix?"
Yaohua was stunned. How could there be a phoenix hidden in the box?
Moreover, the appearance of that egg clearly didn't look like a phoenix egg!
The baby bird chirped and raised its head. Its bean - like eyes rolled around, and it locked eyes with Yaohua for a moment.
Then, dragging its still - unskilled wings, it struggled to run in front of Yaohua.
Yaohua quickly hid behind her master.
She hadn't forgotten that the baby phoenix had been sealed in a box emitting black qi.
Chongming waved his hand and conjured a stream of spiritual power, encircling the baby bird and tucking it into his sleeve.
Yaohua let out a sigh of relief. Her gaze fell on the clay basin in her master's hand, only to see that the clear water had been dyed red with blood again.
"Master, Uncle Nanfeng is bleeding again!"
Chongming's eyebrows knitted tightly. Nanfeng's injuries were more serious than they appeared on the surface.
He sat cross - legged on the ground. The holy spiritual light instantly illuminated the entire cave.
At this moment, a noisy sound suddenly came from outside.
"Village head, that's a dragon! If we really kill the dragon, will we be punished?"
"Dragon meat can cure all diseases and eating it can lead to immortality. If you're afraid of retribution, then don't come!"
"Yeah, fortune favors the bold. If you're scared, don't follow!"
Yaohua was stunned for a moment, and then a surge of anger welled up in her heart. "These people are too much!"
The dragon clan controls the clouds and rain, ensuring good weather and bountiful harvests in the divine land. It's fine that these people don't show gratitude, but they even want to eat dragon meat!
She clenched her fists angrily and was about to rush out immediately to teach them a lesson.
Rong Chu was quick - witted and stopped her in time.
"Princess, it's not advisable to cause a conflict now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the voices outside got closer.
"Village head, there's a stone gate here. The dragon must be hiding inside."
With a thunderous boom, someone blasted open the stone gate. The sound was deafening, and Yaohua's heart trembled.
At this moment, her master was treating Uncle Nanfeng's injuries and had no time to worry about other things. She mustn't let these people disturb her master.
"Rong Chu, you guard for master. I'll lead them away!"
"Princess, don't hurt anyone!"
Before Rong Chu's exhortation had even fully left his mouth, Yaohua had transformed into her original form and darted out like the wind.
She didn't have her master's great abilities, so she could only use the simplest way to lead these people away.
"What just flew out?"
Someone felt a burning sensation on his cheek, and then a tuft of fiery red down landed on his face.
"This is... a phoenix! It's a phoenix!"
"It must be in the same group as the dragon! Let's chase quickly. We mustn't let them get away!"
Yaohua flew straight out of the cave. She avoided the bloodstains scattered in the cave and soon flew out of it.
She landed on the ground and transformed back into a human form. She had only taken a few steps forward when she couldn't move anymore, as if something had locked her ankle. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked down and saw a chain surrounded by demonic qi shackling her foot!
Just then, a black - clothed man suddenly appeared. He leisurely sat on a tree. Under his black hood, his evil - looking purple eyes stared straight at her. Black qi surged in his palm, looking just like the maggots Yaohua had seen before.
"Yo, an old acquaintance."
Yaohua rummaged through all her memories but couldn't remember where she had seen this man. She suppressed the panic in her heart and forced a smile. "Brother, where have we met?"
The black - clothed man jumped down from the tree. He seemed to let out a sneer. "Little phoenix, this is our fourth meeting."
"Brother, are you joking?"
This man was so mysterious. If she had really met him, how could she have no impression?
【This man is related to the black qi you encountered before.】
The system's prompt made Yaohua's face change.
She had indeed seen the black qi four times. Only before the first encounter did Uncle Nanfeng mention a mysterious man.
"You're the mysterious man who injured Uncle Nanfeng!"
"Yes, it's me." The black - clothed man glanced behind Yaohua. He withdrew his gaze, and his eyes glinted with venom. "Little girl, you and your master have repeatedly ruined my good deeds. This time, I'll surely make you and your master die a miserable death."
Yaohua's face turned pale. "If you dare to touch my master, I'll never forgive you!"
"You'd better worry about yourself."
The black - clothed man laughed smugly. "The meat of an ancient divine beast phoenix should also be able to make people immortal."
It was this man who had incited those people to enter the cave to look for Uncle Nanfeng!
Yaohua was shocked and angry. She tried to transform back into her original form, but the chain was made of some unknown material and showed no reaction to her phoenix fire. And the red light in her body didn't react either without coming into contact with the black qi.
Seeing her struggling in vain, the black - clothed man let out a series of triumphant laughs and then disappeared in a puff of black mist.
Behind her, the footsteps of the humans came one after another.
In an instant, a group of villagers with frog - like legs and missing teeth surrounded her tightly. They didn't even try to hide their greedy looks.
Yaohua trembled a little. She dug her fingers hard into her palm. The pain helped her calm down a bit.
"Uncle, help! Just now, a red bird trapped me here and said it was going to burn something!"
The villagers looked at each other, looking a bit confused.
However, the leader suddenly pounded his walking stick on the ground and shouted sternly, "The shackles on this little girl's feet were bestowed by the mountain god. Didn't you hear the mountain god say just now that she's a phoenix?"
"Hey, phoenix, where's the dragon? Hurry up and hand him over!"
Yaohua almost gritted her silver teeth to pieces, but the shackles on her feet were suppressing her spiritual power, making it difficult for her to break free. Otherwise...
"Maybe the dragon is already dead. Anyway, the mountain god said that phoenix meat can also lead to immortality. Let's take her back quickly!"
The villagers didn't dare to unlock the shackles on her feet, so they reached out their arms to drag her. Yaohua couldn't dodge and was tied up with ropes and dragged away.
After being dragged for a while, she finally saw a small village. At the village entrance, a few young women were holding their children and chatting. When they saw them coming, their eyes lit up.
"Husband, did you catch the dragon?"
"The dragon got away, but we caught a phoenix."
A villager grinned and jerked his chin, signaling the woman to look at Yaohua.
The woman was both surprised and delighted. "That's great. I'll go and tell everyone to prepare the water."
Yaohua was tied to a tree.
"System brother, think quickly. Is there any way for me to get out of this?"
"The supreme god will arrive at the scene in an hour." The system was helpless. "It's recommended that you try to use the food in the space to buy some time."
At this point, there was no other way. When a woman walked past Yaohua, she quickly called out to her.