A mournful cry pierced through the tomb wall and went straight into their eardrums.
Yaohua's skin crawled with goosebumps.
"It's Mo Qing!" Her father's voice was short and urgent. "I'll go out and have a look!"
Yaohua quickly hacked open the tomb door and rushed out after him.
In the dim corridor, two phoenixes flew out one after another.
However, as soon as they got out of the tomb, they were shocked by the doomsday-like scene before them.
The red glow was boundless, making it hard to tell day from night. Thick black flames were falling like hailstones.
Yaohua widened her eyes. She stretched out her hand and caught a cluster of flames.
The flowing flames landed on her palm and instantly corroded the spiritual power protecting her body. Her mind went blank for a moment, as if invaded by some evil aura.
"It's karmic fire," her father's solemn voice came from beside her. Yaohua frowned. Karmic fire, which burned those who had committed evil deeds, was supposed to be in the eighteenth level of hell. Why had it appeared in the Divine Continent?
However, this was not the time to dwell on this matter.
"Dad, look. Isn't that phoenix fire over there?"
Yaohua looked into the distance. Through the thick darkness, a faint cluster of phoenix fire was barely visible.
The tiny spark had been extinguished by the karmic fire several times, but it tried to rekindle itself each time.
"It's Mo Qing!"
As soon as Qingcang finished speaking, Yaohua had already put up a shield of spiritual power and flew towards the phoenix fire like a dazzling light.
The closer she got, the more shocked she became.
Mo Qing had transformed into his original phoenix form and blocked most of the falling karmic fire. Only a thin layer of phoenix fire on his abdomen remained unextinguished. At this moment, he was struggling to flap his wings, and the clansmen under him were well protected.
Yaohua's heart skipped a beat.
She quickly raised her hand and formed a barrier with the true fire of the phoenix, protecting Mo Qing and the clansmen beneath it. Feeling a powerful force blocking the karmic fire above, Mo Qing could no longer hold on and fell to the ground.
Yaohua quickly sent out a wave of spiritual power to catch him and landed on the ground, transforming back into her human form.
In this desperate situation, a beautiful girl suddenly appeared in front of them. Instead of feeling overjoyed, everyone grew wary.
"Who are you?"
An older clansman stepped forward, looking at Yaohua with a confused and hesitant expression.
Yaohua supported the unconscious Mo Qing and took a step forward. Seeing some timid clansmen backing away, worried that they might accidentally step out of the barrier, Yaohua had to stop. "Don't you recognize me?"
Although her voice had matured, it still carried a faint sense of familiarity.
"You're... the little princess!"
"The little princess is alive!"
Some people were so overjoyed that they shed tears and rushed forward. "Little princess, where is the clan chief?"
At this moment, Qingcang was strengthening the barrier Yaohua had set up. Hearing this, he quickly revealed himself.
"Clan chief! Great, it's the clan chief! We're saved now!"
Hearing their voices, the father and daughter felt both guilty and relieved.
They felt guilty because they had lived in seclusion for the past few years and had no idea that such a huge disaster had befallen the phoenix clan, almost leading to its extinction. They were relieved that they had returned in time and that there was still a chance to make up for it.
"This is not the place to talk. Follow me," Qingcang motioned for them to follow him.
Yaohua carried Mo Qing on her back and walked behind.
In the past few years, she had grown much taller and her cultivation had improved significantly. Carrying Mo Qing was a breeze for her.
The voices of the clansmen talking to her father faintly reached her ears.
It turned out that three months ago, with the efforts of all living beings in the Three Realms, the Divine Continent had finally regained its former vitality. To celebrate this hard-won achievement, they had decided to contact the friendly remaining clans in the Divine Continent and hold a banquet. However, on the day of the banquet, strange phenomena suddenly appeared in the sky, and many red clouds emerged.
The red clouds lasted for half a month and then gradually turned into black rain.
But how could rain be so scalding and burn living beings? This was not rain at all. It was clearly fire!
Every night, the black fire fell continuously and soon converged into a stream. Painful wails echoed across the Divine Continent. Countless living beings died miserably in it. In just over two months, the Divine Continent had turned into a wasteland!
Yaohua's eyes turned red as she listened. She could hardly imagine what her elder brother and the clansmen had gone through in these two months.
"Is... that you, Yaoyao?"
A hoarse voice came from her back. Yaohua sniffed and quickly responded.
"Sixth elder brother, it's me. Dad and I are back."
"It's good that you're back," Mo Qing seemed to lose all his strength at once. His weak breath fluttered against Yaohua's neck, like a feather gently falling.
Yaohua was too sad to speak.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at the ancestral tomb. As soon as they entered, Yaohua put Mo Qing down and carefully examined his injuries.
The sixth elder brother had always been vain. He had suffered a great disaster this time. There was not a single inch of uninjured skin on his back.
Yaohua's hands trembled as she pulled out the remaining karmic fire power from his back one by one. During this process, Mo Qing kept twitching. Although he was already unconscious, he groaned involuntarily due to the pain on his back.
I don't know how much time had passed before fresh blood oozed from his back.
Qingcang walked up to her side and couldn't help but have red eyes.
Yaohua composed herself only after Mo Qing woke up.
"Sister, your... your eyes. What's wrong with them?"
Yaohua subconsciously touched her eyes. "It's okay. It's because of the cultivation method I'm practicing. When they turn completely golden, I'll be very powerful."
Mo Qing grinned. "That's great. From now on, my sister can protect me!"
"You wish!" Yaohua said with a coquettish smile. "Hurry up and get better. I'm so weak that I need my elder brothers' protection!"
Mentioning the other elder brothers, the smile on Mo Qing's face faded a little. Yaohua took the opportunity to ask what had happened.
"The karmic fire has been falling non-stop. The peach tree of immortality has been burned to death, and all the clan's food has been destroyed. The remaining food supplies are not enough to last. Several elder brothers went out to look for food, but there has been no news from them so far."
Yaohua's face changed slightly. "How long have they been gone?"
Although they had the blood of the divine race and could temporarily resist the karmic fire, if the time was too long, they would still be devoured by it.
"It's been a month," Mo Qing said bitterly. "There has been no news during this period."
"Do you know where they went to look for food?" Yaohua's voice trembled a little. She was really worried that something might have happened to her elder brothers.
"The eldest elder brother went to the Celestial Realm for help. I don't know where the other elder brothers went," Mo Qing said dejectedly.
Yaohua quickly took out the treasures her elder brothers had given her before.
"Sister, what are you taking these out for?"
"Master once taught me the art of tracking," Yaohua said as she pinched the magic formula and murmured incantations. However, the magic tools in front of her showed no reaction at all.
The wind howled in the corridor. A gust of hot wind blew over and interrupted Yaohua's spellcasting.
Yaohua looked up and saw her father running over.
"Yaoyao, do you have any extra food?"