Chapter 615 The plan begins

As soon as Xiao Ling landed on the ground, gravel began to make a crushing sound under the soles of his boots.

Feng Qing'er stood under the corridor of the courtyard, the hem of her colorful dress lifted up in a soft arc by the mountain breeze, and the gilded feather hairpin in her hair, which Xiao Ling had personally given her, swayed gently with her trembling shoulders.

She grasped the corner of her sleeve with her fingertips, her eyes were clearly red as she looked at him from afar, but because of her innate reserve, she managed to stand very steadily in the spot. Only the trembling red at the corners of her eyes expressed the longing that could not be concealed in her heart.

"Qing'er, long time no see." Xiao Ling's eyes fell on Feng Qing'er, a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and his voice was somewhat gentle and hoarse, but it fell into her ears clearly.

Looking at the longing that could not be concealed in the girl's eyes, Xiao Ling couldn't help but feel a little warm in his heart. This feeling of being missed by someone, even though he had experienced it countless times, was still as soothing as the warm sunshine in spring.

It had been quite some time since he and Feng Qing'er last met. When they met again, the girl's appearance had not changed much since they parted.

But if you look closely, there is something subtly different about her temperament. The cold and aloof temperament of the prodigy of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan is still there, but she is no longer so aloof that keeps people at a distance. Instead, it seems that the years have worn away her edges, and she is now cold but not icy. The aura around her has also changed from ostentatious pride to restrained confidence.

"Young Master, Qing'er misses you too, so much." Feng Qing'er looked at Xiao Ling who was walking towards her. There was no trace of the coldness and arrogance of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan in her eyes. Only tenderness wrapped in watery light remained in her eyes, like a pool of spring water that had been crushed.

Feng Qing'er no longer cared about being reserved. She took two steps forward, opened her arms, and threw herself into Xiao Ling's arms. The fragrance of her hair with body temperature mixed with the mountain breeze filled Xiao Ling's nose densely.

Xiao Ling put his arms around Feng Qing'er's slender waist, his palms touched her back and she trembled slightly, then he gently patted her head with his fingertips and chuckled.

"Okay, okay, haven't we been communicating using the Space Jade Slips before? I'm always here and I won't disappear."

"But talking through a jade slip is different after all..." Feng Qing'er muffled her voice and buried her head in Xiao Ling's shoulder, her fingertips tightly grasping his clothes, and she put all her worries of the past few days into this hug.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling smiled helplessly and had to let Feng Qing'er hold him tightly. The top of the girl's head rubbed against his chin, and the gilded hairpin in her hair made his collarbone hurt slightly, but it was no match for the trembling breathing of the person in his arms, which kept hitting his heart.

The sunlight in the courtyard gradually moved, casting mottled light on the overlapping figures of the two people.

Xiao Ling could hear the heartbeat through the clothes, one by one, bringing with it the warmth and relief of a long-parted reunion, and conveying all his thoughts into each other's hearts without reservation.

As the mountain breeze blew over the eaves, the two figures finally slowly separated.

Feng Qing'er's shoulders, which had been rising and falling slightly before, gradually calmed down. After all, she was no longer a little girl. Even though she was filled with longing, she was able to control her emotions properly at this moment. Only the smile on the corners of her lips revealed her tenderness just now.

"Sir, come and rest here for a while. You must have consumed a lot of energy on your journey. Once you are in the best condition, we will be more confident about our plan." Feng Qing'er looked at Xiao Ling and twisted a few strands of hair in front of her unconsciously with her fingertips.
"Besides, even if we go directly to the entrance of the space passage of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan, there will be four teams of clansmen on duty at this moment. We have to wait until the handover time every three days, when only one team of guards will be left. At that time, the risk of sneaking in will be much lower."

"Okay, then I'll follow your arrangements. I'm a little tired after traveling all the way here, so it would be good to rest for two days." Xiao Ling nodded, looking at Feng Qing'er's serious expression at the moment, and suddenly found it very interesting.

Feng Qing'er raised a faint smile at the corner of her lips, and led the way in front of Xiao Ling. Her back was still straight as she walked, but her pace unconsciously slowed down, as if she was afraid that Xiao Ling could not keep up.

When passing through the courtyard, the copper bells on the eaves were lifted up by the mountain breeze, and the clear sound fell into my ears, adding a bit of worldly air.

For the next two days, Xiao Ling and Feng Qing'er rested in this courtyard.

Feng Qing'er also took this opportunity to talk to Xiao Ling about the longing she had for him since they separated. After venting her emotions, she felt much more energetic.

Of course, the two of them did not forget to talk about business.

Now that they can communicate face to face, it is much more convenient than using the space jade slips before. Feng Qing'er told Xiao Ling all the information she had investigated in the past few days.

From the guard situation at the entrance to the space passage leading to the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan, the various layouts within the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan's territory, to the guard details in the Phoenix Tomb where the Sky Demon Phoenix's corpse was buried, she explained everything she knew to Xiao Ling in detail.

As for the follow-up plans, after Feng Qing'er finished telling the information, Xiao Ling started to make the arrangements. After all, the implementation of this plan still had to be done by Xiao Ling himself.

Although he had made a preliminary plan, Xiao Ling was very clear in his mind that his future actions towards the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan would still depend more on improvisation.

If you really encounter an unexpected emergency, the only way to ensure your own safety is to rely on your own strength.

Looking at the bright moon hanging high outside the window, Xiao Ling's heart suddenly felt peaceful, and the various thoughts in his mind gradually calmed down.

He chuckled softly and when he looked away, the beauty in his arms was breathing evenly. Her soft hair was glowing dimly in the moonlight. Feng Qing'er had fallen asleep on his arm without him noticing.

Xiao Ling carefully adjusted his posture so that Feng Qing'er could lean on his shoulder more comfortably.

At this moment, moonlight streamed in through the window and fell on Feng Qing'er's slightly furrowed brows. Xiao Ling gently smoothed her brows with his fingertips, and listening to her unconscious murmurs, the warmth in his heart surged even stronger.

Xiao Ling gently rubbed his fingertips across the back of his hand, feeling the warmth of the skin, and finally closed his eyes, letting sleepiness come over him.

The sound of his breathing in his arms and the sound of the wind outside the window, in this courtyard at night, weaved a peaceful dream that he had not had for a long time.

……

In the Zhongzhou continent, deep in the southwestern part of the Beast Territory, the energy between heaven and earth seemed to be crushed and reorganized by some ancient pressure, turning into purple-black clouds surging across the sky.

The cloud waves were not ordinary fog. Each wisp was condensed with fine lightning patterns, as if countless tiny electric arcs were wandering in it. Occasionally, one or two would fall to the ground, and then explode with faint blue flames between the cracks in the rocks, revealing an indescribable weirdness.

This is the Burning Thunder Wasteland outside the territory of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan. There is no grass on the surface, only cracked blue-black rocks, and sweet hot steam bubbling from the cracks. After millions of years of sedimentation, the land has long been soaked into a sickly purple halo. The skyline in the far distance is cut by a giant light film. The surface of the light film flows with nine-colored feather-like patterns, and sometimes fine rune ripples bloom. The light bands hanging from the edge of the light film sweep across the wasteland, and the rocks tremble slightly wherever they pass, as if they are bowing to the supreme bloodline in the barrier.

In the clouds above the horizon, several birds with golden and red feathers on their backs were surging with lightning. When their wings passed through the clouds, they tore tiny traces of light out of the lead-gray clouds. They were the spiritual birds that the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan had arranged to patrol outside the clan territory.

They circled back and forth in the air, their sharp pupils staring down, always paying attention to the situation there.

If any foreign aura attempts to approach, they will ruthlessly use their methods to give the outsider the most severe attack.

At this moment, the force of space above the wasteland suddenly rippled, and the void on a hill somewhere in the wasteland twisted gently like the surface of water. Amidst the tiny sparks of spiritual light, two figures, a man and a woman, stepped out from the crack.

The moment their toes touched the ground, even the constantly changing scenery around them paused for a moment, and a few strands of soft light appeared around them.

These two people were none other than Xiao Ling and Feng Qing'er, who had already made proper preparations to enter the space where the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan was located.
“Tsk tsk, the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan is quite impressive. We are only at the outskirts of the clan territory, and have not yet touched the space where they actually live, but there are already such strange phenomena.”

Xiao Ling looked around, looking at the purple-black clouds rolling in the sky and the cracked blue-black rocks on the ground. His fingertips unconsciously stroked his cuffs, and a slight smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
"This overwhelming feeling of oppression...I haven't experienced it in a long time."

"In my opinion, the way the Xingyun Pavilion behaves is more comforting, and it is not at all ostentatious. Hearing Xiao Ling's words, Feng Qing'er echoed, "If the Tian Yao Huang Clan really has invincible strength, why would they rely on these strange phenomena to establish their prestige?"

Just as the two were talking, several patrolling spirit birds in the sky suddenly flapped their wings and turned around due to the previous space fluctuations. Their golden and red feathers cut through the clouds, and their sharp eyes swept towards the wasteland hills like lightning, obviously noticing the unusual movement.

Noticing those gazes getting closer, Xiao Ling and Feng Qing'er stopped talking at the same time and looked up at the figures surging in the clouds.

However, when the sharp eyes of the spirit birds swept over, Xiao Ling did not dodge at all, as if he was not afraid of being noticed by them. This calmness naturally came from his own confidence.

Suddenly, a light blue halo appeared in his eyes.

Before those spiritual birds noticed anything unusual here, the spiritual power in Xiao Ling's Niwan Palace had already surged out like a tide in the blink of an eye, turning into invisible ripples that quickly spread to the sky.

Under the guidance of Xiao Ling's powerful mental power, he activated the secret technique "Phantom Dream Shadow".

The senses of several spiritual birds were also affected immediately, and they felt that the scene before their eyes was blurred, as if they were in a dream, and it was difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. However, they did not notice the slightest abnormality.

When they fixed their eyes on the place where the abnormal situation occurred in the space just now, there were two figures standing there.

However, under the cover of the phantom dream, they could only see Feng Qing'er's figure, while Xiao Ling seemed to have merged into the void and completely disappeared from their perception range.

When those spiritual birds saw Feng Qing'er's face clearly, they immediately recognized her identity.

Feng Qing'er has become famous in the Tianyao royal family during this period. She can be considered an outstanding figure in the family and her name is quite loud.

These spiritual birds who were in charge of guarding had naturally heard about the affairs of the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan, so they did not investigate further. They let out a clear cry and continued to patrol the surroundings.

And when Feng Qing'er saw that the guarding spiritual birds really ignored Xiao Ling, the stone that had been hanging in her heart finally fell to the ground.

Although she had witnessed the power of Xiao Ling's dream shadow before, no matter how she investigated, she could not find Xiao Ling who was so close to her.

But now that she saw with her own eyes that this secret method could actually deceive even these spiritual birds with special talents in detection, she couldn't help but feel amazed, and her admiration for Xiao Ling increased a little more.

Witnessing this scene, Feng Qing'er's future plans became clearer in her mind, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

"Next, it will be up to you, Qing'er, to use the power of your bloodline to open that space passage." Xiao Ling retracted his gaze towards the sky, a confident smile appeared on the corner of his lips.

"According to what you said before, this is the time for the guards to take over. There should be only one team of Heavenly Demon Phoenix guards at the exit of the space channel. With my means, it is more than enough to deal with it."

"Okay, wait until I open the space channel with the power of my bloodline, and you will come in with me." Feng Qing'er nodded slightly, with a hint of solemnity in her voice, "But you must be careful. After entering the clan land, you can't be as free as you are now. Be careful in everything."

Before she finished her words, she moved, and the feather patterns on her colorful clothes seemed to come alive, glowing brightly in the sun.

She lightly tapped the ground with her toes, and her figure was like a streak of golden-red light, cutting through the sky and rushing forward, leaving only a faint fragrance in the air.

Xiao Ling watched Feng Qing'er's figure going away. Knowing that it was not appropriate to say more at this moment, he tapped his toes lightly, and his figure flashed, turning into a residual image, following closely behind her like a shadow.

I don’t know how long I flew, but the scenery in front of me gradually changed. Mountains rose up above the wasteland.

Suddenly, Xiao Ling felt Feng Qing'er's direction changed and she flew downwards.

He looked carefully and saw two huge stone statues standing not far ahead. They were the statues of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix!
The two statues are carved entirely from an unknown black rock. They are about a hundred feet tall and look magnificent.

The Sky Demon Phoenix on the statue held its head high and chest puffed out, with its wings spread out, as if it was about to soar into the sky. Its majestic aura was overwhelming. Even with Xiao Ling's concentration, he couldn't help but feel a little shocked.

Feng Qing'er brought Xiao Ling to a slow stop in front of the two statues. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, then turned around and said to Xiao Ling:

"This is the spatial passage leading to the clan's land. These two statues of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix are sacred objects that guard the entrance and are also the medium for opening the passage." (End of this chapter)