#545 - Spiritual connection with the Phoenix (asking for monthly ticket recommendation)

"It looks like you were really starved. Don't rush around. Replenish your energy first." Anduin shook his head helplessly at the phoenix's disheveled appearance, then conjured a slab of Teber warthog ribs, slamming it down in front of the creature.

The phoenix, embarrassed by its undignified state, struggled to its feet. Upon seeing the ribs, its eyes lit up. Disregarding all notions of a divine bird's decorum, it eagerly hopped over to the meat, gobbling it down.

Its ravenous appearance gave no hint that it was a noble phoenix, looking more like a scrawny rooster.

Thor, seeing the phoenix's current state, perhaps feeling sorry for it, also pulled half a jar of 'Zizzing Honey' from the spatial ring Anduin had given him, and pushed it towards the phoenix.

This was Thor's after-dinner dessert. If Anduin had anything to be proud of, it was the quality of his food. Anduin would make time to cook them delicacies, and they could eat their fill of snacks, sausages, ribs, and the like.

The little phoenix gulped down a few mouthfuls of Teber warthog meat, then was immediately attracted by the Zizzing Honey next to it. After taking a small taste, it was immediately captivated by the sweet flavor, plunging its head into the jar and gulping down several mouthfuls.

Then, the phoenix let Anduin and Thor witness the true extent of a divine bird's appetite. It actually managed to devour the entire slab of Teber warthog meat and Zizzing Honey with that scrawny body.

After a satisfying meal, the phoenix stared blankly at Thor beside it, then tilted its head to look at Anduin, who was quietly waiting for it.

It suddenly felt that its bird life was too exciting, with ups and downs. It had just been imprisoned in a birdcage, losing its freedom, and couldn't even get a bite to eat. Now, it had suddenly regained its freedom and could taste these unforgettable delicacies.

The phoenix was filled with endless emotion, and eventually, it even started crying tears of self-pity.

But just as the phoenix was moved to tears, a test tube was shoved inappropriately close to its face, collecting every last drop of its tears.

The little phoenix tilted its head in confusion, only to find Anduin had approached it at some point, and was now staring intently at the test tube in his hand.

Seeing that his sneaky behavior had been discovered, Anduin chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe, sorry, I just thought it was a waste to let your tears go to waste. Never mind me, you cry if you want, just pretend I'm not here."

Phoenix tears were a rare, natural healing potion. How could Anduin not shamelessly approach when he saw such a good thing in front of him?

Seeing Anduin's actions, the emotions the little phoenix had been building up instantly collapsed, and it couldn't help but roll its eyes at him.

"唳!" Sated, the little phoenix stretched its body leisurely and cried out loudly.

Then, Anduin and Thor saw a ball of flames instantly ignite on the little phoenix's body, quickly spreading throughout its entire form until it was completely burned to ashes.

"Chirp, chirp!"

Thor was startled by this scene. It didn't understand what was happening to the phoenix. Why did it suddenly start self-immolating?

"It's okay, Thor. It's being reborn in the flames. After Nirvana, the phoenix can grow and gain a more beautiful body. This is its unique cycle and ritual," Anduin explained softly to Thor.

Anduin had naturally heard of the phoenix's Nirvana ritual, but this was the first time he had witnessed it firsthand.

At the same time, he had his own speculation about the Thunderbird's nature of chasing storms. He believed that it might be similar to the phoenix, a unique Nirvana ritual for the Thunderbird species.

It's just that the Thunderbird's Nirvana ritual might be much more demanding than the phoenix's. Successfully breaking through would allow it to increase its lifespan like the phoenix, and its life level would be further increased. But once it failed, it might suddenly perish like the 'Raging Thunder' Thunderbird before it.

"Chirp!"

After a moment of self-combustion, a weak but clear bird call suddenly came from the embers left by the phoenix.

When Anduin and Thor approached, they found a featherless chick poking its head out, scanning them back and forth with clear eyes, chirping non-stop as if begging for food from its elders.

"Uh, I didn't expect the phoenix to be so ugly after Nirvana." Anduin was now squatting down, observing the chick with great interest, and even mischievously poked its head with his finger.

"Hiss... gently!"

Perhaps it heard Anduin's complaint, or perhaps it was very dissatisfied with his teasing, the chick phoenix actually turned around and pecked him hard when Anduin teased it. Despite having just undergone Nirvana, the phoenix was quite strong, directly drawing blood from his finger.

After drawing blood from Anduin, the chick phoenix actually stuck out its tongue and licked his blood clean, then excitedly cried out at Anduin.

"Hmm? This is?"

After the little phoenix ate his blood, Anduin suddenly felt a strange sensation in his mental perception.

That feeling was very similar to the mental connection that appeared when he had just rescued the big Thunderbird on the Isle of Ireland, except that this time the object was not the Thunderbird, but the little phoenix in front of him.

In addition, the sensation that appeared this time was very weak. If Anduin's mental strength wasn't strong enough, he might not have noticed this anomaly.

"Could it be that this means the little phoenix has recognized me? Eating my blood actually has this effect." Anduin seemed to understand the reason for everything that was happening in front of him. "I didn't expect a meal to buy you off. You're such an unprincipled little fellow."

That's right, the mental connection between Anduin and the phoenix was actually the same concept as his mental connection with the Thunderbird, representing that this highly intelligent magical creature had formed a bond with the wizard.

The only difference was that Anduin's mental connection with the Thunderbird came from his wand. Years of friendship allowed him to establish a strong connection with the Thunderbird feather in his wand, thus allowing him to be stained with the Thunderbird's mark very early on.

In addition, the 'Raging Thunder Rune' he later subdued further strengthened this connection, which allowed him to quickly sense each other when he first encountered the Thunderbird.

And his mental connection with the phoenix was much weaker. Although the little phoenix's behavior represented that it had initially recognized the wizard in front of it, it was only recognition. Their connection had to undergo a long period of companionship to reach the same level of intimacy as the Thunderbird.

I wonder if I can sign 'Bloodline Contracts' with both magical animal groups at the same time if I establish close mental connections with both the Thunderbird and the phoenix?

Anduin had never forgotten about the 'Bloodline Contract', and he felt that his current connection with the Thunderbird should have reached the conditions for establishing a contract.

It's just that there are still many things to do at the moment, and he doesn't have the time to accompany the Thunderbird back to America to find their group.

Now he has actually established a mental connection with another intelligent magical creature. Could it be that more than one Bloodline Contract can be signed?

While Anduin was daydreaming, Thor had already held the phoenix in his arms and was enthusiastically feeding the little chick with the remaining Zizzing Honey from the jar next to him.

Soon, it began to enjoy the feeling of taking care of a child, and the phoenix chick happily licked the sweet honey. In this way, these two cross-species creatures actually established a strange and special friendship.

...

On the other side, the Hag, who had already accepted the magical creatures, was now leading the transport convoy along the established route to transfer.

Since the amount of cargo this time was very large, they couldn't travel very fast along the way. For this reason, they could only expand the alert range to avoid bumping into the occasional passing Muggle or wizard.

Therefore, with three large flying carpets as the center, they sent out more than a dozen wizards to establish a mobile alert post one kilometer away, moving along with the central convoy.

Thanks to the Hag's careful arrangements, and also thanks to the fact that there were enough escorts, they avoided a lot of trouble along the way, the most common of which were encounters with Muggles.

To deal with these people, the wizards would use the 'Muggle Repelling Charm' to drive them away, and those who occasionally witnessed the convoy would have their memories erased with the 'Memory Charm'.

Fortunately, for the sake of concealment, they did not make things difficult for these Muggles. Otherwise, with the personalities of those Death Eaters, it would be considered merciful not to kill the Muggles they bumped into.

It's just that along the way, in addition to Muggles, they would also encounter some wizards, some who were just passing by or gathered for no reason, and some who were Aurors or members of the Pure Land Society undergoing fixed-point training.

When they encountered these people, the Hag and the others could only choose to detour. Fortunately, the alert range was far enough to allow them to avoid those wizards before being discovered.

After stumbling forward for two days, the Hag and the others finally arrived in Finnmark County, Norway.

As long as they successfully passed through this area, they could cross the border into Russia and escape the jurisdiction of Northern Europe, thus avoiding the control of the Pure Land Society.

Although there were also many wizards in Russia on the other side, their gathering range was not around the border. After all, Russia's land area was too large, and those wizards basically operated in several specific gathering areas.

Moreover, although the Eastern European wizards in Russia were also very sturdy, they were not the same as those guys from the Northern European Pure Land Society who hated the Silver Spears. At least they could communicate, not to mention they probably wouldn't even meet them.

"Very good, it is estimated that we will be able to leave the sphere of influence of the Pure Land Society in another half a day." The Silent Bird closed the map in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief to the Hag beside her.