Under Nezha's astonished gaze, the silhouette of the azure giant bird instantly transformed into an afterimage.
If not for the faint scent of scorching in the air, Nezha might have even thought he was hallucinating.
The speed was simply too fast.
"That guy..."
"It must be an Azure Phoenix, one of the fastest flying birds in the world."
Nezha's eyes burned with fervor; the appearance of the Azure Phoenix surely indicated that his Fire Tipped Spear must be within the Xuanyuan Tomb.
Moreover, if he could subdue the Qingluan Fire Phoenix residing there, his strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.
"Perhaps I can try..."
Harboring a glimmer of hope, Nezha swiftly moved in the direction where the Azure Phoenix had vanished.
Although he moved quickly, using the lingering scorching scent in the air as a clue, Nezha soon found the dwelling place of the divine bird.
The Xuanyuan Tomb.
However, calling it a tomb was somewhat unrealistic.
After all, the entrance was essentially a cave.
More precisely, it was a cave located halfway up the mountain.
It might be difficult for others to ascend, but for Nezha, who had awakened the Spirit Orb physique, reaching halfway up the mountain was effortless.
"This feeling..."
As he drew closer to the cave, Nezha could increasingly feel the heat emanating from within.
He already possessed the Samadhi True Fire divine ability, so he was naturally extremely sensitive to the fire element.
Of course, there was no possibility of him being burned to death.
However, if he were to confront the Qingluan Fire Phoenix head-on, even if Nezha wasn't burned to death, he might be torn to shreds by their sharp claws.
He had to be cautious.
After obtaining the Fire Tipped Spear, he would leave immediately.
That was his initial goal.
Creeping stealthily into the cave, Nezha dared not make the slightest sound.
He was afraid of waking the Qingluan Fire Phoenix inside the cave.
"What are these?"
The space inside the cave was vast; besides the surrounding rock walls, there were even broken stone tables and stools on the ground.
Even more, there were blood-red landscape paintings.
As for why they were red, Nezha guessed that they might have been painted with blood.
As for their meaning...
He didn't see anything different.
Besides, his original intention wasn't here, but for the spiritual treasure.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous."
After turning a corner, Nezha arrived at a relatively spacious hall.
He immediately saw the two divine birds, the Qingluan Fire Phoenix, nestled together in the center of the hall, fast asleep.
"That thing!"
Soon, shifting his gaze, Nezha saw a pile of stones in front of the divine birds.
"If I'm not mistaken, inside that stone pile are the three divine arrows left by Emperor Xuanyuan."
Stepping closer along the wall, the scorching aura pervading the air became even more terrifying.
Due to Nezha's small stature, and with his deliberate concealment, he reached the stone pile without any mishap.
Squatting in front of the stone pile, he was able to use it to block the view of the Qingluan Fire Phoenix.
At this moment, he was as cautious and timid as a thief.
Although he had reached the stone pile, a problem remained before him.
How was he to retrieve the Fire Tipped Spear?
Once he broke this stone pile, it would inevitably awaken the Qingluan Fire Phoenix sleeping in front.
At that point, it would be two against one, and Nezha's situation would be very difficult.
"Damn it, why hasn't this system given me any notifications or even a task hint until now?"
This system was like it was in a deep sleep, remaining silent for half a year.
Even upon arriving at the famous location, the Xuanyuan Tomb, it remained as calm as if it had crashed.
It was unbelievable.
"Or... should I dig it out slowly like a tomb robber?"
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
Nezha suddenly noticed the air temperature by his ear inexplicably rising.
愣 For a moment, he instinctively turned his head to look, let out a startled cry of "Holy crap," and fell directly to the ground, almost scared senseless.
The reason for the rising air temperature was simple.
The fire-element divine beasts, the Qingluan Fire Phoenix, were standing on his left and right sides.
And the increase in temperature was precisely caused by the fiery aura swirling around their bodies.
"Aoo-chiang-chiang!"
The Azure Phoenix watched the sneaking little bug in front of him with interest, not attacking immediately.
"Uh... that... can I say I'm just passing by, getting some soy sauce...?"
Nezha wanted to cry but had no tears.
But the Qingluan Fire Phoenix seemed to find it uninteresting; the Azure Phoenix spread its wings and flapped them fiercely, unleashing a powerful gust of wind towards Nezha.
The Fire Phoenix, on the other hand, was ruthless, opening its mouth and spitting out a stream of divine fire.
With the strong wind and divine fire combined, everything in front of Nezha was instantly engulfed in flames.
The two birds simultaneously flew into mid-air, and the wind they generated instantly transformed the flames inside the cave into a sea of fire, with the temperature continuously soaring.
The stubborn rocks on the ground and the plants that had already struggled to survive were now scorched black, turning into ashes.
"Boom!"
The sea of fire suddenly exploded, and streaks of fiery red silk shot out from its central area.
They churned within the sea of fire, launching an attack in a spiral formation.
The Qingluan Fire Phoenix were simultaneously surprised.
They flapped their wings with all their might, instantly dodging the Heavenly Silk.
The Heavenly Silk did not continue its pursuit, retracting to protect Nezha in the middle of the sea of fire.
At the same moment, Nezha picked up the Qiankun Circle and threw it out.
Amidst a blur of afterimages, a "bang" echoed, and the Qiankun Circle smashed the central earth pile into pieces.
Smoke and the sea of fire mingled.
"Fire Tipped Spear!"
Nezha was greatly alarmed, noticing the three divine arrows in the sea of fire.
The Heavenly Silk in front of him glowed, sweeping away all the nearby flames and clearing a path.
Without hesitation, he immediately charged forward.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A piercing sound of air being torn echoed the moment Nezha approached the three divine arrows; Nezha only felt a fierce gust of wind assault him, and before he could react, he was already slammed against the stone wall, emitting a series of "crack, crack" shattering sounds.
"Pfft!"
Nezha fell from the stone wall, immediately spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood onto the Heavenly Silk in front of him.
He was injured.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The Heavenly Silk, already imbued with fire, became even more vibrant the moment it came into contact with Nezha's fresh blood.
"Azure Phoenix!"
"Cough, cough, cough!" Nezha glared fiercely at the fiery divine bird in mid-air.
Azure Phoenix!
The latter, as expected of an experienced divine beast, launched an attack that Nezha couldn't even react to after it seriously responded.
The disparity in cultivation was too great.
That claw strike just now had directly torn open Nezha's armor and clothes; if it weren't for his Spirit Orb physique and the timely protection of the Heavenly Silk.
Just that one claw could easily tear Nezha to shreds.
"This thing is truly powerful!"
Gazing at the divine bird in front of him, truly unleashing its aura and bathed in fierce flames, Nezha found it increasingly difficult.
He couldn't win!
At least for now, he was no match for these two birds.
If he didn't leave soon, he would die here!
Due to the cultivation disparity, the Azure Phoenix's previous claw strike had already severely wounded him.
His blood and qi churned, and Nezha's face was incredibly pale.
"Give me a pfft..."
Nezha, who had just opened his mouth, immediately spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, but his eyes were sharp, and a surge of flames, emitting a temperature far exceeding the current high temperature, gushed out.
Samadhi True Fire!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Seemingly sensing the high temperature of the Samadhi True Fire, even the Qingluan Fire Phoenix, as fiery divine birds, had to temporarily retreat at this moment.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"
Nezha's hand, gripping the Heavenly Silk, suddenly stretched forward, and the latter swiftly extended forward with a whoosh, coiling around the divine arrow inscribed with the character 【義】 among the three divine arrows.
With a fierce pull, his body simultaneously sprang up, biting his teeth to endure the discomfort, and frantically rushed towards the exit.