Chapter: Chapter 497
“Your Excellencies, we are already at the Azure-winged Tribe.” The hawk-headed beastman seemed much more spirited than a few days prior. He respectfully flew beside Linglong and reported in a low voice.
“We’ve finally reached the Azure-winged Tribe. We should be able to get some useful information here, shouldn’t we?” Linglong sighed softly, her expression appearing somewhat weary.
Over the past week, their group had been rushing between various tribes. They basically found a tribe every two days. After getting a few meals and a place to rest for the night in a tribe, they had to get up early the next day to continue their journey. For the Dragon Clan, it was simply torture.
The temples in those tribes also contained the will of the Phoenix. In the eyes of the experienced Fenghuang and Leticia, these were the best tonic for Fenghuang.
After three full meals, Fenghuang’s mental strength had increased by more than half compared to before, and her combat awareness had also greatly improved. Now, Fenghuang could even eliminate the will of the Phoenix without Leticia assisting her from the side, which was a great progress.
The officiating priests in those tribes harbored varying degrees of distrust towards Fenghuang. However, thanks to the hawk-headed beastman’s testimony, these priests sent by the Azure-winged Tribe hesitantly treated Fenghuang as an honored guest.
There was even a priest who wanted to make a move against Fenghuang, but before Linglong could act, this guy was burned to ashes by the surging flames erupting from within him.
Such was the consequence of taking action against a deity.
Seeing this, the other priests immediately believed in Fenghuang’s divine identity, as this method of death was all too familiar to them. They had seen such betrayers die in their tribes before.
Therefore, their journey had been relatively smooth. The priests who witnessed the miracle began to act alongside Fenghuang, and no one dared to stop such a group.
“Feather, Greenwing… Didn’t you go to other tribes as priests? It’s not yet the time for year-end reports, so why have you left your posts and returned?” A team of Azure-winged beastmen on the outer perimeter of the Azure-winged Tribe noticed the somewhat grand procession. A squad leader recognized some of the people in the group, but recognizing them only deepened his confusion.
These people shouldn’t be here.
“We found our divine lord!” The hawk-headed beastman who first encountered Fenghuang excitedly called out to the squad leader blocking their team. He also recognized this squad leader, and they were even distantly related. “Steelfeather, hurry and move aside! We mustn’t disrespect our divine lord.”
The squad leader frowned. Since when did his good relative become a zealot?
Although this guy was sent out to be a priest, who didn’t know how much faith these out-stationed priests had in the Great Divine Bird Phoenix?
The squad leader dared to say that his faith in the Great Divine Bird was even firmer than this priest’s.
And now, this priest with wavering faith was telling him that they had found a deity? This was clearly a lie!
“Do you take me for a fool? Where is the Great Divine Bird?”
“This, this is our divine lord!” The hawk-headed beastman quickly flew to the side, revealing Fenghuang, who was being surrounded by the crowd.
What a cute little girl… The moment the squad leader saw Fenghuang, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself. This girl indeed didn’t seem like a mortal, but she didn’t seem like a deity either, did she?
Shouldn’t a Great Divine Bird be awe-inspiring? How could such a little girl be a Great Divine Bird?
Seeing the doubt in the squad leader’s eyes, the hawk-headed beastman quickly began to explain.
After about ten minutes of explanation and questioning, the squad leader looked at Fenghuang with a somewhat complicated gaze. The awe-inspiring, untouchable Great Divine Bird in his heart turned out to be such a cute appearance, which made him feel somewhat at a loss.
“This matter is of great importance, and I need to report it to my superiors. Please wait here for a moment.” The squad leader didn’t dare to act on his own and let this group in. Regardless, Fenghuang’s identity as a deity was not yet stable in his eyes.
As for the testimonies of other tribesmen, he could only believe half of them. After reporting this matter, it would be none of his concern. The important figures would make the decision.
Whether they believed it or not, he only needed to carry out the order.
The hawk-headed beastman’s eyebrows shot up, about to scold the squad leader for disrespecting the deity, but Linglong silently shook her head at him.
It was useless to trouble this small fry. It was better to make a fuss with the important figures later, and they could gain more prestige.
Before long, news about Fenghuang reached the high-ranking officials of the Azure-winged Tribe. The patriarch of the Azure-winged Tribe, an old man with white hair and beard, immediately convened the tribe’s high-ranking officials and asked them for their opinions.
“That’s how it is. Is that deity real or fake? Do any of you have any clues?” After briefly explaining the situation, the mutated beastman asked in a deep voice.
Although he was asking all the beastmen present, his gaze was always fixed on those priests wearing black and gold robes. These guys were the main characters of this meeting.
Your god has come knocking, what should we do now? You should give us some advice.
All along, the Azure-winged patriarch had not been very convinced by the resurgence of the deity that these black-robed priests had been spreading. However, the existence of the Great Divine Bird Phoenix did indeed align with the interests of their avian beastmen, so he had reached a cooperation with these black-robed priests and allowed them to spread their faith in his territory.
And these black-robed priests had indeed provided significant help to the Azure-winged Tribe. Various magical medicines and weapons had caused the hard power of the Azure-winged Tribe to expand rapidly in recent years, and they were already in a position to unify the northern territory.
And now, the deity that these black-robed priests had been promoting had actually come looking for them. This had greatly exceeded the Azure-winged patriarch’s expectations.
I always thought you guys were a bunch of charlatans, and now you’re telling me that your god is actually real?
This is such “pleasant” surprise.
Compared to the Azure-winged patriarch’s astonishment, the expressions of these black-robed priests were even more surprised. The news they had received had always been that the divine lord was about to revive, and would revive soon, and would be reviving imminently.
In short, it was always in the process of revival.
They sometimes placed bets, guessing when the deity would truly revive.
But no one had expected that a little girl claiming to be a deity would appear at the entrance of the Azure-winged Tribe, and had even gained the trust of many out-stationed priests.
Those out-stationed priests might not have firm faith in the deity, but their minds were most likely not problematic.
No matter how you looked at it, the black-robed priests would not send out beastmen with problematic minds as scouts and missionaries. Those out-stationed priests might have unpleasant personalities and little faith in the deity, but one thing was for sure: their minds were not problematic.
Even within the entire Azure-winged Tribe, they were definitely considered intelligent people. Coupled with the special training before they were sent out, they wouldn’t easily believe such lies related to deities.
After all, impersonating deities was also part of their special training. These priests were all aware that those magical methods were essentially deceptions.
Although the black-robed priests had always emphasized that the deity was real, and she was just going through a resurrection and would return soon, whether those out-stationed priests believed this statement was indeed a question.
“We… don’t know either.” After exchanging glances with his colleagues, the leader of the black-robed priests, a beastman with his face smeared with yellow pigment, replied in a low voice, “We haven’t received any news.”
“Our doubts are no less than yours, Patriarch.”
“Aren’t you her gods? Don’t you even know this?” The Azure-winged patriarch couldn’t help but want to laugh out loud. These charlatans were so imposing before, but now that their god has come to their doorstep, you’re all stunned?
They really are just a bunch of charlatans who impersonate deities.
“The divine lord has her own thoughts. If she deems it unnecessary to inform us, then it’s normal for us not to receive any news.” The priest leader also had a hint of embarrassment on his face. It was indeed difficult for him to explain at this moment. “My suggestion is that we go out and test the waters. Patriarch, please wait here first. If it is indeed the divine lord, then it’s not too late to come out and welcome her.”
“Oh? Since our divine lord has personally descended, wouldn’t it be disrespectful of me not to come out and welcome her myself?”
“Frankly speaking, we have been discussing this for so long. If that lord were to get angry, we would have already met underground.” The priest leader smiled. Their faith’s deity was not a kind-hearted deity.
It was precisely because he knew of the Phoenix’s bad temper that he was suspicious of the ‘deity’ waiting outside, and felt that this ‘deity’ was most likely fake.
“Then do as you say. I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation later.”
Having received the Azure-winged Patriarch’s consent, the black-robed priests hurriedly left the Patriarch’s tent and spread their wings, flying towards the entrance of the tribe.
Before long, they saw the group of beastmen waiting at the entrance.
The moment the leader of the black-robed priests saw that group of beastmen, he exclaimed, “Dragon Clan!”
Others might not recognize them, but he would not mistake those three Dragons mixed in the crowd of priests. Such a peculiar appearance, such a slightly heart-palpitating oppressive aura, it was definitely the Dragon Clan!
Why would the Dragon Clan appear here?
Could it be that the so-called ‘deity’ was a conspiracy of the Dragon Clan?
Right, it must be this way! The Dragon Clan wants to disrupt the revival of the divine lord, so they did this!
Damn it, they actually found their way here. They can’t let them investigate further. They must keep them all here! A cold light flashed in the eyes of the priest leader. He might not be a match for these Dragons in a one-on-one fight, but this was his base camp. With so many people attacking together, he didn’t believe he couldn’t defeat these three Dragons.
Upon hearing the black-robed priest exclaim “Dragon Clan,” Linglong raised her head in surprise. Finally, she met someone who recognized her kind. In the past few days, she hadn’t met a single beastman who recognized the Dragon Clan, and she thought no one recognized her anymore.
Now that she thought about it, these priests had kept the matter of the Dragon Clan very well hidden. It was likely that the beastmen at the lower and middle levels had no idea of the existence of the Dragon Clan.
“Kill them! They are our enemies!” the priest said coldly.
The priests following behind this priest and the Azure-winged Tribe’s guard team wore expressions of confusion. They hadn’t even spoken yet, so why were they about to fight?
Despite their confusion, they still arranged their formation and aimed their weapons at the group of priests on the ground.
“I don’t know what conspiracy you are plotting, but I just want to tell you that I am a firm barrier guarding our divine lord, and I will absolutely not let you step past here!” Staring at the seemingly stunned Linglong, the priest’s face was filled with a triumphant expression. In his opinion, he was about to thwart a counterattack by the Dragon Clan, which was a great achievement.
When the divine lord revives in the future, he should be able to gain quite a few rewards for this achievement.
Linglong gave the priest a strange look and revealed Fenghuang, who was being shielded behind her. “But your divine lord is right here.”
Huh? A deity? The priest glanced at Fenghuang with disdain in his eyes. Did he take him for a fool?
How could this little girl look like a deity? Don’t think of him as a country bumpkin. He had been to the sacred land and seen the divine lord’s holy body with his own eyes. It was a golden bird larger than a mountain, and what stood among that group of priests now was just a little girl.
How could this possibly be a deity!
“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t you think I know what our divine lord looks like? This little liar…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the priest suddenly clutched his throat in pain, veins bulging on his forehead, and his body trembled continuously.
The nearby priests quickly stepped forward to support the priest who couldn’t even maintain his flying state. Upon contact with the priest’s body, the other priests wore expressions of surprise.
High temperature, surging wild energy within the body, this was clearly the backlash received after committing sacrilege!
Like the priests below, they too had taken those small pills, which were used to maintain the priests’ loyalty. Normally, they had no ill effects, and instead accelerated the user’s cultivation speed. However, once they committed an act of betrayal against the deity, they would suffer the torment of being consumed by flames.
But the priest they were supporting was the most devout among them. He had been staying in the temple of the Azure-winged Tribe recently and had not left the tribe. How could he have committed a sacrilegious act?
Unless… that little girl who was being scolded by the priest was indeed their deity.
The priests looked at Fenghuang with extreme fear. It was at this moment that Leticia, who had been prepared, activated Fenghuang’s special effects.
A gigantic golden Phoenix phantom appeared behind Fenghuang, and a terrifying pressure descended upon all the priests, causing them to involuntarily kneel on the ground.
