The Phoenix Mother’s painting was the largest of all. It stood more off to the side, so it was hidden from the viewers that had just entered the hall.
The image of the Phoenix was that of a soaring bird. Its beak was silver-white like the color of the moon, its body flaming red and orange like a volcanic eruption. Its feathers trailed down its wings like rivulets of lava, the edges of its chest purple like the twilight sky.
Three bright yellow tail feathers sprung out at the end, with its brown talon at the bottom, sharp and deadly.
Alex narrowed his eyes, getting closer toward the talons. Looking at them up close, they looked more like tree trunks than anything, making him wonder just how big the thing was supposed to be.
Up close, the aura left behind by the painter when he painted this was faint now, but Alex could barely make out sothing.
Respect and reverence.
Whoever the painter was, they truly believed the Phoenix Mother to be the mother of all beasts.
"Incredible, isn’t it?" Scarlet asked. "Makes you feel like you’re looking at a god."
"Truly," Bai Jingshen said. "I’m getting the sa feeling as I did back when I was in the Azure Dragon Palace, looking at the Father Dragon carvings. They’re so old that it’s hard to tell if they ever even existed or not, but if they did, they had to be one of the most powerful beasts alive at the ti."
Alex moved back from the painting, nodding his head along to their words. He couldn’t help but respect and revere the Phoenix in the painting as well.
"Do you think they existed?" Scarlet asked. "If the Sun God is the one who blessed us, then we can never know if she existed or not, do we?"
"I... don’t know," Bai Jingshen said. "My master never talked about them. Either he never cared to find out, or he never ca across beasts who knew about them, so he couldn’t learn about it. I want to believe they existed, but... I don’t know."
"Brother Shen, do you know what a Child of Heaven is?" Alex asked.
Bai Jingshen narrowed his eyes, steadily shaking his head. "Nope. Can’t say I do."
"I once talked to a being that called themselves a Child of Heaven, and could answer almost any question they were asked," Alex said. "Not omniscient, but more knowing than anyone I’ve t. And she told about both Dragon Father and Phoenix Mother. Not in detail, but almost to a point where it sounded like they were real."
"So, I want to believe they were real," Alex said.
"If they were real, then did they die?" Scarlet asked.
Alex shrugged. "That she could not answer, but death is pretty much the only ending for them from what I can see. They ca before the Primordials and never reached the God Realm. They had to have died at that point. If not then, then during the Calamity."
Alex wondered why the two hadn’t reached the God Realm. Could it have sothing to do with how much Qi there was in the world? The Qi could not have started decaying at that mont, since the Primordials ca after them.
If that was the case, then the likelier reason might have been that the world was not yet enriched with Qi enough to birth a God. It was possible that the possibility to reach the God Realm was only available long after they had left their pri.
It was an unfortunate situation, but what could they really do except feel bad for the two?
If not for that, maybe the world would’ve had 17 Primordials instead of 15.
’And maybe Qi would’ve started decaying long before the other Primordials ca to be,’ Alex thought. Ifs were not going to help anyone at this point.
It was better to leave the past in the past.
"Should we move on?" Scarlet asked.
"Yes, let’s—"
"Cousin Nuanhuo?" a voice called out from the side in a tone of exaggerated surprise. "You were let out of your room?"
Alex and the rest turned to find a group of Phoenixes walking together, with one at the front that seed to be the leader. It was a male Phoenix with a larger chest and longer tail feathers.
"Cousin Shizhen," Scarlet called out with so raised eyebrows. "Are you returning from sothing?"
"Our weekly sunbathing session," the Phoenix said, before its eyes turned toward the group. "What do we have here? A White Tiger, a cat, a mouse, and—I can’t believe I’m actually seeing one inside the palace—a human."
"These are my friends and guests, Cousin," Scarlet said with an annoyed tone. "I would appreciate it if you didn’t use your mocking voice."
"Mocking? Oh, absolutely not," the Phoenix said in an appalled tone, as if it was offended at the re insinuation. "Why would I mock such esteed guests of yours? They are all Immortals, after all."
Various laughs rang from behind the Phoenix.
Alex eyed Bai Jingshen, who gave a lopsided smirk that the Phoenix couldn’t see. The damn tiger was hiding his cultivation base.
Scarlet was used to her cousin’s mocking remarks. They were both born just a decade apart, so they were practically of the sa age. They had both progressed at the sa rate at first too, making the two quite competitive.
However, Scarlet’s mother had sent her to the lower realm, while her cousin remained here, passing the trial. In the 15,000 years she had missed, her cousin had now far surpassed her in terms of cultivation, becoming a Divinity around the sa ti she returned.
As a result, the gap between the two had grown to be quite big.
There was no more rivalry there, just one-sided mocking.
The Phoenix clicked its tongue, shaking its head from side to side. "If you want to go further in life, you have to associate with the right people, Nuanhuo. If the only friends you have are just these, you will never make it big."
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