Primordial Era: I, Hongyun, take charge of the literary path

When Hongyun transplanted the phoenix tree, the innate Bing Fire Grand Array was unstable, causing the phoenix tree's energy to leak out.

Suddenly, a sky full of rosy clouds appeared, and endless misty, auspicious energy spread in all directions.

Seeing this, Hongyun sensed something was wrong and sped up the transplantation process.

At the moment the Innate Fire Array collapsed, Hongyun finally transplanted the phoenix tree into the Hundred Herbs Diagram.

The Hundred Herbs Scroll was originally a low-grade acquired spiritual treasure, but because it was transplanted with many spiritual roots and herbs, and was refined by Hongyun time and time again, it has become a mid-grade acquired spiritual treasure.

This time, after the phoenix tree was transplanted into the Hundred Herbs Painting, the Hundred Herbs Painting immediately showed signs of breaking through to become a superior-grade acquired spiritual treasure.

Furthermore, the world within the Hundred Herbs Diagram is stabilized by the Bing Fire Wutong Tree, making it more likely to advance in the future and possessing the potential to grow into a top-grade acquired spiritual treasure.

But at this moment, Hongyun had no time to be excited. The instant he transplanted the phoenix tree, he vanished from the spot using earth magic, as he certainly couldn't fly at this time.

He was the only Taiyi Golden Immortal nearby, and if he flew away, he would be spotted immediately.

Hongyun moved extremely fast. The instant the phoenix tree was absorbed into the Hundred Herbs Diagram, he sank into the depths of the earth like an eel entering the sea, using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique that allows one to escape into the earth).

The moment the Innate Fire Formation collapsed, the volcano, which had been dormant for countless millennia, suddenly erupted. Blazing lava, carrying towering flames, shot straight into the sky, turning the sky for tens of thousands of miles around crimson.

In the firelight, the faint silhouette of a vigorous paulownia tree could be seen stretching its branches; it was the remnant of the spiritual essence left by the Binghuo paulownia tree that had taken root in this place for many years.

Before long, countless divine thoughts surged in from all directions like a tide, each carrying a sense of greed, shock, or vigilance.

The first to react was the closest avian expert, a roc with golden feathers, who was a Taiyi Golden Immortal under the Phoenix Clan.

The roc circled high in the sky, its sharp golden eyes fixed on the crater, its divine sense sweeping over every inch of land. It had been guarding this area for many years and was most sensitive to the emergence of rare and precious materials.

Just now, although the aura of the Bing Fire Wutong Tree was only leaked for a moment, its unique aura has been deeply imprinted in his soul.

"A sycamore tree...it's a sycamore tree!"

The Golden-Winged Roc's voice trembled, and his spirit trembled with excitement. He knew all too well what the Binghuo Wutong Tree meant to the Phoenix Clan and to all birds.

If he can relay this message back to the Phoenix Clan and help them obtain the Wutong Tree, his merit will be enough to grant him the resources to cultivate to the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm.

Thinking of this, the roc could no longer restrain itself and transformed into a golden streak of light, swooping down.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of meters underground, the red cloud was rushing southeast at an extremely fast speed.

While Earth Escape is not as fast as flying, it excels in concealment. Because it is deep underground, it can avoid divine detection to the greatest extent possible.

"Qing Xuanzi said there would be a calamity to the southeast, and it seems that it will be on the phoenix tree. But I want to see if this calamity can actually take my life."

Hongyun's expression was solemn, but his mind was racing. He was not a reckless person. Since he dared to take the phoenix tree, he was already prepared to be hunted down.

Hongyun hadn't expected that the aura of the paulownia tree would leak out so quickly; it was almost as soon as the Binghuo paulownia tree was moved that it encountered problems.

In the Hundred Herbs Diagram, the phoenix tree has taken firm root, and there are innate spiritual treasures such as the Jade Dew Bottle, the Yi Wood Pot, and the Life Pearl, as well as top-level treasures such as the Frost Divine Soul, the Star Essence Gold, the Essence of Gui Water, and the Essence of Bing Fire, and acquired spiritual roots and medicines such as the Frost Jade Tree and the Golden Coral.

This superior-grade innate spiritual root seemed quite satisfied with the environment of the Hundred Herbs Diagram. Its branches and leaves swayed slightly, emitting a warm and resilient fire elemental power, which was slowly transforming the spiritual root environment within the Hundred Herbs Diagram.

Hongyun diverted a wisp of his mind into the Hundred Herbs Diagram, where he saw the Bing Fire Wutong Tree, which was about three zhang tall. Its trunk was as red as blood, and the patterns on its bark were like dragon scales, layer upon layer, shimmering with a metallic luster.

The crown of the Bing Fire Wutong tree spreads out like a canopy, and each leaf is like a burning flame, radiating a scorching yet warm light.

Around the Binghuo Wutong Tree, the various spiritual roots and herbs that originally grew in the Hundred Herbs Diagram trembled slightly, as if they were showing their submission to this newly arrived distinguished guest.

Even the usually arrogant top-grade acquired spiritual root (Golden Coral) lowered its proud head at this moment, not daring to be the slightest bit presumptuous.

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Hongyun said "good" three times, feeling much more at ease.

The fact that the phoenix tree was able to take root steadily in the Hundred Herbs Painting shows that his previous preparations were not in vain. Although about one-tenth of its original resources were lost during the transplantation process, it will recover in no time as long as it is carefully nurtured.

The loss of that resource means that the time it would normally take for a phoenix tree to flower, bear fruit, and mature in three thousand years will be extended, potentially taking hundreds of thousands of years to complete one cycle of growth.

But Hongyun didn't care. He had plenty of time to wait. What really bothered him was the approaching pursuers overhead.

Boom, rumble—

A sharp golden light pierced down from above, like a hundred hydrogen bombs exploding, tearing a rift valley thousands of miles long into the ground.

The Golden-Winged Roc's attack grazed past Hongyun's side, almost forcing him out of his earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels).

"Wow, that's fast!"

Hongyun felt a chill and accelerated her descent deeper underground, but the deeper she went, the greater the pressure became.

This is, after all, a primordial world. Whether you fly upwards or burrow downwards, the higher you fly (or the lower you burrow), the greater the pressure you will bear.

To be honest, Hongyun had already approached the limit of his cultivation level by diving to a depth that was close to the limit. Although he could go any deeper, it would slow down his stealth speed.

With the pursuers approaching, Hongyun dared not stop. If he were held back, more and more powerful figures would arrive from behind, and even if he had three heads and six arms, he would not be able to escape.

The Golden-Winged Roc, having missed its attack, frowned and a hint of annoyance flashed in its eyes.

His divine sense had locked onto the rapidly moving figure underground, but the Earth Escape Technique was indeed troublesome, as it was easy to deflect due to its deep penetration into the earth. He needed a more precise attack to force the opponent out.

"Bald Taoist, whoever you are, hand over the phoenix tree, and I might spare your life!"

The voice of the Golden-Winged Roc pierced through the earth and reached Hongyun's ears, but Hongyun shrugged and ignored it, continuing to flee southeast.

His only advantage right now is that the other party doesn't know his identity. As long as he can escape, find a place to hide, and wait for things to calm down, he can deal with it later.

However, things didn't go as planned. Just when Hongyun thought he could get rid of the Golden-Winged Roc, a powerful aura suddenly came from ahead.

It was a fiery phoenix with a completely crimson body, its entire body burning with raging flames. Its wingspan was a thousand miles, and each flap of its wings stirred up towering waves of fire.

"Yes, it's the scent of the sycamore tree..."