Picking Up Attributes From Today c1-406
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The current Netherworld Divine Fire was way more powerful than one from a Divine Netherworld Phoenix that had risen from its ashes nine times. How could a Black Phoenix withstand that?
Chapter 400: That Thing, Becoming A Mount
“Aahhh!”
The Black Phoenix let out a shrill cry that chilled one to their bones. From this, one could tell just what kind of intense ordeal the Chief God-level Black Phoenix was currently experiencing.
“Your Netherworld Divine Fire is so powerful!” Moro couldn’t help but give praise. “To think even a lesser Chief God-level Black Phoenix can’t withstand it!”
“Of course!”
The Netherworld Divine Fire blazed more and more fervently as time passed. Its might also grew increasingly terrifying, causing the Black Phoenix’s cries to become increasingly shrill and tragic.
“Stop it! Hurry and stop it!”
Finally, the Black Phoenix could no longer take it anymore, and it began to cry out loudly and hoarsely.
“Stop? Give me a reason why I should?”
Meng Lei chuckled.
“Damn it!”
Immense resentment filled the Black Phoenix. It was the Black Phoenix grandmaster, the ancestor of all Black Phoenixes. When had anyone ever tormented it like that before?
But when one was under someone else’s eaves, how could they not bow to their circumstances?
“I’m the ancestor of the Black Phoenixes! You’re not allowed to kill me! I have something that you want!”
The Black Phoenix shouted, “The reason why that Nidhogg fellow hadn’t killed me back then was precisely because he wanted me to tell him that thing’s whereabouts!”
“That thing?”
Meng Lei cocked an eyebrow and said, “Well, why don’t you tell me what that thing is, then?”
“I’ll tell you as long as you agree to let me off!” replied the Black Phoenix in an attempt to bargain.
“You actually dare to bargain with me?”
Meng Lei let out an icy laugh. He wasn’t concerned about that so-called object at all. When one reached a cultivation stage like his, there was pretty much nothing that could move him anymore.
“You—”
Lost for words, the Black Phoenix was infuriated. That goddamn bastard! To think he actually didn’t fall for it! That was too much of him!
“What must I do before you release me?”
The Black Phoenix barked in a low voice, “I’ll say this upfront—I was heavily injured during the previous war between the gods and demons by a few Chief Gods who had teamed up against me. All the treasures on me have been cleanly looted. I don’t have anything else apart from that thing anymore!”
“Now, that’s more like the attitude that someone who’s pleading for mercy should have.”
Meng Lei dispelled the Netherworld Divine Fire scorching the Black Phoenix with a wave and said, “You certainly have nothing except yourself now, but I feel that you still have something that’s most precious.”
“What?” The Black Phoenix was slightly taken aback by Meng Lei’s words.
“Your life.”
An aloof smile appeared on Meng Lei’s countenance, and he said, “You’re pretty strong, and your appearance would somewhat do. I just so happen to lack a mount, so I can give you a chance.”
“What? You want me to become your mount?!”
As though it were a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the Black Phoenix roared hysterically, “You actually want the great, honorable Black Phoenix grandmaster to become your mount? You’re humiliating the great Black Phoenix grandmaster and antagonizing the demons by doing that!”
“Are you unwilling? In that case, you can just go to hell!”
A cold look came over Meng Lei’s visage, and he said, “No matter how noble you once were, everything is gone with the wind and will cease to exist once you’re dead.”
Screeeech!
The Black Phoenix transformed into a black streak of light that shot straight toward the alternate dimension’s boundaries—evidently, it was intending to escape the alternate dimension while Meng Lei’s guard was down.
There was an extremely high chance that the Black Phoenix would succeed. With its—the ancestor of all Black Phoenixes—speed, there was no way the average Chief God would be able to stop it. Thus, it could escape successfully.
“Thinking of fleeing?”
Meng Lei couldn’t help but laugh. He remarked, “It’s trying to flee, Moro.”
“Indeed it is!” Moro also broke into a smile. “It’s just a shame that it’s going to find itself disappointed.”
“It can’t be helped. Ain’t nothing we can do if it’s completely ignorant about the concept of speed itself.”
Meng Lei shook his head slightly and took a step forward. The Black Phoenix had reached the alternate dimension’s boundaries by this point. Unable to withstand the Black Phoenix’s immense power, the fragile dimensional walls broke and formed a black hole.
The Black Phoenix dived right through it and entered the boundless Void.
“I did it!”
As though a weight had been lifted off its shoulders, the Black Phoenix completely relaxed upon noticing that it had entered the boundless Void. It would be safe once it left the alternate dimension and came to the Void. It was confident that no one could stop it once it had entered the Void.
“That damned Nidhogg! And that bastard, too! This grandmaster will never let you off! Hmph!”
Upon sensing where the supreme Netherworld was, the Black Phoenix flapped its wings and began to race in that direction at the highest speed it could muster. It had been sealed for too long a time, and now it wished only to return to the Netherworld, to the Black Phoenixes, and to the home it had been away from for so long as soon as possible.
Yet it was exactly at this moment that a mocking voice suddenly rang out beside its ear.
“Black Phoenix grandmaster, where do you think you’re going?”
“Back home, of cou—”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster replied without even a second thought, only sensing something amiss while in the midst of doing so. It hastily swerved its head to the side to see a seemingly amused Meng Lei watching it with his arms folded. Meng Lei stayed securely beside it as he followed the Black Phoenix, though it seemed that he wasn’t even really flying?
He isn’t flying? Yet he can keep up with me?
“Damn it!”
Frightened witless at the sight of Meng Lei, the Black Phoenix grandmaster flapped its wings desperately. Its speed instantly spiked, and it left Meng Lei in the dust as it raced forward.
But before it could heave a sigh of relief, Meng Lei appeared beside it once more. He said, “Black Phoenix grandmaster, cease your struggling. There’s no way you can escape.”
“You bastard!”
Almost driven nuts by Meng Lei, the Black Phoenix grandmaster promptly burned its magic power, causing its speed to spike again.
It was just a shame that it was all in vain, however.
“You sure are risking it all!”
Meng Lei appeared again.
“You bastard! Knock it off!”
With that, the Black Phoenix grandmaster went completely berserk. It turned around and attacked right away, its sharp claws and beak furiously going after Meng Lei.
Meng Lei had only one move in response—Space Confinement!
Buzz!
Spatial laws of nature energy waves manifested, instantly confining the Black Phoenix grandmaster to the spot. Its attacks were but just mere inches away from Meng Lei at this moment.
“Damn it! I can’t move!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster turned pale from shock. It struggled fiercely, but it couldn’t even budge an inch while confined by spatial laws of nature.
“These are... Spatial laws of nature?” The Black Phoenix grandmaster stared at Meng Lei in disbelief. “You’ve comprehended spatial laws of nature? You’re an intermediate Chief God?”
“No, I’m a higher Chief God.” An aloof smile appeared on Meng Lei’s face as he said, “Therefore, you’re no different from a weak, lowly grasshopper that’s hopping here and there in front of me. You believe that you’re spirited and full of vigor while you hop about, but little do you know that I can easily squash you dead like a bug with just a fingertip.”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster’s face turned completely sullen at Meng Lei’s words.
“What exactly do you want?”
“Be my mount. Otherwise... Die!”
Meng Lei stated coldly.
“Ever since the birth of the vast universe itself, not a single Demon Grandmaster has ever served as someone else’s mount!” The Black Phoenix grandmaster’s voice was deep and grim as it said, “If you persist, the demon clan’s experts will never ever let you off, and neither will they let me off. The consequences aren’t something that we can bear!”
“That’s for me to deal with. You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”
Meng Lei gave an impatient wave and said, “I’ll give you one last chance. Either you become my mount, or... You die!”
The Black Phoenix fell silent, caught in an intense internal struggle. If it had the liberty of choosing, it didn’t want to become Meng Lei’s mount at all.
The consequences of becoming Meng Lei’s mount alone were already enough to deter it, let alone its pride and self-esteem as a Demon Grandmaster.
A great, lofty Demon Grandmaster becoming a Chief God’s mount?
If news of this got out, would the experts in the demons’ faction let it off? Would the great Supreme God of The Underworld allow this? The Black Phoenix grandmaster didn’t even dare to think about it!
Yet if it didn’t agree to it, it would die right away!
“I’ll do it!”
Under the threat of death, the Black Phoenix grandmaster finally pledged its allegiance.
“You made a wise choice.”
Chapter 401: The Flaming Star Beast, The Abyss of Darkness
The Black Phoenix grandmaster handed over its divine spirit origin energy and became Meng Lei’s mount in the end.
Yep, that’s right, a Chief God-class mount.
Meng Lei said dispassionately, “You can now tell me what that thing is, right?”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster looked absolutely miserable as it replied, “That Nidhogg guy teamed up with a few other Chief Gods to seal me back then, and I was brought here after that. Originally, Nidhogg could’ve killed me, but that thing saved me at the critical juncture.”
“Go on,” urged Meng Lei.
Its voice muffled, the Black Phoenix said, “Barring any unexpected events, a lucky fellow like Nidhogg would never be able to comprehend supreme laws of nature and ascend to become an intermediate Chief God even in his entire life. In other words, he had already reached the end of his cultivation journey.”
Meng Lei nodded lightly to that.
“But Nidhogg naturally wasn’t content to stay a lesser Chief God for life. Thus, when I told him about that thing, he easily took the bait.”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster said mockingly, “True enough, he didn’t kill me. Instead, he tried various ways and means to find out about that thing’s whereabouts from me.”
“What exactly is that thing?”
It had also piqued Meng Lei’s interest by now. For Nidhogg, a great Chief God, to actually put so much effort into it, what exactly could it be?
“A Void Beast young!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster dropped a verbal bomb.
“A Void Beast young?”
A mild jolt went through Meng Lei.
“To be more specific, it’s a Flaming Star Beast’s young!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster had also become rather excited. It said, “I bumped into that little fellow when I went to that place to collect objects of extreme cold before the previous war between gods and demons had broken out. It seemed like it had been sealed, but it’s also possible that it was trapped in that place. In any case, it couldn’t get out.”
“You didn’t capture it?”
Meng Lei was rather bewildered.
“I wanted to! I wanted very much to!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster didn’t bother concealing its desire and greed. It said, “The Boundless King’s emergence had shown us gods and demons a whole new way of cultivation. It didn’t require Chief God divine cores or Chief Demon demonic cores, nor did it require one to comprehend supreme laws of nature. All you need is just a Void Beast young!
“But unfortunately, I entered the battlefield in a hurry after that, and that was the end of it.”
Its voice full of indignation and regret as the Black Phoenix grandmaster said, “If I had gotten my hands on that Flaming Star Beast young and taken over its body, perhaps I would also have achieved the same heights that the Boundless King had reached... Sigh! But it’s too late now!”
Meng Lei hurriedly asked, “Where has that Flaming Star Beast been sealed?”
“The Abyss of Darkness,” answered the Black Phoenix grandmaster.
“The Abyss of Darkness? What kind of place is that?”
Meng Lei was rather puzzled.
“(⊙o⊙)”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster looked utterly stupefied. It asked incredulously, “You don’t even know about the Abyss of Darkness?”
“Duh, would I need to ask you about it if I did?” replied Meng Lei with an eye-roll.
“Kid, aren’t you a little too ill-informed?”
Moro was rendered somewhat speechless, but nevertheless, he still explained, “The Abyss of Darkness is a terrifying space-time rift in the Void. Some say it’s a dimensional channel, while some say it was left behind during a battle among a few juggernaut-class experts... Opinions vary on the topic of what exactly it is.
“However, one thing’s for certain—magic elements, as well as basic laws of nature, do not exist in the Abyss of Darkness. Additionally, it’s also an extremely dangerous place. Even Chief God-class experts wouldn’t have any chance of survival if they were to enter its depths. There’s no way for them to escape at all.”
Moro let out an emotional sigh and said, “There’s a mysterious force inside the Abyss of Darkness that constantly destroys the laws of nature around it. This leads to the universe’s Power of Origin’s inability to repair the rift. As a result, it continues to exist to this day.”
“So that’s what the Abyss of Darkness is!”
Enlightened, Meng Lei then asked, “How do you find the Flaming Star Beast, Moro? How is it in comparison to the Boundless Great Beast? Can it grow to become a Supreme Juggernaut?”
“What, are you thinking of finding that Flaming Star Beast young?”
A mirthful Moro said, “Millions of years have passed since the war between the gods and demons. That Flaming Star Beast young has probably already fled a long time ago. Even if it hasn’t, it must be dead by now.
“However, the Flaming Star Beast is indeed very powerful. They are fearsome monsters that possess pinnacle-level Void Beast blood in them. They feed on the sun and are also creatures of extreme heat and Yang energy[1]. Thus, they are known by the name of Flaming Star Beasts. In terms of their bloodline, they are in no way inferior to the Boundless Great Beasts.”
“Is the Abyss of Darkness far from here?” asked Meng Lei.
“Not really.”
Moro said, “The Abyss of Darkness happens to be located right in the center of the universe, while high-end existential planes such as the Earth Divine Realm are in extremely close proximity to the center of the universe.”
“It’s great that it’s not far away!”
Meng Lei nodded slightly and said, “In that case, let’s head over to the Abyss of Darkness and take a look.”
“I reckon you’re going to return empty-handed this time, though!”
“We’ll just take it that we’re touring the Abyss of Darkness!”
After t
hat, Meng Lei returned to the alternate dimension with the Black Phoenix grandmaster and continued to look through the boxes. The Abyss of Darkness was a trip he must make, but it would have to wait a little longer.
The fifth box was relatively bigger, measuring 10,000-feet-long but only 100-feet-wide. Long and thin, it looked exceptionally strange. Meng Lei opened the lid—a crimson-red pillar with several spiral patterns of fire circling around it engraved on its surface laid quietly in the middle of the box.
“What’s this?”
Meng Lei reached into the box and grabbed the crimson-red pillar. It felt incredibly heavy—it actually took extremely strenuous effort for him to hold it despite his lesser Chief God-level body.
“This is just a 10,000-feet-long, 100-feet-thick pillar, yet it’s so heavy?” Meng Lei was rather astonished. “What is this thing made out of?”
“Hehe! Didn’t you intend to head to the Abyss of Darkness to look for the Flaming Star Beast just now? If I’m not wrong, this thing right here is the Flaming Star Beast’s horn itself!” said Moro as he clicked his tongue in wonder.
“The Flaming Star Beast’s horn?”
A huge jolt went through Meng Lei.
“Nidhogg made efforts to collect things related to the Flaming Star Beast after he got to know about the Flaming Star Beast young from me back then. This horn is likely something that he had specially obtained,” said the Black Phoenix grandmaster in a muffled voice.
“No doubt about it, then!”
Moro nodded slightly and said, “Any normal person would end up displaying all sorts of obsessive behavior when they simply can’t get a treasure that they could have gotten. What a shame, though, that a horn is ultimately still just a horn. It can’t compare to a living, breathing Flaming Star Beast at all.”
Moro shook his head before he floated over to the sixth box and waited for Meng Lei to open it. What puzzled him, however, was that Meng Lei didn’t move at all. Instead, he continued to stare hard at the Flaming Star Beast horn.