Xian Fei was the first disciple in the Blood Sword Pavilion to steer away from the path of the sword. Due to her unique personality that constantly questioned her surroundings she was unable to enter the world of sword mind, the place in which most sword users would forgo all mundane relations for a chance to enter. In less than a year after entering the Blood Pavilion at the age of 10 she had somehow successfully cultivated the sword intent, a feat that had left the elders and even the Pavilion Master speechless. The Fairy of The Blunt Sword. This was the title the inner sect disciples had given Xian Fei and those that knew of it feared her unpredictable personality.
Feng Huang flicked her wrist, wisps of flames gathering at her fingertips. In mere moments the wisp had grown into a wall of fire before engulfing its master.
Ein narrowed his eyes at the scene before him as beads of sweat poured down his face. Turning to Xian Fei who was already charging at Feng Huang he shouted "be careful, she hasn't used her full strength yet!"
Xian Fei let out a deep breath and charged at Feng Huang at full speed, throwing out a fist towards the wall of fire causing it to disperse. Feng Huang flicked her wrist, summoning a three legged crow made of fire that perched on her shoulder. Sensing the an impending sense of doom wash over her Xian Fei retreated instantly.
"Its okay mother, the humans are unable to cause me any harm" Feng Huang said in a condescending tone while caressing the crow on her shoulder.
Xian Fei took a deep breath then assumed a fighting stance for the second time. She could tell something about Feng Huang's aura had changed with the appearance of the three legged crow and the difficulty of the opponent had risen slightly. Without closing the distance between herself and the enemy Xian Fei made a quick jab at the air.
Feng Huang who was unable to react on time felt her body was hit by an invisible force causing the true energy in her body to enter a state of complete chaos as she spat a mouthful of blood. "Mother..." before she could reach out to the flaming three legged crow on her shoulder it had already vanished.
Xian Fei let out a breath of relief as she felt Feng Huang's true energy was dropping. She had promised Yue Chen not to kill the vessel yet in that very moment Feng Huang had appeared from behind the curtain of fire the eerie power that emanated from her was life threatening to Xian Fei and she had almost been threatened to go against her word.
Yue Chen watched from the sidelines in awe of how strong Xian Fei had become in the time that they had been apart. Even at his peak taking out a saint's vessel with a single strike was impossible for him without utilizing the shadow element.
Xian Fei smiled at Yue Chen as she caught sight of his surprised look. "How was I Chen'er? did my performance give you butterflies?"
Yue Chen laughed awkwardly before turning his attention to the unconscious Feng Huang who laid in the distance. "Ein, is Feng Huang still in there somewhere or is it..." his voice trailed of as he thought of the most unfortunate outcome.
Ein shook his head "Feng Huang is still within the vessel however the one that will awaken once more will surely be the saint of fire"
Yue Chen frowned as he came to terms with the options laid before him: Kill Feng Huang before she awakened as the saint of fire a second time or Spare her with the chance of the true Feng Huang regaining control.
"The saint of fire's influence over the vessel is almost negligible however the body's true host has no will to return to a state of consciousness" Ein stated suddenly "perhaps it is due to her feelings of inadequacy and having placed you in dangers that could have been avoided that have caused the development of her current state."
Ein's innate ability of partial omniscience even though incomplete was a skill Yue Chen had never seen before yet had made him an indispensable asset to his team. Having relied on Ein's ability before Yue Chen was now focused on whether or not it was possible to awaken Feng Huang's soul before the saint regained consciousness.
"We'll figure something out on the way, ive already disrupted her true energy channels so knocking her out again will be a lot easier" Xian Fei suggested seeing the troubled look on Yue Chen's face.
"I can force her into a state of suspended animation so she doesn't wake up" Ning Biyu said after a minute of contemplation.
After receiving Yue Chen's approval Ning Biyu approached the unconscious Feng Huang cautiously then immediately started an obscure chant as draconic rune-like tattoos appeared on Feng Huang's body. After a few minutes the binding had been completed and the group began to traverse the Deathly Sands that seemed to extend beyond their vision's reach.
It had been four days since the fight with the saint of fire and Yue Chen and his group had managed to make a full recovery while travelling. Taking out a map he had received from his juniors Yue Chen located the nearest civilization after leaving the Deathly Sands which was at least two days away from their current location. According to Xian Fei who had been to the City of Pasts there were various races that took residence there many of which were part of a clan. Amongst the top clans were those that were said to eat human flesh such as the Lycans, Serpents and Shuras and it would be best to avoid those races once inside the city.
As the group arrived at the entrance of the city they were immediately blocked by a group of a Minotaur guards that refused to allow entry into the city. "Sorry but a number of humans have been making a ruckus in the City of Pasts lately so its best to have you return from where you came from"
"Oh? have you forgotten my face in the short time I haven't visited? I'm sure Security Chief Ru would be ashamed to see her guards beaten to a bloody mess so I advise you to step back while i'm still being nice" Xian Fei said as she cracked her knuckles aggressively.