As I was writing this chapter, I soon realized how long it was going to be, but since you all would feel annoyed if I split it into another third part, I decided to keep it as one. So enjoy the longest chapter I have ever written at a whopping 2900 words!
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The first people to discover the Flame Origin Fruit was a pair of hunter brothers from Snowy Wind City. However, by then, Natural Treasure still had more than 18 months till its maturing date.
And at first, since the two hunters were ignorant, they thought to wait until the Flame Origin Fruit would ripen before eating it for themselves. But very quickly, the two realized, even with their meager cultivation and worldly knowledge, that the Flame Origin Fruit wasn't something they could keep for themselves.
And after they knew that they wouldn't be able to hide its existence, the two went over to a Viscount Family in Snowy Wind City and sold the information.
Since they couldn't eat the fruit, they thought they might as well profit from it!
But after they received more money than they had ever seen in their lives, the hunters planned that they would continue selling information about the fruit to other aristocratic families.
And over the course of the Flame Origin Fruit's ripening period, the hunters would visit every aristocratic family they could and sell the information. They were, of course, careful and only chose families with trustworthy reputations, like the Yan Clan and Duke Xue's Estate, while staying clear of clans with bad ones, like the Wang Clan and the Huang Clan.
Eventually, it would come to the point where, thanks to the greed of two weak hunters, almost the entire empire knew of the existence of the Flame Origin Fruit.
Knowing this, Huo Long expected there to be thousands of cultivators ready to fight to the death for the Natural Treasure, but now, in front of Huo Long, wasn't a noble from the Great Xuan Empire who was blocking the fruit or even a human at all. Instead, in front of the Flame Origin Fruit were three demonic beast behemoths.
Each of the three figures was a lion, but even calling the monstrous-looking demonic beasts that stood in front of Huo Long mear lions was an insult to them.
Compared to the tiny 2 meters long and 1.5-meter-tall lion known by the mortal world, the lions in front of Huo Long were more than triple their size.
Even the shortest of the three stood at a terrifying 7 meters in height, while the other two were even larger, standing at almost 8 meters.
And other than their skyscraper tall height, each of the lions was all adorned with a full beautiful red mane that reminded him of his Master's hair.
With jaws the size of most of the people in attendance to the deep smell of blood coming from their maws, the lions just standing calmly were engulfing the forest in a deep fear.
However, with all of these characteristics that were making even some of the Law Engraving Realm powerhouses quake in their boots, most confusing of all, Huo Long, instead of cowering, was feeling a deep sense of connection with the lions, rather than the common fear.
"Master, what are those lions? Why do I feel like I am related to them?" Huo Long was confused and could only ask Feng Huang for answers.
"Long'er, it seems that the heavens have been looking favorably on us!" Feng Huang spoke excitedly, "Those lions have a trace of the Vermillion Bird bloodline! With your Phoenix bloodline, you can easily subdue them and have three Peak stage Domain Lord Realm lions as your mounts!"
The further Feng Huang spoke, the more excited she got. With the lions under Huo Long, not only would she not have to further worsen her condition, but also Huo Long would also be almost completely unrivaled on this backwater continent!
"But Master, even if I can subdue them, how can I get near them for them to sense my Phoenix Bloodline? There are Law Engraving Realm experts everywhere and even Domain Lords!' Huo Long asked worriedly.
Currently, Huo Long was at the edge of the forest, watching what was happening from afar. But he wasn't alone, as at his side were countless other cultivators who were like Huo Long and wanted to be the fisherman during the chaotic brawl that was about to break out.
So even getting through the weaker cultivates without Feng Huang's powers would be almost impossible, let alone getting through the powerhouses closer to the Flame Origin Fruit.
Sensing she had gotten ahead of herself, Feng Huang was slightly embarrassed, but instead of showing it, she sighed.
'It turns out I can't escape having to use the last of my powers today after all.' Feng Huang sighed.
"Long'er, it's the same as last time," Feng Huang said, "Don't resist."
Nodding, Huo Long let his body go limp, letting his Master do her job.
And just like the time Feng Huang reconstructed his Martial Veins, Huo Long felt a foreign power start invading his body. However, instead of fear or apprehension at the feeling of losing control of his body, Huo Long could only feel a boundless power coursing through his limbs as his cultivation began to rise rapidly.
His hair also changed color from its original obsidian black color to match his Master's flame color, while he even grew his Master's Phoenix forehead mark.
Qi Sea Realm.
Law Engraving Realm.
Domain Lord Realm.
Spirit Awakening Realm!
Feng Huang was someone who previously stood at the peak of the Immortal World, and even if she were weakened to less than 1% of her peak powers, it was more than enough to run amok in this mortal plane.
However, reconstructing Huo Long's body with her bloodline took too big of a toll on her, making Huo Long's power boost so small in comparison to her true cultivation.
Thankfully the Spirit Awakening Realm was more than enough to complete her task. The only thing that worried her was just how long she could last in this state.
Huo Long's sudden transformation certainly attracted the attention of everyone both near him and near the Flame Origin Fruit, but since Feng Huang, who was now in control of his body, didn't dare to waste any time at all, she ignored them all and flew toward her goal.
And while Feng Huang's new aura was clearly in the Xiantian Great Realm, many of the people who had waited so long for the Natural Treasure were unwilling to leave it just like that, and that group of people included the Second Elder of the Wang Clan.
The Wang Clan was known as the greatest power in the Great Xuan Empire, behind only the Duan Imperial Family.
However, over recent years, many people have been starting to doubt whether the Wang Clan truly deserved the second-place spot over the Yan Clan.
A few years ago, the Wang Clan had 5 Peak stage Domain Lord Realm cultivators who, when placed anywhere throughout the Southern Continent, would garner almost idol-like worship. But through one mystery and another embarrassment, the Wang Clan had managed to lose two of them.
And knowing this, the Second Elder named Wang Wei wanted to take this opportunity to take this Flame Origin Fruit for himself and maybe break through his innate limit and enter the Xiantian Great Realm.
This way, he could not only support his declining clan but also hush any doubters that pointed fingers at them.
However, after seeing Feng Huang and her immense bottomless aura, he started to have second doubts.
But since this Natural Treasure was something that could help his clan so much, Wang Wei gritted his teeth and tried to 'negotiate' with the powerhouse.
"Who are you? Do you know that this Natural Treasure is something reserved by my Wang Clan!" Wang Wei threatened.
Feng Huang originally planned to ignore such an idiotic man, but after hearing Wang Clan, she stopped.
Clasping her fingers together as if she were divining the future, Feng Huang closed her eyes for a moment, where, before long, she opened them once more.
'These are the people who have made Long'er suffer so much!' Feng Huang was incensed.
Even though Feng Huang wasn't a diviner, with her long lifespan that lasted hundreds of thousands of years, how could she not grow curious about divination? So while her skill was shallow, that was only by the Immortal World's standards.
Down in the Baishen Plane, her divination skills were something that stood at the peak of the plane. So divining the true perpetrator for Huo Long's clan's decline wasn't very hard.
And without any more words waved her hand, summoning a wall of Nirvanic Flames of the Phoenix and sending it toward Wang Wei.
'Anyone who slights Long'er dies!'
Feng Huang didn't want to help Huo Long with any of his current enemies for two reasons.
One, she saw them all as beneath her, and even if she killed them, it was something they should honor and write down on their tombstones in pride.
She was someone who stood at the top of the Immortal World and commanded trillions of lifeforms with a wave of her hand. If she killed someone in this tiny mortal plane, it was the luck that they had earned over their past nine lifetimes.
And second, she wanted to use them as whetstones for Huo Long. Her disciple was inadequate in every way compared to the 'Children of the Heavens' who ran amok in the Immortal World. So now, in this period of 'safer' growth, Feng Huang needed Huo Long to become as sharp as possible before his eventual ascension.
However, since Wang Wei was in front of her and even berated her, why not kill the man? He was seeking death so skillfully it would be a shame not to kill him.
The flame wall did its job, and just like that, the once prominent Wang Clan lost its third Peak stage Domain Lord realm cultivator in the span of 3 years.
Following her quick murder, Feng Huang looked at the three lions, who had now started baring their teeth at her in self-defense.
The Flame Origin Fruit was too important and valuable to give up now! Especially so close to its ripening.
"You all are braver than I thought," Feng Huang coldly said in Huo Long's voice, "But sometimes it isn't bravery standing to fight a losing battle, but instead stupidity."
Following her words, she unleashed the overwhelming pressure of her bloodline onto the lions.
The Vermillion Bird was an offspring of the Phoenix, and coupled with the fact that the three lions only had a trace of the holy bird's bloodline, Feng Huang's bloodline suppression made the lions kneel almost instantly.
"You all have two choices, become the pets of my disciple or die where you are. I will give you until I pick the Flame Origin Fruit to decide." Feng Huang calmly said.
No one dared to stop her after they saw her aura, and most of the participants had even left. So without much care, she stepped gracefully, using a mysterious movement technique that made her completely vanish from her original position before appearing in front of the tree where the Flame Origin Fruit was.
It had ripened a few minutes ago, but no one had noticed since the lions covered the Natural Phenomenon. Most likely, they had planned to discreetly take it while chaos ensued.
Which was a very smart plan for a trio of demonic beasts, but sadly they hadn't expected Feng Huang's appearance.
After picking the Flame Origin Fruit, Feng Huang placed it into a box made for sealing Natural Treasures, then turned back to the lions.
Even though they were demonic beasts, after reaching the Qi Sea Realm, demonic beasts would awaken their spiritual intelligence, and since they were descendants of a Vermillion Bird, their intelligence was not inferior to any human.
But with the Damocles Sword, known as Feng Huang hanging above their heads, they quickly reached a consensus and chose to put down their pride as the descendants of the holy bird and submit to her.
Nodding approvingly, Feng Huang flew over to the lions planning to place a slave seal on their souls, but before she could, her body fell.
Her time was running out.
Other than her body almost falling out of the sky, the pressure she made everyone around her subservient also fluctuated, which made all of the participants know the power this mysterious expert showed was temporary.
"The brat is weakened! He's just using a lion's skin to fool us all!" One man shouted, and before he finished his sentence, dozens of figures charged at Feng Huang.
Everyone in the crowd was at the limit of their potential and more than willing to die just for a chance to break past their innate limit.
"Shit!" Feng Huang cursed.
The flame wall she conjured took out more energy from her than she thought and messed up her estimates of how long she could last.
And since the man who screamed was right about Feng Huang wearing a lion's skin, she didn't dare to stay and fight the almost thousands of cultivators charging at her.
She needed to flee!
Forced to give up on the lions as well, Feng Huang conjured a massive fireball and launched it at the ground beneath her using the huge explosion as a smoke screen.
Because of the massive cultivation gap between them, no one could use their Spiritual Sense to track her, so by using the explosion as cover, Feng Huang stopped the only way they could track her.
'Long'er, I couldn't get the lions. I'm sorry. But I got the Flame Origin Fruit. Be ready to take control back. My power is running out.' Feng Huang transmitted to Huo Long as she dashed away from the crowd.
He was still conscious, but since Feng Huang had taken control of his physical body, all he could do was spectate.
And seeing how far his Master had gone to just cultivate him, Huo Long was almost moved to tears.
Other than his father, no one had ever cared for him so much and seeing it all in the first person, Huo Long couldn't hold back his emotions.
As hard as his life had been, and how strong his will was, Huo Long was only a 16-year-old boy who had barely seen the world, and he still couldn't hold back his emotions very well.
'It's more than enough, Master! Please just stop burdening yourself. You've done enough!' Huo Long cried as he tried to seize back control of his body.
He knew that once Feng Huang gave him control once again, she would fully use up all of her energy, which was something he didn't want to see.
'No! While I managed to hide my escape, there were so many of them, and eventually, by luck, someone will eventually find my escape route. So I need to get you as far away as possible for you to be safe.' Feng Huang sternly replied as she suppressed Huo Long's will.
And while Huo Long didn't give up on trying to regain control, how could his will contest Feng Huangs?
Traveling through the forest as fast as Huo Long's body could allow her, Feng Huang soon traveled miles away from where the crowd once was, but at the same time, her temporary cultivation also started to decline.
Law Engraving Realm.
Dharma Idol Realm.
Qi Sea Realm.
Eventually, even Huo Long's hair returned to its original color, and the Phoenix mark on his forehead also disappeared, marking Feng Huang's limit. Thankfully Feng Huang had managed to complete her goal as she had arrived in an area she sensed to be desolate.
'Long'er, there are no lifeforms near here for over a dozen miles. So hole up and eat the fruit. I am going to sleep for a long time this time. Cultivate quickly. When you reach the Qi Sea Realm, you can start to try and awaken me.' Feng Huang weakly spoke as she let Huo Long control his body once more.
"Master! Master!" Huo Long shouted in a panic as he took off his ring, but sadly no response came from it.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Huo Long cried out to the heavens unwillingly, but as he did, seemingly to his command, the heavens split, letting out a lightning bolt that flew at him faster than he could react.
'Child of my Plane, I give you my blessing. Trample against all, fight against the will of the heavens, and become the being you were destined to be.' As the lighting struck him, a deep archaic voice sounded in his head before he passed out where he stood.
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This is my attempt at the awakening of Huo Long and the first 'Child of the Plane.'
I plan to do Xiao Mo next, but his side chapters won't be soon.
Please comment on this paragraph if you all want more Huo Long side stories. His story is something I am more than willing to write about.