"This time, I'm choosing first." I smirked, knowing it doesn't really matter. "I'm taking the Wild Ocean Current. You can have the Mountain to Sea River." I continued, as these resources appeared out of their storage places.
"Fine, my previous elements have a slightly higher efficiency with that one anyway." Fang Qing said, half pouting.
"Don't be like that, I let you pick the first two." I chuckled. "Now, let it begin! Refine away!" I continued with a serious tone about me.
And just like the previous elements this one… Was not anything to snort at. It may have been one of the easier and soothing elements but that honestly didn't matter much. There was a sort of magnification in difficulty with each successful refinement. So even with its soothing nature, the water element was still a bit more difficult to handle than the metal one was. So much so I was hardly wearing anything, though the important bits were still covered… Just in case of the event someone comes by. I'm not in total seclusion now after all.
In the distance there were figures making their way towards my location, or Star Boundary's Location. It was… A member of one of the Ancient Divine Spirits with what seemed to be several young ones in tow. It was hard to tell from so far away, even for my eyes. But, that was solely due to the sheer magnitude of pressure I was under. Whoever it was, they were friendly and stopped their approach and waited there.
"Young Master, I think this is going to finish sooner than we expected. However…" Fang Qing mentioned, noticing the other glaring issue we were being presented with.
"I know, this is going to be our last one for now. The Wood Element is going to come once I can devour that Ink Giant Spirit God… Good news is though, that I'm more than strong enough to actually cause it damage. I'd say I'm somewhere around the middle of the peak of the 9th rank. But I'll have to wait for Mother Smiles to spar with me before I can make a real comparison now." I explained, knowing our current issue was quite bad. Losing that little bit of energy from my Great Emperor promotion did not do us any favors at all.
A month later the water element had been fully refined. But before I could really test out my strength in any meaningful way, I took another look at the Ancient Divine Spirit who had appeared, it was Hong Hu.
"Oh my, this is not good. Without Mother here… I best be careful… Oh I know." I murmured and assumed dragon form. "Senior Hong Hu, to what do I owe your presence to?" I asked, sending a signal that it was safe to approach.
"Young Leiji, hmm, why aren't you assuming your other form?" Hong Hu asked curiously as she approached with a ship in tow full of clearly stressed spirits of various ages and races.
"Oh, do forgive me for that, but without my mother here being in phoenix form is a bit disadvantageous to me, given who I'm speaking to. And I can't call her to appear as she is currently with child." I explained, calmly. "So at least for this interaction consider it an interaction of mutual respect." I continued.
"I see, very well then… I'll get straight to the point. I received a message, delivered by Yang Xiao and Yang Kai's disciples. It contained a bit of an odd bit of information… Is it true there is another world with an abundant Ancestral Source?" Hong Hu asked, eyeing an egg on the ship behind her.
"Brother Leiji! Woah… You've grown, quite a bit since I last saw you…" Zhao Bai said with a bit of surprise.
I looked at the ship and noticed the situation was far more severe than what Hong Hu was saying to the others. Otherwise Yang Kai himself would have made a move. I sighed slightly ticked at the potential dangers that were risked as a result.
"I'll need to have a talk with you later on Senior Hong Hu. But before that, there isn't much time so I'll take you there now. Do not resist me and you'll be there in a flash." I said, with a serious glint in my eyes.
"It's really true! Hope has graced us at last!" Hong Hu exclaimed, with a tear. "Very well, take us there." She continued.
Without wasting another moment, I wrapped everyone in a spatial warp. The next moment everyone was inside the new Universe world I had previously vomited up due to the excessive amount of energy I couldn't contain.
"I teleported us inside it directly. If you look around you'll notice the difference." I said, remaining in my dragon form. "So, what do you think? Not bad for something I created accidentally, right?" I chuckled a draconic chuckle.
Hong Hu and the other spirits were stunned in awe. Hong Hu lifted her hand wiggling her fingers and then transformed, flying around a bit.
"Brother Leiji, shouldn't she say something about it, ignoring you like that is…" Zhao Ye Bai tried to speak but he got shut up real quick once he realized he shouldn't continue vocalizing that thought.
"Senior Hong Hu is just surveying the world. Making sure it will be suitable for them to live here." I chuckled, attempting to reassure the others, just as Hong Hu returned.
"This place is better than I expected. You did a great job…" Hong Hu said, stopping as she heard a crack and felt the flow of energy go straight towards the sound, it was her own egg. Her baby was hatching. "Please, I promise I won't do anything to you. Will you transform?" She asked, clearly wanting to continue the tradition of their clan.
"Fine, but remember what you promised. I'll hold you to it." I said with a sigh and forced my form to change into phoenix form once again.
Shortly after, the egg hatched and out from it appeared an absolutely adorable baby phoenix. Hong Hu's baby phoenix. She was even more ecstatic as her baby was a girl. Continuing the matriarchy was no longer an issue for her family.