Chapter 30: The Phoenix

“The Star Map of the Ruins Realm Divine World?” Qu Yi asked in confusion.

For a supreme being like the Dragon Emperor, he surely wouldn’t be interested in trivial items. Since the topic of the Star Map of the Ruins Realm Divine World came up, Qu Yi couldn’t afford to miss it.

The Dragon Emperor smiled faintly and said, “Qu Yi, you can guess this. Since Emperor Hao left a puppet avatar in the Immortal Realm, this avatar must also know the route he took in the Ruins Realm Divine World, and thus would surely create a star map of it. With this map, we can avoid many detours when entering that realm.”

The Ruins Realm Divine World was vast—larger than the Immortal Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Fiend Realm combined. It had only existed for a hundred years, and even the most skilled cultivators like the Supreme Heavenly Soul Immortals would find it extremely difficult to explore an entire galaxy, let alone traverse an entire star cluster, star region, or star domain.

Moreover, the Ruins Realm Divine World consisted of six major star domains.

After hearing this, Qu Yi understood. The Dragon Emperor had seen Emperor Hao obtain divine artifacts of unparalleled power such as the Star Luo Ding, the Boundless Stars, and the Divine Formula Cards from that realm, so he wanted to go to the same galaxy and search for such artifacts as well.

The Dragon Emperor, who possessed the cultivation level of a Supreme Heavenly Soul Fiend, faced the challenges of the Divine World and the issues that came with ascending there. Having a powerful artifact would make him feel much safer.

Presumably, the leaders of the Immortal Realm, Demon Realm, and Fiend Realm all had similar thoughts.

“Dragon Emperor, since you’re sharing such a secret with me, aren’t you afraid that after I get the star map, I won’t make a copy for you?” Qu Yi asked, smiling at the Dragon Emperor.

“Haha, Qu Yi, you’re quite straightforward. I’m sharing this information to show my sincerity in cooperating. Also, I believe in your strength alone. Even with that interdimensional artifact, it’s uncertain whether you can obtain divine artifacts. With our Dragon Clan’s help, your chances of getting them increase significantly,” the Dragon Emperor replied with a faint smile.

Qu Yi smiled too, staring at the Dragon Emperor for a while.

“Alright, Dragon Emperor. I accept your condition. After obtaining the Star Map of the Ruins Realm Divine World, I’ll make a copy for you. Likewise, as I said, once we enter that realm, we’ll be partners,” Qu Yi said slowly.

In Qu Yi’s mind, it was like this: “In the Divine Realm of the Fallen Lands, some places are safe for those with the cultivation level of Human Immortals, some are safe for those with the cultivation level of Earth Immortals, while only those with the cultivation level of Heavenly Immortals can enter certain places. Naturally, there are some places I cannot go to personally. Since that’s the case, with the explorers from the Dragon Clan, I can visit all these places one by one.” Qu Yi didn’t want his subordinates to go on adventures; some places were too dangerous, and entry meant certain death. He wasn’t confident he could ensure everyone’s safety. Therefore, when he agreed to the Dragon Emperor’s request, he also had the intention of using the Dragon Emperor and the Dragon Clan as a force at his disposal. Upon hearing this, the Dragon Emperor immediately stood up and said with a smile, “In that case, I’ll wait for good news from you.” Qu Yi nodded. After a while, Qu Yi took out the Boundless Star Patterns and traveled through them directly. The Dragon Emperor’s eyes shone with excitement. ※※※ Qu Yi returned to Tianxian Star in the Tuba Star Region and entered the Origin Heavenly Veins Cave right away. The Starry Tree had already been moved into the Origin Heavenly Veins Cave by Qu Yi, and naturally, all the more than a thousand spirits in this cave had been captured by the Spirit Sky Tree. Now, Qu Yi controlled five Origin Heavenly Veins. On the Spirit Sky Tree, Qu Yi sat on a branch, leaning back against the trunk, thinking quietly. “Instrument God, what exactly is the Dragon Emperor planning?” Suddenly, Qu Yi transmitted a message to the Instrument God. After a while, the Instrument God replied, “Qu Yi, once your cultivation reaches that of an Upper Heavenly Soul Demon, you’ll face divine tribulations at any time. The Dragon Emperor’s plan is simply to obtain some powerful divine artifacts in the Divine Realm of the Fallen Lands so he can pass the tribulations smoothly. However, we can’t ignore the possibility that he also wants to harm you. He might want to cooperate with you, possibly to take you to a dangerous place in the Divine Realm of the Fallen Lands, use you as a pawn to kill others, and then seize the divine artifacts from you.” The Star Luo Ding, Boundless Star Patterns, and Divine Formula Cards—these heaven-defying divine artifacts—surely already been known to top figures like the Dragon Emperor. Instead of risking it to obtain them in the Divine Realm of the Fallen Lands, it would be better to take the opportunity to get these divine artifacts from Qu Yi. Qu Yi nodded and smiled, “To obtain treasures from me is a nice wish, but whoever tries to harm me will only suffer.” With so many divine artifacts at his disposal, Qu Yi was full of confidence. “Qu Yi, let me tell you something—there’s a disc-shaped divine artifact in the Dragon Emperor’s soul space that has been suppressing the Soul Flower. As long as the Dragon Emperor doesn’t want it, divine tribulations won’t come,” the Instrument God suddenly transmitted. Whoosh.

Upon hearing this, Qu Yi was so surprised that he stood up on the branch, causing leaves to rustle. The aura of a divine artifact was surely stronger than that of the Soul Flower of a higher-ranked Heavenly Soul Fiend. Naturally, the Divine Calamity assumed that the Dragon Emperor’s Soul Flower was merely a divine artifact, so it would not send down a divine calamity. “If the Dragon Emperor already has a divine artifact, why does he still seek another? Why doesn’t he simply endure the divine calamity and ascend to the Divine Realm?” Qu Yi asked immediately. After a while, the Artifact God replied, “Qu Yi, you don’t know this. The first energy the Dragon Emperor mastered was that of metal. If he were to ascend to the Divine Realm now, it would be very difficult for him to master the energies of wood, water, fire, and earth. Therefore, the Dragon Emperor tries to prolong his time in the Fiend Realm to more easily master those four energies.” Hearing this, Qu Yi was once again astonished. He began to realize that in the Divine Realm, cultivators had to fully master all five elements. “It seems the Dragon Emperor knows something about the Divine Realm, which is why he wants to stay in the Fiend Realm to continue mastering energies,” Qu Yi said with a smile. As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of his own situation and exclaimed, “Artifact God, my five avatars are currently mastering the five elements simultaneously. If all five achieve perfection, what level in the Divine Realm would my cultivation reach?” Other cultivators would master one element before moving on to another, but Qu Yi’s five avatars were mastering all five elements at once, using a completely different cultivation method. Suddenly, the Artifact God laughed and transmitted a message. After a while, he said, “Qu Yi, this is exactly what puzzles me. In the Divine Realm, mastering all five elements would indeed lead to an extremely high cultivation level. However, I think even if all five avatars master the elements perfectly, your cultivation won’t instantly reach that extremely high level.” Qu Yi was frustrated. The Artifact God refused to mention anything about cultivation in the Divine Realm and even dared to hide information from him. “Alright, if you don’t want to talk about the Divine Realm, I won’t ask anymore. Let’s return to the Immortal Realm and check out Emperor Hao’s treasure,” Qu Yi said with a relaxed smile. Immediately afterward, he took out the Boundless Stars and traveled back to the Immortal Realm. ※※※ After Qu Yi left Tianmeng Star, the Dragon Emperor also left in a flash and went to a nearby desert planet. The planet was covered in fiery red dust, lifeless. Where the Dragon Emperor landed, a fiery red figure silently appeared from the sky—it was an elegant and noble female cultivator.

The person who arrived was dressed in red, beautiful and noble, with a natural smile on her face, yet always exuding an air of dominance over the world. This person was the Phoenix, as famous as the Dragon Emperor.
The ruler of the Phoenix Star Domain—the Phoenix.
“Golden Dragon, how did the talks go?” A clear and crisp voice rang out as soon as the Phoenix landed.
The Dragon Emperor looked at the Phoenix and smiled, saying, “We can obtain the Star Map of the Ruin Realm Divine World. Qu Yi also agreed to enter the Ruin Realm Divine World with me. I think we can start planning how to bring Qu Yi into the dangerous areas of that realm, so those soul-bodied creatures can take care of him.”
It turned out that the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix had already colluded, planning to work together to deal with Qu Yi.
The Phoenix’s eyes lit up as she clapped her hands gently and laughed, “Golden Dragon, you’re amazing! You really managed to get Qu Yi on our side. Great! As long as those troublesome soul-bodied creatures kill Qu Yi, we can sneak in and take those divine artifacts. From then on, even if we have to ascend to the Divine World, we’ll at least have the means to protect ourselves.”
Indeed, their goal was the Star Luo Ding, Boundless Stars, and Divine Formula Cards that belonged to Qu Yi.
Upon hearing the Phoenix’s words, the Dragon Emperor’s expression turned worried. Clearly, he had always had concerns about the situation in the Ruin Realm Divine World and was very anxious.
“Those soul-bodied creatures in the Ruin Realm Divine World, along with the dangerous areas, are truly a headache. Their strength is extremely abnormal; we simply can’t resist them. If it weren’t for the limited movement areas of those creatures, we wouldn’t even bother entering the Ruin Realm Divine World,” the Dragon Emperor said anxiously.
Hearing this, the Phoenix also showed concern, but quickly regained her cheerful expression and said, “Golden Dragon, as long as we use our experience to kill Qu Yi and obtain his teleportation artifact, those soul-bodied creatures won’t be a problem. It’s just a pity that even Emperor Hao can’t control the Star Luo Ding. Even if we get it, we probably won’t be able to use it, so it won’t be of much use.”
The main reason for their scheme was to obtain Qu Yi’s Boundless Stars.
The Dragon Emperor nodded and said calmly, “Right. As long as we get that teleportation artifact, we won’t have anything to worry about in the Ruin Realm Divine World. In less than ten thousand years, we’ll be able to enter it again. I hope we can reap a great harvest this time, so we’re well-prepared for our future ascent to the Divine World.”
The Phoenix nodded with a smile.
Immediately afterward, the two vanished.
※※※
Qu Yi traveled back to the Immortal Realm, returning to the Youhan Sect and heading to the cave where the Fire Lord practiced.

“I have an event going on; I can’t miss it,” said Fire Lord as soon as he saw Qu Yi approaching, immediately standing up and smiling. Qu Yi nodded, then took out a black jade tablet from his hand and held it up. It was the celestial map passed down by Emperor Hao, containing clues to Emperor Hao’s treasures.