At this time, Xiaoyun Peak became a scene of stark contrast.
On one side, Wen Liangyu was being drained to the point of rolling his eyes while Wen An fought the Bloodthirsty Vine.
On the other side, there was a group of people, with some are thousands of years old and some are hundreds of years old, gathered around the Phoenix egg like creepy uncles and aunties, grinning foolishly.
'Who are these noisy people outside? They sound so weird… are they perverts?'
Mingting chatted with Fengtian while pecking at the eggshell.
'I wonder how my current appearance is. Will I dazzle them when I come out? When the Female Lead descends and realizes I stole her spotlight, will she be furious?'
'I've already decided. I want to be a popular person in this life!'
For the first time, Fengtian realized that crossing into a different species could affect its boss's personality.
For example, right now, Mingting was acting like a naive little bird, utterly childish.
'A furry demonic beast with a wet body and sticky egg liquid all over it still wants to be a popular person? Haha…'
Fengtian didn't want to crush its boss's confidence.
If Mingting knew Fengtian was thinking, he'd laugh at it.
A system could never understand humans! Unless they were heartless, no one could resist adorable fluffiness!
The Female Lead had initially won people's affection precisely because her silk tree flower form was pink and fluffy.
Crack…
A large piece of the eggshell fell away, and a wet little head cautiously poked out.
Its big round eyes, as beautiful as obsidian, rolled around as it curiously surveyed the onlookers.
"Baby, I'm your mom! My baby's eyes are so beautiful!"
The Ancestor of the Yuxian Sect, who had just been berating Wen An like a machine gun, was now overcome with maternal affection at the sight of the Little Phoenix's innocent, watery eyes.
'How shameless!'
Huo Wuqing, the island master of Seven Stars Island, cursed in his heart but quickly followed up, "Baby, I'm your daddy!"
Slap…
Yu Bingqing backhanded Huo Wuqing across the face, "You insolent brat! What kind of seniority do you think you have, daring to claim kinship with me?!"
Huo Wuqing immediately regretted his words.
Even if the Ancestor of Seven Stars Island was present at this time, he could only take the slap from Yu Bingqing in silence.
It was indeed his fault, as this was a matter of generational respect.
Moreover, he couldn't afford to offend the crazy woman of Yuxian Sect. He was afraid that he would be fed a handful of poison if he said something wrong, and died without even knowing how.
"My baby is so cute! So smart!"
Yu Bingqing's maternal instincts were on full display at this moment.
'Oh? Are all the big bosses of the major sects here? How flattering!'
Mingting tilted his head, looking at each of them in turn, matching them to the original novel's descriptions.
The old monk, Zhiyuan, was skinned by the Demon Lord. Ji Yanjun then turned his skull into a wine cup, and the Ten Thousand Buddha Gate was burned to ashes.
Huo Wuqing's little disciple opened Seven Star Island's defensive formation, allowing the demon race to invade freely. In the end, island master Huo blew up the entire Seven Star Island, dragging over a hundred thousand demons into the sea to feed the fish.
Yu Bingqing, who expelled the Female Lead from the sect, suffered the worst fate.
The dignified Ancestor of the Divine Transformation had her spiritual bones ripped out, her collarbones pierced, and was hung at the sect's gates. She was forced to watch as her disciples became playthings for demons… dying of sheer rage.
In the end, only the Sword Sect held out, resisting the demons and demonic beasts.
But even then, there were not many disciples left in the Sword Sect.
The other minor sects either sided with the demons or the demonic beasts. The few sects that supported the Sword Sect were nearly all wiped out.
The entire Cultivation World was plunged into misery...
Although the major sects had their usual petty conflicts and schemes, when it came to matters of principle, like defending against demonic invasions, every Ancestor, sect master, and elder stood firm.
When the demonic beasts and demons attacked human territories, they were the first on the front lines.
Du Heng was the first Ancestor to fall. He died at the hands of Fox King Bai Chen.
The only one of the six major sects that has been completely preserved is Tianji Tower.
Ancestor Wen An had glimpsed the heavens' will and realized the Female Lead was the key to ascension, so he chose to live in hiding.
With Wen Liangyu's schemes, Tianji Tower became a 'neutral' faction, surviving until the end.
The Supporting Male Characters in the author's works are all cultivation geniuses, and they can improve even while eating and sleeping.
Having powerful abilities but not having the virtues to match them is really a huge disaster for this world!
The Male Lead is a Phoenix, and he loved freedom and had no interest in fighting. Because of this, he is looked down upon by the Supporting Male Characters, who called him weak-willed.
Even the Female Lead somewhat despised the Phoenix, thinking him lacking in masculinity.
Mingting is speechless about this view.
Sorry, but I'm a peace-loving Phoenix!
If you are so capable, why do you stay in the Cultivation World? Just ascend to the Immortal Realm and wreak havoc in the Female Lead's homeland!
"Is the little one too weak to break out of its shell?"
The Sword Sect's Sect Master solemnly took out a Pure Fire Spirit Yang Fruit, split it open, and offered it to Mingting.
"Eat up! Once you're full, you'll have the strength!"
With the Sword Sect's Sect Master taking the lead, everyone, whether they're Ancestors, Sect Masters, or Elders, hurriedly took out treasures to feed Mingting.
"Baby birds can't eat these things! It's bad for their digestion!"
Du Heng looked at the demon cores, beast legs, spirit herbs, medicinal plants, lingzhi mushrooms, fire-attribute pills, and even candies meant for children placed by the nest. He was utterly speechless.
In the future, Xiaoyun Peak would need a sign, 'Do not randomly feed the Little Phoenix.'
Mingting didn't sense any malice from these people.
They might have come with ulterior motives, but now, seeing such a tiny hatchling struggling to break free from its shell, gazing at them with innocent, trusting eyes full of curiosity, even these mighty figures couldn't bring themselves to scheme openly anymore.
Chirp chirp-
The little red Phoenix let out a few soft cries, its small orange beak lightly tapping the Sword Sect's Sect Master's fingertip before retreating back into the shell, resuming its tap-tap-tapping against the egg.
"The Little Phoenix is bonding with me!"
The Sword Sect's Sect Master, Baili Mu, had a stern, square-jawed face with thick, dark eyebrows and fierce eyes. He rarely smiled, and children usually burst into tears at the sight of him.
Many adults in the sect would say 'Baili Mu is here' when scaring misbehaving kids.
But now, this tiny little hatchling had actually shown him gratitude in such a way! Baili Mu was so moved he could barely contain himself.
Clatter…
He took out a bunch of things and put them on the ground. There were materials for alchemy and artifact forging, precious swords, demon cores, beast nuclei...
"These are gifts for the little one."
'Shameless Baili Mu!'
The other big shots, caught off guard, were furious.
'Who would've thought this thick-browed, serious-faced man would turn out to be such a scheming old fox?'