In The Clouds
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As the current twelfth member of the Twelve Higher Gods'Committee, appointed to preside over mortal cultivators, he naturally volunteered to observe mortals not out of curiosity, of course but to use this golden excuse to avoid participating in the Gods' Contest. Just the thought of participating in that chaotic event made his halo flicker continuously.
"Which realm should we explore first, Lei?" He asked, leaning back on his cloud fragment as it drifted alongside his mount
"Wherever there are beautiful ladies and good food, Master." Lei smirked, his feathers shimmering with a mischievous golden light.
"Unbelievable bird! That's certainly not what I taught you." He glared, though he couldn't hide the slight twitch of his lips.
"Don't blame me for quoting your exact words, Master." Lei scoffed, banking his wings with graceful laziness.
The skies stretched endlessly. After a long flight, Long Xiao watched as Lei collapsed dramatically onto a nearby mountain peak as if he had carried the weight of the heavens. Long Xiao sat cross-legged, spreading out his divine information scrolls. He threw a pair of divine dice to choose their path. They rattled across the stone, coming to rest on the Xuchong Realm.
"The Art of Insanity sounds really divine," Long Xiao chuckled, lying back on the grass and staring at the stars. "As one of the Holy Gods, I'm definitely going. These mortals clearly require divine purification."
"Whatever you say, master." Lei coughed deliberately.
"Lei, we fly to the Xuchong Realm tomorrow. Specifically Xundu City. So sleep well," Long Xiao added, a wicked grin creeping onto his face. Lei simply sighed, tucking his head under a wing for comfort.
The Next Morning
The sun rose, and Long Xiao gathered his belongings with a snap of his fingers, his scrolls vanishing into his storage pouch. He took his seat cross-legged on Lei's back, his robes billowing and hair flowing like a divine waterfall.
"Master, must you sit like that?" Lei grumbled, his wings flapping with extra, purposeful effort.
"Yes," Long Xiao replied, casually sipping from a tea cup he had conjured mid-flight. "It's called being divine."
"Tch!" Lei snorted, but then his eyes narrowed. "Master, do you see—?"
"If you mean the three humans on that dragon, then yes," Long Xiao interrupted, setting his tea aside as his divine gaze locked onto the distant silhouette.
"They might be cultivators," Lei noted, his tone shifting to one of predatory interest.
"Cultivators? As in actual mortals seeking the Dao?" Long Xiao straightened his posture, his eyes gleaming. "Take us—"
"On it, Master," Lei replied, eager to finally get the God off his back.
The clouds parted instinctively, bowing to the presence of Lord Long Xiao.
Meanwhile, on Xinyi's Back
---
Meanwhile Gong Feng gave a triumphant shout. "To the Waterfall!"
"I heard you before." Xinyi huffed, swaying on purpose.
As they soared over the high cultivation peaks of the Fenglan Realm, Gong Feng was already basking in his self-importance. "See, little miss? Two hundred kilometers takes mere moments when you travel with true talent!" he shouted over the wind.
Li Ping, clutching Johan's robes desperately, mumbled, "Yes, Senior Gong, you are truly magnificent."
Johan, however, was no longer focused on the ride. He was using his Spiritual Sense to test the boundary of his new Green Devil Mist against the pristine air of the righteous realm.
Xinyi was swaying left when her internal alarm bells began to ring.
"This… this is no ordinary phoenix. This is something ancient." She thought, her flight becoming slightly erratic as her scales bristled.
"Gong Feng, it appears there's a celestial phoenix coming our way," Xinyi reported, her voice low and vibrating with tension.
"A celestial phoenix?" Johan repeated softly, his blue eyes tracking a golden speck in the clouds.
"Young Master," Li Ping whispered, her hands trembling as she gripped the dragon's ridges. "A celestial phoenix is of great descent. They are usually the mounts of immortals... or gods."
"A celestial phoenix? Do you recognize it?" Gong Feng asked, his usual arrogance replaced by a frantic, calculating look as he peered into the sky.
"Unfortunately, no," Xinyi added, unfolding her claws as a defensive measure. "If they were to pick a fight, I doubt we would go unscathed."
Johan watched the golden light grow larger. For the first time, he felt the Green Devil Mist in his veins pulse in response to the approaching divine aura. He didn't look afraid; he looked like a predator seeing a new kind of prey.
"If this being is indeed an immortal… I must learn its weaknesses."