The Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird was taken aback by his brother's words and quickly spoke up.
"Senior may not have time to visit our Phoenix Clan. Brother has made things difficult this time."
His earlier words still echoed in his mind. If the senior were to go to the Phoenix Clan, he would have no choice but to follow.
Once back in the Phoenix Clan, if he still wished to leave, his brother would already be wary and would not let him have his way.
Therefore, as the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird spoke, he kept winking at Xu Fang, hoping that Xu Fang would refuse Kong Xuan. Then the two of them could roam freely.
Seeing the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird like this, Xu Fang nodded and said to Kong Xuan.
"Fellow Daoist Kong Xuan, your invitation is most welcome. I have nothing else to do, so I shall be your guest at the Phoenix Clan!"
When the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird saw Xu Fang nod, he was still smug. Upon hearing this, he was shocked and looked at Xu Fang.
That's not what I meant, Senior, you misunderstood!
Xu Fang smiled slightly. He naturally understood the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird's intentions, but he decided to misunderstand.
He was in the Great Desolation to constantly search for treasures. Bringing the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird along, while it could alleviate boredom, was still inconvenient.
Since Xu Fang could not directly refuse him, he decided to team up with Kong Xuan and escort the unruly Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird back to the Phoenix Clan.
"Good!"
Kong Xuan, seeing Xu Fang agree, immediately said "good" and summoned a cloud, stepping onto it first, and pulling the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird up with him.
Xu Fang nodded, summoned a cloud of his own, and flew alongside Kong Xuan over the East Sea.
The three flew through the sky, the scenery constantly changing, and occasionally they would see members of the Dragon Clan appearing in the East Sea.
"The Dragon Clan is constantly migrating into this East Sea, seeming to be developing the Four Seas region."
Kong Xuan said to Xu Fang, "I originally wanted to watch them fight the Wu and Yao tribes, but I don't know who advised them. They knew the three ancestors' momentum was gone, so they had to live in seclusion."
Kong Xuan seemed to regret it, as the Dragon and Phoenix Clans were sworn enemies. He naturally did not wish to see the Dragon Clan fare well.
He wondered who had meddled and caused the Dragon Clan to abandon their ambition of dominating the Wu and Yao tribes and retreat into the Four Seas.
Xu Fang looked out at the Dragon Clan, but did not reply, secretly laughing in his heart.
Kong Xuan probably did not expect that the one who advised the Dragon Clan was right beside him, namely himself.
However, the Dragon Clan's migration to the East Sea and their development of the Four Seas region was good news for Xu Fang.
This way, when he refined the Penglai Immortal Island in the future, with the friendship he had forged with Ao Guang and others, they would be perfect neighbors.
In the southern part of the Great Desolation, at the edge of the world, stood a giant mountain that pierced the nine heavens, magnificent and majestic.
The giant mountain was fire-red like jade, with countless flames surging within, extremely hot.
Around this giant volcano, countless smaller mountains stretched and rolled, encircling the giant volcano, almost spanning the entire southern land.
This was the Undying Volcano, the place where the Phoenix Clan once ruled all flying creatures and where Yuan Feng had fallen.
In the past, hundreds of millions of flying creatures circled endlessly, paying homage to the Undying Volcano every morning and evening, a time of great glory.
However, with the fall of Yuan Feng and the decline of the Phoenix Clan, the flying creatures were gradually gathered by the Yao Clan, and the prosperity was gone.
Now, the Undying Volcano was desolate. The flying creatures that had belonged to the Phoenix Clan had long since left, and only the core members of the Phoenix Clan resided here.
Their residence here was merely a struggle for survival. They had long lost their ambition to conquer the world, and at most, they would occasionally dream of reviving the Phoenix Clan and reminisce about past glories.
However, as the saying goes, the tree wants to remain still, but the wind will not stop. Even though the Phoenix Clan had retreated to the Undying Volcano, they were still plagued by troubles.
As it turned out, outside the Undying Volcano, a group of uninvited guests had arrived.
At this moment, the Yao Clan army was gathered outside the Undying Volcano, outnumbering and pressuring the Phoenix Clan!
The remaining members of the Phoenix Clan, seeing the might of such an army, were on high alert.
They were all holding weapons, their expressions grave, standing before the Undying Volcano.
"May I ask why the friends of the Yao Clan have come to our Phoenix Clan at this time?"
An old man emerged from the ranks of the Phoenix Clan. He was the great elder of the Phoenix Clan.
With Kong Xuan and the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird absent, and the Yao Clan army pressing in, the great elder had no choice but to brace himself and step forward.
As the great elder of the Phoenix Clan spoke, the leading general of the Yao Clan also emerged from the Yao Clan army and looked at the great elder.
"I recognize you. You are not the patriarch of the Phoenix Clan. Please have the current patriarch of the Phoenix Clan come out."
"I recognize you too. You were merely a flying creature from a subordinate tribe of our Phoenix Clan in the past."
The great elder also recognized the leading demon general. When the Phoenix Clan was powerful, this one was merely a flying creature from a subordinate tribe of the Phoenix Clan.
Who would have thought that the situation would reverse, and this creature, who once belonged to the Phoenix Clan, would transform into a general of the Yao Clan and lead an army to pressure them.
The great elder of the Phoenix Clan sighed and then said.
"I am the acting patriarch of the Phoenix Clan. You can tell me whatever you need to."
The reason for being the acting patriarch was that the position of patriarch of the Phoenix Clan could only be held by descendants of Yuan Feng's bloodline.
This acting patriarch was merely to handle the affairs of the Phoenix Clan in the absence of Kong Xuan or the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird.
"Hmph! What happened in the past is useless to discuss. The Phoenix Clan is already a thing of the past."
The demon general, having had his identity revealed by the great elder of the Phoenix Clan, snorted and dismissed it.
"Since you are the current acting patriarch of the Phoenix Clan, I will tell you directly and clearly."
"I am here on the orders of His Majesty Dong Huang Taiyi to have the Phoenix Clan submit to the Yao Clan."
"In the Great Desolation, only the Yao Clan can soar through the skies. If the Phoenix Clan wants to survive, lay down your weapons and surrender obediently!"
The demon general's words caused a stir among the Phoenix Clan.
"What? The Yao Clan wants to annex our Phoenix Clan?"
"Our Phoenix Clan was once the emperor of all flying creatures in the world. You Yao Clan have only been powerful for a few days, and you are already so reckless?"
"How dare the Yao Clan bully us like this? Why should we be polite to them? Let's fight them!"
The members of the Phoenix Clan were all furious upon hearing this.
It was true that their Phoenix Clan had declined, but they were still a dominant race in the world.
The Yao Clan had only risen by gathering all the winged creatures when the Phoenix Clan was severely weakened, essentially picking up the leftovers.
Now, in order to make themselves seem more legitimate, they were impatiently attacking the Phoenix Clan. It was truly unbearable!