CHAPTER 702: SHE COULD ABSORB THE ENERGY NEAR IT?

Aldrian was astonished inside, as this was truly not a trivial matter. The fact that Zhu Yanling could even absorb some amount of energy near Feng Xuanyan’s blood showed that there was something special about her that no other phoenix possessed in the egg phase.

For phoenixes, the time they spend in the egg phase varies, but normally it takes more than two years before they hatch. The environment of the egg also affects its development, as it will greatly influence them in the future after they hatch.

The eggs keep absorbing energy from the surroundings to nurture the phoenix’s embryo inside. The richer the surroundings are with heaven and earth energy, the more likely they are to become strong phoenixes. Likewise, the poorer the environment, the more likely they are to become weak phoenixes.

That is why, when a phoenix wants to lay an egg, it will choose the best place possible. That was also why Aldrian was not surprised that Zhu Yanling’s parents chose to place her near Feng Xuanyan’s blood for her development. They must have believed it was the best environment, even though they surely knew the setback of it.

The problem lay in the remnant energy of the blood itself. Even the remnant energy of Feng Xuanyan’s blood was avoided by other beings, just as shown when he found her blood in the core region of the Everlasting Silent Forest in the past. At that time, in the area surrounding the blood, although the place became rich with energy, no plants grew near it.

All of this was because none dared to approach the blood, as it carried traces of the aura of his golden energy. That was nature’s innate reaction to his golden energy, and even though Zhu Yanling had been placed near Feng Xuanyan’s blood, here lay the main problem.

There was no one who could absorb energy that had been contaminated by his special golden energy’s aura, even if it was only the remnants, and make it their own. There is no other reason other than the uniqueness of the golden energy properties is special for him, Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan.

But here, Zhu Yanling claimed that when she was in her egg phase, she had absorbed energy near Feng Xuanyan’s blood?

"Queen Zhu, if what you said is true, then I also know of a similar place in the Barisan Continent. However, the problem lies in the properties of the blood itself. You must already know this, since that blood has been there for a long time. How could you possibly absorb the energy near that blood?" Aldrian said.

Zhu Yanling and Shen Longwei raised their eyebrows, but they were not too surprised that there was another place similar to the Divine Blessing Pond in the Barisan Continent. After all, those divine beings had flown toward the Barisan Continent at that time.

Understanding what Aldrian meant, Zhu Yanling nodded. "Yes, Your Excellency, there is no one who could absorb the energy near the divine blood. Although the surrounding area is rich with heaven and earth energy, it is actually barren, as if all beings instinctively keep their distance from the pool of blood."

"Even my parents were not the first to try placing their child in the egg phase near that blood, and according to our records, no one was ever able to absorb even the energy around it. Even adults cannot draw anything from that place, as the energy there feels unbearably heavy."

"Many have tried countless methods to force themselves to absorb the energy, but nothing worked. It was as if the energy there refused to respond to our normal cultivation methods, despite it being the densest gathering place of energy on this continent. This left many frustrated, as if a delicious feast were laid out before them, yet they could not take even a single bite to this day."

"I know, Your Excellency must be confused about why I could absorb the energy near the divine blood, right? Well, this is something that perhaps I could call fate, but my parents told me that when they placed my egg near the blood, they discovered it could absorb a minuscule amount of the energy around it."

"To be honest, that was the only time my egg could absorb energy near the pond. After that, it was no longer able to take in any energy until I finally hatched fifty years later," Zhu Yanling said, which surprised Aldrian.

"Your egg phase lasted fifty years?" he asked in astonishment. That was surely an exceptionally long egg phase for this world’s standard.

She nodded at Aldrian’s question.

"Yes. My father even thought the development had failed because of how long it was taking, but my mother insisted on waiting for me until I finally hatched. So that is my story. Even though I could only absorb a tiny trace of energy near the pond, it still brought me a great change," she explained, leaving Aldrian deep in contemplation.

It still did not explain why this phoenix could absorb the energy in an area contaminated by Feng Xuanyan’s divine blood, which also carried traces of his golden energy. This made Aldrian think deeply for a possible reason until something came to mind, causing him to raise his eyebrows.

He then looked at Zhu Yanling.

"Queen Zhu, may I visit the Divine Blessing Pond? I would like to look into something. You don’t need to worry about me being interested in the pond itself, but after hearing your history, I suddenly wish to examine it," he said.

Zhu Yanling was stunned, but she still nodded. "Of course, Your Excellency. I would gladly bring you there," she replied as she stood up. A moment later, she made a slashing motion, and a spatial crack opened. It was a passage leading to the pond. She had, in fact, also comprehended space laws.

"Then let’s go, Your Excellency," she said before stepping into the crack. Shen Longwei followed after her, and Aldrian entered as well after putting on his mask. The crack then closed behind them.

They had to use several more spatial cracks before finally arriving at the place where the Divine Blessing Pond was located. The location was remote, lying beside the mountains and deep within the forest, far from any sign of civilization.

However, Aldrian could sense several figures there, whom he assumed to be the guards assigned to this place. They were phoenixes, two men and two women in their human form. Their cultivation was impressive, as most of them had reached the Pseudo-Immortal Establishment Stage, and one of them had even reached the Pseudo-Immortal Stage.

All of them were stationed in the four directions of the pond, each positioned a kilometer away from it.

The moment they sensed and saw Zhu Yanling and Shen Longwei, they were stunned. Instantly, they appeared in front of them and bowed.

"Welcome, Your Majesties, to the Divine Blessing Pond. Is there anything Your Majesties wish to do?" asked one of the men, the strongest among them. But as he spoke, his eyes glanced at Aldrian, who followed behind the king and queen. He immediately recognized Aldrian as a human and wondered about his identity, curious why he had been brought here by the two leaders.

"I just want to visit the pond and show it to this esteemed guest. You may return to your post," Zhu Yanling said. The guards responded with another bow.

"Yes, Majesty," the man replied, though inside his mind, his curiosity toward Aldrian grew. This seemed to be the first time a human had ever visited this place, and it was even in the presence of the Dragon King and their Queen.

After that, Aldrian was brought to the pond, which was located beside a mountain cliff. From there, he could see the environment that had been affected by the existence of the divine blood. Just like what he had witnessed in the core region of the Everlasting Silent Forest in the past, the area surrounding the blood was barren.

The golden blood rested in the center of an artificial pool, with several phoenix statues erected around it, creating a sacred atmosphere.

"This is it, Your Excellency, the most sacred place for us phoenixes," Zhu Yanling said as they stood beside the pool.

Even just standing there, Zhu Yanling felt a sense of reverence rising within her. It was as if she were directly in the presence of a god, even though this was only the remnant of divine blood. Shen Longwei felt the same, though not as intensely as Zhu Yanling.

Aldrian observed the blood and its surroundings. Nothing seemed different or unusual to his eyes, except that the quantity of blood here was much smaller compared to what he had seen in the Barisan Continent. This one had only formed a puddle about fifty meters across.

He then looked at Zhu Yanling.

"Queen Zhu, do you know where your egg was placed?"

Zhu Yanling walked about four hundred meters away before stopping at a spot.

"Here. This is the exact place my parents told me my egg was placed."

Aldrian looked at the spot where she stood, then stepped forward as she moved aside to give him space. Standing there, he turned his gaze toward the pond. Focusing his senses on the area, he searched for even the slightest change, anything that might serve as a clue to the theory already forming in his mind.

After more than ten seconds, he finally detected something that caught his interest, and he couldn’t help but smile faintly.

’I see... so that’s it.’