Davis stopped himself from flinching from the overbearing pressure that fell on him. The way he tried to take the conversation was starkly different from what had happened. He had now come all the way here to finally doing it, finally threatening the supreme powerhouse of the Burning Phoenix Ridge, and he couldn’t take a step back.
Or else, the Solitary Soul Avatar was over, and Shirley would be taken hostage to curb him in check while also it could be the other way around with him holding their Burning Phoenixes hostage.
The conversation had turned into a mess, and he could only stare at Ancestor Cornelia with a stubborn and unbending gaze. At the same time, he almost caved in, feeling like his knees were going to bend from the searing pressure and aura direction at him.
Ancestor Cornelia also directed her killing intent against him as she stared at him with her cold, wizened eyes. The others were simply not able to interfere with their mouths as they were also curbed her overwhelming pressure.
"Ancestor... please... he truly does not mean any harm..."
Despite the overbearing pressure, a pleading voice of a little girl echoed out.
Numerous heads turned while their gaze turned shocked. Even Ancestor Cornelia was shocked to see that it was one of her own kin.
It was none other than Freya, whom Davis played with while he had nothing to do here!
Ancestor Cornelia gritted her teeth in rage and scoured her soul only to not find a single mental binding other than the one Freya shared with Shirley in the form of the usual blood contract that the Burning Phoenix Ridge used. Nevertheless, she became confused.
If Freya wasn’t controlled, then was she making this statement of her own will while even going against the pressure she released, which should be inconceivable, considering that the purity of burning phoenix blood she possessed was the most within the sect?
As the Burning Phoenix Ancestor, she took notice of all the Burning Phoenixes born in the sect. She was angered to see another kin support the opposition, but knowing that Freya was just recently born, not knowing much about the world, her gaze became a bit gentle.
"Little Freya, don’t be ridiculous. Can’t you see the threat he made against us? He even included you when he said that he wouldn’t leave a Burning Phoenix alive."
"Heh!" Davis scoffed, "Why would I kill my Shirley’s Burning Phoenix when she’s destined to reach far heights along with us? Ridiculous!"
Ancestor Cornelia looked at him, almost losing her patience as she managed to keep her calm. She felt that she had to make a decision, but not influenced by her emotions because she had to think for the betterment of the sect.
She was already a dying soul, so she absolutely could not mess up whatever face she wanted to save for herself in these final years. She could not go down as the sinner of the Burning Phoenix Ridge who invited the calamity. Otherwise, she felt like all these years she lived for the sect would become a waster, not to mention that she would not be able to face her ancestors if she were to ever meet them in death.
"Ancestor, may I...?"
At this moment, another female voice resounded. It sounded dignified while everyone knew who it was, turning to look at Sect Master Lea Weiss and noticed that she had gained her confidence back after the confusion left her eyes.
Ancestor Cornelia narrowed her brows, her killing intent receding before she slowly took the pressure back in, nodding to Sect Master Lea Weiss to continue.
Sect Master Lea Weiss nodded her head back before she turned to look at Davis.
"Chu Feng..." Her crimson lips moved before she raised her hand and elegantly took the veil off of her face.
Davis’s eyes widened as his heart almost skipped a beat. Her otherworldly beauty of Sect Master Lea Weiss came into his view. The beauty that she always hid from the eyes of the public.
The fascinating and attractive crimson eyes that he always saw on her face were now adorned by a shapely small nose and gracefully arced crimson lips, making him aware that her beauty was on the same level as Isabella and Shirley.
However...
"What is the meaning of this?" He couldn’t help but ask in confusion.
"Don’t worry." Sect Master Lea Weiss’s voice was normal as her expression, "I won’t ask for you to show me your true face since I showed mine. However, I will ask you to look at my face and tell me in the eye with a straight face that you did not manipulate me to take this hastened decision of killing Valerian."
Davis narrowed his eyes, feeling doubtful of her intent before his eyes flashed, realizing something.
"I did not manipulate you..."
Sect Master Lea Weiss’s brows slightly furrowed.
"However, I did use you to kill Valerian. After all, one way or another, you are going to kill him while I just ended up hastening the process. I do not need someone dangerous to Shirley to be present around her. If he can kill your Burning Phoenix named Raka to obtain you while this Ancestor Cornelia supposedly did nothing, then he can go to any lengths to obtain the current Shirley for his son, or perhaps himself!"
Ancestor Cornelia’s gaze became colder as she looked at Chu Feng to take a jab at her while he was at it. Was it necessary for him to offend her and lose his life?
Her wrinkled face could not help but wrinkle even more.
On the other hand, Sect Master Lea Weiss lowered her head. She simply put back the veil on and turned to look towards Ancestor Cornelia as she went on two knees, clasping her hand.
"Ancestor, if you are going to punish Chu Feng for his crime of killing Ancestor Magnus Rein, then the responsibility falls within me as well as I tacitly allowed it to happen. Whether if it is death or something else, I accept and perhaps, my sacrifice may allow Chu Feng to reconsider his intent to massacre the Burning Phoenix Ridge in the future."
"You...! You’re overstepping your bounds!" Ancestor Cornelia looked frigid.
She had her wrinkled fists clenched, looking as if her fiery phoenix flames were going to surge out of anger.
Davis blinked, wondering what kind of wind blew in his direction. However, he suddenly realized that he was the one who killed Valerian. He was basically Sect Master Lea Weiss’s benefactor at this point, but he had forgotten to realize such a simple fact. Perhaps, her way of probing was such that if he claimed that he did not use her to kill Valerian in any way, she might’ve adopted a hostile attitude towards him.
He couldn’t help but take a step back in respect to her character, dropping his stubborn gaze.
However, her words... resounded in his mind, making him aware that she knew that she could be killed by him anytime he wanted. So, he felt that it was rather unfair that she could make him feel this way.
’Fuck...! Is this why she showed her beautiful face? She made me pity her?’ Davis instantly realized that she subtly manipulated him.
However, since they both used each other, he couldn’t feel the need to hold it against her but respect her.
He had already begun to respect her when she chose to follow her words and protect Shirley when Ancestor Reinhardt Weiss tried to be overbearing towards Shirley. So, this was just icing on the cake, making him feel that she was a righteous and virtuous woman.
"These children..."
Ancestor Cornelia looked at Freya’s pleading expression as well as Shirley’s teary eyes. The big-bosomed woman behind also looked sympathetic to this brazen enemy, making her wonder how they could all support this crazy person who practiced Death Laws in incredulity. She absolutely couldn’t fathom their thought process, which she hadn’t failed to garner in all these years of living.
Right now, she looked like an annoyed yet helpless grandmother looking after her crying grandkids, not knowing what to do.
"Chu Feng..."
Ancestor Cornelia suddenly called out as dried-up lips moved. However, she didn’t speak but closed her eyes, simply looking as if she was regaining her mental state before she opened her eyes, her eyes looking sharper than before despite the wrinkles on her appearance.
"I have already made my decision to kill you since you killed the people of my sect. However, I also cannot deny that the people you killed all had questionable characters, unneeded for the sect. But for that reason alone, I cannot let you simply walk away as you have lowered the prowess of my Burning Phoenix Ridge."
"Do you know how vulnerable we could become, be taken advantage of if word gets out? No, such a big event. I already muse some hidden spies here have already sent word out. It’s just a matter of time before the world knows that we have lost an Ancestor to a monster like you, and the wicked path might use this to their advantage stomp us while we are already down."
Ancestor Cornelia simply looked at him in reluctance, looking as if she wanted to kill him but could not bring herself to do so. Nevertheless, seeing her stay silent while all the others watched, he couldn’t help but ask.
"Are you implying that you want me to officially join the Burning Phoenix Ridge and protect it using my deathly powers?"
"If only..." Ancestor Cornelia shook her head with a bit of pity, "You practice Death Laws. You will be considered a wicked path cultivator by the righteous world even if you are not one. Even I am not sure if you are a wicked path cultivator, so we cannot keep you here no matter what lest we be branded that we’re sheltering you, a scourge of the world. Nevertheless, if you want to leave this space alive, you better leave something useful that will compensate for the loss of my sect."
"Otherwise, it is set in fate that I might have no choice but to kill you, even if it means that I have to gamble with the fate of my sect because, as you once questioned, cultivating means going against the heavens, and if the sect feared a person like you, it wouldn’t grow anywhere strong as it was before, eventually reaped by the flow of time."
Davis’s mouth slightly went agape, making him almost feel like he could comprehend something from this speech. It was almost as if he had seen the truth of the world, the vestiges of time from the ancient speech of this Burning Phoenix, leaving him feeling that he had once again touched upon the vague concept of Time Laws.
He was in a trance before he lightly shook his head, coming out of his reverie.
"Compensation... huh...?"
In the end, it fell to mere compensation. However, considering that this Burning Phoenix Ancestor possessed little to no feelings towards her Ancestor Magnus Rein and the Rein Family, he could understand her taking a step back to let both parties not be at each other’s throats.
It absolutely wasn’t a ’can’t live under the same sky situation’, so this was the best conclusion he could’ve hoped for, the diplomatic solution he had moved to find but ended up offending her in the beginning because he didn’t want to show weakness.
He turned back, looking at Sect Master Lea Weiss, Shirley, Freya, and Esvele.
’Perhaps, without them, I might not have managed to change this big bird’s mind with my prowess alone...’
He mused before he began to think of the compensation he could give them.
What did he have?
What did he possess with them that could make them nod and let him go without any hard feelings?
’Mhmm... Burning Phoenix Ridge... A Peak-Level Emperor Grade Power with immense resources that the Nine Western Territories combined might not even have... Would the nectar compensate? No, it’s worthless when I considered that I took Magnus Rein’s, a High-Level Law Rune Stage Powerhouses’ life... Then what else could I possibly give...?’
He thought hard, feeling like he fell short.
’Burning Phoenix Ridge... Burning Phoenix... Something phoenix-like...? Mhm...!?’
Davis’s eyes abruptly lit up as he abruptly echoed, "Wait! A Burning Phoenix!?"
"What...? Do you have a problem with me being a Burning Phoenix?"
Ancestor Cornelia’s crimson eyes were cold.
Davis came out of his reverie before he began to chuckle like a maniac, "No, I was overly conscious of the word Phoenix that I..."
Davis victoriously smiled as the vague aura of another majestic bird emerged from deep within his soul essence.
"...forgot to consider your other ancestor, the Vermilion Bird..."
Soul force sprang out as the image of a Vermilion Bird formed behind him while the gazes of everyone in the room shot wide, especially the two powerful people in the hall, Sect Master Lea Weiss and Ancestor Cornelia, subconsciously had their pupils practically tremble in sheer incredulity, filled with reverence at this moment!