A moment later, the ship returned to the entrance/exit of the Vermilion Bird Realm.
"It's Young Master Miao Chen's ship. Wasn't this young lord supposed to be going out to enjoy himself? When he goes out to have fun, he's usually gone for years. How come he's back so quickly this time?"
The guards responsible for watching the exit and entrance were a little surprised to see Miao Chen's ship return so soon. Someone whispered the question.
"Don't meddle in others' business. This Miao Chen is the direct grandson of the clan's Second Elder, and doted on at that. How could we possibly question his affairs? Besides, who can guess what these young lords, idle all day and wandering all over, want to do?" someone immediately warned.
The beings who had spoken up felt a chill and dared not discuss it further. Although most people looked down on the idle Miao Chen, as the direct grandson of the clan's Second Elder, he was not someone the ordinary beings of the Vermilion Bird Realm could afford to provoke.
"Greetings, Young Master Miao Chen!"
As the ship approached the entrance, a few quick-witted beings immediately stepped forward to greet him.
"What's good?! This young master just encountered a terrifying spatial storm. I almost lost my life, and can't you see several of my trusted aides are dead? Get lost, don't annoy me!"
Curses rang out from within the ship.
The few beings who had stepped forward to greet him were startled and hurriedly dodged to the side.
Not far away, an old man quietly released his Soul Power, sensing into the ship and perceiving all the beings inside. This old man had reached the completion level of the Heavenly Boundary Realm and was specifically tasked with guarding the Vermilion Bird Realm's entry and exit portal here.
"This young lord really has lost several trusted aides," the old man shook his head.
"Open the portal and let Young Master Miao Chen in," the old man said lightly.
Although Ye Yunfei stood within the ship, he was using the Hidden Shadow Secret Art. This old man had absolutely no ability to detect him.
The next moment, the ship rushed into the portal and entered the Vermilion Bird Realm.
"Mother, Xiao Fei, I've come to find you," Ye Yunfei thought to himself.
Soon, the ship appeared in a vast world.
This was a world of raging flames everywhere; there were even mountain peaks on the ground that were constantly ablaze. Vaguely, illusory figures of Vermilion Birds soared through the skies of this world, appearing extremely divine and marvelous.
The energy and laws of this Vermilion Bird Realm seemed to be of a much higher grade than those of the Feixian Continent!
The Vermilion Bird Realm was considered a special world among the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, possessing vast amounts of fire-attribute energy within its boundaries, hence the flames burning everywhere.
Ye Yunfei had visited the Vermilion Bird Realm in his previous life, so he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this world.
The spatial structure of the Vermilion Bird Realm was somewhat similar to that of the Feixian Continent; it was a magnificent continent, practically boundless. Therefore, the Vermilion Bird Realm was also called the Vermilion Bird Continent.
Situ Kong'er piloted the ship towards the core region of the Vermilion Bird Continent.
The Vermilion Bird Continent was vast in area. Apart from the Miao Clan, many other beings lived there, but the continent was dominated by the Miao Clan. The core region of the continent was the territory of the Miao Clan.
Not long after, the ship arrived above a city.
This city was called the Zhuhuo City. It was a decently-sized large city on the Vermilion Bird Continent.
Situ Kong'er emerged from the ship and swaggered into Zhuhuo City with his entourage. Ye Yunfei, disguised as one of Situ Kong'er's subordinates, followed beside him.
Miao Chen emphasized ostentation. He usually liked to go out with a large group of subordinates bustling around him, and the beings of the Vermilion Bird Realm were long accustomed to it.
"Brother Ye, Miao Chen has a palace here in Zhuhuo City. Zhuhuo City isn't very far from Fengyang Palace. Let's stay here for a day first. I'll send Miao Chen's men to gather information, and then we'll figure out a way to get to Fengyang Palace." Situ Kong'er said to Ye Yunfei. He already knew the main purpose of coming to the Vermilion Bird Realm.
"Alright," Ye Yunfei nodded.
Ye Yunfei also knew he couldn't be impatient.
In fact, given Ye Yunfei's current strength, he could practically sweep through the entire Vermilion Bird Realm. Forcing his way in with overwhelming force wouldn't be difficult. But his mother and sister were still controlled by that old Wizard, and for Ye Yunfei, the Vermilion Bird Realm held another great threat: the Vermilion Bird King.
Ye Yunfei couldn't be sure exactly what level of strength the Vermilion Bird King possessed now.
In his previous life, Ye Yunfei had once visited the Vermilion Bird Realm to call on the Vermilion Bird King, but he hadn't met the king's true form, only a projection of him. That projection of the Vermilion Bird King also possessed strength at the Primary Half-Emperor level!
Within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, there were two legends concerning the Vermilion Bird King's strength. The first said the Vermilion Bird King was at the strength of a Completion Half-Emperor. The second claimed the Vermilion Bird King had already attained strength at the Heavenly Emperor level! Which legend was true was unknown even to the members of the Miao Clan, let alone outsiders.
Ye Yunfei knew that the Vermilion Bird King possessed the bloodline of the divine beast Vermilion Bird within his body. In a sense, he was a unique, exotic beast. Even if his cultivation reached the strength of a Heavenly Emperor, he might not necessarily be publicly known, as he wouldn't necessarily be detected by the Heavenly Dao laws of the Three Thousand Worlds.
In truth, within the Three Thousand Major and Minor Worlds, apart from the three publicly known Heavenly Emperors, there were many special beings possessing strength at the Heavenly Emperor level. For example, that *Suanni* Ye Yunfei had encountered back in the Canghuang Realm on the Profound Yellow Star, if it could recover to its peak strength, its power would approach the Heavenly Emperor level.
Next, Ye Yunfei and Situ Kong'er entered Miao Chen's palace and dispatched a group of Miao Chen's subordinates to inquire about the recent situation at Fengyang Palace.
At the same time, within Fengyang Palace, in a simple room, a young woman with peerlessly beautiful features and extraordinary aura lay unconscious on a bed. It was Xiao Fei.
Although she was in a coma, her face slightly pale, it was still difficult to conceal the noble air she radiated from head to toe, and her startling beauty. Xiao Fei possessed a pure Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian within her body. Few people in the entire Miao Clan could compare their Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian to hers, and this was the main reason she had been harmed.
"Xiao Fei, it's Mother's fault for not having the ability to protect you. From the moment you were born until now, you have suffered alongside Mother most of the time."
Miao Ziqiong sat by the bedside, holding Xiao Fei's hand, her face haggard, her eyes slightly swollen. Looking at her daughter on the bed, she muttered to herself.
Xiao Fei had been in a comatose state these past years. Apart from offering three bowls of her Origin Essence Blood daily, the remaining time Miao Ziqiong spent was here accompanying her daughter and talking to her. She dearly hoped her words could awaken the slumbering girl. Sadly, Xiao Fei had shown no signs of waking up to this day.
"If only I had been born into an ordinary family, how wonderful that would be. Then I could accompany my husband and child and pass each day peacefully and happily," Miao Ziqiong muttered as tears streamed down her face.
Naturally, she understood why the two of them, mother and daughter, had suffered such misfortune.