The news of the Phoenix appearing during Ancestor Yueqing's tribulation and helping him through it spread like wildfire across the cultivation world.
Even the demonic beasts and demons caught wind of it.
"What kind of fool Phoenix is this, actually helping humans? Humans and demonic beasts are sworn enemies… did its brain get waterlogged?!"
Fox King Bai Chen flicked his large tail irritably.
Having lived for a thousand years, Bai Chen had never once heard of a Phoenix appearing in the Cultivation World.
'That Phoenix must be a newly reborn fledgling, still ignorant of human treachery and the dangers of the mortal world!'
'Phoenixes were divine beasts, noble in bloodline and immensely powerful.'
'Such a valuable ally should naturally be coaxed into joining the demon race's cause. How could it be allowed to aid humans instead?'
"I don't care what methods you use, you must bring that foolish Phoenix back!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
At the same time, Demon Lord Ji Yanjun was also plotting against Mingting.
"I heard that the Phoenix feathers are dazzlingly splendid. The demon realm is too monochrome, so I could use a Phoenix-feather cloak." Ji Yanjun idly crushed a deer demon's skull in his palm.
"Your Majesty, Zhenshan Sect has always despised us demons. Now that Le Qing has become an Ancestor, and with him protecting the Phoenix, it won't be easy to act."
"No matter. We'll take our time."
Ji Yanjun wiped the blood off his hands with distaste.
"A newly hatched Phoenix, seeing humans and feeling kinship enough to sacrifice itself… clearly, it's a naive fool. Have our people stay hidden and wait for the right moment. Good food is worth waiting for. I have plenty of patience."
"Achoo…"
Mingting sneezed several times inside the Phoenix egg.
"Someone's definitely scheming against me."
He flipped over in the egg fluid.
Over the past few days, many people had come to talk to him.
In addition to Le Qing, there was a little girl, a middle-aged man, and even a gentle, massive hand that had stroked the eggshell and infused spiritual energy into it.
"It must be the Phoenix's rebirth."
Du Heng withdrew his spiritual power. He was good at beast taming, so Le Qing had asked him to examine the Phoenix egg.
"The Little Phoenix is fine for now. You can rest easy!"
Ancestor Du Heng told Le Qing about the precautions.
For example, use the softest spiritual goose down to pad the nest for the egg, nourish the Phoenix egg with spiritual energy every day, and talk to the egg at a fixed time.
Du Heng believed this Phoenix was very young and was unfamiliar with the current state of the Cultivation World. Otherwise, it wouldn't have recklessly rushed out to save Le Qing.
Du Heng suggested that Le Qing spend more time reading to the egg, helping the Little Phoenix understand the world.
"Only a fledgling would be so pure and kind-hearted! You must not betray its trust..."
"You're absolutely right." Le Qing nodded, carefully noting down every instruction.
"In addition, since the Little Phoenix saved you, if you have no other intentions, now is not the time for a blood contract."
Ancestor Du Heng had always adored animals and was even a little envious that Le Qing had won a Phoenix's favor.
At his words, Le Qing immediately shook his head.
"The Little Phoenix has shown me immense kindness. How could I repay it with such treachery?!"
"That's good!" Du Heng patted the egg again, "I don't know when the Little Phoenix will hatch. When it does, you must inform me!"
Du Heng has lived for thousands of years, but he has never seen a Phoenix before.
When Le Qing underwent his tribulation, he was still in seclusion, so he unfortunately missed the scene of the Phoenix saving him.
"Of course!"
Le Qing didn't treat the Phoenix egg as his personal property. Not to mention that Du Heng was good at dealing with animals, so if the Little Phoenix encountered any danger when breaking the shell, Du Heng could still help.
After Du Heng left, Mingting spent every morning listening to Le Qing read to him. And in the afternoon, a little girl would come to chat.
When Mingting heard the little girl introduce herself as Le Yanran, realization struck.
Le Yanran is the Cannon Fodder Supporting Female Character in the book.
As Le Qing's only daughter, Le Yanran had been exceptionally talented since childhood, a standout among the younger generation.
Even after Le Qing failed his tribulation and perished, Le Yanran did not resent anyone, and she still worked hard to cultivate and strengthen herself.
Her only mistake was that Le Qing had arranged a marriage for her before his death, and her fiancé was Wen Liangyu from Tianji Tower.
The title of 'fiancée' did not bring any benefits to Le Yanran, but instead brought her a fatal disaster.
At that time, Wen Liangyu was infatuated with He Huan, so in order to make his son change his mind, the master of Tianji Tower planned to hold their wedding ahead of schedule.
Le Yanran, who was unaware of the truth, had been overjoyed. However, during a small secret realm treasure hunt before the wedding, she was discovered by a monster and died in the jaws of a tiger demon.
The one who invited her to the secret realm was none other than Wen Liangyu.
The Sect Master of Zhenshan Sect, Wu Hao, had always been investigating the cause of Le Yanran's death.
At the time she entered the secret realm, she was already a Golden Core cultivator. Who could possibly have the ability to silently kill a Golden Core cultivator?
For this reason, Wu Hao also asked the master of Tianji Tower to perform a divination, but he was deceived by the father-son pair and mistakenly believed it was entirely the fault of the demon race.
Wu Hao personally entered demon territory and slaughtered an entire city of demons to avenge Le Yanran.
There were several other unfortunate Supporting Female Characters like Le Yanran, such as Kou Xuehong's junior sister, Leng Rong's childhood sweetheart, Ji Yanjun's left protector, and Bai Chen's cousin.
Aside from Le Yanran, who died early, the others constantly caused trouble for the Female Lead… setting traps, poisoning her, and scheming against her in every possible way.
In the end, their fates were the same. The bad things they did were exposed and they were killed by the Supporting Male Characters.
Regarding this, Mingting couldn't understand.
Was the Female Lead the only pure, kind, and innocent girl in the entire book? Were all the other Female Characters just villains?
What kind of nonsense was this?!
There was nothing wrong with men pursuing love, but couldn't they first cleanly sever and resolve their existing engagements and past relationships?
Couldn't they avoid harming innocent women?
"Little Phoenix, when are you coming out?"
Le Yanran didn't know that Mingting was worrying about her future.
She was deeply grateful that Mingting had saved her father, so she volunteered to take care of the Phoenix egg, diligently coming every day without fail.
When will he go out? Mingting didn't know either.
He spent his days sleeping and waking, constantly reshaping his bones and repairing his body.