Arthur asked the phoenix woman,
"Your name is Huangxi, right? Could you introduce this place to me?"
"Yes, Immortal," Huangxi nodded. "This land is called Woye. It is the ancestral territory of our Phoenix Clan and has existed for several thousand years."
As Huangxi slowly explained, Arthur came to understand the situation of this cave-heaven.
Several thousand years ago, rare and extraordinary beasts were not uncommon—phoenixes included. Humans once lived together with them in this cave-heaven, and the name Woye was given by humans of that era.
However, compared to spirit beasts, humans reproduced far more rapidly. Before long, the population within the cave-heaven reached its limit. Combined with conflicts and wars between different human tribes, humans ultimately decided to leave this place.
At that time, the Phoenix Clan split into two factions.
One faction, which had grown close to humans, chose to follow them into the outside world.
The other faction, unwilling to part with their homeland, chose to remain.
Huangxi belonged to the latter.
As for what became of the phoenixes who left, these stay-at-home phoenixes had no idea.
Yes—stay-at-home phoenixes was an accurate description.
They were a group of simple-minded homebodies who disliked interacting with the outside world. So they hid themselves within this cave-heaven and even concealed the entrance to prevent anyone from disturbing them.
The Chishui Fish at the entrance were deliberately brought over from Qingqiu for this purpose.
To be even better shut-ins, they actually went on a long journey just to set up security—truly a hardship for such homebodies.
Indeed, a shut-in only leaves home in order to stay home better.
By this count, Arthur and his companions were the first visitors this cave-heaven had seen in several thousand years.
Huangxi hadn't become clan leader because she wanted to. She simply happened to be the strongest at the moment.
Although phoenixes are immortal beings, they undergo nirvana and rebirth at regular intervals. After rebirth, their strength regrows from the beginning, and during that period, the position of clan leader passes to another powerful phoenix.
It was somewhat like a university dorm where four lazy students don't want to clean—so they rotate the duty for the sake of fairness.
That said, Huangxi served as clan leader most of the time.
One reason was that her peak strength surpassed all the others.
The other was that she was the most homebound phoenix of them all.
Other phoenixes occasionally ventured outside when they grew bored. The phoenixes once seen in Kunlun—including the one Dumbledore encountered—had all come from here.
Huangxi, however, had not stepped outside even once in several thousand years.
Most of her time was spent sleeping or cultivating.
Don't assume phoenixes don't need cultivation. While their magical-beast bloodline allowed them to grow naturally, that growth would stagnate after reaching a certain point.
After thousands of years of staying inside, Huangxi had pushed her cultivation to the peak of Refining Void and Merging Dao.
As for why she hadn't broken through to the next realm—the Land Immortal realm—Arthur suspected it had something to do with the cave-heaven itself.
This was not the true world, making it difficult to comprehend Dao-rhythms here.
Unfortunately, these homebody phoenixes didn't know that. They believed the problem lay with themselves.
The higher the realm, the faster recovery after nirvana. As a result, Huangxi spent most of her existence at peak strength, and the position of clan leader naturally fell to her again and again.
After gaining a general understanding, Arthur said politely,
"My companions and I are traveling the world and accidentally entered this place. The scenery here is beautiful—may we stay for a while?"
Since Huangxi treated him respectfully, Arthur didn't feel right forcibly knocking out the phoenixes and taking one away.
He decided to stay for now, observe the situation, and explore this cave-heaven properly.
"Please, Immortal, feel free," Huangxi replied.
She didn't dare refuse. She didn't know Arthur's temperament—if he grew angry, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Her only hope was that Arthur wouldn't damage their homeland, a place they had lived in for thousands of years and grown deeply attached to.
What she didn't know was that, not long after, Arthur would dismantle the entire cave-heaven.
Of course, that was a story for later.
After agreeing, Huangxi led her clansmen away.
Now that Arthur's identity as an Immortal was confirmed, the phoenixes felt an instinctive unease in the presence of such a powerful being and didn't wish to linger.
When they left, Arthur checked the time—night had already fallen in the outside world.
He decided to set up camp by the lake for the night.
Although sleep was no longer necessary at the level of a godlike being, Arthur still kept the habit—just as he still enjoyed eating.
He enjoyed sleep.
Dreams were fascinating things. You never knew what kind of world the next dream would take you to.
Though people could be trained to control their dreams—and Arthur had mastered such techniques—he rarely used them.
The wonder of dreams lay in their randomness and uncertainty.
Dreams could also inspire ideas.
Many great writers, artists, and scientists throughout history had drawn inspiration from their dreams.
At Arthur's level, forgetting a dream after waking was impossible—so dreams had become a reliable source of inspiration.
Several of his alchemical creations, modified spells, and even self-created magic had been influenced by dreams.
Setting up camp was simple.
Arthur placed a tent enhanced with the Undetectable Extension Charm on the ground.
During the past month, with Huoxuan around, it hadn't been convenient to stay inside the Zen Garden.
Fortunately, Arthur had prepared a wizard's standard family travel tent—three bedrooms and one living room—more than enough for four people.
After setting up the tent, Arthur began preparing dinner.
Nearby grew rice stalks taller than trees, so he decided to try the spirit rice.
As the main dish, Arthur prepared five large grilled fish, each weighing over ten kilograms.
One for himself, Hermione, Ranni, and Huoxuan—and the last one was for Huangxi, who was secretly observing them from not far away.
Whether out of curiosity or caution, Huangxi had quietly returned after leaving.
Arthur simply prepared a portion for her as well.
Dinner was soon ready.
Arthur called the three women back and also invited Huangxi over.
The moment Huangxi took her first bite of grilled fish, her eyes widened.
"Delicious!"
Eating was one of life's great pleasures, and Arthur took it seriously.
As the saying went:
Those who can cook may not know how to eat—but those who truly know how to eat can always cook.
Arthur was both.
With talent and constant practice, his cooking skills were excellent.
Even Huoxuan, who had long since practiced grain abstinence, was completely conquered by his cooking. Whenever they ate in the wild, Arthur was always the one cooking.
Huangxi devoured the entire fish in moments, then stared longingly at the remaining fish in front of the others.
Arthur sighed and grilled another one for her.
This time, Huangxi didn't gulp it down.
She transformed into human form and ate slowly, savoring each bite.
Her ability to transform shocked Hermione—this was the first time she had seen a magical creature capable of becoming human.
The others, however, remained calm.
Ranni simply didn't care.
Arthur had seen it before—Ifrit would also gain a human form after maturity.
Huoxuan was even less surprised; in the Eastern cultivation world, many spirits and demons could take human form. A divine beast like a phoenix naturally could as well.
Though Huangxi ate more delicately this time, she was still fast.
Soon, the second fish was gone.
Patting her stomach without any sense of decorum, she said cheerfully,
"That was amazing! I've never eaten anything this delicious!"
Watching her sprawled on the ground, Arthur felt she was basically Huoxuan's mirror image.
And indeed, they were similar—red robes, carefree personalities.
The difference was that Huangxi had crimson hair and a far gentler temper.
Hermione nodded in agreement. Tonight's meal was especially good.
The rice was clearly delicious because it was spirit rice—but what about the fish?
Curious, she asked.
"Oh, the fish?" Arthur replied casually. "They're Chishui Fish."
The few Chishui Fish Arthur had caught earlier were placed into the Zen Garden's pond. He'd increased the time flow there, accelerating their reproduction.
New Chishui Fish had already been bred, so eating a few posed no problem.
According to legend, Chishui Fish were famously delicious—and now he knew why.
Arthur suddenly wondered—
Had the phoenixes brought these fish from Qingqiu not just as guards, but also as emergency rations?
If you thought of them as hardcore shut-ins, stockpiling food really did make perfect sense.
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