Xie Zhenting nodded calmly as though speaking of something insignificant. "You require rest, Your Greatness. We should return to the palace."
Ningyan still could not fully process what was happening.
Three hundred years.
He had remained trapped within that cavern for three hundred years?
The thought felt unreal.
Yet before he could speak further, Xie Zhenting had already begun guiding him forward.
And as Ningyan walked through the clan, every phoenix beast lowered themselves further in reverence. Some smiled brightly. Others stared at him with worship shining openly in their eyes.
Ningyan avoided all of their gazes.
He did not understand any of this.
The hidden phoenix clan was beautiful beyond imagination, alive with spiritual energy so dense it almost resembled mist. Golden lanterns drifted through the skies, phoenix cries echoed faintly through the mountains, and every path led toward the enormous imperial palace standing at the center of the clan.
