Chapter 49: THE DEVOURING BLOODLINE

After basking in the quietness for some time, Li Yan eventually stood up and headed inside the residence because there were several things he needed to plan before his classes began.

Once inside, he looked around the empty room before speaking.

"Xiaoxiao, can you leave the space? It would be nice to talk to you without having to enter the space every time."

Her voice sounded in his mind after a brief pause.

"Well, I have not left the space in a thousand years. I suppose I could try."

Li Yan raised his brows at her answer.

"You make it sound like you have forgotten how."

"I might have."

There was another brief silence before a faint spiritual fluctuation appeared beside him, and Xiaoxiao’s figure gradually materialized inside the room.

Li Yan looked at her with some curiosity because this was the first time he had seen her outside the space, and although her appearance remained the same, there was something slightly different about seeing her standing beside him in the physical world.

Xiaoxiao looked around the residence before turning toward him.

"It is not bad."

Li Yan glanced around as well.

Inside, the residence was quite neat, with a decent-sized bedroom, a living room, and a small kitchen tucked into one side of the house. There was not much furniture, but everything he needed had already been prepared, and the simple arrangement made the place easy to maintain.

Li Yan walked into the kitchen and looked at the utensils placed inside before opening one of the cupboards.

There were several basic ingredients.

He stared at them for a moment before closing the cupboard.

He did not know how to cook.

Li Yan sighed as he leaned against the counter, suddenly remembering the meals he had eaten during his time with Hu Biyan.

He really was going to miss Hu Biyan’s cooking.

Xiaoxiao watched him silently for a moment before speaking. "You could learn."

Li Yan looked at her. "Cooking?"

-_-

"What else would I mean?"

Li Yan glanced back toward the kitchen.

"That sounds troublesome."

"You are willing to spend hours studying cultivation techniques, but learning how to cook is troublesome?"

"That is different."

Xiaoxiao shook her head slightly, but she did not continue teasing him about it.

Li Yan left the kitchen and returned to the living room before sitting down and thinking about what he wanted to accomplish now that he had officially become an outer disciple.

The entrance examination had given him access to the sect, but entering the sect was only the beginning.

He still needed to improve his cultivation, understand the Devouring Phoenix bloodline, and find a way to prevent the backlash Bai Lin had warned him about.

Li Yan rested his chin against his hand as he thought about the matter.

"I was thinking of starting with pill formation first. Remember what Bai Lin said, if I truly do have the Devouring Phoenix bloodline then I must prepare myself for the backlash."

Xiaoxiao considered his words before nodding.

"It makes sense to start with pill formation. If you intend to continue cultivating, you will need pills that can suppress your bloodline, especially if the Devouring Phoenix bloodline truly exists within you."

Li Yan’s expression became serious.

"Why would I need to suppress it?"

"The higher your cultivation becomes, the more aggressive the bloodline will become when it attacks your body. Your current cultivation is still low, so the backlash has not reached the point where it can seriously threaten you, but that will change as you become stronger."

Li Yan frowned as he considered her words.

"So cultivating faster could actually make things worse."

"It could if you do not prepare yourself."

Xiaoxiao looked at him before continuing.

"Before we make any plans, however, we should run a proper diagnosis. You know that you have a Phoenix bloodline, but knowing that is different from confirming exactly what kind of bloodline you possess."

Li Yan nodded.

"That makes sense."

"The Devouring Phoenix bloodline is extremely unusual. As its name suggests, its primary characteristic is devouring other bloodlines and making them its own, which allows its bearer to steal the innate abilities and potential contained within another bloodline."

Li Yan’s brows rose slightly.

"So it can steal bloodlines?"

"Yes, and that is precisely what makes it dangerous. A bloodline that can devour other bloodlines has no reason to stop at ordinary bloodlines, which means that if you encounter another Phoenix bloodline, yours could potentially devour that one as well."

Li Yan thought about it for a moment before his expression changed slightly.

"Then that explains why it could steal the other Phoenix bloodline you mentioned."

Xiaoxiao nodded.

"Exactly. The bloodline you possess and the other Phoenix bloodline are opposites in nature, yet that opposition does not mean your bloodline cannot devour it. If anything, the strength contained within such a bloodline would make it an even greater target."

Li Yan leaned back and considered everything she had told him.

"That does make sense."

His thoughts soon shifted to Gu Jun.

Gu Jun had not ranked among the top three, so he had been assigned a residence elsewhere instead of on Purple Mountain, and Li Yan still needed to find out which department he intended to join.

"I should find Gu Jun after I rest."

Xiaoxiao looked at him.

"You intend to register today?"

"Yes. I need to know which department he chose, and after that, we can explore the rest of the sect."

Li Yan had only seen a small portion of the sect during Chen Yu’s escort, and now that he had officially become an outer disciple, he wanted to become familiar with the place where he would be cultivating from now on.

"I will rest for a while first, then I will go look for him."

Xiaoxiao nodded, and Li Yan settled into his new residence to rest for a while.

Meanwhile, Mo Lang had already returned to his assigned quarters.

His accommodation was still considerably better than what most new outer disciples had received, but he could not bring himself to appreciate it when he knew that Li Yan had been assigned a residence on Purple Mountain.

He had wanted to be among the top three.

Instead, Li Yan had taken the first position.

Mo Lang sat inside his residence with a gloomy expression as he thought about the examination results, and the more he thought about Li Yan standing above him, the more irritated he became.

He had already lost to Li Yan during their confrontation on the mountain, and now Li Yan had received a better residence as well.

Mo Lang clenched his fists. "I will make you pay, Li Yan."