Little Phoenix Is Not An Immortal Chapter 1
Translated by Luen Translations
Edited by Siren and Birdie
Chapter 1: God King Zhao Hua (1)
Within the boundless Heavenly Ocean was an isolated island surrounded on all sides by the sea, within which flourished cordons of hibiscus trees.
The waves were calm, the white mist was still, and not a sound could be heard.
Suddenly, the stillness was broken by a rooster cry that pierced through the clouds in the sky. It was loud, reverberating, and resounded through the six realms.
At the first break of dawn, the east brightened with a halo that emanated from the sun, and the morning breeze blew across the land.
On top of the hibiscus trees stood a flock of majestic heavenly chickens. They were perched at the ends of branches that were swaying with the wind. Red combs adorned the tops of their heads, and they glistened. Their bodies were covered in shiny multicolored feathers that were bright in color and dazzled the eyes. By no means could an ordinary chicken compare to them. From the highest place up above a hibiscus tree, the leader started a march-past and every bird continued in alternation. One cry was followed by another, and it spurred into ten thousand crows, breaking the solace of the island.
In a split second, the round, red sun leapt out from the surface of the cloudy sea with its beam of warm sunlight pouring ahead.
After the heavenly chickens perceived the break of dawn, each and every one of them raised their heads, puffed out their chests, and together they proudly crowed with great enthusiasm.
A little bit away, near the nook of a tree, laid a small heavenly chicken with its neck contracted as it dispiritedly squatted between the branches and leaves.
It was different from the other heavenly chickens. This small heavenly hen looked really ugly. Its head and feathers were a gray-black color, dull and dreary. It was practically a heavenly hen who had been roasted inside a boiler. Compared to the surrounding flock of companions who were gorgeously multicolored, it was particularly eye-catching.
This “ugly duckling”, that’s right, is the protagonist of this story.
Within this ugly, small, heavenly hen’s body, dwelled a special soul, and that is our female protagonist, Tian Zhen.
People say that a crane stands out among a flock of chickens. Then what do I count as?
Tian Zhen silently used her claw to scratch her head.
Regarding this course of events, she really wanted to express some thoughts containing indecent words. However, there was only this flock of chickens on the island, and they were only as smart as normal chickens. They had souls but no intelligence, so it was very difficult to communicate with them. Actually, even if there was someone with the ability to speak, they probably wouldn’t be able to understand what she was saying.
Tian Zhen was truly mournful. She couldn’t speak the same language as the roosters. She spent an entire night accepting this fact.
‘Alright! A heavenly chicken is still a heavenly chicken!’ In any case, she was a chicken immortal and wouldn’t have to worry about someone cutting her neck.
Soon, trouble arrived.
She sensed the discontent gazes of all the heavenly chickens nearby. Tian Zhen wanted to cry but had no tears—— ‘I know that you all bear the great duty of heralding the daybreak for the six realms. However, don’t tell me that you all can’t see that I’m a hen?! Is the job of heralding the break of day something a hen does?’
Tian Zhen lowered her head and looked at her feathers. She sighed and suddenly felt a sharp stinging pain from her back. Turning her head to look, she saw that all the surrounding heavenly chickens had their neck feathers raised, and they glared at her with an extremely unfriendly expression. Her scalp immediately felt numb.
‘Shoot, I’m suspected of being lazy!’
Seeing her not move, the big heavenly rooster beside her readily gave her a ruthless peck again, and this time, it pecked at a feather.
A person who had fallen into an island surrounded by the Heavenly Ocean was being bullied by a rooster! Tian Zhen felt hurt and helpless. Considering that the nature of these chickens was mostly that of basic poultry and livestock, thereby making communication impossible, if she were to continue to act this way, it was highly likely that she would suffer the entire flock’s beating. She promptly extended her neck and crowed twice in imitation.
The boundless Heavenly Ocean realm went momentarily silent.
The sound of the bizarre cry was resounding, but it did not penetrate. It was melodious, beautiful, and carried a faintly discernible, ethereal lingering sound. The sound traveled through the clouds like a melody without restraint, and it was enough to make all living things intoxicated.
All of the heavenly roosters were dumbfounded.
‘This is……my voice?’ Tian Zhen couldn’t believe it herself and gave another cry.
All the chickens were enchanted and momentarily paused their heralding duty.
‘The crow sent out by this hen was even more amazing than a rooster’s?’ At long last, Tian Zhen discovered a personal strength. Just as she was immeasurably self-satisfied, suddenly, another voice came from above her head——
“Little phoenix?”
The voice was extremely pleasant to listen to. It was clear, suave, and perhaps graceful? These words were insufficient to describe it. It wasn’t feminine or masculine, but was exactly at a good place in between. It also carried a faint, peculiar husky vibration with it. Compared to it, even the cry just now felt a bit inferior.
Tian Zhen had just adapted to the identity of a heavenly hen with great effort and was unaccustomed to suddenly hearing human speech—— ‘Yesterday, I didn’t see any person living on this small, rotten island, was I wrong?’
“I knew it sounded like one. Sure enough, it was here.” Said the heavenly voice while sighing, faintly concealing a trace of smiling intent.
That was definitely human speech. Tian Zhen was overjoyed and raised her head to look at the human but...
It was……a phoenix!
An enormous Fire Phoenix paused in midair. It had a pair of clear eyes, and a prideful air. Its wings extended to a length of about seven meters and were glittering as if they were made of brocade, and had very long tail feathers that radiated golden light.
Compared to this majestic phoenix, the multicolored flock of heavenly roosters on top of the trees seemed like ravens.
‘The difference between the nouveau riche and birth nobles!’ thought Tian Zhen, as her eyes looked towards the phoenix’s head, where a man stood, and that sight made her drool.
The man stood there dressed in white clothes laced with gold, a golden belt of intricate carving, and long hair draped across his shoulder. A person could drown to death within the tenderness nestled in his phoenix eyes. As far as his age goes, let’s say he’s young. His solemn appearance, on the contrary, contained hidden prestige, the kind that came with age. So, let’s say he’s old. While looking at that incomparable face, you would feel a tinge of embarrassment.
His entire body was covered by a faint Godly halo,peaceful and merciful, like an abode for the troubled.
‘The Holy Father?’ This name jumped out from within Tian Zhen’s mind.
The white clothed Holy Father steadily sat on the phoenix’s back. His smile was as warm as the rising morning sun.
“Little phoenix, do you still want to stay here?”
‘Little phoenix? He rode a big phoenix to come looking for another little phoenix?’ Tian Zhen subconsciously looked to the left and right in confusion. Without waiting for her to realize what was going on, a slender yet beautiful hand extended over and carried her into the arms and trapped her in between them and the pure white clothed chest.
The embrace was spacious, and exotic smells assailed her nose. Tian Zhen’s blood pressure violently surged and… she fainted.
“How could a little phoenix from our Divine Winged race have been reduced to entering a rooster flock?” He softly tidied her feathers. His tone contained some love as well as some ridicule, “And actually learned how to crow?”
‘Phoenix? Little phoenix?!’
Tian Zhen woke up from her unconscious state or rather, “her daze”, and looked down at the flock of heavenly roosters atop the hibiscus trees. Suddenly, she had a “looking up at the sky and laughing heartily while leaving home”-like urge—— ‘Who said only an ugly duckling could become a white swan? I, an ugly little hen, have also become a little phoenix today!’
The white clothed Holy Father smiled. “How could a phoenix stay with a rooster flock? I’ll take you to the place where you ought to be, all right?”
Tian Zhen incessantly nodded her head.
Upon seeing this, the white clothed Holy Father was just about to say something, but stopped again. He turned his head and looked towards the other side.
At the boundary between the realm of the ocean and the vast, forget-me-not blue sky, swarmed countless, densely packed black spots that spread near and far. They moved orderly towards their side and stopped when they were 330 meters away. Unexpectedly, it seemed like they were actually birds.
Within the blink of an eye, a black figure arrived in front of them.
That was the mighty Da Peng, and in a flash, he had retracted his wings and changed into a human form. He had the appearance of a 40 year old general. He slowly made his way towards them and respectfully made a greeting towards the white clothed Holy Father. “Chui Tian, leader of the Northern Sea’s Ninth Heaven, Kun Peng Division, pays his respect to Zhao Huajun.”
(T/N: kun is a legendary giant fish that could transform into a peng, which is a giant bird)
‘Zhao Huajun?’ Tian Zhen secretly noted this name down. It looked like he was a leader.
Zhao Huajun peacefully acknowledged the greeting and amiably referred to him as “Da Peng King” and asked, “The emperor has appointed you a task?”
Chui Tian replied, “Precisely. The Devils have assaulted the realm, and this subordinate is under the imperial orders to return to the Northern Sea and move the army. This subordinate heard of Zhao Huajun passing through here and hence, decided to wait here.”
Zhao Huajun said, “I guarantee that I will elect you to join the imperial court. In these years, you have done countless meritorious deeds and have made me gratified. The Bird God race has thrived because of you.”
Chui Tian hurriedly said, “It is only right and natural that this subordinate does his utmost for his majesty the Emperor and for my king’s orders.”
Zhao Huajun nodded his head. “The moving of the army is an urgent business, so there’s no need to be overly courteous. Go.”
Chui Tian excused himself and began to leave.
Zhao Huajun recalled something and shouted for him to stop, “There’s a little phoenix here who has been reborn after bathing in fire, and I think she forced that to happen. She managed to escape with her life, but she damaged her brightly colored feathers and, as a result, she forgot her base nature out of confusion and mistakenly joined a rooster flock. You came at just the right time. Could you bring her back to the Northern Seas phoenix race as you go by?”
Chui Tian replied, “As you wish,” and stepped forward to receive the currently mute Tian Zhen.
Tian Zhen gazed at that pair of sharp, triangular eyes and that bearded chin and then gazed at Zhao Huajun’s handsome face again. She decisively puffed up her neck feathers, flapped her wings, and her two claws tenaciously grabbed Zhao Huajun’s front lapels, refusing to let go.
Zhao Huajun couldn’t help smiling, “You’re unwilling to go to the Northern Seas?”
Tian Zhen repeatedly nodded her head.
Originally, he had heard a member of his own race imitating a rooster cry and so he had followed that sound and reached here. Seeing her confused and unaware of her identity, he had intended to send her back to her race. Who would have thought that this little phoenix could communicate with such intelligence despite not having the least bit of cultivation.
Zhao Huajun regarded her with two-tenth’s more fondness. He lifted a finger and propped up her small head. “Clever Little Phoenix, since you’re unwilling to go, then follow me back to Yu Mo Temple to cultivate.”
‘God! That smile is too dazzling!’ Tian Zhen’s head spun and deleted the indecent words from her thoughts about this current course of events.
Actually, being a bird isn’t too bad…….
Zhao Huajun had been in charge of the Bird God race for thousands of years and had a heart that loved and was protective of his people. How could he know that another soul dwelled within the little phoenix’s body? He waved his hand for Chui Tian to withdraw and the Fire Phoenix that he was riding on slowly rose.
Its wings lightly flapped and, in the blink of an eye, they had traveled 8,000 miles as they directly flew in the direction of the imperial court.
Crossing the Heavenly Ocean, the large wilderness was filled with vigorous growth of tall canopies and shrubs. There was dense fog spiraling among the clouds. There was a mountain, and the mountain’s name was You Po. It was so tall that you couldn’t even wish to see its glacial peak, and it had strange, craggy rocks and that made it look extremely harsh.
