Chapter 1324: Karlheinz Strom

Davis roamed around the Border Town that was practically filled with all kinds of items for sale. He bought a few goods, like maps and strange items, or unappraised items to check his luck, but then he was just ripped off all the same. Nevertheless, with the amount of wealth he possessed, he didn't bother sulking and continued shopping, taking in the scenery as well.

Even the Border Town here had floating abodes.

He didn't bother investigating about Shirley as he knew that he couldn't alert the Burning Phoenix Ridge, but with his soul sense spread around after he made it to the plaza and simply sat and waited, he did listen to the contemporary conversations of the people, taking in a lot of information at once. 

However, his expression became a bit difficult as he noticed that most of the conversations were about doing women. He excluded these conversations as if he was deselecting them and continued to listen to other discussions, primarily those that were related to the Burning Phoenix Ridge.

'Mhmm? The Burning Phoenix Ridge has sent numerous core disciples and top disciples to the mini-realm that had opened more than a year ago? Many of the disciples died, and many made it out. There was even a top disciple who was suspected of killing another top disciple, but since there was no evidence, the Sect Master of the Burning Phoenix Ridge determined to drop the matter?'

Davis heard two male Burning Phoenix Ridge disciples who were in an enclosed restaurant room, spouting all this information as they were convinced that no one could hear them.

'This is a worthwhile piece of information... Go on, keep engaging in that particular conversation... Don't change the topic...' 

Davis inwardly chuckled as he still listened, but then his expression changed!

'Senior sister Shirley...? The top disciple who is rumored to have killed senior brother Schneider...?'

Davis became shocked to hear the word Shirley come out of their mouth. He was about to continue hearing their discussion when a manly voice echoed.

"Fellow cultivator Feng. Let's go to the Burning Phoenix Ridge together..."

Davis's disguised black eyes shot open as he saw Karlheinz Strom descend a few meters away from him amidst the crowd. He couldn't help but blink in response, "Did half a day pass just like that?"

He didn't even recognize Karlheinz Strom coming near him as he was completely engrossed in their conversation that possibly concerned Shirley.

"Ah no..." Karlheinz Strom slightly chuckled, "Was fellow cultivator Feng immersed in cultivation? My apologies. Only a few hours had passed. I was relieved sooner because the elder who should take my post came here sooner than I thought they would."

Davis shook his head as he stood up, "So fellow cultivator Karlheinz told me a time where you would surely be able to take me to the Burning Phoenix Ridge?"

"Indeed..." Karlheinz Strom smiled before raising his brows, "Is there anything else we'd like to look after?"

"No, we can leave..." Davis smiled as he clasped his hands, "I'm in your care, fellow cultivator Karlheinz Strom."

"Ahaha! Since you're already my guest, we'd perhaps like to get rid of the fellow cultivator greeting and call each other by our names. Isn't that better, Feng?"

"Sure... Karlheinz."

Davis chuckled along with the other party, creating a cordial atmosphere.

Karlheinz Strom and Davis soon flew above the Border Town as they left the area in a fifteen-meter tall and thirty-meter wide flying abode, a Peak-Level King Grade Construct that looked as magnificent as a Burning Phoenix, except there were only three tail feathers.

Davis recalled that the Burning Phoenix possessed five beautiful crimson tail feathers while the Vermilion Bird possessed six tail feathers, and the Phoenixes possessed nine tail feathers. This was knowledge he gained from the magical beast compendium from the libraries he had visited before, so he couldn't be sure about it.

Nevertheless, he mused that a three-tailed Burning Phoenix Flying Abode was for people with comparatively lower status in the Burning Phoenix Ridge. 

'As expected of a power that is said to have forty-eight known Ninth Stage Powerhouses... A Peak-Level Eighth Stage Expert is nothing more than a powerful gatekeeper for a Territory Gate...'

Davis's eyes flashed in an amused light.

He had his fair share of encounters with a few Ninth Stage Powerhouses and almost all of them were magnanimous enough to not attack him, but would it be the same here?

After all, with the information that senior sister Shirley was here, he was ninety-nine percent sure that she was in the Burning Phoenix Ridge as a disciple.

After all, she was the favored inheritor of the Fire Phoenix Immortal, so it was unlikely that she could stay the previous Shirley he had fought before.

Even though Davis had figured she could be in the Burning Phoenix Ridge as a disciple long before he had arrived here, he expected her to be more low-key, but it looks like she went straight for the bigger fish in the sea. Or, in this case, the bigger bird in the sky.

He felt that he should've expected this from her style, but he also thought that due to Ellia's other incarnation, Shirley could be somewhere else as well. That's why he had thought of using this elder's connection to pin down a number of people as if looking for something and then establishing a secretive connection with Shirley after he successfully found her.

He couldn't help but inwardly chuckle in happiness as he didn't think that he would be able to pinpoint her as soon as he stepped into the Burning Phoenix Ridge.

However, he couldn't help but also feel thankful for entering the sealed space, causing the Solitary Soul Avatar to return to protect the treasured flowers and family members. Perhaps, he wouldn't have been able to easily make acquaintance with this elder if he had gone over a year ago because this elder wouldn't have been in post, and Shirley wouldn't have been in the Fifty-Two Territories as it became apparent that she had been in the mini-realm.

'I also have to thank that dead corpse cultivator for making it easier for me to get into the Burning Phoenix Ridge... What a heaven send... Or my luck is still on the brighter side...?'

Davis kept musing in happiness as he thought that he was going to see Shirley.

'Perhaps, Ellia is also somewhere here or nearby? Mhm... I'll know if I ask Shirley when I meet her...'

Davis's eyes became a bit narrower as he recalled, 'But it's rumored that she had killed another top disciple named Schneider. Is that true? Or was she framed by someone else? I don't know, but I'll definitely look into it and see to it that she gets justice even if she rejects me...'

'That's the least I can do for making her suffer for my indecisiveness and conflicted emotions at that time...'

Davis inwardly swore that she gets a free pass for harming him a bit, only him that is, but nevertheless, he also thought that it was possible for her to kill as she had never stopped challenging and advancing through her own efforts.

'Enemies would be naturally created when we advance, so if Shirley killed this Schneider for whatever purpose it may be, I'd still protect her...'

Even if Shirley actually decided to kill Schneider to plunder his resources, he was still bent on protecting her. He felt that he owed her that much, but it looks like she also had the Sect Master's favor, so was she really in need of saving?

"Feng, is something still bothering you?"

Hundreds of thoughts ran in Davis's mind when suddenly a voice echoed.

"If it was the spatial ring from the corpse cultivator, I'm truly sorry as even I have no jurisdiction over it. I must return this to the sect so that they could publically burn down the wicked path treasures before returning the spatial ring to the Treasury. Only from there will I be able to claim twenty-five percent of the treasure. If you can wait for a week, then I am willing to share more than half of what I can claim..."

Karlheinz Strom appeared extremely sincere as he spoke.

"Ah, no..." Davis shook his head, "A trip to the Burning Phoenix Ridge is extremely expensive and hard to come by, so it could be said that the trade was fair. Besides, I don't want to look into that corpse cultivator's spatial ring..."

Karlheinz Strom's face became slightly odd, "Believe me, you don't..."

"Haha, that makes me both curious and repulsed..." 

Davis's face changed to a wry expression.

"I don't need the spatial ring, nor was I spacing out... I just thought if I could witness the magnificence of the Burning Phoenix Ridge with my very own eyes and feast upon its more than five hundred thousand-year-old histories."

"Haha... Isn't that why I invited you, Feng?" Karlheinz Strom chuckled as he served spirit tea to Davis as a sign of courtesy, "We're almost there..."

He took a sip and looked at the projection in front that displayed what the eyes of the ship saw, obviously the work of a formation.

Davis saw that the entire region was covered by crimson mountains. A crimson and fiery pathway lit up the road in grand fiery crimson flames adorning the ridge of the crimson mountains as it led to an enormous floating gate. The surroundings seemed easily traversable, but a person could only enter and exit the Burning Phoenix Ridge through this gate!

Davis's eyes glowed as he kept staring at the projection while the scenery in it got closer and closer. 

He was finally here! 

The entrance of the Burning Phoenix Ridge!