So, the red-crowned phoenix no longer struggled to fly upward. Instead, it slowly folded its wings and drifted downward gently, following the suction of the black hole.

  Jieyou sat steadily on the phoenix’s broad back, watching the endless darkness rushing past below. Instead of feeling the slightest fear, she was filled with curiosity, clicking her tongue in amazement. She reached out her little hand and gently stroked the phoenix’s shimmering feathers, feeling the smooth and delicate texture under her fingertips.

  "Miss Jiu, your feathers are so beautiful and gorgeous! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven—there are exactly seven colors!" She leaned close to the feathers, staring at them carefully, her tone full of admiration, her eyes shining brightly like stars.

  "Wow, your tail is so long and elegant—it’s so spectacular when spread out!" She reached out again and gently touched the phoenix’s long tail feathers, the joy in her eyes impossible to hide.

  The red-crowned phoenix raised its neck proudly, its phoenix eyes lifting slightly. It looked as if it was saying, "Naturally, my elegance is unmatched," and also seemed a little dissatisfied with the somewhat childish name "Miss Jiu," but it didn’t care too much.

  But at this moment, trapped in this bottomless black hole, with their safety uncertain, there was no time to quibble about the name.

  Jieyou’s heart itched with curiosity. She couldn’t help thinking: Should I call Xiao Bai out to boost our momentum in this black hole? But when she thought about Xiao Bai’s mysterious origin and his rather unruly temperament, her heart skipped a beat—this guy would probably cause some trouble again, so it’s better to hold back for now.

  But on second thought, Xiao Bai was extremely powerful. Keeping him by her side might be a hidden trump card. If they encountered danger, he could probably be of great use at a critical moment.

  Thinking of this, she felt a trace of expectation for the bottomless, unknown black hole beneath her, curious about the secrets hidden in the darkness.

  "Roar——!"

  Jieyou simply stood up straight, put her hands on her hips, and shouted loudly in a rough voice, full of arrogance, looking quite imposing, as if she wanted to break the silence of the black hole.

  Xiao Bai behind her seemed to read her mind. Sensing her thoughts and arrogance, he quietly restrained the sharp cold light on his blade, forcibly suppressing the surging fighting spirit in his body. He turned into a pure white giant sword, hovering quietly beside her, docile like a dormant assassin’s blade—unassuming, yet hiding sharpness.

  Using such a powerful and majestic giant sword as an assassin’s blade—there were probably very few people who could do that in the entire Dawn Continent.

  Jieyou looked at the docile Xiao Bai beside her, then bowed her head and touched the feathers of the red-crowned phoenix under her. She unexpectedly felt a little grateful for this sudden accident—if she hadn’t been dragged into this black hole, how would she have had the chance to see Miss Jiu’s true face, let alone stand steadily on her back and carefully admire the grace of this divine beast?

  Although Miss Jiu was in her true form as a red-crowned phoenix at this moment, her eyes were still round like black beans. But in her eyes, there shone a bright and profound light of wisdom, completely different from her cute appearance, as if she had already seen through the mysteries of the black hole.

  One person, one phoenix, and one divine sword continued to fall downward in the black hole. The darkness around them became more and more intense, but also more and more quiet.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  From time to time, stones rolled down from above, crashing into the depths of the darkness with a dull "thud," gradually dissipating into the bottomless abyss. Slowly, the light from above became smaller and smaller, finally shrinking to the size of a full moon, like the only bright spot in the darkness. The sound of falling stones also gradually disappeared, and the surroundings were eerily quiet—there was not even a trace of wind, only the slight sound of the three of them falling.

  I wonder if the tornado above has stopped? That guy Qiu Ling—was he also dragged into this tornado and ended up in the same situation as her? Jieyou sat on the phoenix’s back, looking at the surrounding darkness while thinking randomly, a trace of curiosity welling up in her heart.

  As she was daydreaming, the darkness around her became even thicker, but strangely, her vision became abnormally clear. She could even see the tiny lines on the distant rock walls clearly.

  The rock walls on both sides were pitch black, but they exuded a strange transparent texture, warm and smooth, as if carefully carved from high-quality black jade. There was even a faint dark light flowing deep inside the rock walls. Flying down a little further, regular patterns appeared on the rock walls, with faint dark light flowing between the patterns, flickering and changing unpredictably, dazzling people and making it impossible to understand their meaning.

  "Could it be... a treasure cave?" Jieyou’s eyes lit up, and she suddenly perked up, so excited that she almost jumped off the phoenix’s back. She pointed at the patterns on the rock walls, chattering away, full of expectation for the treasure.

  Since she couldn’t guess, she might as well ask Miss Jiu! She had lived for so long and was so powerful—maybe she knew the origin of these rock wall patterns and what was hidden in this black hole.

  But Miss Jiu only chirped at her in a string of sounds, clear but full of obscure words—something about "return," "crystal," and "Nine Songs." Jieyou was completely confused, not understanding a single word.

  She was about to ask for clarification, to find out what these words meant, when the phoenix’s wings suddenly stabilized and stopped falling—they had finally reached the bottom.

  The red-crowned phoenix with colorful feathers shook its body gently, and a dazzling colorful light flashed. In an instant, it transformed back into the small and cute Miss Jiu, fluttering her little wings and landing gently in Jieyou’s arms, curling up into a ball and rubbing against her lapel.

  Jieyou held the soft Miss Jiu in her arms, stood firmly on her feet, and looked around. She was instantly stunned by the scene in front of her, her eyes wide open, and her breath paused for a moment.

  As far as the eye could see, there was an endless crystal forest! The crystals were all translucent and glowing with a faint shimmer—some white, some light blue, some light purple—growing in a scattered and orderly manner, like an enchanted secret realm, breathtakingly beautiful.

  A faint buzzing sound lingered in the crystal forest, soft like the wind blowing through leaves, or like some ancient whisper, flowing slowly in the air, carrying a mysterious and distant atmosphere.

  Jieyou’s curiosity instantly exploded. She carefully stretched out her little hand and gently placed it on a nearby crystal. As soon as her fingertips touched it, a numb and tingling sensation spread from her fingertips to her whole body, so comfortable that she couldn’t help but squint her eyes and curl up the corners of her mouth.

  But this comfort didn’t last long. A powerful suction suddenly came from the crystal, so strong that it seemed to suck her soul in! Jieyou was so scared that she quickly pulled her hand back, sticking out her tongue in lingering fear and patting her chest—fortunately, she reacted quickly, otherwise she would have almost fallen here. This seemingly beautiful crystal actually hid such danger.

  She was thinking about which direction to go to explore the secrets of the crystal forest when Miss Jiu in her arms also began to look around curiously, tilting her little head left and right, looking west and then east, her little eyes full of hesitation, as if she couldn’t make up her mind.

  Jieyou simply pulled out Xiao Bai, who instantly turned into a pure white giant sword, hovering steadily in front of her. She tapped her toes, jumped lightly onto the sword’s blade, stood firmly, and looked down at the crystal forest from a height.

  Seeing this, Miss Jiu also fluttered her wings and flew up, landing steadily on the hilt, tilting her little head and continuing to look around, occasionally chirping a few times, as if communicating with Xiao Bai.

  One person, one phoenix, and one divine sword wandered casually in this mysterious crystal forest, exploring the unknown mysteries deep in the black hole.