Chapter 81: Extra 7
The Heavenly Emperor had changed, and the Demon Sovereign, Ming Ji, was watching with predatory eyes. He was also a restless being, and skirmishes along the border between the Immortal Realm and the Demon Abyss were practically constant.
One hundred and fifty years into Tian Yuan’s reign, he decided, against the advice of many, to launch an attack on the demons who were increasingly active along the border. This war involved not only Heavenly Court officials but also many wandering immortals, who also harbored grudges against the demons.
Before setting out, the Phoenix went to Suxin’s abode.
But the moon hung lonely above the parasol tree, a hazy mist drifted through the mountains, and the stream flowed gently.
Suxin was in seclusion.
The Phoenix didn’t disturb her, thinking she would talk to her after the war.
This war between gods and demons was fierce, lasting for decades. Tian Yuan wanted to conquer the demons’ territory, while the demons sought to cross the Sui River and spread their turbid energy. The immortals built fortresses along the front lines, pushing forward, while the demons tried to break through their defenses. Countless immortals perished in this conflict. Perhaps the mounting casualties had frightened Tian Yuan. After fifty years, having spent a considerable amount of resources and Cinnabar Jade, with their territory barely expanding, he began to consider peace talks.
In terms of resources, the Demon Abyss was inferior to the Immortal Realm. If the war continued, the demons would be the first to collapse. Even if peace talks were to occur, it should be the demons who initiated them, allowing the Heavenly Court to hold the upper hand. But Tian Yuan and his officials ignored this logic and sent an emissary to the Demon Abyss.
“This fifty-year war has been a joke.”
“Many great demons have perished.”
“But the Immortal Realm has also lost many Star Monarchs.”
“If we can establish a peace treaty and maintain the border, it would still be a good outcome.”
…
The feathered lineages discussed the matter, but the Phoenix remained silent.
She was preoccupied with thoughts of Suxin. Had she emerged from seclusion? Would she refuse to see her again? She shouldn’t have argued with her last time.
The emissary returned safely from the Demon Abyss, but he brought bad news for the feathered lineages.
Ming Ji had agreed to a peace treaty, a promise to end the war, but he had a condition: the Immortal Realm had to hand over the Phoenix Sovereign as a prisoner of war.
Countless great demons had died by her hand during those fifty years, including Ming Ji’s own offspring.
Upon receiving the news, the Phoenix returned to the Heavenly Court, along with other Star Monarchs.
She read the tentative proposal from the Heavenly Court and couldn’t help but laugh.
The emissary was driven out by her personal guards.
Perhaps because the Heavenly Court didn’t agree to his terms, Ming Ji launched another fierce attack. The immortals, already weary, felt their resolve weakening. As the demons advanced, the cracks in their unity widened.
Shouldn’t they just agree to his terms? Sacrifice one Phoenix Sovereign for peace between the two realms? Wasn’t that a good deal?
The Phoenix’s answer was a resounding no.
But the Heavenly Court’s Star Monarchs wouldn’t give up, repeatedly trying to persuade her. Gradually, even the feathered lineages in Danxue Mountain began to waver.
“The feathered lineages have also suffered many losses in this war. Many of our old friends are gone.”
“Chang Li, what are you suggesting? Why don’t you go and exchange yourself for peace?”
“Unfortunately, the demons specifically requested her.”
The Phoenix watched their arguments calmly, and during this process, she heard a word: selfish.
She was selfish for refusing to sacrifice herself for peace, for not wanting to save countless lives.
“Are you going to watch our warriors die on the battlefield?” someone pleaded, their voice choked with tears.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of impatience. She didn’t want to sacrifice herself. She had argued with Suxin and hadn’t made amends yet.
She hadn’t started this war. Why should she bear the burden?
Was she supposed to die for the feathered lineages simply because of her responsibility to them? Suxin’s words echoed in her mind, and she realized that Suxin had been right.
After everything was over, she would apologize to Suxin.
But “everything” wouldn’t end. The Heavenly Court officials delivered a decree, bearing the Heavenly Constitution Seal.
Among the Five Phoenixes and Three Feathered Birds, she was closest to those of her own lineage, the Phoenixes. But even they were now discussing choosing a successor.
What fate awaited her? She didn’t want to think about it. She refused to surrender. She drew her sword and walked out of the Dharma Hall.
She hadn’t realized there were so many traitors among them.
In the eyes of those in Danxue Mountain, the Phoenix Sovereign was as cold and aloof as ever.
They thought that, having been so kind to them, she should sacrifice herself once more for the sake of the lineages.
But this time, they were met with a sharp sword and a raging inferno.
Standing amidst the blood, looking back at Danxue Mountain, she suddenly realized that it was a cage, trapping her, burning her.
She wanted to break free.
But she couldn’t completely escape.
The Heavenly Constitution Seal, imbued with the power of the Heavenly Dao, suppressed her magic power. Officials and feathered immortals attacked relentlessly.
She wasn’t entirely alone. Many loyal guards fought to clear a path for her.
But their numbers dwindled.
“If you leave, don’t come back,” she heard someone say. It was the last thing she heard before escaping.
Perhaps she should be grateful that, out of respect for their shared lineage, they hadn’t killed her. She managed to gather her guards’ souls.
The path to freedom had been cut short. She sighed softly.
She wasn’t thinking about Danxue Mountain’s betrayal or the Heavenly Court’s incompetence. She was thinking that she wouldn’t have a chance to apologize to Suxin.
The Cold Prison in the Demon Abyss was a place of eternal darkness.
A storm raged within, its fury like a whirlwind of swords.
Ming Ji, unable to kill the Phoenix Sovereign and exact his revenge, had imprisoned her in the Cold Prison.
Blood trickled from her wounds, staining her white robes crimson. The ice in the prison melted, the blood dripping onto the ground, blooming like red lotuses, flames flickering within.
She lowered her gaze, no longer searching for a way to escape. The turbid energy of the Demon Abyss assaulted her body, but that wasn’t the main problem. She could endure the mixture of pure and turbid energy, but the souls she had been protecting, lacking physical vessels, couldn’t withstand the onslaught. She had to send them into the cycle of reincarnation. But how could she do that in the Cold Prison? After much deliberation, she set her sights on a lower realm she had sensed.
It was a world where spiritual energy was nascent, devoid of cultivators, where the Heavenly Dao hadn’t yet manifested, and the Heavenly Gates were unguarded. There were countless such worlds. Some, by chance, thrived, but most vanished quietly, like ephemeral flowers. She forced open the Heavenly Gates and, using her own life force, nurtured this dying world, infusing it with her Dao. She transformed a blood feather into a towering tree, its trunk and branches embodying the Dao.
It seemed like an eternity, yet also a mere instant.
When she looked up again, she sensed a familiar, sharp sword intent in the wind.
Her old friend had come.
“You’re injured,” the Phoenix said.
She hadn’t wanted Suxin to come, but deep down, she had clung to a faint hope, longing for her presence.
She was a contradiction, both fearing and desiring her arrival.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” Suxin said, her voice trembling. She walked through the sea of fire, born from the Phoenix’s blood, and knelt before her, her sword supporting her weight. She reached out a trembling hand, her fingertips touching the Phoenix’s pale, cold cheek.
The Phoenix didn’t mention their argument. She simply took Suxin’s hand and asked her for one last favor.
“You’ve lost a lot of your life force.”
“I used it to nurture that world,” the Phoenix explained.
“Can you still undergo Nirvana after your life force is depleted?” Suxin asked.
The Phoenix didn’t answer, only smiled.
Sometimes, silence was an answer, but Suxin refused to accept it.
The Phoenix didn’t die in the Cold Prison.
Suxin rescued her. Ming Ji was dead, the Demon Realm in chaos. No one noticed their escape.
“Where are you taking me?” the Phoenix asked, looking at Suxin.
“A place where you can recover and undergo Nirvana.” The Sui River separated pure and turbid, but beneath it lay the source of primordial energy, the foundation of heaven and earth. The Phoenix, born from primordial energy, could naturally heal her wounds there.
“Your injuries are severe,” the Phoenix said.
“A few elixirs will do,” Suxin replied.
The Phoenix hesitated for a moment. “Don’t take your own elixirs,” she said. “I’ll make some for you.”
Suxin took a deep breath and chuckled. “Alright,” she said.
Her voice faded. The Phoenix’s condition was dire.
Her mind drifted, and the last words she heard were “Wait for me to come back.”
Wait? Come back? Where was Suxin going? She was so badly injured. What could she possibly do? The Phoenix’s thoughts raced, but she couldn’t grasp onto the person before her.
Then, even her consciousness faded into darkness.
The Abyss of the Milky Way, the Phoenix’s Nirvana.
For centuries, her consciousness drifted like a lonely boat.
Over two hundred years later, she woke up briefly.
Amidst the red and blue crystals of the abyss, she looked at her phoenix form, her expression unreadable.
The turbid energy of the Cold Prison had tainted her manifestation, leaving behind an indelible mark.
If this had been her true form from the beginning, Danxue Mountain would have surely deemed her an ill omen.
The abyss was vast and silent.
Suxin had asked her to wait, but she hadn’t come.
Perhaps she hadn’t waited long enough.
She thought, then drifted back to sleep.
But her mind was now restless, and she woke up again and again.
She thought about Danxue Mountain’s betrayal, the Cold Prison’s icy grip, the bloody path she had carved, and Suxin, who had yet to appear… she looked down at her cold, indifferent reflection and suddenly felt overwhelmed.
Those thoughts swirled around her like a whirlpool, threatening to shatter her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, her mind on the verge of collapse.
The flames of Nirvana ignited once more.
She lay alone in this desolate abyss, and when she woke up, all her pain and anger were gone.
There were formations and barriers at the bottom of the abyss, which she could break, but for some reason, she didn’t want to.
After several decades, the primordial energy in the abyss suddenly surged, a foreign aura invading this cold, silent space.
As the barrier shattered, the abyss shook violently.
A strange emotion welled up within her, a mixture of joy and sorrow. She didn’t understand it and simply pushed it aside.
She picked up a blue crystal and pressed it against her forehead, blood trickling down from her eyebrow. Looking down at her pale, pitiful reflection, she licked her lips and smiled, a spark of mischief in her eyes.
The Phoenix emerged from the abyss.
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