Chapter 2166 – Vermillion Bird Flame
“What did you say!?”
Buzz!
Meng Kongchan lost control of his profound energy for an instant, and the vast space around him shuddered so violently that it threatened to shatter. The wrath of a Divine Regent was genuinely terrifying.
Although the profound energy was dispelled the next instant, the silver light in his eyes did not fade for a long, long time. His invisible soul pressure was so intense that, five kilometers away, Meng Cangji, Meng Xuanji, and the others came to a sudden halt, chilled to their very cores.
“The Lightless Divine Regent?”
Meng Jianxi looked shocked. “Why… Why would she want to kill you? I don’t remember you offending her at all.”
“Hmph!!”
Meng Kongchan let out a heavy grunt. “It’s that madwoman we’re talking about. There’s really nothing she could do that would surprise me. But… to think she dared to lay her hands on Yuan’er!!”
Meng Jianxi opened his mouth but could not say anything for a time. This was the second time in his life that his Father was so angry that he could not keep the emotion from leaking to the surroundings. The first time was when Meng Jianyuan disappeared a century ago.
“There is no need to be angry, senior.”
Yun Che consoled him gently, “Although the Eternal Night Divine Daughter did want to kill me, she ran out of energy due to her severe injuries and could not follow through. Not only that, Caili landed a huge blow that cost her half her life. If we only look at the outcome, it’s Eternal Night that suffered a huge loss.”
“She was only getting what was coming to her!”
Meng Kongchan’s anger did not disappear, however. The silver light in his pupils grew denser as he slowly turned around and cast his powerful soul toward the Eternal Night Kingdom of God’s courtyard without a sound. He said in a low tone, “Dreamweaver would rather not clash against a mad dog if possible, but that does not mean that we are afraid of her!”
“This time, I will—”
His voice suddenly ceased, and the refined, feminine voice came from outside. “Su Shang apologizes for the intrusion. My master would like to invite Divine Son Yuan for a meeting.”
“High Priest Ling Xian?” Surprise bloomed on Meng Jianxi’s face once more… Earlier, the Abyssal Monarch Himself had summoned Yun Che for a private audience. Now, High Priest Ling Xian wished to meet the young man. No one had ever received such favor in the entire history of the Abyss.
Meng Kongchan wore a calm expression as he nodded. “Go.”
Yun Che had just stepped out of the room when a gentle breeze lifted him into the air.
Compared to the first time they met, Su Shang wore a small, gentle smile. “There is no need to be nervous, Divine Son, Yuan. There is no need to speak either. Just come with me.”
“Thank you for your trouble.” Yun Che performed a slight bow before following her into the sky.
Meng Jianxi watched Yun Che until he disappeared into the clouds. He was just about to say something when Meng Kongchan vanished without warning, leaving behind only a lingering air of terrifying soul presence.
When Meng Kongchan came to a halt, he stood face-to-face with Hua Fuchen.
The duo exchanged a glance before Meng Kongchan said coldly, “Well met. It’s time we confronted that madwoman.”
Hua Fuchen said calmly, “Unsanctioned fights are forbidden in the Pure Land. This is doubly true for Divine Regents.”
“Hmph!”
Meng Kongchan’s eyebrows furrowed deeper. “That madwoman doesn’t deserve us angering the Pure Land. However, I’m sure that sending her a ‘big gift’ is within the rules.”
“Haha.”
Hua Fuchen let out a small chuckle. “I know you too well. Anything involving Meng Jianyuan will bring out your true wrath. I bet you can’t wait to leave the Pure Land, don’t you?”
“Let’s go then.”
Hua Fuchen wasn’t planning to stop him from the beginning. “With me around, she will receive the gift whether she likes it or not.”
……
The world before his eyes grew colorful as they passed through many thin clouds. A sea of trees and blossoms filled the horizon. For the myriad denizens of the Abyss, it was nothing short of the paradise of one’s dreams. It was High Priest Ling Xian’s divine abode.
After descending to the ground with Yun Che, Divine Attendant Su Shang turned toward a particular direction and beckoned him to follow. “This way, please, Divine Son Yuan. My master has been waiting for some time.”
Before his eyes was a seemingly endless sea of flowers. Keeping his silence, Yun Che gave Su Shang a slight nod before slowly stepping forward. Three steps later, the space before him suddenly rippled like water. By the time the ripples faded, the world before his eyes had already transformed into something else.
There was a delicate wooden cottage in the middle of a sea of pure white Rainbow Cloud Branches. A figure clad in brilliant crimson was standing before the sea of clouds. They were remarkably conspicuous to put it mildly. Her crimson, sunset-hued gown trailed along the ground as far as the eyes could see. Intricate, fiery patterns of divinity embroidered the cuffs and hems. The divine patterns at the back, especially, were shaped like ornate wings and emitted a faint, vermillion glow. It made every flutter of the garment look as if a Vermillion Bird was spreading its wings.
A faint mist of scorching energy permeated the surrounding space. It was the divine presence of a Vermillion Bird that had settled for countless ages. It carried both the overwhelming might of fire and the timeless weight of eons. Within her, the Phoenix bloodline and the Golden Crow bloodline pulsed violently and simultaneously.
Yun Che swiftly saluted the figure. “Yun Che of Dreamweaver greets you, senior Ling Xian.”
The crimson figure slowly turned around, and he finally saw the legendary High Priest Ling Xian in the flesh. At the same time, astonishment flickered in his eyes.
Currently, there are only five True Gods in the Abyss who reached their level without relying on “divine inheritance”. They were the Abyssal Monarch and his Four High Priests.
A True God enjoyed an exceedingly long lifespan. It was even harder to discern their age through their appearance. High Priest Liu Xiao didn’t count as he cared nothing for his appearance, but High Priest Ling Xian was the only woman among the five True Gods. To his knowledge, she of all people should care deeply about her appearance and would do her utmost to preserve a youthful outlook.
… However, the woman before him was old and decrepit beyond even his wildest imagination.
“There is no need for courtesy, child.”
Her voice was gentle like the sound of willow leaves fluttering in the spring wind. Her face was covered in deep, ancient wrinkles resembling the rings of an ancient tree, and the creases around her eyes bore the marks of time. Her eyes were murky and old, but also filled with a warm smile that seemed capable of melting all fretfulness into pure autumn water.
“The reason I asked you out today is to have a chat with you. I hope you don’t mind speaking with an old woman like me.”
Her voice and words were so kind that it was hard to believe that they came from the mouth of a High Priest of the Pure Land.
Yun Che hurriedly bent down slightly and said, “You flatter me, senior Ling Xian. It is my profound honor to be summoned by you.”
High Priest Ling Xian smiled faintly and raised her long sleeve. The withered head beneath the sleeve waved slightly, and an exquisitely crafted praying mat appeared before Yun Che. “Take a seat, child.”
“Thank you.” Although he felt like he was being impolite, Yun Che could not turn her down. So, he obediently took a seat.
For a long time, High Priest Ling Xian simply watched him in silence. Finally, she let out a sigh and said, “It’s Lord Ni Xuan’s aura, all right. To think I would be able to bask in Lord Ni Xuan’s divine aura once more, despite a whole world away, and at the end of my lifespan no less… the heavens must have taken pity on this old one.”
Yun Che asked, “Are you old acquaintances with my master, Senior Ling Xian??”
High Priest Ling Xian shook her head. “Lord Ni Xuan is a supreme being. How can someone like me possibly have the honor of being his acquaintance? It is just that the Vermillion Bird race once received a great favor from him, and this favor is engraved on all Vermillion Birds’ souls. We may perish, but we will never forget his favor.”
“……” Yun Che could not respond to her words.
High Priest Ling Xian looked up at the sky for a moment. Suddenly, she murmured almost dazedly, “It’s been far too long… since he laughed from the bottom of his heart.”
Yun Che: “……”
Yun Che did not rashly ask who she was referring to, but High Priest Ling Xian revealed the answer herself, “Ever since he came to this world and became the Abyssal Monarch, it was as if his soul had died. He does not get angry, surprised, annoyed, or upset… even when he smiles, it is merely a tug at his facial muscles, an expression. It did not contain even an ounce of joy.”
“The only emotion that ever existed in Eden’s Temple was insoluble sorrow and grief, never to fade away.”
“To think I would be able to see a sincere smile on his face before I passed away, if only for an instant…”
Her grizzled hair was pinned up with a red jade hairpin, and a few strands of hair were hanging loosely at her temples. It mixed well with her crimson gown and radiated an ancient, timeless grace.
At that moment, Yun Che suddenly understood the times Hua Caili hesitated and held back when they were talking about High Priest Ling Xian.
“Senior,” he said, “I apologize in advance for my rudeness, but… do you harbor some sort of inseparable longing for the Abyssal Monarch?”
High Priest Ling Xian smiled slightly. A sheen of mistiness slowly appeared on her murky eyes.
“That was a long, long time ago.”
“Back then, I was a rebellious little bird. My Vermillion Bird bloodline was impure, and I was born with an unnatural body capable of storing the power of wind and thunder. So, I was often prejudiced against within my own race. Peeved, I chose to leave only to fall into a poisonous swamp and nearly lost my life as a result. Luckily for me, he saved my life.”
“To him, the experience amounted to no more than a fleeting glance in his story. Little did he know that that was the moment that marked the beginning of my lifelong vigil.”
“Back then, he was the Heaven Punishing Crown Prince, and I was just a little bird. So, I could gaze at him from afar, waiting foolishly for an outcome that would never be… This continued, I heard of his death; that he was dropped into the Abyss of Nothingness. Feeling that life was hopeless, and all the light in my world was snuffed out, I lived like a soulless husk for decades before ultimately falling into the Abyss of my own accord in pursuit of him.”
Yun Che: “……”
She was facing a junior she was meeting for the first time, yet she was confessing her grievous past without reservation.
Although her countenance was ancient, the gentleness and ancient air of divinity she exuded from her very core gave her the feeling of a deity who had stepped out of an ancient painting. She was naturally majestic, yet also so friendly that one could not help but respect her.
“I reencountered him in this world, and once again, he saved my life. I thought the heavens had finally answered my wish, but… he has changed completely. There is no longer a speck of light in his eyes, not even the hint of a smile on his lips. That spiritual, purifying feeling he used to give off was completely gone as well.”
“My wish had changed again and again across the long years of torment as well. At first, I wished he would accept my feelings. Then, I wished to ease his heartache. Then, I wished to urge him to let go of his obsession. Finally… I simply wished to see him smile as he once did.”
“Alas, my three-million-year-long wishes ultimately proved to be just wishful delusions.”
Yun Che looked at her ancient profile; listened to the divine voice that seemed to hail from an ancient past. His feelings were endlessly complicated, to put it mildly. Who would have thought that the back of Mo Su’s abyssal, obsessed heart was tied to an equally obsessed heart that had not changed even once in three million years?
“Your love did not change even once for three million years. This junior has nothing but respect for you,” Yun Che said from the bottom of his heart.
High Priest Ling Xian withdrew her gaze and looked at him, eyes as kind and gentle as ever. “Do you know why he’s so fond of you, child?”
Yun Che did not answer the question. He quietly awaited her to answer her own question.
“To him, the two most important people in his life were her and Lord Ni Xuan.”
“You are Lord Ni Xuan’s successor. You are extremely similar to him in countless ways. Besides that, he saw his own shadow in you when you chose to endure twice the amount of punishment of devouring rage alone for Caili.”
“Miraculously, your appearance caused a new sprout to grow in his long-dead heart. So… I owe you yet another big favor.”
Yun Che replied modestly, “Please don’t call it a ‘favor’. It is simply too much for this junior to bear. Besides, it is this junior’s honor to earn a sliver of the Abyssal Monarch’s attention.”
Still smiling, High Priest Ling Xian said suddenly, “In ancient times, despite hailing from the same origin, the Vermillion Birds, Phoenixes, and Golden Crows became irreconcilable due to differing philosophies. But now, the Phoenix Flame and the Golden Crow Flame are coexisting peacefully within your body. Now that I think about it, only Lord Ni Xuan’s profound veins could make this possible.”
She slowly raised her hand. A crimson jade ring engraved with the divine patterns of the Vermillion Bird adorned her finger. As crimson flames ignited in her palm, rhythmic ripples of fire began to undulate around the ring. It gradually coalesced into a melody so beautiful that it cleansed the soul.
“In that case, I shall grant you this Vermillion Bird Flame so it may burn inside you together with the other flames.”
As soon as she finished, before Yun Che could mount any sort of response, her eyes abruptly turned into blazing abysses of fire. An ancient, divine cry echoed throughout the sky of the Pure Land, and a gigantic divine silhouette appeared behind High Priest Ling Xian. Its head was held high like a carved jade crown; its phoenix eyes were long, narrow, and piercing, swirling like bottomless, crimson-gold whirlpools. They both reflected a fiery inferno and concealed the vicissitudes of millennia.
“Se… nior!?”
Rumble—
A rumbling noise overwhelmed Yun Che’s voice.
The divine silhouette of the Vermillion Bird spread its wings and encompassed thousands and thousands of kilometers in an instant. Each plumage shimmered with a fiery, glass-like radiance. When it flapped its wings, crimson clouds surged like rolling tides, stirring waves of heat that transformed the sky into a sea of flowing fire. The scorching heat was so intense that even the sky of the Pure Land glowed with distorted red light, layer upon layer, like a sunset consumed by flames.
Feather filaments dangling from the tip fell like shooting stars before blooming into blazing crimson lotuses when they made contact with the ground. However, they only lasted an instant before vanishing into nothing. In the Pure Land, every abyssal knight raised their head and bowed reverently toward the divine silhouette as if paying homage to a deity.
Meanwhile, a pure crimson glow had overtaken Yun Che’s vision. Fire engulfed the world he was in, but the immolating flames lacked the scorching intensity of the Phoenix Flame or the violent fury of the Golden Crow Flame. Instead, it radiated a warmth that permeated the body, reaching the heart. It soothed every scar etched upon his heart and soul like countless tender fingers.
Ethereal yet settled, the surging flames seemed capable of consuming all hesitation and burning all illusions.
“Master, your… your aura!”
It was at this moment that the sound of breaking space erupted beside his ears. It was followed by Divine Attendant Su Shang’s panicked, horrified cry. It was utterly devoid of her usual refinement.
Yun Che’s vision recentered as if he was jolted awake from an ephemeral dream of flames. It was at this moment that he saw that High Priest Ling Xian was holding six crimson beads of blood in her palm. The seventh one was slowly forming right now.
The domain of fire kept away Divine Attendant Su Shang. She could not come closer, no matter what she tried. The only thing that got in was her panicked cries, “Master, stop! You cannot afford to lose your primordial blood essences in your current state!”
“Stop! Master! Su Shang begs you to stop! Please take care of yourself…”
High Priest Ling Xian did not stop, however. Her smile was warm with a hint of satisfaction. She said gently, “There is no need to be worried or sad for me, Su Shang. This is both my payment to him and my own wish.”
“When I perish, the Vermillion Bird Flame will surely reignite perfectly… inside him.”