Chapter One Hundred and Six
"Don't be afraid. I will... I will save you."
"No need. I'll bear my own punishment. Divine Lord Yuan Qi, Great Marsh Mountain is gone, and soon I will be too. I can no longer walk this path with you. Take care... take good care of yourself."
Amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in Rakshasa Land, Ayin stood drenched in blood under the dark thunderclouds. Those were her last words to him.
For a thousand years, this scene had lingered in Yuan Qi's mind, never fading for even a moment.
He had waited for a millennium, searched for a millennium, yet never imagined that his naive little junior sister Ayin was Feng Yin.
"I have a little junior sister who loves mung bean cakes the most. Every time I went down the mountain in the past, she would follow me all the way to the mountain gate. It's been many years since I last saw her. When the Phoenix Sovereign offered me mung bean cakes, it reminded me of her..."
He had actually said these words to Feng Yin.
If Feng Yin knew that the little boy from Kunlun, Shang Bai, was actually Yuan Qi from Clear Pond Palace, would she still have given him mung bean cakes and reluctantly seen him off from Phoenix Tree Island?
What coincidences exist in this world? All the twists and turns in fate ultimately lead back to that one person.
Yuan Qi gazed almost greedily at Feng Yin on the Bridge of Helplessness, but suddenly realized he couldn't take a single step forward.
What could he say?
Say he knew he was wrong, that he shouldn't have cast down the thunder punishment, that he never intended to take her life with that sword strike.
Say he had waited for her for a thousand years, searched for a thousand years, just to see her face once more.
Say he regretted everything, that he would give up anything if only she could live.
But would it matter?
He had taken her life, destroyed her soul, condemned her to suffer through a thousand years of reincarnation and worldly hardships. Could such empty words make any difference?
A thousand years later, Yuan Qi had finally found Ayin again, but he suddenly discovered that facing Feng Yin, now the Phoenix Sovereign, he couldn't utter a single word.
The Primordial Spirit Sword suddenly appeared beside Yuan Qi, trembling faintly. It quivered with excitement, about to rush toward Feng Yin, but Yuan Qi grabbed its blade.
Yuan Qi's face was deathly pale, his dark eyes fixed intently on the Phoenix Sovereign standing on the Bridge of Helplessness.
"The Phoenix Sovereign once showed me great kindness. Protecting her through reincarnation was the least I could do," Xiuyan said with a sigh. "In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and you've become the Phoenix Sovereign. Little one, do you remember what I said back then?"
A trace of reminiscence appeared in Feng Yin's eyes. "Your Majesty means that playful remark you made back then?"
Xiuyan blinked. "That was no playful remark. Every time you crossed the Bridge of Helplessness as a ghost, you'd ask me why you found it harder to be human than others, and even harder to be a ghost. I told you—you're someone important, so naturally your path would be more difficult. Otherwise, how could you have gained this Demigod's Divine Power?"
Feng Yin raised an eyebrow. "Your Majesty was right about everything. Not only am I someone important, but I also offended someone important, which led to my fate back then."
Xiuyan paused, glancing thoughtfully toward the stone stele at the bridgehead. "Little one, after all these years of tempering your character, you phoenixes truly haven't changed your proud nature one bit." He paused. "Now that you've returned from your tribulation, won't you go catch up with old friends?"
Behind the stone stele, Yuan Qi suddenly looked up. He stared unblinkingly at Feng Yin's profile, as if trying to bore a hole through her with his gaze."Nostalgic reminiscence?" The Phoenix Sovereign's careless laughter rang out, carrying an indescribable air of charm. "Your Majesty, you're putting me in a difficult position. I've reincarnated more times than I can count on both hands. This world is full of my old acquaintances—who exactly should I reminisce with? Think about it, in each lifetime I've had a few cherished and satisfying companions. Bringing any one of them back would be inappropriate, and bringing them all back would be even more inappropriate."
Even with Xiuyan's temperament, he was left speechless by Feng Yin's words. He could almost imagine the expression on the white-robed youth behind the stone stele.
Truly worthy of the Fire Phoenix lineage. When it came to the art of leaving people speechless, if her Master Sovereign claimed first place, she undoubtedly took second.
"Besides, those are all matters and people from the distant past, like stale sesame seeds and rotten grains. I live freely and joyfully as the Phoenix Sovereign—why would I go looking for that kind of ill fortune to meet old acquaintances?"
As Feng Yin's utterly indifferent words fell, the divine power fluctuations from the Divine Lord of Clear Pond Palace behind the stone stele finally vanished.
"Tsk tsk, you've really spent too much time as mortal kings and nobles, daring to offend even him like this. Little Phoenix, if Yuan Qi were to truly take things seriously, even your Master Sovereign would have to step aside in the face of his status. Your audacity truly threatens to pierce the heavens." Xiuyan clicked his tongue. "You knew he had returned to the Bridge of Helplessness and revealed his identity. I thought you intended to hide it from him forever."
Not a flicker of emotion showed on Feng Yin's face. She raised an eyebrow. "Although we Fire Phoenixes may not live as long as the Black Tortoise, lasting over a hundred thousand years isn't a problem. The Lower Three Realms are one thing, but once I ascend to the Divine Realm, my former identity will inevitably be exposed to those True Gods. Since it'll come out sooner or later, what's the point in hiding? Better to tell him clearly now and settle things early for peace of mind."
Feng Yin paused, recalling the scene of Hua Shu and Yuan Qi together under the soul tree on Eternal Peace Street. She narrowed her eyes. "I've always detested superficial formalities. It was just a Water Condensation Beast that accompanied him for a few years—what's there to search for? By making a clean break with one sentence, I save him the trouble of coming to the Ghost Realm to bother you every year on this day."
Feng Yin's demeanor was carefree, completely portraying an attitude of avoiding Yuan Qi at all costs. Xiuyan sighed inwardly, knowing this was not a matter he could interfere with. He only sighed and said, "You are now the Phoenix Sovereign, and your affairs are your own to decide. However..." He paused. "A thousand years have passed since the great immortal-demon turmoil. Now that you have returned, do you still intend to seek the truth of what happened back then?"
Feng Yin's expression turned solemn, her demeanor instantly sharpening. "How could my two senior brothers and my fellow disciples have died in vain? Whoever harmed Great Marsh Mountain back then, I will personally uncover the truth."
Xiuyan nodded. "Although the Ghost Realm never involves itself in the conflicts of the Three Realms, if you need assistance, simply send word to the Ghost Realm. I will certainly help you."
Feng Yin's expression softened, and she looked at Xiuyan with gratitude. "Your Majesty, you have already helped me immensely over this millennium. If not for you using your divine power to continually temper my soul, how could I have advanced to Demigod in just a thousand years? Your great kindness is engraved in my heart."
"Alright, alright, it was just a small effort on my part. No need to dwell on it." Xiuyan resumed his usual nonchalant manner, waving his hand and yawning. "If you want to repay me, just come to the Ghost Realm more often to chat with me. I've been away from the Palace of Bell and Spirit for too long and should return. You may go now."As he spoke, he walked unsteadily toward the Palace of Bell and Spirit, his swaying gait truly unbefitting of a Ghost King.
Feng Yin watched Xiuyan’s retreating figure and suddenly thought that the handsome Ghost Lord who had accompanied Ayin for a thousand years would likely never return to the Bridge of Helplessness again.
A pang of sorrow and melancholy welled up in her heart. She sighed softly, turned, and left the Ghost Realm.
She did not know that Yuan Qi, who had left the Bridge of Helplessness just before her, had vomited a mouthful of blood the moment he stepped beyond the Ghost Realm’s boundary. Nearly unconscious, he was carried back to Clear Pond Palace by the panicked Primordial Spirit Sword.
In human form, the Primordial Spirit Sword was a strikingly handsome youth with clear, light gray eyes. Supporting Yuan Qi, he rushed back to the palace and immediately called out for Chang Que in alarm.
“Chang Que! Chang Que! Something’s happened to His Highness!”
Chang Que was deeply shocked to see Yuan Qi, who had left the mountain perfectly fine, return covered in blood.
He hurriedly took the unconscious Yuan Qi from the silver-clad youth and demanded angrily, “Primordial Spirit, who injured His Highness?”
“It was the Phoenix Sovereign!” Primordial Spirit blurted out, then quickly waved his hands. “But it wasn’t her—she didn’t harm His Highness. She… she…”
Chang Que was utterly confused by the sword’s words. “What are you talking about? What did the Phoenix Sovereign do to His Highness?”
“She didn’t do anything,” Primordial Spirit stammered, clearly overwhelmed by Feng Yin’s identity. “She… she did nothing, but she is Ayin!”
The hall fell into sudden silence. Chang Que asked again, unable to believe his ears, “What did you just say?”
“I said that the little junior sister Ayin, whom His Highness has waited and searched for a thousand years, is the Phoenix Sovereign Feng Yin of Wutong Phoenix Island!”
The youth’s clear voice echoed through the hall. Chang Que stood stunned for a long moment.
“The Phoenix Sovereign is actually Ayin,” he murmured, looking down at the unconscious Yuan Qi in his arms with a long sigh. “In all the Three Realms, only she could wound His Highness like this. Ah, to think Lady Ayin is the Phoenix Sovereign—fate truly plays cruel tricks!”
Primordial Spirit, whose mind was still young, did not fully grasp the weight of Chang Que’s words. He only worried about the unconscious Yuan Qi. “Chang Que, His Highness’s Soul Power was already unstable, and now he’s vomited so much blood. What should we do?”
Chang Que replied, “His Highness likely suffered a shock to his soul veins upon learning the truth…” He then asked curiously, “Since His Highness found Lady Ayin, why didn’t he bring her back? Instead, he returned in this state, carried by you.”
Primordial Spirit dejectedly recounted everything Feng Yin had said on the Bridge of Helplessness. After hearing it, Chang Que was left speechless.
He did not know whether he should grieve for Ayin, the Water Condensation Beast of a thousand years ago, or feel indignation for his own master in the present.
Two days later, Yuan Qi awoke.
After regaining consciousness, he sat silently before the pond in Clear Pond Palace, seemingly gazing at the water’s surface, yet his eyes were empty and distant.
In this state, he appeared even colder and more isolated than he had been over the past thousand years.
Unable to bear it any longer, Chang Que finally spoke up.
“Your Highness, you waited for Lady Ayin for a thousand years. Why didn’t you reveal yourself to her? You must know she holds resentment—those words couldn’t have been sincere…”
“I wish she truly held resentment in her heart,” Yuan Qi’s voice broke the silence. He instinctively reached to touch the Fire Phoenix Jade at his waist, only to find it gone. Then he remembered—on the day Feng Yin was reborn, the Fire Phoenix Jade had already left him.A bitter smile touched his lips. "Chang Que, I've only just realized today that perhaps I am merely an insignificant passerby in her millennia-long life, no different from those she meets in each lifetime. What could I possibly say to her?"
"How could there be nothing to say!" Chang Que exclaimed passionately. "You've waited a thousand years..."
"It's too late." Yuan Qi cut him off, closing his eyes as he let out a long sigh. No one knew just how much reluctance and longing were contained within that sigh.
"Ayin... she returned too late."
Just as Yuan Qi's sigh faded, Feng Yin arrived at Great Marsh Mountain on her cloud.
The mountain was still surrounded by immortal barriers, exactly as it had been during the great battle a thousand years ago.
Before she even descended from her cloud, she spotted a figure standing before the barrier.
Clad in crimson imperial robes, his back was proud yet silent, no longer the same as he had been in the past.
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