Although I did not believe the phoenix, I could not force it to act.
And what could I use to force it? My mouth?
It was far stronger than I was, and it had already helped me. If not for it, the Ink Man would probably have killed me long ago.
The Ink Man had recovered by now. It tilted its head, looked at the phoenix, then looked at me.
The phoenix said calmly, "Don't worry. I won't interfere again. Whether either of you lives or dies depends on your own fate. I acted just now to repay this little fellow a favor. That favor has been repaid, so it is time for me to leave."
With that, it really did fly away.
But it took the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire with it.
With the Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire gone from the altar, I instantly felt much more at ease.
However, once the phoenix left, the Dark Matter began stirring restlessly again.
I immediately summoned Samadhi True Fire. This time, it was a massive fireball that blasted straight toward the Dark Matter.
The instant I threw the fireball, I charged at the Ink Man.
The Ink Man and I exchanged a punch, and we both staggered back two steps.
My eyes widened. I had regained my strength just now, but the Ink Man seemed to have recovered as well.
Could this have been deliberate on the phoenix's part?
I cursed inwardly.
I had thought that the phoenix's Earthly Fire attack had drained some of the Ink Man's strength, but who would have thought that it had restored the Ink Man with Earthly Fire? Of course, it had restored my strength too.
Didn't that mean I had to start all over again?
But after thinking it over, my anger