Phoenix Jade Pendant

Knock, knock, knock...

The maid knocked on the door and waited for a response from inside before carrying a tray into the room.

"Your two auction items are here. Please keep them safe."

The maid gently set the tray on the exquisite tea table, gave a slight bow, and left the room.

On the tray was the ancient box, along with a Space Ring.

Chen Yan scanned it briefly with his spiritual power. After confirming that everything was correct, he turned his attention to the box.

The box was ancient and mysterious, made of dark wood and carved with intricate, exquisite phoenix patterns. One look was enough to tell that whatever it contained was high-end and extraordinary, though he had no idea where it had come from.

"Open it," Gu Yuena said from beside him.

He nodded, took a deep breath, and slowly opened the box. The instant the lid lifted, a faint light shone out, illuminating Chen Yan's face and making the curiosity and anticipation in his eyes even more apparent. (This is—golden legend!)

The exquisite box was lined with soft red velvet. Resting quietly at its center was an ancient jade pendant. It was round, engraved with a phoenix spreading its wings in flight. The phoenix's eyes were set with two tiny gemstones that shimmered with mysterious light even though most of the light was blocked by the box.

Gu Yuena gently picked up the jade pendant, her smile sweet. "I never expected this jade pendant to appear on this planet. But I should have realized it would be here. Otherwise, soul beasts like phoenixes would never have existed."

Chen Yan looked at the jade pendant and roughly understood what Gu Yuena meant. This pendant was the origin of the phoenixes on Douluo Star? His thoughts wandered through the abyss of history, trying to piece together fragments of this mysterious tale.

First, Gu Yuena recognized this jade pendant, so even among god-level artifacts, its rank had to be exceptional. Second, phoenixes had always stood alongside true dragons. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, phoenixes had been among the few soul beasts capable of going toe-to-toe with true dragons. And Gu Yuena said this was the origin of the phoenixes on Douluo Star, meaning its bloodline was of an extremely high level—perhaps comparable to a Dragon King. Finally, there was the online rumor that the Dragon God had slain the phoenix, along with the possibly true, possibly false setting that their statuses had been equivalent. After all, he had only fully read Soul Land III and Legend of the Tang Sect Heroes; there was much he did not know.

Gu Yuena's gaze quietly shifted toward the pensive Chen Yan, a deep amusement gleaming in her eyes as she asked another question.

"Do you know who this jade pendant belonged to?"

Chen Yan froze, then asked in confusion, "Could it be yours?"

She gently shook her head, a mysterious smile curling her lips. "No. It belongs to you."

"Mine?" Chen Yan's voice was filled with surprise and incomprehension. Mine? He left it behind?!

"That's right. After the Dragon God killed the phoenix, you said there was no use for the Dragon God to keep it anyway. So you gathered its bloodline and used it to nurture this jade pendant."

Was he really that shameless? The thing was already dead, and he still drained its blood. What an absolute bastard! Chen Yan deeply despised the version of himself from either the future or the past.

If you used it to nurture the pendant, why didn't you leave some for me? Don't you know I'm poor? I'm still living off a woman!

Chen Yan's expression darkened as he cursed internally.

"I never expected that after all these years, it would have become a pseudo-Super Artifact." Gu Yuena sighed wistfully. Although it had been the Dragon God who witnessed those events, she had participated in them in a sense as well.

The moment Chen Yan heard that, he automatically caught the key term.

What? A pseudo-Super Artifact!

Heavens, as expected of me. So farsighted, laying out such an enormous scheme countless tens of thousands of years ago, just waiting for myself to be reborn and inherit his legacy. What a great guy!

After marveling inwardly for a while, Chen Yan began to wonder whether he was praising himself a little too much.

Cough, cough, cough... He cleared his throat internally, then thought with a blank expression, Relax. Maybe the future me already knew what I was going to do and prepared everything in advance to pave the way for myself.

Though Chen Yan's inner monologue was lively, his face remained calm. Then, unable to suppress it, a faint smile appeared on his lips. (We common folk are truly happy today! So, so happy!)

"So, how should I use it?" Chen Yan tried hard to suppress the upward curve of his lips, but his voice was unconsciously filled with anticipation.

"I don't know its exact functions either. But since you refined it, you should try it yourself."

"Try it myself?"

Chen Yan thought for a moment and released his spiritual power, only for it to be blocked by the hazy glow emitted by the pendant.

Chen Yan: ...

Damn, this thing really isn't smart. Doesn't it know how to recognize spiritual power? And what was I thinking, setting up an anti-theft barrier on it?!

He extended his right hand. His left hand transformed into a dragon claw, and with a swipe of two fingers, he cut himself. A drop of blood slid down from the wound.

Drip...

The blood fell onto the jade pendant with a crisp sound. Then something strange happened. The drop of blood seemed to be absorbed by the pendant and vanished without a trace. Soon after, the pendant began to emit a faint glow.

The light gradually intensified until it finally formed a dazzling sphere.

Chen Yan stared without blinking. He felt a warm power flowing from the jade pendant, as though it had formed some wondrous connection with him. The power responded to his blood, and the light on the pendant flickered in rhythm with Chen Yan's heartbeat.

And so, it flashed like that for quite a while, with no other reaction whatsoever.

Gu Yuena was somewhat puzzled. Looking at Chen Yan's expression, she felt as though nothing had happened, so she asked.

"Did you sense anything?"

What did Chen Yan sense? He sensed that his eyes were about to dry out!

No, are you messing with me?!

You made Gu Yuena and me stand here for ages just to watch you glow!

Just as Chen Yan simmered with indignation, the instant he blinked absentmindedly, the scene before him changed completely.

This was a golden space, and standing in its center was a person clad in Emperor Armor.

Chen Yan: ...

No, how did I get in here? Are you serious?

The two stared at each other in silence. But after standing outside and glaring at the pendant for so long, Chen Yan was clearly in no mood to keep staring at this person who was probably himself.

So, he chose to ask a simple question.

"How did I get in here?"

"I pulled you in," the other replied calmly.

But for some reason, Chen Yan felt that the gaze beneath that armor was definitely not one of appreciation or praise.

He frowned, looking somewhat confused. "Then why did you take so long to pull me in?"

The other chuckled, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Because you blinked."

"Blinked?"

"Yeah. If you hadn't blinked, wouldn't it have seemed way too abrupt for me to pull you in?"

Faced with that answer, Chen Yan fell silent.

Let me out. I swear, I swear I'm going to hack him to death! (No one was holding him back; he was just acting it out.)