Beyond the stone door lay a cavern.
The trees, rocks, and insects had all crystallized, as though they were red gemstones.
Magnificent, yet utterly still.
No one had set foot here in a long time, but everything in the cavern seemed to have been sealed inside red crystal, frozen forever in a single moment.
The rosy glow grew ever more intense, until it had become almost tangible.
At its source stood a lifelike, wondrous little tree.
Not far away was a tub-sized pool, filled with rose-red liquid that gave off an exotic fragrance strong enough to make one's pores gape.
This was the entirety of the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix inheritance.
Everything was exactly as it had been when Ying Bing came here in her previous life.
She let out a long breath.
The Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix was immensely important to her.
One could say—
without the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix's nine souls, the Blood Phoenix Sutra she relied on would have been a duckweed with no roots, not even worthy of being called a secret art.
She had been able to be reborn because, at the very last moment, she had used a forbidden technique from the Blood Phoenix Sutra that had existed only as a theory:
Nirvana.
Now, she had obtained the Rosy Soul much earlier!
And she didn't need to explore its secrets. She already knew every one of its wonders!
In this life, she would fly higher, faster, and farther...
Ying Bing drew back her turbulent thoughts and said softly:
"The water in that pool is tinged with a drop of a divine beast's blood essence."
"You can soak in it. The benefits for your future will be beyond measure. At the very least, your body-tempering skills will reach a new level."
A drop of the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix's blood essence.
In her previous life, soaking in this pool had been what allowed her to open her meridians.
From then on, she had been immune to all poisons, and in the Blood-Qi Realm, everything had gone her way.
She no longer needed it now.
"Then, thanks."
"You should hurry and receive your inheritance, too."
Li Mo smiled, in a good mood.
Ice Block hadn't said it outright, but he knew that this so-called divine beast's blood essence was most likely the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix's.
Even without investment returns, this trip had already yielded a bountiful harvest.
Very few rewards from the system could compare to what was in this pool.
Ice Block might look like she kept everyone at arm's length, but she still thought of him...
He didn't stand on ceremony.
He stepped straight into the pool.
In an instant, an immense vitality seeped in through every pore, like countless little fish swimming through the meridians around his body.
It felt so good that it was almost like having his soul cleansed.
"Now, I can consider this debt repaid."
Ying Bing had thought that once she repaid her debt, she would feel as though a weight had been lifted from her heart.
But for some reason—
she now felt a little empty?
Still, Li Mo had already changed his fate tremendously by making it this far.
Perhaps in the future, he would even have a place in the Eastern Wasteland Domain...
Suppressing her thoughts, Ying Bing lowered her eyes to the little tree.
It was clearly shorter than a person, yet somehow gave off a sense of grandeur and boundless power.
Its branches were bare. She couldn't tell whether it was alive or dead.
Ying Bing bit her fingertip.
Plip—
Blood dripped onto the soil and flowed through the little tree's roots.
A miraculous scene unfolded.
At the first drop, life began to stir in the withered trunk.
At the second, new buds appeared on the trunk.
At the third, the buds turned into branches, which began to grow at a startling pace.
At the fourth, the branches grew lush with leaves, and a tiny flower bud emerged at the crown.
It wasn't until the ninth drop of blood fell—
that the flower finally bloomed in full.
A clear, jade-like cry rang out, like jade shattering.
"Rosy Soul."
Ying Bing's gaze fell on the flower. A palm-sized miniature phoenix stood there.
The little phoenix was lifelike and full of spirit.
Anyone unaware of the truth would have thought it a living creature.
She reached out, hoping it would hop onto her palm.
But...
The little phoenix suddenly flapped its wings and flew away.
Ying Bing: "?!"
A sudden change had occurred.
Her heart leapt. She quickly turned, following the little phoenix with her eyes.
That was...
Li Mo?!
The little phoenix landed on the boy's shoulder, hopping about affectionately.
The Rosy Soul of the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix, which she had nourished with her own blood, had chosen Li Mo?
Ying Bing could hardly believe what she was seeing. She even wondered if it was an illusion.
Her Lunar Phoenix Physique had successfully awakened the Rosy Soul.
That meant her constitution had a close connection to the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix.
She should have been the chosen inheritor.
That was something she had been certain of in both her previous and present lives!
But why Li Mo...?
The phoenix formed from the Rosy Soul had actually abandoned her and chosen him?
Could it be because there was an aura of a true phoenix in that sachet?
"Huh? Where'd this bird come from?"
Li Mo was soaking in the hot spring.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a pretty little bird hopping on his chest.
He wanted to ask Ying Bing what was going on and whether it was dangerous, but he saw that her expression had grown incredibly complicated.
Li Mo's heart gave a thud.
This was the first time he'd seen Ice Block make such a face.
"Is this... your inheritance?" Li Mo asked.
Ying Bing gave a faint nod. "Mm."
Li Mo: "..."
The cavern suddenly fell silent. The only sounds were their breathing.
The situation was painfully awkward.
"Uh... Ice Block, you're not thinking of... killing me and taking it, are you?"
Li Mo rose from the pool and asked tentatively:
"We're as close as siblings... childhood sweethearts..."
Ying Bing had been unable to put her feelings into words.
But the boy's nervous expression struck her as inexplicably funny.
She raised her elegant brows.
"Why not?"
Instead of taking offense, Li Mo relaxed. "Don't try to fool me. You're not that kind of person."
Ying Bing looked up at him without a word.
It was true.
If the boy hadn't trusted her completely, he wouldn't have jumped in after her.
Li Mo suddenly asked, "This is very important to you, isn't it?"
"It is."
Ying Bing nodded, her thoughts drifting back.
The Nine Souls of the Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix had helped her overcome countless hardships. What began as an opportunity had, over time, become something vital to her fate—a part of her life she could not separate from herself.
And of them all, the Rosy Soul had been with her the longest.
Now, a part of her life had chosen someone else.
The Phoenix Heavenly Empress's feelings were more complicated than ever.
"Then it must be something really powerful."
Li Mo studied the little bird hopping in his palm.
The little thing was pretty cute.
Ying Bing's brows remained knitted for a long time, but at last they relaxed.
"But since it chose you, it belongs to you."
"Hm?"
Li Mo blinked and asked:
"After going to all this trouble, aren't you unwilling to let it go?"
"I am, but it has already chosen you."
Ying Bing regained her composure. "Besides... even without it, I'm still me."
That was so domineering.
Little Li had to admit he was just a tiny bit dazzled.
He'd finally thought he could tease Ice Block, only to wind up getting shown up himself.
No wonder she was the Daughter of Destiny.
He laughed wryly.
Li Mo held back the little phoenix as it tried to snuggle up to him.
The little phoenix looked a bit aggrieved, its confusion almost human.
"Go on. Go where you're meant to be."
"If you stay with her, you'll still get to see me often."
Li Mo gave a gentle toss.
The little phoenix seemed to understand. It flapped its wings and flew back to Ying Bing.
Ying Bing raised her head.
That face, cold as carved jade, had finally lost its unruffled calm.
She looked at the boy, her eyes filled with surprise, and even bewilderment.
As if seeing him for the first time, Ying Bing asked, "This is a blessing that could change your fate and give you the chance to stand at the peak of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. You can still change your mind."
"I know."
Li Mo smiled, his happiness plain and sincere.
The more precious it was, the better the returns on his investment.
A precious inheritance capable of changing Ying Bing's fate—just what would the system give him in return?
Tsk, tsk...
"But it's not every day I see you have something you care about."
"..."
Ying Bing's clear, tranquil eyes gazed at him in a daze.
The boy's smile was as sunny as ever. There was no reluctance, no sense that he was forcing himself, and even...
a hint of eager anticipation?
Having lived two lives, she had seen too much.
When faced with opportunities, married couples schemed against one another, fathers and sons turned against each other, and brothers butchered one another. She had grown used to it all.
It was precisely because she no longer trusted anyone completely that she had made it so far.
But today—
there seemed to be an exception?
"If you keep being sentimental, it won't suit you. Hurry up and accept your inheritance."
"..."
Ying Bing's eyes shifted several times, their meaning hard to read. At last, a faint softness emerged in them.
"All right."
The Little Phoenix Bird flew into the space between her brows, transforming into a rose-red mark.
Ten thousand auspicious rays burst forth.
The rosy glow surged out of the cave entrance, blossoming into splendor beyond words.
Outside, dusk was falling.
Yet Clear Abyss suddenly blazed with light, like a starry river formed from rosy clouds.
The clear, lilting cry of a phoenix echoed without end, ringing across the sky.
Everyone in Clear Abyss Sect, Purple Sun Prefecture, and even the entire Eastern Wasteland could hear it clearly.
Atop Moon Gazing Cliff, the elders stared blankly as it unfolded before them, their shock plain on their faces.
"Something's changed in Clear Abyss."
"Quick, notify the Sect Master!"
Before you continue