The closer he got to the small volcano, the more intense the fluctuations became, unsettling him and leaving him wondering what exactly was happening. (For the full text novel reading, visit the Shiliu Literature website)
The volcano was several hundred zhang high, barren of any vegetation, the ground covered entirely in shattered rocks of various sizes. The dark red stones looked like dried bloodstains, giving off a chilling sight.
Reaching the crater, he peered down into the abyss; it was pitch-black, offering no view of what lay below.
Although the volcano wasn't towering, it was still several hundred zhang tall, and the dark, shadowy hole at the summit seemed bottomless. Since he hadn't cultivated to the Seven Star Heaven Realm, he couldn't fly; thus, he paused at the edge of the opening, hesitant. (Handwritten by Shifang Tianshi)
Rumble! Rumble!
A low sound resonated from the bottom of the small, dark volcano. The sound wasn't loud, but he heard it instantly.
Calming his mind, setting aside the anomaly of the small volcano for a moment, he let his awareness extend slowly into the dark cave. His perception was formless and intangible; while it couldn't see, it could sense extreme heat, biting cold, or the traces of life.
Having reached the Four Symbols Heaven Realm, his spirit soul had grown stronger, and the subtle uses of his awareness became apparent. As he settled down to investigate, his perception shot like sound speed deep into the small volcano.
He sensed the oppressive heat waves and the intensely blazing rock walls one by one. Continuing his downward probe, a surge of fiery power violently shook him, causing a sharp pain in his spirit soul, and the perception reaching downward vanished instantly.
At the crater's edge, Ji Changkong staggered as if struck by a heavy blow, losing his balance and tumbling toward the dark, gaping hole.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Hot wind shrieked past his ears. He couldn't see his own hands in the darkness. The deeper he fell, the heavier the heat pressing against his body became.
His spirit soul ached. Ji Changkong could feel himself plummeting towards the bottom of the volcanic tunnel. During that brief spiritual probe, he had already known that the bottom held seething magma; falling into it meant certain dissolution.
Feverishly anxious, his descent accelerated. Unable to fly, he had no way to control his fall; besides the roaring heat waves, there was nothing around to push against.
With gusts of scorching air rushing at him, a sudden flicker of light pierced the darkness from the bottom of the cavern.
As the first spark registered in his vision, the descent continued, and more brilliant light emerged from the depths. A vast pool of magma, bubbling and gurgling, lay hidden deep beneath the mountain, emitting a stifling heat wave laced with the acrid scent of sulfur that burned his nostrils.
The very base of the volcano housed, astonishingly, a deep, fiery pool of churning magma. The surrounding rock walls glowed deep red, like white-hot brands, their crimson illumination striking terror into the continually falling Ji Changkong.
What now?
If he fell into the magma pool, survival would be impossible. What could he do? He was suspended in mid-air with no footing, how could he evade it?
Even with his heaven-piercing intellect, there was no way to evade this fate.
It’s over.
He sighed inwardly. Ji Changkong had never imagined that a mere spark of curiosity would trap him in such a fatal situation.
Just then, the Tianyuan Pearl, hidden deep within his lower abdomen, abruptly unleashed a powerful surge of primal energy. Strands of this energy instantly saturated every muscle and sinew, causing his body to emit a faint, reddish glow.
The red light enveloped him completely, and the scorching heat seemed instantly cut off; he no longer felt the burning sensation engulfing his body.
Plop!
He finally plunged into the magma. The magma pool churned with bubbling heat, and the fiery liquid immediately surged around him.
Hiss! Hiss!
Within the magma, wisps of light smoke curled off Ji Changkong’s body. The red light emanating from the Tianyuan Pearl successfully shielded him from the incinerating heat of the lava. Protected within the red glow, Ji Changkong remained unharmed. (Handwritten by Chenfeng)
Standing on the magma pool floor, balanced on the Yan Crystal imbued with fiery red energy, Ji Changkong stared in shock.
At the bottom of the magma pool lay an enormous avian skeleton, several zhang long, its entire structure crystalline like fiery jade. Its pair of crimson eyes still seemed bright and keenly alive, emitting a strange, burning light.
The bird skeleton, positioned as if ready to spread its wings and take flight at the bottom of the lava, possessed bones resembling glowing, precious jade, creating an impression of latent, explosive fiery power.
Ji Changkong was not far from the bird’s framework, his eyes locked directly onto the bird’s pair of scarlet eyes, meeting them gaze for gaze.
Fire Phoenix! A jolt went through him, and Ji Changkong couldn't help but exclaim internally.
The bird skeleton, posed as if soaring, had to be the legendary Fire Phoenix. He recalled seeing a simplified sketch of the Fire Phoenix in records of exotic beasts housed in the Ji Family's Scripture Pavilion. After careful scrutiny, he immediately recognized the skeletal remains in the magma pool as that of a Flame Phoenix.
While the Phoenix was not as ancient as the Vermilion Bird, which existed since the genesis of heaven and earth, it was still one of the few exotic beasts masterful in manipulating flame energy. Its skeleton resting at the bottom of the lava—perhaps its very remains were the cause of this small volcano's frequent eruptions.
Its fire-jade-like skeleton contained an incredibly terrifying reservoir of primal energy from Heaven and Earth. Those who communicate with the Vermilion Bird and cultivate the Five Elements Fire Power could benefit immensely by obtaining this Fire Phoenix skeleton. Not only could they absorb the fire primal energy to boost their cultivation, but they could also refine the entire structure—for tempering the physical body, (Handwritten by Shifang Tianshi) or forging spiritual treasures—its uses were boundless.
A treasure!~
A surge of joy filled him. Protected by the red glow from the Tianyuan Pearl, Ji Changkong, unafraid of the scalding magma, excitedly approached the crimson skeleton of the Fire Phoenix.
Suddenly, a wave of intensely rolling heat emanated from the pair of scarlet eye sockets of the Fire Phoenix.
Under the influence of this surging wave, the surrounding magma violently churned toward Ji Changkong, behaving as if it were far from inanimate. The fierce fluctuation he had perceived at the crater's rim earlier had originated from the Fire Phoenix.
Moreover, the strange vibration was the very reason he had left the small inn that morning feeling uneasy.
This wave was capable of inflicting damage upon a spirit soul.
A dizzying sensation returned, and under the force of that fluctuation, Ji Changkong staggered, unable to keep his footing. The red light covering his body dimmed, and he suddenly felt an intense heat, as if his flesh were being scorched.
Calm, I must remain calm! Ji Changkong tried to stabilize himself but had no idea how to control the Tianyuan Pearl within him. The red light enveloping him came from the pearl, and he had no mastery over its function.
Bang!
The magma surged like a flood, crashing into him from the direction of the Fire Phoenix. Having barely regained his stance, he was violently flung a considerable distance by the impact of the lava wave.
Fortunately, being at the bottom of the magma pool, the collision only resulted in a deep ache in his chest, with no other apparent harm.
Chime!
A strange sound echoed within his spirit soul. A fiery red phantom suddenly drifted out from the phoenix skeleton ahead. The blood-stained phoenix floated gracefully, its immense flame power washing over everything, causing the entire magma pool to seem to boil instantly.
Phoenix Nirvana!
His heart seized with fear. Ji Changkong had heard tales of the phoenix being able to harness some power to rebirth after death, often emerging stronger. He had always dismissed it as legend, but now he suspected it might be true.
Though the Fire Phoenix ahead was merely a skeleton, its soul must still exist. The massive phantom was likely animated by the power of its soul. As long as the soul remained, the phoenix could indeed achieve Nirvana rebirth once it gathered sufficient fire primal energy. No wonder this Fire Phoenix had remained at the bottom of the magma pool in the volcanic mountain.
This location possessed the most concentrated fire primal energy. It was unclear how long this bird had dwelled in the magma pool, but its state suggested it was at a critical juncture, on the verge of Nirvana rebirth!
The overwhelming flames surged towards him, and the magma pool boiled violently. The fiery red phantom stared fixedly at Ji Changkong, seemingly determined to burn him alive.
Hiss! Hiss!
The light emitted by the Tianyuan Pearl seemed to be gradually losing the battle against the torrential flames of the red phantom. Ji Changkong felt searing heat, his limbs and flesh threatening to smoke.
His eyes shifted. His originally black pupils suddenly transformed to silver.
A chilling silver light shot out from his eyes. In that instant, the rolling heat waves covering his body receded significantly. Even the fiery radiance emanating from his face and neck was utterly washed away by this silver glare.
Upon seeing Ji Changkong’s eyes turn silver, the Fire Phoenix phantom flapped its spectral wings once more, and the magma surged toward him even more fiercely.
Thump! Thump!
Suddenly, a sound resembling a heartbeat emanated from Ji Changkong’s lower abdomen. The sound originated from the Tianyuan Pearl, and it was so loud that even the magma pool could not conceal it; the sound carried far beyond.
Abruptly, an immensely powerful suction force was unleashed from the Tianyuan Pearl. This force was incredibly domineering, yet it targeted no physical object!
The surging magma, and the concentrated fire primal energy within it, could not withstand the influence of this suction.
However, the massive phantom formed from the Fire Phoenix's soul seemed overwhelmingly terrified. It fled desperately back toward its skeleton, as if striving to distance itself from Ji Changkong as quickly as possible.
Ji Changkong was stunned. He stared wide-eyed at his lower abdomen. While his physical eyes couldn't see, his spirit soul clearly perceived that the powerful suction force acting upon the Fire Phoenix's soul originated precisely from the Tianyuan Pearl within him.
The Fire Phoenix phantom, which had been acting with such impunity moments before, now struggled desperately, trying with all its might to break free from the Tianyuan Pearl's gravitational pull. Yet, no matter how hard it tried, it could not escape. Little by little, it was drawn towards the Tianyuan Pearl until it dissolved into thin, faint trails of fire that merged into the artifact.
As the giant Fire Phoenix phantom vanished into the Tianyuan Pearl, the magma pool instantly calmed down. The strange fluctuation emanating from the phoenix skeleton ceased simultaneously.
He felt no abnormality in his body. The Tianyuan Pearl remained nestled within his flesh and blood, continuing to release subtle energy that kept his skin glowing, allowing him to remain unharmed in the lava.
With the spirit of the Fire Phoenix gone, its hope for Nirvana rebirth was extinguished. Ji Changkong hesitated for a moment, then walked toward the Fire Phoenix's skeleton. He retrieved his small dagger and carefully disassembled the skeleton joint by joint. He packed every bone segment into his mustard seed pouch and treated the fiery eye-orbs with the utmost care, placing them in a jade vial.