Embers of Sword

Chapter 613 Reed Marsh

The sound of the tide drowned out the reeds.

Jiang Huang dismounted from the Vermilion Bird's back and came to Chen Jingxuan and Tang Fengshu's side. Tang Fengshu carefully took the little girl's hand. Jiang Huang neither cried nor made a fuss. She stood quietly in the reeds, watching her two "brothers" not far away.

"This little girl has the bloodline of a pure phoenix flowing through her veins."

Deep within his heart, Xuanming spoke softly: "Who is she to you?"

He had been watching the battle from within the Holy Realm.

My junior brother's potential is even greater than I imagined... Master was right, many years later, the Yuan Tun Holy Realm will welcome a destined person. At first, Xuan Ming wasn't sure, but now he was absolutely certain that this "destined person" was Xie Xuanyi.

A thousand years ago.

He and his junior brothers and sisters cultivated the [Primordial Devouring Divine Power]. Even though they obtained the golden slip containing the cultivation method, it was still very difficult for them to cultivate, and they were completely unable to compare with their junior brother.

This [Primordial Devouring Divine Power]... seems to have been tailor-made for him.

In the previous life-or-death battle with Chongkan, Xie Xuanyi forcibly activated the "Devouring Yuan" divine power, which only took him a few dozen breaths.

Although the effect of that "devouring essence" technique was very weak.

But this is already a miracle.

"she……"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the little girl in red in the distance with a complicated expression.

He transmitted his voice, "She used to be my enemy. But now... she should be considered my sister."

"An enemy? My sister?"

Xuanming was somewhat surprised to hear this answer.

"She should have been in the demon kingdom."

Xie Xuanyi lowered his eyes: "Twenty years ago, I injured him and brought him back to Da Chu... He has become like this because of me."

Xuanming lived for over a thousand years.

Hearing this, he understood what had probably happened between the two.

"Has she lost her divine memories?" Xuanming sighed softly.

"There is also a divine soul hidden within the body."

Xie Xuanyi's voice was complicated: "As time goes by... I'm sure the two souls will eventually merge..."

Until then...

Does Jiang Huang see him as an elder brother or an enemy?
he does not know.

"Let's send her away."

Xuanming gently comforted him, saying, "Nobody knows what the future holds."

Xie Xuanyi hummed in agreement.

He stood on the shore of Beihai Lake, and the scholar in the blue robe waved his sleeve to summon thousands of golden threads, which were woven into a simple boat. The three of them boarded the boat together and sailed away with the waves.

"The one surnamed Xie."

The Vermilion Bird Demon retracted its iron wings and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xie Xuanyi.

Ci Jing watched Jiang Huang leave, then coldly said, "I've heard about what happened between you and Xiao Huang."

"...?"

Xie Xuanyi turned his head slightly.

"She had her leg broken, was imprisoned in the capital, and forced to ingest the 'Nine Deaths Forbidden' to become what she is today, all because of you."

Ci Jing said expressionlessly, "Logically speaking... I should teach you a lesson."

The conversation turned.

"but……"

Ci Jing sighed, "If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have escaped the imperial city, wouldn't have come to the Sword Palace, and wouldn't have met me."

The world is vast.

But how few great demons of the phoenix kind have phoenix blood flowing through their veins?

It takes a great deal of fate to be able to come together like this.

In fact, when Ci Jing was teaching Jiang Huang cultivation, he sensed the second divine soul within Jiang Huang's body... to be precise, that was Jiang Huang's main divine soul, a soul filled with anger, resentment, and violence. To be fair, Ci Jing preferred the little Huang'er who now called him "Big Brother" to the second divine soul.

Chongkan practiced "One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones," separating out two strands of his soul.

One is associated with peace and kindness, the other with killing and conquest.

Jiang Huang's situation is somewhat similar to his.

Whoever comes, they will probably prefer the little girl with pigtails who looks like a porcelain doll.

The reed beds fell silent.

The human and the demon watched the golden boat sail away until it disappeared from sight.

"If I die, take my remains with you."

Ci Jing laughed freely, "I have wandered for half my life, and apart from Venerable Lian, I have no other relatives... until I met this little girl, I treat her as my own sister. Demon cultivators need to improve their bloodline to advance, and I have after all cultivated to the Yang God Realm. If I leave this Vermilion Bird remnant to her, it should be enough for her to advance to the Great Venerable Realm."

Jiang Huang's cultivation level was already quite high, but it was only due to the dormancy of her second divine soul and her severe injuries that she fell to the bottom.

If one were to receive the Vermilion Bird's blessing...

It's possible that it could truly soar to great heights!
"Wouldn't it be better to see her alive?" Xie Xuanyi said.

Do you think everyone has such good fortune as you?

Ci Jing chuckled and said with a sigh, "A Yin God Realm cultivator defeating an eighth-level Yang God Realm cultivator... No one would believe such a thing if it were told to outsiders."

"..."

Xie Xuanyi was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "I will give you a drop of the Fountain of Immortality."

he knows.

Ci Jing witnessed the entire battle above the sea of ​​clouds.

He naturally saw through the secret of the Fountain of Immortality that he possessed.

Although this great demon is rebellious and acts strangely, in terms of character and morality, it far surpasses 90% of the cultivators of the Great Chu Dynasty.

"How could Zhao Chunyang have raised such an idiot like you?"

Upon hearing this, Ci Jing immediately scolded and cursed, "I deliberately avoided mentioning this matter... and you still dare to bring it up? Do you want to die?"

Of course he knew that the Fountain of Immortality was on Xie Xuanyi.

But he didn't say it—

Some things are only truly significant when weighed.

Once it's on the scale, it's as heavy as a thousand pounds!
Ci Jing could tell that Chen Jingxuan and Tang Fengshu were Xie Xuanyi's "close friends," but the news about the Undying Spring could not be spread... Back then, the Daoist sect was sown apart by the great master Mo Zhen, and several great masters fought each other. They were all like brothers. Faced with the temptation of immortality, how many could resist?

"Aren't you afraid that I deliberately left you in the reeds so I could kill you and take the Fountain of Immortality?"

Ci Jing raised his eyebrows, and his whole body burst into crimson flames.

"Senior, please stop acting."

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, "You're not that kind of person."

The great calamity is coming.

Zhao Tongtian sent Ci Jing back to the Demon Kingdom... This guy gave up his perfectly good "Great Venerable" position and insisted on returning to the Sword Palace to die...

Many people are drawn to the Fountain of Immortality.

But those who are willing to sacrifice their lives are certainly not.

"..."

Ci Jing fell silent, the fiery red feathers that had burst forth from her demonic body gradually drooped, and her aura slowly dissipated.

"idiot."

He spoke again, but his voice had become hoarse: "People change... You're still too young. Don't do this kind of thing again. If you misplace your trust, it will only lead you to ruin."

A strange light flickered in the Vermilion Bird's red eyes.

It seems that those words had touched a nerve with him.

Xie Xuanyi had never quite understood why this great demon, who was not inherently evil, was the Lotus Venerable's pet, and had even contributed to the battle of drinking poison, had been imprisoned in the back mountain for so many years.
Could it be that Venerable Lian was besieged back then because of Cijing?
The thought had just arisen.

"The Battle of Drinking Poison Back Then."

Ci Jing then said in a hoarse voice, "The reason why Venerable Lian is in danger... is partly due to me."

"……Um?"

Xie Xuanyi stopped speaking and listened quietly.

“When I was young, I was taken in by Venerable Lotus and brought to the Sword Palace.” Ci Jing’s eyes flickered as he murmured, “Although he is a great demon, he has read the Lotus Dao Canon and cultivated the Great Ear Dao Method.”

but……

However, the blood of the Phoenix Clan flows in his veins, and the Daoist scriptures of the Vermilion Bird are engraved in his divine sea.

Demons and humans are ultimately two different races.

“After the war of poisoning began, I was unwilling to fight and kill my fellow countrymen in the demon kingdom. I naively thought that I could intervene in this war with my own bloodline and persuade those great demons of the ‘Heavenly Phoenix Palace’ to stop.” Ci Jing lowered his head, his expression somber.

The Heavenly Phoenix Palace is the most powerful force in the Demon Kingdom.

In terms of territory size and demon cultivator strength, the Heavenly Phoenix Palace is no less than the Eclipse Swamp, and may even be superior!

The battle of drinking poison back then.

The Great Venerable Mo Zhen led all the major forces south together.

If the Heavenly Phoenix Palace chooses to withdraw, this battle will likely be forced to end.

However, the answer can be guessed from Ci Jing's expression.

"You failed," Xie Xuanyi said softly.

"Yes... I failed..."

Ci Jing gave a self-deprecating laugh: "But that's not the worst part. I trusted those guys from the Heavenly Phoenix Palace too much. Although they share the same blood as me and address each other as brothers when we talk... they are not trustworthy people. From beginning to end, the peace talks were just a pretext. They used me as bait to lure Venerable Lian into the Demon Kingdom's grand formation."

What happened next...

That was the infamous attack by the demon kingdom that everyone knows about.

The Lotus Venerable used his power to unleash the Dao of Annihilation and slay many great demons, but he himself ultimately perished in the heavy snow.

"Tianhuang Palace".

Xie Xuanyi silently memorized it.

No wonder Ci Jing was suppressed in the back mountain by the law master.

No wonder Ci Jing treats Jiang Huang so well.

All the confusion was resolved at this moment.

It turns out that Ci Jing had already experienced betrayal once. The great demons of Tianhuang Palace had deceived him and murdered Venerable Lian...

Jiang Huang's appearance can be seen as a ray of dawn arranged by heaven.

He found kindred spirits with whom he shared a deep blood connection, and also found someone he could trust with whom he could rely on each other.

Isn't this a kind of redemption?
Thinking of this, Xie Xuanyi suddenly spoke.

Didn't Chen Jingxuan tell you before that Venerable Lian was still alive?

This unexpected question startled Zhuque for a moment, but her red eyes instantly regained their composure.

"what are you saying?"

Ci Jing lowered his voice, trying to conceal his emotional change.

But this reaction only confirmed Xie Xuanyi's suspicions, and he continued to probe, "It seems it is indeed related to Venerable Lian... Venerable Lian did not die back then, and left behind a wisp of his spirit?"

"..."

Zhuque realized the cunning of the young man before her and quickly shut her mouth, choosing to remain completely silent.

"Ok."

Having already guessed about 70-80% of the truth, Xie Xuanyi shrugged and asked calmly, "Since heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, I will not ask any further... But do you still want this thing?"

While talking.

Xie Xuanyi brought two fingers together and drew out a wisp of pure white steam from between his eyebrows.

His Fountain of Immortality expanded slightly after passing through the Great Yue Kingdom and undergoing several promotions.

The single wisp of Undying Spring water vapor extracted, though incomparable to the work of Lu Yuzhen, was still an immense blessing, enough for a Yang God to heal 70% of their injuries in a great battle.

"This is... the legendary Fountain of Immortality?"

This is the first time I've seen the actual product.

Ci Jing paused for a moment.

"Yes! Of course I want it! Only a fool wouldn't take advantage of a good deal!"

Ci Jing suddenly transformed into human form, stretched out his palm, and grasped the water droplet in his hand. The water vapor melted as soon as it entered his palm, instantly dispersing into dozens or even hundreds of slender strands of vitality, flowing and swimming through his meridians and acupoints. Ci Jing felt the abundant energy within his body, and his eyes shone with a sharper light.

The great demon transformed back into its demonic form, spread its iron wings, and listened to the burning sound of flames scorching the sky.

"This Fountain of Immortality is indeed a good thing..."

Ci Jing frowned, his expression strange, and said, "But why do I feel that this thing isn't as sinister as the legends say?"

Legend has it that obtaining a drop of the Fountain of Immortality is equivalent to gaining a second life!

This is why those great immortals whose lifespans were nearing their end and who had lost the chance of "reincarnation" all started fighting each other...

At this moment, Ci Jing felt full of vitality.

This "Fountain of Immortality" certainly provided great assistance, but it can hardly be considered a second life, can it?

"Three men can make a tiger; many mouths can melt metal."

Xie Xuanyi coughed lightly, feigning composure, and said, "The Fountain of Immortality... it's not as powerful as everyone says..."

"Is it?"

Ci Jing shook his wings and asked in a low voice, "But just how many Undying Springs do you have? You must have used up quite a few in that battle in the Cloud Sea, right?"

"not much……"

Xie Xuanyi stretched out two fingers, twirled them, and drew a thin line.

He frankly stated, "That's all."

"Just this little bit? Really?"

Zhuque was suspicious; he felt that the young man surnamed Xie was lying to him.

Judging from the performance in the battle against Yunhai.

He suspected that Xie Xuanyi still had at least ten drops of the Fountain of Immortality on him...

"really."

Xie Xuanyi said very sincerely, "To be honest, there is only one drop left in the Fountain of Immortality."

"..."

Xuanming, who was listening in from the [Yuantun Sacred Realm], couldn't help but twitch his cheek slightly upon hearing this.

Junior brother wasn't lying.

Inside the dantian, the Immortal Spring condensed into a tiny sea eye.

If all the water vapor is extracted.

Indeed... there's only one drop left.

But is this just one drop? It's drop after drop, inexhaustible and boundless!
I will believe you.

Zhuque stared into the eyes of the young man in black opposite him, and he felt a deep sincerity in Xie Xuanyi's eyes.

As a dignified Yang God, I still possess a discerning eye... Through that eye contact just now, Zhuque was basically certain that the boy surnamed Xie was not lying.

A complex ripple spread across the lake of my heart as I left the mirror.

Over the years, apart from Venerable Lotus and Little Phoenix, he had never experienced this feeling again.

It seems this kid truly trusts me.

Even with only one drop of the Fountain of Immortality left, he was still willing to share some with himself.

"You... come up here."

Zhuque slightly bent down, offering her broad back to Xie Xuanyi.

In the previous battle with Chongkan, we were in life and death together, and I must carry him to the clouds.

Things are different now.

Zhuque absorbed a wisp of the Immortal Spring's vapor... He wholeheartedly acknowledged this young sword immortal surnamed Xie and was willing to take him back to the Great Sui Sword Palace.

"Thank you for your help, senior."

Xie Xuanyi spoke softly, his expression solemn.

He flipped over and sat on the back of the Vermilion Bird.

With a clear whistle, it struck the clouds and the fiery red bird soared into the sky from the reeds.

(End of this chapter)