Promise!

Chapter 247, Phoenix

Rumble!
The stone door of the cave suddenly opened, and two figures, one fiery red and one icy blue, flew out from it before the stone door closed again.

Zhuang Jin immediately looked and found that it was a fire and an ice, a phoenix and a dragon.

This is the true form of a phoenix, not like the Fire Phoenix. It has some phoenix bloodline. They have long feathers and tassels hanging down their tails. One is like a blazing fire, and the other is covered in ice blue like flowing ice lava!
'Judging from their aura, these two ice and fire phoenixes are roughly equivalent to my second level of the Innate Qi Realm. Are they a test from the Immortal Ruins? As expected, trying to dig in from elsewhere and taking shortcuts won't work. My attempt to conceal my cultivation level has indeed failed.'

Zhuang Jin had been concealing his cultivation level with all his might, but this immortal ruin seemed to have its own way of sensing and identifying things. The fire phoenix and ice phoenix that had appeared were at the same level as him, and their pair instantly reminded him of the two grooves on the stone door of the cave earlier: 'So, I must kill this pair of fire phoenixes and ice phoenixes to obtain the token in order to open the stone door and truly enter?'

Swish!Swish!
The Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix had a clear objective and pounced straight at Zhuang Jin.

'Very well, since I can't avoid it or get around it, I'll face the test head-on. They're nothing more than a pair of phoenixes of the same level; what do I have to fear?'

Zhuang Jin's shoulders trembled, the Ice Soul Divine Sword appeared in his hand, he shouted, telling the purple kangaroo to keep its distance, and he charged forward.

The distance of a mere dozen feet was only a moment for those of their cultivation level. In the blink of an eye, Zhuang Jin clashed with the Fire Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix, and they began to fight.

The bodies of the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix were extremely terrifying, especially their claws, which tore through the air, creating streaks of light visible to the naked eye; Zhuang Jin's Ice Soul Divine Sword, with its seamless movement between space and space, displayed exquisite and unparalleled swordsmanship, its sword light crisscrossing.

After dozens or even hundreds of moves, the two sides separated.

hum!
Zhuang Jin's condensed and compressed protective aura, gathered on his body surface, shattered with a hum, exploding into starlight. He then twirled his sword and sheathed it.

Behind them, the Fire Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix each had several wounds, each an inch deep and several feet long, with what seemed to be faintly flowing light within them.

'No, something felt off when the Ice Soul Divine Sword pierced me earlier.'

Zhuang Jin frowned slightly. The feeling was extremely strange and definitely did not feel like it was piercing flesh. But before he could think about it, the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix let out a clear cry and pounced again.

This time, he didn't engage in close combat. He stepped back, creating distance, and pressed his fingers repeatedly, unleashing the sword energy of the Meridian-Severing Divine Sword as he prepared to observe carefully.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
The fire phoenix and ice phoenix spun around to dodge, but were still hit. Their bodies were pierced by the sword energy, but what exploded was not flesh and blood. Instead, flowing light appeared in the wounds, and after a sudden brightening in a certain spot on their chests, their injuries were completely healed in a short moment.

Wow!
The Fire Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix flapped their wings and flew in, one spewing flames and the other spewing ice slurry in mid-air.

Zhuang Jin transformed into a hurricane to dodge, his sword energy constantly being released from the Divine Sword of Intercepting Meridians in his hand. After several attempts, he finally confirmed that the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix were not true exotic beasts, but were composed entirely of elements, more like elemental life forms.

"Indeed, if it's a relic of immortals, it must be from eight hundred years ago. How could any strange beasts have survived there for so long? If such beasts truly existed, they would have long since become spirits, far beyond my capabilities."

'They are more like puppets formed from elemental power, yet they seem to possess combat instincts and even combat intelligence. That immortal's methods are truly astonishing.'

"Getting back to the main point, the physical forms of the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix mean that they have no fatal weaknesses. If injured, they can absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth and recover instantly!"

However, Zhuang Jin also noticed something: each time they recovered from their injuries, a spot on their chest would suddenly light up. Through their slightly transparent bodies at that time, he could see that the object inside was remarkably similar in shape to the two grooves in the cave's stone door: 'That must be what's needed to open the cave door.'

'If I kill the Fire Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix and obtain the tokens inside them, will I pass the test and be able to open the Immortal Ruins and enter them?'

"Given their elemental properties, the Qi Bomb probably won't work. Most people would be injured but not killed in the explosion, and would recover in the blink of an eye, making it a waste of effort. It needs to be an extremely refined, deadly technique, and that leaves only this one."

Zhuang Jin made a decision, and the Ice Soul Divine Sword behind him was drawn again. Looking at the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix rushing towards him, his expression showed respect for his opponents: "I have the Pulse-Severing Divine Sword - Supreme Sword, please take a look."

"One sword... Return to Origin!"

He raised his sword and thrust it upwards, activating the core of the Ice Soul Divine Sword. The energy stored within, nearly all the energy of a second-level Qi Refining Realm martial artist, was gathered into a single sword strike under the essence of the "Intercepting Meridian Divine Sword".

Swish!
This sword strike was extremely restrained, forming a thin line of icy blue color, locking onto the target like a laser beam.

boom!
The speed of this sword was close to the speed of light. The Fire Phoenix had no time to react and was hit in the chest. Under the terrifying crushing and destructive power, it was directly shattered into elemental particles. A crimson token fell from mid-air. The other Ice Phoenix was also grazed, and half of its body exploded, instantly suffering severe damage.

Kill it while it's sick!
Zhuang Jin was preparing to quickly finish off the remaining Ice Phoenix.

"Wow!"

As the Ice Phoenix soared into the sky, its wounds rapidly healing, it let out a clear cry. A phantom image of a fire phoenix flashed across the crimson token that the fire phoenix had fallen from, gathering the elements of heaven and earth. Almost instantly, it solidified into a physical form, resurrected, and ascended into the sky, once again circling with the Ice Phoenix.

Zhuang Jin: ? ? ?
This even includes a resurrection feature? Are you cheating? Are you a sore loser?!

At this moment, the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix hovered in mid-air, head to tail, forming a circle. As they rotated, terrifying energy fluctuations gathered and transformed into chaotic colored light spheres that fell down.

Zhuang Jin's body was enveloped in innate qi, which instantly condensed into an ice qi shield. However, after being hit by several light spheres, it developed numerous cracks and was on the verge of shattering. He could only repair and maintain it by continuously injecting qi.

With such a rapid increase in the consumption of his innate qi, in just a short while, the innate qi in his body would be depleted to below 70% of the designated danger level, leaving him no choice but to quickly move away and find cover to hide in.

Zhuang Jin transformed into a hurricane tornado, fleeing swiftly across the stone bridge. The Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix pursued, but at the edge of the bridge, a faint grid of light suddenly appeared, blocking their way. Unable to cross, they hesitated for a moment, let out a clear cry, and returned to the cave's stone gate.

Clearly, the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix have limited ranges of activity, and that immortal was only testing them and did not intend to kill them.

With the crisis averted, Zhuang Jin let out a long sigh of relief and plopped down on the spot without any regard for appearances, his face showing a speechless expression of 'I'm tired, let's just destroy it all'.

He worked himself to the bone, finally killing the Fire Phoenix and severely injuring the Ice Phoenix. Victory was within reach, but then the Ice Phoenix cried out, "Resurrect, my love!" The Fire Phoenix, who had already died, was instantly resurrected at full strength. How could anyone possibly fight against that?
'That immortal from eight hundred years ago was utterly inhuman! This setup, this level of difficulty—it's practically a deliberate attempt to deny anyone any opportunity. Isn't this just blatantly making things difficult for people?'

Despite his inner grumbling, Zhuang Jin was determined not to give up. After reviewing the situation and reflecting on it, he realized that he could only truly clear the level by simultaneously killing the Fire Phoenix and the Ice Phoenix, preventing the other from having the chance to be resurrected.

Then he felt an unbearable toothache. He was only able to achieve what he had done before by relying on the unleashed power of the Ice Soul Divine Sword, killing the Fire Phoenix and severely injuring the Ice Phoenix. But if he were to kill both of them at the same time, the difficulty would more than double.
This means that you either need overwhelming strength to control the situation, or you need a similarly strong ally with excellent teamwork.

Zhuang Jin glanced at the purple kangaroo instinctively, then shook his head. Sending that guy up there would probably be no match for the fire phoenix and ice phoenix's breath. "Whoosh!"

The purple kangaroo inexplicably sensed a malice and immediately jumped up on alert, its fur standing on end. The electric ball at the tip of its tail instantly swelled up to a size larger. But when it realized there was no danger and it seemed to have just imagined it, it chirped and lay down again.

'There's another question. Since this is a test, if there are helpers, increasing the number of people involved, will the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix also become stronger accordingly?'

Zhuang Jin shook his head, deciding to put that aside for the time being. He sat cross-legged to cultivate, recover his innate qi, and then recharge the Ice Soul Divine Sword.

The Ice Soul Divine Sword's ultimate burst power lies in the innate qi stored in its core beforehand. Therefore, after one ultimate burst, it needs to be recharged to support another ultimate burst. Furthermore, the innate qi stored in its core will dissipate and weaken, requiring daily nurturing to ensure that the innate qi stored in the core is at full capacity, so as not to reduce the power of the ultimate burst.

After doing all that, he got up to survey the terrain, to see if he could use it to perform a double kill.

Then, they were disappointed. There was no such terrain inside the stone bridge, within the range of the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix's activities; there were many places further out, but they couldn't get out!
Was it artificially created within the area where the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix were active?
We've already tried it before; digging randomly will immediately alert the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix.

We're stuck here!

'Good heavens, isn't this deliberately making things difficult for people?'

After much thought and racking his brains, Zhuang Jin could only come up with two solutions: First, force the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix to overlap at their chests, then use the Ice Soul Divine Sword to unleash its ultimate power, returning the sword to its origin and simultaneously striking the tokens on their chests, killing them both with a single strike.

This is extremely difficult. The area on the chest of the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix is ​​only the size of a palm, overlapping on a single line. You have to seize the opportunity. The difficulty is unimaginable, especially since the move 'One Sword Returns to Origin' was exposed before.

Another extremely important point is that Zhuang Jin's Ice Soul Divine Sword can only support three over-limit bursts at most. He has already used it once before, leaving only two more chances. The cost of trial and error is too high.

Secondly, having a shrewd and equally matched ally significantly reduces the difficulty of simultaneously killing the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix, even if their strength increases.

That's more feasible, but where would he find such a helper? Someone from a small circle? Faced with such a great opportunity as the Immortal Ruins, he couldn't believe it!
As Zhuang Jin pondered these thoughts, he felt like a tiger facing a hedgehog, at a loss for what to do.

Over the next two days, he tried several times to lure out the Fire Phoenix and Ice Phoenix, hoping to create an opportunity to pass the level using the first method, but to no avail.

On this day, Zhuang Jin failed again. After recovering from his illness, he suddenly sensed something, his expression became extremely solemn, and he looked up.

Swish!
A figure passed through the illusion of flowing ice and lava above, and gracefully descended, appearing like a startled swan.

"It's you?!"

The next moment, a voice rang out in unison.

……

"It's you?!"

Zhuang Jin looked at the person opposite him and saw that it was Shangguan Yunchang. He had only just arrived in the city and had met her once at the Tongfu Teahouse in the Zhenxiufang area. She was the person he was planning to marry, and later she came to him for a duel. After that, they gradually lost contact. He never expected to meet her again here.

'How did this person get here? Did they track me down? But that doesn't make sense!'

His Black Python Token had been 'accidentally lost' long ago after he entered the Funiu Mountains. Whether he would find it by chance on his way back or go back to the state capital to reissue it was still undecided. It was impossible for anyone to track him down using the token.

—The token is within the third ring road of the state city and is connected to the network, so it is highly likely to be monitored. It is unknown whether it is outside the state city. Zhuang Jin guessed that it had a vague location function, and because he did not like to be monitored, it was 'accidentally lost'.

Well, as far as Zhuang Jin knows, it's probably because martial artists at the Innate Qi Realm are too old on average and have poor memories. People in their own Qi Realm circle, as well as those in other Qi Realm circles, would occasionally lose their tokens.

When Shangguan Yunchang saw Zhuang Jin here, she was just as shocked.

Due to recent changes in the state capital, she obtained a painting by that immortal from eight hundred years ago through a special channel.

Those from aristocratic families know more about the secrets than ordinary people. She deciphered the mystery in the painting and only entered the mountains to search after the large-scale primordial energy tide ended last month and the Funiu Mountains became safe. She explored each location one by one, eliminating several other suspected sites, and finally identified Yunchi Mountain. She entered through a cave on the mountaintop and overcame numerous difficulties and dangers to finally arrive here, only to find that someone had gotten there before her!
Normally, Zhuang Jin shouldn't be here. Who would have thought he was so bored that after digging for Xuanbing Marrow, he discovered something was wrong and persisted in digging for three days because of a strange place. He entered the cave halfway through and then broke through the illusion of ice flow lava, ending up here.
"Brother Zhuang, it's been a long time! Your appearance here is quite a surprise!"

“You are very polite, Miss Shangguan. I am also quite surprised that you were able to find this place.”

The two spoke as gently as a spring breeze, but when they got close enough, they attacked at the same time.

Zhuang Jin's figure transformed into a hurricane tornado, unleashing the Divine Sword of Severing Meridians; Shangguan Yunchang's figure moved like a startled swan on a lake, her speed not slowing down at all, snowflakes swirling around her, her awe-inspiring presence filled with endless killing intent, freezing and dissipating the sword energy of the Divine Sword of Severing Meridians.

At this moment, Shangguan Yunchang's realm had also reached the second level of the Innate Qi Realm, the same realm as Zhuang Jin!

—As mentioned before, after breaking through to the Innate Realm, taking breakthrough pills won't have much of an impact. At the Innate True Qi Realm and Innate Gang Qi Realm stages, Zhuang Jin doesn't have the talent to overcome bottlenecks. Shangguan Yunchang, as one of the next family head's chosen ones, compensates for this with resources. In addition, she has precious treasures that help accelerate her cultivation, making her progress faster than Zhuang Jin.

At the same time, in order to maintain his image, Zhuang Jin could not be in the same state of a "martial arts fanatic" as he was in Yunnan Prefecture, where he devoted himself entirely to cultivation except for eating and sleeping, and was slightly distracted by artifacts such as the Qi Bomb and the Ice Soul Divine Sword. With one thing added and the other subtracted, it is not difficult to understand why he has been caught up and is now at the same level.

After dozens of moves.

Zhuang Jin stepped back, holding the Ice Soul Divine Sword, and used the starting stance of 'One Sword Returns to Origin'.

Opposite her, Shangguan Yunchang held a jade token, from which a powerful aura emanated.

At this moment, their martial arts intuitions were triggered simultaneously, and they both felt a chill run down their spines. They stopped fighting almost at the same time, holding back their attacks.

……

(End of this chapter)