The Green Phoenix Has Fallen
This turn of events left everyone present utterly stunned. Feng Jiuyou stood frozen in place, his face twisted in shock and disbelief. From the room stumbled a woman engulfed in flames, collapsing at his feet and barely managing to utter two syllables: "Save... me..."
Feng Jiuyou snapped back to reality, swiftly recalling the phoenix flames. Instinctively, he called out her name: "Wutong!"
Had Qi Wutong still been able to speak, she would have had the confidence to win Feng Jiuyou's forgiveness. She would have wept and said something like, "The Wutong you knew back then was someone else, but the one who stayed by your side for six hundred years was me," hoping to evoke his pity. He might have been angry for a while, but in the end, he would have forgiven her...
Alas, phoenix flames were the most ruthless fire in all creation, capable of reducing flesh and blood to ashes in moments. Feng Jiuyou's attempt to save her came too late. By the time Qi Wutong stumbled out of the room, her insides had likely already been scorched hollow. With a face full of terror and unwillingness, she collapsed lifelessly to the ground, briefly reverting to her true form before finally turning into a charred husk.
Xu Shulou couldn’t recognize her original form, only noting that the clusters of small white flowers blooming on delicate vines seemed rather lovely. Beside her, Bai Roushuang murmured softly, "Dodder."
"What’s dodder?" asked a disciple of the Xuanji Sect, unfamiliar with the term.
Bai Roushuang thought for a moment before explaining, "It’s a parasitic plant that can’t grow on its own. It clings to other plants, sucking nutrients from them. When I was young, I saw fields of beans wither and die because dodder drained them dry."
The Xuanji Sect disciple suddenly understood. "Then this one must have been the parasite clinging to the phoenix tree Feng Jiuyou once spoke of."
Feng Jiuyou seemed deaf to their words. He stood in a daze, as though unable to believe Qi Wutong had turned to ashes right before his eyes. He crouched down, reaching out to touch the charred remains—only for them to crumble into fragments at his touch.
"..." Chu Fu watched coldly, finding the path of her revenge unexpectedly tinged with absurdity.
Just then, a gust of wind swept through, scattering the lightweight ashes of the burnt plant until not a trace remained. Only a faintly glowing object clattered to the ground.
Xu Shulou stepped around Feng Jiuyou, picking it up and catching a whiff of a faint, woody fragrance. She examined it in her palm. "It’s the heart of a phoenix tree."
Since the tree’s heart had been extracted, the original phoenix tree spirit must have long perished. But with Qi Wutong gone, the truth of what happened would forever remain a mystery. Had Qi Wutong deliberately killed the tree spirit to take its place, or had she merely seized the heart after its natural demise? There was no way to know now.
That Qi Wutong carried the tree’s heart with her was surely not out of remorse, but because its lingering fragrance was essential to maintaining her disguise.
Chu Fu watched as one of her enemies vanished and the other stood paralyzed in grief. Unable to resist, she clapped her hands and laughed. "What a splendid spectacle!"
Her voice snapped Feng Jiuyou out of his stupor. With a furious roar, he lunged at the group, wreathed in the overwhelming flames of his phoenix fire—the most destructive force in existence.
"Be careful! Don’t let the flames touch you!" Xu Shulou raised a protective barrier while warning the others. Everyone reacted swiftly, summoning their strongest defensive artifacts.
The fire was indeed relentless, burning through their defenses in moments. They could only rely on their own spiritual energy to hold on. Seeing the Xuanji Sect disciples faltering, Xu Shulou shouted, "Clear me a path!"
They obeyed, and Xu Shulou leaped through the gap they created. Feng Jiuyou, wary of her approach, flicked his fingers, summoning eighty-one fiery sparks that rained down on her like a barrage of deadly projectiles.
Xu Shulou refused to retreat—if she did, those behind her would suffer. Instead, she twisted and turned midair, dodging the fiery onslaught with astonishing agility, bending, flipping, and spinning like a top.
With Feng Jiuyou focusing on her, the others found some relief. One Xuanji Sect disciple couldn’t help but murmur, "I once saw a circus in the mortal realm—they had monkeys jumping through flaming hoops..."
Bai Roushuang, still maintaining her barrier, shot him a glare.
Realizing his words were inappropriate, the disciple hastily corrected himself, "I meant to say she’s as graceful and nimble as those performers!"
Bai Roushuang ignored him, her attention fixed on her senior sister’s movements.
When a spark caught the hem of Xu Shulou’s robe, Bai Roushuang’s heart leaped into her throat—but Xu Shulou reacted instantly, slicing off the burning fabric with her sword.
For the flames she couldn’t evade, she parried with her blade, the metallic clangs ringing out as sparks struck steel. Feng Jiuyou’s eyes narrowed when he realized her sword was no ordinary weapon—it could withstand phoenix fire. Gritting his teeth, he summoned even more flames. "I’ll send you all to keep Wutong company!"
Had this group not appeared, he would have been enjoying his newlywed bliss with Wutong.
Wutong... Wutong... His heart ached.
No—that hadn’t been the real Wutong.
But...
Before he could untangle the day’s chaos, he knew one thing for certain: venting his fury on these intruders was justified.
"I’m sure she’d prefer your company over ours," Xu Shulou replied calmly, her sword dancing like a dragon as it deflected another volley of flames. She remained composed, while Feng Jiuyou’s attacks grew increasingly erratic.
After half an incense stick’s worth of time, Feng Jiuyou’s assault began to wane. Xu Shulou smiled faintly. "I knew your phoenix fire couldn’t be infinite."
Feng Jiuyou’s expression darkened. "Guards, form the array!"
Too late. Xu Shulou had already closed the distance, her sword aimed unerringly at his heart.
"Hold!" A voice rang out from above as a streak of azure spiritual energy knocked Xu Shulou’s blade aside.
The group looked up to see an ethereal woman in green robes descending from the clouds, her demeanor serene and elegant.
"Who are you?!" Chu Fu clenched her fists, sensing another complication.
The woman landed gracefully before them, flanked by two attendants.
Xu Shulou kept her sword poised at Feng Jiuyou’s chest, her gaze flicking to the feathered crown in the woman’s hair. "Are you also of the phoenix lineage?"
The woman in green robes shook her head. "I am of the Qingniao clan, kin to the Phoenix lineage."
"You wish to stop me from killing Feng Jiuyou?"
"He is, after all, the last descendant of the Phoenix lineage. Show mercy where you can," the green-robed woman replied without denial. "Moreover, this is for your own good. The Phoenixes are born under Heaven's Mandate. If you dare slay one, you will suffer backlash—a backlash none among you could endure."
Chu Fu tensed. "What backlash?"
Before his words could fully settle, a piercing phoenix cry tore through the air, accompanied by a radiant glow. Feng Jiuyou's form dissolved into countless specks of light, dispersing as spiritual energy, returning to the mountains and rivers of the world.
It turned out that while they had been speaking, Xu Shulou had already driven her sword through Feng Jiuyou's heart, ending the life of the once-arrogant Phoenix descendant.
The Qingniao woman staggered back in shock, her hair ornaments trembling. "You—"
Xu Shulou met her gaze calmly.
One of the tiny specks of light from Feng Jiuyou's dissolution drifted into the garden, and the onlookers watched as flowers and plants burst into full bloom in an instant. No wonder the Phoenixes held such an exalted status—even in death, they nourished the world's spiritual energy. Truly, they were a race favored by Heaven.
Only then did the disciples of the Xuanji Sect snap out of their daze. Chu Fu exhaled in relief, as if a weight that had pressed on his chest since his niece's death had finally shattered. Some of the sect members had already begun to weep.
But wait—Chu Fu pressed urgently, "What exactly is this backlash?"
The Qingniao woman steadied herself, ignoring him, and instead addressed Xu Shulou coldly. "You have quite the audacity. Do you think I was lying to you?"
Unfazed, Xu Shulou sheathed her sword and asked, "You said the Phoenixes bear Heaven's Mandate. What mandate is that?"
"..." The Qingniao woman glanced at her but did not answer.
"You need not say it—I already know. The Phoenixes' mandate is to aid the mortal world. Heaven favors them not so they may lord over others, but to fulfill this duty," Xu Shulou said, cradling her sword. "Since Feng Jiuyou never once upheld this mandate, why should killing him bring me backlash?"
"You—"
With a flick of her wrist, Xu Shulou's sword transformed into a folding fan. She waved it lightly and smiled. "What a pity you didn't appear sooner—when Feng Jiuyou acted tyrannically, when he nearly burned us all with his phoenix flames. Yet you arrived just in time to stop me from killing him."
The green-robed woman studied her for a long moment before replying coolly, "I will remember you."
"Excellent. I am Xu Shulou," she said with a clasped fist. "The mountains stand tall, the rivers flow eternal. There will be time yet for our paths to cross again!"
"..."
