Chapter 229 - Power (2/2)
“Nothing will go wrong. Fengxi and his cohorts are just behind. Moreover, we need more fuel for the Flying-cloud Stone.”
“Very well. Let’s go then.”
Behind them, lying on a corner of the stone conveyance, was Xiao Chen who was chewing on a blade of grass. There was something strange about the look in Fengxi’s expression, he thought. It was as if he had already known that evil folks were lurking around!
There was also the Great Immortal from Hell… His movements and behavior seemed oddly familiar to him? And the other, purportedly a member of the higher echelons of the Corpse Refinery Sect; a member of that infernal order which depended so greatly on the capabilities of Corpse Puppet did not have one accompanying him? That was almost unheard of!
Realizing something at last, a cryptic smile broke upon his face. What old rascals these old seniles are! Fengxi and Zimo!
But his smile did not go unnoticed; one of the Envoys saw the smug look on him and barked, “What are you smiling about!? No tricks, I warn you! Just do as you’re told!”
Xiao Chen spat the grass from his mouth with apparent disgust. If only you had taught these curs a heavier lesson, Senior Zimo, he mused spitefully.
The final slivers of the sun were completely gone by the time they landed in the city. Chains of lights from the busy streets blazed brilliantly across the huge city, stretching across every end of the city. Is there anyone that I might know here, Xiao Chen wondered.
He looked around the streets and thought he saw a person in red standing in the light, waiting for him. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. But no one was there. He was merely dreaming.
The lights from the busy streets still bustling with people brought back reminiscences of the times he was with Liu Fenghuang. But the cruelty of Destiny had rendered her no more.
The Envoys scoured the city and finally found a lavishly furnished inn. One of them then went out to look for fuel for the Flying-cloud Stone and came back carrying three boxes of food. He disdainfully tossed one to Xiao Chen and promptly turned away, walking away to enjoy his own food.
The pair of Envoys had earlier hatched several plans to torment Xiao Chen during the journey, but they were discouraged by the presence of Fengxi who could be nearby, and the incident with the “evil folks” they encountered not long ago.
But Xiao Chen made no hint of noticing the food. He merely stood by the window, taking in the night scenes of the crowded cityscape in the night without a word, motionless and still. It had almost been one year since he first stepped foot into the Violet Manor. “The first winds of autumn were just beginning to blow then, he mused, and yet here I am, looking to witness the first snow of the year. The sky looked the same to him even until now, perpetually lighted by the star twinkling brightly overhead.
It was almost the same on the night before his battle against Patriarch Guanshan, where he and Liu Fenghuang together perched at the crest of a ridge under the stars, enjoying the whispering breezes of the night.
Liu Fenghuang had spoken much to him that night. He remembered, so much that he should have known that she had foreseen her own passing.
In the critical moments of the deadly battle, it was she who had sacrificed herself to give him an edge; she who had given her life to bestow him a pair of wings.
Xiao Chen heaved a long and heavy breath, his eyes shutting slowly as the fatigue and weariness of the pain and sorrow he had endured began to show on the creases that broke at the edge of his eyes. Of all the stars far away, he wondered quietly, is there one which Fenghuang is residing at now?
Liu Fenghuang carried the blood of Phoenixes from the Archean Eon. As the embodiment of undying life, the souls of those who bore the blood of Phoenixes were said to endure even after death; their spirits would never vanish and scatter into oblivion, but instead, remain to the origins of life where they await an opportunity to rebirth once more from the ashes of death.
But she had given me her wings, he thought suddenly, can she still return?
Power! I need more power!
From that very second, Xiao Chen conceived a conviction that only power would prevent history from repeating itself! It was his weakness that forced Liu Fenghuang to sacrifice herself. He could not afford to remain idle while Xiao Yue and the others were already far ahead of him in power and strength!
More – or even countless – trials and tribulations would await him in the future. He could not suffer another loss of another loved one. Be it Muxue, Senior Sister Luo, or Xian’er; he could never be able to lose any of them!
There was only one way: the Nascent Soul Realm!
In three months, I must reach the Nascent Soul Realm! There can be no setbacks! No matter what, I must reach it by then! Nevermind whatever enemies that might be waiting or the Immortal’s Sword Assembly; I will be ready!
He would be the first of the elite youths of all five continents of the Violet Manor to make history by becoming the youngest warrior to achieve the Nascent Soul Realm, just like how he once proved his supremacy when he was still a student of the Mystic Cyan Sect!
He felt his blood boiling with fervor and excitement. Unable to hold back his rushing adrenaline coursing through him like a flood, he roared into the darkness of the night.
His sudden outburst shocked the two Envoys that they spilled the cups of tea they were holding. They had never been able to relax since the encounter with the “evil folks” and the shock Xiao Chen just gave them nearly caused their hearts to fail. “What are you yelling for? Shuddup! You just gave us a fright!” One of them spat angrily.