Chapter 27 - The Phoenix Trial (1/2)
Following after Feng Baichuan, Itachi soon found himself in a valley facing a giant boulder with a small phoenix symbol on it. Feng Baichuan took out a small knife and cut his finger with drawing blood and smeared it on the phoenix symbol. After which the boulder rolled out of the way showing a massive hall in the mountain and behind it a dark hallway.
*DING [ ”Incoming mission: Take the Phoenix Trial, succeed perfectly and obtain three drops of Phoenix blood.
Reward for completion: Ability Lottery Ticket, Character Summoning Lottery Ticket and Equipment/Armor/Weapon Lottery Ticket
Punishment for failure: All Mangekyo Sharingan and the Sharingan will be sealed away for 1 year.”]
Hearing the system give him the quest he was waiting for made Itachi just all the more excited to take on this trial and obtain even more powers and also a comrade.
”Alright, here we are. Just go in and go in to that dark hallway in the back and you will eventually walk into the Phoenix Trial. From this point on it's all on you. I wish you the best of luck and whether you make it not, the Phoenix Spirit will throw out regardless so you don't have to worry about getting out of here.” Said Feng Baichuan as he was about to walk away before Itachi asked him another question.
”Hey! Quick question. Do you have any idea what the Phoenix Trial entails?”
”Sorry, I cannot help you with that. Those who have gone through the Phoenix Trial cannot speak about its content. This way those who take on this Trial cannot have any knowledge before the Trial.” Said Feng Baichuan.
”Well it was worth a try. Anyways, I'll see you guys when I get out. Goodbye and wish me luck.” Said Itachi as he walked into the Trial grounds.
”Best of luck to you and I'll see you back at the village.” Said Feng Baichuan as he waved at Itachi and walked back to the village.
After walking into the Trial Grounds the boulder rolls back blocking the entrance to the Trial Grounds. After walking into the hallway at the end hall the light dies down until nothing but complete darkness remains.
'The spirit Phoenix should appear shortly if I'm correct.' Thought Itachi to himself and right there in the darkness, two horizontal golden lines appear that soon became two giant golden eyes in the darkness.
”Greetings, human. Welcome to the trial grounds. You are the first challenger without the phoenix bloodline in these past thousand years.” Said the voice directly into his mind.
”So you are the Spirit of the Phoenix, huh?” said Itachi.
”That is correct. I am an immortal soul left here by the phoenix, yet I am also an existence independent of the phoenix. I preserve this trial ground and receive all challengers. Spirit of the Phoenix, is the most fitting title for me.” Said the Phoenix
”Well then, I am here to officially take the challenge of the Phoenix Trial.”
”Very well then, are you ready?” asked the Phoenix
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Itachi opened his eyes and looked at the Phoenix with eyes full of determination and gave him his answer.
”Yes, I am ready.”
”Before I explain to you what the Trial entails, I wanted to thank you for saving the people of the village. Though their ancestor had committed a grave sin all those years ago and I cursed him and his descendants, it has been long enough for them to live with this curse. You are the first one in a thousand years to have taken the challenge without being in possession of the Phoenix bloodline. I truly hope that you can pass this trial.” Said the Phoenix
”I hope so as well.”
”Well then. The first part of the Trial is the Purgatory Flame Demon, the second part is the Arrows of the Phoenix and the last part of the trial is the Corruption of the Heart's Flame. If you wish to forfeit during the trial, you may shout out at any time and I'll immediately let you leave the trial grounds. You may die if you forcibly endure the trial…. I wish you good luck up ahead.”
Just as the Spirit of the Phoenix's voice faded, the pair of golden eyes slowly disappeared inside the world of pitch black darkness. Moments later, the darkness disappears and the world around him transformed into a field of deep red. Looking around Itachi could see erupting volcanos in the distance and the field was covered in magma. Looking up in the sky, he could see that it was covered in a thick layer of clouds with lots of lightning flaring up.
Meanwhile…..
Back at the hall where the Spirit of the Phoenix appeared, Jasmine appeared. Shortly thereafter the Phoenix Spirit appeared too.
”Ahh, what do we have here? To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting a divine practitioner on this remote little star. The level of strength on this little star is far too low for you divine practitioners to even bother with it, let alone come here.” Said the Phoenix Spirit.
”I am here because some things happened in the God's Realm and now my life has been tied with his. But that's not why I came here before you. I came here before to tell you to keep a close eye on him, I am pretty sure that he will be the greatest surprise you have ever seen.” Said Jasmine with a sly grin on her face.
”Care to elaborate?” said the Phoenix Spirit whose interest had been piqued.
”Wouldn't be much of a surprise if I told you beforehand, now would it? Just make sure to keep a close eye on him and save any questions you might have for the end.” Said Jasmine after which she disappeared.
Back at the Trial…
As Itachi was looking around the literal hellscape he could see a lake of magma in the center. After taking a few steps, the lava lake suddenly starts erupting until a giant figure completely made of lava steps out of it. This giant was a whopping 33 meters tall with two giant 10-meter tall horns on its head.