Chapter 1359: "Nirvana"

Fenghuang'er's slender arms were wrapped around Yun Che's waist as she carried him, floating through the air. They bypassed the eyes of all the clansmen, flying towards the Phoenix Trial Grounds.

Almost all of Yun Che's weight rested on Fenghuang'er. A mountain breeze, though not strong, blew past, causing Yun Che an unbearable feeling of suffocation. Fenghuang'er immediately noticed and quickly slowed their already deliberate flight even further.

"How could I be... so weak?" Yun Che thought bitterly to himself.

He immediately added, "But this must only be temporary."

The Phoenix Remnant Clan consisted of only around two hundred people. The strongest cultivators among them were Fenghuang'er and Feng Zuer. Fenghuang'er secretly brought Yun Che to the Phoenix God's land, unnoticed by anyone.

Fenghuang'er landed with Yun Che in front of a tall mountain wall. Before them was the seal formation Yun Che remembered.

"Benefactor brother, we've arrived," Fenghuang'er said.

Fenghuang'er pointed a finger, touching the seal formation. A flicker of crimson flame appeared, and the formation immediately vanished, revealing a boundless reddish-black space.

Supporting Yun Che, Fenghuang'er led him forward. As they stepped inside, the surrounding world instantly transformed. All light vanished completely, plunging them into darkness.

Fenghuang'er bowed down and devoutly said, "Fenghuang'er, a descendant of the Phoenix, requests an audience with the Phoenix God."

As soon as her voice fell, two narrow crimson lights suddenly appeared in the dark world. These two narrow crimson lights then slowly opened, transforming into a pair of phoenix eyes embedded within the very fabric of this space.

Back then, when Yun Che first arrived, the phoenix eyes he faced were a dazzling, sacred gold.

Now, however, they were crimson... and noticeably dim.

"Yun Che, long time no see."

This was the voice of the Phoenix Soul, still majestic and awe-inspiring, but noticeably different from what Yun Che remembered—it sounded somewhat weak and aged. Yun Che, however, was not concerned about this. He looked at the crimson phoenix eyes and replied, "Yes, long time no see."

"Fenghuang'er, you may step back."

"Yes," Fenghuang'er replied. She released a gentle profound energy, condensing it into a persistent current of air that softly supported Yun Che's body. Only then did she nervously depart.

"Yun Che," the Phoenix Soul's tone shifted slightly after Fenghuang'er left. "Before the Phoenix Soul in the Blazing God Realm's God Burying Inferno dissipated, it transmitted all its soul memories to this venerated one, including much information about you."

"Knowing that you obtained a more advanced Phoenix inheritance and cultivated the complete Phoenix Nirvana Scripture brought this venerated one great satisfaction... Unexpectedly, in just over a year, your destiny suffered such a tragic change." The Phoenix Soul sighed, "Perhaps, this is heaven's jealousy."

As soul fragments left behind by the Phoenix, divine spirits could share memories; Yun Che had known this for a long time, so there was no surprise. He steadied his faint and weak breathing and asked, "Phoenix Soul, Clan Leader Feng and the others said you sent me back here. What exactly happened? Why... am I not dead? And why am I here? I clearly..."

In his memory, he had died, his soul annihilated, with no chance of survival.

"No," the Phoenix Soul slowly replied, "Your memory and understanding are not wrong; you did indeed die... although this venerated one does not know how you died."

Yun Che was stunned.

"The current you is you, resurrected after death."

"Resurrected... after death?" This statement from the Phoenix Soul left Yun Che even more bewildered.

Without a doubt, anyone hearing these words would be bewildered. Death was death; so-called resurrection had always existed only in fantasy, never as a possible miracle. Even gods and devils from the era of the gods, once destroyed, had no power of resurrection, let alone ordinary spirits of today.

However, if resurrection truly existed in this world, then perhaps it had only ever happened to Yun Che.

"Could it be... the Samsara Indestructible Mirror again?" he murmured, lost in thought.

On the day he married Xia Qingyue in Flowing Cloud City's Xiao Clan, he was poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong. He was reborn on the Azure Cloud Continent due to the Samsara Indestructible Mirror. Later, he perished by jumping off the Cliff of Absolute Cloud on the Azure Cloud Continent, and again, due to the Samsara Indestructible Mirror, he returned to this current life.

"No," the Phoenix Soul replied, "Although this venerated one does not know why the Samsara Indestructible Mirror's power would activate on you, its power of reincarnation becomes dormant for twenty years each time it is triggered."

"..." The Samsara Indestructible Mirror's power became dormant for twenty years after each trigger. Jasmine had clearly told him the same thing before.

The Phoenix Soul had read Yun Che's memories and naturally knew about the existence of the Samsara Indestructible Mirror on him. "Only thirteen years have passed since it last took you through reincarnation. Furthermore, the Samsara Indestructible Mirror's power is 'crossing reincarnation,' not rebirth."

"Then what is it?" Yun Che asked, even more confused.

"Do you still remember that after you completed the inheritance of the Phoenix divine power, before this venerated one sent you away, I mentioned giving you a special gift?"

"I... remember," Yun Che nodded. He remembered this matter very clearly because it carried a strong sense of mystery. Although he never knew what this "special gift" was, he had never forgotten it.

Yun Che recalled the past: The Phoenix Soul had said, "Your time in this trial ground is nearing its end; it's time for me to send you out. But before that, perhaps I should give you a special gift." After the Phoenix Soul's voice faded, a golden flame light shot down from its divine eyes, landing on his forehead. He clearly remembered that his crimson phoenix mark then transformed into a dazzling golden color, like a cluster of burning golden flames.

The Phoenix Soul had continued, "This is a special power I can only use once in my life, but I don't believe I'll ever need to use it. However, you carry the power of the Heretic God, and your future is destined to be extraordinary. Bestowing this power upon you is most fitting. As for what kind of power it is, you will naturally know when you use it."

This special and mysterious "gift" was never explained by the Phoenix Soul. Jasmine also clearly knew what it was but consistently refused to tell him. When he received the Dragon God's inheritance, the remnant soul of the Primordial Azure Dragon also mentioned it. In the Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley of the Illusory Demon Realm, the Golden Crow Soul also specifically brought it up and, in a show of "one-upmanship," gave him a grand gift as well.

The Phoenix Soul, Jasmine, the Primordial Azure Dragon, and the Golden Crow Soul... they all knew what this "gift" was, yet they were all united in their refusal to tell him. They each said something similar: "If you ever use it one day, you will naturally know."

Jasmine had even once said something quite profound: "You'd best pray you never have to use it."

"Phoenix... Nirvana!"

In the dark space, the crimson phoenix eyes flickered slightly, giving Yun Che the answer.

These four words made Yun Che's gaze sharply shift, and he blurted out, "Phoenix Nirvana!?"

These four words were not unfamiliar to Yun Che, or indeed, to anyone.

In both the lower realms and the God Realm, there were ancient legends about primordial gods and divine beasts. Some were perhaps true, others fictitious, with most belonging to the latter category. After all, the era of true gods had long ended, and genuine records were extremely rare, especially in the lower realms, where such rumors were mostly fabricated.

In the myths about the Phoenix, it was mentioned that it could be reborn from fire after death, and this miracle was known as Phoenix Nirvana.

This was a mythical legend Yun Che had heard since childhood in this life.

Later, on the day Jasmine left, he was ambushed by Yu Luo, the Heavenly Poison Star God. He was supposed to die under the power of Heavenly Poison but miraculously survived... What saved him was Feng Xue'er's Nirvana Flame.

It was then that he, who had possessed the Phoenix divine power for many years, learned that there was a type of flame called "Nirvana Flame" within the Phoenix Divine Flame, which could only be used once in a lifetime.

However, his understanding of "Nirvana Flame" at that time was that it was a flame with extremely strong purification power. Feng Xue'er's profound energy had not yet reached the Divine Way, yet she was able to use her one-time Nirvana Flame to purify the Heavenly Poison divine power within him, demonstrating its unimaginable purification capabilities.

He had never imagined...

"Could the legend of Phoenix Nirvana and rebirth... be true?" Yun Che's face was filled with disbelief, experiencing a sense of unreality as if he had fallen into a mythical illusion.

But he was still alive... alive after being utterly pulverized, which clearly proved that all of this was real.

"In ancient times, the Heretic God bestowed great favor upon the Phoenix clan. And you carry the only Heretic God inheritance in the world. You were too weak back then, and this venerated one feared you would die, leaving the Heretic God's power without a successor. So I bestowed upon you the only wisp of Nirvana Divine Flame I possessed, allowing you to be reborn from fire after encountering disaster."

Yun Che was speechless.

"The reason I did not inform you was my concern that, upon knowing, you might subconsciously lose a degree of awe towards death," the Phoenix Soul sighed. "When I learned of your achievements in the God Realm, this venerated one prayed that you would never have to ignite the Nirvana Flame. Yet, I never imagined that this day would ultimately arrive, and so quickly."

"The root of the Nirvana Divine Flame on you is here, which allowed you to be reborn here under the burning Nirvana Fire."

Yun Che remained silent for a long time. He needed enough time to understand and accept everything that felt incredibly illusory.

The Nirvana Fire that allowed a phoenix to be reborn from flames—that mythical legend he once thought was merely fabricated—was actually true!

Thirteen years ago, when his sixteen-year-old self gained the Phoenix divine power here, he had, simply because he carried the Heretic God's power, received the Phoenix Soul's most precious Nirvana Fire.

This meant that from then on, he had a second life.

He was utterly pulverized in the Star God Realm, and at that moment, he had indeed died. But at the instant of death, he ignited the Nirvana Fire whose existence he had never known, thus being reborn here.

And back then, what saved him from Yu Luo's Heavenly Poison divine power was not only Feng Xue'er's Nirvana Flame, but also her second life!

"However..." The Phoenix Soul's voice deepened. Although the truth was incredibly cruel to Yun Che, it was a fact it had to state, and Yun Che had to accept: "This venerated one is merely a soul fragment left behind by the Phoenix, not a true Phoenix. The 'Nirvana Fire' I bestowed upon you is far from comparable to that of a true Phoenix God; in fact, it barely deserves to be called 'Nirvana Fire'."

"True Nirvana Divine Flame allows a phoenix, upon being reborn from fire, to also have its divine power surpass what it was before. However, the Nirvana Fire that burned after your death did indeed resurrect you, but it only resurrected your life."

"..." Yun Che raised his head with immense effort, incredibly slowly. "What... do you mean?"

"You must have realized it already," the Phoenix Soul said very directly. "Your current body is no longer a divine body tempered by divine blood and divine power, but merely a frail mortal body."

"You can no longer use any profound energy. Your spiritual perception and your soul have all returned to being ordinary, perhaps even... weaker than ordinary."

Facing Yun Che's gradually shrinking pupils, the Phoenix Soul's cruel words did not stop. "In other words, what was reborn under the Nirvana Flame was only your life. Your divine power, divine body, divine soul, and divine consciousness... have all already died."