Enjoy.
*******
The portal shimmered with violet currents, humming with an energy both ancient and unfamiliar. It opened to a distant land that pulsed with a strange modern familiarity—except all Wenli could see were trees blanketed in thick purple fog, a striking mark of power.
"Where...?" she whispered, disoriented.
"Yun'er," came a voice. Calm. Commanding.
Wenli turned instinctively. Despite the dense fog, she saw her—Wu Jian, the one who had claimed to be her master.
"You mean me?" she asked, pointing at herself.
"Of course. Who else is here but you and I?"
"But my name's—"
"Zhao Wenli," Wu Jian cut in smoothly. "I already know that. But you'll answer by my name from now on."
Wenli nodded. She's the master. Not the other way around.
"Where exactly are we?" she asked, eyes darting between the eerily calm surroundings.
"This place..." Wu Jian glanced around. "Is whatever your mind thinks it to be."
Wenli blinked. That was not an answer she wanted to unpack. She just wanted to get this over with—and return to her world.
"You're a woman with no spiritual energy. Can you even keep up?" Wu Jian asked flatly.
"I—How can I get mine?" Wenli asked.
"It would take decades to cultivate even a fraction of a true core. I'll just give you half of mine."
"Half? Doesn't that mean—"
SMACK.
A heavy slap on her back made her stagger forward. Before she could scream—
SMACK!
Another strike landed, but this time, it wasn't pain alone. It was power. Raw, blinding energy surged through her bones, her blood, her very breath.
"Master! That hurts—can you stop—"
"Shut up! You're distracting me. Close your eyes—it's less painful that way."
Gritting her teeth, Wenli obeyed. Palms clenched into fists, she braced herself against the tsunami of foreign power crashing into her.
Two hours passed like twenty years.
When the energy finally withdrew, Wenli collapsed to her knees, tears streaming uncontrollably.
"Don't let me see your tears!" Wu Jian barked.
Wenli looked up at her master with something close to awe—and maybe a bit of pity. Half of her master's cultivation… inside her? Wouldn't that make her, with effort, eventually stronger?
"No need to pity me. That's what I despise most," Wu Jian said coldly.
How old is she to talk like that? Like an ancient ancestor... Wenli thought.
"I wasn't pitying you," she mumbled. "Just—thinking."
"Hmph." Wu Jian stepped closer, her tone shifting. "Every cultivator has a spirit animal. A reflection of their soul."
"Like... a guardian beast?"
"Exactly. Though yours won't awaken until you master the core within you."
"So I won't inherit yours?" Wenli asked.
"That's not how it works. The power I gave you is for cultivation, not inheritance. When you reach a certain level, your true spirit beast will emerge. But keep this in mind—your body now holds two cores. If you don't control them, you'll die."
Wenli's breath caught. "What if one core is removed?"
"Then you die faster. That's suicide."
"Is there a way to survive both?"
"Only by merging them into one. A feat attempted once... by the legendary Purple Phoenix. She fused six cores. They say she became immortal. But no one has seen her since."
"Is she that powerful?"
"I only heard stories," Wu Jian replied.
"Then how do you know they're true?"
"I don't," she said simply, turning her back.
"Now sit. Meditate. Let your spiritual energy merge—as if you're having a gentle conversation with the person you miss the most. And you're not leaving until you succeed."
Wenli scoffed quietly. There's no CCTV here, how would she know if I slacked off?
But as Wu Jian opened a swirling portal and vanished, the fog thickened ominously.
Back in the outer world...
"Where's Li-jie?" Hualia asked, looking around the room anxiously.
Wu Jian said nothing. She didn't tolerate insolence from subordinates.
**********
Wenli meditated. Then she meditated again. Hunger gnawed at her stomach. Boredom clawed at her mind. Rage crept into her chest. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing awakened.
She paced the terrain, restless. She even considered lying—pretending to have succeeded.
But when her eyes flicked to where her master had vanished, a dark violet halo appeared. It pulsed once. A silent warning. Lying would cost her dearly.
She sat again. This time she focused.
"Merge... like you're having a nice conversation with the one you miss the most..."
But who did she miss?
Not her past-life family.
Not this world's.
Then it struck her: she would speak not with who she missed—but with who she avoided the most.
She let her mind drift toward a memory so buried, it ached.
She spoke softly, like whispering into a void—and something responded.
The portal flared open.
Wenli emerged—drenched in sweat, her limbs trembling—but no longer hungry. Her skin glowed faintly, her gaze brighter.
"Master! I made it," she beamed.
Wu Jian turned, smiling slightly. "You opened the portal."
"I did...? But how?"
"You awakened your spirit energy. You've begun to bond with your true beast."
**********
"Li-jie!" Hualia rushed forward. "It's been three days!"
"Three days?!" Wenli gasped. "It only felt like one…"
"Let me make something for you!" Hualia darted off.
Wu Jian stared at her disciple with quiet intensity. Wenli tapped her.
"Master... are you alright?"
"Don't touch me," Wu Jian snapped, her voice raspy. "Not unless I tell you to."
Wenli nodded solemnly. Her master is her path to survival. But one day... she'll need more than survival. She'll need to find the Purple Phoenix. Or she'll die again.
"Let me see her," Wu Jian said.
Wenli nodded and sat to summon her spirit animal.
"No," Wu Jian corrected. "Just call her by name."
Wenli looked stunned. "I didn't name her…"
Wu Jian shook her head. "Name her now. Channel it."
Wenli obeyed. She closed her eyes, focused—and a blinding blue flame exploded behind her. A great Phoenix, wings unfurled in a wide arc, glided above her. Its feathers shimmered like sapphire fire, its cry echoing with divine resonance.
Wu Jian gasped—jaw slack. She had never seen a Blue Phoenix before. Not one that radiated this much spiritual pressure.
There was no doubt.
Her disciple was not ordinary.
Not even close.