The Phoenix Palace burned with glory, but Feng Jiu knew its foundation was brittle. Her clan had only recently returned to their ancestral land; their roots were shallow, their numbers still too few.
The beasts of the realm had tolerated them at first, wary of the return of a true Phoenix Sovereign, but tolerance was not loyalty. Power ruled the outer realm, and Feng Jiu's fire was now a torch attracting moths — and predators.
The council of beast lords assembled again after the incident with the Dragon King. The great pavilion was filled with an array of auras: the chill killing intent of the White Tiger Patriarch, the sly amusement of the Nine-Tailed Fox Queen, the suffocating presence of the Black Tortoise General, and many others.
Feng Jiu entered in robes of crimson silk embroidered with golden flames. Her crown glowed faintly, a phoenix feather gleaming at its peak.
The lords bowed stiffly. Not out of loyalty — but respect for her bloodline.
The Fox Queen spoke first, voice dripping with honeyed malice.
"Your Majesty of Flames, you have stirred the heavens. They say the Dragon King fled in fear of your fire. Truly, the phoenixes have returned with brilliance… but brilliance can also blind. Do you not think you burn too brightly, too quickly?"
The White Tiger scoffed, tail lashing against the marble floor.
"The phoenixes were absent for eons. The ancestral lands are not yours to claim by right of blood alone. Prove your worth, or step aside before your flames are quenched."
A murmur rippled through the pavilion. Even the lesser clans leaned forward.
Feng Jiu's expression remained calm, but her aura shifted. Flames flickered behind her eyes. She rose, her wings unfurling ever so slightly, casting a shadow of fire across the chamber.
"I did not come here to beg," she said softly, but her voice carried across the pavilion like thunder. "I came to restore what was always ours. The Phoenix flame is not a guest in these lands. It is a pillar. Whether you accept it or not, the fire will remain."
The White Tiger's claws scraped the floor, sparks flying. "Bold words, little sovereign. Words are cheap. Shall we test whether your fire can withstand the fangs of a tiger?"
The pavilion shook with killing intent. Some beast rulers looked expectant, others fearful.
But Feng Jiu only smiled faintly.
"You may test it, Patriarch. But be warned: fire that is tested does not go out. It grows."
The challenge ended there, but only for the moment. Feng Jiu could sense it — storms were gathering. Her clan would not have peace.
That night, in her chambers, she meditated again. Visions rose unbidden, stronger than before. Flames parted to reveal a battlefield drowned in ash.
A silver-haired man stood with sword in hand, bloodied but unyielding. At his side was a woman wrapped in crimson fire. And between them — a child, glowing faintly with both fire and starlight.
The name surfaced again.
Tie Ling.
This time, Feng Jiu clutched her chest. A pain deeper than memory struck her heart.
The child's laughter echoed faintly in her ears. A warmth that felt like… her own blood.
Tears slipped down her face. "Who are you to me… Tie Ling? Why does my heart ache when I say your name?"
The flames of her cultivation roared, threatening to consume the palace itself. But Feng Jiu held them steady.
She whispered into the fire:
"I will find you."
---
Beneath the crushing waves of the East Sea, Taiyi stood at the edge of death. The Forbidden Shore stretched before him — a graveyard where no dragon dared tread. Black lightning split the waters, runes of damnation covered the seabed, and every shadow whispered curses.
The curse had already bitten deep into his veins. His body felt heavy, his breathing ragged, yet his aura surged higher.
A guttural roar split the silence. From the depths, an abomination surfaced: a Leviathan covered in bone armor, its six eyes glowing with red light. Its maw opened wide, releasing a torrent of cursed water that melted coral and stone alike.
Taiyi lifted his sword, blindfold firm across his eyes.
"Come, beast."
The Leviathan struck.
Taiyi's aura flared.
"Sword Art — Third Form, Flowing Shadow Step."
He vanished, reappearing at the beast's flank, sword slicing cleanly across a scale. Sparks flew; the blade left only a shallow scar.
The Leviathan's tail whipped around like a mountain falling. Taiyi braced.
"Sword Art — Sixth Form, Twin Horizons Cut!"
Two arcs of sword-light clashed against the tail, splitting it halfway. Black ichor sprayed into the sea, burning Taiyi's skin where it touched.
But the curse drank deeply. His vision blurred; pain lanced through his chest.
The voice of the battlefield came again.
"Brother, protect her!"
A child's cry followed, small and helpless: "Father!"
Taiyi staggered, clutching his head.
"Father…? Tie Ling…?"
The Leviathan lunged again, sensing weakness.
Taiyi's aura exploded. The curse inside him fused with his sword intent, turning his strikes into something sharper, deadlier.
"Sword Art — Ninth Form, Silent Horizon."
The sea went still. His blade fell once. The Leviathan split into two halves, blood boiling the waters.
But victory came with a price. The curse surged violently, branding his meridians with chains of black light.
He fell to one knee, coughing blood.
A whisper echoed in his soul.
This curse will only break when you ascend to Supreme Immortal… or die in the attempt.
Taiyi gritted his teeth.
"Then I will climb. No matter how many lifetimes it takes, I will break you."
The blood in his veins turned molten, his cultivation surging past barriers. He entered mid-rank middle immortal realm, his sword intent deepening into something cold, inevitable — like fate itself.
His blindfold soaked in blood, but his hand on the sword never wavered.
The curse forced him forward, demanding more battles, more growth.
And so he walked deeper into the Forbidden Shore, where beasts of shadow and flame awaited. Every fight scarred him. Every scar sharpened him.
---
In the outer realm, Feng Jiu's flames blazed higher, carving her path as Queen of the Phoenixes, even as enemies plotted in shadows.
In the East Sea, Taiyi drowned in curses, his sword rising sharper with every drop of blood spilled.
Both heard the same name. Both carried the same wound.
Tie Ling.
The daughter they once lost.
The bond they once shared.
The storm that would one day reunite them — or destroy them.