Chapter 8 Jiang Huang
Xie Xuanyi stood on the rock wall, adjusted his direction, and with a slight bend in his knees, he launched himself forward like an arrow released from a bow.
"Whoosh!"
Lava flew wildly!
Countless Shattered Flames shot towards him!
Over the short distance, Xie Xuanyi continued to pick up speed, crashing down like a meteor. In almost an instant, he reached the throne surrounded by black flames!
Just as he had anticipated... the seemingly spectacular Phoenix Dharma was just an illusion, the base of Jinli Mountain had already begun to collapse, several huge stones pierced through the dharma's glowing curtain, crashing mightily next to the throne, while the little girl was still "sound asleep," utterly unaware of the impending disaster.
Xie Xuanyi hesitated no longer, stretched out his arms, and scooped up the petite body.
Standing before the throne, he looked up.
"Rumble rumble—"
The sound of thunder grew more ear-shattering.
The body of Jinli Mountain clearly could no longer bear the assault of the heat wave, as giant rocks from the inner walls of the mountain began to break away, toppling down! This volcano was now thoroughly awakening!
It wouldn't be long before Jinli Mountain would completely "collapse"!
"She's really out cold..."
Xie Xuanyi lowered his gaze to look at the little girl in his arms and murmured, "Wouldn't it be too embarrassing to die like this?"
A phoenix perishing in a volcano is like a fish drowning in the sea.
Indeed, such a death would be too humiliating, too feeble.
The next moment, Xie Xuanyi concentrated all of his spirit.
He didn't notice that the little girl curled up in his arms, upon hearing his voice, flickered her eyelids ever so slightly...
Time seemed to slow down.
Xie Xuanyi held his breath, holding the little girl, crouched again, and after a breath, he sprang up once more—
Countless rocks fell, like chunks of land hanging in the air, Xie Xuanyi lightly tapped his toes, seizing the fleeting moment to leap with the force, his sleeves and Phoenix Fire flying tumultuously!
The crackling sound of shattering rocks echoed within the mouth of the volcano.
Xie Xuanyi stepped on the falling rocks, each step quick, precise, and stable!
Faster! Even faster! Faster still!
He didn't look down, but he could feel an increasingly intense sensation beneath him.
"Boom!"
The base of Jinli Mountain completely shattered, a tremendously powerful wave of flame erupted from the ground, soaring into the sky!
Xie Xuanyi, who had brought his speed to the extreme, was now only a hair's breadth away from escaping the mouth of the volcano.
Xie Xuanyi's expression darkened, and he instinctively looked back.
In an instant, his face was illuminated by the bright light.
The wave of flame engulfed his white garments.
...
...
Actually, Xie Xuanyi's words from before weren't just for the little girl.
They were also for himself.
Having "reborn" once more, he certainly would not accept such a humiliating and feeble death.
Since he had made the move to turn back and save someone, he was fully confident that they would both make it out.
In the moment the wave of flame was about to catch up to him, Xie Xuanyi turned his body and extended his palm—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Streams of light converged in his palm!
The Primordial Energy of the Northern Domain is sparse, but it still exists, some scattered in the caverns of Jinli Mountain. Under the drive of Xie Xuanyi's Divine Soul, it instantly came together, gathering at the palm of his hand, forming a thin barrier!
Although the quality of this Primordial Energy was low, it accumulated in large amounts, enough to withstand the mountain fire!
"Bang!"
A loud explosion burst in midair!
The wave of flame erupting from the base of Jinli Mountain crashed against the barrier of Primordial Energy, and Xie Xuanyi, who took the brunt of the hit, let out a muffled grunt. He was knocked back by the immense force, like a kite with its string cut, flying out of the mountain top, eventually crashing into a dense forest. He broke through several ancient trees along the way before finally coming to a stop.
...
...
"Hiss."
"Master was right after all, saving someone... is indeed much harder than killing someone..."
Xie Xuanyi lay powerless on the ground, looking up at the drifting clouds through the dappled forest canopy, and murmured to himself.
He felt as though his bones were about to fall apart.
It had been a long time since he was this ragged.
This "new body" hadn't even had the chance to cultivate, and mobilizing the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi was akin to forcibly executing a Forbidden Technique.
Just that one moment had exhausted all his heart's strength.
After a long while, Xie Xuanyi recovered.
He slowly lowered his head to look at the little girl in his arms.
Saving her was far more exhausting than killing those demons he had faced earlier.
It wasn't the body that was tired, but the spirit.
After shifting his head, Xie Xuanyi froze—
He saw a pair of bright eyes.
A pair of eyes burning with a blazing red glow.
The Phoenix Blood Descendant... has woken up?
This was definitely not good news. Xie Xuanyi subconsciously tried to prop himself up.
But the next moment, a heavy body leaned on him, bringing a scorching heat, pressing him down on the grass.
The little girl whose eyebrows and hair lit up with flames was sitting atop Xie Xuanyi. It had to be said that the eyes of this descendant of Phoenix blood were truly beautiful, as resplendent as stars.
But upon closer inspection…
Her pupils were dilated and unfocused.
She seemed not very bright.
The moment she spoke, Xie Xuanyi was even more convinced of his previous thought.
"Daddy?"
The little girl looked at Xie Xuanyi with confusion and bewilderment, her hands pressing on his chest, her flaming red hair cascading down, exuding an innocent, childlike vibe.
"I am not, I don't have, don't talk nonsense..."
Xie Xuanyi almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.
He hurriedly sat up, picked the little girl up, and set her aside, correcting her seriously, "I am not your father. You can't call someone that recklessly."
The little girl cocked her head and blinked her eyes as if she understood.
The next moment, she cautiously tried another term, "Then... Mommy?"
"???"
Xie Xuanyi became completely silent.
In the rumors, a "spiritually less intelligent" spirit creature would regard the first living being it sees upon opening its eyes as its "parent"... but the Great Phoenix Demon before him obviously did not fit the description of "spiritually less intelligent." A likely explanation would be that her Divine Soul had mutated, wouldn't it?
Because her Divine Soul was injured, she had lost her memory.
This situation was akin to having a different soul…
The little girl in front of him had a stable personality, and there was no malevolence in her, vastly different from the Great Demon he'd encountered during the Northern Hunt years ago!
"Neither father nor mother."
After a moment, Xie Xuanyi explained patiently. He touched the little girl's head, which was burning hot, "My last name is Xie, and my name is Xie Xuanyi. Do you remember this name?"
"Xie Xuanyi, Xie Xuanyi..."
The little girl murmured this name, her gaze growing even more vacant.
After thinking for a while, her head shaking like a bobblehead, she said, "I don't remember this name."
After a pause,
she stated very solemnly, "But I know you are a good person."
Good person?
It was the first time Xie Xuanyi heard this term applied to himself.
He found it somewhat ironic and asked wryly, "You think I'm a good person?"
"Of course."
The little girl smiled foolishly.
She carefully approached, closely observing Xie Xuanyi's reaction, afraid of being rejected, and finally managed to grasp the corner of a sleeve.
She looked towards Jinli Mountain, where the red glow erupted and the heat waves filled the sky.
With a serious face and a firm tone, the little one said, "You saved me; of course, you're a good person, the best kind in the whole wide world!"
Xie Xuanyi fell silent again.
He had never seen anything like this.
He had been worried that, after the Great Phoenix Demon awakened, it would draw its sword against him—
Fortunately, that worst-case scenario did not happen.
Perhaps due to the severe injury, the Great Demon's Divine Soul had become distorted, and he could now be sure that the little one sitting beside him, although she wore the same skin, was a completely different "species" from the Great Phoenix Demon of the past.
The little one's attempts to curry favor with him appeared both clumsy and clever.
"You..."
After thinking for a long time, Xie Xuanyi ultimately did not reveal the truth.
He sighed softly in his heart and asked softly, "Do you still remember your name?"
At that question, the little girl's already somewhat blank eyes grew even more so.
Her slender eyebrows furrowed, and she fell into deep thought.
Seeing this expression, Xie Xuanyi felt an inexplicable familiarity.
Perhaps when he was recalling his own past, he wore the same expression…
No matter how good one's memory is, after sleeping for ten years, certain things are bound to be forgotten.
Remembering them is not an easy task.
Xie Xuanyi waited patiently.
This time, he didn't have to wait too long.
"My name, my name..."
The mumbling little girl suddenly raised her head.
In those vacant eyes, a glint of life suddenly appeared.
Using her fingertip as a pen, she quickly wrote two neat characters in the palm of Xie Xuanyi's hand.
Jiang Huang.
The Huang of Phoenix.