Chapter 132: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Almost at the same moment, two sharp cracking explosions rang out in succession from within Feng Fuxi’s elixir sea.

Feng Ke’er took one look and realized that something had gone terribly wrong with his Nascent Soul. Spiritual energy was running rampant, triggering two small-scale explosions in his mortal sea. The whirlwinds they generated were razor-sharp, slicing several wounds into the Nascent Soul that had already transformed from emptiness into solid form.

In an instant, multicolored spiritual energy burst in every direction. The Nascent Soul, resembling a boy of fourteen or fifteen, looked like a balloon suddenly deflated. It twisted grotesquely and shriveled at a visible rate.

This fellow was finished!

Perhaps there was still hope in the Divine Realm. But this was the lower world. Any cultivator who witnessed such a scene could only shake his head and sigh, “Heaven is jealous of the gifted.”

What a petty mind.

Feng Ke’er curled her lips and drew a cross over her chest.

One really couldn’t be so narrow-minded. The experts were right: frustration education had to begin in childhood. Otherwise, someone like this fellow, who had enjoyed smooth sailing ever since reincarnation, would turn into the present-day Feng Fuxi after suffering only three fits of rage. What kind of cultivation was that supposed to be?

Nearby, the Vermilion Bird’s tiny eyes were filled with the grief of a widow at a funeral.

Seeing this, Feng Ke’er’s thoughts shifted. She formed a hand seal with her right hand, walked over…and began groping him from head to toe.

The poor Vermilion Bird was furious, resentful, humiliated, and enraged, yet he did not even possess the strength to glare at her. All he could do was watch helplessly as some “lecher” violated him.

Feng Ke’er maintained her hand seal and rummaged through the Vermilion Bird’s red feathers. At last, she found a golden superior-grade medicinal pill said to be called a Tribulation-Transcending Pill.

She could have used the skill of retrieving objects from afar here. Unfortunately, the self-taught genius had never managed to acquire a textbook for that skill, so she had never learned it. She had no choice but to search with her Five-Clawed Divine Technique.

Pinching the pill between two fingers, she held it before the Vermilion Bird’s eyes and asked with a smile, “This is a Tribulation-Transcending Pill. You take one before each bolt of tribulation lightning, and then you can pass through it safely. Is that right?”

Apart from hatred, the Vermilion Bird’s eyes held nothing but hatred.

Feng Ke’er pressed her lips together in a smile. She took out an empty jade bottle, unscrewed the cap, and put the pill inside. After placing the bottle in her storage pouch, she turned serious.

“Ugly bird, you’d better not have lied to me. Otherwise, whether you flee to heaven or hide beneath the earth, I will find you. I’ll pluck every feather from your body, bleed you dry, skin you, and butcher you for meat to go with wine!”

Good heavens!

Fortunately, his spiritual power and five senses had been completely sealed. Otherwise, Comrade Vermilion Bird would have been the next to die of anger.

Feng Ke’er ignored him, rose to her feet, and faced the cave entrance. With a wave of her right hand, a purple ball of light the size of a bowling ball howled out from her palm.

Boom!

Amid a cloud of dust and ashes, the barrier at the cave entrance shattered. The protective formation and layer upon layer of restrictions all vanished without a trace.

With a crooked smile, she darted out of the cave.

Outside stretched an endless sea of flowers. The abundant spiritual energy was mingled with the intoxicating fragrance of a hundred blossoms. Feng Ke’er could not help taking a deep breath.

So sweet!

She turned around and looked up.

There, she saw majestic green mountains and auspicious clouds winding through the sky.

This really was the foot of Mount Kunlun.

Legend had it that the goddess Nuwa lived atop Kunlun!

In any case, Feng Fuxi was the adopted son of the current patriarch of the Feng clan…

Well, this place was not suitable for a prolonged stay.

With a thought, Feng Ke’er spread her arms and used the Clear Wind Technique. In the blink of an eye, her white figure vanished into the multicolored sea of flowers.

The instant she left, a dark shadow appeared at the edge of the flower sea.

Had Demon King Hu San been there, he would certainly have opened his arms and greeted the newcomer with great enthusiasm. This was none other than the black-clad man who called him brother.

Watching the direction in which she had disappeared, a gleam flashed through the black-clad man’s eyes.

Hmm. The little girl’s movement technique had become much faster again.

He pretended to gaze into the distance, as though he had only just noticed the gaping cave entrance. Raising an eyebrow, he swiftly drew the green-edged sword from his back. Half-crouching, he advanced in quick, cautious steps with his sword raised. At the entrance, he carefully released a thread of divine sense to investigate, then rushed inside in a panic.

Soon afterward, cries of alarm rang out from the cave.

“Ah! True Lord Fuxi! True Lord Fuxi!”

Before long, a communication talisman flew out of the cave, transformed into a paper crane, flapped its wings, and shot toward the summit of Mount Kunlun like an arrow.

A quarter of an hour later, another dark figure appeared at the cave entrance.

Feng Fuxi’s master, True Lord Tianlong, had teleported here from the mountaintop. He had clearly already received the report. His face was dark with rage, and fury blazed in his single eye.

Later, the black-clad man emerged from the cave and flew away from Mount Kunlun on his sword.

Inside the cave, there was no Feng Fuxi, no red, short-legged bird, and no one-eyed dragon.

The entire place was empty, as desolate as a snow cave.

Ten days later, Li Hentian arrived at Kunlun as scheduled to report on his work.

The goddess Nuwa received him as usual, though the deep weariness between her brows was impossible to conceal.

After finishing his report, Li Hentian could no longer restrain himself. His gaze swept over the empty meditation cushion beneath the goddess’s seat, and he asked with a smile, “Your Ladyship, has True Lord Tianlong gone down the mountain to undergo another round of worldly training?”

“No. Brother Long is in secluded cultivation at the rear mountain.” The goddess Nuwa chuckled softly. “The opening of the passage is drawing near. After thinking it over, Brother Long decided he did not want to miss this chance to ascend. He said that if his disciple ascended while he, as the master, failed to do so, where would he put his dignity in the future?”

The one-eyed dragon had always appeared before others in the identity of a True Lord. Even Li Hentian did not know his true cultivation level.

“I see.”

Li Hentian awkwardly covered his fist with his hand and chuckled. His adopted son had a promising chance of ascending, while he, as the adoptive father, had only reached the seventh layer of Void Transformation. He clearly had no hope of ascending this time.

The goddess Nuwa cast him a sidelong glance and said with a beaming smile, “In my view, ascension depends on fate. When fate arrives, everything will proceed naturally. When fate has not yet arrived, it cannot be forced. It has nothing to do with one’s lifespan.”

Upon hearing this, all of Li Hentian’s embarrassment vanished. A warm current seemed to flow through his heart, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

If he did not compare himself with someone of immortal aptitude like Fuxi, then throughout the entire lower world, how many people could reach the seventh layer of Void Transformation in a mere thousand years or so?

He, Li Hentian, could certainly be considered a genius. Why should he feel ashamed?

Afterward, as usual, he consulted the goddess Nuwa about several doubts he had encountered in his cultivation.

She patiently offered guidance on each point.

Before he realized it, an hour had passed. As usual, Li Hentian eagerly took his leave, descended the mountain, and hurried back to the Feng clan to enter seclusion and review his progress.

As far as he was concerned, everything was normal.

However, after watching him leave, the goddess Nuwa flicked her sleeve. The smile vanished completely from her face, and in the next instant she appeared in a prison chamber in the rear mountain.

That was right—a prison chamber.

Inside it stood a blinding pillar of white light.

The unfortunate bird known as the Vermilion Bird was trapped beneath the pillar. His red feathers were in complete disarray, and his wings drooped weakly at his sides. His head was buried beneath his right wing, and he looked like a wooden carving. He could not have appeared more miserable.

The goddess Nuwa revealed her true form, a human body with a serpent’s head. Her green tail swayed as she slowly circled the pillar of light. Raising an eyebrow, she snorted.

“Are you still refusing to confess? Let me tell you this: Feng Fuxi is dead. He had become a disciple of A-Long, and his cultivation and divine sense had improved by leaps and bounds. Within a few centuries, he would have reached the great perfection stage of the Ascension realm. Once the passage opened, he could have ascended without trouble. Everything was going well.

“But your appearance ruined it all. In your eagerness for quick success, you recklessly restored his memories of his previous life. As a result, he suffered cultivation deviation, his Nascent Soul exploded, and he ultimately perished!

“You destroyed that person’s only son! Do you think the great military merits you once earned can offset your crime? Do you think that person will spare you?”

The red, short-legged bird shuddered violently. He suddenly raised his head and beat his wings, shrieking almost hysterically.

“No! I did not harm the young master! I was sent by His Lordship to protect him. How could I possibly have harmed him? I cannot remember what happened inside the cave. I truly cannot remember a thing! I am innocent! His Lordship is wise and just. He will not blame me!”

Feathers flew through the pillar of light, leaving red down scattered across the floor.

The goddess Nuwa cut him off and demanded sternly, “Where is your evidence? Where is your evidence?”

The Vermilion Bird immediately wilted and collapsed to the ground in a daze.

What evidence could he possibly have to prove his innocence?

To prevent any news from leaking out, he and Feng Fuxi had laid several layers of restrictions inside the cave beforehand, sealing the entire dwelling so tightly that even the goddess Nuwa’s White Jade Divine Drum could not detect what was happening within.

He remembered why he had captured Feng Ke’er and how he had captured her. But from the moment he brought Feng Ke’er into that cave dwelling beneath Mount Kunlun until the moment he opened his eyes and discovered himself trapped beneath this damned Immortal-Sealing Pillar of Light, he remembered absolutely nothing.

It was as though that entire stretch of time had never happened. He could recall nothing at all.

Yet the damned half-serpent demon told him that only he and the young master had been at the scene of the crime. The young master was dead, and all the evidence indicated that he had forcibly restored the young master’s memories, causing his inner demon to erupt and his Nascent Soul to explode.

“I really am innocent,” he muttered over and over.

The goddess Nuwa shook her head and sighed softly.

“Very well. I shall believe that you were loyal to him. But does that make you innocent? You just said it yourself—he sent you down here to protect him!”

The Vermilion Bird immediately fell silent.

Before he had descended, His Lordship had issued an order: only after the young master returned to his rightful place could he return to the Divine Realm.

But now, the young master had perished.

No matter how one looked at it, he had failed in his duty to protect him.

Even without considering any other charge, this one alone was enough for that person to kick him down the Immortal-Breaking Platform.

Crash!

The Vermilion Bird’s mental defenses shattered completely.

This fellow truly had the blood of the Phoenix clan flowing through his veins. He understood everything with only a hint—quite an intelligent creature.

The goddess Nuwa was very satisfied with his reaction. The corners of her lips curved upward as she asked gently, “Well? Have you remembered anything?”

The Vermilion Bird raised his head in a daze and asked with a trembling voice, “Remembered what?”

That was more like it.

The goddess Nuwa’s eyes curved into crescents. With a sweep of her sleeve, she sat down gracefully, her serpent’s tail coiled beneath her.

“Hmm. Then let us begin by discussing your mission this time. Apart from protecting your young master, did that person assign you any other tasks?”

The Vermilion Bird answered like beans pouring from a split sack.

“Yes. In addition to protecting the young master, His Lordship ordered me to monitor your movements and thoroughly investigate the matter of the five-colored demonic light in the Sea of Hindrance.”

“The five-colored demonic light?”

The goddess Nuwa raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. More than four hundred years ago, around a dozen rings of five-colored demonic light suddenly appeared deep within the Sea of Hindrance. Wherever the demonic light passed, everything instantly turned to nothingness. The incident caused a tremendous stir throughout the lower world, and His Lordship heard about it as well…”

After a brief hesitation, the Vermilion Bird asked, “You…you should have heard the legends concerning the Chosen One while you were in the Divine Realm, right?”

The goddess Nuwa curled her lips and calmly recited, “The war between gods and demons, the great calamity of heaven and earth. Five colors mend the heavens, gods are conferred and immortals appointed; when the nine nines become one, peace returns to the three realms.”

In truth, she herself still strongly suspected that the five-colored light in the Sea of Hindrance was connected to the Chosen One.

“But His Lordship said all of that was nonsense deliberately spread by the surviving remnants of the Feng clan, who were unwilling to accept the decline of their family. Ever since the Great God Pangu sealed the demon realm, the demon realm has been perfectly peaceful. How could there be any war between gods and demons?”

“That did not come from my clan. It is an ancient prophecy!” The goddess Nuwa snorted softly. “But the five-colored auspicious light has appeared. Tell me—what did your investigation uncover?”

The Vermilion Bird lowered his head.

“Nothing.”

Within the spatial sphere, Feng Ke’er breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

The roots of the eight long feathers on the Vermilion Bird’s wings were large, hollow, and exceptionally sturdy. They would not come loose easily. When she had searched for the Tribulation-Transcending Pill, she had hidden a small spatial sphere inside the root of one of those long wing feathers, then created a clone to pretend to flee.

In reality, her true body had hidden inside the small spatial sphere.

This was what they meant by entering the tiger’s den to obtain the tiger cub!

Ha! No one could have imagined that a rogue cultivator at the great perfection stage of Void Transformation could already use the Clone Technique.

But she could.

Who told her she had a thousand Nascent Souls?

Moreover, the particles of auspicious light were powerful and formidable enough to temper all one thousand Nascent Souls into extraordinarily tough forms. Although she had only reached the great perfection stage of Void Transformation, those thousand Nascent Souls had already shed their infant fat long ago and could crawl all over the place after breaking free of their shells.

Compared with them, the Nascent Souls of ordinary True Immortals could only be described as delicate and boneless.

After listening to their conversation, Feng Ke’er clenched her fist.

Mending the heavens was the goddess Nuwa’s task. If there was such a thing as destiny, then it was her destiny.

Oh, I’m just here to tag along and make up the numbers.

To be continued.

The Heaven-Piercing Codex, Chapter 132: Entering the Tiger’s Den to Obtain the Tiger Cub, has been completed.