After Death, I Became My Shijie’s Palm-Sized Birdie – Chapter 55
by Little PandaPhoenix Lord
That was her mother
If the True Demon were truly that easy to kill, the Phoenix Lord’s flames wouldn’t have needed to burn for ten thousand years without reducing it to ash.
Just as everyone let their guard down, the demon’s fragments morphed into yet another terrifying form. Like a viper lurking in the shadows, it intended to strike at a fatal point when its prey least expected.
After Yun Heng’s power began to wane, it quietly warped the surrounding space, intending to make everyone its meal. But before its scheme could come to fruition, the Phoenix Lord Tomb opened its doors to the outside world for the first time.
It had only just escaped that wretched place. Upon feeling the tomb’s searing flames once more, the trauma of tens of thousands of years sent it fleeing on instinct.
But flee as it might, the tomb’s flames clung to its body. No matter how it severed its own flesh or soul, it could not shake off those flames.
It howled and thrashed across the ground, utterly forgetting the prey it had coveted. But the damage it had wrought remained—the ground was still collapsing.
The instant the ground caved in, a powerful suction surged from below, dragging everyone above—human and demon beast alike—relentlessly downward.
Yun Heng immediately pulled her shimei into her arms, steadying them both against the pull. But as flames rolled in from above, she felt the space around them shift. The world spun, and she plunged into a sea of fire with Wen Qiwu in her embrace.
She conjured a barrier of ice to shield them both from the scorching flames. Yet when the ice sphere enclosing them landed on the ground, Yun Heng realized the fire here was not burning hot at all—it was warm, just like Ah Que’s flames.
Right—this fire, white tinged with a streak of cyan, was also strikingly similar to her shimei’s flames.
“Where is this?” Wen Qiwu surveyed the unfamiliar place with guarded eyes. Above them stretched a brilliant river of stars; below, an endless expanse of roaring fire stretched as far as the eye could see. “That thing still isn’t dead?”
When the ground collapsed, Wen Qiwu had sensed demonic qi seeping from the fissures. There was no doubt—the culprit was the True Demon they had all believed thoroughly destroyed.
Wen Qiwu’s inheritance memories contained records of this True Demon. It was indeed notoriously difficult to kill.
“This is… the Phoenix Lord Tomb.” Yun Heng recognized this place. Truly, finding it when she had all but given up1. She and her shimei had tried every method to open this place and failed. Now, just as they were about to leave, the Phoenix Lord Tomb had pulled them in of its own accord.
“This is it?!” A flash of delight crossed Wen Qiwu’s eyes. After the True Demon appeared, she had assumed this trip would end empty-handed.
But there was nothing here but an endless sea of flames. Where should they search for the Phoenix Lord’s Immortal Artifact next?
Wen Qiwu did not notice her shijie quietly breathing a sigh of relief. Holding the person in her arms, Yun Heng felt an incomparable sense of contentment.
“Chirp!”
Yun Heng had not spoken a word. She only wished this tranquil moment could last a little longer—until, unexpectedly, a crisp bird call rang out between her and her shimei.
They both looked over at the same time. Perched on Wen Qiwu’s shoulder was a little white ball of fluff.
“Qingtuan?” Yun Heng frowned slightly. She recognized the little one’s identity, but it was strange—she was certain this creature had not been beside Ah Que just moments ago. Where had it come from?
“Why are you here?” Wen Qiwu was not particularly surprised. Qingtuan had a habit of appearing and disappearing without a trace, often showing up in the most unexpected places.
“Chirp chirp!” Qingtuan pecked Yun Heng’s hand hard, then nestled against Wen Qiwu’s neck.
Reminded by the little bird, Wen Qiwu suddenly recalled all the things her shijie had done. She looked at Yun Heng, the warmth gone from her eyes, and turned away with a soft hmph.
Yun Heng tasted bitterness in her heart. The little ball of fluff perched on her shimei’s shoulder turned to glance at her. That usually unruly little creature seemed to reveal a faint hint of amusement. After one look at her, it swiveled its round body away, and Yun Heng had the distinct feeling it had done that on purpose!
She remembered Qingtuan as a straightforward, reckless little thing. That look just now… something was off!
【Go left.】 Wen Qiwu heard a somewhat familiar voice.
This sounded like… the voice she had heard in her shijie’s dream? Wasn’t that Qingtuan?
Wen Qiwu looked down at Qingtuan perched on her shoulder, and a bold thought rose in her mind.
“Ah Que! We don’t know if this place is dangerous yet. Don’t walk so fast.” Yun Heng hurriedly called out, eyeing Qingtuan warily, on guard against the strange bird.
“There’s no danger.” Wen Qiwu shook her head. She stepped out of Yun Heng’s barrier and into the flames with a touch of melancholy. The temperature of these flames made her feel as though she had returned to her mother’s embrace.
“Keep up with me.” Wen Qiwu glanced back at her shijie, who had slowed her pace. The vulnerability and hesitation in her shijie’s eyes made her lips press together in helpless exasperation.
Did her shijie really think she would leave her here all alone? The debts would be settled, and the person would be taken along. If she truly left her behind, the one who would worry most would still be herself.
Wen Qiwu sighed inwardly again. It was simply too difficult to truly harden her heart in front of her shijie.
Only when she heard her shimei’s voice did Yun Heng’s brows curve in quiet relief. She, too, withdrew her barrier and stepped into the flames alongside Wen Qiwu.
Not only were the flames harmless to them, Yun Heng even felt a continuous stream of life force flowing into her body through the fire. Her old wounds had never fully healed, and they ached faintly from time to time. But after walking in the flames for just a short while, the places where her old injuries lingered felt as though they were being enveloped in warmth.
“Chirp chirp!” Qingtuan suddenly called out twice, gently pecking at the loose strands of hair by Wen Qiwu’s temple to stop her from going further.
Wen Qiwu stopped and asked Qingtuan what was wrong.
Qingtuan flapped its wings and chirped several times. Then the flame-covered ground beneath them began to tremble.
The ground they stood on seemed to be rising gradually. Yun Heng quickly positioned Wen Qiwu within arm’s reach, and at the height of the tremors, took the opportunity to hold her a little longer.
Moments later, the tremors subsided. The ground had risen, and the flames receded, finally revealing the true face of this place.
A cold, gloomy aura spread through the space. Wen Qiwu suddenly shivered, and Yun Heng held her tighter.
The ground they stood on… no, to be precise, it was not ground at all. It was the Ten Thousand Bone Mound, piled high from corpses and bones.
This was the battlefield of the Immortal-Demon War from ten thousand years ago. Most of the dead here were demons slain by the Phoenix Lord. Their corpses were stacked layer upon layer, and the sheer number of them bred countless vengeful spirits—which was why they had been suppressed here. Yet even after tens of thousands of years, the phoenix flames had never managed to destroy them completely.
Yun Heng suddenly looked behind her. Several figures were racing toward them—it was the Feather Tribe Kings. And behind them was the still-undead True Demon remnant!
When the Phoenix Lord Tomb opened, it had dragged the thing back in. The demon would always be a menace if left in the world, so the master of this place had pulled it back once more.
Those few Feather Tribe birds saw Wen Qiwu in the distance and their faces filled with horror. They had not expected the little phoenix to be here. Had they known earlier, they would never have lured the True Demon in this direction!
The kings, looking somewhat disheveled, nearly collided with one another before trying to change course—but it was already too late.
Yun Heng drew her sword. The thing was hard to kill, but she could chop it to pieces once more. The True Demon remnant needed time to recover, and they could use that opportunity to trap the monster in the Phoenix Lord Tomb, where it would be roasted by phoenix flames day and night. If the creature truly could not be killed, this would at least be a solution—as long as it could not escape to ravage the world…
Wen Qiwu had just ignited flames in her palm, ready to employ her secret technique once more. In that very instant, Qingtuan suddenly let out a resonant cry. It took flight, flying straight toward a stone tablet behind Wen Qiwu.
“Qingtuan!” Wen Qiwu tried to scoop it back, but her power passed straight through Qingtuan’s body.
Qingtuan merged into the tablet as though plunging into the surface of a lake. Before Wen Qiwu could even be surprised, even fiercer flames erupted from the stone monument.
The flames coalesced into a phoenix so vast it blotted out the sky. Spreading her wings, she illuminated this pitch-black space like the sun itself.
At the sight of her, the True Demon remnant fled like a dog with its tail between its legs, scrambling desperately in the opposite direction. But in the next instant, it was burned to ash and merged into the layers of corpses below.
Its full corpse, buried at the very bottom of the mountain of bones and sea of fire, had not truly perished. But after losing part of its remnant body this time, it would likely behave for a while.
“Your… Your Majesty!” The Qingluan King and other Feather Tribe birds who had once served the previous Phoenix Lord felt their eyes instantly redden. They recognized the identity of this phoenix remnant soul at a glance. After tens of thousands of years, they never imagined they would have the chance to see her again!
They hurriedly flew forward. Several beings whose names commanded awe and reverence throughout the outside world nearly forgot how to fly—their wings tangled in midair several times before they managed to steady themselves.
The phoenix circled the sky once before descending before Wen Qiwu and Yun Heng. Her form was ethereal, her features somewhat blurred, but Wen Qiwu could feel the gentleness in her expression.
Long, long ago… even before she was taken in by her master2, she seemed to have seen this phoenix. She could not quite tell whether that memory belonged to Wen Qiwu, or to this little phoenix’s body.
Before she had even opened her eyes, she must have stayed by her side for a very long time.
Seeing her again, the memories sealed away in Wen Qiwu’s mind from her earliest years loosened slightly. She was now fairly certain of this phoenix’s identity to her.
Tears welled faintly in Wen Qiwu’s eyes. As the great phoenix folded her wings around her, she called softly, “Mother.”
Footnotes
- 踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费功夫 | tà pò tiě xié wú mì chù, dé lái quán bù fèi gōng fu | Classical Chinese proverb: 'Wearing out iron shoes in search, one finds it effortlessly at last'—finding something after an exhausting search, only for it to appear unbidden.
- 师尊 | Shizun | Honorific for one's direct cultivation master, combining 'teacher' and 'venerable one' in formal spiritual lineages.
0 Comments