The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 57

“Senior Sister, where is my mother?”

In the tomb of the Phoenix Lord, the starry night sky shifted from dim to brilliant, making the cracks spiderwebbing across the “firmament” even more glaring.

The Phoenix Lord glanced at the fracturing sky, then lowered her head to gently peck her daughter’s back. Before Wen Qiwu could react, she fell into a deep, heavy slumber in her mother’s embrace.

The Phoenix Lord gazed at her with lingering affection for a long time. Finally, she placed a necklace around her daughter’s neck before unfolding her wings and handing Wen Qiwu over to Yun Heng.

Most of her possessions had been destroyed during the great war of gods and demons long ago, but fortunately, she had a few things left. This necklace was a storage artifact containing the remnants of her estate.

Yun Heng cradled her Junior Sister carefully. Only after confirming that Wen Qiwu was merely asleep did she tighten her hold slightly.

[Take her away.] The Phoenix Lord spoke to Yun Heng.

Yun Heng’s movements stiffened. She looked at the Phoenix Lord with a mixture of worry and hesitation. “And you?”

Did the Phoenix Lord not intend to leave?

[The Demon Realm has already set its sights on this place. Once you leave, I will completely destroy this realm.]

She was merely a remnant soul, lacking the conditions for Nirvana. Under these circumstances, she would likely perish along with this place.

The Phoenix Lord did not fear death; she only regretted that the time she could spend with her daughter was so fleeting.

Yun Heng’s heart sank. She understood the plan, but how could her Junior Sister accept this? She had only just reunited with her biological mother; was she to be forced to accept her mother’s permanent erasure so soon?

“But if you’re gone, when Ah Que wakes up…” Yun Heng looked at the troubled sleeping face of her sister, her heart twisting. Bound by blood, Ah Que had likely sensed something even in her sleep.

[When she wakes, it will be up to you to guard her in my stead.] The Phoenix Lord knew her daughter would be heartbroken. But it didn’t matter; by her side would be someone who loved and protected her with all her soul. Sooner or later, her daughter would step out of the shadow of grief.

[Had I not been holding onto the thought of her, this remnant soul would have vanished long ago. This borrowed time was a forced mercy; I can no longer ask for more.] Compared to a complete soul, this fragment was less than one-tenth of its original self. While Phoenix Nirvana was a miraculous art that could reverse life and death, it required a relatively intact soul. Otherwise, the risk of failure was absolute. The Phoenix Lord had burned a portion of her soul in the past, making success even more improbable.

[When she wakes, you must stay with her.] The Phoenix Lord urged, her voice laced with maternal anxiety.

“She would prefer it if you stayed with her,” Yun Heng replied, her voice heavy.

The Phoenix Lord smiled. Her daughter was a child who knew how to act spoiled; she could almost see Wen Qiwu tugging at her hand, swaying back and forth, begging her to stay.

But in the face of a predestined parting of life and death, even gods and immortals are helpless.

“Your Majesty…” The eyes of the avian Kings grew red. Their sovereign was down to a fragment that could not undergo Nirvana; now, even that fragment was about to be lost.

[Qingluan, tens of thousands of years have passed out there, hasn’t it? Why are you still such a crybaby, just like when you were small? Wipe your eyes; don’t let the youngsters laugh at you.] The Phoenix Lord said to the Qingluan King.

Upon hearing the comfort, the Qingluan King’s tears fell even faster. For once, the Kings were united, frantically debating if there was any way to save the remnant soul. Unfortunately, even these vastly experienced rulers could think of no solution.

Yun Heng was also racing through her mind for a way to preserve the Phoenix Lord. The biggest obstacle was the tomb itself. “Phoenix Lord, must this place be destroyed now? Can we not seal it first and buy some time?”

Once this place was destroyed, the remnant soul would face the full impact of spatial collapse.

[It’s too late. Look at the sky. Even if I don’t destroy it, it will self-destruct. If I do it personally, I can at least control the blast. If it collapses on its own, I fear it will spill over into the world outside.] The mounds of bones within the tomb were accumulated from the ancient war. If the resentment from those remains leaked out, it would cause an unspeakable slaughter of living beings.

[It will collapse in a year at most, or a few days at least.]

Only then did Yun Heng notice the sky, which now resembled a shattered mirror. An unsettling power pulsed within the cracks. No wonder the Phoenix Lord had to act.

But…

Yun Heng looked at the person in her arms. Her sister was sentimental, and this was her mother. If she woke up to find the Phoenix Lord gone, she would weep for an eternity.

She couldn’t bear to see her sister’s tears.

The Great Phoenix’s phantom condensed into a human form. She walked to Yun Heng’s side and gently stroked her daughter’s face. As she withdrew her hand, a single tear escaped Wen Qiwu’s closed eyes.

Heartbroken, Yun Heng reached out to wipe it away, but the Phoenix Lord was faster.

[Truly a crybaby. I’m almost afraid to leave her. Little Friend Yun, please take good care of her from now on.] The Phoenix Lord’s voice was filled with a deep, aching longing.

She knew Yun Heng would agree. With that, the Phoenix Lord stood. She reached out, and Wen Qiwu’s Nine Tribulations Bow flew into her hand.

The bow was originally the Phoenix Lord’s weapon. The moment it returned to her, it erupted with unprecedented brilliance, humming with an excitement that radiated pure killing intent.

The mountains of corpses seemed to sense the danger. The tomb began to vibrate, the bones grinding against each other with a threatening rattle.

Deep beneath these remains lay the intact corpse of a True Demon, the most restless entity of all. The Phoenix Lord drew the string and loosed an arrow. It pierced through layers of bone and detonated the True Demon.

Wen Qiwu’s strength had been insufficient to draw out the bow’s true potential, but in the hands of the Phoenix Lord, it unleashed the full might of a divine artifact.

BOOM! A blinding white light flashed.

A massive crater appeared amidst the bones. The True Demon at the bottom had its head blown off. It had assumed the Phoenix Lord was occupied, unaware that she had never ceased her surveillance since ten thousand years ago.

As the dust and shockwaves surged toward them, Yun Heng raised a barrier, ensuring not a speck of debris touched her sister. She stroked her sister’s face, feeling the lingering dampness on Wen Qiwu’s lashes.

“Sister will find a way. Don’t cry,” Yun Heng whispered into her ear, stroking her back.

The Phoenix Lord used the bow to carve a path through the void. [Go.]

The birds were reluctant, so the Phoenix Lord simply tossed them out.

And then, only…

Wait? Why has the temperature dropped?

The Phoenix Lord turned around sharply. She saw Yun Heng holding her daughter, but the Empress was surrounded by a frost that behaved like fire. Strands of soul-power were being extracted from Yun Heng’s body and fed into the frost.

[Little Friend Yun?!]

The Phoenix Lord stepped forward, only to find herself walking on ice.

To suppress a Phoenix’s fire with frost, this human child truly had talent. But this looked like a ritual of sacrifice.

The “flames” around Yun Heng condensed into a transparent, invisible thread. One end was tied to her own wrist; the other quietly tethered itself to the Phoenix Lord’s wrist.

The Phoenix Lord frowned. [Reckless!]

She was already dead. Her soul was a bottomless pit; why should Yun Heng consume her own soul-power to fill it?

“Phoenix Lord, for Ah Que’s sake, please… stay with us.” Yun Heng’s face was as white as paper, but her gaze was so resolute that the Phoenix Lord found herself unable to scold her.

[Your child…]

The Phoenix Lord finally understood why her daughter, even when angry, couldn’t bring herself to be truly cruel to her Senior Sister.

Since the child had paid such a heavy price, a spark of defiance rose in the Phoenix Lord’s heart. Even if her time with her daughter wouldn’t be long, if she could survive this tribulation, perhaps she could live long enough to see her daughter’s wedding day.

The spatial collapse intensified. The Phoenix Lord drew her bow once more. Her target was the cracked sky. As the arrow flew, the shattered space was swallowed by the chaotic currents of time and space, and the once-mighty monsters within were ground into nothingness.

Yun Heng and Wen Qiwu were sent out. They reappeared at the bottom of the cliff. The avian Kings immediately swarmed them, their grief barely contained. Seeing Wen Qiwu still asleep, they lowered their voices to ask about her condition.

Learning she was only sleeping, they breathed a sigh of relief. But how were they to tell the Little Princess about her mother? They couldn’t bear to let her wake up to such news.

Yun Heng coughed lightly, a metallic tang of blood in her throat. She looked at the thread on her wrist; it had served its purpose and snapped.

She stared at the entrance to the rift. The place was silent, devoid of any anomaly.

Yun Heng waited for a long time, and a chill began to seep into her heart.

Did it fail?

“Ugh…” Wen Qiwu stirred in Yun Heng’s arms, her eyes fluttering open.

Seeing the clear sky, she was momentarily dazed. Then, she realized they were out. It was daylight.

Why did I fall asleep? I was… Wen Qiwu remembered. Her mother had put her to sleep.

Why?

She looked at her Senior Sister, then at the surrounding birds… There was no trace of her mother’s aura.

Brilliant as she was, she didn’t need anyone to explain. Tears welled in her eyes.

“Senior Sister, where is my mother?” She looked at Yun Heng. Her Senior Sister’s eyes were filled with painful pity, her mouth opening and closing as if she couldn’t find the words.

The avian Kings averted their eyes, their faces etched with mourning. Their silence was her answer.

Yun Heng, not knowing how to comfort her, could only pull her into a tight embrace. Wen Qiwu’s muffled, repressed sobbing made her heart ache with a violent intensity.

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