169: Chapter 169 The True and False Phoenix Fairy, the Secret of the Secret Realm

Deep in the cave, the skeleton still sat on the stone platform, its robes decayed.

Chu Sheng stood before it, his gaze falling on the Jade Slip on the stone platform.

The phoenix ring on his finger grew hot, so much so that his knuckles ached from the heat.

He was in no hurry to reach out.

Experience from the simulator told him that in such places, the most dangerous things weren't the Restrictions or traps, but the dead.

No, even more troublesome than the dead were those who hadn't died completely.

"You've come?" a voice drifted out from the skeleton.

Chu Sheng took a step back.

It wasn't out of fear, but a tactical retreat; the Taixu True Scripture within him was circulating to its limit, with Demonic Essence and True Essence flowing through his Meridians.

The skeleton did not move.

But above the skeleton, the air began to distort, as if scorched by fire.

Light and shadow converged, condensing into a human form.

First appeared a hand, slender and fair, with fingertips tinged with a faint pink, like a freshly peeled lychee.

Then came the arms, shoulders, neck, and finally, a face.

A woman. Very beautiful.

It wasn't the seductive beauty of Yu Rumeng, nor the lovely beauty of Liu Qingyan.

She was like a faded ancient painting; though the pigments had peeled away, the underlying charm remained.

She wore a fiery red gown with a Phoenix pattern embroidered on the hem, looking lifelike.

Chu Sheng looked at her, and she looked at Chu Sheng.

Phoenix Immortal?

Chu Sheng had seen her once in the simulator, but back then she was just a remnant thought that dissipated right after speaking; he hadn't had the chance to look closely.

Her gaze fell on Chu Sheng's finger and stopped.

The phoenix ring.

"My ring," she spoke, "how did it end up in your hand?"

"I picked it up in the Secret Realm," Chu Sheng said.

Phoenix Immortal nodded, as if confirming something.

"This Seat thought it was lost in some corner," she said, "so it was here all along."

Chu Sheng didn't speak. He was waiting. Waiting for her to say that crucial line.

Phoenix Immortal looked up at Chu Sheng, her eyes filled with something new—scrutiny.

"Early stage of Sea Opening," she said, "Heavenly Demon Body, Taixu True Scripture... somewhat interesting."

Chu Sheng's heart tightened.

She saw through his background with a single glance?

Just how high was Phoenix Immortal's cultivation?

In the simulator, he thought she was just an ordinary Dao Palace expert, but now, it didn't seem that way.

"Whose Disciple are you?" Phoenix Immortal asked.

Just as Chu Sheng was about to speak, a phantom figure drifted out from the ring.

Old Grandfather solidified his form and stood beside Chu Sheng, with white hair and a lean face.

He looked at Phoenix Immortal, and she looked at him.

"Taixu," Phoenix Immortal spoke first, her voice carrying a hint of surprise, "You're not dead yet?"

Old Grandfather stroked his beard and said indifferently, "Aren't you still alive too?"

This time, Phoenix Immortal's smile wasn't faint; she actually laughed out loud.

"This Seat is not dead, but it's close enough. A mere Remnant Shadow left here, waiting for who knows how many years, just for a fated person to arrive."

She paused and looked at Old Grandfather. "Your Disciple?"

Old Grandfather nodded. "This Seat's Successor."

Phoenix Immortal looked at Chu Sheng again, scanning him from top to bottom before shaking her head.

"He doesn't seem like your style," she said.

"When the Taixu Divine Sect recruited Disciples back then, they insisted on noble character and a pure Dao Heart. This kid has Devilish Qi on him and even possesses the Heavenly Demon Body. Aren't you afraid your old friends will crawl out of their graves to curse you for taking him as a Successor?"

Old Grandfather snorted. "This Seat is happy to do so. Let them curse; they can't crawl out anyway."

Phoenix Immortal smiled and stopped bickering with Old Grandfather.

She turned her head and looked at Chu Sheng, her gaze becoming serious.

"Young man," she said.

"You have taken This Seat's ring and entered This Seat's Secret Realm, which shows you have a fate with This Seat. This Seat can give you the Phoenix Immortal Nirvana Scripture, tell you the true secrets of this Secret Realm, and even grant you more opportunities. But This Seat has one condition."

Chu Sheng looked at her. "What condition?"

Phoenix Immortal fell silent for a moment, as if organizing her words.

"Help This Seat do one thing."

"What thing?"

"I cannot tell you now."

Chu Sheng frowned, and Old Grandfather frowned as well.

Seeing their expressions, Phoenix Immortal smiled, though the smile held a trace of bitterness.

"It's not that This Seat is being cryptic, but you cannot do this thing now. Early stage of Sea Opening is not enough. Not by a long shot."

"Then what Realm is required?" Chu Sheng asked.

"Dao Palace."

Phoenix Immortal said calmly.

"At least Dao Palace. Ideally Spirit Nurturing. When you reach that Realm, come find This Seat again. This Seat will tell you what needs to be done."

Chu Sheng was silent for a long time. Dao Palace.

He was currently at the early stage of Sea Opening, two major Realms away from Dao Palace.

After the three Spirit Sea stages come the three Dao Palace stages—Palace Building, Spirit Nurturing, and Dao Completion.

With his current Cultivate speed, even with the "Many Children, Many Blessings" trait and the simulator's help, it would take at least years or decades.

But he didn't hesitate for long.

"Fine," he said.

After all, he had the simulator; maybe in the next simulation, he'd go straight to the Divine Ability Realm.

Chu Sheng was already thinking about three months later, when he would return after six simulations, and the moment the phantom before him would widen its eyes in shock.

Phoenix Immortal looked at him, surprise flashing in her eyes. "Aren't you going to ask what it is? Aren't you afraid This Seat will send you to your death?"

Chu Sheng said, "Asking would be useless since you won't say. As for sending me to my death..."

He paused. "By the time I reach the Dao Palace Realm, there shouldn't be many things left that can send me to my death."

"Good!" she said. "Taixu, this Successor of yours is quite interesting."

Old Grandfather stroked his beard, the corners of his mouth curling up high, but he still feigned calm. "He's average, average—only third in the North Region."

Phoenix Immortal stopped smiling and looked at Chu Sheng, her gaze softening slightly.

She reached out, her slender index finger tapping the Void Realm, and a beam of golden light shot from her fingertip, landing on Chu Sheng's brow.

Chu Sheng's whole body jolted.

A massive amount of information flooded into his mind like a bursting dam, unstoppable.

The complete version of the Phoenix Immortal Nirvana Scripture.

Not an Incomplete Manual, not an excerpt, but the essence of everything Phoenix Immortal had learned in her life.

Cultivation Techniques, secret arts, Pill Formulas, Formations, Sword Arts—it was densely packed, as if a whole library had been stuffed into his brain.

He clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, as he forced himself to endure the impact of this information.

After a while, the torrent finally began to subside.

Chu Sheng panted heavily, his body drenched in sweat as if he had just been pulled from the water.

Phoenix Immortal looked at his disheveled state and smiled. "Not bad, you didn't pass out. When This Seat passed on my techniques to a junior back then, that kid was unconscious for three days and nights."

Chu Sheng wiped the sweat from his face, thinking, You could have given me a heads-up.

"There is one more thing."

Phoenix Immortal said, her Remnant Shadow beginning to fade.

"The true secret of this Secret Realm doesn't lie in those Magic Treasures, nor in This Seat's Cultivation Technique. The Secret Realm itself is the secret."

Chu Sheng looked up at her.

"The Fengxian Secret Realm was not built by This Seat."

Phoenix Immortal's voice grew fainter, as if coming from a great distance.

"This Seat is merely a gatekeeper, and This Seat is not the true Phoenix Immortal; This Seat is just an ordinary Cultivator who received a great favor from the Phoenix Immortal. The true Secret Realm is deeper underground. There is something there that This Seat has guarded for thousands of years and never dared to touch."

"When you one day reach the Dao Palace Realm, come here again, and This Seat will take you to see it."

Chu Sheng wanted to ask what it was, but the fake Phoenix Immortal's Remnant Shadow had faded until it was almost invisible.

"Then you are...?"

Her final words drifted out from the Void Realm, as light as a sigh.

"Remember, Dao Palace. This Seat awaits you."

Then, she vanished.

Old Grandfather drifted out from the ring, his phantom also significantly faded.

He stroked his beard, looking at where Phoenix Immortal had disappeared, his expression complex.

"She's not dead," Old Grandfather said.

Chu Sheng nodded.

"It's her, yet not her."

"The true cultivation of this phantom is around the Dao Completion stage; although strong, it isn't exaggerated."

"The real Phoenix Immortal's cultivation is very high," Old Grandfather continued, "higher than even This Seat's Peak. Even This Seat cannot see through her."

Chu Sheng turned to look at Old Grandfather.

If Old Grandfather at his Peak couldn't see through Phoenix Immortal, then she must be at least...

"Don't think about it," Old Grandfather waved his hand. "Thinking too much will only keep you awake at night."