Chapter 426 - The Flames of the Southern Vermilion Bird

They walked towards where the sounds were coming from. With each step, the voices could not be more clearer as they drew nearer. The younger voice spoke again, “But this magical field has been here for thousands of years… I’m afraid… Wait, Teacher! There’s somebody!”

As they came closer, Xiao Chen saw not far away two men, one with white hair and beard that reached down his shoulders, clad in robes of green while another, a tall and fair-looking young man. From the looks of it, they have both suffered burns with charred spots and blackened patches sprinkled all around their clothes.

“What have we here! Master Liku! Of all places, I do not expect to meet you here!” Zi Mo barked jeeringly.

The elderly man turned, the tails of his teal robes rippling as he spun so quickly with surprise. He looked intently, but for a brief few seconds he could not quite recognize us, although he could feel that the powers of the newcomers were nowhere below his. “Y-you… you are…” He stammered but before he could say anymore, the young man in white robes beside him spat viciously, “YOU!”

The man was staring at Xiao Chen. There were anger and hate in his eyes; so strong as if he wanted to swallow Xiao Chen whole. Xiao Chen knew who he was. Yu Wenmu, the Third Prince of the State of Zhou of the Eastern Continent. It was he who then wanted to force Luo Shangyan to marry him but his designs were thwarted when Xiao Chen stormed into the palace and took Luo Shangyan away. The whole matter was nothing but an embarrassing disaster to him, a blot in his past that he would never forget nor forgive.

“ARGHH!” Yu Wenmu roared and lunged. He turned into a flash of light that streaked towards Xiao Chen, tossing up dust and gravel in his wake. He had come a long way to achieve the powers of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Clang! The ringing of steel resonated across the area and everything came to a still. With hardly any effort, Xiao Chen had stopped Yu Wenmu’s attack by simply using two fingers to stop his charging blade with a vice-like pinch and that definitely took the young prince by surprise. No matter how he heaved and pulled, he could move his sword not even an inch.

Since his disgrace, he had left the comfort of the palace to live in the mountains with his teacher, Perfected Immortal Liku to work on his study and training of magecraft. Since then, he has sweat and toiled, vowing that one day, he would exact revenge upon Xiao Chen for the ignominy of having his bride taken away. But in his efforts, he had heard not a word about the heroics and exploits of Xiao Chen faraway. And now, he was most shocked with disbelief that a simple student of magecraft just a few years ago was now one of the strongest mages across the lands!

“Come back here, boy!” His teacher called frantically, having immediately realized Xiao Chen’s powers and fearing he might put the young prince to death.

With another crisp clang, Xiao Chen flicked the sword away with a burst of his magical powers, propelling the young prince back to his mentor’s side. Yu Wenmu could hardly dare utter a word, although his face was seething with shame and anger.

The elderly man breathed more easily, seeing that Xiao Chen had no ill will upon Yu Wenmu. Then he threw another look at Zi Mo and finally recognized him. “You! Y-you’re… You’re Xiaoyao Zi!”

“Look at your student! What an anxious little chap! Is he suffering from a heatstroke?”

“How dare you!” Yu Wenmu hissed fiercely. But his teacher laid a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from doing anything as stupid as angering the three men before them.

Indeed, this was Perfected Immortal Liku. He was once the State Counselor of both the States of Qing and Zhou. But his ambitions for politics waned following the separation of both states and he chose to be a prelate no more. He promptly left the Eastern Continent and came to the South where he forsook his former name, going by Liku Zi now. Hence his startlement and surprise when Zi Mo was addressing him by his former name earlier.

It has been more than two years since he last saw Xiao Chen. But Xiao Chen was a fledgling then. One which name he had hardly bothered to know then. But Yu Wenmu’s reaction was enough to refresh his memories and he remembered Xiao Chen.

“So, what brings you here, Master Xiaoyao?” He asked, feigning ignorance even though he knew precisely the purpose of the party of three.

“I am inclined to think that we are after what you are after as well,” Zi Mo sniggered.

That reply made the complexion on Liku Zi’s face pale a little. “It is said Thou shalt not covet,” Liku Zi observed dryly, “My student and I have been here long before you. We have been trying to defeat the defenses of this magical field of the Flames of the Southern Vermillion Bird for many a day now. It’s hardly fair nor honorable for you to step in now. Surely you don’t want the good name of the Jade Qing Sect to suffer if you intend to rob us?”

“Heh heh heh heh… Say what you will. I am only here for the magical field and I am not leaving without it.”

“How dare you!” Liku Zi seethed venomously. But that was just all that he could do. He no longer wielded the respect and prestige like he used to since the coming of the Times of the Annihilation when his progress slacked far behind his peers. That was precisely the reason he needed the Flames of the Southern Vermillion Bird: to help multiply his powers.

But out of nowhere came Zi Mo who wished to thwart his plan, a person known to be crude and blunt in his manners and, as if it could not be any worse, intransigently stubborn. But suddenly he remembered: the magical field was powerful. So powerful that it would take more than him to defeat it. Liku Zi sneered abruptly, “I see. Be my guest then. Just be careful to not let that long beard of yours to be aflame.”

“Ahem,” Zi Mo feigned a cough to evade the jab. Brushing lazily at his beard, he barked at his two younger companions, “Come on, let’s go! Let’s find the magical field!” They walked abreast, drifting past the young prince and his mentor with hardly any more look at them, pressing deeper into the hot and dry valley that felt more like a desert than an idyllic wilderness.

Liku Zi threw a look at his ward and they immediately shadowed the footsteps of Xiao Chen and his companions. Not a leaf of grass grew in this vicinity and not a drop of moisture could be felt in the air. Before long, they came upon the yawning mouth of a long cave once formed when hot boiling magma flowed through during a volcanic eruption. They drew closer and a gust of steaming hot air slammed into their faces as if to give them a malignant welcome by nearly scorching their very skin. Down at their feet, red-hot magma flowed through the cracks and fissures under their feet like tiny rivers of blood that stretched far and wide.

Xiao Chen’s face hardened and he quickly cast a magical shield that shrouded around him in an orb of True Energy with Zi Mo and Yu Yifeng following suit. Then they leaped into the air, morphing into three radiant streaks of light that charged into the caverns.

Since stepping into the cave, Xiao Chen was already facing the immense heat threatening to incinerate him to crisp. The swelter in the cave was unbearable that he almost felt as if he was a piece of log, burning slowly into charred timber.

The terrain was rocky and jagged inside the caverns and blazing magma could be seen everywhere, coursing in narrow cracks and fissures on the ground and the walls like veins glowing in the darkness. The heat only grew the more they moved inside that even breathing was hard. Xiao Chen felt himself suffocating so badly that even his face turned pale. “Are you fine?” Yu Yifeng asked with concern and immediately produced a skin of water from his Divine Vessel and offered it to him.

Xiao Chen took over the waterskin and took several gulps, emptying it quickly. But it was hardly enough with the heat around them. It took another two more waterskin’s worth of water to finally quench his thirst. “What is wrong with you, boy?” Zi Mo asked, puzzled, “Just don’t get yourself sick. We need you to defeat the Spirit of the magical field.”

“It’s fine. I’m all right,” Xiao Chen croaked, feeling much better now. But before he could say more, a fire-demon leaped out of the magma, its figure burning with flames. Yu Yifeng’s Startling Rainbow Sword rang menacingly as it escaped its sheath and Yu Yifeng swung it at the flame elemental, forcing it back into the magma where it disappeared.

They walked deeper, enduring the staggering torridity that seemed to bounce off the walls of the caves to gnaw on their spirit and their vigor. The air was stifling and muggy, filled with the horridly odoriferous stench of sulfur that made it all even more difficult to breathe. They exited the stone passages and reached a wide stone chamber. There, at the center, was a long sword with its three-feet-long blade driven into the ground. It was a weapon ornately designed and forged; the top half was gleaming red-hot, the center of its blade glowing with a purplish shade and the rest of the length of the blade until its tip was a bright emerald-green. The entire sword was engulfed in flames, flames that burned with the same three hues.

This was one of the legendary relics of the ancient, the Sword of the Vermillion Bird. A weapon of immense power that could vanquish all that is evil. It was a weapon comparable with the Autumn Water, if not better, although it has been forgotten after so many years and no one thought of including it into the ranks of the most powerful weapons in the lands.

The sword sat in the center of a large ring of fire spanning almost a hundred yards wide. This must be it, Xiao Chen mused, the magical field of the Flames of the Southern Vermilion Bird. Out of nowhere, a voice rang suddenly. The boyish voice of a young man, saying, “What is this? Did you bring help this time?”

Magical fields of the most ancients manifest their own spirits called Formation Spirits and the Spirit of the Flames of the Southern Vermillion Bird was named Li Xie, a spiritual entity in the form of a young teenage boy. Yet in truth, Li Xie was at least tens of thousands of years old, although his memory would be utterly wiped clean once every millennia.

“Would you yield to me if I am able to defeat you?” Xiao Chen openly admitted his purpose.

“Hahahahaha! I like you! You’re straightforward one, unlike the old man which had come two days ago! What a veritable petulant geezer, that one!” Li Xie’s youthful voice came from inside the ring of fire, “But let’s see what you can do!”

“Can I take your word of it?” Xiao Chen asked aloud, his gaze hardly leaving the Sword of the Vermillion Bird a hundred of yards away.

“Hahahaha! By all means! This I stake upon my pride as a Formation Spirit! Come on, boy! Dawdle no more!”

“So be it then!” Xiao Chen barked and marched forth. But Yu Yifeng placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him, “Be careful. This is not your ordinary flames. This is fire that can melt and incinerate everything.”

“Hahahaha! Is that fear I am sensing in your voice?” Li Xie’s sardonic voice called from inside.

With a dip of his eyebrows, Xiao Chen looked into the magical circle of flames and dove inside. He immediately felt the throbbing heat gnawing past his flesh, devouring even his insides and his very bones and he emitted an anguish “Argghhh!”

“Hahahaha! And here I am, thinking that you would at least be more of a challenge than that old senile! I’m disappointed Hahahaha!”

Xiao Chen grimaced painfully at the woe and suffering that he had never once felt before. Feeling as if he was burning like a piece of charcoal, life was ebbing away slowly for him but he knew that he has yet to feel the true strength of the Flames of the Vermillion Bird, which was so much more terrifying beyond comprehension.

Standing at a distance away, Liku Zi watched on with narrowed eyes, grunting in a low voice, “This boy might be powerful, but he appears to fear this Flame of the Vermillion Bird. Let’s see, the Flames belonged due South and the twilight is of the West… According to esoteric cosmology, those of the wood element, of the East towards the North, is weakest against fire…”

Just outside the ring of fire, Yu Yifeng was startled and worried sick. “What’s going on with Lil Chen?” He asked hushedly, “Is it because of the Yin energies in his body?”

Zi Mo’s face contorted into a troubled frown as he mumbled, “Wait… Something’s not right… The Flame is of the South in Fengshui esotericism and is strong against the Wood element… Oh no… It can’t be…” As if struck by a sudden fit of insanity, he screamed, “COME OUT, BOY! COME OUT NOW!”

But Xiao Chen paid no heed to the calling. He concentrated on the notion of Muxue suffering the torments of the Ice Keep and swallowed hard, enduring the pangs of broiling heat lashing at him. He gritted his teeth and plunged deeper into the centermost area of the circle where the true Flames of the Vermilion Bird awaited and true enough, a shaft of the incinerating Flames whipped at him and Xiao Chen could only shield himself with his arms. He howled in pain again when the Flames struck his arm and it immediately became so numb from the sting as if the limb was severed from him.

“Is this how you intend to defeat me, boy?” The mocking sneer of Li Xie resounded from the center of the flaming circle.

“Heavens! The boy is insane!” Zi Mo stomped and leaped into the air, diving into the flames himself. But he had barely past the peripheral edge of the magical field when an invisible wall stopped him. Li Xie’s cruel voice snapped like a cracking whip, “How dare you interfere! I allowed him to come in, not you!”

Xiao Chen bit hard and reminded himself to remain calm, tapping on his arms to seal a few of his meridian channels and ease the pain of his wounds. Zhen Trigram shifts to the West, the Kun Trigram shifts to the North, while the Kan Trigram is absent… The Xun Trigram remains at South-east, unchanged, and… As he quickly made his calculations he moved at once, stepping barely half of an inch to his left and moved forward again, an inch slanted right this time. His calculations have proven true! A few bolts of the Flame scarcely evaded him, hissing by harmlessly and nearly searing off the edges of his clothes.

“Oh? You seemed to have discovered something, boy? Let’s see it again!” Li Xie jeered with excitement and eight dashes of searing flames shot at him, closing off any avenues of evasion.

The heat continued its rampage, stinging and biting deep into his flesh while suffocating Xiao Chen’s breath. He was closer to dying the longer he remained inside the roasting swelter. Yi Yifeng felt his palms slick with sweat out of concern for his friend and he could see how close is Death coming at Xiao Chen. “Lil Chen!” He screamed frantically, “Come out first!”

If Xiao Chen had heard him, he certainly made no sign of it again. He stayed inside for more than an hour and he was so badly burned with blood caking almost every inch of his melting flesh. He was too tired to feel much of anything beyond numb, his eyes set only on his purpose: the Sword of the Vermillion Bird barely a meter away from him.

“BREAK!” Xiao Chen thundered audaciously, his fingers closing on the hilt of the sword, only to feel as if his fingers were clasping on a red-hot iron instead, threatening to rasp the skins off his digits while the agony stabbed deep into his flesh, sending a jolt of pain into him.

“Think carefully, boy,” Li Xie’s voice came again, only this time, he was hardly mocking or cynical; rather, he began to sound worried and fearful, “Draw the sword and you’d lose your arm!”

“YIELD!” Xiao Chen roared with all his might, giving the sword the strongest tug he could manage. The blade of the sword slid out of the ground and with it came a pillar of flames that shot out of the hole where the sword once filled, swallowing his arm whole with the Flames of the Vermillion Bird and another shot of pain came just as his arm numbed almost at once and the sword clattered on to the ground.

With his teeth gritted, Xiao Chen bent down and picked up the sword with his left arm. He lifted the legendary weapon and aimed its tip towards South-east at a block of frozen magma. The jet of the Flames gushed forth from the blade and engulfed the giant block, reducing it to molten rock.

Such was the terrifying power of the Sword of the Vermilion Bird. A sword so dangerous and deadly that not even the Unsullied and Autumn Water came close to comparison. While others fight with steel and iron, the wielder of the Sword of the Vermillion Bird fights with fire that could instantly incinerate any foes into charred and blackened crisps in just an instant.

The Sword reverberated in his grasp like a maniacal beast waiting to pounce and hissed with all his fury, “And with this weapon, I’ll slay you, Red Sleeve! Just you wait!”