Chapter 87 – Rebirth

All living beings around could not help but gravitate toward Yun Xiguang, their instincts telling them that he was the stabilizing force, the sole safe haven in the storm.

Yun Xiguang paid no attention to the living beings around him. At this moment, his heart held only one person — Chi Qiong.

The task given to him by Chi Qiong seemed simple on the surface, but in reality, it was to have him, with his minuscule soul, challenge Youying and the Law.

Neither possessed self-awareness, but that lack of self-awareness was precisely what made them terrifying.

Without self-awareness, it meant they could not be persuaded or changed. Instead, there was a possibility that Yun Xiguang’s own thoughts might be rewritten by their programming.

He needed an absolutely resolute will and unwavering faith in Chi Qiong.

Yun Xiguang was not sure if he had it, but he knew that at this moment, Chi Qiong needed him, and so did the world.

There was nothing else he could do except hold steadfastly to his beliefs until his soul was extinguished.

That was enough.

Flames ignited around Yun Xiguang.

The first flames were ordinary fire. As Chi Qiong revealed his true form, the fires across the entire world became active in anticipation of Zhuzhao’s arrival. At this moment, the air was as if saturated with natural gas; even the tiniest spark would cause an explosion.

Yun Xiguang gathered these fires around himself, stabilizing them so that they would not harm innocents due to their excessive excitement.

After the ordinary fires surrounded him, Yun Xiguang ignited a second set of flames — the Heavenly Fire.

Immediately after, a third layer of flames rose around the Heavenly Fire — the Fire of Rules.

The Fire of Rules firmly locked down the ordinary and Heavenly Fire, using them as sources of energy.

At this moment, Yun Xiguang appeared as though he was bathing in fire, brimming with vitality and vigor.

After accomplishing all of this, Yun Xiguang plucked a cluster of the Fire of Rules from his fingertips and gently touched his brow with it to ignite his own soul.

The flame of the soul was intangible and colorless, visible only to the soul itself and those bound to it through soul contracts.

Yun Xiguang saw the flame burning from his soul grow taller and taller, reaching towards the heavens, connecting with Chi Qiong’s flames.

The instant his soul flame connected, Chi Qiong felt a sense of ease.

As he fused with Youying, his soul’s consciousness was continuously assaulted by Youying’s “Eradicate humans, eradicate civilization” command and the Law’s “Merge, merge, chaos, chaos” directive. These two commands eroded his mind, leaving Chi Qiong somewhat confused, sometimes even forgetting what he was supposed to do.

But when Yun Xiguang’s soul flame merged with his, all the voices and forced commands vanished from Chi Qiong’s ears.

He felt an inexhaustible power coursing through him, as though his wings could bear the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, and even the world itself.

This was not the strength of a mere bird, but rather, the successful harnessing of Youying’s power.

In this instant, Chi Qiong realized that if he lifted his hand, the earth would transform; if he flapped his wings, time would change; if he blinked lightly, years would pass.

A Two Principles diagram appeared around him, from which all things in heaven and earth were born and to which they would ultimately return.

“Merge!” The Law’s powerful pressure descended once again.

Yet Yun Xiguang remained unshaken.

Gathering clouds filled the sky, black clouds coalescing into a vortex resembling a typhoon, howling winds emitting eerie shrieks. Countless silver serpents flickered within the dark clouds above Yun Xiguang’s head, forming a bolt of lightning capable of destroying all of South Province.

Heaven’s Will had noticed that the one sustaining Zhuzhao’s consciousness was this insignificant human. It intended to strike down this bold rebel against Heaven’s Will with heavenly lightning!

Anyone who dared to obstruct the fusion between Zhuzhao and Youying, anyone who stood against the unity of all things, was defying Heaven and would suffer the punishment of Nine Heavens Thunder!

Li Zheng and the others had never seen such terrifying lightning before; they only instinctively sensed that something was amiss.

The awakened spirit beasts from the Ancient Desolate Era, however, were reminded of terrifying memories by the heavenly lightning.

They still remembered that in that era, any creature exceeding a certain limit of power would draw heavenly lightning upon themselves. Countless powerful spirit beasts had fallen victim to the lightning tribulation.

It turned out that they, these spirit beasts, were merely the lucky few that escaped the lightning tribulation. Only the mighty spirit beasts could attract heavenly lightning, while weak spirit beasts like them required only Heavenly Fire.

Bai Ze wished to persuade Yun Xiguang that if he fled now, there would still be time.

But Yun Xiguang remained immovable.

He was not fearless; his soul trembled under the pressure of Heaven’s Will.

But he knew in his heart that he was Chi Qiong’s support, Chi Qiong’s pillar. If he took a step back now, all of Chi Qiong’s hopes would be in vain.

Perhaps even if he persisted until the end, they would still fail in the end.

But at least, he would have given it his all.

Yun Xiguang remained steadfast amidst the thunderbolts, fulfilling his promise with his life.

Chi Qiong, you just forge ahead. I’ll hold onto your consciousness and become your unyielding anchor.

Chi Qiong, floating above the Two Principles diagram, also noticed the heavenly lightning. He raised his head to the sky and let out a clear phoenix cry that echoed across the heavens.

It was no longer the cute “chirp,” but a phoenix cry that reached the Nine Heavens.

The phoenix cry stirred the fires beyond the skies, igniting a raging inferno.

The fierce wind sliced through the clouds of lightning like a blade, acting like a crude pair of scissors, recklessly tearing apart the sky’s vast canvas and shredding the clouds of lightning.

Even so, countless fragmented bolts of heavenly lightning still struck down.

Yun Xiguang had exhausted all his strength to maintain Chi Qiong’s consciousness. He lacked the power to resist this seemingly thin but still immensely potent heavenly lightning.

A bolt of lightning descended upon him, and Yun Xiguang closed his eyes. He could only rely on the Fire of Rules to defend himself, uncertain if he could withstand it.

However, the lightning did not come.

A massive body, over a hundred meters long, stretched above Yun Xiguang’s head, intercepting several bolts of lightning for him.

The Azure Dragon let out a mournful roar and fell to the ground, charred and unable to fly anymore.

Ning Shan rushed over to treat the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon had shielded Yun Xiguang from some of the lightning, but the clouds of lightning had not fully dissipated yet. There were still bolts of heavenly lightning that were not particularly powerful but were utterly indestructible by humans.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng pecked Li Zheng, forcibly merging with him and transforming into its complete Great Peng form. They spread their wings, their massive bodies blocking the lightning above Yun Xiguang’s head.

Even then, it did not forget to throw a remark at Yun Xiguang: “I’m not doing this for you; I’m doing it for the Sacred Deity, to better assist the Sacred Deity. You don’t need to thank me; we are still competitors in the future.”

Countless bolts of lightning struck the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s body. It held on for a while, but ultimately, it could not withstand the might of Heaven. It, too, fell to the ground, completely charred.

Ning Shan: “…”

On one side, the Azure Dragon had not yet escaped danger, and on the other, the Golden-Winged Great Peng and Li Zheng were also on the brink of life and death. He was at a loss as to what to do!

Just as Ning Shan was sweating in anxiety, a white horse with a single horn atop its head came to his side, speaking in a human voice with extreme gentleness. “I will come to your aid.”

Ning Shan recognized this white horse. In the century of turmoil, it and its Spiritbond Master had saved countless lives. However, later on, it disappeared, and no one knew its whereabouts.

It had fallen from the Spirit Beast Codex.

It turned out it had been trapped by the Spirit Beast Codex, unable to escape.

It emitted a faint white light, transforming into specks of light that enveloped the Azure Dragon, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and Li Zheng.

After the white horse intervened, the other spirit beasts in the Spirit Beast Codex no longer sat idly by. They flew up into the sky, setting up protective nets and using their powers to shield Yun Xiguang from the lightning tribulation.

Indeed, the ones targeted by Heaven’s Will now were humans. Perhaps if humanity perished, the world would gain a reprieve. But this terrifying heavenly lightning reminded the spirit beasts of the events during the Ancient Desolate Era. Back then, they too were the race targeted by Heaven’s Will.

This was not about the survival of humans but the survival of the world.

“Thank you.” Yun Xiguang whispered softly.

The warmth in his heart was transmitted to Chi Qiong through the soul flame.

Chi Qiong suddenly recalled why he had a name.

Because he sensed that a world with sentience was warm, warmer than his flames.

Perhaps this world harbored evil, but it also had sages. The ratio of sages to evil was always extremely low, and most living beings were murky yet equally warm.

He liked this warmth, which was why he was willing to be confined within a pond.

Chi Qiong felt an endless surge of power coursing through him. He no longer felt timid or fearful of losing his strength in the future. He bravely spread his wings, transforming the Two Principles pattern into an outer garment draped over his wings.

With a loud boom, the entire sky was engulfed in flames, dyeing the sky red.

In the fiery red sky, a colossal golden firebird soared higher and farther.

Soaring as high as the sun and moon, so high that everyone in the world could see him as long as they looked up.

As the giant firebird continued to ascend, its fiery feathers fell one by one.

The feathers that fell were clearly terrifying flames, but when they landed on the ground, they transformed into specks of golden and silver light. The golden light dispersed in the air, while the silver light sank into the earth, vanishing without a trace.

If these specks of light touched a living being, the creature would feel a sudden lightness, as if taking a breath of fresh air in a natural oxygen bar. Their minds would lighten, and their bodies would be filled with strength.

The firebird flew high enough and had a sufficiently massive body, allowing its feathers to reach every corner of the world.

When it reached the highest point, arriving at the boundary of this world, one step away from leaving it, it paused.

It glanced at this world teeming with life and then at his soulmate. Afterward, its entire body transformed into flames, disappearing amidst the raging inferno.

The flames morphed into two gigantic wings, embracing the entire world in a protective embrace, like a pair of hands guarding this flawed yet beautiful world.

The flames rained down like fire, falling near Yun Xiguang and the others. Any injured person or spirit beast that came into contact with the flames would immediately recover.

“It’s enough.” Bai Ze said to Yun Xiguang, who was already at the end of his strength. “Such a tremendous transformation has occurred in the world. The Law can no longer destroy the world; it can only adapt to this world anew and establish new rules. With such abundant spiritual energy permeating the entire world, the Law might even have to utilize technology to counterbalance the spiritual energy.”

Bai Ze glimpsed a new future.

A future where spiritual energy, magic, and technology flourished together, an unimaginable new world that no one could envision.

“It’s already sufficient; you should stop now.” Bai Ze sighed.

Even if he stopped, Yun Xiguang would not live much longer.

He had consumed all his soul energy, his black hair turning white, leaving him with perhaps only a few years left to live.

Yun Xiguang weakly shook his head and gazed at the sky. “It’s not over yet; he has not returned.”

Yun Xiguang touched his brow, igniting the contract between him and Chi Qiong with the soul flame.

The flame raced along the contract into the sky, and Yun Xiguang used his remaining strength to search for Chi Qiong.

Chi Qiong had flown too high, and Yun Xiguang feared he might get lost and not find his way home.

The flame thread moved slightly, and a ball of golden flame descended from the sky, rolling towards Yun Xiguang.

Yun Xiguang opened his arms, embracing the golden flame in his chest.

This was his.

His spirit beast, his little yellow chick, his little spirit bird, his Phoenix Venerable, his Zhuzhao.

His Chi Qiong.

The blood pattern on his brow, upon touching the flame, transformed into a fiery feather, enveloping Yun Xiguang and healing his soul.

This blood pattern was originally a tuft of downy feathers that Chi Qiong had gifted to Yun Xiguang. Although the downy feathers did not possess much power, when Chi Qiong regained his strength, the downy feathers returned to their original state.

It was a feather of Zhuzhao, a wisp of spiritual energy. This tiny wisp of spiritual energy could turn a small bird into a Kunpeng, soaring nine miles into the sky. Compared to such power, Yun Xiguang’s injuries were negligible.

Chi Qiong’s feathers fell upon every corner of the world. The world was vast, and many major cities received only one fiery feather. Yun Xiguang’s favored fiery feather was enough to make him the most powerful creature in the world.

But Yun Xiguang was unaware of this at the moment. He was content that his Chi Qiong had returned to his embrace.

Yun Xiguang was too exhausted, and holding Chi Qiong, he drifted off to sleep.

The ball of fire in his arms rolled slightly, sensing that Yun Xiguang had fallen asleep.

The ball of fire remembered its name was Chi Qiong, remembered this person was Yun Xiguang, remembered this was the weak human he needed to protect.

Now that I have regained my strength, how can I still allow Yun Xiguang to carry me like before?

I will spread my wings that cover the sky, holding Yun Xiguang in my embrace.

Thus, the ball of fire spread its wings, attempting to cover the sleeping Yun Xiguang beneath its wings.

Unexpectedly, despite its best efforts, it could barely manage to cover the buttons on Yun Xiguang’s chest.

The flames dissipated, revealing that it was still the little red-cheeked yellow chick.

Using its splendor spanning tens of thousands of years, it ushered in a new era.