Chapter 28: The Phoenix Soul

Long Xuan’s expression changed as his eyes locked on Yun Rou’s soul.

The carefree smile that had been on his face since the awakening slowly vanished.

He had seen countless souls before in his long life. Healthy ones, corrupted ones, and those that had been twisted until they were no longer what the gods wanted them to be. And Yun Rou’s soul was in between the last two. Thousands of years of holding up the great seal had drained almost everything from her. All that remained was barely a soul, held up by the very same formation that had been protecting Azure Heaven.

Long Xuan stared at the translucent wisp for a few seconds before finally speaking.

"You protected my remains for thousands of years,"

Yun Rou glanced at him. "As I already told you. Someone had to."

"And you kept a part of your soul intact so that when you were gone, the truth would not die with you,"

Her smile faded away.

"I never knew if anyone would find it,"

Long Xuan grinned faintly.

"Someone did,"

His eyes traveled back to the damaged soul.

"So I guess it is time for me to return the favor,"

Yun Rou raised an amused eyebrow. "What are you planning?"

Long Xuan chuckled. "I intend to restore your soul,"

Yun Rou did not have a witty remark for once. Even Ao Kuiba looked toward the immortal with some interest.

Long Xuan continued, "Do not mistake me. I cannot simply pour energy into you and call it a day. Your soul has suffered greatly and the seal has become a part of your being. If I were to rip it away carelessly, your soul would break beyond repair,"

A golden-black circle appeared beneath the fragile soul as Long Xuan lifted a single hand. "I’ll have to separate your soul from the ancient seal, mend the broken parts, piece everything back together, and then stabilize it all using Samsara,"

Yun Rou looked at the circle under her soul. "And you are sure that you can do all of this?"

Long Xuan’s grin widened. "Woman, I am Long Xuan."

He paused and glanced at her with a bemused.

Being presumptuous of my own skills is one of the few privileges I have earned,"

Yun Rou couldn’t help but laugh.

Ao Kuiba studied the ancient Dragon God. "What are the requirements of the restoration?"

Long Xuan glanced at him. "Time. Control. And someone willing to go through the ordeal,"

He turned to face Yun Rou and added, "Because restoring a soul that has been decaying for thousands of years is not going to be pleasant,"

"This is worse than I expected,"

Yun Rou crossed her arms. "Could you begin with something uplifting?"

"I could," Long Xuan crouched beside the formation and placed his fingers against one of the ancient symbols. Golden light spread from his touch, outlining the cracks in the formation. "But that would be a waste of both of our time,"

Yun Rou watched as he worked. "How bad is it?"

Long Xuan’s fingers hovered over the cracks. "Your soul has been functioning as a support for this entire existence for thousands of years. The seal, your consciousness, your cultivation, and your memories have all been attached to this single fragment. You should have died centuries ago,"

Yun Rou gave him an unimpressed look. "Charming,"

"Truth rarely is,"

Ao Kuiba stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest.

Long Xuan continued inspecting the cracks. "The seal sustained you, but it also consumed you. Every passing year, a fraction of your soul was burned away to keep you alive. Not long ago, there wouldn’t have been enough soul left to sustain you,"

Yun Rou’s carefree smile faded away.

"How long did I have?"

"Decades. Possibly a century,"

She turned to Ao Kuiba then back to Long Xuan. "So I picked a good time to be discovered,"

"You did not pick this moment. Circumstance picked this moment for you," Long Xuan straightened. "But yes, it was a good time,"

Ao Kuiba finally spoke. "Can you restore her?"

"Yes," Long Xuan’s expression darkened. "But it won’t be pleasant,"

Yun Rou sighed. "I have been dead for thousands of years. I think I can handle unpleasant,"

Long Xuan looked directly at her. "I am not just going to repair your soul. I am rebuilding it from the ground up. Your consciousness could very well reject the process and your memories might not transfer correctly. You may find yourself dying over and over again,"

Yun Rou was quiet for a moment before she replied with a smile, "Again?"

"A few times,"

"Marvelous,"

Long Xuan did not smile. "I need your permission. This cannot be done against your will. If you reject the process, your soul will scatter and it will be impossible to put it back together,"

Yun Rou stared at her translucent hands. She had spent eons as a wisp, a fragment, a protector of something that had nothing to do with her. She had done her duty. She had kept her word.

She was tired.

"I consent,"

Long Xuan nodded. "Then prepare yourself,"

The chamber seemed to shimmer and the golden-black light spread from Long Xuan’s body. It was not the limitless pressure he had been emanating moments ago, but rather a focused intensity as thousands of golden-black threads wove through the formation, searching for the damaged parts of Yun Rou’s soul.

Ao Kuiba watched closely. He had studied soul techniques extensively in the Upper Realm, but he had never seen anything like this.

Long Xuan was not repairing the formation. He was dismantling it.

Piece by piece.

The large seal surrounding Yun Rou’s soul began to separate, each section disconnecting from the next without activating the hidden explosives within.

Ao Kuiba’s golden eyes narrowed. "You built this?"

Yun Rou shook her head. "The original seal was created during the war. I added these modifications later,"

"Your soul formation abilities are quite impressive,"

Yun Rou’s lips curled into a smile. "That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me,"

"It wasn’t meant as a compliment,"

"I’ll take it as one all the same,"

Long Xuan interrupted the conversation. "Concentrate,"

The chamber fell silent.

Long Xuan raised both hands and the ground began to tremble.

"Yun Rou,"

She looked up at him. "When I begin, the seal will disintegrate around you. You might pass out or experience some... unpleasant memories. I’ll need you to remain conscious throughout the process,"

"I understand,"

"Good,"

Long Xuan’s hands came together and the formation vanished. The large seal at the center of the room exploded outward in all directions, scattering millions of golden-black threads into the air. At the center of it all, the soul wisp flickered violently.

Yun Rou’s expression twisted in pain.

For the first time since Ao Kuiba had met her, the carefree beauty was gone. Her translucent form wavered and then vanished entirely, only to reappear several feet away. Her soul was beginning to dissipate.

Ao Kuiba’s muscles tightened. Long Xuan’s voice was calm and steady.

"Don’t interfere,"

"I wouldn’t have,"

"Good,"

Golden-black energy wrapped around the drifting soul and Yun Rou’s wisp shattered into countless fragments.

Memories flooded the chamber.

A young girl running through a forest

A woman standing before an army of ancient cultivators

A warrior covered in blood clutching a broken spear

All flashing by in an instant before vanishing into the darkness. The war. The dragons. The suffering. The sealing array. The loneliness. And then... nothing.

Her soul was gone.

Ao Kuiba’s eyes narrowed. "Long Xuan!"

"Not yet,"

The fragments of Yun Rou’s soul continued to scatter, some having almost vanished completely.

"Long Xuan!"

"Wait,"

The last remaining pieces of soul vanished just as Long Xuan clenched his fists.

"Now,"

Golden-black threads of energy snared the escaping fragments and pulled them back toward the center of the room. Long Xuan raised his hands and a massive formation appeared behind him, rotating slowly in the air. It was unlike anything Ao Kuiba had ever seen. There were no spirit stones, no outside energy, and no formation flags. Long Xuan was using nothing but his knowledge of the Samsara Arts to weave a formation strong enough to gather and restructure a soul.

And the gathered fragments did not simply reform.

Long Xuan was rebuilding them from the ground up.

The broken pieces of Yun Rou’s soul reassembled themselves and new threads of essence were created to replace the missing parts. Yun Rou’s memories swirled outward in small bursts, searching for places to attach themselves to. And then, almost impossibly, golden-red sparks appeared around the reassembling soul.

Long Xuan’s expression changed.

"So you still have that,"

Ao Kuiba’s golden eyes followed the sparking flame. "What is that?"

"Phoenix bloodline,"

"The what?"

"Very diluted, but not extinguished,"

The tiny flame flared outward, feeding off the Samsara Arts. Yun Rou’s spirit essence stabilized and her soul stopped flickering out of existence. Long Xuan narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting,"

"What?"

"The bloodline isn’t just reacting to the Samsara Arts,"

Ao Kuiba’s eyes widened. "Because of the rebirth aspect?"

"Among other things,"

The flame roared to life and Yun Rou’s soul vanished inside it. Everything in the chamber was bathed in blood-red light and an unearthly phoenix cry echoed throughout the ruins. Ao Kuiba looked up at the swirling mass of fire and for the first time, he felt fear.

Long Xuan chuckled. "I was wondering when you’d finally show some personality,"

The flame receded and a pair of hands emerged from the fire.

First her hands, then her arms, followed by her shoulders and waist. Finally, her head appeared and her wavy black hair spilled out behind her. Yun Rou’s translucent body solidified and the golden-red eyes looked directly at Ao Kuiba.

She inhaled.

For the first time in thousands of years, she was taking a real breath. She froze, then took another. Her chest rose and she placed a hand over her heart.

It was beating.

Slowly, but it was beating. She could feel blood pumping through her veins, her skin growing thicker, her muscles tightening. Yun Rou stared at her hands in disbelief.

"I..."

Her voice cracked and she tried again.

"I can feel everything,"

Long Xuan lowered his hands. "Your soul is whole,"

She looked at him. "Whole?"

"Not entirely, but I mended the foundation and reconstructed your soul structure. Thousands of years of damage cannot simply be undone, but your cultivation is gone. Your physical body still needs time to adjust to having a whole soul,"

She looked down at herself, then smiled. "I suppose that is better than being a piece of floating smoke,"

Long Xuan laughed. "That’s the spirit,"

She struggled to stand and Ao Kuiba instinctively moved to steady her.

Yun Rou caught herself before he reached her. She glanced up at him with an amused expression. "I can stand,"

Ao Kuiba shot her a glare.

Long Xuan watched the two with an amused expression.

"Long Xuan," Yun Rou turned to face him. "Thank you,"

For once, there was no sarcasm in her voice. No teasing smile. Just a simple statement.

Long Xuan grew quiet. After a moment, he waved a hand. "You protected my remains. That debt is cancelled,"

Yun Rou shook her head. "I don’t think we’re even,"

"Then I’ll owe you,"

She smiled, "I’ll remember that,"

Long Xuan chuckled, "I was afraid you would,"

Ao Kuiba watched the exchange with growing unease.

Something had changed. Yun Rou was no longer the decaying wisp that Ao Kuiba had stumbled upon in the ruins. She was reborn, if not whole, then at least close to it. And despite his misgivings, Ao Kuiba had a sinking feeling that his debts to Long Xuan were only increasing

Long Xuan turned to face Ao Kuiba. "And now, the interesting part,"

Ao Kuiba’s eyes narrowed, "What do you mean?"

"The inheritance,"

Long Xuan placed a hand over the golden-black marking on his forehead. "I already have it,"

"Most of it is sealed," Long Xuan smiled. "Good thing too. Do you know how long it would take you to properly digest all of my skills?"

"I would have rejected it,"

"You already tried. It didn’t work,"

Ao Kuiba ignored him and stared at Yun Rou

She looked better, but there was still something fragile about her expression.

Long Xuan followed his gaze.

"She’ll recover,"

"How long?"

"That depends on her,"

Yun Rou smiled. "I’ve survived thousands of years with a dying soul. I think I’ll be fine,"

Ao Kuiba nodded, then turned his attention back to the chamber.

The war was over. The truth had been revealed. Yun Rou had been reborn. Long Xuan had awakened. As far as Ao Kuiba was concerned, his troubles should have ended with the fall of the war god.

Instead, they had only just begun. Ao Kuiba had set out on this journey to seek cultivation, but he had found himself awakening an ancient species. First a Dragon God, now an ancient Phoenix-blooded woman who had spent eons as a soul wisp. And now, Long Xuan was offering him something else entirely.

Ao Kuiba looked up at the immortal. "I still don’t want it,"

Long Xuan’s smile did not fade. "Too late,"

For the first time since stepping into the chamber, Yun Rou laughed.

The sound echoed throughout the ruins

And high above, in the distant reaches of Azure Heaven, something ancient stirred. Something that had sensed the awakening of the Dragon God and waited patiently for this moment to reveal itself.