Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Ancestral Phoenix Trial

In endless cultivation, the night passed without sound.

By morning, Lin Zhao opened her eyes and nearly gagged.

The smell in the room was foul enough to make her eyes water. When she looked down at the grime coating her skin, she stared in disbelief.

“I had this many impurities inside me?”

Granny snorted. “What good things have you been eating on Yun Ding Peak all these years? Not getting poisoned was already good luck.”

Lin Zhao rubbed her nose, grudgingly agreeing. She pushed open the door and called out, “Prepare a bath.”

The maid caught a whiff and recoiled before she could hide it. She nodded rapidly and fled.

While waiting, Lin Zhao cast several Cleansing Spells on herself. Then, grimacing, she cast another Cleansing Spell over the room. Only then did the stench fade enough to breathe.

She sat back down and circulated the Phoenix Pulse Art.

Her eyes widened.

She had reached the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. And not newly—her aura was stable and full, comparable to cultivators who had been at the eighth level for years.

The Huang Ji Spirit Raising Pill was terrifying.

As she marveled, Lin Zhao followed Granny’s instructions and took out the Heavenly Phoenix Bone Sword she had bought at the auction.

Rust coated the longsword. Flakes crumbled from it whenever she touched it, as if it might fall apart in her hands.

“Granny,” Lin Zhao asked, staring at it, “can this sword really be used?”

Granny popped out of the ring and landed lightly on the table. For once, her beady eyes held an unusual depth, and Lin Zhao could tell at a glance that the Bone Sword meant something to her.

“To be honest,” Granny said slowly, “even I don’t know if you can use it.”

Lin Zhao’s heart sank.

“But this sword must never fall into the hands of someone with evil intent,” Granny continued. “It’s the key to opening Ancestral Phoenix’s tomb.”

Lin Zhao’s composure cracked. “Ancestral Phoenix’s tomb?”

In the ancient era, the Heavenly Phoenix had been a race.

The one revered across the world as Ancestral Phoenix was the Primogenitor Heavenly Phoenix, ancestor of the ancient Heavenly Phoenix race, one of the ancient Five Gods. After its fall, its body had transformed into multiple planes of existence. The Heavenly Phoenix Continent was only one of those planes.

Cultivators believed Ancestral Phoenix had transformed into all things, leaving nothing behind.

And yet Granny was saying there was a tomb.

Granny sighed. “Some things are still too early for you to touch at your current cultivation. First, we’ll see if you can gain the Bone Sword’s recognition.”

Lin Zhao’s grip tightened.

Even with Phoenix Fortune, she was still human. The Bone Sword might reject her outright.

“Cut your palm,” Granny said. “Don’t activate your Phoenix Fortune. No matter what you see later—follow your heart.”

Lin Zhao drew a shallow cut and let her blood drip onto the blade.

Granny sent a stream of spiritual power into the sword.

The moment it flowed in, the Bone Sword shuddered and burst with dazzling golden light.

Lin Zhao’s head spun.

Then her body vanished from the room.

…

Lin Zhao opened her eyes.

Pain hit first.

Long nails had been driven through the bones of her hands, pinning her to a cold steel plate behind her. Blood ran down her wrists. She sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to look up.

A pair of dark phoenix eyes stared back at her.

A maiden in a crimson gown stood before her, wearing a purple-gold phoenix crown. Her beauty was stunning, her aura domineering and regal. She looked at Lin Zhao as if Lin Zhao already belonged to her.

“The Blood Phoenix and the Ancient Phoenix—kings do not meet kings,” the maiden said, voice calm and absolute. “Let me end this fixed fate right now.”

The maiden reached toward Lin Zhao.

Unwillingness exploded in Lin Zhao’s chest, hot enough to burn.

“I’m sick of this so-called fate,” Lin Zhao snarled. “It already ruined me once. How dare it try to scheme against me again?”

Her spiritual energy surged. With a violent twist, she shattered the nails pinning her hands. She ripped them free, ignoring the tearing pain, the blood, the shaking in her arms.

“Ji Wan Tang,” Lin Zhao said, eyes blazing. “You want to devour me? Then I’ll devour you!”

She lunged.

The instant she drove a nail into Ji Wan Tang’s slim waist, the world shifted like water disturbed by a stone.

When Lin Zhao’s vision cleared, the person standing before her was Chen Luo Luo in a light yellow gown.

Chen Luo Luo covered her lips, feigning shock—until she noticed Lin Zhao and realized no one else was present. Her expression twisted into smug delight.

“Well, well,” she said, voice dripping sweetness that curdled into malice. “Isn’t this Sister Lin? The one Brother Shen abandoned on your wedding day? Tsk, tsk. How humiliating.”

She swayed forward, lifting her skirt as she walked, stopping before Lin Zhao, who sat on the ground in a sorry state. Chen Luo Luo looked down as if she had already won.

But when she met Lin Zhao’s eyes, irritation sparked.

Even from below, Lin Zhao’s gaze carried no fear—only proud disdain.

A defeated underling. What did Lin Zhao have to be proud of?

“Hmph!” Chen Luo Luo snapped, embarrassment sharpening her voice. “You think you can surpass me just by cultivating day and night? Dream on! Look at you on Yun Ding Peak—working like an ox, giving everything you have. Didn’t all the best resources you got end up feeding me?”

She leaned closer, lips curling. “So what if you work hard and excel? Master and the senior brothers all admire how special and fresh I am. How could an old, rotten-minded work ox like you ever compare?”

Lin Zhao listened without speaking. Her expression stayed calm, but her hands slowly clenched into fists.

Chen Luo Luo noticed. Her smile widened.

“You don’t still want to hit me, do you?” she mocked. “I’m at Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment! How could a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator like you be my match?”

In that moment, both of them understood something without needing to say it: some force had pulled them into this place. It was an illusion realm, and yet the person in front of them was real—their true self, their true strength.

So Chen Luo Luo let her jealousy spill without restraint.

“And let me tell you something else,” she said, eyes glittering. “I already told Master my spiritual root is unstable, and I need yours to stabilize it. Master is planning to wait until you return to Yun Ding Peak, then capture you and cut out your spiritual root.”

The words struck like a whip.

“And when that happens,” Chen Luo Luo continued, practically purring, “the last shred of Phoenix Fortune in you will be mine too. And your damned family—Master will destroy them as well…”

The moment she mentioned destroying the Lin Family, Lin Zhao moved.

She surged up and drove a punch into Chen Luo Luo’s waist.

Chen Luo Luo had not expected it. She was too used to Lin Zhao being weak, too used to Lin Zhao swallowing humiliation with lowered eyes. She hit the ground hard and stayed there, stunned and gasping.

Lin Zhao stepped forward, cold fury twisting her smile. She planted a foot on Chen Luo Luo’s face as the other girl tried to rise.

“You piled your way to Great Perfection with resources those useless people fed you,” Lin Zhao said, voice low, “but your strength is hollow, and your spiritual root is weak.”

Chen Luo Luo’s eyes widened.

“That’s why you didn’t dare plunder my Phoenix Fortune before you got my spiritual root,” Lin Zhao continued, pressing down harder. “Because you couldn’t endure it.”

Chen Luo Luo’s expression flickered.

Lin Zhao leaned in, gaze sharp. “Let me guess. Even if you only took my spiritual root, you still couldn’t bear my Phoenix Fortune unless you kept drinking my blood—and stole my bones and inner organs too.”

Chen Luo Luo trembled.

Watching her, Lin Zhao felt something shift inside her, a certainty hardening. The Chen Luo Luo from the beginning would never have dared to demand Lin Zhao’s spiritual root to her face. Not even in an illusion.

Only the Chen Luo Luo from the very end—after seeing Lin Zhao’s spiritual root carved out—would have this kind of boldness.

“I’ve always been curious,” Lin Zhao murmured, voice almost conversational, “what kind of script this world is running that would make trash like you the protagonist.”

She grabbed Chen Luo Luo by the throat and lifted her.

Fear finally returned to Chen Luo Luo’s face.

“In my past life,” Lin Zhao said, disgust curling in her gut, “you planned exactly this, didn’t you? You didn’t expect I’d rather die than let you take my spiritual root. So you came back this time.”

Chen Luo Luo’s eyes darted wildly. Panic cracked her composure.

In her mind, she screamed, “System! What’s wrong with this bitch?! Did she reincarnate? How could she deserve that?!”