Chapter 185 - 178: Phoenix Blood Secret Realm
"Elder Yan."
"Junior Brother Zhou, long time no see."
Yu Xueyan had already received a message from Elder Yan and was waiting on the mountain peak.
When she saw Elder Yan descend with Jiang Zuo, she immediately went forward to greet them.
"Senior Sister Yu."
Jiang Zuo replied politely.
"This way, please. Master is inside the cave residence."
Yu Xueyan led the two of them toward the cave ahead.
As soon as he approached the cave, Jiang Zuo felt a wave of icy coldness wash over him.
"This chill... It seems Nangong Daoist Lord’s injuries are showing signs of worsening again," Elder Yan said with a sigh.
"The Red Fire Phoenix’s condition has been poor lately," Yu Xueyan said, worried.
’Red Fire Phoenix?’
A thought flashed through Jiang Zuo’s mind, and he had a good idea of why he had been summoned.
The cave soon widened.
After walking a little further, a faint wave of heat, mixed with the cold air, drifted from ahead.
Then, Jiang Zuo saw the young girl from his last visit squatting before a bonfire, earnestly adding some kind of Spirit Wood to the flames.
When the Spirit Wood burned, the flames were a ghostly blue and gave off a faint, fragrant aroma.
"Nangong Daoist Lord, I’ve brought Zhou Yong."
Nangong Daoist Lord was still sealed in a thin layer of ice crystals. She sat before the bonfire, encased as she was, warming herself.
But compared to a few years ago, the ice crystals seemed slightly thicker.
"Thank you for your trouble, Elder Yan."
"Elder Yan, Zhou, please have a seat. The place is a bit plain, please don’t mind."
Nangong Daoist Lord spoke with a gentle smile, her voice like the music of the heavens, carrying a trace of etherealness in the cave.
Before coming in, Jiang Zuo hadn’t expected to see the sight of a True Ice Crystal Beauty warming herself by a bonfire.
Clad in ice crystals under the dancing, ghostly blue flames, Nangong Daoist Lord truly gave Jiang Zuo the impression of a Celestial Immortal.
However, it wasn’t as if Jiang Zuo had never seen a beautiful woman before. He was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and followed Elder Yan to take a seat to the side.
"Zhou, I’ve asked you here today to discuss two matters with you."
After a moment of quiet contemplation, Nangong Daoist Lord’s heavenly voice sounded once more.
"I’ve heard that you have a remarkable Beast Taming Talent and can understand the minds of Spirit Beasts. I have a Red Fire Phoenix, and I’d like to ask for your help in figuring out what’s wrong with it."
"There is one other thing. If you are interested, Zhou, I would like to invite you to enter a Secret Realm."
Jiang Zuo had already anticipated being asked to examine the Red Fire Phoenix.
But he hadn’t expected Nangong Daoist Lord to have another request, and one that was far from ordinary.
Helping with the Red Fire Phoenix was one thing, but Jiang Zuo wouldn’t so easily agree to enter a Secret Realm.
Sensing Jiang Zuo’s hesitation, Nangong Daoist Lord began to explain the details of the Secret Realm.
It all began with Nangong Daoist Lord’s identity.
Nangong Daoist Lord was originally the Daoist Master—the Sect Leader—of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion on the Western Divine Continent.
The Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion was rumored to have been founded by a True Disciple of the former Five Elements Sword Pavilion. The previous Daoist Master was Nangong Daoist Lord’s master.
Before her master ascended over two hundred years ago, she passed the position of the Sword Pavilion’s Daoist Master to Nangong Daoist Lord.
Then, about forty years ago, Nangong Daoist Lord went out with a then-young Yu Xueyan.
Unexpectedly, they were attacked by a mysterious expert along the way.
Although Nangong Daoist Lord ultimately managed to escape, she was struck by an object of extreme yin and ice-attribute cold. The frigid energy invaded her Qi Sea.
Even with her early-stage Dao Fruit Realm Cultivation, her life was in danger.
Later, she fled to the Ancestral Continent, hid within the Black Tortoise Dao Sect, and found the one known as the continent’s greatest physician, Divine Doctor Lu. Only then did she find a way to alleviate her condition.
The method was both difficult and simple, and it depended on Nangong Daoist Lord’s Spirit Beast, the Red Fire Phoenix.
Nangong Daoist Lord had to draw some blood from the Red Fire Phoenix periodically and refine it into her own body to suppress her injury and prevent it from worsening.
However, the Red Fire Phoenix was now having problems. Nangong Daoist Lord felt that if she continued to draw its blood as before, she would not only damage the phoenix’s life-source but might even endanger its life.
But as soon as she slightly reduced the frequency of drawing blood, her injuries began to gradually worsen again.
Left with no choice, Nangong Daoist Lord could only ask Jiang Zuo to come and take a look.
As for the matter of the Secret Realm, it concerned a sect-exclusive Secret Realm of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion.
After being attacked by the mysterious expert, Nangong Daoist Lord didn’t return to the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion. Instead, she crossed the Endless Sea, came to the Ancestral Continent, and sought shelter with the Black Tortoise Dao Sect.
This was because she knew the attack was undoubtedly related to the Vice Daoist Master of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, Nie Xukui.
Nie Xukui had always believed that after Nangong Daoist Lord’s master ascended, he, with all his hard work and contributions, should have been the rightful Daoist Master of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion.
But Nangong Daoist Lord’s master held unparalleled prestige in the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion; his words were never questioned.
Nie Xukui endured it. Then, he spent over a hundred years secretly undermining Nangong Daoist Lord’s authority.
Nangong Daoist Lord had no interest in such matters, wholly engrossed in her Cultivation.
She had thought there was no harm in ceding some power to Nie Xukui, but unexpectedly, he was not satisfied.
After she was attacked, Nangong Daoist Lord knew that the matter was definitely related to Nie Xukui.
Although she disliked power struggles, it didn’t mean she was oblivious to them.
News of her departure was known to only a few people within the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion.
After eliminating them one by one, she was almost certain that Nie Xukui was behind it.
Although Nangong Daoist Lord believed Nie Xukui was responsible, she had no proof.
If she were to announce the news of the attack, she wouldn’t be able to do anything to Nie Xukui.
On the contrary, it would expose her whereabouts and plunge the sect into turmoil.
Nangong Daoist Lord had grown up in the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, and she did not want to see it decline because of her.
Therefore, she didn’t make the matter public and simply focused on healing in secret.
Once her injuries healed and she returned to the Sword Pavilion, Nie Xukui would be powerless against her.
The Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion has a sect-exclusive Secret Realm called the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.
The Secret Realm can be opened once every sixty years, and disciples at or below the Divine Body Realm in the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion can enter.
Normally, opening the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm requires the Phoenix Blood Orders held by both the Daoist Master and the Vice Daoist Master to be used simultaneously within the sect.
But several thousand years ago, a Vice Daoist Master’s Phoenix Blood Order was lost, and it remained lost for nearly eight hundred years.
After it was recovered, the Daoist Master at the time modified the permissions of the Phoenix Blood Orders.
Even a single Phoenix Blood Order could open the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm, but it would only allow a small number of disciples to enter, and their Cultivation was restricted to the Dao Foundation Realm or below. Disciples at the Divine Body Realm could not enter.
The original intention was to prevent the resources within the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm from being wasted in the event one of the Phoenix Blood Orders was lost.
This Phoenix Blood Secret Realm of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion produces some extremely rare resources.
Among them is a Parasol Phoenix Blood Tree. Its fruit ripens once every three hundred years, and it yields only three fruits each time.
Eating this fruit can improve a Cultivator’s Fire Spirit Root Talent, raising it to high-grade middle-rank at most.
The opening of the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm this time coincides with the ripening of the Parasol Phoenix Blood Tree’s fruit.
"Your talent is too low. If you can obtain a Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit and raise your Spirit Root Talent to high-grade middle-rank, your future will be much more promising."
"However, because Nangong Daoist Lord is in the Black Tortoise Dao Sect, the distance is too great. She can only use the Phoenix Blood Order to send you alone into the Secret Realm."
"As for Nie Xukui, he is at the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion and can probably send about five disciples into the Secret Realm."
"Although you have the powerful Spirit Turtle to protect you, this matter is still somewhat dangerous."
"So, whether you go or not is entirely up to you."
"However, if you decide to go, the sect will craft a batch of temporary second-tier Talismans for you that you can use without infusing any Spiritual Power."
"Furthermore, Nangong Daoist Lord will give you the Phoenix Blood Order. If you run into real danger, you can have the Phoenix Blood Order immediately transport you out of the Secret Realm."
At this moment, Yan Bocheng spoke up.
He had already discussed this matter with another group of elders in the sect.
Yan Bocheng and several other elders all agreed that this plan was feasible.
After all, Spirit Fruits that could enhance one’s talent were exceedingly rare.
The sooner Jiang Zuo’s talent was improved, the greater the benefit to him.
Otherwise, if they waited until Jiang Zuo was older, even if he found a Spirit Fruit to improve his Spirit Root Talent then, it would be meaningless.
Although there was some danger, it wasn’t significant, especially since Nangong Daoist Lord was willing to offer the Phoenix Blood Order.
"Besides the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit, what other benefits can be found in the Secret Realm?" Jiang Zuo asked curiously.
His heart had leaped the moment he heard the four words "Phoenix Blood Secret Realm."
Over two hundred years ago, while he was still by the Li River, Jiang Zuo had obtained a Fire Phoenix Feather that tasked him with finding a Fire Phoenix Egg.
He wondered if the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s Phoenix Blood Secret Realm was related to that Fire Phoenix Egg.
But this was the first time Jiang Zuo had heard anything related to a Fire Phoenix since then.
He definitely had to enter this Phoenix Blood Secret Realm and see for himself.
"There are! Besides the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit, the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm also contains a Sword Dao Inheritance Stele from the original Five Elements Sword Pavilion. If you have the aptitude for the Sword Dao, you can receive a Sword Dao inheritance from it."
"There is also an Enlightenment Tower. Inside the tower, you can pursue Enlightenment and Cultivation at a speed hundreds or thousands of times faster than the outside world."
"However, the Enlightenment Tower is linked to a cultivator’s Comprehension. Most disciples who enter it are kicked out after only a few breaths."
"Additionally, there is a Sword Tomb. With Sword Dao aptitude, one can obtain a Sword Dao Spiritual Artifact from within."
"You might also find Fire-Attribute Spiritual Soil, which can be used to forge a Dao Foundation, as well as Fire Attribute Spirit Seeds, and so on," Nangong Daoist Lord said, a nostalgic look on her face as she reminisced.
Each person could only enter the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm once.
These things were all just memories for her now.
Back then, her master had described the wonders of the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm to her in just the same way.
"Alright, I’ll go!" Jiang Zuo’s spirits lifted.
’This Phoenix Blood Secret Realm seems to be full of incredible treasures!’
’Although it seems like many of the rewards are tied to talent, and you can only get them if your talent is good enough.’
’But when it comes to talent, Jiang Zuo fears no one!’
"Excellent! When you enter the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm, first go and pick the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits. It would be best to get all three. Leave one for Nangong Daoist Lord to heal her injuries, and you can eat the other two yourself," Yan Bocheng said.
Nangong Daoist Lord’s invitation for Jiang Zuo to enter the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm wasn’t just for his own benefit.
If Jiang Zuo could bring back a Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruit, it would be of immense help for Nangong Daoist Lord’s injuries.