Ch127.2 - Clusters of Phoenix Flowers

Zhuang Lingxiu, shielding him from falling stones, turned at the sound—though he didn’t know what happened, seeing Su Hansheng’s colorless face, he sensed something terrible.

“Xiaoxiao?”

For a moment, Su Hansheng’s mind was blank.

A ringing filled his ears, time lost meaning. When he came to, his first thought was: “At least I listened to Lan Xubai and came to the Heaven-Reaching Tower.”

Otherwise, he would have learned of Chongjue’s death from others.

Whether from shock or numbness, Su Hansheng couldn’t feel sorrow yet, only a hollow emptiness.

The world had lost all color.

Zhuang Lingxiu stared at Su Hansheng’s dazed, hollow expression and was instantly frightened. He pressed his hands firmly on Su Hansheng’s shoulders.

“Xiaoxiao, don’t scare me! Xiaoxiao!”

“I’m fine,” Su Hansheng said, thinking he sounded calm, but his voice trembled without his noticing. “I’m fine.”

The pillar of light faded slowly as Chongjue’s presence vanished, leaving only a faint silhouette.

A strange golden glint flickered in Su Hansheng’s eyes. Expressionless, he took a step forward, his fingers gripping the jade pendant so tightly that his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood.

Suddenly, Zhuang Lingxiu’s voice rang out, as if from another world, crashing into his consciousness.

“World-Honored One! Xiaoxiao seems… not right…”

Su Hansheng didn’t understand the words. All he could hear was “World-Honored One.”

What about the World-Honored One?

His mind was blank, as if a wall blocked all sorrow, all anger. Only coldness filled his chest and mind.

He thought: Did the heroic World-Honored One die, leaving not even a trace?

Serves him right.

Let him act so mysterious, so confident—didn’t he die just the same, leaving nothing behind?

Driven by instinct, Su Hansheng stepped forward, the phoenix bone stirring within him.

If the previous phoenix bone could kill it, could he?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, only to be forcibly calmed by a familiar presence.

The moment the scent of the bodhi flower appeared, Su Hansheng’s reason and instinct hadn’t yet registered the change, but his body had already collapsed.

A pair of hands caught him.

Chongjue, “returned from death,” steadied Su Hansheng. Unaware that Su Hansheng, through the shattered jade, had considered sacrificing himself, he gently brushed Su Hansheng’s disheveled hair behind his ear, his expression a mix of gentle confusion.

“What’s wrong? Were you hurt by spiritual energy?”

Su Hansheng frowned at him for a long moment, then suddenly reached out and pinched Chongjue’s cheek.

Chongjue: “…”

Chongjue, patient as ever, didn’t mind, letting him do as he pleased. He smiled helplessly. “You really were scared? Don’t worry, it’s over.”

Su Hansheng’s scattered soul finally returned to his body, anchored by the certainty that Chongjue was alive, no longer drifting.

He pulled his hand back, sweat still on his face, and gave Chongjue a smile, acting as if nothing had happened. “Really over?”

All the emotions he’d felt when he thought Chongjue had died were buried deep, hidden from view.

“Lan Xubai divined that I’m the turning point for this Heaven-Reaching Tower affair,” Su Hansheng boasted. “But I didn’t even get to act, and it’s already over.”

So the prophecy about his own doom was probably false too.

Su Hansheng quickly cheered up, smiling at Chongjue.

Chongjue, thinking he was just being carefree, patted his head. “Stay here. I’ll go…”

He turned, but Su Hansheng suddenly grabbed his hand.

Chongjue was startled.

Su Hansheng seemed to use all his strength, gripping Chongjue’s hand tightly, his whole body trembling, his eyes filled with unconscious fear.

Chongjue frowned. “Xiaoxiao?”

Su Hansheng snapped out of it, quickly letting go and lowering his eyes. “Oh, oh, you go ahead. I won’t run off.”

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From afar, the collapse seemed slow, but up close, it was like a mountain crumbling, and in an instant, the area where Zhuang Lingge lay collapsed, burying the great dragon under the ruins.

The deafening roar nearly shattered his eardrums. Su Hansheng was stunned, shouting, “Senior Brother Zhuang!”

Zhuang Lingxiu looked at him, puzzled. “What?”

Not only Zhuang Lingxiu, but even Chongjue and Qifu Yin seemed to see nothing of the collapsing tower, continuing with their own tasks.

A boulder crashed beside Zhuang Lingxiu, debris nearly cutting his cheek, but he didn’t react, not even blinking, still worriedly supporting Su Hansheng.

“Were you really scared? Should I take you to the World-Honored One?”

Su Hansheng, shaken to his core, didn’t know if what he saw was illusion or if everyone in the Heaven-Reaching Tower was trapped in a dream. Instinctively, he pushed Zhuang Lingxiu toward the nearby gap.

“The Heaven-Reaching Tower is collapsing. Get out.”

Zhuang Lingxiu didn’t understand.

In his eyes, the tower was silent, the earlier commotion from Chongjue and the false Heaven’s Will long gone, utterly still.

Where was the sign of collapse?

But Su Hansheng’s face was pale, not joking. Zhuang Lingxiu immediately grabbed his hand. “Come, I’ll take you with me.”

If the tower fell, Su Hansheng, with the weakest cultivation, needed the most protection.

Su Hansheng pushed his hand away, not caring about anything else. He activated his companion tree’s roots, spreading them across the tower, quickly saying, “Go outside and see what the Heaven-Reaching Tower looks like.”

His greatest fear was that if the tower didn’t collapse from top to bottom, but tilted sideways like in the phoenix bone’s memory, toward the Old Talisman Ridge, that would be the worst-case scenario.

Zhuang Lingxiu’s brow tightened. Without hesitation, he turned and left the tower through the gap.

To Su Hansheng, the surroundings were already a field of rubble and ruins. He couldn’t see where Chongjue was, so he hurried toward Zhuang Lingge’s direction, dodging debris as best he could.

If the Fallen Abyss Dragon couldn’t regain his human form, he might be buried alive under the rubble.

Su Hansheng stumbled forward, using his techniques to shatter the stones around him, finally reaching Zhuang Lingge’s side.

The dragon’s massive body was half-buried under rubble. He opened his eyes weakly, golden pupils instinctively trying to close.

Su Hansheng immediately slapped the dusty scales. “Don’t sleep!”

Since the false Heaven’s Will had fallen, he should be able to restore Zhuang Lingge to his original form.

Su Hansheng poured every ounce of spiritual power into the dragon’s body, but even after exhausting himself, Zhuang Lingge showed no sign of changing back.

Cold sweat dripped from Su Hansheng’s forehead. A strange thought flickered in his mind, and he shivered without realizing it.

Had the false Heaven’s Will not truly perished?

Zhuang Lingge struggled to keep his dragon eyes open, staring at Su Hansheng for a long time before slowly, painfully, speaking human words.

“Go. Leave this place.”

Su Hansheng couldn’t change Zhuang Lingge back, so he slapped the scales again, his voice trembling as he tried to sound calm. “I’ll change you back and then leave. Why are you rushing me?!”

Zhuang Lingge: “…”

Everyone in the Heaven-Reaching Tower who sensed something wrong could leave, except Zhuang Lingge, who couldn’t move.

Su Hansheng’s companion tree had spread throughout the tower, finally locating Chongjue. The roots quickly grew into withered branches, and a voice transmission rushed out.

“Chongjue, get everyone out of the Heaven-Reaching Tower. It’s collapsing!”

Chongjue had already shut down the formation, just finding the Silver-Carved Lamp. Seeing the calm surroundings, he frowned slightly at Su Hansheng’s words.

Seeing his silence, Su Hansheng almost turned the withered branch into a whip. “What are you waiting for?! Hurry up!”

Gong Handan’s lamp oil had become souls to help Chongjue kill the false Heaven’s Will. Now, only a tiny flame remained, her body transformed into the Silver-Carved Lamp to protect her spirit.

Chongjue summoned the lamp into his sleeve and looked toward the formation at the edge of the tower.

“It’s too late.”

—

Zhuang Lingxiu rushed out of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, but before he could see what the outside looked like, the gap he’d just left suddenly rose with a strange barrier, sealing the entire tower.

Trying to return, he was blocked by the barrier.

Zhuang Lingxiu could only fly several li away, then turned back. His pupils widened.

Su Hansheng was right.

The Heaven-Reaching Tower was indeed collapsing, and it had begun to tilt slightly toward the east.

—That direction was Old Talisman Ridge and Crow Ridge, home to countless living beings.

Zhuang Lingxiu’s expression changed instantly.

—

It was truly too late.

The false Heaven’s Will had created a calm illusion inside the tower, intending to trap everyone inside.

The moment the formation activated, the illusion vanished. The tower had already collapsed by half, and the spot where Gong Handan had been was completely buried.

Su Hansheng almost burst out cursing. “Didn’t you kill Him?!”

Chongjue shattered the falling stones and replied quietly, “His body is gone. He must have used his last lingering intent to create the illusion, but it shouldn’t last more than a moment. I’ll find Qifu Yin to break the formation. Wait for me.”

Inside the tower, Su Hansheng’s roots covered the entire area, but Chongjue searched quickly and found no trace of Qifu Yin.

Su Hansheng was nearly in tears, his spiritual power almost gone. He pulled his hand back to conserve energy, but as he did, he noticed strange sigils faintly appearing on the Fallen Abyss Dragon’s body.

They looked like the sigils Qifu Yin had drawn with his heart’s blood to trap the false Heaven’s Will?

Su Hansheng was stunned.

With only a sliver of intent left, was it still trying to seize the dragon’s body?

Su Hansheng frowned, gathering his power to dispel the sigil-covered intent.

But then the dragon’s massive body flickered, and Su Hansheng looked up, startled.

The false Heaven’s Will’s lingering intent had scattered into countless dust-sized fragments across the dragon’s body. If not for Qifu Yin’s sigils, it would have been impossible to detect its presence.

Su Hansheng stared at the fragments of the false Heaven’s Will, still desperate for a body, and tilted his head. His amber eyes showed no trace of killing intent.

The great tower around him was crumbling inch by inch, as if the end of the Three Realms was near, yet Su Hansheng’s heart strangely felt calm.

He leapt onto the dragon’s back and slowly walked along the sigils, soon finding the endpoint of the spiritual power in a pile of rubble.

Ying Jianhua, who had been missing since entering the tower, sat quietly cross-legged there, his spiritual power condensed into a thin stream, continuously drawn by the false Heaven’s Will.

The false Heaven’s Will could have taken Ying Jianhua’s body, but stubbornly insisted on forging a body of its own.

Su Hansheng took a slow breath and knelt beside Ying Jianhua, his amber eyes slowly turning a strange orange-red, just like his previous nirvana.

Flames ignited at his fingertips as he reached for Ying Jianhua’s forehead.

Suddenly, a hand tightly grabbed his wrist. Ying Jianhua had opened his eyes, trembling all over, barely squeezing out a few words between clenched teeth.

“Xiaoxiao…”

A heavenly restriction had been placed on Ying Jianhua’s body, his inner organs failing. When the false Heaven’s Will fully seized the dragon’s body, Ying Jianhua’s life would end.

Ying Jianhua’s face was pale as he struggled to speak. “Why did you come here?”

Su Hansheng stared at Ying Jianhua, lips trembling. “Senior Brother… are you going to die?”

Ying Jianhua: “…”

“I can barely live a little longer,” Ying Jianhua said, his voice weak. He wanted to say more, but Su Hansheng’s flippant remark ruined the mood. He sighed, “Go find your father to save me.”

But anyone could see that even if the Immortal Lord came, he probably couldn’t be saved.

Su Hansheng grabbed Ying Jianhua’s shoulders, whispering, “Senior Brother, don’t…”

Ying Jianhua couldn’t bear to see him so dazed and lost. He reached up and gently touched his face, about to say something to comfort him and urge him to leave.

Then he heard Su Hansheng say, “You haven’t even drunk mine and uncle’s wedding wine yet!”

Ying Jianhua: “…”

Ying Jianhua’s consciousness was already blurring, but at those words, he snapped awake, unable to believe his ears.

“Wait—wait a minute? Who with who?”

If this little brat really dared to covet the World-Honored One, he’d die with his eyes open.

Su Hansheng, seeing Ying Jianhua’s anger, suddenly burst out laughing.

Then, a blaze of orange-red fire erupted from within him.

Ying Jianhua’s face changed instantly.

“Xiaoxiao! I told you to leave—!”

Su Hansheng didn’t listen. He looked as if he’d just received some sacred token, his brows lifting lightly.

Everyone kept telling him to leave.

“I’m the turning point. I’m not going.”

Seeing the phoenix bone fire on Su Hansheng, Ying Jianhua was both angry and anxious, but he couldn’t stop him. He thought, at least it was only the phoenix bone fire—once it died down, with careful rest, there wouldn’t be much harm.

But soon, Ying Jianhua’s heart sank.

Not only around him, but every root spread through the Heaven-Reaching Tower began to burn with the same orange-red flame. In an instant, the whole place was ablaze with phoenix fire.

This wasn’t ordinary phoenix bone fire—it was phoenix bone nirvana?

The scattered divine intent of the false Heaven’s Will screamed in agony as the flames burned it, like the wail of a ghost.

The restriction on Ying Jianhua shattered, and he was finally free. He struggled to get up.

“Su Hansheng!”

Su Hansheng and his companion tree blazed with brilliant fire. Ying Jianhua tried to get close to stop him, but the nirvana fire could burn even the false Heaven’s Will—how could mere flesh and blood withstand it?

Ying Jianhua’s hand was almost burned to ash, but he didn’t care, still trying to rush forward.

The next instant, a hand yanked him back.

White robes fluttering, Chongjue finally arrived, stepping through the phoenix flames and pulling Su Hansheng into his arms.

Su Hansheng was dazed. This nirvana felt different from his previous life. He thought for a moment and understood.

Last time, it was rebirth. This time, it was pure death.

A hush fell around him. Even the sound of burning flames faded. Until a familiar scent filled his nose, and his lost, confused heart finally found solid ground.

He hugged Chongjue tightly, his body going limp as he slid down, murmuring, “Looks like not everyone can die for the Way.”

Like him—after triggering the phoenix bone, he regretted it because of Chongjue.

Chongjue seemed to smile, holding Su Hansheng’s shoulders like a child, softly saying, “Just sleep. You’ll be fine.”

Su Hansheng’s life force faded with the phoenix bone fire. His black hair turned snow-white in an instant. He felt increasingly drowsy, his voice growing weaker.

“I’m not… going to die, am I?”

Chongjue was surrounded by countless shards of jade, his voice as gentle and warm as ever.

“No.”

“That’s good.”

Buddhist cultivators don’t lie. Su Hansheng, reassured by that promise, finally let himself fall into darkness, whispering his last words:

“I’m afraid.”

In his previous life, he’d burned his life force to escape a life of filth. This time, he finally felt some attachment to the world.

With something to care about, he finally knew fear.

Orange-red phoenix fire covered the withered branches, life pouring out. The companion tree, dry for two lifetimes, suddenly sprouted clusters of tender green shoots.

In moments, the phoenix flower tree grew lush and towering, blocking out the sky.

With a fresh breeze, clusters of vibrant phoenix flowers burst forth.

**