Chapter Forty-Seven: Master's Backing is Amazing

Ye Chi's pupils suddenly contracted, and a strong sense of foreboding rose from the bottom of his heart. In that instant, it swept over him like a storm. He subconsciously stepped back, only to see a thick black fog rush in and strike heavily where he had been standing.

The boy who was still standing in front of the cave suddenly appeared in front of him, his face gloomy and his expression unreadable.

“An ungrateful outsider,” he sneered, “I thought you wouldn’t have the guts to venture deeper, but since you have, I think you should pay the price for your actions.”

A purplish-black aura gathered in his palm, carrying intense malice, and his smile was wicked and arrogant: "Ye Chi, today is your death day!"

Unable to dodge, Ye Chi instinctively gathered his spiritual power in his hand. Crimson light swirled around him, thin as paper, yet it easily blocked the demonic energy that seemed capable of devouring a person. The young man's expression hardened slightly, then he gritted his teeth and muttered something, the demonic energy in his palm dissipating, indicating that he was giving up.

"Damn it, I never expected you to have this kind of constitution."

Before Ye Chi could relax, the tall man next to him suddenly spoke up, his hoarse voice unable to conceal his malice: "No need for all that trouble, just hand him over to that woman."

"Anyway, this kid isn't as lucky as his master."

The boy paused slightly, then laughed: "Heh, you're quite clever."

That woman... who exactly is the woman these two keep mentioning?

Without pausing, Ye Chi took off running. The advantage of his long legs as a physical education student was fully utilized at this moment, and he disappeared into the darkness in a flash. It was pitch black here, and Ye Chi didn't bother to remember the way. He didn't even consider the possibility of returning alone before finding Ya Feiyu. He ran wildly, not knowing his destination, just running, running without thinking.

He hadn't run far when the chasing sounds behind him gradually subsided, and Ye Chi consciously lightened his pace so as not to be noticed.

His pace gradually changed from running to brisk walking, then to walking, and finally, as if a heavy jack had been applied, he slowed down and collapsed after only a few steps.

His face was covered in sweat, and when he wiped his sleeves, they were soaked. You didn't even need to look to know how disheveled he looked.

It's not that he's never run long distances before, but when your life is truly threatened, you'll be extremely exhausted after the run.

The boy's body, in particular, seemed unaccustomed to such high-intensity training.

Ye Chi had no idea where he was. He was panting heavily, his hands supporting his knees. He couldn't run anymore. Every step he took felt like walking on soft cotton, and his legs felt like soft cotton, completely powerless.

He walked with his head down, limping, and in complete darkness, he didn't notice anything in front of him.

So he bumped into someone.

"Damn it." He couldn't help but curse under his breath, muttering a few more words. Just as he looked up, he met a pair of bright blue eyes. He was slightly taken aback, and his mood worsened: "Vina, what are you doing here?"

"I'd like to ask, why are you all alone here?" Viner looked around, and Ye Chi realized that he had already left the cave. It was already late at night, and the surrounding area was densely forested. He had been distracted and hadn't noticed in time.

Wiener raised an eyebrow: "Where is your master?"

"Where my master is is none of your business." Ye Chi was in a particularly bad mood. He had just learned that Ya Feiyu might be in trouble, and now he himself was being hunted down. He was so weak that he couldn't even protect the person he cared about. Thinking this, his face became even more gloomy, and his tone became even more aggressive towards Ya Feiyu's suitors. In fact, he knew that it was unnecessary to argue with others under these circumstances. The most important thing was to find Ya Feiyu together.

The tone was harsh, but Vena wasn't annoyed at all. She calmly replied, "You want to save your master, and I want to save my future wife. We have the same goal, so how can it not be related to me?"

Ye Chi couldn't help but roar, "Even at a time like this, you're still thinking about my master?! Have you no shame?!"

“Why not? Don’t think I can’t see through your thoughts, you brat.” Vena was also somewhat out of control. “You, who are thinking of monopolizing him, aren’t you just as despicable as me? You only got his attention because of your status. Let me tell you, I’m not like you.”

These words were like a thunderclap in his ears, and Ye Chi was speechless for a moment. The dark clouds dispersed, the moonlight fell, and shone on his pale face.

He hesitated for a long time before finally uttering only a few light words, as if his soul had left his body.

"……good."

"You save your wife, I'll save my master."

"We're even."

...

Clearly, the woman hadn't intended to make his life easy while he slept. The thick vines had initially been neatly placed beneath him, enveloping him in a reassuring manner. However, the vines were restless; taking advantage of their owner's inattention, they secretly trapped him inside. Later, when she discovered him, for reasons unknown, the woman didn't instruct the vines to untangle him, but instead allowed them to keep him completely sealed in. After all, cultivators are strong and healthy, capable of holding their breath for several hours; being suffocated a bit wouldn't kill them, she thought cheerfully, casually fiddling with a feather.

The feather didn't belong to her; it was a tail feather with a fiery red tip that was exceptionally eye-catching.

"When a little bird undergoes its rebirth, its feathers are scorched by karmic fire. I've heard that the feeling is exceptionally unbearable." She pouted, twirling a feather between her fingertips. "I wonder what you felt like back then?"

"The Celestial Feather Clan can only undergo Nirvana once in their lifetime, but you, my poor little bird."

Her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of heartache was visibly revealed on her seemingly carefree face.

"You have been reborn three times."

She approached slowly, her steps slightly heavy.

"Does it hurt? It must hurt."

She half-squatted down, cupped Ya Feiyu's face in her hands, lowered her long eyelashes, and murmured, "No matter how I tried to persuade you back then, you were still so stubborn. How could you be so foolish and so easily deceived?"

“You knew it was impossible, yet you still gave your Phoenix Heart to the Demon Lord in order to save my life.”

"My sister is alive, but how come... you don't remember anything?"

She sat quietly, gazing at Ya Feiyu's face, which bore a striking resemblance to her deceased friend.

The Phoenix Heart is possessed by every member of the Tianyu Clan. Just as mortals cannot cultivate immortality without a golden core, and demonic cultivators also form a false golden core to store demonic energy, the Phoenix Heart is used to store demonic energy. Removing the Phoenix Heart means that the Tianyu Clan loses all memories of their previous Nirvana and can no longer be reborn. In their next life, they will live as mortals.

She sighed, ultimately unable to bear keeping Ya Feiyu locked up for so long. Her younger brother had been disobedient and stubborn since their previous life, and even after reincarnation, his personality remained unchanged. Although he had lost some of his arrogance and willfulness, he was still the same person at heart. Although his soul was shattered, one could still see the shadow of his deceased friend.

She transferred Ya Feiyu into the golden cocoon and, with a little spiritual power, trapped him inside. The inside of the golden cocoon was quite safe. It looked like a fragile, semi-transparent barrier on the outside, but it was actually extremely hard. She had been sleeping inside for hundreds of years without ever waking up once, which was enough to prove how safe it was.

It's safer if the crows are inside.

Thinking this, a slight smile appeared on her face.

In her first life, when she was still a princess of the Tianyu Clan, she was a fledgling phoenix who mistakenly believed that love was her lifelong commitment. So she followed her lover—the then-first lord of the Demon Realm—back to the Demon Realm without hesitation. As a rebellious youth, she had no contact with the Tianyu Clan for hundreds of years.

Later, she realized that she seemed to have willingly flown into a gilded cage called "love".

The Celestial Feather Clan is immortal, therefore they need to control their birth rate. Only the clan leader and their partner have the ability to reproduce, and each generation can lay a maximum of three eggs. She was not the clan leader of the Celestial Feather Clan. Her status as a princess had faded as she had not contacted the clan for too long. At that time, the Demon Realm even used this title as a way to mock her.

Her husband loves her very much, that's undeniable, even though she is unable to have children.

But as time went on, she gradually realized that this was not the life she wanted.

As a bird born to be free, she is more suited to soaring in the boundless sky, flying and spreading her wings freely, rather than being imprisoned in the cage of love, rather than repeating her day-to-day life in this dark and hopeless purgatory.

She once thought that without love, she would have nothing, but now she regrets it and realizes that love is the thing that truly makes her lose everything.

She wanted to leave, but the perpetually turbulent demon realm wouldn't give her that chance.

The war between gods and demons has broken out.

She disliked war, yet she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased by its start—it meant the Demon Realm was not stable, and perhaps she could take advantage of the chaos to leave and return to the world she longed for.

But she didn't even have time to properly plan her life after she was gone.

Tragedy struck her; she died from a hail of arrows.

After his death, the Demon Lord nearly went mad. The battle ended with heavy casualties on both the divine and demonic realms, but some people could not return.

The Demon Lord spent his days weeping and researching ancient forbidden arts in an attempt to resurrect her, but to no avail. His body gradually weakened under the daily experiments, and he had no time to attend to the fact that his subordinates were all plotting rebellion.

Just then, a phoenix cry rang out from outside the Demon Palace.

The Demon Lord looked up and recognized the newcomer.

The current patriarch of the Tianyu Clan is Ya Feiyu.

He was also his deceased wife's brother.