’No wonder Ding Zihu was the only one to find this place after so many years.’
Standing atop the cliff of this unremarkable peak, Han Yuan couldn’t help but shake his head.
He looked up to see countless towering peaks before him, blotting out the sky. It didn’t give him that feeling of looking down on all the other mountains.
However, a long time had passed since Ding Zihu had taken the Black Phoenix Pearl.
So, naturally, no one came to this Nirvana Cliff anymore.
After all, the Black Phoenix Pearl had been taken.
The cliff no longer held any significance, and no one would go out of their way to find it.
’Before the Chaotic Ancient Era, it’s said that many powerful Exotic Beasts existed.’
’The Fat Thief was one of them... Could the Black Phoenix have been an Exotic Beast as well... or something else entirely?’
Han Yuan’s eyes glinted.
He began to slowly climb down the face of Nirvana Cliff.
After descending about five meters, Han Yuan spotted a pitch-black cave entrance.
Without hesitating, he pushed off with both hands and, as if on a swing, launched himself directly into the opening.
The entrance led into a long, deep tunnel.
After walking through the tunnel, Han Yuan emerged into an immense cavern.
The cavern was vast and empty, containing nothing at all.
It had looked the same when Ding Zihu first arrived in this cavern.
The only difference was that he had picked up a black pearl from the ground.
Despite this, Han Yuan explored the entire cave. After confirming there was nothing else, he took out the Black Phoenix Pearl and sat cross-legged in the center of the cavern.
’Since the Black Phoenix Pearl was left behind here, it means the Black Phoenix must have undergone its Nirvana Rebirth in this very cavern.’
’There must be some traces... or rather, ripples... left over from back then.’
’Just like how the Ancient God Stone radiates the Dharma Platform.’
What Han Yuan had to do was try to enter the ripples of the Black Phoenix Pearl once more and see what, if anything, would change.
VMMMMM...
As Han Yuan infused his consciousness into the Black Phoenix Pearl, he once again found himself in that void-like world, heavy with the aura of death.
But this time, he saw a light.
A dark light...
To be precise, it was a mass of black flame.
An illusory yet magnificent mass of black flame, shaped like a black lotus.
Though the black flame also felt heavy with death, Han Yuan could sense a sliver of life force within it.
In a trance, he felt as if the black flame were incubating some form of life.
’Is this the scene of the Black Phoenix’s rebirth from the flames all those years ago?’
Han Yuan mused.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to simply immerse his consciousness into the mass of black flame.
Countless scenes flashed through his mind.
Countless years ago, a Phoenix wreathed in black flames descended from the starry cosmos, landing in the Wutong Mountain Range.
This Black Phoenix was ancient and on the verge of death. It landed on a random peak, carved out this very cavern, and immediately perished.
The dead Black Phoenix’s corpse did not decay. Instead, it underwent a wondrous transformation, gradually turning into a mass of black flame that resembled a black lotus.
This mass of flame gave off no heat. On the contrary, it felt faintly chilling as it burned silently within the cave.
It burned like this for several thousand years...
Until, finally, one day...
A Black Phoenix was reborn from within the black flames. It flapped its wings once more and departed from this world.
’So the Black Phoenix wasn’t a native creature of this world... It just randomly chose a place for its rebirth and happened to land in the Wutong Mountain Range.’
Han Yuan gradually processed these images.
For certain powerful and ancient beings, interstellar travel posed no difficulty at all.
Over such a vast expanse of time, many other ancient beings had likely visited this world.
The people of this world simply never realized it.
And these ancient beings never interfered, leaving behind only a few legends.
That is, until the arrival of the founder of the Immortal Sects, who dragged the entire world into an immense quagmire of chaos.
’Those visions only showed me what happened; they didn’t contain any profound essence of life and death.’
’How am I supposed to comprehend it?’
Han Yuan muttered to himself.
The next moment, he withdrew from the mental space and returned to the real world.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, his mind replaying the visions over and over.
He focused especially on the moment after the old Black Phoenix died and completely transformed into a mass of black flame.
Han Yuan constantly contemplated the profound meaning hidden within that vision...
Again and again, he replayed it.
Gradually, an inkling of understanding began to form in his mind.
After sorting through his thoughts, Han Yuan left the Wutong Mountain Range.
....
「Yan Province, Ancient River Town.」
It was a town with a long and storied history, with a river flowing through it.
One day, a young man named Han Bai arrived in town and opened a small wine shop.
He didn’t choose a spot in the bustling town center, but rather a quiet, out-of-the-way alley.
After several days of being open, he hadn’t had a single customer.
But Han Bai wasn’t anxious in the slightest. He spent his days brewing wine, and sometimes he would even help the neighbors look after their children and the like.
"Brother Han, why did you open your wine shop here?"
"My dad said you won’t get any business opening a shop here."
A thirteen-year-old boy with a simple, honest face asked.
His name was Li Santong, and he lived not far from the wine shop.
Children from poor families learn to be responsible at a young age.
The boy now ran errands, delivered messages, and did other odd jobs around town.
Whenever he didn’t have work, he would come to the wine shop to chat with Han Bai.