After three weeks, a shockwave pulsed through the magma sea, blowing away the sheets of viscous, semi-molten material. A crater formed in the lake, which now vibrated, resonating with the sword force humming inside the magma chamber.
At the points where this sword force emanated — black and white motes of sword energy — the natural Laws of fire unraveled and came undone, collapsing into a more refined essence that poured into the crater, funneling into the furnace of a monstrous transformation.
From an outside perspective, an expert might define the presence of the focal points of sword energy, and the mechanism behind the essence that fueled this cultivation method as that of a Qi Focusing Formation; however, no expert on the Sky Continent would have ever thought of a formation like this, or considered it possible.
Using sword energy to dismantle natural laws and process them into a denser energy medium than the Qi of Heaven and Earth was unthinkable for many good reasons. The first, and most significant hurdle, was that it required an extremely potent sword force, a glimpse of the Sword Law, and a martial art with a law greater than nature’s own.
[ Current realm: Foundation Establishment (Early stage) ]
[ Lifespan: 120 years -> 240 years. ]
[ Due to forming a Foundation with more than nine pillars, lifespan is severely diminished. ]
[ Lifespan: 240 years -> 80 years.]
[ Due to forming a Foundation with eighteen pillars, lifespan remains unchanged. ]
[ Lifespan: 80 years -> 240 years. ]
[ Projected increase of Heaven’s wrath: 890% ]
[ Lifespan: 240 years -> 44 years. ]
Lightning burst through the lava, dancing into the rising smoke. Stray motes of sword energy blew chunks into the molten liquid and even the chamber walls. Then, the lightning crashed down, cascading across the sea of molten rock.
A hand reached out of the sea of magma and grabbed the ledge of the central platform. Slowly, Zhu Xuelian pulled herself out of the magma, stark-naked, and collapsed into a ball.
Her teeth clattered together, her whole body shivering, as she coughed up mouthful after mouthful of molten lava. Though her flesh didn’t burn in the lava, going from the heat of the magma sea to the relatively freezing temperature of the nearly water-boiling atmosphere was, perhaps, one of the most unpleasant experiences she ever had.
But even so, she was elated.
She never truly thought of her lifespan as a number. She was always aware of how many years she had left to live, like everyone else, but never with this kind of precision. It all just seemed like a distant thing. Even the final reduction to forty-four years didn’t bother her. She was only nineteen now, and she would die at thirty-eight if she didn’t kill Lu Long, as Eternal Red demanded. Those remaining six years were worthless to her, anyway.
But the fact that her lifespan reduced was proof enough that her method worked — at least she hoped it did. Her lifespan became Yaoyue’s. It may not be worth much to Yaoyue, but if she kept cultivating — if she kept following the blueprint that Yaoyue left for her — eventually, perhaps she could buy enough time for Yaoyue to wake.
Her idea was on the desperate side, but she had to try. A phoenix, among other things, was closely related to the concept of rebirth, and her Physique was a derivative of Yaoyue’s own physical blueprint. Yaoyue no longer possessed a mortal vessel, discarded during the crossing of the boundary during the Eternal Red incident, so it made sense to Zhu Xuelian that she would be a suitable sheath, and, in this way, link her vitality to Yaoyue's. At worst, she would die; but if it succeeded, then perhaps her phoenix origin, with its great vitality, could mend and nurture Yaoyue.
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Or so she thought. She didn't expect it would work this well.
She coughed again, and a chain of diamond-shaped links, made of black jade, spilled over her shoulder and onto the platform. Surprised, she reached out to touch the chain, and it cut into her fingers. She winced, then blinked, even more surprised.
She hadn’t been cut in a long time, thanks to her Physique, but this chain, which didn’t even appear sharp, did so easily.
Carefully this time, she handled the chain and followed its links to the back of her head, where she found the base of another chain just like it.
Her body changed again. She had braids now — if they could be called braids. But that was not the only different thing.
Though she didn’t look any different, she felt different in ways she could not accurately describe. She wasn’t stronger, or faster, or tougher — no, none of those things. It just felt as if her body was made of swords, not flesh and blood. Despite this feeling, her flesh was still smooth, pale, and soft to the touch, and paradoxically as tough as black jade, just as it had always been.
Her nails also glittered in the light, now, like precious stones. Her lips were redder. Her hair was darker. Some of these things she could explain as benefits of cultivating Salvation Ashes.
But most importantly, she felt Yaoyue.
Until then, its presence was always there but weak and distant. Now, it felt as though it responded to her — as if it showed signs of life and was part of her, not merely linked to her life vessel. Though, to Zhu Xuelian, this presence felt gentle and soothing, in truth, she would describe it as a vast emptiness of destined death — like a supreme sword that decided the fate of all.
Though she had lost her cultivation, she did not regret it. Now, she was also grateful that she did, because the increase in lifespan could become Yaoyue's. She also had a perfect blueprint of what it should look like — she had seen the form of herself that would be most useful to Yaoyue. The first time they broke through to the Foundation together, they nearly died forming a set of Foundation Pillars.
Yaoyue even went against the will of Heaven to form more than nine pillars and was punished by Tribulation lightning. To this day, Zhu Xuelian did not know how they survived that breakthrough.
Back then, thinking she would die so that Yaoyue may form a perfect set of pillars, she gave herself to her fate because she was grateful to Yaoyue. She was convinced that, in that life, she would never get her revenge or recover her dignity, so perhaps, as part of Yaoyue, she could do the things she couldn’t accomplish in life.
However, she did not die back then, and when she regained consciousness, unexpectedly, she gained this Physique — Black Jade Lily Empress — and fifteen Foundation Pillars, at the cost of Yaoyue’s lifespan.
Yaoyue had sacrificed for her.
Again.
Even if back then she could not become fuel for Yaoyue’s foundation, now, she could finally prove that it was not all in vain by becoming fertile soil for Yaoyue’s resurrection. She owed a great debt to Yaoyue; not merely for lifting her out of that despair, but also for the many times Yaoyue sacrificed its precious lifespan for her. Now, she felt like she could finally return the favor. Someone with the origin of a phoenix, surely, must have a very, very long life.
Every sacrifice of lifespan Yaoyue made to help her — if she could return it, and double it, or triple it, then maybe… just maybe…
Eighteen Foundation Pillars, and a perfect black core. Both were things that were unheard of in the world. Cultivating more than nine pillars broke the laws of Heaven and made one an enemy of Heaven. A black core — she had never even heard of such a thing. All cores were gold, and formed of the five elemental qi of Heaven’s phases; Fire, Wood, Earth, Metal, and Water.
But the one Yaoyue gave to her, in the past, was formed of metal, and the higher laws of the Space attribute, inherent in her only remaining — and unusable — martial art: Fractured Sword.
As for the brief moment she achieved a Nascent Soul cultivation, she wasn’t conscious to observe it, so she didn’t know anything about it.
As she stared into the magma below, where her mortal, human self perished, Zhu Xuelian hummed happily and thrust a finger through one of the chain links, spinning her braid in a circle; another gift of Yaoyue that she treasured. Sword, saint, or devil, it didn't matter what she became, as long as she could travel the road with Yaoyue again.
"Just wait a little bit longer," she whispered. "Didn't we say we would either reach the apex together or not at all? Don't blame this Zhu Xuelian if she drags you back from the underworld so we can keep this promise."
