The grand hall of the Phoenix Palace was eerily silent. No courtiers, no guards — just the vast marble expanse and the oppressive heat of the sacred flames that danced along the high columns. The golden phoenix mural above seemed to watch, its eyes alight with an ancient hunger.
At the far end of the hall, Empress Zhao Ying sat upon her throne, draped in crimson robes that shimmered like molten fire. The golden crown upon her head curved into phoenix wings, framing her face in regal arrogance. Her lips curled into a faint, knowing smile as Liu Shen and Yu Meixing stepped inside.
"Demon Sovereign," she greeted, her voice like warm honey poured over a dagger's edge. "You've taken your time."
Liu Shen's gaze swept the room. Every entrance had been sealed. The temperature was steadily climbing — a trap hidden within the very palace walls. He didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he studied her aura, noting the flickering strands of golden-red qi coiling around her like serpents.
"You've been expecting me," he finally said.
Zhao Ying's smile widened. "Naturally. I know what you seek — the Heartflame Chalice. And I know you've already guessed the truth."
The Heartflame Chalice… the legendary relic said to contain the First Phoenix's undying essence. Liu Shen had expected the search to involve trials or guardians — but the Empress herself sitting here, waiting, meant one thing: she was the guardian.
"You're not guarding it for your empire," Liu Shen said coldly. "You're guarding it for the heavens."
For the briefest moment, her eyes flashed with something — guilt? No, not guilt. Calculation.
"The heavens…" she murmured, resting her chin on her knuckles. "Do you know how many empires have burned to ash trying to defy them? You speak of rebellion as though it were inevitable. But I've seen empires fall — I've seen families torn apart — and all because someone thought themselves greater than the will of the skies."
Yu Meixing's expression darkened. "So you serve them out of fear."
Zhao Ying chuckled softly. "Fear? Perhaps once. But now, I serve them because it is the winning side."
Liu Shen took a slow step forward, and with each step, the oppressive heat seemed to bend around him. "The 'winning side' is only the one that hasn't yet lost. And you, Empress, are playing a dangerous game — because the heavens do not reward loyalty. They reward obedience… until you're no longer useful."
Her smile froze for a fraction of a second.
Liu Shen continued, voice as sharp as steel. "Let me guess. They've promised you ascension. Told you that if you keep the Heartflame Chalice safe, you'll rise to the Immortal Realms."
A faint twitch in her fingers was all the confirmation he needed.
"They won't let you ascend," Liu Shen said flatly. "They'll strip the Chalice from you and erase your name from history."
Zhao Ying's hand tightened on the armrest of her throne. "And you would have me betray the will of the heavens to follow you? A man the entire celestial court wants dead?"
Liu Shen's lips curved into a small, dangerous smile. "Not follow me. Join me. And live."
The flames along the hall flared violently. "You think you can threaten me here, in my palace?" Zhao Ying's voice rang out, imbued with the full weight of her cultivation. The golden phoenix mural above them blazed to life, and a massive spectral phoenix descended, its wings stretching across the hall, the air trembling with its heat.
Yu Meixing's hand went to her weapon, but Liu Shen raised his own slightly — a silent signal.
He looked up at the spectral phoenix and then back at Zhao Ying. "You're already trapped in the heavens' cage. I'm offering you the key."
The Empress hesitated. Just a flicker.
And in that flicker, Liu Shen knew she wasn't entirely theirs.
But hesitation was not surrender — and the next instant, the phoenix screamed and dove for him, flames roaring like a tidal wave.
The hall erupted in battle.