The clinking of broken chains echoed through the quiet void.
"Of all the people in the heavenly realm," Demon Emperor Yang said as the last link fell to the ground, "I never thought you would be the first to give up on the upper realm after protecting it for so long."
"Haaah…" Taiyi exhaled, as if the sigh had carried the weight of a decade. His gaze was calm, his voice even.
"I am not giving up on the heavenly realm. I'm giving it a chance… to rise again."
To him, the fall of heaven was not a tragedy—it was simply an inevitability.
"It seems that person has already been born," Demon Emperor Yang said, his eyes glinting with curiosity. "Back then, you sacrificed your emotions and stepped outside destiny's control just to reverse her fate. You even tied heaven's fate to your own. Was it really worth it?"
For the first time, Yang saw something in Taiyi's face—an expression filled with longing, and the faintest trace of love—quickly masked, but there nonetheless.
"Haaah… how can a person truly erase their emotions?" Yang continued. "Even though you cultivated the Heartless Way, it seems you failed. This trial of yours… it's related to her, isn't it?" He sipped from the tea Taiyi had poured.
"That is none of your concern," Taiyi replied, standing. "Next time we meet, I hope you will not disappoint me. The peak is cold and lonely, Yang. I have no desire to walk the same road again."
He took two steps, then stopped without turning around.
"Even if the heavens are destined to fall, I will make sure they suffer for coveting what I wish to protect. It is time for the ancestral gods to go extinct… perhaps this will be the last era they exist."
His figure shimmered, breaking apart and dissolving into the fabric of space itself.
---
In the Fire Realm…
The young phoenix Feng Jiu sat beside the Phoenix Holy Grounds, lost in a daze.
"Little Jiu, did you sneak out of the Fire Realm again?" a middle-aged man asked.
"No, Fourth Uncle! Who told you that? Someone's framing me!" Feng Jiu declared with the earnestness of a wrongly accused saint.
"Mm-hmm," her uncle replied, unconvinced. "Your mother has summoned you to her palace."
[Damn it. I'm doomed. Mother's calling me. I'm dead.] She clutched her forehead. "Uncle, I'm… unwell. Please inform Mother I'll visit when I've recovered."
"Young lady," her uncle said dryly, "you need better excuses. Your mother said you are to be dragged to the palace—half dead or alive, unconscious or conscious. Your choice."
Her act crumbled instantly. Head bowed, she followed obediently, knowing she was in trouble.
---
The Queen's Palace—known as the Pink Palace—was wreathed in blooming pink flames and perfumed blossoms. Even from a distance, Feng Jiu trembled. She was unruly everywhere else, but in front of her parents she was as meek as a lamb.
A soft, deceptively gentle voice drifted from inside:
"Young girl, will you stand outside forever, or will you come in?"
[She's angry.] Feng Jiu straightened her robes and entered.
"Mother," she greeted, bowing low.
On her throne sat Phoenix Queen Feng Qin, a warm smile playing on her lips—though to Feng Jiu, it was the smile of a predator.
"Mother, your unfilial daughter comes to pay her respects," Feng Jiu said, still kneeling.
"Where were you a few hours ago, when I was looking for you?" Feng Qin asked.
"I was… reading. In the library," Feng Jiu replied, fighting the tremor in her voice.
"Hmph! You think you're grown up now? That you can deceive me?"
"I wouldn't dare!"
"You wouldn't dare? Good. It seems you have grown bold because I spoiled you rotten," Feng Qin said, her golden eyes narrowing.
"Please calm your anger, Your Majesty," the maids pleaded.
But Feng Qin ignored them. "Your father has spoken with the previous emperor, Song Taiyi. He has agreed to take you as his disciple. Pack your belongings immediately. You will go to the Celestial Realm and settle in the Purple Palace. Behave yourself. Do not embarrass the Fire Realm."
"Yes, Mother!" Feng Jiu fled to prepare, relief and excitement replacing her dread.
She had admired Taiyi for as long as she could remember, even shaping her studies to match his areas of mastery. Once, she had even dreamed of repaying the life-saving debt she owed him—now fate was handing her the chance.
---
That same day, she departed for the Celestial Realm, escorted by her mother's power.
Taiyi had not yet returned, but his little fox spirit had already arrived and, per instructions, received the new disciple. Feng Jiu quickly bonded with the fox—especially over playing pranks. The Purple Palace, once tranquil, grew lively.
Her fame, already notable, soared when news spread that she was Taiyi's disciple.
---
"Little fox, when will Master be back?" Feng Jiu asked one afternoon, munching on a fruit.
"I don't know. And stop calling me 'little fox.' I'm older than you," he replied irritably.
"Then tell me your name!"
"It's Lord Fox, not little fox. You damn bird."
"Little fox, how dare you call a mighty phoenix a damn bird? You're asking for a beating!" She cracked her knuckles.
"Hmph! I won't stoop to the level of lowly birds," he said, puffing out his chest.
"It seems you're really asking for a beating," she growled.
"Do you think I fear you?" he shot back.
The Purple Palace rang with the sounds of bickering—its halls brighter and warmer than they had been in years.
The cold palace was coming to life once again but who knew till when will this last. The undercurrents were surging and the palace was certainly in the eyes of the storm.
---