Love & Redemption
Chapter 247: The Final Volume: I am Liuli - Six: Enlightenment (Part Five)

Chapter 247: The Final Volume: I am Liuli - Six: Enlightenment (Part Five)

The second update.

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The phoenix is known as the king of birds and, just like the dragon, is cherished by the people in the mortal world as the most beloved Divine Beast. With birds paying homage to the phoenix and the dragon and phoenix bringing auspicious omens, not one symbol doesn’t represent the human longing for a life of prosperity and happiness.

However, for demons, the feeling is entirely different. As birds paying homage to the phoenix, they, the Golden Winged Birds, are also among the birds. How could they be an exception? From their very souls to their blood, from their bones to the tips of their hair, an innate fear exists. To them, the phoenix is not at all a symbol of auspicious prosperity. Seeing a phoenix is like staring at death itself.

Yu Sifeng was still barely holding on, but Liu Yihuan had long since collapsed to the ground, curled up and prostrate with a forehead slick with cold sweat, his whole body paralyzed by an intangible pressure that made it impossible for him to move. "Brother!" he cried out, reaching out to help him up, only to find that his own knees had softened, having reached his limit; he involuntarily knelt on the ground, unable to even move his fingers.

Xuanji urged, "It’s just a big bird! What are you afraid of?"

Liu Yihuan said with difficulty, "Little Xuanji, to you... it may just be a big bird, and you might even imagine it as a giant roast chicken without any problem... but for us... that is the natural enemy, the bane of our existence..."

Only then did Xuanji remember that they were Golden Winged Birds. No matter the bird, whether a demon or not, no matter how powerful the cultivated demon was, they would all be at a loss upon seeing a phoenix. The feeling must be similar to how a mouse feels when it sees a cat, unsure of what to do.

She gritted her teeth slightly, darting forward to stand in front of the two. Bengyu formed a net of fire in the air, blazing fiercely. Liu Yihuan exclaimed, "It’s no use, haven’t you heard of the phoenix’s rebirth from the ashes? How could it be afraid of fire!"

In the midst of their conversation, the phoenix had already flown near, clearly contemptuous of the firewall. It raised its head and let out a clear cry, and in that instant, it was as though the music of the immortals had struck, with bronze chimes, pipes, flutes, and zithers... an amalgamation of countless wonderful sounds mixed together, truly making one feel carefree and happy. No wonder people say that the phoenix’s cry is like the music of the heavens; it truly is a heavenly sound!

Xuanji stamped her foot hard and shouted, "If I can’t burn it to death, I’ll chop it to death!"

With a wave of her Bengyu, the firewall instantly fell down, covering the area around Yu Sifeng and Liu Yihuan—turns out she was being careful for once, afraid that the Divine Witch would take the opportunity to turn back and attack them again, so she used the firewall to protect them. Seeing her brimming with killing intent and about to leap into action, Yu Sifeng immediately urged, "Xuanji! Don’t kill everyone you see! Remember why we came here! We didn’t come to slaughter!"

Of course, she understood Si Feng’s meaning, but if she didn’t kill it, she would be killed by it! Surely she wasn’t expected to just wait for it to come and kill her? Xuanji flew up with Sword Control, circling the huge phoenix whose form was like a dream, indeed there could be no bird more beautiful than it.

She suddenly felt somewhat dejected. Why must she incessantly engage in killing? From her past life to this one, whoever stood in her way or opposed her, she would not hesitate to think of murder as the first solution. Couldn’t there be another way? After all, what meaning would there be in killing her way to the presence of the Heavenly Emperor?

She finally understood Yu Sifeng’s words.

She had to learn methods other than slaughter. For instance, faced with such a beautiful and wondrous Divine Beast, why couldn’t she try to live in peace with it? Subjugation earned through killing could never be heartfelt. She could bare her true feelings for Yu Sifeng, so why be stingy with the same genuine human kindness towards others?

Xuanji put away the Bengyu and also tucked away the murderous intent at the bottom of her heart, striving to circle around the phoenix with a peaceful and even appreciative demeanor, tactfully obstructing its attempts to fly towards Yu Sifeng and the others. After circling for nearly half an hour, it seemed the phoenix was finally moved by her patience and turned its head to pay attention to the girl who had been revolving around it.

Seeing the long feathers trailing behind it, Xuanji couldn’t help but reach out to touch them. The feathers were enveloped in flames that shifted in color, which is why they looked so dreamy and illusory. Apart from Xuanji, probably no one else dared to touch a phoenix’s feathers with bare hands. The phoenix, too, had almost never been touched like this and was initially shaken, staring at her with a mix of wariness and emotion.

Xuanji revealed a silly smile towards it and shrugged, saying, "The touch... feels good. You’re really beautiful so I couldn’t help but touch you..."

The phoenix let out a low cry, like pearls gently falling onto a Liuli plate, particularly pleasant to the ear. Xuanji laughed and said, "Don’t be angry, I mean no harm. I’m here just to see the Heavenly Emperor."

She rambled on to it regardless of whether it understood or not, talking about not having any intention of rebellion, wanting to enjoy life in the human world, and starting anew as a true person—just some trivial daughterly nonsense. Towards the end, the phoenix seemed to get impatient, chirped dismissively, turned its head and was about to fly back, no longer willing to stay with this odd girl.

Xuanji was overjoyed, jumping onto it and hugging it tightly, rubbing vigorously. Startled by her actions, the phoenix’s feathers stood on end and its clear, bright eyes stared roundly at her. After staring for a while, it seemed to soften a bit, raised its head to let out a high-pitched cry, beat its wings thrice, gently shook Xuanji off, looked back at her, nodded slightly, and finally flew far away.

As Xuanji landed back on the ground, still so excited that her legs went weak, she dropped the fire net and tightly hugged Yu Sifeng, exclaiming, "Si Feng! Look, look! I didn’t kill it! I persuaded it!"

She finally understood what it felt like to persuade others without slaughter—peacefully, earnestly, candidly, on equal footing... no one higher or lower, stronger or weaker, nor a need to result in a life or death struggle. Yes, candor, only through genuine interaction, is the true essence of relation.

Like with all her loved ones around her, with Liu Yihuan, with Wuzhiqi, with Tengshe, with Zi Hu... she couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized it sooner! The power of the War God General might be terrifying, but she no longer wished to be that cold and heartless general. She wanted to be Chu Xuanji, a true human being. As long as she kept using the power of the War God, she could never shake off the shadows of her past life, which she finally understood.

Yu Sifeng patted her back, stroking gently and finally smoothing out the fur of this wild cat. The two looked at each other, both smiling. Liu Yihuan coughed loudly on the side and said, "Broad daylight, mind you! Am I invisible here?"

This time, Xuanji didn’t blush. Instead, she turned around and hugged him, while Liu Yihuan supported her shoulders in surprise and joy, and chuckled, "Such a big child, and still so coquettish!"

With a smile, Xuanji helped both of them up from the ground and said with a laugh, "Let’s go! Let’s go inside! I know what to say to the Heavenly Emperor! I’ve thought of all the words!"

Liu Yihuan asked curiously, "What words? What do you plan to say to His Venerable Self when you see him?"

Xuanji was about to speak when suddenly a gentle laugh came from the sky, different from the old man’s voice from before, bright and tender. The three of them were stunned when suddenly a white light descended from above, enveloping Yu Sifeng within it. This light was completely different from the one that had taken Zi Hu away; it looked more like the sunlight falling from the sky. Yu Sifeng stood within it, his expression one of astonishment, not yet understanding what was happening.

Xuanji quickly reached out to grab him, but the light was stronger than any wall of bronze and iron, and no matter how much she patted and struck, she couldn’t break it. Yu Sifeng looked up at the sky, his brows gradually relaxing, a mixture of surprise and amazement on his face, his body slowly turning into mist, dissipating right before their eyes, leaving not a single trace behind.

This scared Xuanji and Liu Yihuan out of their wits. The two of them searched frantically around the gate for a long time, but couldn’t find a single sign. Xuanji said with a trembling voice, "Is it... the Divine Witch?! He took Si Feng away!"

Seeing her expression change, Liu Yihuan worried that the joy she had felt earlier had suddenly shifted, and she might be a bit off, so he hurriedly said, "It wasn’t the Divine Witch! I heard the laughter earlier; it didn’t seem to have any ill intent. I guess some immortal from heaven took a fancy to Si Feng and invited him over for tea. Don’t panic! That kid’s clever enough, he’ll be fine!"

He himself wasn’t sure and was worried to death, but he was even more afraid that Xuanji might do something rash. If she were to have an episode and burst in front of the Heavenly Emperor, wouldn’t their previous efforts have been in vain?

Xuanji stood motionless for a while, her heart thumping erratically, her killing intent flickering in and out of existence. One moment she couldn’t help but want to erupt and kill her way upwards, the next she forcibly suppressed it, her hands trembling slightly, her face alternating between red and white.

After what seemed like an eternity, she took a deep breath, and her face gradually calmed down. After a long pause, she finally said, "Brother Liu, let’s go find the Heavenly Emperor. Si Feng must have been taken away by him; we should speak to him and make things clear."

Liu Yihuan let out a sigh of relief and said happily, "If you can think like this, then nothing could be better! Xuanji, don’t forget what Si Feng told you." Calmness, honesty, and peace—she must learn these three things if she wanted to truly grow and become a real person, not just an instrument of slaughter.

Xuanji nodded silently, and after a few steps, she suddenly said, "Brother Liu, I understand what you all are saying. But a lot of the time, I really don’t know what those feelings are supposed to be like. For example, before I met Si Feng, I would never have understood what it was to fall in love. So many feelings are just a blur... Tengshe said that I am heartless; could that really be true?"

Liu Yihuan sighed and said, "Why take his angry words to heart? Even if you are heartless, can’t you create a new one?"

Create a new one? Xuanji looked back at him blankly, and Liu Yihuan made faces and grimaced at her without saying a word. Seeing her still puzzled, he shook his head and said, "Silly child, isn’t the progress from being a mere killer to understanding how to stay calm in life the creation of a new heart?"

She appeared to understand but not quite grasp his meaning. After thinking for a long time, she finally let out a long sigh, and said softly, "I will try my best, to learn how to be a person."

Liu Yihuan patted her shoulder, and the two finally bypassed the Kaiming Beast sleeping in front of the gate and went through the colossal Kaiming Gate. After they entered, the Kaiming Gate boomed shut and slowly vanished from its place.

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Title: "Mermaid Envious Immortal" Book ID: 1038638

"My dear, I’ve searched for you for more than two thousand years, and finally, I’ve found you!" he said tenderly to her.

"I’m only two hundred and twenty years old; you’re tricking me, aren’t you?" she asked doubtfully, looking at the person before her.

"Could it be that you truly forgot our promise from a past life?"

...

The magnificent silver-haired Dragon King, the proud Human Clan Prince, the comical young Fox Clan boy, and a Queen of the Night flower, each one of them a great handsome fellow. But when the mermaid heroine flicks her tail, she says, "I want to cultivate; you all stand aside!"

...

Who says only a pair of mandarin ducks envies the immortals, she envies the immortals too! She vows to pursue cultivation to the very end! (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)