“Teacher, that’s a strange thing to say. This is our first time meeting, how can we talk about trust?” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
“I want to save this Vermilion Bird,” Venerable Nu sighed, then continued, “If we wait until the Heavenly Dao Academy is destroyed, it will be too late to use the Life Leaf. Give it to me first. I keep my word without fail.”
“This Vermilion Bird must be very important to you?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Important. Extremely important,” Venerable Nu replied without the slightest hesitation.
Xu Zimo stepped into the sea of Southern Luminous Fire, the demonic energy around his body surging to form a protective barrier.
As he slowly approached the gravestone, he saw a few large characters carved into it: “Grave of my beloved wife, Nan Yue.”
“Your wife?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
“What’s with all the questions?” Venerable Nu said with a heavy tone. “If you’re not willing to give it, then forget it.”
“Then I’ll trust you this once,” Xu Zimo said. “Either way, I’m getting into the Treasure Tower.”
When Xu Zimo once again took out the Life Leaf, Venerable Nu took a deep breath.
“Rest assured, I keep my word. Even if it costs me my life, I’ll help you get in.”
“I’m not sure, given the Vermilion Bird’s current state, if a single Life Leaf can save it,” Xu Zimo said thoughtfully.
If the Vermilion Bird had only just been injured, a single Life Leaf might have been enough. But it had been here for nearly a hundred years, its body rotting away.
It was only because the Vermilion Bird was a God Beast, with the everlasting Southern Luminous Fire that burned all things, and because of Venerable Nu’s care over the years, that it had managed to hang on until now.
“Then do you have any ideas?” Venerable Nu asked urgently.
“Let me take a look first,” Xu Zimo said.
Venerable Nu nodded.
Led by Venerable Nu, the two walked toward the depths of the sea of fire.
The flames rolled like thick clouds, parting in the middle to leave a wide path.
When they reached the innermost area, a crystal altar appeared before them.
The crystal was completely natural, crystal-clear, and radiating rich spiritforce.
Inside the crystal lay a blood-red heart wrapped in white flames.
Thump... thump... thump, the faint sound of its weak heartbeat could be heard.
Around it grew many herbs, all of them plants that boosted vitality and life force.
Xu Zimo slowly approached the heart, demonic energy surging from his hands and covering its surface.
Seeing Venerable Nu’s worried look, he smiled. “I’m just checking, nothing will happen.”
After inspecting it, Xu Zimo found that the Vermilion Bird’s heart was even weaker than he had imagined.
Many of its blood vessels were already necrotic, making reconnection to the outside body impossible.
At this point, it was an isolated organ. Reviving the Vermilion Bird with it would be very difficult. Extremely difficult.
“How is it?” Venerable Nu asked with a sigh.
“It can be saved, but it will be difficult,” Xu Zimo replied.
“You can save it?” A light of hope flashed in Venerable Nu’s eyes, his voice a little excited.
He himself had no way forward. Asking for the Life Leaf had only been a desperate attempt.
“The Vermilion Bird is a fire-aligned beast, guardian of the far south,” Xu Zimo said. “Its true flame may not have the rebirth properties of the Phoenix’s Nirvana Fire, but with the Life Leaf as an aid, being reborn from the flames is not impossible.”
“What should I do?” Venerable Nu asked quickly.
“Prepare a grand formation to absorb the power of the sun. Three days from now, during the night of extreme yin, fuse it with the Southern Luminous Fire,” Xu Zimo said. “That should give at least a fifty percent chance of success. As for what kind of formation to use to absorb the sun’s power, that’s your problem.”
“I understand,” Venerable Nu nodded slightly.
“All right, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand. “I’ll be back in three days.”
Watching Xu Zimo’s departing figure, Venerable Nu didn’t stop him, only quietly murmured, “Thank you.”
...
Leaving the sea of Southern Luminous Fire, Xu Zimo returned to the smithy.
Rock Solid was still hammering away tirelessly, the “clang, clang, clang” of his work echoing nonstop.
“Where did you go?” Rock Solid asked quickly when he saw Xu Zimo appear. “I forgot to tell you, there are some places on Vermilion Bird Island you can’t go to.”
“I met the teacher,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
“Ah?” Rock Solid froze, then quickly asked, “Don’t tell me you went there?”
“Oh? Looks like you know quite a bit,” Xu Zimo said with a grin.
“I don’t know anything. Nothing at all,” Rock Solid said, waving his hands.
“I saw the Vermilion Bird’s heart and agreed to help save it,” Xu Zimo said directly, without hiding anything.
“No way, the teacher didn’t throw you out?” Rock Solid looked him over, disbelief in his eyes.
“I have the Life Leaf,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
“No wonder,” Rock Solid put down the sword blank he was working on, sighed slightly, and sat down beside Xu Zimo. “To be honest, if you have the ability, please help the teacher. We’ll remember the favor for life.”
“What’s the story with that Vermilion Bird?” Xu Zimo asked.
“To be precise, she should be our teacher’s wife,” Rock Solid said.
Seeing Xu Zimo’s puzzled look, Rock Solid fell into thought.
“Our Heavenly Dao Academy teaches without discrimination. Among our students are not only humans, but also demons, gods, cultivators of the Dao, titans, and even people of the Dark Primordial Race. It’s said that when our teacher, Venerable Nu, was young, he once saved a Vermilion Bird during his travels. Over time, even the teacher himself forgot about it. No one expected that, after cultivating for tens of thousands of years, that Vermilion Bird would take human form and come to the Heavenly Dao Academy. She passed the entrance trials and became a disciple under the teacher.”
“And then?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
“She never revealed her true identity, and they simply stayed together as teacher and student,” Rock Solid explained. “But no one expected that they would, by some twist of fate, fall in love.
“Although the teacher loved her deeply, he never spoke openly about it and felt very conflicted.”
“Because she was from the beast race?” Xu Zimo asked.
“No, because they were teacher and student,” Rock Solid shook his head. “The teacher values his reputation and feared gossip, so he always hovered on the edge of indecision. Shimu didn’t mind and simply stayed by his side. One hundred years ago, the teacher suddenly came back from outside covered in blood, barely alive. At that time, he was already on the verge of death. The dean personally treated him and gave only one conclusion, he could be saved, but the injuries were too severe. Shattered organs could be fixed, but the real problem was that his soul was broken and incomplete.”