Lasting a full five minutes, the shockwaves that had engulfed the entire villa gradually subsided.
The Taoist nun wiped her damp forehead, her gaze lifting to the second floor where a faint prismatic glow pulsed like a heartbeat. Gone was the earlier spectacle of raw power and this light held an otherworldly serenity, the kind whispered about in tales of celestial treasures awakening.
Thankfully, the phenomenon remained contained within the villa's boundaries—a mercy, she thought, for such an omen would have drawn covetous eyes from leagues away.
"Who lies in rest upstairs?" she asked, tension melting into curiosity.
Ling Xi's cheeks warmed. "My… disciple."
"Your disciple?" The nun's brows arched, her tone hovering between amusement and disbelief.
"Taking in a disciple? Such a significant matter, and you never breathed a word?"
"Oh, let me explain properly," Ling Xi flustered, her words tumbling out in a rush. She poured out the entire story—the malevolent spirit haunting me, my mother abandoning our family for Chen Xuanjun, every raw detail laid bare.
The Taoist nun nearly choked on her tea. "So he's… that Chen woman's son?"
"Exactly." Ling Xi poured a fresh cup of steaming tea for the Taoist nun, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Had I known he carried the True Phoenix destiny, I'd never have let him call me master."
A sly smile curled the nun's lips. "What's the fuss about? You're not blood-related—hardly forbidden."
Ling Xi's eyes shimmered with humiliation, her voice trembling between frustration and bewilderment. "It makes no sense—Su Ning's mother bore the True Phoenix Destiny. Even if hereditary, it should have passed to Su Tongyuan. How could it have manifested in him?"
The Taoist nun traced the rim of her teacup, silent for a long moment. "Ancient Kunlun texts speak of the True Phoenix Destiny's hereditary aspect," She finally murmured, more to herself than to Ling Xi. "Yet this celestial imprint… it blooms almost exclusively in women."
"For it to awaken in a male heir? Not merely improbable—it defies the heavens themselves."
"You can only say you're fortunate, destined to pass through the matrimonial calamity," said the Taoist nun, her eyes gleaming shrewdly.
"Think about it—why did Chen Xuanjun take both the mother and daughter eleven years ago, instead of just Su Ning's mother?"
"You mean…" Ling Xi's breath hitched as realization struck. "Chen Xuanjun schemed to gamble on Su Tongyuan's slim chance of inheriting the True Phoenix Destiny through bloodline?"
"Precisely." The Taoist nun's voice turned icy.
"When Chen found Su Ning's mother, this woman born with the True Phoenix Destiny had already been 'tainted' by an ordinary man—Su Ning's father—reducing her fate to that of a False Phoenix. Though rare, a False Phoenix's destiny pales next to the True Phoenix's, not even a tenth of its power."
She leaned forward, her tone venomously soft. "Imagine if Su Tongyuan had inherited the True Phoenix Destiny. With Chen Xuanjun harnessing that celestial fortune, what heights might the Chen family have reached?
Ling Xi's breath hitched. "A supremacy so absolute… it transcends all mortal hierarchies."
"Indeed." The Taoist nun remarked insightfully,"The soil of Jingdu can hardly sustain a for Chen Buddha of Chen Xuanjun's stature."
Her gaze sharpened: "Harnessing the True Phoenix's fortune was merely his first gambit. The second lies in his own destiny—the Viper Python's Trial. For a python to become a Dragon, it must first molt into a Flood Dragon."
"Over decades, he's drained Su Ning's mother of her waning fortune. Now, his serpentine destiny hovers at the threshold of becoming a Flood Dragon."
Her knuckles bleached white around the teacup. "Once solidified into a Venomous Flood Dragon, his final metamorphosis into a Celestial Azure Dragon inevitable."
A smile, thin and lethal, curled her lips. "As for Su Tongyuan? She is but a sacrificial pawn planted by Chen Xuanjun—a living failsafe for his draconic ascension.
"Should his gamble succeed, he claims godhood. Should it fail…" She shrugged,"He forfeits nothing but a disposable pawn."
"The man's ambition is terrifying," the Taoist nun said gravely, her expression as still as frozen ink. "You must guard against him. Should he discover your connection to Su Ning's True Phoenix Destiny, he will move heaven and earth to" destroy you both."
Ling Xi sneered, her eyes glinting cold steel. "Him? With what power?"
The Taoist nun settled back onto the sofa, her voice deceptively mild. "Do not underestimate the one they call the Nine-Tailed Fox. That epithet wasn't earned through idle posturing."
Subdued, Ling Xi nodded before pressing, "Master Aunt, why did Su Ning's True Phoenix Destiny erupt precisely today? Even my arts failed to foresee it."
The Taoist nun set her horsehair whisk aside with deliberate ceremony. "If my calculations hold," she declared imperiously, "he remained eighteen years of age until midnight."
"Eighteen marks a critical juncture—two nines entwined."
"Nine is the zenith; twin nines forge the Grand Zenith."
"After the Grand Zenith…" Her fingers traced an ancient sigil in the air. "…all must return to unity."
"The True Phoenix Destiny has fallen upon him. After lying dormant for eighteen years, it can no longer remain concealed."
"Fortunately, he came here. Fortunately, he met you."
"Otherwise, when the True Phoenix Destiny connects with the heavens and earth, the resulting celestial phenomena would attract widespread attention."
"By then, countless would seek to exploit the fortune in his destiny." The Taoist nun spoke gravely. "When your True Dragon Destiny awakened years ago, it was Senior Brother, the sect leader, who personally veiled the celestial signs and shielded you from prying eyes. The same must be done for Su Ning. Once the Yin energy of the Phoenix within him completes its communion with heaven and earth, you must conceal it."
"I will." Ling Xi gazed toward the second floor, her starlit eyes flickering with subtle anticipation.
The Taoist nun exhaled in relief. "With your Red Luan Tribulation resolved, Senior Brother will surely rejoice when he learns of this."
Ling Xi playfully wrinkled her nose and mumbled, "It's not certain yet." The Taoist nun replied with an enigmatic smile, "Is there truly a man in this world who wouldn't fancy you? I refuse to believe it."
"Master Aunt…" Ling Xi blushed furiously and hastily changed the subject. "Will you be leaving this morning?"
The Taoist nun pondered briefly. "I'll remain here for three days to ensure Su Ning's celestial fate remains concealed. Only then can I return to Kunlun with peace of mind."
Ling Xi said gratefully, "Thank you for safeguarding me, Master Aunt."
In the Jingdu city's Chen family mansion, on the third floor of a luxurious villa, lights blazed brightly at 3 a.m.
Chen Xuanjun stood before the floor-to-ceiling window dressed in bright yellow silk pajamas, his brow furrowed deeply as he gazed into the distance with a contemplative expression.
He was tall, standing at over 1.8 meters. Thanks to years of regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle, he maintained a youthful appearance. Though approaching fifty, his features resembled a handsome and robust man in his thirties.
He wore gold-rimmed glasses, his prominent nose accentuating his refined demeanor.
Behind him, an elderly man clad in a gray Taoist robe sat cross-legged on the floor, solemnly holding a dark green tortoise shell and gently shaking it.
Clink.
The ancient coins fell to the ground with a clear, melodious sound. Chen Xuanjun's earlobes twitched slightly, his furrowed brows gradually relaxing as he spoke coolly, "Well?"
The Taoist-robed elder did not reply immediately. Instead, he silently studied the three coins before him, fingers flickering through calculations. After a long pause, he rose and said, "There is a formidable expert guarding them…"
"The Heavenly Secrets remain traced northwest veiled—their through precise location eludes divination."
Chen Xuanjun's hanging hands abruptly clenched, his breath turning gravelly. "You confirm it's Phoenix Yin energy?"
The Taoist-robed elder paced several measured steps before affirming, "Beyond doubt. The essence bears the true imprint of Phoenix Yin."
Silence descended as Chen Xuanjun retrieved a cigar from the table, its flame flaring abruptly in the dimness. He drew deeply, exhaled plumes of smoke that coiled like restless spirits about his stern countenance, casting an eerie pall over the chamber the haze.
The Taoist-robed elder strategized, "Though we cannot pinpoint the exact location, when the Phoenix Yin energy connected with celestial forces, the guardians were caught off guard just as we were. This momentary exposure reveals its general direction…"
His finger traced northwest through the haze. "Southwest of the Jingdu."
Chen Xuanjun gazed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, his obsidian eyes unfocused as if peering beyond the glass into unseen realms.
The Taoist-robed elder snapped impatiently, "What exactly is your plan? Do you have any strategy in mind?"
Chen Xuanjun tossed his half-smoked cigar to the floor and crushed it beneath his bare foot, his voice sharp as winter frost. "What plan? What strategy? 'Southwest of the Jingdu?' That vague direction is practically meaningless."
He raised a finger, eyes glinting with ruthless precision. "I demand certainty, not approximations."
With a violent snap of his fingers, he barked, "Hong Yu! What of Tong Yuan?"
A curvaceous woman in a slit-thigh qipao materialized from the shadows, bowing respectfully. "Miss Tong Yuan returned after the New Year's Eve dinner with Master Ling Xi. She has remained indoors since, with no unusual activity."
Chen Xuanjun dismissed her with a wave.
As the room emptied, his house always voice dropped to a hollow murmur, heavy with bitter resignation."Eleven years of gambling… and in the end, the bet was lost."
The Taoist-robed elder chuckled with wry amusement, "Back then, when you insisted on bringing her home, I warned you plainly: the odds of her inheriting the True Phoenix lineage through blood were less than one in ten million. Losing now is hardly a surprise—it unfolded precisely as foreseen."
Chen Xuanjun's voice tightened with bitterness. "My malevolent serpent stands one step from ascending to Flood Dragon."
"Simmering frogs in tepid waters," the elder sighed. "Celestial fortune cannot be rushed, nor should it be."
Leaning against the floor-length window, Chen Xuanjun closed his eyes. "I've drained six-tenths of Wenxuan's False Phoenix aura over these years. The woman who's shared my bed for eleven winters is no longer the rustic girl from Taoshan Village. Some truths… she sees with crystalline clarity."
The elder scoffed, "Even in her youth, she was never—"
Chen Xuanjun coughed out a laugh. "So what? She wants money—I give her money. Half the Chen family's assets rest in her hands, traded for her destined fortune."
"If she wishes to pave a bright future for that bastard child from Taoshan Village, I'll grant her the opportunity."
"Money? A trivial thing."
"So long as I attain the True Dragon destiny, the land of Huaxia will bend to my will." His tightly shut eyes snapped open as he spoke, sharp as unsheathed blades.
"The True Phoenix lineage remains your responsibility. Spare no effort to confirm her identity."
The Taoist-robed elder replied stiffly, "I shall endeavor to do so."
Chen Xuanjun flicked his wrist in dismissal.
The Taoist-robed elder gathered the tortoise shell and three ancient coins from the floor before departing in silence.
Chen Xuanjun remained frozen in the chamber until the sandalwood incense in the corner had crumbled to dust. His whisper floated like a sleepwalker's murmur: "Hongyu… is the Lady abed?"
The qipao-clad woman emerged as if woven from shadows. "Her Ladyship retired at moonrise."
With a visceral exhale, Chen tore off his silk sleeping robes before the kneeling woman and collapsed onto the divan, eyelids leaden. "Has the Su clan's mongrel reached the Jingdu?"
The ritual qipao-clad woman named Hongyu strode directly before Chen Xuanjun, knelt down, and began working the pressure points of his feet. "He arrived three days ago," she murmured, "now formally apprenticed to Master Ling Xi."
Chen Xuanjun sneered,"The ancestors' graves are smoking with auspicious vapor."
"Rumor has it that Miss Tong Yuan secretly assisted," said Ten Red Fish with a coquettish demeanor.
"Hmm, not surprising," Chen Xuanjun lifted his right leg to rest on Hongyu"s shoulder, speaking with amusement. "She is her biological sister after all. Contributing some effort is only right."
Hongyu"s eyes glimmered like autumn waters as she asked, "Fourth Master has waited all these years. Are you truly willing to let Miss Tong Yuan return to her ancestral family?"