Chapter 2

Spirit beasts with bloodline heritage are not necessarily the best, and this is something I deeply realized in my past life. After I rejected Song Qinglan in my previous life, she became upset and chose to form a bond with the little black pig that was lying beside us. I couldn’t stop her. She said that she only wanted the Phoenix, but if she couldn’t have it, she would form a bond with this little black pig. The little black pig later grew fatter and fatter by Song Qinglan’s side. Eventually, when the demon race attacked, it actually fought with one of the demons. I suppose it eventually died at the hands of the demon race. As for the Phoenix, it had a trace of Phoenix blood. It was beautiful in appearance, and its temper was perfected in the same way. It would only perch on a phoenix tree, drink only from spiritual spring water, and eat only spiritual flowers and herbs. Not the ones in storage bags, but freshly picked ones. To satisfy its requirements, I had strayed from the sect’s prescribed routes many times during my travels, extending the time it took to return to the sect, venturing into forgotten secret realms. There, I found not only many spiritual herbs but also jade stones beneficial for the spirit beast’s cultivation. Yet, the Phoenix still refused to approach me. It would only allow me to feed it, and even then, only when I presented food would it lower its noble head. During these treasure hunts, I often encountered spirit beasts or demon beasts guarding the spiritual herbs. While I fought with all my strength, no matter how heavily I was injured, the Phoenix would ignore me. It would simply stand on the phoenix tree beside me, carefully preening its feathers. I always thought this was the nature of spirit beasts. Perhaps if I treated the Phoenix a little better, it would become closer to me. This thought persisted until one day, after I was gravely injured and returned to the sect, I saw the Phoenix fly into Song Qinglan’s arms. That was when my illusion shattered. I had intended to break our contract. But the demon race arrived too quickly. Together, the Phoenix and I guarded the sect gate. However, it told me that Qinglan had been captured by the demon race and that it was going to break the barrier to save her, even if it meant destroying half of its cultivation to sever our contract. Once the sect gate was breached, a horde of demons poured in, roaring. Before I was consumed by the chaos, the last image in my eyes was of the Phoenix, bathed in half its blood, tightly embracing Song Qinglan.