"Big Brother, is it really true?!"
The Second Elder suddenly leaned forward.
His hands, usually as steady as a mountain, now trembled slightly as they gripped the armrests of the hard ironwood chair, crushing a few clear fingerprints into the wood. His excitement was beyond words, his voice unconsciously rising.
"Tell us quickly! What do we need? Even if our sect must exhaust its full strength to search the heavens and earth, we will definitely find it!"
The Third Elder beside him still said nothing, but his eyes were shining with a never-before-seen brilliance. His breathing had grown a bit rapid, his body unconsciously leaning forward as he focused all his attention on the Grand Elder, unwilling to miss a single word.
Even Chen Yi, the weakest in the room, subconsciously held his breath. His hands clenched tightly on his knees, fingernails almost digging into flesh.
In his heart, images of Xie Xiao Qing's current lifeless decadence and numbed, vacant eyes flashed involuntarily—contrasted against the powerful, radiant smile of his memories.
It felt as if an invisible hand had seized his heart and was squeezing hard. It hurt.
He stared unblinkingly at the Grand Elder, his eyes filled with hope and tension.
Under their three blazing gazes, the Grand Elder's expression remained calm. He slowly looked over his two brothers and the nervous Chen Yi before finally speaking a name clearly and steadily.
"Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower."
"Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower?"
Hearing that name, the other three in the hall were simultaneously stunned. The excitement and expectation on their faces froze at once, replaced by thick astonishment and confusion.
The Second Elder's brows furrowed deeply.
He subconsciously repeated it.
"Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower… Big Brother, are you sure? That is the purest and strongest yang-type immortal herb, an incredible major tonic. The fire-attribute vitality within is overwhelmingly tyrannical. An ordinary soul master who takes it could very well be killed by its violent medicinal power."
The hand the Third Elder had been using to stroke his beard paused.
He frowned and interjected.
"The Second Elder is right. Xiao Qing's martial soul origin is now damaged—like a cracked crystal goblet on the verge of shattering. Her qi and blood are withered, her meridians fragile."
"In this state, even an ordinary warming tonic with a slight bit of heat might become a lethal poison to her… let alone a dominant immortal herb like the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower. How could that possibly save her?"
His tone was thick with doubt.
If someone else had proposed this, he might have dismissed it as sheer nonsense.
Chen Yi was confused as well.
He knew a fair amount about herbs, and he also knew the nature of the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower. It contained a thin trace of phoenix blood—a treasure specifically tailored for fire-attribute soul masters to cultivate and purify their bloodline.
But using it on someone whose martial soul origin had been gravely injured and whose body was frail?
That was like pouring oil on a flame.
Seeing the doubt and confusion on all three faces, the Grand Elder did not become impatient. As if he had long anticipated their reaction, he merely nodded lightly and began explaining in detail, his voice calm yet confident.
"You're correct. The Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower is indeed an extremely potent pure-yang tonic, domineering in nature. By common sense, using it to treat Xiao Qing's current injuries would be no different from drinking poison to quench thirst."
He then shifted his tone, his gaze turning deeper.
"But you only see its 'tonic' aspect, and overlook its deeper property—its phoenix bloodline."
"Phoenix bloodline?"
The Second and Third Elders exchanged glances, seeing a flicker of dawning realization in each other's eyes.
"Exactly."
The Grand Elder continued.
"Think carefully. When Xiao Qing underwent her second awakening, she failed, and her martial soul was injured. Yet she didn't collapse on the spot like others might have."
"In truth, she was only half a step away from success. Her accumulation in that realm, her understanding of her martial soul, and her control over her own qi and blood had already reached—or even surpassed—the threshold for a second awakening."
"What she lacked was not foundation, but a final, pure and brilliant 'piercing thrust' to shatter the barrier at the final moment!"
He paused to let them digest his words, then swept his gaze over everyone again, his tone carrying a slight sharpness.
"More importantly, Xiao Qing's martial soul is only 'half-crippled.' It has not completely collapsed. The heart is the source of vitality. That kind of martial soul is inherently tenacious and brimming with life."
"With the passage of years, her injured martial soul has become like a flame sealed in ice—seemingly extinguished, yet deep within, traces of its original undying spiritual nature remain."
"This is where hope lies."
The Grand Elder's explanation was like someone opening a window to light.
The confusion in the other three's eyes eased slightly, gradually replaced by a glimmer of understanding.
"And the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower," the Grand Elder continued, voice taking on a guiding cadence, "its greatest value is not only in its dominant pure-yang medicinal power, but in the trace of phoenix bloodline that originates from the ancient divine beast Phoenix."
"The phoenix does not perch without a parasol tree, nor drink without sweet spring. It is reborn from ashes, achieving nirvana. What we wish to harness is precisely this power—nirvana."
The Grand Elder stretched out his right hand. At his fingertips, faint soul power outlined invisible patterns, as though sketching a process.
"My plan is not to let Xiao Qing ingest the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower in the usual way."
"Instead, we'll use it as the main medicine, neutralize a portion of its dominant fire poison with Ice Spirit Flame Grass, protect the origin of her heart veins with Chalcedony Spirit Ganoderma, then nourish her damaged meridians with Thousand-Year Earth-Heart Milk…"
"We'll let these essences of heaven and earth interlink, and I will personally guide them with my spiritual power—not to force medicinal power into her body, but to stimulate and draw out the trace of phoenix nirvana imprinted within the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower!"
His eyes shone ever brighter, as if he were already seeing the whole process unfold.
"At that time, the power containing 'nirvana' will not violently impact Xiao Qing's injured martial soul. It will be like a spring breeze and rain, like a spark that ignites the dry plains of spring, awakening the immortal primal spirituality slumbering deep within her heart-type martial soul."
"With the help of this external force, her long-dormant potential can be led from within to without—ushering in martial soul nirvana."
"If we succeed," the Grand Elder's voice carried a thrilling allure, "then not only can Xiao Qing's damaged martial soul be fully restored, but that half step she failed to complete back then might be made up through the power of nirvana. She could very likely complete a belated Silver-Rank second awakening."
Phoenix Nirvana. Martial Soul Nirvana.
These words thundered in the hearts of the Second Elder, Third Elder, and Chen Yi.
In an instant, all previous doubts and confusion were engulfed in blazing hope. A brilliance that could not be put into words simultaneously burst forth in all three of their eyes.
Yes.
They had been confined by the old way of thinking before—only seeing the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower's domineering medicinal nature, while ignoring its most essential and precious core: the nirvana power derived from the divine beast Phoenix itself.
The Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was originally a top-tier bloodline herb, containing a thin wisp of phoenix blood.
And Xie Xiao Qing's heart-type martial soul, as the core of qi, blood, and vitality, in a sense shared certain traits with the phoenix's "source of life"—strong recovery and immense latent regenerative power.
If they could successfully trigger the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower's nirvana property and precisely guide it to Xie Xiao Qing's martial soul origin, then allowing her martial soul to be reborn from ashes like a phoenix was no foolish dream.
"It's feasible! Big Brother, this is absolutely feasible!"
The Second Elder was so excited that his hair and beard practically bristled. He suddenly slapped his thigh, making the chair beneath him creak alarmingly.
In that instant, he seemed to already see that proud little phoenix standing up again—her bearing even more dazzling than before.
The Third Elder nodded repeatedly, already running countless combinations and permutations of medicinal ingredients in his mind. The more he deduced, the brighter his eyes became.
"Wonderful! Neutralized by Ice Spirit Flame Grass, protected by Chalcedony Spirit Ganoderma, and further supplemented by Earth-Heart Milk… The medicinal powers will interlink, minimizing risks and channeling nirvana's strength. Big Brother, this plan is dangerous, yes, but the underlying principle is brilliant, and the hope is indeed great!"
Chen Yi was even more excited, his body faintly trembling.
It was as though, at this very moment, he could see Sister Qing casting off all decadence, that familiar light returning to her eyes.
But after the initial burst of enthusiasm, the Second Elder suddenly felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head. The fire in his eyes quickly calmed, replaced by deep worry.
He thought for a moment, then lifted his head. His gaze was heavy as he looked at the Grand Elder, his voice hoarse.
"This method is wonderful, and the idea even more astonishing. But… nirvana is a mysterious thing. No one can guarantee it can be successfully triggered and guided."
"If… if it fails?"
The Second Elder's tone was dry, and he practically spoke each word through gritted teeth.
"After all, the medicinal power of the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower is immensely strong. If the nirvana fails and that power goes out of control and backlashes…"
"Xiao Qing… might not even be able to maintain her current 'living' state. All her meridians might collapse immediately."
His words were like a basin of icy water poured over them on a winter night. The soaring enthusiasm was instantly chilled. The excitement on the Third Elder's face froze, and he slowly sat back down, frowning once more.
Chen Yi's heart sank suddenly.
Indeed—
the greater the hope, the more unbearable the price of failure.
The atmosphere in the hall once again became heavy.
The Grand Elder looked at his two junior brothers, then at Chen Yi, whose expression had plunged and face gone pale the moment he heard "failure."
He fell silent for a while, not answering the question of success rate directly.
Then he slowly raised his head, his gaze seeming to pierce through the thick walls of the ancestral hall, toward the direction of Xie Xiao Qing's residence.
His voice was not loud, but it resonated throughout the hall, carrying an undeniable force.
"Failure?"
He shook his head lightly, then swept his gaze over the three, asking a question that seemed to strike directly at their souls.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, Xiao Yi… do you truly think Xiao Qing's current state—worse than death—has any real 'advantage' over that outcome?"
Silence fell, as if all sound had died.
The Second Elder opened his mouth, wanting to retort that "living is better than dying," but when the words reached his lips, he found he couldn't say them.
He recalled his last visit to Xie Xiao Qing.
She had curled into the shadowed corner, eyes empty and numb, reacting to nothing—as if her body were just an empty shell.
Where was that proud girl whose laughter had once echoed through the sect?
The Third Elder closed his eyes. A flash of pain crossed his face. Of course he knew that Xiao Qing was "alive." But that very fact had become a cruel mockery of her past glory—a torture that never ceased, day or night.
Chen Yi bit his lip.
He remembered his mother's resigned sigh. She had said that Xiao Qing's current existence, "still living," was simply her using her own pain and endurance to keep the people who cared about her from being fully crushed by despair—easing the elders' guilt with her own suffering.
The Grand Elder's voice rang out again, heavy with both despair and resolve.
"Right now, she only barely maintains this walking-corpse shell by breathing, relying on the last bit of intolerance she still holds toward us old fools."
"If she were allowed to make her own choice…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.
They looked at one another in silence, each seeing the same answer in the others' eyes.
For someone as proud as Xie Xiao Qing, this hopeless way of "living" was a daily torment. She would never be willing to rot away like a decayed log.
If given the chance, she would unhesitatingly reach for this ray of nirvana's light.
Even if the price was complete annihilation.
She would not retreat.
Because this might very well be what she had long yearned for in the depths of her heart—
Either be reborn, or be destroyed.
…
PS: Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode