Chapter 39: Phoenix Egg, the Man Who Walks Through Fire

"In past years, when we entered the cave, we brought large quantities of eggs."

Chief Wu said, "These insects are mainly troublesome because there are too many of them; once inside, we smash raw eggs along the walls, and the raw eggs attract swarms of insects."

"As we walk, we keep throwing them—this lets us seize other dangerous poisons along the way, then deal with those insects specifically."

Insect toxins naturally crave fishy smells and feed on vital energy.

But animals and humans are too large; though their vital energy is strong, they fight back, and many insects suffer severe damage after biting people.

Eggs, however, have pure yet weak vital energy, combined with a fishy odor—they’re the easiest to attract weak Gu insects.

Among the Miao villages of Great Mountain in Yizhou, there’s a custom: if someone is afflicted by Gu poison but only lightly, rolling a half-cooked egg over the chest and abdomen can draw the poison out.

Hence, these eggs are also called Phoenix Eggs.

Chief Wu waved his hand, ordering men to gather eggs first, then continued: "But in past years, we only began stockpiling eggs in winter; lately, the village hasn’t had many eggs to begin with, and recent gatherings have used up even more."

"Besides, the flute’s sound stirs the insects—these eggs won’t be as effective as they were in past years."

Chu Tianshu said, "You’re not the only one in the village who knows Gu techniques, are you? She can stir the insects—can’t you counter or soothe them?"

Chief Wu shook his head: "These insects are wild, never truly cultivated; stirring them is easy, soothing them is hard. If we all start blowing, we’ll only amplify the disturbance."

Chu Tianshu looked into the cave.

The poison insects startled by the flames earlier still crawled everywhere, and where they passed, more insects emerged from cracks in the walls.

"This morning, I saw someone in your village brushing oil onto several cloaks."

Chu Tianshu suddenly said, "As I passed, I sniffed twice—the smell was definitely fire oil."

Chief Wu sighed.

"That’s right. Those cloaks were meant for the third trial."

The Three Trials of Wu Family Village: the Pillar of the Middle Stream, the Miao King’s Crouching Ox, the Path Through Fire!

The final trial requires laying down an eighteen-zhang-long path of burning charcoal.

Ordinary people, if bold enough, can cross such a path unharmed by relying on sweat evaporating instantly from their soles to cool their feet.

But such a path can only be three or four zhang long; beyond that, it becomes extremely dangerous.

In Wu Family Village’s eighteen-zhang charcoal path, red-hot knives, hoes, plowshares, and shards of iron are mixed in.

The challenger must wear a cloak brushed with fire oil and cross barefoot.

He must not only kick away the red-hot metal tools but also guard against sparks catching on his cloak.

Even if sparks don’t ignite the cloak, the intense heat will cause it to catch fire by the latter half of the path.

He must kick away all remaining metal tools before the cloak burns through, and reach the end—only then is he successful.

Only Chief Wu himself has the confidence to pass this trial.

His body has been hardened by medicinal treatments over years, especially his hands and feet; when he made his vow, he once stuck his fist directly into a boiling iron pot to roast it—this is why.

"So that’s how it is."

Chu Tianshu smiled. "Could I perhaps try this trial under different circumstances?"

Chief Wu frowned. "You mean to wear those cloaks into this cave? The fire ants and flying mantis insects will ignite you instantly."

"I only need to ignite the outer layer of the cloak—doesn’t it take a while before it burns through completely?"

Chu Tianshu pointed into the cave. "I noticed that while some insects here can spark flames directly, most poison insects still fear fire."

"Walking through fire should scare off many of them."

Chief Wu warned again: "If that worked, I could just wear a fire cloak and charge through myself—but deep inside the cave, fungal spores ignite into poison smoke; even one breath—"

"Then I won’t breathe!"

Chu Tianshu stared into the cave’s depths. "Holding my breath to rush to the deepest point and grab her out—that’s certainly a challenge."

"But even without this, my third trial would be a major challenge—why not try this one too?"

Cai Shanjun now urged: "There’s no need to rush so urgently. Why not wait two days, find a deep night, and strike while she sleeps?"

"Does she really have such a regular routine inside the cave?"

Chu Tianshu laughed. "She nearly ambushed me today—I’ll drag her out within this very day, no more waiting!"

The Xus and the Zhous are formidable, armed with military power—they must wait.

But this old woman—does she deserve my patience too?

Moments later, sunlight at the cave mouth darkened.

A human shadow stretched long, cast inside the cave.

Everyone outside stared without blinking.

Chu Tianshu, wrapped in a hooded great cloak, stepped soundlessly inward.

He carried no raw eggs.

He would rely on speed—raw eggs were useless to him, and carrying them would only be a burden.

At first, because he made no footsteps, the shrine keeper deep inside didn’t notice him.

Only after walking thirty or forty meters did the poison insects, untouched by the flute’s sound, begin gathering around him out of instinctive aggression.

Dozens of spotted spiders hung down from the ceiling; ground-level centipedes swarmed in thick clusters, racing toward him.

Poison insects clinging to the rock walls took flight in increasing numbers, nearly forming a "cloud of insects" around him.

Chu Tianshu inhaled slowly, deeply, and fully—then narrowed his eyes into slits and stomped hard.

THUD!!!

The stone floor cracked beneath his foot; his figure shot forward like a released crossbow bolt.

His speed was so violent, the insect cloud shattered instantly.

Some insects struck his face but had no time to act before being scattered by the rushing air before him.

In the blink of an eye, he took two or three more strides—already twenty or thirty meters inside.

The person deep in the cave realized something was wrong and blew the flute.

The poison insects were stirred and guided.

Certain species began flying toward him before he even reached them.

When Chu Tianshu arrived, the insects collided head-on.

BOOM!!

Intense flames erupted in midair.

But the moment they exploded, a black shadow descended at blinding speed and slashed them apart.

It was Chu Tianshu’s arm.

He swung a whip-like strike, cleaving the fiercest point of the flame, and his body shot through.

Flames licked the edges of his cloak, igniting along the fire-oil coating.

But Chu Tianshu moved too fast—his cloak flapped behind him like a banner torn by a gale.

The fire barely began to spread before being smothered by wind and violent motion.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!

In the narrow cave, one fireball exploded after another.

By the time Chu Tianshu burst through the fifth fireball, the outer layer of his cloak was fully ablaze.

He became a fire-dragon skimming the ground, racing through the winding cave.

At sharp turns, his body leapt into the air, feet stamping against the cave walls.

Ahead, poison insects buzzed thicker than ever—many were no longer flame-sparking types, but ones skilled at biting and stinging.

Chu Tianshu grabbed the cloak with his left hand, held it before him, and charged forward with his head down.

Now, he truly became a blazing, high-speed fireball.

Clouds of poison insects were scattered and startled away by his passage.

Fungi growing in rock crevices, fungal spores drifting in the soil—all ignited by his fiery trail.

A pale green smoke began drifting through the cave.

The flute’s sound from the cave’s deepest point grew frantic.

The shrine keeper leaned against the far wall, eyes wide, refusing to blink, her eyeballs reddened from dryness, the bamboo flute in her hand shrieking with piercing, stone-piercing notes.

But she still saw the distant light drawing nearer—flames flared suddenly around the bend, and he burst through.

CRACK!!

The shrine keeper, horrified, shattered her bamboo flute—then switched to her right hand and blew into the jade flute.

"Wuuuu—"

The sound from the jade flute was hollow, endless.

Its tone was so low, it didn’t sound like a flute at all—more like a jade xiao.

The deep cave’s stone walls seemed to resonate with the note.

Chu Tianshu, hurtling forward, suddenly grunted and slowed his step.

He felt as if something had struck his internal organs.

His skin bore no impact—but his organs were directly hit: his heart crushed, lungs compressed, intestines shriveled, liver and gallbladder trembling.

The shrine keeper herself clutched her stomach, as if in unbearable agony.

Yet her right hand still gripped the jade flute, using a unique breathing technique to keep the sound unbroken, suddenly deeper and more distant.

Suddenly, a roar like a war drum shattering, like a grenade exploding, drowned out the flute entirely.

"GET OUT!!!"

Chu Tianshu spread his arms wide, muscles exploding outward, internal organs surging, force transmitting through his inner garments and into the outermost cloak.

The burning cloak exploded on the spot, shards flying in all directions.

The flute’s effect on the internal organs was instantly suppressed by this violent outburst of force, nearly imperceptible.

The old woman guarding the ancestral hall had just heard that bomb-like roar when her vision went black.

Chu Tianshu slapped his palm over her face, crushing her head against the stone wall, knocking her unconscious instantly.

(End of Chapter)