Chapter 723

Back then, Zhao Zixun wrapped my spore with the largest fragment of his shattered battle soul and sent me out of the Nine Abyssal Depths; thereafter, I and Zhao Zixun of this life came to be.

Zhao Zixun has said more than once that he originally thought his tribulation in the mortal realm was to prevent Zhan Jia'e from becoming a nine-lifetime evil person and to completely eradicate her and her undead entourage behind her.

But in the end he discovered he was wrong.

He came to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation, and the tribulation he faced was that of love.

Opposing Zhan Jia'e was his mission, but through Zhan Jia'e he met me.

From then on, his suffering began.

Zhan Jia'e's true form was imprisoned in the Nine Abyssal Depths, and Zhao Zixun's physical body was also there.

I can confirm that Zhan Jia'e remains imprisoned, after all the stalk of the seven-leaf lingzhi pierces straight through her body, extending upward and taking root downward.

If Zhan Jia'e had broken free of her imprisonment, the seven-leaf lingzhi would certainly be affected, and I would surely notice it here.

But there was none.

Therefore, someone must be helping Zhan Jia'e!

I glanced at my Soul Body, which was growing ever fainter, and things I would never have thought of before now lay plainly before me.

Why is it that, while others using the Soul-guiding Lamp in a soul sacrifice are reduced to ashes, I am able to recondense my soul within the Soul-guiding Lamp and even cultivate?

Now I think there are two reasons.

First, my true form's main body is still rooted deep in the Nine Abyssal Depths; my primordial spirit is indestructible and my spiritual root remains, so my reincarnated soul cannot be extinguished.

Second, it is because of the battle soul.

This life of Zhao Zixun is the reincarnation of that fragment of battle soul that wrapped my spore, making us a community of shared fate.

That Coffin Nail was driven into Zhao Zixun's brow, trapping his battle soul.

Therefore, as long as this life's Zhao Zixun exists, I exist as well.

After Zhao Zixun took that Coffin Nail to the Wufu Town Pawnshop, that strand of battle soul should have already returned to the Nine Abyssal Depths.

This life's community of shared fate has been broken, and adding the notion of borrowed yin lifespan, I have grown ever weaker, my Soul Body ever fainter—all quite normal.

This foretells that I must return to my true form's main body.

Having figured this out, I no longer hesitated; I was about to tell Yu Nian my plan when I saw, beyond the barrier, at the place where water and sky meet, that it seemed someone was fighting.

Yu Nian was also looking that way.

When my gaze caught sight of one large and one small, five-colored phoenixes circling in that high airspace, I was utterly dumbfounded: 'Xiao Jiu, Shan Shan? How did they come here? Who are they fighting?'

Yu Nian's expression instantly turned grave; she withdrew the barrier, drove the Ferry boat toward that place, and said to me, 'Wanwan, from the moment we left Dang Pu, I knew Xiao Jiu would certainly come.'

She is someone with a broad perspective; even I could foresee that ferrying you would surely be unsmooth, so we prepared in advance a yin soldier troop as escort—how could Xiao Jiu possibly do nothing?

I also thought of that immediately, and my heart was moved.

Not only Xiao Jiu, but Shan Shan had also told me before, saying, 'Ayi, I will protect you.'

The Little Guy lives up to his words.

But the situation now seems somewhat off.

Yu Nian moored the Ferry boat at the junction of the Wangchuan River and the Nine Abyssal Waters, narrowed her eyes at the one large and one small phoenixes, and at the vast flock of birds below them that were fighting, their cries echoing.

'Xiao Jiu and Shan Shan haven't joined the battle; they seem to be observing something. Nine Abyssal... what exactly has happened there?'

'I'll go take a look.' I sprang to my feet and said, 'I inherently belong to the Nine Abyssal Depths; I will eventually return, and now might be the best time.'

Yu Nian instinctively reached out to grab me: 'Wanwan, don't act rashly, we...'

Her hand passed through my nearly transparent Soul Body, grasping nothing.

She stared at her own hand, stunned for a moment.

At that very moment, the two phoenixes flew straight toward the Ferry boat.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Jiu had assumed human form and stood on the Ferry boat.

While Shan Shan remained in her small phoenix form, landing on the soul banner above the Ferry boat.

Xiao Jiu produced the Soul-guiding Lamp, gesturing for me to wait inside it first.

I shook my head and refused: 'Xiao Jiu, I have recalled everything of my past life; my true form's main body is a seven-leaf lingzhi, I must return to it, and Zhao Zixun lies beneath the Nine Abyssal Depths.'

Xiao Jiu shook her head: 'Wanwan, if we were still in Wufu Town, I would surely support your return to your true form's main body and reclaim what rightfully belongs to you, but the situation has changed; the affairs of the Nine Abyssal Depths are no longer just yours and Zhao Zixun's—we need to deliberate further.'

I asked cautiously: 'What does the change in situation mean? Zhao Zixun...'

'Zhao Zixun should be fine for now,' Xiao Jiu said, 'but the batch of birds our people just confronted has a serious problem; the first group of supporters raised by Shan Shan... has been wiped out.'

Yu Nian and I simultaneously looked up at the small phoenix perched atop the soul banner.

Though the Little Guy had clearly been born only a few months ago, we could now see, from the back of her true form, a trace of sorrow and desolation unbefitting her age.

These supporters are the first batch of members to return after Shan Shan's birth and the proliferation of the Ancient Feng Clan's Fire Seed—twenty in total.' Xiao Jiu said sorrowfully, 'This is the first time Shan Shan has taken them out for training… and it's also my fault; I originally only intended to bring Shan Shan to guard the Ferry boat, ensuring your successful crossing, but Shan Shan said that when she goes out for training she must also bring her companions, and we never imagined…'

My heart instantly filled with immense guilt: 'They are all implicated because of me.'

'Wanwan, you're mistaken; this has nothing to do with you,' Xiao Jiu said. 'If we purely consider Xiūwéi and combat strength, those twenty birds versus the birds rushing out of the Nine Abyssal Depths, our companions could each take on a hundred foes, yet this battle unfolded with startling suddenness from beginning to end.'

They hadn't even truly entered the Nine Abyssal Depths before being bewildered by a flock of birds flying up from below; as those birds flapped their wings, a strong medicinal fragrance assailed them.

We failed to take precautions in time; after inhaling that fragrance, our eyes instantly turned blood‑red, we lost reason, and began slaughtering one another…

'Medicinal fragrance?' I wondered aloud. 'The Nine Abyssal Depths are littered with spiritual herbs, but after the great calamity of the past, when all living beings suffered, over the last century many spiritual herbs have stubbornly grown there; yet to be killed merely by smelling its scent—what an incredibly toxic herb this must be!'

For a moment, I could find no relevant information in my mind.

Xiao Jiu, however, said: 'It's not the medicinal fragrance itself that's poisonous… but… a medicinal gu…'