Chapter 940: It turns out he holds such a high place in her heart

The man's voice sounded familiar; Ao Jing recognized it at once—it was the Male Phoenix.

In the Male Phoenix's voice as he begged Shan Shan, there was no aggressiveness, only utter humility.

What kind of person could make that cunning Male Phoenix lower his stance so much?

At the same time, Ao Jing felt greatly relieved; Shan Shan remained clear-headed and steadfast.

The temperature below kept rising; judging from the earlier fire-spitting, Shan Shan must have been deliberately suppressing the flames below, otherwise Ao Jing would have found it hard to descend so smoothly.

He had wasted too much time; after finally making contact with Shan Shan, Ao Jing now felt even more urgent.

Soon, Ao Jing finally saw Shan Shan.

Shan Shan was now standing on the edge of a pit.

Before her lay a large fire pit.

From Ao Jing's direction, he could see nothing inside the fire pit, only occasional bursts of flame leaping up before being pressed down by Shan Shan.

Beside Shan Shan, the Male Phoenix was actually kneeling!

His emotions were collapsing badly; he would sometimes lie on the pit's edge looking down, then go beg Shan Shan to save someone. Ao Jing could clearly feel that, at this moment, no matter what others said, the Male Phoenix probably couldn't take it in.

He seemed possessed, immersed in his own sorrow and helplessness.

Ao Jing strode over, grabbed the Male Phoenix's collar, and slapped his cheek hard.

The sharp slap echoed throughout the space.

The slap knocked the Male Phoenix sideways to the ground, half‑prone; after a moment he finally came to, and his whole person grew calm.

Ao Jing's slap woke him up.

Shan Shan let out a low cry, instinctively trying to stop it, but it was already too late.

When their eyes met, Shan Shan suddenly felt like crying: "Brother Jing…"

"I'm here, it's all right." Ao Jing gently patted Shan Shan's back, comforting her.

He then turned his gaze downward into the pit.

Upon seeing it, Ao Jing was also greatly startled.

The great pit before him was deep, its bottom wrapped in a layer of raging flames; beneath the flames hovered a group of people… and some eggs.

The eggs weren't many—about twenty—pressed close together, tightly guarded by those people in the very center.

Around the eggs lay ring after ring of people.

Most of those people were already dead; the souls Ao Jing had seen consumed by fire outside were from here.

Even dead, their bodies had not decayed; they still held the pose of guarding the eggs, a sight that moved anyone who saw it.

Although Ao Jing had already guessed the identities of those people and the eggs, he still asked Shan Shan for confirmation: "They are…"

"They are the Male Phoenix's clansmen," Shan Shan said, "and also the surviving members of the ancient Phoenix Clan."

Indeed so.

Ao Jing asked again: "Which one is the Male Phoenix trying to save?"

Shan Shan pointed to a girl in the northern corner.

The girl looked small, about twelve or thirteen, curled up in the corner, already at death's door.

"He said that was his sister from the same mother," Shan Shan choked out, "Although he had not yet hatched, he had already awakened his spiritual awareness; his sister had hatched more than ten years earlier, and they had always been able to communicate."

Later, something happened in the clan; they faced a cataclysm. At the critical moment, the clansmen decided to save one person to continue the ancient Phoenix Clan's bloodline. They had originally chosen the sister, but at the last moment she gave her chance of life to the Male Phoenix.

No wonder the Male Phoenix was tormented just now.

This is his greatest obsession!

He and his sister had always been close; at the critical moment, she gave him her sole chance to survive—something he could never forget in a lifetime.

Therefore the Male Phoenix must enter the Spirit Mirror Space.

Once inside, the moment he saw his sister, seeing her at death's door, how could he not go mad?

Ao Jing asked himself, if it were him, he would also try every means, expending all his strength to save his sister.

Ao Jing let out a soft sigh and asked, "Shan Shan, can that girl still be saved?"

Shan Shan shook her head: "She can't be saved."

As she spoke, she glanced at the Male Phoenix, her eyes filled with sorrow.

"The flames burning below are Nirvana Fire; I'm not afraid of them, so I once tried going down to rescue people." Shan Shan said painfully, "But the first person I brought out turned to ashes the moment they left the Nirvana Fire."

Ao Jing frowned: "How could that happen?"

Shan Shan also couldn't explain why this was happening.

But she had a strong feeling that those people down there, who still seemed alive, were actually already at death's door.

Only in that special environment below did some unknown force prop them up; once they left it, they could only end up as ashes.

Shan Shan had also told the Male Phoenix this at the time, but the moment he saw his sister, his emotions collapsed completely, and he couldn't take in anything.

The Male Phoenix kept begging Shan Shan to save his sister, trying many times himself, but all ended in failure.

How could Shan Shan dare to agree to the Male Phoenix's request?

Although the girl now looks at death's door, she still has a breath left; once she turns to ashes, Shan Shan can foresee what will happen next.

So she could only respond with stern severity, repeatedly refusing the Male Phoenix harshly.

Yet this stalemate had dragged on too long; Shan Shan's resolve was fraying at the edges, and for a moment she felt she might truly not be able to leave this place.

At that moment, many faces flashed through Shan Shan's mind.

There were her parents, her older brother Xingchen, also her uncle A Cheng and aunt Tang Xun… but in the end, the face that lingered in Shan Shan's mind was Ao Jing's.

This was the first time Shan Shan truly realized how high Ao Jing's place was in her heart.

In such a difficult moment, her subconscious naturally assumed that Ao Jing would surely come to save him.

And indeed, that was exactly the case.

Ao Jing has arrived!

Thinking of this, Shan Shan's lips pursed, her eye sockets reddened: "Brother Jing……"

Ao Jing's heart was about to break; he patted Shan Shan's head, comforting: "It's not your fault, don't blame yourself, you've been stuck here too long; since we know we can't save anyone, let's save ourselves first."

Ao Jing said, taking Shan Shan's hand, preparing to bring her up.

But just then, the flames in the pit below suddenly shot up high; Shan Shan immediately cast a spell to suppress it, but for some reason, this time she couldn't fully suppress it.

The Nirvana fire's flames shot up high, straight upward.

Fortunately Ao Jing had already come down; otherwise, facing this sheet of Nirvana fire, he wouldn't die but would lose a layer of skin.

Moreover, within this flame, they saw several souls being swept up and devoured…