Chapter 941: Axiu

After this fireball fell, they saw that another circle of people had lain down below.

Now, only a few ancient Feng Clan members clinging to life with a single breath remain.

"Axiu..."

At that moment, a young, weak girl's voice suddenly came from below.

The three of them looked down in unison and saw that, in the corner, the girl who had been on the verge of death had somehow sat up cross-legged.

She lifted her pale little face toward Xiongfeng and called out again: "Axiu, is that you?"

"Sister, it's me!"

Xiongfeng was about to rush down, but Aojing grabbed him and pressed him against the rim of the pit.

At this moment, Xiongfeng couldn't care less about anything else; his eyes held only that girl: "Sister, I'm Axiu, your most beloved younger brother, I've come..."

But the words "I've come to save you" just wouldn't come out.

In fact, not only Xiongfeng, but Aojing and Shan Shan also saw it—the girl… was experiencing a final burst of vitality before death.

The girl clearly understood this as well; she was calm, even smiling at Xiongfeng: "Our Axiu has finally broken out of his shell, grown this big, hardly different from what I imagined—how wonderful."

Xiongfeng choked up: "Sister..."

"Axiu, don't be sad, don't cry, and don't be obstinate." the girl said, "Our clan's fate was decided long ago; I'm already content to see you once more. Listen to your sister—leave quickly, this place won't hold much longer."

As she spoke, the ground began to tremble.

The flames in the pit suddenly surged, incessantly devouring the eggs and corpses below, as if about to consume everything.

Aojing took Shan Shan's hand with one hand and grabbed Xiongfeng's collar with the other, preparing to bring them up.

Xiongfeng shouted again: "Sister!"

The girl, however, smiled, shook her head, and waved at him: "Axiu, live well, protect the Feng Clan well—only if the Feng Clan prospers will our sacrifice be meaningful."

As her words fell, the girl was completely consumed by the flames, vanishing from this world.

Xiongfeng wept and cried out.

Aojing couldn't care less; he grabbed him and rushed upward.

But just halfway up, Aojing felt an invisible force pulling them from behind, trying to suck them back down.

Aojing glanced back, but couldn't see anything clearly.

Because the temperature of the flames below was too high, stinging his eyes, Aojing only sensed that the fire seemed mixed with something else.

There wasn't much time left for him to observe; the flames below chased him upward.

Yet the suction from below grew stronger, the temperature rose, and Aojing could barely endure the heat.

He lifted Shan Shan, and she shot upward first.

Shan Shan thought that if she went up first, then turned back to pull Aojing, it would save time and be more efficient.

But she never imagined that, after being lifted to a height, she would look back and see that Aojing and Xiongfeng hadn't kept up—their bodies kept falling downward.

Below them, flames had already risen; a single lick of fire would surely doom them.

Panicked, Shan Shan swooped down again, her long tail feathers wrapping around Aojing and hauling him upward.

Meanwhile, Aojing's hand clung tightly to Xiongfeng, refusing to let go no matter what.

As they climbed higher, Shan Shan's body broke through the mountaintop's egg nest, yet she still couldn't pull Aojing and Xiongfeng up from below.

The powerful suction from below returned, pulling Aojing and Xiongfeng down again.

Xiongfeng struggled to break free from Aojing's grip, but to no avail.

Aojing shouted sternly: "We go together—I won't abandon you!"

Xiongfeng instantly ceased his struggle.

He looked at Aojing in disbelief.

At that moment, Aojing, straining so hard, had veins bulging all over; unused to heat, large beads of sweat trailed down his cheeks, making him look rather disheveled.

Xiongfeng knew Aojing disliked him; from their first meeting, his provocations had left Aojing with a poor impression.

Yet despite that, Aojing had never considered abandoning him.

What a fine person—how could he repeatedly drag them down?

Perhaps… from the start, he shouldn't have clung to that unrealistic fantasy, thinking that merely entering the Spirit Mirror Space would guarantee a way to save his sister, or even his clansmen.

It was his fault; he ought to pay the price himself, not drag the two of them to death with him!

Thinking this, Xiongfeng let out a sudden cry, transformed into his splendid true form, and beat his wings hard upward.

The sudden gust directly shoved Aojing upward.

Aojing and Shan Shan both tumbled onto the nest's rim.

The two sprang to their feet, looked down again, and first saw a large swath of bloodstained feathers drifting at the cave mouth.

Xiongfeng had just spread his wings—how could he possibly maneuver in such a tiny opening?

His wings were severely injured, shedding a large patch of feathers.

Through those feathers, Aojing keenly caught sight of Xiongfeng's silhouette.

He had reverted to human form, his body plummeting uncontrollably.

Aojing leaned forward again, his long arm reaching from the mouth and barely managing to grab Xiongfeng.

But having only just seized him, he immediately felt a powerful suction wrench Xiongfeng from his grasp…

Xiongfeng's voice came from below: "Aojing, sorry—I shouldn't have decided on my own to bring Shan Shan in here; take her away, the sooner the better—this space won't hold much longer."

Aojing felt it.

This entire Spirit Mirror Space was warping.

He had seen this before; he knew that if they couldn't escape now, they would all die here.

Even if he didn't want Xiongfeng to die, there was no time left to rescue him.

Ao Jing had no choice but to grit his teeth, grabbed Shan Shan's hand, and desperately ran back the way they had come.

Shan Shan ran, looking back.

She felt very sad.

She hadn't been tricked into coming by Xiong Feng; she had her own plans.

When Xiong Feng told her his people were still trapped in this Spirit Mirror Space, Shan Shan thought that if she could rescue those inside—or even bring the whole space back to the Feng Clan—it would be a truly great deed.

So, entering this Spirit Mirror Space was her voluntary choice.

She hadn't anticipated how uncontrollable things would become.

Now they had to leave, but Xiong Feng insisted on staying, to share the fate of this Spirit Mirror Space—something hard to accept.

The ground shook ever more violently, the space grew more distorted, yet the endless forest seemed to have no end...