Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 748: The Phoenix's Sacrifice

"You... woke me up... with cooking?"

The Phoenix appeared completely skeptical.

Chen Huaian gave a nod. "Just tell me, are you awake now or not?"

The Phoenix: "..."

"What would have happened if I failed to wake you..."

"Then This Venerable One would simply have eaten you, naturally." Chen Huaian opened his palms wide.

From the ingredients called forth by this cauldron—such as potatoes, wood ear mushrooms, lettuce... nearly everything was set up for braised chicken preparation. He had always relished braised chicken and chicken hotpot, even if he'd never sampled a Phoenix variety. He pictured its taste as remarkably delicious.

"You... you, inheritor of the Dragon Soul, dare to consume sacred beasts!"

The Phoenix jabbed a finger toward Chen Huaian, her expression twisted in rage. "Apologize immediately."

"This Venerable One hasn't devoured you, has he~" Chen Huaian let out a light laugh.

He'd noticed ages ago how much the Phoenix valued his role as the Dragon Soul inheritor. At this point, she aimed to gain the upper hand by flipping the situation on him... As though something so fortunate could really occur!

Next, she'd likely begin ridiculing him just like the other sacred beasts, claiming his power fell short.

"You're refusing to apologize?!" The Phoenix flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. Blazing fire sparked along her elegant crest, her sharp eyes bulging wide in a fierce, demanding glare.

"No way." Chen Huaian shook his head firmly.

"Aaahhhh!" The Phoenix abruptly began tumbling across the floor, erupting in a childish fit directly in front of Chen Huaian's astonished gaze.

"No apology from you! You're finished!"

"Do you realize how close you are to dying, and that only This Queen can rescue you?!"

"This Venerable One, nearing death?" Chen Huaian's lip quirked in a twitch. His initial thought was pure doubt, figuring the Phoenix meant to frighten him on purpose.

"You doubt my words?!" The Phoenix sprang to her feet, her wings beating furiously a few times in irritation. A round fiery mirror materialized in front of Chen Huaian's view.

In that mirror, Chen Huaian spotted a huge, twisted shape coiled atop the stone pillar beyond the Demon Sealing Pagoda—Chen Niu.

"That quick?!" Chen Huaian felt shocked.

He was aware Chen Niu would surely stay unsatisfied and keep dispatching clones to the Lower Realm, steadily boosting their might.

Yet he never anticipated the clone's arrival would happen so soon.

At present, Chen Niu's clone lingered outside the Demon Sealing Pagoda, observing closely, obviously awaiting his emergence.

The situation had turned complicated.

Based on his numerous trips inside the Demon Sealing Pagoda, he understood the structure offered no alternative ways out. Exiting required passing through the main door.

Didn't that leave him facing certain doom today?!

The Sect Summoning Token's cooldown remained active.

While he might bide his time until the Sect Summoning Token refreshed, nothing assured the waiting Chen Niu clone wouldn't grow impatient and storm inside to slay him.

"So, what do you think?" The Phoenix caught the flash of shock and alarm on Chen Huaian's features, which pleased her greatly. She raised her head with pride, casting a sidelong look at him. "Feeling afraid yet? Only I, the mighty Phoenix Queen, can spare your life at this point! Stepping out now spells pure suicide. At your Unity Realm level, that Chen Niu clone could squash you flat with one finger!"

Chen Huaian locked eyes with the Phoenix, the atmosphere hanging quiet for an instant.

"I apologize." Chen Huaian abruptly pressed his palms together in earnest respect. "I really shouldn't have scalded you in that pot. Rather than boiling you like that, This Venerable One ought to have found superior means to rouse you. Still, please forgive me—This Venerable One bears a heavy duty. At times, for the sake of speed, extreme measures become necessary. This Venerable One... truly didn't want to resort to this!"

Chen Huaian gazed upward, a lone crystal tear tracing down from his eye's edge.

His gaze carried the burden of experience, resignation, mercy, and the gravity of his assigned task.

The Phoenix froze in place, gaping at Chen Huaian as his presence shifted so suddenly.

It proved tough to fathom how someone could flip between such contrasting presences in a heartbeat.

Gazing at Chen Huaian's strikingly attractive side view, in that instant, the Phoenix sensed she mirrored the loathsome traits of that villain, the Vermilion Bird.

Indeed...

Wasn't life tough for the Dragon Soul inheritor?

This Unity Realm level he held must have demanded endless grueling work to attain, correct?

Hadn't every prior inheritor who met her neared True Immortal status?

But this one standing here? His potential remained unripe, yet he shouldered the weight of confronting the whole Celestial God Clan on his slender frame...

How infuriating!

The Phoenix couldn't stop herself from shielding her face with a wing, flooded by guilt.

She truly acted like a wicked fowl!

"Inheritor, enough said. This Queen grasps your good intentions completely!"

The Phoenix turned her gaze back to that enormous pot.

To her now, the pot ceased being a tool for cooking her, but rather an artifact that harnessed the sea of fire's heat to hasten her revival.

Though the method struck as odd, it had worked perfectly!

What grounds did she have to fault the Dragon Soul inheritor? All bore their own struggles!

"Approach! This Queen will grant you the Nirvana power!" The Phoenix declared with a grave look.

The Dragon Soul inheritor's current might stayed far too feeble. How could he lack a vital escape skill?

Chen Huaian stepped closer to the Phoenix, planning to offer a few courteous remarks.

Regrettably, this holy bird lacked patience.

"Lii——!" A crisp, ringing call escaped it. The scarlet blaze encircling its form erupted fiercely, forming a whirlpool of holy, pristine fire that swiftly swallowed Chen Huaian whole.

The blaze burned hot, but caused no injury.

It resembled soaking in gentle sunrays. Boundless, untainted force, akin to a raging torrent, surged wildly into Chen Huaian's frame.

Chen Huaian's form trembled sharply.

The barrier at early Unity stage crumbled away like fragile frost struck by this overwhelming might.

His presence rose without pause. Spiritual energy swelled and solidified at a breathtaking pace, propelling him straight into mid Unity stage.

Yet this surge hadn't depleted. It kept driving his progress toward the late Unity stage's summit.

Just then, an unexpected shift arose.

Not every bit of the Phoenix's power entering his body converted to cultivation growth.

A share of it, the purest essence holding Nirvana's core, carried a spark of vitality. It refused to merge simply into his Energy Sea, but darted like nimble flame serpents along the meridians throughout his arms, legs, and torso.

*Sizzle——!*

A faint but clear wave of searing warmth spread.

Chen Huaian glanced downward in surprise, witnessing myriad delicate, vein-like crimson-gold lines emerging under his bare skin.

These lines didn't remain still. Resembling molten lava, they gradually glowed from deep inside his muscles and veins, releasing a cozy, potent presence.

A peculiar sense of wielding Phoenix flames emerged naturally.

At the same time, inside his dantian's Energy Sea.

Near where the Dragon Soul rested, the area warped faintly.

A tiny Phoenix image, mere handspan in size but strikingly real, formed entirely of flawless fire, materialized without a sound.

Its stance exuded grace, head tilted upward. It softly beat its blazing wings and descended gently onto Dang Kang's chubby, rounded midsection.

Nirvana!

A enigmatic flood of knowledge burst forth in Chen Huaian's Sea of Consciousness.

It represented the sacred skill gifted by the Phoenix.

Chen Huaian refused to ignore it. He promptly settled into a cross-legged pose for contemplation, embracing the boon from the sacred beast, the Phoenix.

...