Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 812: Destruction Before Rebirth

"In any case, Dragon Soul Inheritor, though I can't promise that every deity in the Immortal Realm is evil, I can promise you that the vast majority serve as the sharp tools and loyal hounds of the Celestial God Clan."

A cold frost filled the Vermilion Bird's eyes, her voice dripping with deadly resolve. "They'll become your foes down the line. Once you face them, you'll grasp exactly why I warn you like this."

"Fine... our time is over."

With those final words, the Vermilion Bird's form slowly dissolved amid the roaring inferno.

The Phoenix faded into nothingness right after the Vermilion Bird.

"Our Divine Souls haven't fully perished, yet we can't keep talking to you forever. The energy we have left needs to join forces with the other Auspicious Beasts to bolster your Divine Soul and dantian. Ahead, even if you stand isolated amid foes with no backup in view, never lose heart. We're forever by your side, bound in triumph and downfall alike!"

The Phoenix and Vermilion Bird vanished entirely.

Inside his dantian, Chen Huaian spotted them, still and silent, flanking the Azure Dragon on both sides.

The Azure Dragon's once serene and steady face had vanished long ago, now locked in an expression of sheer embarrassment with beads of sweat dotting his brow. Clearly, this sibling faced endless torment ahead.

"By the way, what gift did the Vermilion Bird grant to This Venerable One?"

Chen Huaian rubbed his head, then turned his attention inward.

*Whoosh—!*

A strange blaze erupted on his fingertip, woven from ghostly pale and deep black strands, dancing faintly.

Was this the Primordial Fire embodying the Rule of "Fire," the Vermilion Bird's present to him?

It even involved the Phoenix's help...

From this angle, it seemed the Phoenix and Vermilion Bird staged their clash on purpose, to forge him through trial, guaranteeing that even without grasping the Rule of Fire, he'd gain command over both the Phoenix Divine Fire and the Samadhi True Fire at once.

Still, Chen Huaian chose not to probe the true motives any further.

He pulled back from his inner vision and lifted his eyelids.

The top floor of the Demon Sealing Pagoda lay charred and blackened by the Samadhi True Fire's fury. Lacking the Vermilion Bird's presence, the space turned far more desolate in an instant, and that primordial Fierce Beast, Zhu Huai, had vanished too.

Zhu Huai served as the ultimate trigger for the ninth Well of Heaven.

It formed the missing link to awaken Muscle Tyrant.

Zhu Huai absolutely couldn't slip away.

That idea had barely formed when a fierce quake erupted from the Demon Sealing Pagoda's lower floor, chased by a heartbroken howl from some creature.

The noise echoed like a wild goose's final wail. No doubt, it came from Zhu Huai.

Chen Huaian's pulse quickened.

Was it possible that Chen Niu's clone, locked in combat with Lin Fan and Zhang Mengchu, still squeezed out moments to vie with him for the Fierce Beast's Demonic Soul?

He dove straight into the Well of Heaven and reached the Demon Sealing Pagoda's lower tier, his Divine Sense surging forth like a flood, wrapping the whole area in moments.

There, he witnessed a woman in a simple white gown standing atop a massive creature. Her gaze burned crimson, a savage killing vibe coiling around her, and her blade hovered poised over the beast's skull, ready to strike without warning.

She was Hua Jin the True One.

And the enormous creature beneath her was none other than Zhu Huai.

Even a tiger on flat ground falls prey to hounds. After endless cycles of rebirth, Zhu Huai's might as an ancient Fierce Beast had crashed to its lowest ebb. Strength once clashing with gods and immortals now left it helpless against Hua Jin the True One's assaults, who lingered at the Half-Step Feathered Transformation Realm. The countless gashes riddling its frame showed it had endured a brutal thrashing for some time.

Yet what drove Hua Jin to charge into the Demon Sealing Pagoda right now?

"Hua Jin! Hold back on the beast!"

Too pressed for deeper thought, Chen Huaian dashed forward in one bound to halt Hua Jin the True One's blade.

"Senior Chen, you're safe?" Hua Jin the True One shook at the sound of Chen Huaian's call. Spotting him arrive personally, joy and ease lit her eyes. "Good to know you're unharmed. Before, I detected odd stirrings in the Demon Sealing Pagoda, like a World taking shape. I worried you couldn't handle it alone, so I..."

She held back from sounding too bold; overconfidence might imply she belittled the elder's power.

Hua Jin shifted gears. "Once inside, I found this creature lurking. I aimed to question it about your location, to offer my support. But it refused to speak. Worse, it bragged about devouring you. Though I dismissed the claim, fury took hold, and I readied a killing blow."

Pinned under Hua Jin the True One's foot, Zhu Huai shot a instinctive look at Chen Huaian, its gaze brimming with injustice and bewilderment.

The Dragon Soul Inheritor was claiming the Vermilion Bird's boon. It aided the Dragon Soul Inheritor in hiding the truth, even at the cost of its life—it didn't mind.

Now, though, it appeared the Dragon Soul Inheritor knew the Kunlun Immortal Palace's head, and she treated him with deep reverence.

Across reincarnation's turns, Hua Jin the True One had always ridden the highest waves, so echoes of her lingered in Zhu Huai's shattered recollections.

It couldn't help feeling a quiet awe.

This era's Dragon Soul Inheritor stood apart.

In old times, they'd clash to the bitter end with the Kunlun Immortal Palace and Great Thunder Temple. But this one's path hinted at seizing the Kunlun Immortal Palace?

Who could tell if fortune or doom awaited.

"Senior Chen, this Fierce Beast looks like nothing but trouble. Releasing it would unleash disaster. Keeping it sealed in the Demon Sealing Pagoda is like nursing a hidden explosive—pure risk with zero gain. Why not end it here? Its core and essence could at least boost your power. If you wish, Senior, I'll slay it for you immediately!"

Her words done, the lethal glare in Hua Jin the True One's eyes toward Zhu Huai intensified.

"This creature holds value for This Venerable One." Chen Huaian hastened to ease the tension. Meeting Hua Jin's puzzled stare, he steeled himself and clarified, "This Venerable One just fought a grueling fight. As you recall, the Divine Body Tempering Technique draws from Demonic Creatures for refinement. This Venerable One needs exactly this Fierce Beast to mend my wounds! Slaying it would yield its Demon Core and essence, useful enough, but far less potent than absorbing its full form directly."

"I see." Hua Jin the True One grasped it at once, flashing a sorry smile and bowing with joined hands. "This junior acted rashly, nearly spoiling Senior's intentions. With Senior safe, this junior will exit the Demon Sealing Pagoda. The fight for Celestial Jade Marrow rages on outside. This junior can't let chances for top-grade Celestial Jade Marrow slip. And... Senior, once you've refined the Fierce Beast, please unlock the ninth Well of Heaven without delay. It's a divine gift for all souls on Earth Star!"

Hua Jin the True One accepted Chen Huaian's explanation without question. On her way out, she cast a Divine Ability to bind the badly wounded Zhu Huai in place, easing Chen Huaian's task of refining it.

"A divine gift, is it?" Chen Huaian squinted his eyes.

The Vermilion Bird had warned: all Wells of Heaven unsealed meant deities would arrive.

Earth Star's inhabitants already endured harsh fates. Deities' coming would only crush them further under heavier burdens.

Yet the Wells of Heaven demanded opening.

Be it Taotie's scheme or the Ancestral Dragon's design, both hinged on breaching the Wells of Heaven, both craved the deities' arrival.

Sealed Wells would keep heaven and earth's laws chaining every creature's cultivation. How then to challenge the Celestial God Clan?

From ruin sprang renewal.

Dangers loomed, of course, but in those perils hid the sole path to reversal.