“Why?” Xiao Kun asked in confusion. “Can’t it be repaired?”
Xiang Xian shook his head regretfully. Hulü Guang leaned over to take a look and said, “Does it need special materials?”
Xiao Kun set aside the memorial in his hand, and they all examined the Glazed Bottle together. The bottle’s material was neither metal nor jade, semi-transparent, filled with what seemed like countless stars twinkling in the heavy night. Its shape was quite peculiar, like a pot. Upon closer inspection, the inner space twisted at a certain point to become the pot’s surface, which extended to the bottom and folded back inside.
The inside was the outside, the outside was the inside. It was unknown who had crafted this creation originally.
Xiang Xian said, “Ordinary materials can’t repair it. The only way is to find the Nüwa Sky-Patching Stone, which is impossible with our cultivation bases.”
Zhen Yue said, “What if we don’t insist on fully restoring all its functions, just repair it enough to make it barely usable?”
“Hm…” Xiang Xian held the chalice with his slender fingers and rotated it under the light. The stars inside reflected scattered light, filling the Yueyang Tower with a dreamlike atmosphere.
“The Talismanic Runes at the breakage point and the starry river are on the bottle’s exterior,” Xiang Xian said. “They are an important source of magical power that allows the Qingyu Golden Chalice to connect to many regions in the world…” Seeing the others didn’t quite understand, he explained, “Anywhere in Shenzhou, as long as you use the Qingyu Golden Chalice, you can connect to each other—that is, ‘teleport.’”
Xiao Kun nodded and said, “Got it. So this part being destroyed means that function is gone?”
Xiang Xian hummed in affirmation and said, “The surface inside the bottle is used for creating illusory spaces.”
Zhen Yue: “So the function to create spaces can still be used?”
“It seems so, but it’s best not to,” Xiang Xian said. “It’s very unstable now. If it causes the internal space to compress, we’re done for.”
Xiao Kun: “Why did it break? What about the previous fragments? Since it was struck, they must still be scattered nearby. Can we find them?”
“They’re gone.” Xiang Xian said. “They fell into the fissures—that is, the void. Can’t find them. No need to think about it anymore.”
Zhen Yue nodded. Xiang Xian returned the Qingyu Golden Chalice to him, and Zhen Yue had no choice but to put it away with a sigh.
Chaosheng and Wu Yingzong returned. Chaosheng looked utterly exhausted, while Wu Yingzong held him, comforting him in every way. Chaosheng lay on one side of a desk on the third floor of Yueyang Tower, facing the rain outside the railing, silent.
Mu Qingshan and Baoyin also returned one after the other. Xiao Kun said, “Let’s eat first and rest early. Everyone’s been up all night. Even if the sky falls, we can discuss it in detail at home later.”
That night, the group ate a silent dinner on the top floor of Yueyang Tower.
Both Xiao Kun and Xiang Xian were deep in thought.
Xiang Xian asked, “Will Brother Zhen come back to Kaifeng with us, or return to Hangzhou first?”
Zhen Yue hesitated for a moment, then said, “I wonder if Lord Xiao and Lord Xiang would be willing to accompany this fool back home first?”
Xiao Kun thought for a moment and said, “We originally planned that after obtaining the Qingyu Golden Chalice, we’d have clues to head to the Heavenly Demon Palace. But now that the chalice is broken, the clues are cut off. Perhaps your mother knows more about it? Maybe there are other alternatives?”
Zhen Yue: “Yes, the Zhen Family has practiced the Kanyu Arts for a thousand years. My mother instructed that once the golden chalice is found, it must be sent back immediately, and she will do her best to help.”
Xiao Kun said to Xiang Xian, “In that case, it’s fine to make a trip to Hangzhou.”
“Good.” Xiang Xian nodded. “Even if we return to the capital now, we might not have a solution.”
Xiao Kun always spoke in a consultative tone, even gentler than before—perhaps because Xiang Xian’s fatigue was too evident, and he himself felt something hadn’t been fully considered. At this moment, he remembered and asked again, “How was the Qingyu Golden Chalice broken?”
Xiang Xian ate his dinner and glanced at Xiao Kun. Chaosheng’s expression was complex as he observed Xiang Xian’s face.
“When Old Wu rushed out earlier, it had already left a crack. This time, A Huang completely smashed it open,” Xiang Xian said.
Wu Yingzong had seen the moment A Huang transformed into the Demonic Phoenix and charged out, but Xiang Xian hadn’t mentioned it before, so he hadn’t dared ask. Now he couldn’t hold back: “Where did A Huang go?”
“It fell to demonization,” Xiang Xian said. “Perhaps it flew to the Heavenly Demon Palace and fell into King Mu’s hands.”
“A Huang was captured?!” Hulü Guang exclaimed in shock.
Xiang Xian explained, “Many years ago, the phoenix was supposed to rebirth through fire, but King Mu seized the opportunity to erode it with demonic fire. The rebirth failed, and its two souls and six spirits were taken by the Demon King. The remaining one soul and one spirit broke free and descended to the human world, seeking the Wisdom Sword Successor for rescue. I was still young then and didn’t know the urgency. After picking it up, I unwittingly gave it one of my souls. These two souls merged, jointly reshaping a new it and continuing its life.
“Because my soul fused with A Huang, I gained the phoenix’s Blazing Flame True Force.”
