Chapter 636: Chapter 252: Seven Luminaries Patrol the Heavens

(No Chapters are missing, it’s just a misnumbering)

...

The Milky Way hangs high, the heavens and earth twisting.

The constraints of the earth and the crushing weight of the Power of Circulation made An An feel immense pressure. She was like a dying, struggling lamb, her petite body showing cracks, lines of blood spurting out, shattered by the Power of Circulation, dispersing into a mist of blood. Wrapped in the blood mist, she struggled forward on the fragmentary space of the spiral Celestial Tier.

She looked up at the top of the Celestial Tier.

What kind of place was that for her? She didn’t know, nor did she want to think about it. Moving forward for her was a feeling that arose from deep within her heart. This feeling was as simple and plain as wanting to adventure with Fan Wubing.

Perhaps only by moving forward could she temporarily forget the gloomy past.

The last hundred miles, each step was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

A Fourth-Tier Tribulation Immortal, a Demon Lord wielding the Anger Demon Dao, in such a place, was like a crushed ant as well.

Yet this ant, even if only left with one breath, would forcefully take another step.

Finally, she reached the summit.

From head to toe, hardly any inch of flesh remained intact. Her bones had shattered into dust, her internal organs turned to blood, and she lay like a lump of mud on the top of the Celestial Tier. The starry sky seemed within reach for her.

However, at this moment, she only had eyes for Fan Wubing suspended in the air.

His entire being was enveloped in a mysterious aura. This aura, though he was clearly right before her, made him seem like he was on the far side of the starry sky. The sun, moon, stars, all celestial bodies revolved around him.

In the sky, there was another presence. Waving its wings, a phoenix formed from surging scarlet-golden celestial flames.

The phoenix turned its head and glanced at An An on the ground.

A glimmer flashed in its cold pupils, then a phoenix feather departed from its body, drifting down before An An, transforming into a mass of celestial flame, and entered her forehead.

An An’s broken body began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Basking in the firelight, she was reborn.

Suddenly, the entire starry sky fell into stillness, those rapidly flying stars all froze, including Fan Wubing, his flowing hair, each strand frozen.

An An was startled.

She looked around and realized that only she and the scarlet-golden phoenix could move.

Time, was it paused?

The legendary Eternal Cosmos Dao that controls time? But... wasn’t it said that the Eternal Cosmos Dao, like the Destiny Dao, couldn’t be controlled by living beings?

"Who... are you? Why are you helping me?" An An stood up and asked the phoenix.

A voice echoed in her mind, "Why risk your life to come here? Is it just to complete this meaningless challenge?"

An An lowered her gaze, "Why do you all think it’s meaningless."

"He came here following the guidance of destiny, seeking a way to break the cage of fate. What about you? Why did you come here?"

In An An’s dark pupils, the light of the stars was reflected, she took a deep breath and said,

"Not everyone can know the direction of their progress. I came here not to prove something to anyone, but..." she glanced at Fan Wubing, "I want to stand beside him. We’re good buddies! Since we’re good buddies, we should progress together side by side." She lowered her head, her voice tinged with a nasal tone, "He’s amazing, better than me at everything, always accommodating me, even bringing me here this time to ensure I wouldn’t remain weak like before. I certainly can’t let him down, I certainly need to change."

"What kind of change will you make for him?"

An An smiled a little, raising her hand as if to scratch her head, but stopped short,

"I’m not changing for him, but he made me realize that to become a true adult, changes must be made."

The phoenix swirled with scarlet-golden celestial flames, hovering in the sky, sacred and noble beneath the frozen, dark blue starry sky,

"Are you afraid of death?"

An An shrank her head, "Afraid."

"Then why risk your life to come here."

An An found it rather inexplicable, "I said before, right? He’s my good buddy; I want to stand with him."

"So, you’re saying you are willing to face death for him."

An An pondered, "That sounds a bit odd, but changing from fearing death to not fearing it should count as change." Her eyes sparkled, "I won’t be weak like I was before!"

The phoenix suddenly stopped in front of An An.

As it landed, a drop of blood wept from the corner of its eye. This drop of blood stirred with scarlet-golden flames.

An An asked, "What’s this?"

"A gift for you."

"A gift? Why give me a gift? Do we know each other?"

The phoenix lowered its head slightly, "I like you; perhaps we can become friends."

An An’s face immediately turned bright red, quickly waving her hands, "No no no no, you can’t like me, I don’t like women!"

The phoenix’s eyes remained devoid of emotion, "I like the sky, I like the earth, I like the forest, I like the lakes, I like you. Said like this, do you understand?"

An An patted her chest, breathed a sigh of relief, "So that’s the kind of liking, you startled me." Happily accepting the gift from the phoenix, she then laughed and said, "Now we’re friends. Is this a drop of blood?"

The phoenix said, "When you fall into despair, it will bring you a sliver of hope."

An An’s eyes lit up, "A Protective Talisman?"

"You could say that."