I quietly watched the Vermilion Bird in the cage, pondering what Old Eccentric had just told me. Right now, the Vermilion Bird looked like a lord, wings propped up against the ground, head cocked to one side, eyes full of disdain as it stared at me.
Remembering Old Eccentric’s warning that it could corrupt the mind, I decided to ignore it and kept running for a while, trying to get my legs more accustomed to the situation.
"Hey, hey, where are you going?"
The Vermilion Bird called out, but I ignored it.
"Do you know about the power in your body, that thing..."
Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks and turned around. The Vermilion Bird’s eyes seemed to glimmer with amusement. One of its wings waved at me as if beckoning. Helpless, I walked back over.
I squatted down in front of the birdcage.
"Speak. What do you know?"
With a laughing sound, the Vermilion Bird covered its beak with both wings and started to chuckle.
"I won’t tell you. Even if I know, I won’t tell you."
Seeing how smug it looked, I couldn’t help but get angry. I reached out and slapped the birdcage—bang! The cage flew off, rolling across the wall with a clatter.
"Damn, what’s your problem? I’ve saved you twice, and this is how you treat your benefactor?"
"Why do you talk so much? Forget it if you won’t say anything." I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. Just as I stood up, the Vermilion Bird called out again.
"Alright, alright, wait a second, okay? I’ll tell you, alright?"
I walked over and set the birdcage upright again, glaring at the Vermilion Bird.
"Speak. What’s really going on?"
"Do you remember the first time you pulled out my manifestation, the Phoenix Blade? Heh, didn’t black energy start pouring out of your body?"
I nodded. As it said that, I remembered—not only did black energy pour out, but there was also a cold voice saying, ‘You’ll regret this one day.’
"That was you?" I muttered, staring at the Vermilion Bird.
"Of course it was me! Heh, kid, you should thank me. I did you a favor—I completely evaporated the ghostly part inside you. Otherwise, that thing would’ve taken over your body and mind. You get it now? Go convince that old man to put me back into your body. After all, I know things about this place..."
Suddenly, the Vermilion Bird covered its beak. I grinned wickedly, watching it.
"What do you know? Just tell us the truth!"
"Heh heh, I don’t know, I know nothing. But if you put me back in your body, maybe I’ll remember everything."
I shot the Vermilion Bird a glare and picked up the birdcage.
"If you really know something, tell us. When we get back, I’ll return you to your rightful owner—Martin Lane."
"No." The Vermilion Bird replied firmly, crossing its wings over its chest.
"I don’t want to go back to that bastard Martin Lane’s body. I’ve had enough, no love for him anymore. But you—heh—you’re fun."
I grunted, my voice a little gloomy.
"No, not just for fun—heh, let’s cooperate. We work together, okay?"
"How do we cooperate?"
The Vermilion Bird clutched its head, as if deep in thought.
"The key is your soul’s strength—it’s still too weak. And your body too, it can’t handle the immense power I bring. You know, after seven rebirths, you’ll gain power like never before—maybe even surpass those Ghost Sovereigns. Then you’ll be invincible, heh, as long as you do what I say."
I stood up, stared coldly at the Vermilion Bird, and slowly shook my head.
"Fake power—I don’t want to keep living like this. I just want to survive with the ones I love."
With that, I moved into the clearing and began to walk slowly, picking up speed. Today, even though my right foot was strapped with thin wooden sticks as a makeshift prosthesis, I’d gotten much more used to it.
I’d asked myself before—seeking death. My past actions made me subconsciously want to atone, to die. Again and again, I barely managed to survive.
Old Eccentric has told me more than once—my body always ends up battered and broken. In those fleeting moments of life and death, I never thought about surviving—whether fighting ghosts or humans.
But after coming here, I gradually began to understand. Chasing death, dwelling on the past—it’s meaningless. Last night, that feeling surged up from my heart, and it’s still here. I raised a hand and looked at my right leg.
Maybe it’s because of this leg that I finally understand what it means to be alive. Life here is already harsh enough—every moment is a battle against your own desires. A single lapse, and you’ll be devoured by them.
Now I understand what attacked me that night—my truest desire, the wish to die, was completely seen through by John Chou.
I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about John Chou. I had no idea how he was doing now, but after leaving that horror story, the words he said to me finally made sense.
John Chou went to great lengths to enter that horror story and rescue me. Before that, he’d already entrusted Lord Shenyan with my case. After I got out, I asked Zhang Wuju—he told me it was John Chou who found Quinn Ji and sent Yuna Ji out to look for things. John Chou himself prepared a lot, and that’s how he managed to enter the story through me.
I clenched my fists, gritted my teeth, and looked up at the sky, my mind full of how I lost to my own desires, fell into the pit, and was almost devoured by the Desire Fiend.
Back then, in that cold, dark place, my memory was gone. The light that fell from above—just as I was about to die—was John Chou, who grabbed me and pulled me back. I don’t know why I saw Rachel Lan.
(Irrelevant system message skipped)
But in that final moment, it was Rachel Lan’s cries that woke me up.
Thinking about all this, I ran even harder, quietly waiting for night to fall. Tonight, Tammy Blade will face the Desire Fiend alone, and I have to go and see for myself.
After all, it’s my duty to see all of this clearly.
At dinnertime, Old Eccentric hung the Vermilion Bird up on a tree branch. It kept chattering, but Old Eccentric warned again—if it kept making noise, he’d really pluck all its feathers.
After dinner, Vincent Swallow said there was about half an hour until nightfall. We returned to camp and sat by the fire, planning to rest a bit. Tammy Blade closed her eyes to meditate, her bright, sharp knife stuck in the ground beside her.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the Vermilion Bird, so I asked about it.
"Old Eccentric, you said those guys are best at corrupting people’s minds. What does that mean, exactly? Can you tell me?"
"Sigh, this stuff—Vincent Swallow, you explain. I’m too lazy, it’s complicated and involves a lot. I’m exhausted from last night and need to sleep."
Saying that, Old Eccentric got up, went back to his cabin, and sat down, clearly waiting for night so he could go to sleep.
Vincent Swallow took a gulp of wine, then pointed at the birdcage hanging above. The Vermilion Bird gripped the cage with its wings, glaring at us.
"You’re barely three hundred years old, what do you know?"
The Vermilion Bird started squawking again. Suddenly, Old Eccentric picked up a small stone and, with a flick, I watched in amazement as it landed right in the Vermilion Bird’s beak. It whimpered.
"Keep it up and I won’t be so nice."
The Vermilion Bird quickly quieted down, spat out the stone, and covered its beak with its wings.
"First, in tradition, the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise are the Four Sacred Beasts, each guarding a direction. You know that, right?"
I nodded, and Vincent Swallow continued.
"There are many kinds of powers in the world of mystic arts that use the Vermilion Bird—like the Four Sacred Wedding Robes of the Yellow Springs, our own Fourfold Vitality of the Breaking Vow Sect, and the Fourfold Array of Maoshan Arts. All these powers are called Vermilion Bird, and what links people to the power of the Sacred Spirits is faith."
I responded with an 'oh' and glanced up at the Vermilion Bird, which looked stunned, staring at Vincent Swallow.
Vincent Swallow then told me that, more formally, it’s called the power of the Vermilion Bird Domain. Through faith in the Four Sacred Beasts, power flows out, giving believers strength and driving away evil.
Anyone in the world of mystic arts whose cultivation method is connected to the Four Sacred Domains will have the power of those domains attached to them.
"It’s like building a dam at the edge of a boundless sea—the bigger the dam, the greater the force when you open the gates. But if the dam is too weak, that force will break it apart."
Vincent Swallow explained it like that, and I immediately understood. Thinking back, my first encounter with the Fourfold Power was Rachel Lan’s Fourfold Art. I saw how the power of the Sacred Beasts gradually took shape in the human world.
"Didn’t expect you to be so knowledgeable for your age—but, heh." The Vermilion Bird stopped mid-sentence and shot Old Eccentric a look.
"Still, it’s best not to use these powers too much. After all, extremes breed opposites. Good and evil depend on a single thought, and the power that spills from the Sacred Domains can be good or evil, depending on the user."
"Time’s up," Tammy Blade said coldly, standing up as darkness fell.