"What solution?" Nana Toki asked, her words dropping like pebbles into a still pond.

"Since the Fusion Flame Art requires fusing many spirit flames, Luo’er could change tack," Shrine Water said, steady as an old pine in wind. "During cultivation, fuse only one spirit fire. That should cut the risk of qi deviation."

"Only one spirit fire?" Her brows lifted like the edge of a paper fan.

She paused; the thought settled like snow on a pine—simple, clean.

But...

"Will that even work?" Nana had never heard of anyone practicing the Fusion Flame Art with just one flame.

"Not sure. These are whispers I heard from the Grand Elder," Shrine Water smiled, a warm lamp under night eaves. "If Luo’er truly means to train the Fusion Flame Art, go ask the Grand Elder. His former disciple practiced it."

Ask that old man in the Inner Hall?

Better not—he tried to crush me with Spirit Energy just now.

Still.

"The Grand Elder has a disciple?" Doubt fluttered like a moth at a window.

She’d received no memory about that, and she remembered the Grand Elder of the Cloudpeak Sect had never taken disciples.

"The Grand Elder did take one," Shrine Water said, regret drifting like dusk mist over a lake. "Later he severed the bond. The Fusion Flame Art you use was modified by that disciple."

"What a pity, that once-in-a-century seedling." Her sigh fell like autumn leaves.

"What happened back then?" Nana’s curiosity sparked like flint; she leaned closer, cat-soft and bright-eyed. Gossip about the Cloudpeak Sect’s Grand Elder—thunder behind sealed doors.

Not poking at it would be a sin to herself.

"Luo’er wants to know?" Shrine Water arched a brow, a mountain ridge against fading light.

Her apprentice had changed, more and more lately. Once, she never cared for such talk.

"Of course I want to!" Nana’s grin flashed like sunlight on water. A thousand-year old fox of a man, taking just one disciple—who wouldn’t be curious?

"..." Silence pooled like ink.

"It starts hundreds of years ago," Shrine Water began, voice slow as a river through stone. "Back before our current Sect Master rose, the Grand Elder brought back a little girl from the mortal world."

"No one knew where she came from. He never spoke of her origin. What she showed, though, made all eyes turn—talent sharp as a blade of frost."

"He took her as a disciple and taught her. In a few short years, she stood at the peak, the brightest star in the Cloudpeak Sect."

"She refined the Fusion Flame Art and folded it into her own path. In just a century, she reached a realm few touch in a lifetime—the Void Realm, cold and high as moonlight."

"Maybe Heaven envies the gifted, maybe Fate toys with us," Shrine Water said, the words bitter as old tea. "On a sect mission, demonic qi from the Demon Realm seeped into her. When she tried to break through, she fell into qi deviation. The fire in her body ran wild and butchered our disciples like a storm of embers."

"Then the world learned who she truly was—a human–demon half-blood from the Immortal Realm, abandoned in mortal dust. She carried the blood of an ancient demonic beast, the Fire Phoenix. They say Phoenix flame is inexhaustible, burning all to ash and rising anew."

"The blaze devoured the Cloudpeak Sect for three days and three nights, never waning, never tiring. The dead and wounded piled like charred timber. In the end, the Grand Elder had no hand left to play—he sealed her beneath the sect, bound for all ages."

"After, he declared their ties cut. The Fusion Flame Art disappeared from the world, like a candle snuffed in rain."

Nana Toki: "..."

So that’s the origin of the demon seal under Cloudpeak Sect.

Ding! Hidden Quest triggered: Phoenix Nirvana.

Quest: Break the seal beneath Cloudpeak Sect. Help the Nesting Phoenix return to the Immortal Realm and ascend.

Nana Toki: "..."

That hidden quest hit like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

Nesting Phoenix?

Who’s that?

Nana had never heard that name.

System, could you be any more casual?

System: "Host, you keep ignoring the script. You can handle the consequences."

Nana Toki: "..."

"Luo’er, Luo’er?"

"Ah? What is it, Master?" The call tugged her back like a breeze through chimes.

She’d argued with her System too long; Shrine Water had called her several times.

Shrine Water: "..."

"After all that, do you still want to train the Fusion Flame Art?" Concern lay on her face like thin frost.

She didn’t want Nana on that path. History is a scar, and scars ache in damp weather.

Even if the Grand Elder claimed there was a way to lower the risk, Shrine Water’s heart still wouldn’t rest.

"Master, I don’t plan to give up the Fusion Flame Art," Nana said, resolve steady as a lit wick. "But I won’t fuse spirit fire yet. I’ll focus on breathing and tempering."

Her System had warned her: before Nascent Soul, don’t fuse any spirit fire. No reason given.

She trusted it wouldn’t harm her. Why? Gut feeling, like a bird’s sense of storm.

Better safe than sorry, especially in this cultivation world where danger crouches like tigers in grass.

"Very well. Maybe, by then, Luo’er will find a better art than the Fusion Flame Art." Shrine Water exhaled, the breath a pale cloud.

"This time’s Foundation Establishment came in a rush, and I couldn’t find you anything fine," she added, reaching into her storage ring like drawing water from a deep well. "Take this first."

"This is..." Nana accepted the book, curiosity burning like a taper. She read the title and huffed a laugh. "Nine Suns Bows to Phoenix Art... ha."

"This internal art came from the mortal world," Shrine Water said, eyes soft as moon on reeds. "Legend says an empress in ancient times created it. It’s not as domineering as the Fusion Flame Art, but it greatly expands Spirit Energy and body strength. At great completion, it can call forth the Phoenix Flame."

An internal art. Relief washed through her like cool spring water. Anything but an attack art; those were a hedgehog to hug.

Internal arts were gentler—follow the score and breathe with the beat.

Nana didn’t like complicated things; simplicity blooms like lotus.

"Many thanks, Master." She tucked the Nine Suns Bows to Phoenix Art away, then bowed, fists together, respectful as a willow.

Greed peeked like a fox. She sidled closer, kneading her master’s leg with playful taps, smile bright as a peach blossom. "Master, since you’ve given me an art, maybe throw in a few treasures too~"

Shrine Water: "..."

"Greedy bites choke." She flicked Nana’s forehead, a snap like a raindrop, then rose and walked to the pavilion’s threshold. She beckoned, her figure framed like bamboo at a gate. "Don’t stir trouble these days. Cultivate well, and you’ll get a sect mission."

Cultivate…

I just stepped out from a cultivation session.

"What’s the point of those missions?" Nana rubbed her sore forehead, cheeks puffed like buns. Petulance swirled like summer clouds.

Master thinks she’s mighty, flicking my forehead at will. I’ll return that debt someday!

"Missions bring treasures." Her answer fell like bait into a river.

"..." So basically: no cultivation, no treasures.

"Why haven’t I seen Shuiqin today?" Shrine Water glanced around Stream Peak, eyes searching like swallows over eaves. Had she gone to the sect?

"Master, junior sister went into seclusion a few minutes before you came back." Nana relayed the news, voice steady as a drum.

Shrine Water nodded, a pebble’s approval. "Shuiqin’s foundation is decent, but she won’t put in the grind. This seclusion will do her good. Luo’er, aren’t you going to cultivate?"

"In a few days. It’s rare to have you back—I want to keep you company." Warmth glowed in her tone like embers.

They left the lakeside pavilion behind the mountain and strolled around Stream Peak, steps easy as wind over grass.

Of course, that wasn’t Nana’s true aim.

With a hidden quest hanging overhead like a red string, she needed to learn about the Cloudpeak Sect’s seal first.

She didn’t even know where it lay. If her realm rose and missions pulled her away, when would she have time to search?

And she’d snatched the female lead’s golden finger. The female lead wouldn’t let that pass; she might come knocking soon.

If Nana went into seclusion, the girl could wave a pretext and yank her golden finger back.

She had to stay wary, like a fox watching snares.

"Master, in a few days, maybe train that art I gave you." Nana dropped the hint like seeds along a path as they walked.

Honestly, if her master learned the female lead’s cheat now, then even if the female lead reclaimed the Azure Sea Tide Technique later, it wouldn’t be a loss.

She feared Shrine Water would drag her feet. If Yiling Shen took the Azure Sea Tide Technique back, that’d be a bleeding wound.

"Why?" Shrine Water turned, puzzled, her gaze clear as well water. "Does that art have some special trick?"

"Not really..." Nana’s smile stayed mild as mist. "I just worry Master might forget. A little reminder."

Shrine Water: "..."

"Luo’er, do you still have the jade token I gave you?" Her tone dipped, testing like a finger on a bowstring.

"Jade token? Yes." Nana unclasped the cool green token at her waist and handed it over, the piece gleaming like a leaf. "What’s wrong, Master?"

"..." Shrine Water studied it, eyes moving like a quiet tide.

No fracture, no trace of repair. The color was clear, a fresh spring green.

That meant Feng Luo Luo hadn’t been body-snatched or had her soul bound.

Then why had her heart changed like a person swapping masks?

"Nothing." Shrine Water let the thought drift like smoke. As long as the person was safe, it was blessing enough.

She returned the jade token, then took out the Azure Sea Tide Technique and glanced through it, waves in her eyes. "I’ll start training this art in a few days."