Chapter 86: The Dawn of the Primal Chaos

In the days that followed, Feng Ke'er devoted herself entirely to either practicing the second layer of the Heart-Cleansing Incantation, simulating and honing her skills, or refining the Dragon Eye Fossils. She never left her abode, never rested, completely immersing herself in a state of self-forgetfulness.

As the saying goes, effort begets reward, and she reaped remarkable progress:

First, her cooking pot unexpectedly upgraded from a low-grade spiritual artifact to a high-grade one.

Second, she fully mastered the integration of new skills. During this time, her control over the Meteor Shower technique reached perfection. Like with the Myriad Darts Art, she could unleash a hundred arrows at once, each striking its intended target—never missing, even if someone pointed at their own nose.

Additionally, the second layer of the Heart-Cleansing Incantation became ever more effortless. In the early days, she still needed one meal a day, but after about ten days, the intervals between meals grew longer and longer.

Finally, she could entirely rely on the Heart-Cleansing Incantation to abstain from food—a significant achievement. Typically, only cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage could achieve complete fasting.

But most impressively, she had successfully refined five Dragon Eye Fossils. Now, the spiritual energy within her body was far purer. Especially remarkable was the blue segment in the five-colored ring encasing her six dantians, which now emitted a jewel-like radiance. During the refining process, a water-like substance would seep from her pores, but it appeared to be no more than clear sweat.

The changes within her body manifested in her abilities as well. The ice spikes she now conjured gleamed like white crystal, rimmed in a violet aura, with a chill that penetrated to the bone. Though the number she could summon at once hadn’t increased, the quantity of ice spikes and fire arrows per cast had nearly increased by half. Her most-used technique, the Wall of Flame, had advanced even further—both its duration and size had doubled.

On this day, after completing a round of the Heart-Cleansing Incantation, Feng Ke'er practiced a set of Flowing Cloud Sword movements to loosen her limbs, then sat cross-legged on her chaise, took out the last and largest Dragon Eye Fossil from her storage pouch, and prepared to refine it.

Suddenly, a deafening rumble, like thunder rolling across the heavens, shook the air.

Immediately after, the earth began to quake. Cracks a foot wide split the ceiling of the cave; sand and stones, large and small, tumbled down relentlessly.

An earthquake! That was Feng Ke'er's first thought. In a panic, she flung the Dragon Eye Fossil and her cooking pot back into her storage pouch, sprang up, and darted to the four illusion mirrors—her habitual means of observing the outside world. Any disturbance, and she would rush to check the mirrors.

But all she heard was a series of sharp cracks as the four water-attribute demon crystals and four fire-attribute demon crystals, long suspended from the cave ceiling, all shattered and dulled, falling to the ground amid the rubble.

Without the demon crystals, the eight formation stones on the ground reverted to ordinary rocks.

The protective array was destroyed!

The spiritual glow at the cave entrance vanished instantly.

"Feng girl! Feng girl!" Feng Jiu's voice came with a choking cloud of dust pouring into the cave.

"I'm here!" Only then did Feng Ke'er grasp the gravity of the situation. Ignoring the demon crystals on the ground, she covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve and shot out of the cave like an arrow from the string.

The scene outside resembled a disaster movie: above, the sky was black, split with lightning and thunder, with rain pouring down in torrents; below, the trembling had ceased, but the land was unrecognizable. Half the cliff had collapsed, stones blocked the riverbed, and great waves several meters high surged through the swollen river, causing catastrophic flooding.

A bolt of white lightning lit up the pitch-dark, rain-drenched night.

Boom—a peal of thunder answered.

Feng Ke'er wiped rain from her face and summoned the Wind Riding Spell, but had no idea where to go.

At that moment, a red figure rode a cloud toward her, calling, "Get on, quickly!"

It was Feng Jiu, still looking like a boy of about ten, unchanged in cultivation.

"What’s going on?" Feng Ke'er leapt onto the cottony cloud and shouted. Earlier, she had suspected that Feng Jiu’s advancement had triggered this celestial anomaly.

Feng Jiu gazed gravely at the western horizon. "I don't know," he replied, but his face betrayed a lie.

Now was not the time for questions. Feng Ke'er frowned and asked, "Where are we going?" In such a thunderstorm, holding an umbrella would be asking for a lightning strike. The urgent need was to find shelter from the rain.

"Let’s search to the east," Feng Jiu said, flicking his sleeve. The cotton cloud, like a tiny boat on the ocean, wobbled toward the eastern horizon.

Along the way, Feng Ke'er saw much the same devastation below: flash floods raging, mountains crumbling, the earth split open like a gaping wound when seen from above.

Fortunately, this was inland, not a volcanic region, or it would have been like the end of the world. Feng Ke'er breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, "Meat Bird, do you see any signs of human life below?" She remembered well that the lower realm was home to both cultivators and primitive humans. Cultivators could defend themselves with spells and would survive such disasters, perhaps just getting wet. But for primitive humans, this was a true cataclysm.

She wished to help, but in her haste, she could not spot a single soul. Alas, at this time, primitive humans were too few, scattered in countless tiny groups hidden who knew where along riverbanks and valleys.

"I see nothing," Feng Jiu replied coldly, glancing at her oddly. How could she worry about mud dolls when they were barely surviving themselves?

They pressed on eastward through the rain. Feng Jiu’s judgment proved correct; the disaster was much lighter in the east.

On the ninth day, when they reached the eastern seashore, the rain finally ceased. The clouds parted, the sky cleared, and a rainbow arched across the bright blue sky.

Standing atop the cotton cloud, Feng Ke'er looked westward and sighed. As far as her eyes could see, forests were flooded, fertile prairies submerged—a vast expanse of the continent lay under water.

This scene brought two words to her mind: "Great Desolation."

Great Desolation? Feng Ke'er blinked in realization, shivering. Could it be that this was only the beginning of the Great Desolation?

Feng Jiu noticed her change in demeanor and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing," Feng Ke'er feigned nonchalance, wringing out her sleeve. "Maybe I caught a chill from the rain."

Feng Jiu grew even more suspicious. "A chill?" Dead girl, you must be joking! You’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator—rain can’t chill you. Am I supposed to believe you’re as delicate as those mud dolls in the lower realm?

He scrutinized her. In the past three days of thunder and rain, he had been preoccupied with travel and his own concerns, rarely glancing at his companion.

But now that he looked—he was startled. He raised his brow and exclaimed, "Ah, you’re at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment? In just half a year, you’ve advanced two ranks!" Such progress was astonishing even in the upper realm, where spiritual energy and resources abounded. In the lower realm, once cultivators reached Foundation Establishment, advancement took at least three to five years of rigorous training, and it grew ever harder. Most spent their whole lives at that stage.

Half a year? Half a year had passed! She had no idea. Why hadn’t the Sect Master reminded her? Startled, Feng Ke'er coughed and laughed sheepishly, "Not bad. What about you? Any gains from your closed-door training?" She felt a pang of guilt; grinding monsters for experience was the true path, yet she had spent half a year refining those Dragon Eye Fossils—a waste of precious time. Sect Master, I’ve let you down…

Feng Jiu turned away with a snort. "Not bad."

He could guess, with little effort, that she harbored secrets. Her lack of candor as his contracted partner left him angry, then helpless, for he too had hidden much from her. For instance, in the past half year… his so-called retreat was merely a ruse; in truth, he had journeyed far and wide in search of Xiao Xi.

As her guardian beast, especially during her vulnerable, sectless period, it was his duty to protect her. Yet worry for Xiao Xi consumed him; the killing intent of the Seven Fiends Immortal-Slaying Array had terrified him. Until he saw her safe, he could not rest easy.

Bringing Feng Ke'er along was impossible. Who knew what dangers they might face? She was too weak, and he was no longer the powerful Feng Jiu of old; he feared he could not protect her. Besides, for reasons he could not explain, he did not wish for Xiao Xi and this girl to meet.

So, he devised this plan: under the pretense of seclusion, he found Feng Ke'er a safe, spiritually rich place to cultivate, and taught her the Phoenix Clan’s protective array and Flowing Cloud Flying Sleeves to bolster her self-defense. After all, cultivation is a personal journey; only by letting go can a disciple truly grow. That was how the Phoenix Lord had taught him.

He had returned three times during that period, but each time only hovered his cotton cloud above her new abode, glanced at the glowing entrance to confirm she was cultivating, and quickly departed. His visits were so brief that he failed to notice the fundamental changes at the cold pool just two miles away.

On his last return, he had arrived just as this great upheaval struck. Had he been a moment later, with her current level of power… The thought made his scalp prickle.

He stole another glance at her from the corner of his eye, sighing inwardly: best to let bygones be bygones.

Feng Ke'er, oblivious to his inner turmoil, wrung out her clothes and extended her spiritual sense in all directions, searching for any sign of life.

Within five hundred miles, she suddenly spotted a radiant golden figure flying toward them, wreathed in auspicious clouds.

Heavens above, an immortal! After all this time, she was finally seeing a true immortal, riding a rainbow cloud and shining with golden light!

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(Acknowledgements and author’s note omitted)

&^^%# Tongtian Codex 86_Chapter Eighty-Six: The Beginning of the Great Desolation Complete!