The next morning, the group arrived at the cliffside ruins of Koryuthan, where the remains of towers long had been shattered and forgotten with the passage of time. Vines wrapped around charred stone, and the air that once rang with phoenix songs now hung heavy with memory. But there was no time to reminisce about the past for Kaolin. Wasting such precious time was neither feasible nor smart; they had to move quickly and locate the phoenix's nest before it caught sight of them first.
By the time they located the nest, dawn had already fallen, and they found themselves descending into the ravaged outskirts of old Koryuthan, past the ruins and the old palace grounds that once belonged to the Korran Clan and its people, who all fell victim to the Jinlian Sect's cruelty.
Wei Lan was the one who caught sight of the nest. "There," he said, crouching beside a charred stone pillar and pointing up towards the rise. "The nest is just beyond that crest!"
"But what do we do about the phoenix?" Commander Taohua asked Kaolin who'd remained hushed up until that point. "Didn't you say the artefact was bound to it? Surely, the second we lay a hand on the Flame, it'll know something's not right and come for our heads. You're sure the formation will hold?"
"As with everything in this life, Commander, I cannot guarantee anything. But the formation is our best shot, if not only. Whether the formation works or not," Kaolin paused before carrying on, taking his time and looking at the others in turn, "is up to three of us. As long as we have the will to endure the power of the phoenix spirit, retrieving the Flame will not be an issue."
An awkward silence fell between them after this statement, one that Wei Lan was quick to break as he looked around the clearing before breaking the silence and bringing their attention to the stone circle nearby.
"Kaolin, take a look at this. Doesn't this look like the remains of an old formation ring? Perhaps we can inscribe the runes directly into the grooves, to increase the stability of the formation?"
"Sounds good," he said, then turned to Guo Lan, who was already shrugging off his backpack. "Guo Lan, you're still sure about this?"
"Yes, Master! I got this, don't worry."
"Then go ahead and retrieve the Flame. And no matter what happens down here, you keep climbing and don't look back. Do you understand?"
Guo Lan nodded and started for the nest.
Not long after this, the first signs of the phoenix spirit soon reached their ears as it reacted to their presence and roared, causing even Guo Lan to stop his ascent and look down with a horrified look on his face. But Taohua quickly signalled him to keep climbing as they began carving symbols and embedding spiritual threads into the dormant stone ring, the runes flickering to life in the ground and spiralling outwards in arcs of gold and crimson.
They then each took position at a corner of the stone ring, their spiritual powers activating as one single entity, and not long after this, the phoenix emerged from the shadows and flew at them with a chilling scream that was so terrible that it cracked the sky open. Literally.
But as it approached the array, the formation held, and rings of golden ropes trapped the phoenix to the formation. But the spirit of the annihilated Korran Clan was so strong that all three of them were pushed slightly from the formation due to the sheer power the phoenix possessed, but quickly recovered and stood their ground.
Wei Lan, jaw clenched and face twitching from the surge of power he now fought against, roared towards Guo Lan, who had once again stopped out of fear and was watching them trying to hold down the phoenix spirit.
"You dimwit, snap out of it! You must hurry and retrieve the Flame!"
Inches from the top, Guo Lan, who had been paralysed by the sudden entrance of the gigantic phoenix spirit, now snapped back to reality and moved like wind until at last he reached the phoenix's nest.
There, glowing with a pulsing inner light, lay the Flame of Koryuthan, encased in phoenix fire. As the array held the phoenix in place and staved off its spiritual fire, Guo Lan stepped forwards and gently lifted the artefact out of its cage. This caused the phoenix to roar once more, this time with much more force, which caused Xiyan to be flung away from the formation, passing out in the process as she hurled against a charred pillar.
Guo Lan, on the other hand, managed to use his qi and quickly navigated out of Koryuthan as per the plan, now waiting for the three of them to join him at the border protected by spells woven by Kaolin himself back fifteen thousand years ago.
Both Wei Lan and Taohua looked at Kaolin as Xiyan was flung away, each one of them unable to hold on much longer, yet undecided against following their original plan due to the force they were now fighting against. Should they both leave the formation, not only would Kaolin not be able to hold the phoenix down, but get severely hurt. But Kaolin stood his ground even as the two other cultivators were pushed further and further away from the formation.
Kaolin, realising the two cultivators' hesitation to stick to the original plan, directed his gaze to Wei Lan, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"What are you waiting for!? Retreat! Now!"
Even so, the two cultivators didn't let go – not until they were both slung away from the force the phoenix put them under. And, even after this, both of them stood rooted in place, unable to leave. Seeing this, Kaolin now activated his qi and made the phoenix forcefully bow down to him – the one who created it with his own blood – before once again glaring at the two cultivators.
"You fools! Leave! NOW!"
Wei Lan, albeit hesitant, now signalled the commander to carry the young woman and then cast a long, reluctant glance in Kaolin's direction before following suit, leaving him alone with the phoenix he activated with the blood of twenty fallen members of the Korran Clan and, to counter the stale blood, his very own.
But why was this spirit so powerful and so resistant to his commands when it should see him as its master and obey him? Its power… it almost matched his own, despite his cultivation level and the years spent mastering the Demonic and Forbidden Arts. So, how was this even possible?
But finding the answer to these questions was not his priority, not when he was getting weaker by the second. Instead, he locked his hands in formation, trying to force the phoenix to bow to him once more, sweat streaking down his hardened face.
The phoenix fought harder despite this, defying his command to bow down to him as its master and swear allegiance, clawing against the glowing bonds that held it. It was, strangely, at this vulnerable moment that something that wasn't supposed to happen happened.
Kaolin's hands began to tremble out of control, and the hunger hit him like a wave, which caused something old and hollow to tear through his chest, perhaps a need, one that was ravenous and unrelenting, unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. But why was this happening all of a sudden and at such a crucial moment, at that?
Whatever it was, it now took over too much space in his mind and body, and before he knew it, he lost control of the formation and staggered. Although this lasted no more than half a second, it was enough to make the phoenix surge forwards. With a roar, the phoenix thus broke free and hurled Kaolin into the air.
He struck hard against a tree but rose instantly, taken aback by what had just happened, as crimson blood trickled at the corner of his mouth and the strange pull of otherworldly hunger took over his body and soul, disturbing him in ways no words could explain. Then he heard something. From within.
Devour it, it whispered. What are you waiting for? Devour it! Devour it!
His mind became a jumbled mess, his vision blurry, and his head spun like a top, causing him to stagger and double over in pain. What was this strange feeling? Whose voice was he hearing on repeat? And, before he could wrap his head around what was happening, his hands raised, and a spell began to form despite the tremor. All he could think of was snacking on the phoenix, to do as that strange voice kept telling him to do.
But then, just inches from casting the spell and devouring the phoenix spirit, which flew towards him with unprecedented speed, a figure stepped from the trees and broke him off. Wary, he quickly cancelled the spell from forming and instead let his gaze fall on the person who had just disturbed him.
He arched his brows. Xiyan? What was she doing here?
The young woman didn't speak or explain herself; she simply rushed past him and raised her hands, weaving a spell. Kaolin didn't recognise the spell at first; his head was still hurting and his body trembling from the strange hunger, until he finally did, at which point it was too late. Demonic scripture? His eyes widened from the realisation: she was trying to kill the phoenix!
Right then, before he could hinder it, the demonic power snaked forwards and a dark string of glow aimed straight at the phoenix. Kaolin moved faster than light itself, stepping into the air, so that a streak of lightning tore through the clearing, and he managed to counter her demonic powers with a blast of his own just as it was about to strike the phoenix and kill it that same second.
The collision sparked a shockwave that flattened trees and sent Xiyan tumbling across several feet, and the phoenix spirits quickly soared into the sky and hid from plain sight. Kaolin, panting and seeing red from losing his snack, then landed before her, his hands folded behind his back to keep her from seeing his trembling hands.
Xiyan regained her bearing not long afterwards and rose back up on her feet, watching him in disbelief as he eyed her down without uttering a single word or even lending a hand to help her up. But it wasn't this strange look on his face that disturbed her; it was the insight that he'd risked his own life to stop her.
"You… stopped me? But why? I was just trying to help you, and you—"
"Who said I wanted help?" Kaolin said. "Leave. Head east."
"What? Why? You're not coming with us?"
"I said, leave! Head east, towards the fallen city of Nivarra. Once my business here is done, I'll join you."
"Business? But—"
Kaolin, no longer able to keep his anger in, now, in a series of quick flashes, moved closer to her and glared at her with such force that she instantly stepped back.
"I said, leave. Now."
Xiyan looked away as he said this, flustered by the coldness of his voice, and her eyes suddenly landed on his trembling hands, which were curled into fists, and she unwittingly frowned.
"Your hands…"
Kaolin folded his hands behind his back and turned away from her, now the one flustered but unable to say anything in defence. Instead, he responded to her with silence and Xiyan, seeing his unwillingness to explain, turned and walked away just as he told her to.
Once alone, Kaolin dropped to one knee, his hands shaking uncontrollably, his mind reeling with questions he had no answers to.
"What is this wretched hunger…?" he muttered. "Is this the price I pay? For cheating death and mastering the Forbidden Arts? Or…"
His thoughts cleared as the phoenix cried nearby, wounded and in hiding. His eyes snapped upwards instantly, and he flew high into the mist until he had all of Koryuthan within his sight of vision from where he floated mid-air.
Ancient formations sparked to life as he weaved demonic and forbidden spells, his forehead glowing with activated qi. It wasn't long before he found the phoenix's hiding place, and without hesitation, he descended and struck fast. As he locked the phoenix in a spiritual chokehold, his own qi drained with every breath, and the phoenix screeched in response to the forces on it. Then it faded; its physical body dissolving into light as its essence was drawn into Kaolin's core.
He then gently fell to the ground, and the world tilted; blood spilt from his mouth as his body collapsed beside a riverbed, gasping. But the hunger was gone, at last, and his hands no longer trembled out of control. Instead, he saw faint holes of light glowing in his palms, yet fading quickly, and power pulsed through him. Power that once belonged to the phoenix but was now his. Then the strange glows vanished as if they were never there, to begin with.
He dragged himself beneath the roots of a broken tree, slumped there with his eyes closed and breath so shallow it could hardly be called breathing. But he was alive, nonetheless. But it didn't take long before his eyelids became as heavy as lead, and his drained body soon gave way to exhaustion. At this rate, all he could do was sleep until his body fully recovered, and that was what he now did.
For three days, he rested on the outskirts of what was once his home, finally allowing himself to reminisce about the past he so dearly wished would just disappear along with his physical body once he found the one who turned him into this vile monster with no emotions but that of a cut-throat beast seeking vengeance.