What was Nirvana?
First, one had to burn until nothing remained.
From flesh and blood to bone, from meridians to organs, the physical body disintegrated inch by inch.
Within the flames, however, a wisp of red-gold true spirit remained indestructible, becoming even brighter amidst the intense fire.
With the true spirit intact, rebirth began.
Wisps of golden flame gathered from all directions, reshaping her body.
First came the bones, then the meridians, followed by the internal organs, and finally the flesh and skin.
Simultaneously, a clear, high-pitched phoenix cry erupted from the flames, a sound that pierced through the entire Nanming Volcano.
The fire in the Nirvana Pool soared into the sky, and the drifting flames transformed into a massive phantom of a phoenix, spreading its wings to charge toward the heavens!
Just as the flaming phoenix was about to pierce the clouds, a hazy figure quietly emerged.
Nuwa lightly raised her hand, and all the phenomena were instantly suppressed.
The world returned to peace, feeling as if nothing had ever happened.
However, the elders of the Nanming Undying Volcano saw it clearly.
They all looked up at the sky at once.
“Nirvana… succeeded?!”
“My God! How long has it been?!”
“A human body… could actually reach such speed…”
“She even triggered the Nirvana phenomenon?!”
The three looked at each other, their doubts about Su Fu’s identity completely vanished.
To master the true essence of Nirvana in a human body in such a short time — they couldn’t imagine any possibility other than her being the reincarnation of Yuan Feng.
“That figure just now…” Feng Yue lowered her voice, her expression solemn, “Was it Sage Nuwa stepping in to conceal the heavenly secrets?”
The other two nodded.
Feng Xuan took a deep breath and said excitedly, “It seems the Venerable One really is the sign of our clan’s great prosperity.”
The three wore extremely grave expressions as they bowed in unison and said, “We welcome your return, Excellency!”
Inside the Nirvana Pool, Su Fu slowly opened her eyes.
“Hiss — ” She gasped.
Although her body had been reshaped, the memory of the pain was still fresh.
‘No one told me Nirvana was this painful.’
But at this moment, she had finally succeeded!
Undying.
She looked down at her palms, feeling the newfound power flowing through her body.
Her skin was like jade, yet it contained a terrifying physical strength, as if a single punch could shatter mountains.
This body was more than ten times stronger than before, comparable to an S-grade Divine Artifact.
Not only that, she felt a cluster of never-extinguishing fire inside her.
That was her Nirvana Flame, the mark of the Phoenix Clan and the proof of the cycle of life and death.
Su Fu laughed, ‘Now, I also have a top-tier Great Desolation constitution.’
With the innate phoenix technique of Nirvana Rebirth, who would dare say she wasn’t part of the Phoenix Clan?
This was a true undying body!
Even if she were blown to bits, she could be reborn from the ashes.
Not to mention, her strength would skyrocket after rebirth.
This was simply a cheating-level survival card.
Infinite revivals plus fire immunity equipment successful!
Thinking of this, Su Fu bowed solemnly toward the void and said, “Thank you, Venerable Yuan Feng, for granting me this technique.”
That voice was clearly the first phoenix in the world, Yuan Feng!
She was the supreme existence who contended for hegemony with Zulong during the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity.
To have Yuan Feng personally give her a boost — Su Fu was truly overwhelmed.
Speaking of which, how did this big shot notice her?
‘Was it because I entered the Phoenix Clan’s ancestral land?’
She was thoughtful.
Just like in the Yaochi Dungeon when she faked the Queen Mother of the West’s decree and actually ended up connecting with her, was it the same logic this time?
As expected, one must take the initiative; only the brave have stories.
However, even if the phoenix saw her, why would she give her a technique for nothing?
Was it truly because she saw Su Fu’s diligence, or was it because…
The words Nuwa had spoken earlier suddenly surfaced in her mind: “This girl has an affinity with the Phoenix Clan.”
‘Wait, it couldn’t be… did Yuan Feng really hear those words and take them seriously?’
So she specifically granted this great fortune?
‘Hiss — Lady Nuwa’s words were truly effective.’
Then again, the relationship between the Phoenix Clan and Nuwa was indeed extraordinary.
Legend had it that when the phoenix gave birth to chicks, the Golden Phoenix was the first.
And Nuwa’s mount was the Golden Phoenix, the Heavenly Maiden of the Phoenix Clan.
If Yuan Feng really heard Nuwa say that, she would naturally show some respect.
Although Su Fu really just wanted Lady Nuwa to help her enter the ancestral land and didn’t mean for this to happen…
Su Fu felt delighted.
It had to be Lady Nuwa, the Mother of Humanity!
Besides her, who else in this Great Desolation would spoil her like this?
The Sanqing only cared about sect providence, and the two Sages of the West were always thinking about “guiding” people to the West.
Only Nuwa, from the moment she created humanity, sincerely protected the human race.
Humanity was weak, but Nuwa’s favoritism toward them was well-known.
Since the beginning of the world, Nuwa had created humans and held up the sky for them.
Even in the chaotic era of gods and demons, when the sky collapsed and the earth split, she never gave up on protecting the human race.
Even to this day, it remained the same.
“Thank you, Lady Nuwa!” Su Fu gave a sincere and solemn bow.
She loved Lady Nuwa too!
However, with Yuan Feng proactively bestowing a technique, Su Fu suddenly realized this was a massive bug.
Up until now, she had relied on Divine Power Light Pillars to obtain Heavenly Techniques.
But this Nirvana technique inspired her; there was actually another path.
That was to take the initiative to establish connections with the gods of the Great Desolation.
That was the real way to go.
In the entire Great Desolation world, there were so many gods!
The Sanqing, the two Sages of the West, Nuwa, Fuxi, Taiyi, Ancestor Styx…
Every one of them had heaven-defying methods and immeasurable powers.
Even if she couldn’t meet those top-tier figures, other gods were as numerous as the hairs on a cow.
The more Su Fu thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
‘Cast a wide net to catch more fish. If some god finds me pleasing to the eye… they might grant me another technique.’
In short, the more gods she contacted, the higher the probability of obtaining techniques.
This was the true treasure of the Great Desolation.
Aside from that, Su Fu had another major gain.
‘I seem to be… about to break through to S-grade.’
Previously, she felt like S-grade was like looking at a flower through a fog—close, yet always missing that final spark of opportunity.
But now, it felt as if only a thin membrane remained, incredibly fragile, as if it could be broken with a gentle poke.
She could even feel the power hidden behind that membrane, vast as the sea and unfathomably deep.
But she wasn’t prepared to break through just yet.
Teacher Zhuge had said that once she reached perfection, the God of her Path would personally descend to bestow a title upon her.
This meant she would become the first disciple under Nuwa and be officially invested!
When Nuwa descended for the investiture, she would bring even more powerful energy than before to ensure it was completed smoothly.
Simply put, if a previous projection of Nuwa could only exert one-tenth of her power, she could mobilize at least three-tenths during the investiture!
The restrictions on Lady Nuwa would be greatly reduced.
Su Fu suddenly felt very confident.
If her mother was coming, what did she have to fear?
When the time came, her mother would personally back her up.
Who could stop her!
She thought to herself that this was equivalent to holding a Great Desolation-level nuclear bomb that she could detonate at any time.
This power could even crush current rules and redefine the Heavenly Dao.
Don’t forget, Nuwa held the authority of creation.
Come on, how could she lose?
She just needed to pick a good time.
Perhaps during the critical moment of the four Sages fighting in the Immortal-Slaying Formation?
Or the moment the Ten Thousand Immortal Formation collapsed?
Or perhaps the forced breakthrough after Hongjun appeared?
At that time, Lady Nuwa’s descent would completely change the tide of battle, enough to turn the world upside down.
Moreover, Su Fu felt that becoming Nuwa’s first disciple deserved a commemorative moment.
This was the “Creation Path,” the highest Dao capable of creating, shaping, and changing the world’s rules.
She had to present a satisfactory answer to Lady Nuwa.
Since she was within this Great Desolation, then why not… use the entire Great Desolation instance as her proof of Dao?
The moment this idea surfaced, even Su Fu herself was shocked.
It was like a painter using the world as a canvas, or a sculptor using the mountains and rivers as a statue.
‘Smash the old world, create a new one, and surpass the framework set by the Heavenly Dao… to prove my Dao of Creation!’
Just then, Chesia lunged directly to the edge of the Nirvana Pool, “Wow! You actually succeeded?!”
She circled Su Fu, reaching out to touch the golden flames flowing on her body but not quite daring to.
“This… this is the legendary Phoenix Nirvana? So cool! I feel like you’re a completely different person now!”
Su Fu smiled.
Of course she was different; she had been reborn.
Chesia was incredibly envious, “Your Chinese concepts of techniques are just cheating. You can come back to life after dying, and not only that, you get stronger! This is even more powerful than us demons being undying. Our immortality depends on contracts and souls, but yours is a genuine indestructible body. Now, who could possibly kill you?”
Seeing how envious she was, Su Fu teased, “What? Do you want to try practicing it too?”
“No, no, no!” Chesia waved her hands repeatedly.
She knew how painful it was to cultivate this undying body.
Not only did you have to be burned to ash, but you had to be burned over and over.
It looked terrifying.
She wiggled her body and said shyly, “I still prefer dragons! Although they don’t have revival abilities, they have scales and claws. They’re gorgeous!”
Su Fu: “Fine.”
A snake turning into a dragon was indeed an irresistible temptation.
“By the way,” Chesia said, getting to the point, “didn’t you tell me to watch Xiqi? Ji Chang is about to pass away. I heard he’s already making arrangements for Ji Fa to succeed him.”
Su Fu was stunned for a moment before reacting, “Doesn’t that mean… the Great Investiture of the Gods is about to begin?”
According to the plot, after Ji Chang’s death, Ji Fa would succeed him as King Wu of Zhou.
Following that, he would raise an army against King Zhou, and the Great Investiture of the Gods War would break out in full.
She asked, “How old is this news?”
Before Chesia could answer, the voice of Shen Yan echoed in her ears: [“DING—”]
[“THE GREAT INVSTITURE OF THE GODS HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN. THE GREAT DESOLATION CHANNEL IS NOW OPEN!”]
[“KING WEN OF ZHOU, JI CHANG, HAS FALLEN. KING WU OF ZHOU, JI FA, HAS ASCENDED THE THRONE!”]
[“THE PROVIDENCE OF SHANG AND ZHOU HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN TRANSFERRED. THE INVSTITURE OF THE GODS KILLING CALAMITY IS FULLY ACTIVATED!”]
[“ALL TEST TAKERS ATTENTION: THE HEAVENLY DAO IS HEARTLESS, AND THE MASS CALAMITY HAS ARRIVED. YOUR LIFE AND DEATH HANG IN THE BALANCE.”]
[“WISHING ALL TEST TAKERS: MAY YOUR DAO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND MAY YOU BE REBORN AFTER THE CALAMITY!”]
[“DUE TO THE EXTREME DIFFICULTY OF THIS EXAM PAPER, NEW DIVINE PANTHEON FUNCTIONS WILL BE ACTIVATED:”]
[“1. HEAVENLY SECRET INSIGHT (CAN INSIGHT KEY EVENTS)”]
[“2. DESTINY DEDUCTION (CAN SIMULATE OUTCOMES OF DIFFERENT CHOICES)”]
[“SIMULTANEOUSLY, REAL-TIME BATTLEFIELD BROADCASTS WILL BEGIN.”]
[“TEST TAKER CHANNEL OPENED…”]
[“FACTION MISSIONS OPENED…”]
[“MORE FUNCTIONS WILL BE UNLOCKED GRADUALLY AS THE EXAM PROGRESSES.”]
[“HEAVENLY SECRET HINT 1: BENEATH THE HEAVENLY DAO, ALL ARE BUT STRAW DOGS.”]
[“PLEASE CHERISH YOUR LIVES AND CHOOSE WISELY!”]
[“WISHING ALL TEST TAKERS: MAY YOUR MERIT BE COMPLETE. HAPPY Investiture of the Gods.”]
As soon as the notice appeared, a massive light screen unfolded before Su Fu’s eyes.
Countless messages scrolled by as the screen was flooded.
“Hahaha! Finally, the war is starting! I spent ten years sucking up to Jiang Ziya, and he promised to let me be the vanguard! Watch me pierce through the enemy with my Olympian Spear!”
“Heh, those hypocrites of the Chan Sect. The Sect of Interception is where true freedom lies.”
“With ten thousand Immortals under Grandmaster Tongtian, I will surely become a Great Golden Immortal!”
“The Great Desolation is nothing special. My Greek Pantheon can also dominate here. I’ve already established a foothold in Chao Ge; Ragnarok is about to begin!”
“Norse Pantheon here! By Odin, we’ve been layout out plans in Xiqi for many years. This time, we will surely make a name for ourselves in the Great Desolation!”
“Egyptian Pantheon, assemble! I’ve already laid the foundation with the Dragon King of the East Sea. Anyone who needs help can come find me.”
“I heard there’s a guy named Nezha in Chentang Pass who’s very strong. I’m going to check him out and challenge him. I’ll definitely become famous.”
“Man, the intro to this dungeon took way too long. I waited ten years until I was practically withered. It’s finally starting!”
“Speaking of which… where’s Su Fu? Why is she being so low-key? There’s no news at all.”