"Has she eaten the white lotus cake?" Xia Luoran stopped in her tracks.
"Yes," Xiao Ran nodded.
"Take me there."
Xiao Ran returned to the dungeon cell and opened the door. He then waited in a corner with the food container in his hand.
The two palace maids stood guard outside, and Xia Luoran entered the cell.
"Aunt, haven't you thought it through?"
"You shouldn't be coming to this place. The Purgatory Netherflames and the foul Yin atmosphere will corrode your vitality and affect your skills evolution." The Eldest Princess said with a stony countenance.
"You're my aunt. You brought me up since I was young. I cannot leave you all alone here." Xia Luoran's eyes were firm.
The Eldest Princess sighed. "Why bother?"
"I chose this path myself. I don't blame anyone."
The Eldest Princess turned away, her back facing her.
She was evidently hinting to her niece that she could leave now.
Xia Luoran took out the Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit. Immense fiery flames leaped from the fruit, forming a ray of multi-colored light that dispersed the surrounding Purgatory Netherflames and foul Yin atmosphere.
Sensing the power of fire behind her, the Eldest Princess turned around.
Looking at the red fruit in her hand, her eyes were filled with shock. She suddenly sprang to her feet and rushed up to her. Grabbing her wrist, she asked anxiously, "Who told you to go to Mount Flaming Inferno?"
Xia Luoran averted her eyes and wanted to lie, but the Eldest Princess saw through her. "Don't forget that I brought you up! Tell me the truth."
"I did go to Mount Flaming Inferno and was lucky enough to bring this Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit back."
"Nonsense!" The Eldest Princess berated.
"The Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit is a Heaven and Earth Sacred Fruit. It's so rare that one can only see it bear fruit once in a thousand years. It must have been guarded by a powerful demon."
The more she spoke, the angrier she got.
"That is the territory of the Cardinal Vulpes Tribe. Since the Mount Flaming Inferno Patriarch is still alive, how is it possible that he would let you take away this sacred relic?"
Xia Luoran yanked her wrist away and shoved the Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit into her hand.
"It's all in the past. It's up to you whether you want to eat or not!"
She turned around and left.
"Listen up. If you dare to take another risk, I won't acknowledge you as my niece!" The Eldest Princess shouted angrily at her departing silhouette.
The Elder Princess paused in front of Xiao Ran.
"Watch her. If the Eldest Princess suffers any effect after consuming the Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit, come to the antechamber on the first floor and inform me immediately."
"All right," Xiao Ran replied.
After she left,
Xiao Ran entered the cell, poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.
"Don't be unreasonable. You should be happy that an Imperial Family member remembers your kindness."
"Sigh! Even without her saying it, I can guess how difficult it is to obtain this Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit. She must have barely escaped with her life." The Eldest Princess said dejectedly.
She sat down opposite Xiao Ran.
"Am I really wrong?"
"Don't look at me. This isn't part of my duties."
The Eldest Princess held Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit in her hand, her face full of ambivalence and hesitation, not knowing if she should consume it.
However, when she thought about the girl's painstaking efforts, she felt that she would be letting her down if she did not consume it.
However, if she ate it and the girl continued risking her life in the future… At this point, she dared not think further.
After a long pause,
she finally made up her mind and her eyes were filled with an unprecedented determination. She stood up from her chair and swallowed the Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit.
Screech!
A low cry was emitted by the Golden Phoenix within her body as numerous rays of golden light shot out from her body. The overpowering force dispersed the surrounding Purgatory Netherflames and foul Yin atmosphere.
The dungeon cell became a vacuum and the golden light converged rapidly into the form of a golden phoenix.
A terrifying power emanated from the golden phoenix before returning to her body.
After a few breaths,
it formed a huge egg that was surrounded by golden light.
"Spiritual Clarity Eye." Xiao Ran invoked his special skill.
Under his inspection, the golden light was unable to block his line of sight and he was able to view the Eldest Princess directly.
The blood, bones, and meridians in her body began to awaken. Her aura became stronger, and even her sealed martial arts evolution advanced further with the first awakening of the Sacred Manifestation of the Golden Phoenix .
After watching for a while,
when he was sure that she was not in danger, he retracted his gaze and waited quietly.
After about an hour,
"Ah…" The Eldest Princess let out a terrifying scream.
Black demonic flames erupted and enveloped her, burning towards her body.
Xiao Ran was troubled. Even the power contained within the Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit wasn't enough to support the full awakening of her Phoenix Sacred Manifestation.
At this moment, the backlash had reversed direction and was burning towards her from outside.
"One dares to give and the other dares to eat. How bold."
His gaze fell on the Crimson Cetan motif.
The Crimson Cetan trembled as an ominous feeling crept over him. "You… what are you doing?"
"How much strength have you recovered after eating the Nirvana Third Revolution Sacred Fruit?" Xiao Ran asked.
"Master Realm Level 4."
"It's sufficient! It should be fine if I let you bleed a little, right?"
"Can I refuse?"
"You can refuse," Xiao Ran said.
The sword intent rose up and locked onto him. The moment he dared to say no, it would slash over in the next second.
"Don't misunderstand me! I'm just asking. Others may not be allowed to, but you're different. You can take whatever you want!" The Crimson Cetan backpaddled in resignation.
It flew out from his wrist and released some blood essence into the egg without being asked.
Although his evolution was still low, it was nonetheless a Crimson Cetan.
The pureblood Crimson Cetan was an ancient Divine Beast. A small amount of its blood essence could beat any Nirvana First Revolution Sacred Fruit hands down.
After completing the bloodletting, he weakly returned to Xiao Ran's wrist.
With the help of the Crimson Cetan's blood essence, the Eldest Princess' Sacred Manifestation of the Phoenix was completely awakened. The demonic flames on her body were extinguished and a terrifying aura spread out.
Along with that, her martial arts evolution advanced further and she broke through to the Grand Master Realm Level 1 in one shot.
Unfortunately, her shoulder bones were sealed and she could not mobilize any spirit energy.
The golden phoenix also became more solid, and its aura more powerful. It turned its head and entered her mind.
Just when Xiao Ran thought it was going to end, as her Phoenix Sacred Manifestation awakened and her evolution achieved a breakthrough, the Nine Heavens Evil Spirit Purification Skill also underwent a change.
Under the stimulation of this tremendous power, the skill advanced to another level.
More ferocious demonic energy erupted, it was so dense that it felt almost solid. It instantly transformed the entire dungeon cell into a demonic domain.
The Phoenix Sacred Manifestation had awakened once, but it was still not enough to suppress it. After persevering for a while, the Eldest Princess reached her limit and asked for help, "Hurry up and beat me!"
"Didn't your Phoenix Sacred Manifestation awaken?" Xiao Ran was puzzled.
"I didn't expect the Forbidden Technique to be raised by a realm in tandem with the Phoenix Sacred Manifestation's awakening…"
As she spoke, the Eldest Princess was already rushing towards Xiao Ran.
Her face was contorted into a ferocious ancient beast as she bared her teeth to bite Xiao Ran.
"Stop this." Xiao Ran gave her a punch on the face and knocked her to the ground.
He straddled her body with practiced ease and started pummeling left and right.
As the golden light scattered down, the demonic energy vanished rapidly as if it had seen the most terrifying thing.
This time, he had to punch nearly 150 times before the demonic energy dispersed.
"It's better for you to debilitate your skills!" Xiao Ran said.
The Eldest Princess' face was bruised and swollen. She shot him an angry glare at him and retorted, "No!"
"Suit yourself."
"It's already over. Aren't you getting off?"
"Okay." Xiao Ran promptly stood up.
The Eldest Princess thrust her swollen face towards him. With a flick of his finger, he injected a stream of purifying spiritual force onto her face. Golden light circulated and restored her appearance.
"Your niece is still waiting for me. I'll make a move first." Xiao Ran locked the door and left.
"Thank you!" The Eldest Princess said with heart-felt gratitude.