Phoenix Destiny
chapter-90

Shao Zhengyang?

A slight hope arose in Lu Mingshu.

He will help me, right?

Anyone in the line of Jade Terrace would be an enemy of the Zhou family, so it would be a good choice to form an alliance with someone like Lu Mingshu that was also an enemy of the Zhou family. In addition, Lu Mingshu's master Liu Jizhen was a longtime friend of Shao Zhengyang's master.

"Junior Nephew Shao, you recognize her?"

That's Yuan Ziyang's voice.

"Yes," Shao Zhengyang answered. "She's from Green Jade Valley, she's a disciple of Liu Jizhen."

Somebody removed the thing covering her body and inspected her injuries.

"The injuries are serious; she's been stabbed in a vital area," Yuan Ziyang commented

"That corpse over there... this girl must've been schemed against by someone."

Yuan Ziyang sighed, "Such a pity. We may have had a better chance of winning if she could've reached the upper door as well."

"Yeah."

Yuan Ziyang continued, "Junior Nephew Shao, you looked worried about something."

Shao Zhengyang paused for a second before he replied, "I made a deal with Weng Yufan."

"Oh?"

"He will buy time for us to pass the middle door by not meeting his allies on time."

"What do we have to give him in return?"

"If we successfully reach the upper door, I will team up with Lu Mingshu. After that, I would let Weng Yufan take her down."

Yuan Ziyang was taken aback by Shao Zhengyang's reply.

"Why would you let Weng Yufan take her down? Isn't Lu Mingshu capable enough to be a genuine successor disciple? Why let Weng Yufan take one of the slots and not Lu Mingshu? Weng Yufan's a member of the Zhou family anyway."

"It's just a genuine successor disciple, what's the big deal?" Shao Zhengyang replied calmly.

"A Harmonization Realm disciple won't affect much. Lu Mingshu may be powerful, but Master Uncle Liu's meridians are all crippled. There's no point in trying to rope her in.

"Yes, but…"

"The amount of genuine successor disciples we and the Zhou family have is now equal. If Lu Mingshu becomes a genuine successor disciple, the Zhou family may start trying to scheme against us.

Master isn't young anymore, I don't want to worry him any further."

"What you mean is that if Lu Mingshu becomes a genuine successor disciple, the Zhou family might be angered and come at us, and even if she becomes a genuine successor disciple, we wouldn't benefit very much because she doesn't have anybody to support her?"

"Yes. On the other hand, if Weng Yufan gets to be a genuine successor disciple, the Zhou Family wouldn't come after us because I will have something against them. I could even use the fact that I helped Weng Yufan against the Zhou family."

He clapped in satisfaction, "Smart! Such a good plan."

"But it's a pity that Lu Mingshu got attacked. That plan won't work anymore."

"So what should we do now?"

"Let's just try to pass through first and beat everyone on our own."

"Okay. We don't really have any other choice."

Lu Mingshu could tell that someone walked around her and did something.

"I'm sorry, I don't have enough time to save you right now. Please hang on until help arrives," Shao Zhengyang told her.

Yuan Ziyang sighed, "Such a pity…."

Shao Zhengyang stood up.

"Let's get moving. I don't think Senior Uncle Kuai is going to provide any help now."

"Hmph!" Yuan Ziyang sounded unhappy.

"These few years have been tough. The line of Golden Door…"

The sound of their footsteps slowly faded and the surroundings quieted down.

Everyone's the same, huh?

To Liang Zongping, his future was worth more than her life, and to Shao Zhengyang, she could be used to exchange for peace for his line.

Benefits. It's all about benefits.

Lu Mingshu was clear that nobody would save her.

Don't Shao Zhengyang and Yuan Ziyang realize that it's full of danger out here?

So what if she managed to hang on? There were beasts everywhere!

But nobody took that into consideration. Or perhaps they did and they just couldn't waste their precious time to save her because passing through the doors was way more important than her life.

The sky started to darken. Lu Mingshu could no longer keep herself clear-headed because of her fatigue and, within minutes, she was out cold.

After some time, Lu Mingshu woke up all of a sudden.

How long has it been? A day? Or just a few minutes?

She could see six coloured lights flowing, which made her realize she was in the Heavenly Wheel.

How is this possible?

Lu Mingshu was certain that it was impossible for her to channel enough power to enter the Heavenly Wheel.

"You're awake," Xiao Sang's voice rang in her head.

Lu Mingshu took a while to realize what was going on.

"Why… am I here?"

"You're seriously injured and your life's in danger. The Heavenly Wheel decided that you need to restore your health."

"Are you saying that the Heavenly Wheel can summon me back at any time?" Lu Mingshu asked after she had processed the information.

Xiao Sang remained silent.

Well, as excepted. Even if she answered it would just be, "Your credits are insufficient, so you need to explore ways by yourself."

Lu Mingshu sat up slowly and changed the topic, "So, how do I restore my health?"

"Your accumulated points can be used to exchange for cures."

Lu Mingshu smiled bitterly after she saw a "one" on the wooden wheel.

"Can I even exchange for anything? I don't really have any points left."

"Seeing that you've only recently activated the Heavenly Wheel and are still adjusting to it, the Heavenly Wheel has decided to let you borrow some points."

"Borrow?" Lu Mingshu was confused.

"Yes, but the borrowed points can only be used for yourself. No exchanging for items."

"How much do I need to heal myself?" Lu MIngshu asked when she had processed everything.

"Basic treatment: ten points. Normal treatment: one hundred points. Advanced treatment: one thousand points."

Lu Mingshu was taken aback.

"How come there's such a big difference?"

Clearly, Xiao Sang didn't lack in patience; despite Lu Mingshu asking so much, she still answered her doubts.

"Basic treatment provides staunching your wounds and clearing your meridians, but you'll still need to recuperate on your own. Normal treatment heals your injuries but doesn't mend your foundation. Advanced treatment totally heals you and also provides a boost for the next twelve hours."

"Boost? What does that mean?"

It must be special to cost a thousand points. Even a book for Meditation Formulas only costs about ten points!

"It means that you can make use of all your potential within the next twelve hours," Xiao Sang replied.

"What do you mean, 'make use of all your potential within the next twelve hours'?" Lu Mingshu continued asking.

"For example, you're in the Harmonization Realm right now, so your potential will be activated and your ability will reach the zenith of the Harmonization Realm."

"Are there any side-effects?" Lu Mingshu asked a follow-up question.

"Yes. Activating your potential is using up your energy before it's ready. The side-effect is that there will be a period of time where you won't be able to cultivate."

"How long will that side-effect last?"

"It depends on one's health. Yours… I estimate will last for three months."

Lu Mingshu took a deep breath, before continuing, "I choose… the advanced treatment."

"Okay," Xiao Sang's monotone voice rang out across the Heavenly Wheel.

"The Heavenly Wheel will proceed with your advanced treatment. As long as you still owe points, you'll need to pay an interest of 0.5%. If you don't pay, the Heavenly Wheel's functions will temporarily stop. If you still don't pay up, the Heavenly Wheel will ban you."

Ban? What do they…?

Before Lu Mingshu could ask anything, six different coloured lights gushed into her body.

All the pain disappeared within a second and her injuries were healed.

She was thrown out of the Heavenly Wheel. When she opened her eyes, she was on the White Magnificent Peak.