*
Yu Li transmigrated into a book before he was born. After decades in the world, he reached Foundation Establishment at fifteen and formed a golden core at thirty, only then realizing he'd transmigrated into a pampered cultivation novel.
But instead of becoming the adored junior brother, he became the expendable fourth senior brother.
In the novel, when the junior brother gets in trouble, the fourth senior brother steps in. When the junior brother wants a magic treasure, the fourth senior brother goes to get it. When the junior brother offends someone, he gives the fourth senior brother's name...
Good news: None of that happened. Yu Li deftly avoided the junior brother's schemes.
Bad news: The junior brother still wanted the fourth senior brother's golden core and spiritual root, and their master, who was at Tribulation Transcendence, and their eldest senior brother, who was at Nascent Soul, were watching him like hawks.
Worse news: The junior brother made his move as soon as Yu Li learned he'd transmigrated into a book.
Yu Li lost his golden core and spiritual root.
For certain reasons, neither their master nor the other senior brothers could kill Yu Li outright and eliminate the threat.
So in the end, the eldest senior brother threw him, sick and frail, into a secret abyssal realm where cultivation level was no restriction.
For a weakling like Yu Li, with not a shred of cultivation, going in there was a death sentence.
But that was exactly what he wanted.
Yu Li was a half-demon with a jumbled bloodline.
Besides his half-human blood, he had all sorts of demon blood mixed in.
Netherworld Butterfly, Autumn Begonia, Black Cat, Bifang, Karmic Fire Red Lotus...
There was a place in the secret abyssal realm called Burning Heaven Valley. An immortal-grade phoenix had once died there, and its phoenix fire had burned for a thousand years without going out.
As the saying went, a phoenix rises from the ashes.
Many half-demons had benefited from the phoenix's legacy, refining their bloodlines in the flames and truly awakening their inherited memories.
Yu Li planned to give it a try.
As luck would have it, when he had first reached Foundation Establishment as a brash young man, he had once ventured into the secret abyssal realm. He'd spent the whole time sneaking around and hiding, but at least he'd survived.
The secret abyssal realm was also unusual: each person could enter only three times, and on their second visit, they would arrive at the same place where they'd been ejected the last time.
How convenient! The last time, Yu Li had been in Burning Heaven Valley.
The phoenix fire was fierce. Whether Yu Li succeeded or not, the golden core and spiritual root that belonged to him would not remain in the junior brother's body, and he would also suffer the pain of being consumed by flames.
As luck would have it, Yu Li survived. All his other bloodlines were burned away, leaving just one: Karmic Fire Red Lotus.
The red lotus's karmic fire burned everything through the power of cause and effect.
The junior brother got what he deserved. His golden core was gone, his spiritual root was gone, and he had no cultivation left. His soul was damaged, and the face he'd been so proud of was left with a permanent scar.
He wasn't the only one. The second senior brother, who had carried out the attack, and their master, who had tried to save the junior brother, were burned too.
Satisfying.
As for Yu Li, his heaven-grade wood spiritual root had returned. His bloodline was now pure, and it wouldn't take long to cultivate back to the golden core stage.
The only catch was that Yu Li had to escape. What a tragic story.
While the secret realm remained open, Yu Li could keep hiding. But once it closed, he would be ejected, and then he'd have to face his biased master, who was at Tribulation Transcendence, one-on-one.
Yu Li was still wondering what to do when his stomach suddenly called out, calling him "Dad."
Yu Li: ???
What the heck? He'd only slept with someone once. Was that all it took?
But the process didn't matter. The result was what counted.
It was a phoenix chick.
A phoenix chick! How wonderful!
The phoenixes were the most powerful race in the cultivation world, blessed with heaven-defying luck, stunning looks, and formidable cultivation. Only the neighboring dragon race could rival them, but the two clans had been allies for many years.
More importantly, phoenixes had difficulty reproducing, and the last phoenix chick had already come of age three hundred years ago.
Yu Li's little one was the phoenix clan's only hope!
Theme: I decide my own fate.
