Hei Hai stood straight with his hands locked behind his back. Even though distorted, his Spiritual Body looked quite smart.

"First let me talk about this Nirvana Life Seal." Hei Hai spoke in a calm tone and started with the explanation.

"This Nirvana Life Seal is constructed with just two components but is probably one of the best Sealing Arts out there."

"This Sealing Art is specifically designed for the use of Phoenix species of the Monster Race to preserve the soul of any one person."

"With this seal in place even if the said person's Physical Body is destroyed the soul will remain harmless, what's more if by any chance the soul suffers from any injuries the seal will heal it."

Saying this Hei Hai stared at the tiny red flame. "It's the same reason you have been asleep for 500 years. Your soul was so injured due to self-destruction that it took over 500 years for the seal to heal it."

"You should be glad that you were just a mere Core Formation rank Cultivator if you were anywhere above Divine Transformation rank... Hehe... I don't think even 100,000 years would be enough!" Hei Hai said with a mischievous smile.

The young man's Spiritual Body inside the flame didn't respond, it just continued listening attentively. Hei Hai also noticed this and continued with his explanation.

"The best part about this seal is that it doesn't require the target to have any sort of Cultivation, it can even protect the soul of a mere mortal!"

"All the energy required for the seal to function is provided by the Phoenix who placed the seal with its own 99 percent Life Energy which is one of the two said required components for the seal the other one being the complete Nirvana Flame."

"After placing this seal on the said person the Phoenix who placed the seal will only live with one percent of Life Energy left within its body and the energy from its soul."

"Life Energy is the essence of life that supports the Physical Body and the Soul Energy is the essence of soul that supports the Spiritual Body."

"Hmm... Let's see... If the Phoenix is of high Cultivation Rank then it can support its life for a long time with just that one percent of Life Energy and Soul Energy. It can also use its Spiritual Body to get hold of someone else's Physical Body to live a new life as a different person, but well Monster Race is quite prideful and kind so I doubt any of them will do it."

"Also there are many Heavenly Treasures that can help in restoring Life Energy, though finding the ones which work on high rank Cultivators is like looking for a needle in the haystack."

"So there is a chance that the one who placed the seal on you may be still alive... It's just maybe, I'm not a hundred percent sure."

"There may be more to it but that's all I know about this seal." Hei Hai concluded.

"It's indeed a marvelous Sealing Art. I heard the Phoenix can rise from ashes but this is just too much. Also all you said about the Sealing Art sounds good to me, then why is it considered a Forbidden Art?" Bian Chao doubtfully asked.

"Ah I forgot to mention the demerits, hehe." Hei Hai smirked and then started to explain the drawbacks of Nirvana Life Seal.

"You see once a Phoenix lets go of its complete Nirvana Flame it loses the recognition of the flame and can never get it back nor can it give birth to a new Nirvana Flame so it's a taboo among the Phoenixes. After all, as you said, a Phoenix without Nirvana Flames is just a chicken."

"Also without the Flames of Nirvana and lack of Life Energy a Phoenix is at its weakest state. It's quite vulnerable. It becomes an easy target for people looking for Phoenix blood and Monster Core. Also... The Nirvana Life Seal is just a seal, it doesn't provide the target with the benefits of controlling the Nirvana Flames like a Phoenix." Hei Hai answered.

"Ah I see, now it sounds reasonable." Bian Chao said, then he looked at the red flame and asked. "Young man, did you have any Phoenix relatives or friends?"

The young man didn't answer...

He didn't answer even after quite some time passed so the two gods got worried and started to shout whatever they thought.

"Hey, are you there? You didn't go back to sleep again did you? This fucking guy just woke up after 500 years and went back to sleep. How am I supposed to pass my time now? I was so excited to talk to someone new after all these years but... Fuck!" Hei Hai irritatingly cursed.

"Young man, are you there? Reply if you can hear us. There are still a lot of things we wanna talk about. You are not angry at this stupid Hei Hai are you? Just ignore him, I also used to ignore him in the past when he acted all narcissistic. Ptui! Shameless." Bian Chao consoled.

"Pfft... Hahaha... " Behemoth egg laughed.

"Ah I can hear you, it's just that..." The young man sounded dispirited.

"What is it? Talk to us, we may be of some help. I dunno about the other two but I, Bian Chao, will definitely help you out." Bian Chao assured.

"Ptui! Ptui!" Two spitting sounds could be heard. One from Hei Hai and the other from... The egg?... How mysterious...

"Sigh!... I think it would be much easier if I just explained my life story to you guys." The young man said in a sad tone.

"Also my name... I think it's not breaking my oath to the Heavens if I just use my first name, after all the world is huge, it's no coincidence for multiple people to have similar names."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Took you long to understand this simple fact." Hei Hai mocked.

"You shut up! Why are you always trying to pick a fight? Can't you keep your mouth shut sometimes?" Bian Chao scolded Hei Hai.

"Hehe it's fine, I am indeed not a wise one." The young man said with embarrassment.

"Well, just ignore him young man, please continue what you were saying, we are all ears." Bian Chao gave a warm smile.

"Yes... My given name is Furong, which means the flower 'Hibiscus'." The young man said.

"Also... Now as I think about it, it's a name I shouldn't or should never even think of forsaking. If I am not wrong, my name is the only thing that connects me to the person who this Nirvana Flame belongs to, the person you guys said wants me to live on... My mother!"

"The mother I don't even remember the face of..." The young man sounded heartbroken.

...We all may have already guessed it, but this line from the young man cleared any doubts we may have. The Spiritual Body residing inside the tiny red flame is none other than Ye Furong! The third Young Master of Ye Clan or more like the former third Young Master.

After revealing his given name, Ye Furong or as we should just call him Furong for now, started to narrate his life story.

He started from the day he could remember and explained everything that has transpired in the 25 years he has lived. He omitted from mentioning any names though. Maybe he is just that kind hearted to not smear the names of anyone, even if they were his enemies or perhaps he just doesn't want to remember that one name that left a deep scar on his heart.

Furong kept narrating his life story while the other three listened attentively without even making a sound.

It's hard to tell the passage of time in this void filled with darkness but none of the Spiritual Bodies or the giant Behemoth egg present here care about it. But if someone attentively keeps track of time like Bian Chao does, they can tell that a few days have passed from the time the young man woke up.

To keep the track of time in a void filled with darkness for 1.7 billion years sounds impossible to believe but that just showed how great of a Cultivator Bian Chao was when alive.

Furong's narration went on for a few days...

...

The void is all silent at the moment... It gives a feeling that nothing exists in this place, not even air!... Until you notice a tiny red flame and two shadows standing in front of it.

Suddenly the cry of a child broke the silence of the void.

"Boohoo!... Such a sad story... Boohoo!..." The Behemoth egg cried. It's really acting like a kid. It may be just an egg but there is a Behemoth fetus living inside it. It's just the egg hasn't met its proper conditions to hatch.

The egg kept crying for about half an hour till it was shut up by an irritated Hei Hai.

"Shut the fuck up! You are ruining my ears. What are you crying for? It's this young man who has suffered, not you. You have been sitting here for god knows how many billions of years without any worries." Hei Hai scolded.

"Snif! Snif!..." The Behemoth egg went silent.

Hei Hai then turned towards the red flame. "Don't feel offended young but such stories are quite common in the martial world. If there is someone to blame for your miseries then it's you yourself believe it or not!"

"There is a saying that goes like this 'no pain, no gain', if one doesn't suffer how will one achieve any greatness? After all 'a flower born in a greenhouse can never withstand a storm' right?"

"You may say that you were always being suppressed or you never got any opportunities, but those are all nothing but mere excuses for your own incompetence."

"If you fail once just try again, if you fail again keep trying till you pass."

"The Heavens never show favour to anyone nor it shows mercy! If you want something, you have to snatch it from the Heavens with your own hands. Never expect any help from others as others will also look at you as a stepping stone for them."

"Talents? Genius? Heaven's gifted child? It's all nothing but bullshit! It's true some may have been born in a good environment or some may have gained more opportunities than others, but it doesn't mean they all will achieve success in their lives. I even doubt if most of these individuals will live long enough!"

"In the end it all comes to how much you can strive, how much you can give or how much you can take."

Then Hei Hai shouted in a loud voice. "In the world of Martial Arts, history is written with blood!"

Then he gave a sympathetic look at the red flame. "I feel sorry for your mother and I sympathise with her but that was her fate."

"But I admire the woman even more for her motherly love, even when she saw her death coming she didn't break, she just passed her candle to her child. To you. Even if she had no way of living she wanted you to live. But you..." Hei Hai sighed, shaking his head.

Hearing this Furong shouted. "Who wants to die? Who doesn't want to live a long life?"

Then he continued with a sobbing voice. "Even I wanted to live... Wanted to live a happy life. To get married, to have children. But... But what could I have done in that situation?"

He shouted again but in a crying tone. "They blocked every way of my retreat. Death was the only choice I had left. What could I have done? What could I have done?..."

"Fight!" Hei Hai answered.

"Fight..." Furong said in a lost tone.

"Yes, fight. At least you shouldn't have committed suicide like a coward. If I were you I would have taken those Young Masters with me to my grave. Humph!" Hei Hai retorted.

"It's easy for you to say. But if I did that, what about her? She would have only suffered more..." Furong said sadly.

"Her?... Ah, your maid?" Hei Hai questioned.

Then Hei Hai raged. "You bastard! You fucking cunt! You have no right to show concern for her. You fucking betrayer!"

"Betrayer? What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Furong sounded confused.

"You don't know?" Hei Hai glared at the red flame.

"Er..." Furong really didn't understand.

Hei Hai shouted again. "You piece of junk! You blockhead! That girl loved you so much and you don't know what you did? You rascal!"

"Huh? I know she loved me very much but that was in the past. Later she married my Elder Brother. So how can you blame me for that?" Furong said with confusion.

"You really believe what you just said? Did she tell you that she doesn't love you anymore or that she got married to your Elder Brother? If I remember correctly from your story, she didn't even speak to you in that last meeting right?" Hei Hai questioned.

"She must be as helpless as you were back then. She must have been forced into it. All you needed to do was to get back to her. To be her strength again... Sigh!" Hei Hai said with disappointment.

"That... Er..." Furong is lost for words.

"Young man, you don't understand women at all. Not only did you ignore her pain you also went ahead adding salt to her injuries by committing suicide." Hei Hai complained.

"But-but... How can you be so sure she still loved me?" Furong said meekly.

"Ask yourself if what I said is true or not. You will know better than me." Hei Hai argued.

"That-that... I am sorry…I-I…" Furong doesn't know what to say.

"What are you apologizing to me for you stupid pig." Hei Hai scolded. He wanted to beat Furong's ass up but couldn't.

"Ah that's enough. I think the young man realizes his mistakes. But it can't be helped now right? Let the past be the past and we should talk about the future. Human heart is quite fragile, who knows what the truth is?" Bian Chao suggested.

"Sigh!..." Hei Hai sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. He didn't say anything anymore.

Furong went silent while the tiny red flame started to show slight fluctuations. Seems like Furong is emotionally unstable at the moment.

The other three individuals noticed this and decided to stay silent. They gave space to Furong to sort out his emotions.

Inside the flame Furong reminisced about the memories of his life and grieved in pain.

If his Physical Body was still here or even if he was capable enough to have a Spiritual Body similar to these two gods, we would definitely be able to see him cry like a child.