The Phoenix Mark and Inherited Memories

“My dear disciple, have you felt anything different about yourself lately?” Moxi asked while scrubbing Feiluo’s back.

The bath scrubber in her hand glided across Feiluo’s smooth, fair back, lathering up bubbles from the bath milk. The profound, soul-deep comfort of it made Feiluo hum with involuntary pleasure.

Feiluo’s eyes were closed, her face alight with an expression of pure enjoyment. Hearing Moxi’s question, she hummed softly in response, “Hmm~ anything different? Let me think…”

After a moment of thought, Feiluo replied, “No, not really. If I had to pick something, it would just be that my appetite has grown quite a bit recently.”

“Anything else?” Moxi pressed.

“Anything else, hmm…”

Feiluo mused further, then said, “Oh, that’s right. Lately, my back has felt a bit strange. Sometimes it feels like insects are crawling on it, and other times, it’s as if it’s burning.”

“It’s odd, isn’t it? As a phoenix, I shouldn’t feel like I’m being scorched by flames, yet that’s precisely what’s happening. Could it be…”

Feiluo opened her eyes, her wide, glistening gaze fixed anxiously on Moxi as she asked, “Could I have caught some kind of illness, Master?”

“You’re not ill,” Moxi chuckled softly.

She paused, then shifted the topic, saying, “Did you know? I saw a phoenix pattern on your back – a phoenix soaring with outstretched wings, its cry echoing through the nine heavens.”

This abrupt, seemingly nonsensical turn in conversation left Feiluo a little bewildered. She asked, puzzled, “A phoenix pattern? What does that have to do with the strange feeling on my back?”

“Of course it’s related.”

Moxi increased the pressure and speed of her hand, eliciting a soft moan from Feiluo.

“When phoenixes of the Phoenix Clan are about to transition from their juvenile stage to adulthood, a phoenix pattern will appear as a mark on their backs.”

“The completeness of this phoenix mark will vary depending on the purity and concentration of their bloodline.”

Feiluo nodded, then asked expectantly, “So, how complete is the pattern on my back?”

“My dear disciple, the pattern on your back is almost that of a complete phoenix; only a few minor details remain slightly indistinct,” Moxi explained. “And this is before you’ve fully entered adulthood. Once you enter adulthood and your bloodline fully awakens, it should become a perfectly complete phoenix.”

“So, my bloodline is very pure, then?” Feiluo mused, stroking her chin. “Master, what’s the difference between varying purities of phoenix bloodline?”

“Of course there’s a difference, darling.” Moxi applied more bath milk to Feiluo’s back, and the cool, slick liquid made Feiluo shiver.

“The purity of one’s bloodline is directly related to the completeness of their inherited memories.” Moxi slowed her scrubbing motions, indicating she was nearing the end.

“Huh?! I can have inherited memories?” Feiluo exclaimed, surprised.

“…?” Moxi gave her disciple a strange look. “Of course you do. How could a mythical bloodline like the phoenix not possess inherited memories?”

“In fact, if even a top-tier bloodline like the phoenix lacked inherited memories, then no other race in the entire world would be worthy of possessing them.”

Speaking of which, her gaze sharpened, her eyes like burning embers as she stared at Feiluo, her tone growing dangerously cold. “I recall these topics being covered in the sect’s World Knowledge classes, correct?”

“Yes… yes, they were taught.” Feiluo averted her gaze, her eyes darting nervously, her voice tinged with guilt. “I just… temporarily forgot. Yes, that’s right, I temporarily forgot.”

“Oh~ you ‘temporarily forgot,’ did you~” Moxi flicked Feiluo’s forehead with her finger. Of course, she exerted no real force; otherwise, with Moxi’s formidable cultivation, she might have accidentally knocked Feiluo’s head askew.

“Ow!” Feiluo immediately clutched her forehead, crying out in exaggerated pain, putting on a full theatrical performance of suffering.

“Stop pretending; I didn’t even use any strength,” Moxi said, exasperated.

“Ehehe~” Feiluo tapped her head and stuck out her tongue, attempting to charm her way out of trouble.

“Fine, let’s get back to inherited memories. This time, make sure you remember.” Seeing Feiluo’s attempt to act cute, Moxi sighed helplessly.

“Bloodline purity affects the completeness of inherited memories, and the completeness of those memories, in turn, dictates how much knowledge and legacy you receive.”

“For instance, if someone’s bloodline purity is fifty percent, their inherited knowledge will be a random half of the complete legacy.”

“What if, by bad luck, all the knowledge inherited turns out to be useless?” Feiluo wondered aloud.

“That’s unlikely to happen,” Moxi said after a moment of thought. “After all, a race’s inherited memories are their very foundation; they typically record extremely crucial knowledge, such as core cultivation techniques, powerful spells, or information about rare treasures.”

“But what if an ancestor was unreliable and recorded some strange things in the bloodline legacy?” Feiluo asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“To engrave knowledge into one’s bloodline, the cultivation realm required is quite high; one must at least reach the Integration Realm. Logically, individuals at such a realm wouldn’t typically be unreliable.”

That said, Moxi continued, her face taking on a slightly peculiar expression, “I can’t entirely rule out the possibility of such unreliable individuals, for the world is vast and full of wonders.”

She thought of an old friend of hers, who was merely a step away from reaching the Grand Ascension Realm, yet preferred to feign the cultivation level of a mere Qi Condensation practitioner to ‘act like a pig to eat a tiger’ (TL Note: A Chinese idiom meaning to hide one’s true strength and pretend to be weak to deceive opponents).

“Hmm… I hope none of my ancestors were that unreliable.” Feiluo closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and prayed.

“Alright, what’s there to worry about? My dear disciple, your bloodline is so pure that you’ll inherit both the good and the bad.” Moxi patted Feiluo’s rear. “You’re all scrubbed up. Just rinse off, and you can come out.”

“I’m mainly worried that if those ancestors found unreliable things in the legacy, they might get caught up in the trend and become ‘fun-seekers,’ passing down all sorts of random nonsense.”

“That… shouldn’t be the case, should it?” Moxi replied, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry, you know.” Feiluo stood up and began rinsing herself under the showerhead.

“Gulp, gulp, gulp… Ah!”

Donning a bathrobe, Feiluo gulped down a large mouthful of milk. She didn’t stop until she had drained the entire glass in one go, then set the empty cup down, breathing heavily.

Moxi, similarly clad in a bathrobe, sipped her milk delicately, her posture graceful, yet her drinking speed was not much slower than Feiluo’s.

“Wait.”

Just as Feiluo finished her milk and was about to wipe the lingering ‘milk mustache’ from her lips with her arm, Moxi stopped her. Moxi retrieved a handkerchief from her spatial storage and handed it to Feiluo.

“Don’t use your arm; you just had a bath. Use this.”

Feiluo wiped her mouth with the handkerchief, then returned it to Moxi.

Moxi stood up, took the handkerchief, and walked out of the room. Before leaving, she told Feiluo, “I’m going back to change into my pajamas first. My dear disciple, you should hurry and change into yours too.”

“Okay~” Feiluo replied.

“Oh, and don’t come back wearing one of those tattered nightdresses, alright~” Moxi teased.

“Never!” Feiluo’s face instantly flushed.