Putting her arms around Tianming’s waist and hugging him tightly, Feiling lifted Tianming off the ground. She winked and squeezed out a smile. “Big Brother, did you see that? Ling’er has muscles now! I can throw you into the sky with no problems. So be careful, or I might snap your Grand-Orient Sword if you dare to bully me.”
Lowering his head to look at Feiling being ‘barbaric,’ Tianming ultimately couldn’t hold it back in and laughed out.
“Then I’ll crush your ‘heavenly pattern barriers,” he retorted.
“Hey!”
“Hello? Are the two of you done? Flower Sis was just born and what are you two doing? It’s inappropriate for a child to see!” Ying Huo laughed.
“Holy shit!” Tianming actually forgot to shut his lifebound space off. That meant the four of them had been watching all along.
“The fourth egg hatched?” Feiling’s eyes lit up when she heard that.
“I’ll let you take a look at her,” said Tianming as he summoned Xian Xian’s spiritual body.
“Half-mummy!” Xian Xian already knew what she was going to call Feiling and put up her most adorable look as she dove into Feiling’s chest.
“Half? You’re saying there’s another half out there?” Feiling’s face tensed up as she glared at Tianming.
“He’s half my daddy and half my big brother. That makes you my half-mummy and half-sister-in-law?” Xian Xian had successfully confused herself.
“Alright. Wow, you’re adorable!” Feiling lifted Xian Xian’s spiritual body with her hands.
“Hehe. Half-mummy is so pretty. I want to crush your ‘heavenly pattern barriers’ too!” Xian Xian exclaimed with excitement.
Feiling blushed and changed the topic, “Big Brother, have you given it a name?”
“Not yet. You can give one,” said Tianming.
“Okay!” Feiling was overjoyed. Raising Xian Xian in her hands, she looked at the little fairy for a long time before she suggested, “The flower on her looks like a daffodil. What do you think if we call her Xian Xian?”
She looked at Tianming with expectations, hoping to be praised for her naming sense. In the end, Tianming was stunned as he looked at her blankly.
“What’s wrong?” Feiling asked.
“I’m already called Xian Xian,” Xian Xian looked at Feiling blankly.
“Ling’er, let’s talk.” Tianming had allowed Feiling to name Xian Xian on purpose, but he never imagined that she would go with Xian Xian. The coincidence was ridiculous, and only meant that Feiling was related to that person from Perpetia City and the Radix World Tree. He then told Feiling about what he had seen in his dreams.
“Really? But I can’t feel anything. I only thought of the name when I saw how she looked like a daffodil,” said Feiling.
“Mhm?” Xian Xian tilted her head. She stared at Feiling for a long time, then said, “Why do I sense a familiarity with half-mummy? Your voice sounds like that person from the dream.”
“What’s going on?” Feiling was dumbfounded.
“The lifebound city that Xuanyuan Xi has is the Perpetia City. The Radix World Tree and Perpetia City were destroyed by that black hand. That person in Perpetia City must’ve reincarnated as Xuanyuan Xi, and that’s how you came to be. So if Xuanyuan Xi is your previous incarnation, then the person in the city was your origin,” explained Tianming.
“Xuanyuan Xi’s previous incarnation was related to a Primordial Chaos Beast?” Feiling was dumbfounded.
“This is only speculation, there’s no proof. You don’t have to overthink it. It’s already good that we can survive in the Archaion Sect. Ling’er, the sect is filled with internal and external threats, and we can only rely on the Archaic House of Xuanyuan. I’ll try to find as many helpers as possible. I want to do much more at the Number One Summit. I’m already in the ninth level of the Empyrean Saint stage, and we don’t have much time left together. I’ll have to fight soon,” said Tianming.
“Okay.” Although Feiling nodded her head, she still tightly held Tianming’s hand. Tianming also didn’t want to release her hand. But his gut told him that he was racing against time.
“Big Brother, I can see everything from the Skyeye Formation. You can’t lose and die. Otherwise Ling’er will accompany you to the underworld,” said Feiling as she bit her lip.
“Hush.” Tianming pinched Feiling’s cheeks. “Wasn’t it so touching earlier? Why did you suddenly lose your confidence in me? You’re not allowed to say that. Wait for me. I’ll come back a hero and pick you up under everyone’s gaze. No one can take you away from me.”
“Okay, I got it. I’ll come running to you when you get back.” Feiling narrowed her eyes into slits from her smile.
“I’ll crush you!” Tianming stretched his hands out and grabbed them before he disappeared.
“Argh!” Feiling blushed. She felt a little dizzy from the electric current coursing through her body. By the time she recovered from the shock, Tianming was already nowhere to be seen.
“Dammit! I’ll let you have a taste of my muscles next time!” Feiling glared at the door with her lips pursed. Her eyes had turned red without her knowing.
……
“Sect Master, I’ve reached the ninth level.” That was the first thing Tianming said when he came out.
“Really?” Xuanyuan Dao had seen many geniuses in his life, but he had never seen a monster like Tianming.
“It’s all thanks to the blessing of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan’s ancestors,” replied Tianming.
“I can see your determination, since you came to see me. But I have to warn you that it’ll be dangerous, and you might lose your life. Are you certain?” Xuanyuan Dao asked.
“I am,” replied Tianming.
“You’re gutsy. You don’t even fear death.” The more Xuanyuan Dao came in contact with Tianming, the more he exclaimed at Feiling’s eyesight.
“Sect Master, it isn’t that I’m not afraid of death. I’m just confident in myself,” said Tianming.
“Are you sure you know what to expect?” Xuanyuan Dao asked for verification.
“I don’t. Let’s get going, we don’t have much time left,” replied Tianming.
“You have guts, I have to give you that,” exclaimed Xuanyuan Dao as he got Tianming to follow him. They headed straight to the Heaven Cauldron from the Xuanyuan Lake. The enormous cauldron appeared before Tianming once more. He knew now that it was actually forged by the first God, Great Emperor Xuanyuan.
“Follow me.” Xuanyuan Dao took the lead, and Tianming followed behind him.
Tianming saw the sculpture on the Heaven Cauldron, humans and beasts carved into it and enemies shrouded in fog. They must depict demons.
Great Emperor Xuanyuan created the symbiotic cultivation system for mankind to rise and destroy the demons, ushering in two hundred thousand years of prosperity. Tianming felt his blood boiling whenever he came to the Heaven Cauldron.
“Ouyang, come and open up the Heaven Cauldron with me,” Xuanyuan Dao said to Ouyang Jianwang.
“Sect Master, we might each have a key, but my key belongs to the Tribulation Peak, and I don’t have the authority over it,” said Ouyang Jianwang.
“I want to let Tianming make a breakthrough to the Samsara stage under the imperial tribulation’s pressure.”
“Let me think about it first,” said Ouyang Jianwang. He glanced at Tianming then closed his eyes.
“The entire sect is at stake. Why the hell do you even need to think about it?” Xuanyuan Dao glared.
“Sect Master, many people have been commenting about your recent decisions. But this also shows your boldness. People say that Xuanyuan Dao is stubborn and signifies the falling of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan. But the sect is in danger, and the other two Sect Masters have hidden themselves. On the other hand, you stood out fearlessly. Personally, I’m filled with admiration for you,” said Ouyang Jianwang.
“So?”
“So I'll follow you,” Ouyang Jianwang grinned.
“Then hurry up. Stop wasting time here.” Xuanyuan Dao grabbed Tianming and jumped into the cauldron. When Tianming turned around, he saw Ouyang Jianwang insert a key into the spirit hazards before he followed behind. They passed through layers of spirit hazards and reached the bottom of the Heaven Cauldron.
“Mhm? Where’s the lifewood essence?” Xuanyuan Dao and Ouyang Jianwang were both shocked.
“I lost it,” Tianming covered his face.
“The keyholes are out.”
“Keyholes?” Tianming looked down and saw two notches at the bottom of the Heaven Cauldron. As they spoke, Xuanyuan Dao and Ouyang Jianwang each took out a key, one black and one gold key. When the two keys were inserted, the Heaven Cauldron jolted and revealed a black crater. Tianming now knew that the Heaven Cauldron’s core lay beneath the spirit hazards.
“You two go down. I’ll stand guard here,” said Ouyang Jianwang.
“Okay.”
Xuanyuan Dao called out to Tianming, and the two of them jumped into the black passage.
“Sect Master, what’s in the Heaven Cauldron?” Tianming landed on the ground. The surroundings were dark, and there seemed to be a secret chamber. Clearly, it had been a long time since anyone was there, judging from the dust.
“You don’t know?” Xuanyuan Dao asked with an odd expression.
“Should I?”
Xuanyuan Dao smiled and said, “There aren’t many people in the world that don't know what’s in the Heaven Cauldron.”
“Then why don’t you tell me?”
Xuanyuan Dao took a deep breath before he explained, “The Heaven Cauldron contains the divine body of the first God, Great Emperor Xuanyuan.”
When he spoke, the darkness in the Heaven Cauldron suddenly vanished. A bright radiance lit the room, and Tianming felt like a colossal being was staring at him.