Nurse Ning looked at her shocked expression and was somewhat bewildered.
Ji Qingqing’s body trembled, her eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face.
She didn’t speak, her thoughts surged like waves, her fingers quietly dug into her palm.
But soon, something occurred to her, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Wait a minute, you said my son has become a Dao Seed?”
“That’s right, your son came to the Ji Family alone, such a tender age, and truly shocked everyone. He successively defeated numerous prodigies; even Mysterious God Ji of the Innate Holy Bone was defeated by him. It is said that he used the Three Immortality Realms to overcome him, a veritable myth, unprecedented and likely never to be duplicated.”
When Nurse Ning mentioned Li Hao, a smile thickened on her face.
Ji Qingqing’s face was filled with shock, hardly believing it: “My son, he’s that formidable?”
She found it hard to imagine, the infant she had held in her arms fifteen years ago could now defeat the prodigies of the Ji Family?
This was something she didn’t even dare to dream of.
Moreover, during the battle in Northern Yan, it was heard that the child was unable to practice martial arts, only later opening his meridians, but he had missed the time for martial arts training, losing both Foundation Establishment and Blood Melting stages, lagging behind other children. Catching up to the talents of each great state of the Dayu Divine Dynasty was fortunate enough, let alone comparing with prodigies of the Ji Family.
“By the way, Nurse Ning, you said he came alone?”
Ji Qingqing couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Nurse Ning nodded, “That’s correct.”
Ji Qingqing’s expression changed slightly. Could it be that her husband had met with misfortune or was there another hidden reason?
Her heart rose uneasily, tinged with apprehension.
Seeing her uneasy and tense, Nurse Ning laughed and said, “Miss, your son will come to fetch you soon. Why don’t you go and clean up first? Otherwise, if he sees his mother like this, he might feel a bit upset.”
Ji Qingqing came back to her senses, looked down at her own dirty hands—she had been reluctant to expend her energy, but now that she was about to leave the island and break free, she didn’t need to conserve any longer.
Qi Force circulated, instantly shaking off all the dirt and dust from her body.
Her snow-white skin was revealed, and her hair became clean, drifting like silky strands.
“That child must have had a hard time coming here…”
Ji Qingqing thought of Nurse Ning’s words: defeating the Ji Family prodigies, contesting for the Dao Seed—what sounded like simple words, but she knew the difficulty they concealed.
A pang of sympathy surged, she lightly bit her lip, turned, and entered the thatched cottage. Soon, she emerged in a glimmering light green robe, as if a fairy descending from a painting.
Seeing the rejuvenated Ji Qingqing, Nurse Ning showed a smile and said, “Miss, you are still as beautiful as you were back then, resembling Lord Le Ping somewhat.”
“Does he look like me?”
Ji Qingqing murmured to herself, a hopeful light flickered in her eyes, her heart tensed, and images fluttered through her mind: her belly protruding, holding that swaddled child.
It had been fifteen years.
She thought mother and son would be forever parted, never expecting to see each other again.
Along with excitement and anticipation, she also felt an inexplicable nervousness.
…
…
At the extreme north of the secret realm.
Tens of thousands of miles away from Saint Mountain, far beyond Li Hao’s imagination.
The entire Ji Family Holy Land was as vast as seven or eight great states of the Dayu Divine Dynasty.
Li Hao and Ji Yun Yue flew through the air, en route from Saint Mountain, the land growing more desolate with distance, vast deserts interspersed with lush greenery, displaying various natural features, yet uninhabited.
To travel this distance using Ji Yun Yue’s movement technique would take half a day.
But for Li Hao, it had taken fifteen years.
“This secret realm was left by the Ancestor of my Ji Family. There are mysterious arrays hidden by my Ji Family outside the realm, near our territory. Without guidance, even Demon Kings would get lost and be unable to force their way through.”
During the journey, Ji Yun Yue’s casual talks also let Li Hao understand the greatest difference between the Ancient Holy Clan and other tribes: it was this secret realm.
Other tribes lived within the Great Wilderness Heaven, only relying on arrays for protection. Once their dwelling places were discovered by Demons, no matter how strong the arrays were, they would eventually be breached by the Demons.
But the secret realm was different, with all sorts of mysteries. To break through would require a great deal of effort, easily withstanding a million Demons.
Even those in the Tao Comprehension Realm would need to spend considerable effort to tear apart the secret realm.
Only individuals in the Saint Realm could break it with ease, like the Saint who gifted Li Hao with the mark.
Finally, after traversing tens of thousands of miles, the two reached the barren seafront.
A boundless desolation stretched before them, its end invisible.
At a specific location stood a steep and conspicuous lone peak at the edge of the barren sea.
There were Elders stationed atop it. Ji Yun Yue went forward to state their intentions, presented the Family Head’s token, and borrowed a Divine Weapon boat called the Nine Desolates Boat.
The two boarded the Nine Desolates Boat, crossing the barren sea towards another solitary cliff on its other side.
There grew the Twin Flowers that could counteract poison.
“There wouldn’t be any strange creatures in this barren sea, would there?”
Li Hao stood at the stern, looking at the light waves that occasionally rose from the barren sea, so deep that its bottom was unseen, its waters not dark but tinged with scarlet.
Ji Yun Yue chuckled and responded, “Of course not, even Divine Weapons would corrode within it. It is rumored that this barren sea is the blood spilled by a Demon Saint that the Ancestor of my Ji Family slew when this secret realm first came to be, turning into this vast expanse.”
“The blood of a Demon Saint?”
Li Hao was briefly startled, beholding the vast raging waves of the barren sea. If it were a Demon Saint’s blood, how immense must the Demon Saint have been?
“Is that really true?”
“It may have been exaggerated over time. After all, the barren sea spans tens of thousands of miles, even a Demon King with a hundred yards of monstrous form would be considered mighty.”
Ji Yun Yue explained.
The Twin Flowers grew on the solitary cliff on the other side of the barren sea, guarded by a Demon King tamed by the Ji Family. If the Twin Flowers were picked and not consumed within half a day, they would rapidly wilt and lose their effectiveness.