"Divine Sparks are not hereditary, so why should godhood be? Even if two True Gods have a child, the result is still a Divine Spirit. God and Divine Spirit? Still a Divine Spirit. Our births follow strict ritual arrangements and have nothing to do with your undignified human ruts. Of course, the higher the parents' level of Divine Power, the more likely the children are to start with a Divine Spark—and the higher their innate Divine Power as well. We can also use our mortal shells to procreate the way you do, but the results are subpar at best." Giving Xiao Hu a tour of the Evernight Palace, Baxian led her towards a large ritual chamber where the conception of the Night's Fetal Spirits took place.
Large obsidian shards hovered above colorful array nodes, and as Xiao Hu's gaze swept the scene, she could see orbs of darkness held at the center of the shards, with bright pairs of eyes opening and closing in rhythmic fashion. The shards represented a Night Spirit's "womb," while the Fetal Spirits equaled an embryo. Senior Night Spirits—the parents or elders—stood beside the shard, feeding the Fetal Spirit with the knowledge, energies and resources that they'd need to condense the best mortal shell possible.
"Each Night Spirit born or residing in the Evernight Palace belongs to the elite of the Eternal Night Dynasty. We expect the juniors of these families to condense flawless mortal shells, and the process starts here. Subpar results can get the child and parents expelled—depending on how poorly they performed. When he headed towards Dongli, the mortal shell that Zhen'er left with wouldn't have qualified for an Evernight Palace resident." For reasons known only to him, Baxian helped Xiao Hu get familiar with the Hengye clan's rules, structure and methods. His words were like key to grand worlds of information that, even with Xue Yuanshao's teachings, Xiao Hu had a hard time processing.
"A Void Spiritual Root…doesn't qualify?"
"Naturally. Don't get me wrong, the root quality was up to standards. But the organs and bones were no different from the average mortal's. As for the Harmonious Duality Physique, that's barely acceptable for a harem slave. Compared to his true shell, the gap transcends the distance between the sun and moon. At least that's how it used to be. I didn't expect Zhen'er to come back with these mystical bones. In comparison, even my mortal shell seems slightly worse." Baxian's Spiritual Senses wouldn't deceive him. The Heaven-Trampling Dao Bones were, at the very least, a match for the Celestial Dao Bones in Xinzi's true shell. With those bones alone, Baxian had to concede that his complete package of Heart, Bones, Flesh and Root fell a bit short.
"Zhen'er aside, the Lord-Regent, former God-Child candidates and I are the only ones with proper Divine Souls. Others merely have Venerable Souls. But like all other Divine Spirits in existence, our Divine Powers are imperfect. Unless you can cross at least 18 steps of the Divine Consecration Ladder and become a True God, your Divine Power will always be imperfect. Zhen'er is the only exception.
Not only was he born with flawless Divine Powers, but I suspect that once unshackled, his are superior to High Gods' already." Gods formed a race, not a cultivation level. From False God to Primeval Deity, the divine ranks established lifeform tiers, each starting with various levels and limits of Divine Power.
And considering that—according to hearsay—all the Sovereigns and Primevals currently in Heaven had been created by Heaven's Will, High Gods represented the highest status that Divine Clan scions could aspire to. This made Xinzi's Divine Potential a matter that no right-minded Night Spirit would leak—under any circumstance. Again, Baxian's actions defied the norm, stepping into treasonous territory.
"Why is he so different? Because of his mother? He can't be the first child of a Divine Ancestor, right?"
"Well, it's complicated. From what we were told, the Divine Ancestors didn't conceive the various Spirit Clans. They created them from their sparks, relying on rituals and materials. Yanglong, the Solar Dragon God, is the only exception. He sired a multitude of children, but as powerful as they are, they can't compare to Yanglong's creations: the second generation of the Taiyang clan.
Zhen'er is so different…because of his father: Shenzhuo." Barely had that name crossed Baxian's lips that Xiao Hu furrowed her brows.
As a Daoist practionner, she knew many of the Celestial Paradise's main deities, most of them using titles or Daoist forms of address rather than proper names. Like Hanxing and Guang Fanghu, Shenzuo too was a Daoist name. The name of…
"Shenzhuo…oh, merciful Heavens. You mean…" Xiao Hu reeled back, almost tripping as her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes, his Divine Majesty, the Heavenly Emperor. Yongye isn't terrifying because of her supreme cultivation. It is the guile and ruthlessness that make so many shiver. No one can stop her from seizing what she wants. Through various tricks and subterfuge, she seduced the Heavenly Emperor, harvested half his cultivation, and used it alongside his seed and other primordial materials to give birth to Zhen'er. The nurturing process lasted for thousands of years, and once Zhen'er came into this world…he drained what remained of his father's cultivation—also draining 81 Stars of the Night in the process.
The man who now sits on the Throne of Heaven is but an empty husk controlled by Yongye. That is why our elders dare call Hengye Zhen the future master of Heaven. But to be fair, even Yongye didn't predict that Zhen'er's birth would cause such a catastrophe." Baxian couldn't understand why Yongye didn't outright make Xinzi a puppet. Even the elders of the main clan wondered the same. After all, with this background and innate potential, unlike Hengye Wuxin, he indeed had the qualifications to one day surpass and overthrow his mother.
Interestingly, Xinzi himself didn't know that on the day of his birth, he swallowed 81 Night Gods. He only knew that they died due to a celestial phenomenon he provoked. The same thing went for Yuemi and most of the Hengye clan. After all, the Swallowing Skill…shouldn't exist in Heaven. Where did Baxian get the specifics from? And why did he so willingly offer this info to Xiao Hu?
In that instant, severe jolts of pain turned Xiao Hu's mind upside down. Almost as if her soul was telling her that she'd forgotten something critical. A vision? A memory? Why were there so many blanks in her mind? Did Xinzi fiddle with her memories, or did someone else? Her eyes rose towards Baxian, accusing him in silence. Baxian met the inquisitive gaze with a smile and shook his head to deny the charge.
"Not me. It's likely Zhen'er. It's all for the best, to be honest. Too often, memories get you killed. Don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to make you hate Hengye Zhen. I want you to fear him. Fear him, always be on your guard. You might have lost the Grace, but you're still Heaven-Blessed. Some will try to milk you, to possess you, to use or outright destroy you. Helping you maintain one layer of defense is my way of keeping you alive." Baxian flashed Xiao Hu a gentle smile, and with a casual wave of his hand, steadied a loose hair curl.
'Is he…making a pass at me?' The swordswoman's brows arched up, wondering why this callous immortal showed her such attention. Perhaps he too wished to use her as a pawn? Yes, why would he not? Then again, as they maintained eye contact, she couldn't remove the nagging suspicion that….she'd met this gaze once before.