Buzz—
The Void Realm cracked open without warning, a thin fissure appearing, from which dazzling golden light burst forth, tearing space itself apart! A figure, enveloped in golden light that ripped through the fierce winds, instantly landed in the center of the hall, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Nine-Tailed Demon Saint.
The golden light receded, revealing a defiant figure draped in a golden feather cloak. His face was as hard as if carved by a knife, and his eagle eyes were so sharp they seemed to pierce the Void Realm. It was the Golden Roc Great Saint.
“There is indeed a disturbance in the Nine Heavens,” the Golden Roc Great Saint said in a deep voice.
The Nine Heavens Great Saint’s ancient golden eyes turned to him, and the silent pressure intensified.
The Golden Roc Great Saint raised his hand, and a point of golden light shot from his fingertip, transforming into a rotating phantom of a star map. In the map, two dim light points hung isolated at the edge of the Three Thousand Main Realms, barely connected by an extremely fine, almost broken, thread of Chaos.
“Two remote Small Worlds have re-linked to the Three Thousand Main Realms, and one of them is contaminated by the Strange Dao,” the Golden Roc Great Saint said, his eagle eyes glinting with cold light. “The residual aura is undoubtedly from the Mysterious Tree of Deceit.”
The Golden Roc Great Saint tapped his finger again, and the star map magnified. The images of those two Small Worlds twisted. What was originally a connection between Three Realms now showed one realm completely swallowed and gone, covered in traces of eerie erosion, leaving only some terrifying marks.
“It’s the work of the Shepherd Realm Clan,” the Golden Roc’s voice was decisive. “They drove the Strange Tree, intending to take root and invade. These three Small Worlds were stopped by someone.”
The image changed again, revealing a shattered starry battlefield. Amidst the chaotic energy currents, charred fragments of Strange Tree branches remained, along with a powerful and domineering Chaos aura, not belonging to the Demon Spirit Realm, imprinted within, completely crushing and expelling the Strange Tree’s remnants.
“But it was repelled,” the Golden Roc Great Saint’s eagle eyes locked onto the imprint of the Chaos aura. “This Human Race Cultivator who cultivates the Chaotic Great Dao is very strong. With his power alone, he tore apart the Strange Tree’s roots and shattered its encroaching passage.”
“The Deva Race has reappeared, and the Shepherd Realm Clan driving the Strange Tree is now a fact. This Chaos Cultivator is key. He knows about the Deva Race and has directly faced its power.”
Behind the Nine Heavens Great Saint, the phantom of nine tails coiled silently, their fox fire a deep blue, making his ancient golden eyes appear unfathomable.
“Find him,” the Nine Heavens Great Saint’s voice was low, yet like a divine decree, making the entire Suspended Holy Hall hum. “Nine Heavens Demon Court, Suspended Holy Hall, issue a decree to the Three Thousand Main Realms.”
“Regardless of life or death.”
“I want to see this person.”
…
As his voice fell, the star Dao marks solidified on the hall walls suddenly resumed flowing, the Chaos cloud sea surged anew, and the heavy pressure receded like a tide, leaving only that cold command.
Of the twelve Yao Race Great Saints, six were not present, while the wills of the other eight Yao Race Great Saints converged in silence.
Li Mu was unaware of all this, not knowing that the Shepherd Realm Clan had caused tension among the top existences of this realm. He and Xue’er had settled completely in Tian Yong City, concealing their aura to become an ordinary Loose Cultivator couple, and had excellent relations with their neighbors.
At this moment, a knock suddenly sounded at the courtyard gate, and a clear childish voice pierced through the wooden door: “Sister Xue’er! Is Sister Xue’er there?”
Xue’er’s eyes lit up, and she quickly went to open the wooden door.
Three small heads were squeezed at the entrance. Leading them was Lin Xiaolun, about eight or nine years old, with two pigtails and sharp, rolling eyes that showed a hint of cleverness.
Behind her was Da Niu, the tallest, a bit sturdier than his peers, with an honest smile on his face and some mud on his clothes.
On the very edge was Tietou, the youngest, thin and small, with tightly pursed lips but incredibly stubborn eyes, and torn cuffs on his sleeves.
“Xiaolun! Da Niu! Tietou!” Xue’er smiled, stepping aside to let them in. “Come in quickly, it’s sunny outside.”
The three children scampered into the small courtyard, bringing with them a lively atmosphere. Da Niu, as if presenting a treasure, pulled out a few green-tinged-red fruits from his embrace. Their skins were smooth, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance: “Sister Xue’er, for you! Freshly picked spiritual apricots, they’re so crisp!”
“Yes, yes,” Lin Xiaolun eagerly interjected, “Tietou climbs trees the fastest and picked the reddest ones from the very top!”
Tietou didn't speak, but silently handed the few he held to Xue’er.
Xue’er’s heart warmed. She took the fruits, which still held the children’s body heat: “Thank you all! Please sit down and rest.”
She turned and went into the house to get a coarse pottery plate, carefully placing the fruits on it, and then brought out a few plates of pastries.
The children were not shy. They sat around the stone table and immediately began to munch on the pastries. Da Niu ate quickly, his cheeks stuffed. Lin Xiaolun took small bites, her eyes curved into crescent moons.
Tietou ate the most carefully, eating one piece and hiding another in his pocket. He held the pastries as if they were treasures, eating them in small bites.
Li Mu sat on the stone steps in front of the house, watching the children. Their clothes were old; Tietou’s shoes were noticeably half a size too big, Da Niu’s pant legs were a bit short, and Lin Xiaolun’s hair tie was faded.
The hardships of Tian Yong City were etched in these small details.
With constant Yao Race harassment, bloodstains outside the city walls had not yet dried, and rice and grain within the city were always in short supply. Adults always had an unshakeable worry on their faces. Yet, these three little ones, eating delicious pastries, their laughter like wind chimes hanging under the eaves, jingling and clanging, shattered the dullness of the alley.
When they spoke of the fierce demonic creatures outside the city, their small faces were filled with undisguised hatred, their gnashing teeth showing more spirit than many adults.
Li Mu’s gaze slowly swept over Lin Xiaolun’s nimble eyes, Da Niu’s sturdy shoulders, and Tietou’s stubborn gaze. That dormant thought now gradually became clear.
Within the Chaos Treasure Mansion, the Chaos Tree, growing in the Chaos Sea, seemed to sense something. Three of the three thousand Dao Seeds hanging from its branches glowed with soft light.
A long call from a woman in the alley, summoning her children home for dinner, drifted in.
Lin Xiaolun jumped up: “Oh! My mom’s calling! Thank you for the pastries, Sister Xue’er!”
“Alright, go on! Tomorrow morning I’ll make osmanthus spirit cakes, remember to come!” Xue’er nodded with a smile, calling out.
“Okay!” Lin Xiaolun’s eyes lit up with joy.
“Mm!”
Da Niu and Tietou also quickly stuffed the remaining pastries into their mouths, saying their goodbyes indistinctly.
Three tiny figures ran out of the courtyard gate, blending into the twilight shadows of the alley, leaving only a few remaining pastries on the stone table and the lingering, fresh Life Qi of children in the air.
Xue’er tidied the plates, a faint smile on her lips.
Li Mu stood up and walked under the old locust tree. The setting sun’s afterglow pierced through the branches and leaves, casting dappled light and shadow on his calm face.
Li Mu’s gaze extended beyond the courtyard wall, as if penetrating layers of houses, landing on the distant, towering bronze city wall, scarred with battle marks.
The clamor of the marketplace, mixed with the scent of cooking smoke and faint dust, wafted over the dusty walls in waves.
Night fell like water, quietly enveloping Tian Yong City.
…
The next day, early in the morning, the courtyard gate was knocked on again.
Xue’er went to open the door, and outside, three small figures huddled together. Lin Xiaolun peeked around, Da Niu scratched the back of his head, and Tietou, with pursed lips, had unusually bright eyes.
“Come in,” Xue’er said softly, stepping aside.
The children filed in, the morning light illuminating their curious yet somewhat restrained faces.
In the courtyard, only Li Mu was present. He stood with his hands behind his back, his aura as peaceful as the moss in the corner of the courtyard, yet subtly commanding, making one hesitate to be boisterous.
“Li Dage…” Lin Xiaolun called out softly, with a hint of inquiry.
Li Mu’s gaze slowly swept over them. Lin Xiaolun’s eyes were nimble, hiding an restless cleverness; Da Niu’s frame was sturdy, revealing a kind of honest tenacity; Tietou, though thin and small, showed a stubbornness and persistence far beyond his age in his straight back and tightly pursed lips.
“Li Dage will give you some help in your cultivation, so you can grow up quickly and resist the Yao Race, alright?” Li Mu asked the three of them with a smile.
The three little ones, who were just thinking about eating pastries, immediately had their eyes light up when they heard this sentence.
“Good!” The three little ones exclaimed in unison, their eyes astonishingly bright. Resisting the Yao Race and becoming stronger was their deepest desire.
Li Mu nodded slightly, not explaining anything further, but simply said calmly to the three children: “Close your eyes, calm your minds, and do not be alarmed.”
Li Mu’s words carried a strange, calming power. The three children exchanged glances, then obediently closed their eyes, trying to calm their somewhat rapid breathing, their small chests rising and falling.
Li Mu held his fingers like a sword. No brilliant light emanated from his fingertips; only a faint, almost invisible halo of Chaos quietly condensed. That halo was profoundly indescribable, as if it could absorb all surrounding light and sound, and the chirping of insects in the small courtyard seemed to quieten.
Li Mu lightly tapped with his fingertip, his movements as gentle as a passing breeze.
The first point of Chaos halo silently merged into Lin Xiaolun’s glabella.
The little girl’s body trembled slightly, and her long eyelashes fluttered. In her still-tender Sea of Consciousness, it was as if a grain of stardust from the beginning of Grandmist had fallen. It simply floated quietly, slowly rotating, emitting an extremely faint but Eternal light.
The light carried a gentle sense of embrace, subtly merging with her original Mental Energy, like a clear spring dropping into a pond, silently nourishing and expanding the invisible boundaries.
Lin Xiaolun only felt a cool and gentle aura spread from her glabella, and her previously somewhat restless mind miraculously calmed down, her thoughts seemingly becoming clearer and more active.
Immediately after, the second point of Chaos halo touched Daniu's glabella.
Daniu's body visibly tensed for a moment, like a stone. The Chaos halo sank into his Sea of Consciousness, but the sensation was completely different from Lin Xiaolun's. It was like a heavy yet warm seed, slowly descending, finally settling firmly in the center of his Sea of Consciousness.
A thick, solid, earth-like sense of power subtly emanated, subtly aligning with Daniu's honest and tenacious nature, as if a mountain's Foundation had been buried deep within his consciousness.
Daniu felt a warm current spread from the top of his head to his limbs and bones; his body seemed to gain an indescribable sense of solidity and strength.
Finally, Li Mu's fingertip paused before Tietou's glabella, and that point of Chaos halo descended.
“Ugh…” Tietou grunted, his small body shaking violently, almost losing his balance.
Daniu's Sea of Consciousness was like a drop of scorching lava falling into a cold pond; the will contained within that Dao instantly clashed violently with the intense hatred and unwillingness suppressed deep within his heart, stemming from the tragedy of his blood relatives!
The halo fluctuated violently, as if trying to break free, or trying to forcibly suppress the surging resentment. Tietou's small face instantly turned pale, fine cold sweat seeped from his forehead, his teeth were clenched tightly, his body was taut like a fully drawn bow, and suppressed whimpers came from his throat, as if he was struggling against an invisible immense force.
Xue'er's heart tightened, and she instinctively looked at Li Mu.
Li Mu's expression remained unchanged, only the flow of the Chaos halo at his fingertip seemed to deepen a bit. A grander, more inclusive, yet irresistible will passed through his fingertip, like an boundless deep sea, silently calming the turbulent waves in that Sea of Consciousness.
Gradually, Tietou's body stopped trembling, his clenched teeth loosened, and his rapid breathing slowly became long and steady. The Chaotic Dao Seed in his Sea of Consciousness emitted a scorching aura, but like a tamed wild horse, it began to slowly descend, strangely merging with that unwilling hatred, forming a more restrained, more resilient core of power.
The entire process occurred in silent stillness, with only time flowing quietly.
The three children closed their eyes, their expressions varied: Lin Xiaolun showed peace and a hint of novel enlightenment; Daniu showed a heavy solidity; Tietou seemed to have gone through a silent battle, with a kind of profound composure after a complete transformation in his exhaustion.
Li Mu withdrew his fingers, the point of Chaos halo at his fingertip completely disappearing, and he quietly looked at the three children whose breathing was gradually steadying before him.
The Chaotic Dao Seed had been planted, like three seeds containing endless possibilities, deeply buried in their unique Sea of Consciousness soil. They were not yet mature, and even extremely weak, but the potential originating from the Chaos Origin had quietly merged into their Bloodline and Divine Soul.
“That's enough.”
Li Mu's voice broke the silence in the courtyard.
The three children opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
Lin Xiaolun blinked, feeling that the world before her seemed a bit “brighter,” in an indescribable way.
Daniu clenched his fists, feeling full of energy in his body.
Tietou raised his hand and touched his glabella, where a trace of heat seemed to linger, but his eyes were deeper and sharper than before.
They looked at each other, seeing some indescribable change in each other's eyes, yet still somewhat bewildered.
“Go eat the pastries! From now on, just cultivate well. Remember, do not speak of what happened today to anyone.” Li Mu's voice carried an undeniable calmness.
“Father, can't we even tell Mother?!” Daniu asked in a booming voice.
“Yes, no one can be told about this help Li Dage gave you,” Li Mu said with a smile, nodding solemnly.
The three children looked at Li Mu's calm, unruffled eyes, and their hearts inexplicably trembled. That hint of bewildered excitement and curiosity was instantly suppressed by a solemn sense of commitment.
They nodded vigorously, their small faces taut: “We understand!”
“Go on, the pastries are on the table in the small kitchen.” Li Mu waved his hand.
“Thank you, Li Dage! Thank you, Sister Xue'er!” Lin Xiaolun thanked crisply, pulling the still somewhat dazed Daniu and the silent Tietou, and scurried towards the small kitchen from which a sweet aroma wafted.
Just as they turned around, a sudden change occurred!
Lin Xiaolun's footsteps paused, and an astonishing radiance suddenly burst forth from her eyes. The sparse Spiritual Qi in the surrounding Heaven and Earth actually converged around her like streams, strand by strand, clearly visible! She felt the world had never been so “clear”; the previously obscure and difficult-to-understand simple Qi-drawing incantations were now as clear and transparent as lines on her palm.
Daniu's body shook violently, his internal bones emitting a series of faint but crisp “crackling” sounds, and a thick, solid aura erupted from within him, as if a previously blocked river channel had been instantly cleared by immense force. He only felt his blood and Qi surging like a great river, his strength increasing out of thin air by a large margin, and his skin, muscles, and bones were cheering, becoming exceptionally tough.
The most dramatic change was still Tietou! After that Chaotic Dao Seed violently clashed with the surging hatred in his Sea of Consciousness, it not only did not obliterate his obsession but instead transformed it into a pure and fervent Origin power.
Within Tietou's small and thin body, an invisible fire seemed to ignite, burning away the Impurities accumulated in his meridians. Intense tingling and stinging pain came from the depths of his bones, as if countless tiny shackles were breaking and reshaping!
Tietou grunted, veins throbbing on his forehead, but his eyes were frighteningly bright, with a sharpness and focus almost like a wild beast's.
This dramatic change happened in the blink of an eye.
The three children froze in place, feeling the earth-shattering changes in their bodies and Divine Souls, their eyes filled with unbelievable shock. This was no longer a simple “help,” but an instant elevation of their originally mediocre, or even inferior, Foundation and Aptitude to an unimaginable level. The speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi, their affinity and comprehension of Dao and Law, all underwent a fundamental transformation, more than a hundred or a thousand times over!
Xue'er saw it clearly from the side, her heart heavily shaken. Although she knew Li Mu's methods were Heaven-Defying, she never expected the effects of these three Chaotic Dao Seeds to be so domineering and direct, truly Heaven-Defying and fate-altering!
“Steady your minds, do not panic.” Li Mu's voice, like a stabilizing needle for the sea, carried the power to soothe the Divine Soul, entering the three children's ears and suppressing their turbulent emotions: “This is the initial effect of the Chaotic Dao Seed's fusion. Its true effects will be seen in your future cultivation. Go eat the pastries, and remember to keep it a secret.”
The three children awoke as if from a dream, forcefully suppressing the surging waves in their hearts, and looked deeply at Li Mu. Their gaze had changed from the previous closeness and gratitude to one of almost devout reverence.
They dared not ask any more questions, keeping their mouths tightly shut, and carefully walked towards the kitchen, feeling their bodies so light with every step that they seemed to float.
In the small kitchen, the children held the sweet Osmanthus Spirit Cakes, momentarily forgetting to chew, still immersed in the afterglow of their transformation, feeling an unprecedented sense of power within their bodies and an unprecedented close connection with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
Xue'er watched the three small figures disappear behind the kitchen door, then walked to Li Mu's side and whispered, “That child Tietou… he really startled me just now.”
“His obsession was too deep, which activated the Chaotic Dao Seed.” Li Mu's gaze was directed towards the kitchen: “It is both a tribulation and a destiny. Let's see how he walks his path in the future.”
Xue'er sighed softly, saying nothing more. Soon, the children's hushed exclamations and chewing sounds came from the small kitchen, full of pure joy.
A short while later, the three children carefully emerged, each carrying a few Osmanthus Spirit Cakes wrapped in clean cloths.
Lin Xiaolun's eyes sparkled, Daniu smiled so wide his eyes disappeared, and although Tietou remained silent, the tense fierceness between his brows seemed to have faded a bit, and he carefully protected the cloth-wrapped bundle in his arms.
“Sister Xue'er, Li Dage, we're leaving!” Lin Xiaolun led the goodbyes.
“Mm, go on.” Xue'er replied with a smile.
The three small figures ran out of the courtyard gate one by one, Lin Xiaolun skipping ahead, Daniu looking back every three steps, and Tietou bringing up the rear. As he was about to exit, he looked back at Li Mu with a complex gaze, then turned and merged into the dimly lit alley of the morning. (End of Chapter)
