Qing Ling immersed his mind in the Mi Tian Suo. It was time for this top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure to reveal a little more of its power.
His primordial spirit sank beneath the nine layers of Xiantian Dao Seals, and the Wood-Fire raged fiercely, refining layer upon layer of seals. Guided by the Fu Chun Divine Spark, he opened the resistance of the Mi Tian Suo, a Xiantian Spiritual Treasure. His primordial spirit led, with the divine fire at the center, delving directly into the eighteenth Xiantian Dao Seal, the extreme of a mid-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure.
Ten thousand years later, in the second ten thousandth year of the Fifth Yuan Hui, Qing Ling finally emerged from Bai Chun Valley.
Beneath the spiritual tree of the Great Beast Zhan Mu, he met Granny Hua Geng.
Qing Ling had once been unable to see through Hua Geng's cultivation. Now, he could. Hua Geng's three flowers gathered at the crown, and four of the five vital energies were complete. Furthermore, the small world within her was exceptionally nurtured. Though he couldn't see it clearly, it was undoubtedly close to a true small world.
When Granny Hua Geng saw Qing Ling, she was not surprised. She had known of his uniqueness during his breakthrough.
"After cultivating in seclusion for over a Yuan Hui, you've finally decided to come out!"
"You've made Granny worry." Qing Ling smiled, bowed, and walked forward. "Besides the conquest of the three tribes, have there been any other major events in the clan in recent years?" As a Saint Son, he naturally had to pay some attention to clan affairs.
Granny Hua Geng glanced at the sleeping Great Beast Zhan Mu and smiled, "Nothing major. Other than the clan having a few more Golden Immortal Venerables, everything is thriving."
"That's good. It's all thanks to your skillful governance that our clan shows signs of great prosperity."
"It's still too early for our clan to show signs of great prosperity. However, as long as you, a Xiantian god, are here, Xi Shan's destiny will naturally be good." Granny Hua Geng teased with a smile, then seemed to recall something and asked, "Among the Golden Immortal Venerables in the clan now, your combat power is probably unmatched, right?"
Qing Ling did not humble himself but seriously pondered for a moment before saying, "If we don't count you, then perhaps."
Hua Geng nodded, her smile fading, and she said solemnly, "With your cultivation of Golden Immortal Tai Yi, you should have sensed something."
"It's indeed as Granny said. After I reached Golden Immortal, the Fu Chun Divine Spark in my primordial spirit has been vaguely uneasy, pointing towards the distant southwest."
"It seems it's truly time." Granny Hua Geng sighed, a hint of memory appearing in her eyes. After a moment of silence, she said, "I should also tell you your true origins."
Qing Ling's heart stirred, and he chuckled softly, "I thought Granny would wait a bit longer."
"Can you truly wait?" Hua Geng looked at him and slowly began, "It was several Yuan Hui ago when I entered the chaotic territory of the three tribes in search of a Heaven and Earth spiritual treasure."
Hearing this, Qing Ling recalled that the chaotic territory of the three tribes was the transition zone between the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin tribes. It was the only unclaimed land in the entire Primordial World, extremely narrow, with no tribes surviving and no great divine abilities to unify it. It was a truly disordered and lawless no-man's-land.
Golden Immortal Venerables who couldn't survive in their own tribes would flee into it, seeking a secluded place to live. Due to the lack of tribes, many Heaven and Earth spiritual treasures remained undiscovered, and there were also the caves of fallen seniors from the past, containing various opportunities, but also various dangers. It was a place for true desperadoes, where the strong lived and the weak perished.
Qing Ling's thoughts were interrupted by Granny Hua Geng's voice.
"I entered that chaotic land and searched for fifty years without finding any spiritual treasure, so I prepared to return to Xi Shan.
However, on my return journey, I encountered a late-stage Golden Immortal Venerable attempting to break through to Tai Yi.
Such a great opportunity, I naturally wouldn't miss it, so I hid nearby and observed his methods.
Unexpectedly, not only did that person successfully break through to Tai Yi, but his luck was also heaven-defying. I had learned about the concept of destiny from the bloodline inheritance of Ancestor Tai Geng.
When cultivators break through realms or obtain Xiantian spiritual treasures to defy fate, their destiny will surge. As destiny flows, it stops, and fate arrives.
The existence who broke through to the Tai Yi realm unexpectedly discovered that his secluded spiritual land, where he had been in seclusion for many years, held a hidden treasure. It was a Xiantian spiritual land hidden within.
Perhaps it was due to his powerful primordial spirit after reaching Tai Yi, or perhaps the spiritual land was attracted by the Tai Yi Dao principles and leaked its aura.
The Tai Yi expert was overjoyed and discovered that it was a Xiantian protective formation called the Xiantian Qing Hua Great Formation. And within a Xiantian formation, there naturally were Xiantian spiritual treasures.
Fearing that delays would lead to trouble, he spared no effort in attacking the great formation, even using forbidden techniques to enhance his power. He only managed to open a passage to enter the great formation.
At that time, unwilling to return empty-handed, I ventured in alongside him into the Xiantian Great Formation.
Within that Xiantian Great Formation, the Xiantian spiritual energy was so dense that it liquefied into mist, condensed into beads, and dripped like dew, gathering on a Xiantian spiritual root.
Within the Xiantian Great Formation, there was only one Xiantian spiritual root. The spiritual core within this Xiantian spiritual root was the core of the Xiantian Qing Hua Great Formation, and within it, a life was gestating.
The Xiantian deity, still gestating, was disturbed by the sudden intrusion of the Tai Yi expert into the formation. It was born prematurely, transforming into a young green snake, entwined with a green jade belt."
"That Xiantian deity was me. The reason I only achieved Earthly Grade transformation was due to premature birth?" Qing Ling asked calmly, his mind settled.
"Correct. Your premature birth caused your spiritual core origin to split into two. One half sank into your body, and the other half sank into that Xiantian spiritual root.
Without you, the core of the great formation, the Xiantian Qing Hua Great Formation instantly lost its way in the spatial turbulence, and the spiritual land escaped on its own.
I seized the opportunity when that Tai Yi expert was severely weakened from using forbidden techniques and, despite the cost, used the clan leader's trump card to snatch you away and flee back to Xi Shan heavily injured."
"So you raised me in Xi Shan afterwards, and I gradually emerged from my congenitally deficient and muddled state?" Qing Ling asked.
Granny Hua Geng's eyes were calm as still water, without a ripple. "I would never lie to you, and this time is no exception. When I brought you back to Xi Shan, you were born with a top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure and a Xiantian divine spark, with an extraordinary body. Such temptation is not something anyone can resist.
After the clan elders discussed it, they decided to erase your intellect and refine you into a Xiantian spiritual embryo. The Xiantian Spiritual Treasure Mi Tian Suo would then be placed in the ancestral land to enhance the clan's destiny.
Just as the formation for refining the Xiantian spiritual embryo was successfully set up, the soul lamp of an elder in the clan suddenly extinguished. That was Qi's mother. Before she died, her last wisp of primordial spirit sent Qi, who was also born prematurely due to insufficient Xiantian energy, to Xi Shan.
It was at this time that I recalled from my inheritance that Xiantian deities all carry great destiny. Killing them would deplete destiny.
If you were to fall into the hands of a Great Luo Supreme, the depleted destiny would be bearable for a Great Luo Supreme. However, for Xi Shan, which was already gradually declining, it was uncertain whether it could withstand it.
But if you were kept in Xi Shan, the aura of a top-grade Xiantian Spiritual Treasure, combined with the destiny of a Xiantian deity, would merge with Xi Shan, resulting in far greater benefits than a Xiantian spiritual embryo.
Therefore, I overruled the objections and spared no expense of clan spiritual resources to cultivate both you and Qi to have sufficient energy, leading to your life-and-death struggles.
This is your origin. If you hate me, or hate Xi Shan, I will say nothing. These past events can be concealed from a cultivator pursuing benefits, but I will not hide the past from my junior."
Qing Ling was lost in thought for a long time before he understood Granny Hua Geng's meaning.
He straightened his posture and said solemnly, "Granny, since I am a member of Xi Shan, I naturally consider Xi Shan my home. No matter what happens to the family, it is still family.
The choices made back then, let alone you, anyone else would have made the same decision, after all, the temptation of Xiantian Spiritual Treasures is not something ordinary people can resist. There is no mercy or compassion in the Primordial World.
Since I grew up in Xi Shan, all the elders and other clan members have treated me the same and valued me. I have seen it all.
Without Granny, I would have long been taken by that Tai Yi expert to be refined into a spiritual treasure. Without Xi Shan's protection, I would have long died in the wilderness. Without the steadfastness of the Xi Shan clansmen, I would not have had the abundance of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to cultivate.
I once lived in Xi Shan, and in the future, Xi Shan will be my only home. I was born a snake of Xi Shan, and I will die a soul of Xi Shan, nothing more."
Hearing this, Granny Hua Geng's eyes couldn't help but warm. Such a pure heart, how rare! She had given up a Tai Yi opportunity for Qing Ling, and she had spared no expense of her own origin to stabilize his Xiantian energy. Although she had once considered refining him into a spiritual embryo, her actions had been more attentive and caring than those towards her own blood relatives.
After tens of thousands of years of companionship, she had long regarded this intelligent junior as her own, and placed all her hopes on him.
The karmic ties between Hua Geng and Qing Ling, their familial affection, had long entered their hearts, taken root, and after several Yuan Hui, had sprouted, growing into a towering giant tree.
Qing Ling had once said that in the Primordial World, his heart was only unguarded towards Hua Geng and Qi. It had been so in the past, and it would be so in the future.