Chapter 004 - Seeds of Creation!
"Me? I'm Yun Xiao," the young man replied, his gaze frosty as he met her eyes.
"Xiao... as in the word for leisurely? Is that the meaning of your name?" Jiang Xue asked, a hint of jest lacing her voice. There was something about the name that made her feel like she'd just swallowed a bug.
"Spot on, that's exactly the case," Yun Xiao responded with a nod. Figures. Names might be many, but faces? Not as much. After resurrecting using the Immortal's remains and changing bodies, she couldn't recognize him anymore.
"...It’s a nice name, I guess." A bit disheartened, Jiang Xue returned to Ye Guao's side.
"Got a little crush on him?" Ye Guao shot a glance at Yun Xiao.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Jiang Xue retorted, her voice cold.
"I don’t get your taste. He seems all flash and no substance. He's not even a tenth as good-looking as my brother!" Ye Guao sneered.
"Just because I asked about him doesn’t mean you always have to compare him or anyone else with your brother," Jiang Xue retorted exasperatedly.
"Hey, I know you're fond of my brother. Relax. I'm just joking." Ye Guao shrugged, but as his eyes settled back on Yun Xiao, he silently thought, No kidding though, he really is handsome. He noticed that almost all the young women present were stealing glances at Yun Xiao.
Such beauty, it was said, was only to be found in the heavens. How often did the mortal realm get to witness it? In this world, only the most breathtaking of beauties usually garnered such attention. Yun Xiao was an exception. It couldn't be helped. He had the appearance blessed by fate. A beauty that transcended gender.
"He probably can't even take a punch. Just wait until he faces me. I'll unleash my Golden Star Sword Soul and show him what true strength feels like!" Ye Guao murmured with a smirk.
At that moment, Elder Yao announced, "The Heavenly Path Trial begins!" Hundreds of eager young individuals, bursting with energy, rushed forward to take on the challenge. Without another word, Jiang Xue sped away.
Yun Xiao looked up. Above, the path was shrouded in dark mist and heavy tree shadows—an excellent battlefield. "Jiang Yue, your family members are all waving at you from the pits of the underworld!." A glint of malicious intent flashed in his eyes as he pursued her into the forest. Soon, enveloping mists surrounded him.
As Yun Xiao was about to chase after Jiang Xue, suddenly... A strange sensation throbbed in his chest, as if something was moving inside. "What the hell is that?" he jolted. All he remembered having on him was the large bronze brick resembling a coffin lid. Where on earth did this lively creature come from? And it felt... fuzzy? Emerging from n0v@lbin☆, this material harbors clandestine details.
Before he could even process what was going on, a gruff, coarse, and raspy voice emerged from his chest, "Agoo-goo! Creator! Baby's thirsty! Gimme milk!"
Creator? Milk? It wants milk? Panicking, Yun Xiao hastily reached into his robes. His hand grabbed onto something soft and pliable, pulling it out. "Huhhh???" To his astonishment, it was a small creature! Covered in silky black fur, it looked neither like a cat nor a dog. Two tiny horns protruded from its head, and a pair of brilliant blue eyes shone like the starry night sky.
"What the hell are you?" Yun Xiao exclaimed, gripping the creature by its nape.
"I'm your father!" the tiny black creature retorted defiantly, its limbs flailing and eyes glaring at Yun Xiao. Its voice was high-pitched and childlike, but its words were nothing short of audacious.
"That can't be..." Yun Xiao distinctly recalled the cry for milk being in a gruff, raspy voice. Yet, this creature was so... endearing. Then it hit him. The ancient bronze coffin from his chest appeared to be missing.
"Are you that bronze coffin?" Yun Xiao asked, incredulous.
"Your sister's a coffin!" the creature retorted, before lowering its head toward its chest, yelling, "Red Moon, come out!"
"Red Moon?" Yun Xiao questioned, peering at its chest. What he witnessed next was utterly terrifying. Rip! The creature's chest abruptly split open, revealing a massive maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. Within its fur, a pair of blood-red eyes glowered. "Agoo! And I'm your second father!" From the gaping mouth shot out a long, spiky tongue.
"Holy shit!" Yun Xiao stood there, frozen in disbelief. This was the source of that raspy voice! One beast, two faces? One on its head. Another on its chest? And the one on its head, with those deep blue eyes and cute voice, was referring to itself as the elder? A crimson maw, with eyes burning like molten lava, in the center of the chest of such a small creature, and it referred to itself as a baby?
"What in blazes?!" Yun Xiao exclaimed. Before he could gather his wits, the beast's scarlet eyes gleamed ominously, lunging at him with an eager shout, "So hungry! Milk!"
"Back off!" Yun Xiao retorted, pushing it away. "I'm a man. I ain’t got milk!" Sure, jokes aside, even for a man, wouldn’t that gaping mouth gnawing at his chest lead to a bloody mess?
"So, it's called Red Moon And you?" Yun Xiao glared at the creature's head.
"Blue Star!" The face atop the creature's head replied, eyes gleaming like a serene blue galaxy. No doubt, the name Blue Star came from those deep blue eyes. The monstrous mouth on its chest, shaped like a crescent blood moon, was probably why the second head was called Red Moon.
"Boiling it down... these two consciousnesses share one body?" Yun Xiao realized with a spark of insight. In essence, they were essentially a two-headed beast.
"So, you're the coffin lid, and it's the body?" Yun Xiao was still convinced that this creature was linked to that bronze coffin.
"Didn’t expect you to have a shred of wit about you," Blue Star smirked.
The Creator Immortal, torched for a billion years?
"That's savage!" Even the beings of the mortal realm, just by being caught in the rain, benefitted from this?
Suddenly, Yun Xiao made the connection. In the vast land of the Divine Continent, legends spoke of the Immortal Rain. It was said that countless individuals had been fortunate enough to be caught in this divine rain, awakening marvelous gifts. Some even transformed overnight from nobodies to prodigies.
"So, these lucky ones are the Seeds of Creation." It became evident how formidable the Creator Immortal in his prime must have been. Unable to contain his curiosity, Yun Xiao asked, "If I reclaim the gifts of these Seeds of Creation, can I gradually restore my being?"
"Yes! The Six Ancestral Gods, who consumed most of your essence, are the most potent Seeds of Creation," Blue Star's eyes narrowed. "However, given your current weakened state, you should start with the mortal realm's Seeds of Creation."
"How many Seeds of Creation are there?" Yun Xiao asked.
"So many! They're everywhere! That Ye Guao we saw earlier, he's a Seed of Creation!" Blue Star answered. "His Dantian glows golden, allowing him to harness even more potent Dragon Spring magic. This makes his magical power stronger than any cultivator of his level... That's because he has inherited the Creator Immortal's Dantian, a Seed of Creation."
Bones, blood, soul, flesh, and core. Here, the core referred to the vital points and dantian, the places which nurtured life energy and magic. There were also Creation Bones, Creation Blood, and so on.
"Ye Guao is a Seed of Creation?" Yun Xiao exclaimed in surprise.
"Not just him. His elder brother, Ye Guying, has two energy structures within his Dantian. That's a Twin-Dantian. His magic is twice as powerful as any other cultivator at his level. His Seed of Creation talent is far superior to his younger brother's!" Blue Star said. "Creator, if you wish to become the Creator Immortal again, you must start with the Dantian. These brothers are key to your rise.
"Don't flatter yourself. Even though you were once the Creator Immortal, now, you're nothing more than the lowest level of a cripple in the whole Dao Realm!"
Essentially, he was nothing more than an Immortal in name only!
Listening to Blue Star, Yun Xiao's eyes burned with passion. A Golden Dantian? A Twin Dantian? Were all these Seed of Creation talents derived from the Rain of Creation that had been falling across countless realms and eons? The end of these Seeds of Creation? The Six Ancestral Gods! To become the Creator Immortal again, one would have to trample over all of them...
"Ye Guying?" A deep chill flashed in Yun Xiao's eyes. The concept of the Six Ancestral Gods was too vague for him. But mention Ye Guying, and he was filled with rage.
"Do you understand?" Blue Star looked at him expectantly.
"I do." Yun Xiao nodded. "Someone once tried to teach me the ways of the Immortals. I came to the Azure Spirit Sword Sect just to behead him. So my desire to be powerful is much stronger than you think! But there's one thing I need to clarify."
"Speak," Blue Star said, lifting his head.
"My name is Yun Xiao, not Creator." He stared deeply into Blue Star's eyes. He was just a lucky individual who was inexplicably brought back to life using the body of a dead Immortal.
"It doesn't matter," Blue Star grinned. "If I say you are, then you are."
"..." Yun Xiao didn't know how to respond. There was a moment of silence.
"Creator!" Blue Star suddenly shouted, his eyes trembling.
"Hmm?" Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"After millions of years, the world has changed so much. Things and people have changed... I... I've missed you." Tears welled up in Blue Star's crystalline eyes.
"Me too!" Red Moon wailed, but continued to munch on rocks with its big mouth.
A smile crept onto Yun Xiao's face. For some reason, even though it was their first meeting, he felt a genuine connection. Just as he was about to say something profound, Red Moon suddenly became excited. "There's milk ahead!" it shouted.
"What?"
"It smells divine!" Red Moon's eyes gleamed.
Yun Xiao heard it too. There was definitely some commotion. He swiftly moved through a silent maple forest, with leaves littering the ground in the deep autumn. Up ahead, a woman in blue robes knelt amidst the fallen leaves, trembling. Her pants were torn, revealing a deep sword wound on her jade-like leg that bled profusely.
Standing in front of her was a young man in a golden robe. The golden-robed youth looked playful and smug.
"Ye Guao, please spare me!" the woman pleaded in despair.
"Let you go? Would a wolf let go of a rabbit? Ye Guao grinned nastily before pouncing forward.
"No, don't! This is the Heavenly Path!" the woman cried out in fear. She was already covered in bloody wounds, the pain seeping into her bones. So, there was nothing she could do to fight back against this ferocious beast.