If You Die, Mother Won't Live Either

The small courtyard of Qi Lin's home stood right next to the ancestral hall.

Inside, Qi Lin stood by the window, examining the black wooden sword in his hands.

"The blade of this sword was formed by joining the spirit tablets of ten ancestors together, and the hilt..."

Qi Lin ran his hand over the hilt and only then noticed that it was carved to resemble some kind of beast, majestic and extraordinary, a sign of good fortune and auspicious blessings.

"Stop! Don't touch me anymore!"

Suddenly, an angry cry came from the hilt in his hand.

"Holy crap!" Startled, Qi Lin hurriedly let go.

With a flash of black light, the black wooden sword in his hand transformed into a round little beast and fell to the ground.

"What the heck?"

Qi Lin rubbed his eyes and looked again. The beast had two horns, small, undeveloped claws and fangs, a pitch-black body, and a pair of big, round golden eyes.

"So cute." Qi Lin was a little surprised and reached out to stroke its head.

"How dare you, insolent wretch! How could a mere mortal like you touch my head? If you dare touch me again, I..." The little beast seemed to enjoy being stroked. It couldn't help purring in its throat, but immediately forced itself to stop and snapped, "I'll swallow your whole family tree!"

"Quit playing dumb." Qi Lin picked it up and asked, "Tell me, what are you?"

"Ignorant child." The little beast kicked its four short legs in the air, trying to intimidate Qi Lin. "I am the progenitor of all beasts, the Heaven-Piercing Prison-Suppressing Qilin."

"Qilin? What a coincidence. I'm Qi Lin too, though my Qi is the Qi from Qitian." Qi Lin smiled and asked, "Did you take form from my ancestor's sword monument?"

"That's right! I made my body a prison to help your ancestor suppress ten Symbol Gods," the little beast said proudly.

As it spoke, Qi Lin noticed ten protrusions on its back. At first glance they looked like lumps, but a closer look revealed that they were stone monuments.

The tiny writing on the monuments was none other than Ancestor Qitian's epitaph.

Of the ten stone monuments, one had already broken, leaving a wound of exposed flesh, though it seemed to be healing.

"Did you just say ten Symbol Gods?" Qi Lin finally set it down on the stone table. "The Hundred-Eyed God is a Symbol God?"

"Right." The little beast spat. "Hundred-Eyed God, Hun Dun God—those are all names they gave themselves. The Hundred-Eyed God's real name is 'Symbol God One,' and the Hun Dun God is 'Symbol God Two,' and so on. The larger the number, the later they were born, and the stronger their divine vein."

"Why do they have such strange numbered names?" Qi Lin asked, puzzled.

"Damn it all!" The little beast grew irritated. "I've been asleep too long. I've forgotten almost everything."

"...Then what do you still know?" Qi Lin asked, at a loss for words.

"I also know that you're about to die," the little black beast suddenly said darkly.

"I'm going to die?" Qi Lin froze. "What makes you say that?"

"With your mortal body, you can't actually inherit a divine vein. The backlash will kill you," the little black beast said.

Qi Lin had relied on himself since childhood, and his mind was somewhat more mature than those of his peers.

This Heaven-Piercing Prison-Suppressing Qilin made its body a divine prison. It probably has to wait for me to refine the other Symbol Gods before it can regain its freedom. That makes us partners.

Since it appeared, it must be able to solve the backlash problem.

At that thought, Qi Lin hurriedly cupped his hands and said to the little beast with great respect, "O progenitor of all beasts, please save my life."

"Pretty quick-witted, aren't you?"

Seeing Qi Lin's respectful attitude, the little black beast cleared its throat and stuck out its belly.

"Junior, starting today, I shall teach you the Heaven-Piercing Prison-Suppressing Art, the greatest art of all ages! It is a supreme forbidden mystic art born of chaos when heaven and earth were first created! Its greatest feature is 'dual-vein cultivation,' which can help you suppress your divine vein!"

"The first is 'Heaven-Piercing.' To pierce heaven is to slaughter heaven! Break through the nine heavens, pierce the barriers of the sky, and slaughter ten thousand gods! When the art circulates, the acupoints all over the body become countless divine spears that shatter the boundaries between realms, drawing forth chaotic gale Sha and transforming it into tribulation light that slays gods! It pierces the firmament as easily as tearing silk, turning divine blood into rain and divine bones into dust!"

"The second is 'Prison-Suppressing.' To suppress the prison is to annihilate it! Suppress the nine netherworlds, trample the foundations of the devil abyss to pieces, and sever the devil source of all ages! When the art manifests, the spine becomes a divine peak that props up the heavens and suppresses the prison. The feet tread upon the earth's veins like chains, and the palms give rise to devil seals of eternal tribulation, crushing ten thousand devils to powder, with devil souls for food and devil blood for soup!"

"Heaven-Piercing and Prison-Suppressing are two sides of one whole, two arts in one body. The body is the cage, and power is authority! It commands life and death, severs reincarnation, regards Gods and Devils as grass, and treads the Heavenly Dao like a level road! When the art is mastered, one shall reign supreme over the universe and stand unrivaled through the ages!"

As the little beast worked itself up, it stood on its hind legs, planted its front paws on its hips, and put on a domineering expression.

Qi Lin applauded after hearing it out.

"Progenitor of all beasts, you're showing your bits."

Some time later.

"Mystic Sea Realm!"

Inside the Qi Clan's little house, Qi Lin's eyes snapped open.

His left and right pupils shone with swirling black and golden light, one like the sun, the other like a devil sun.

Blood vessels surged across the whites of his eyes, like tens of thousands of blood-red dragons circling his golden and black pupils, swimming about with a savage air.

That was the divine vein of Symbol God One, the Hundred-Eyed God: Blood-Shining Hell!

"Only the Heaven-Piercing Prison-Suppressing Divine Art can suppress a Symbol Divine Vein."

Qi Lin had already opened all five veins of the Yellow Dragon Realm. Now, having just switched to cultivating the Heaven-Piercing Prison-Suppressing Art, he had immediately gained the opportunity for "five dragons charging into the Profound Sea."

At that moment, vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi poured in through the crown of his head, his palms, and the soles of his feet, transforming into golden-black true essence. Like a raging dragon, it surged through his entire body, clearing every passage before flowing into his dantian.

Hum!

The golden-black true essence gathered in Qi Lin's dantian to form a golden-black sea. The gold and black intertwined and revolved like the yin and yang fish of a taiji symbol.

"These are the two powers of Heaven-Piercing and Prison-Suppressing. Heaven-Piercing has greater holy might, while Prison-Suppressing is more destructive."

Golden-black meridians appeared beneath his skin, shining with limitless brilliance that illuminated the room.

"The first level of the Mystic Sea Realm, Mist Birth."

Golden-black mist rose from the Profound Sea in his dantian.

This was the first stage of the Profound Sea.

"There are five levels in the Mystic Sea Realm. After Mist Birth come Frost Descending, Stream Formation, River Flow, and Sea Howling."

The amount of true essence stored at each of the five Mystic Sea Realm stages differed enormously, and their combat strength naturally differed as well.

The Earth Yang Realm and Heavenly Dominion Realm that followed the Mystic Sea Realm likewise had five levels each.

Specifically!

The five Earth Yang levels were: Dawn Breaking, Morning Sun, Midheaven, Burning Ruins, and Golden Crow.

The five Heavenly Dominion levels were: Heaven Questioning, Mortal World, Carefree, Spirit Wandering, and Great Void.

Reaching Mist Birth of the Profound Sea at thirteen made one at least unbeatable among peers in Mystic City!

After finishing his cultivation.

"Huh?"

Qi Lin rose and looked outside.

"Why hasn't Xiao Tao'er brought me dinner tonight?"

Xiao Tao'er was his neighbor, only six years old this year.

After Qi Lin's grandfather had "ascended to immortality" three years ago, Xiao Tao'er's mother had taken it upon herself to provide Qi Lin's dinners.

Every night, the candlelight at their dinner table was faint but warm, and though the meals weren't lavish, there was enough to fill one's stomach.

To Qi Lin, whether it was Xiao Tao'er's playful liveliness or her mother's heartfelt care... both felt like home.

Whenever he became so absorbed in cultivation that he lost track of time, Xiao Tao'er would volunteer to carry a big basin of food over to Qi Lin in her little arms, with her own treasured snacks and fruit tucked inside.

From a long way off, he could hear her calling, "Big Brother Qi Lin, it's dinnertime!"

She had started when she was just learning to walk.

And she had kept it up for nearly three years.

Qi Lin also did his best to help them, taking care of whatever heavy chores he could manage.

"Grandpa always said that if the neighbors give you a bite to eat, you must repay them when you grow up."

"And what I owe them is more than a bite to eat..."

It was also a home!

He had grown up eating from a hundred families' tables. This Pingyang District was one big home to him.

Now, deep into the night, he hadn't heard Xiao Tao'er call, "Big Brother Qi Lin, it's dinnertime!" Qi Lin wasn't quite used to it.

Grrr!

Besides, he had been busy all day without eating a thing, and his stomach really was growling with hunger.

He was just about to go find himself something to eat.

But right then, a heart-rending cry of anguish came from outside.

"Xiao Tao'er! If you die, Mother won't live either..."

Hearing that heartrending sob, Qi Lin's expression changed.

Bang!

He immediately burst through the door!