The Ning Family's massive caravan, migrating in its entirety, arrived in the southern fields along with the footsteps of March.
Spring was warm and brimming with life.
Vast stretches of rapeseed flowers were in full bloom. Swaying in the spring breeze, their golden blossoms were like a sheen of gold over a green sea, bringing people boundless hope.
The convoy rumbled onward.
A middle-aged man dismounted and leaped onto a Mechanism Carriage within the convoy.
He hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.
"Madam, look what this is!" The middle-aged man produced a pill as though presenting a treasure.
His wife was heavily pregnant, her belly high and round as she lay on the bed with her eyes closed, resting.
The carriage windows were shut.
The middle-aged man sent mana through the air and lit a Spirit Lamp on the ceiling.
Under the lamplight, his wife slowly opened her eyes and looked at the pill. It was crystal-clear from end to end, like a glazed orb, gleaming with a faint yellow light.
His wife flared her nostrils and took a sniff. The pill fragrance was fresh and pleasant, like the scent of a forest after rain, calming the spirit and leaving the mind clear as glass.
His wife exclaimed in surprise, "This is an Early Wisdom Pill, a top-grade pill. Where did you get it?"
The middle-aged man grinned. "Didn't I help Strong Fist Monk out once? He cultivates the Buddhist path and believes in karma, so he insisted on repaying my kindness."
"I told him that my wife would soon give birth, and I hoped the master could provide some aid for my son's future cultivation."
His wife's joy turned to worry. "Husband, you could have used this opportunity and the master's repayment to treat your injuries."
"At the very least, you could have asked for a lotus seed from the Salvation Lotus Throne of the Buddhist sect, allowing your cultivation talent to improve."
The middle-aged man shook his head and sighed. "Forget about me."
"Though my old injury torments me whenever it flares up, it won't kill me. At worst, I suffer for a few days. Even if it were cured, it wouldn't bring a fundamental change to my combat strength."
"Even if I got a lotus seed, my Cultivation Aptitude would only rise from middle grade to middle upper grade. I'm already so old. With middle upper grade immortal aptitude, I won't be able to break through my bottleneck."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man crouched down and gently stroked his beloved wife's belly. "Rather than that, it would be better to leave this stroke of fortune to our child!"
"The main ingredient of the Early Wisdom Pill is a strand of wisdom root from the Bodhi Tree."
His wife let out a faint sigh and nodded slightly, accepting her husband's choice.
"Come, take the pill." The middle-aged man stood and handed the pill over. "I'll circulate my cultivation to help you digest it."
His wife swallowed the pill, and its gentle Medicinal Power acted upon the child in her womb.
The Early Wisdom Pill could strengthen the mind, open the Spirit Platform, nourish the soul, moisten the Heart Field, and allow one to gain intelligence early, becoming exceptionally clever.
Having accomplished this, the middle-aged man beamed with delight. "Wonderful! With this pill, our child will gain intelligence at an early age. Perhaps he can already remember every word we say now."
"Next, we can try reciting Cultivation Techniques to him. Who knows? Maybe he can cultivate while still in the womb!"
His wife laughed. "What a pretty dream you have."
"Even if he can remember every word and every sentence, he won't understand their meaning."
"Besides, his body meridians have not fully formed. If he truly began cultivating now, it would instead be a bad thing."
The middle-aged man grinned. "Of course I know that. I was only joking."
He took his wife's hand. "Ah, only after becoming parents do you understand the wholehearted love parents have for their children."
"Our child hasn't even been born yet, but I've already begun thinking about everything for him and worrying about his future."
"I truly hope he has good Cultivation Aptitude—the higher, the better. I don't want him to be like me."
His wife shook her head. "If he has no Cultivation Aptitude, would I stop loving him?"
"No. No matter what, he is our child, our flesh and blood."
"I hope he has some Cultivation Aptitude, but not too much."
"Haven't we seen and heard of enough gifted children dying young?"
"I only hope he can live his whole life safely and peacefully."
Just as they spoke, an alarm suddenly sounded.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" someone shouted.
Both husband and wife's expressions changed.
The middle-aged man told his wife to stay calm and not move, then lifted the door curtain and rushed out.
In the next instant, he saw heaven and earth undergo a drastic change. Icy winds howled, sharp as ten thousand blades slicing through every living being.
"We've fallen into a great array!" Startled and enraged, the middle-aged man forced himself to remain calm. He immediately stirred his mana and poured it into his magical artifact, protecting himself. The Mechanism Vehicle beneath him also lit up with all manner of runes under his wife's control, its defenses greatly strengthened.
"Who dares?" The Ning Family Old Ancestor rose into the sky with an awe-inspiring presence and shouted in fury.
The attackers said nothing, merely manipulating the Ice and Snow Great Array to unleash another transformation.
Fist-sized hailstones blanketed the sky and came crashing down.
Casualties immediately appeared within the Ning Family convoy.
The Ning Family Old Ancestor laughed angrily. "Heh heh, very good! Did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because you hide your heads and show your tails?"
"Frost Marquis, Absolute Ice Wanderer, you truly went to great lengths, waiting until we entered South Bean Country before launching your ambush."
With their identities exposed, Frost Marquis and Absolute Ice Wanderer both revealed themselves.
The former said, "Elder Ning, once you left my North Wind Country and brought your entire Lineage to seek refuge in South Bean Country, you should have expected this day."
The Ning Family Old Ancestor shouted, "I had already made everything clear to the King and left behind magical artifacts to reach an agreement. Your North Wind Country royal family has gone back on its word! After this battle, this old man will surely spread this matter across the world!"
Absolute Ice Wanderer gave a sinister laugh. "That is precisely why I came here. Elder Ning, rest assured. After this battle, even if rumors spread, they will only say that I, Absolute Ice Wanderer, came to settle a personal grudge."
A great battle erupted.
The Ning Family Old Ancestor was already outnumbered, and he also had to look after the entire Lineage. Before long, he fell into a disadvantage.
Sensing that things were going badly, the Ning Family Old Ancestor did not hesitate to self-destruct a magical artifact, blasting open a temporary passage through the array.
"Run!!" the Ning Family Old Ancestor bellowed.
With the situation critical, the Ning Family Patriarch personally led the way, bringing as many clansmen as possible to flee through the passage.
Snow Wolves formed from ice and snow came in packs, pursuing and slaughtering them.
The passage was shrinking, yet more than half of the Ning Family members were still trapped within the great array.
"Don't push! Don't push!" people cried, thrown into complete panic.
The Snow Wolves charged into the crowd, stirring up a storm of blood and gore.
Amid the chaos, the Ning Family Young Patriarch and two others squeezed into the middle-aged couple's Mechanism Vehicle.
"Brother Ning Zhong!" The Young Clan Leader, Ning Xiaoren, bowed to the middle-aged man, his face full of anxious desperation. "The passage is about to close. Please lend us the Mechanism Vehicle."
But burdened by too many people and damaged by the ice and snow, the Mechanism Vehicle's power dropped sharply, and it fell behind.
They were about to fail to squeeze through, and everyone would be sealed within the array once more.
The Young Clan Leader's two attendants looked at Ning Zhong. "Brother Ning Zhong is also in the Foundation Establishment Realm. We hope you will join us in leaving the carriage to hold off the enemy!"
His wife cried out, "Brother Zhong, don't go!"
Ning Zhong frowned deeply. Experienced in battle, he saw the situation as clearly as fire reflected in water. "If I don't get down there and stop them, none of us can leave!"
Ning Zhong suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing sharply as he stared down the Young Clan Leader.
The Young Clan Leader's body trembled. He hurriedly raised his hand and swore, "Brother Ning Zhong, rest assured. I, Ning Xiaoren, swear that if we escape alive today, I will protect Sister-in-law and your beloved child, and I will also do everything in my power to help your child embark upon the path of cultivation!"
Ning Zhong gave his wife one final, loving look.
His wife's eyes were already red from weeping.
"Take good care of our child!"
Gritting his teeth, Ning Zhong abruptly turned around and leaped from the carriage with the Young Clan Leader's two attendants.
The Snow Wolves howled, and the Mechanism Vehicle staggered into the passage.
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