Reminiscence

The stirring in my Mystic Veins was so intense. Was I about to break through...

But... even if I truly broke through, how insignificant would I still be before the Vermilion Bird Empire...

Why... did this happen... Ling'er never told me the reason... Was I really too weak...

Mystic power... Only powerful Mystic Energy could protect those precious to me!

Xiao Feng's consciousness was in complete chaos. He wanted to rise, but his soul seemed trapped within a pitch-black cage...

"Xiao Feng... Xiao Feng... Can you hear me..."

A clear voice entered the dim space, like an invisible thread drawing Xiao Feng's soul toward it...

He struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pair of watery eyes, followed by reddened rims and a face filled with heartache.

"Qing Yun..."

"Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng, how are you!" She grabbed Xiao Feng's hand and pressed it against her lips as she asked.

"I... am... fine. What time... is it now... How long... was I unconscious?" Xiao Feng asked.

"It is now the hour of the Dog. You have been unconscious for three days..." Qi Qingyun replied.

"Three days... It was actually that long..." To Xiao Feng, everything felt as though it had happened only moments ago, yet three entire days had already passed.

He staggered to his feet. The moment he stood, Qi Qingyun placed a hand on him to support him.

With Qi Qingyun's support, Xiao Feng arrived at Bai Ling'er's bedroom. Everything before his eyes remained unchanged. The only difference was that Bai Ling'er, who had been by his side every moment for eighteen years, was gone...

Looking at the now-empty bedroom, he knew that perhaps she would never return...

Seeing Xiao Feng's gloomy expression, Qi Qingyun could not hide the worry on her face. She had vaguely understood what had happened. "What exactly happened? Why hasn't Sister Ling'er... returned even now?"

"I... don't know either..." Xiao Feng said weakly. "She probably came from the Vermilion Bird Empire to Flowing Wind City years ago for some reason, then was discovered by the current Vermilion Bird imperial family and taken back..."

After a brief silence, Xiao Feng said, "Qing Yun, I need to enter seclusion now. I can feel the stirring in my Mystic Veins. I want to try to break through. Once I do, I will personally go to the Vermilion Bird Empire and find out what the reason is!"

"No!" Without even thinking, Qi Qingyun refused. "The Vermilion Bird Empire is incredibly powerful. Even if you truly break through, at that level, it will still be difficult for you to come into contact with members of the Vermilion Bird imperial family."

"Besides... Sister Ling'er deliberately chose not to tell you. She must have her own unspeakable reasons."

"But..."

"I'll go!" Before Xiao Feng could finish, Qi Qingyun cut in. "The Vermilion Bird Empire is powerful. When the time comes, I will explain the reason to the Knight, and I will personally make a trip to the Vermilion Bird Empire..."

Xiao Feng did not respond. But suddenly, his gaze fell upon a strange stone left on the table beside the bed. He seemed to think of something. Excitement appeared on his face as he broke free from Qi Qingyun's support, walked to the table, and picked up the "stone"...

Qi Qingyun hurriedly followed the suddenly agitated Xiao Feng. When she saw what he was holding, her expression froze.

They spoke at the same time. "Mystic Shadow Stone!"

As its name implied, a Mystic Shadow Stone was a peculiar mystic stone capable of storing images. If one needed to record something, they could use a Mystic Shadow Stone to do so and preserve it.

Since this Mystic Shadow Stone had appeared in Bai Ling'er's bedroom, there was a strong chance that Bai Ling'er had long known this would happen and had deliberately left it behind!

They could both see the surprise in each other's eyes. Xiao Feng shifted his gaze to the Mystic Shadow Stone in his hand. His expression wavered before finally turning resolute. Without further hesitation, he activated his Mystic Energy and poured it into the Mystic Shadow Stone.

As Mystic Energy flowed into it, a faint glow emanated from the surface of the Mystic Shadow Stone. Then... a figure emerged from within it.

It was Bai Ling'er! As expected... This confirmed that she had left it behind.

Xiao Feng suppressed the urgency in his heart and calmed himself, preparing to carefully listen to the words Bai Ling'er had left behind...

"Feng'er..." Bai Ling'er spoke. "When you see this Mystic Shadow Stone, perhaps I will already have left... Next, I will tell you everything you wish to know... including your origins... But you must promise me that you will never collapse because of this!"

"Especially in whatever you do afterward, you must think carefully before acting..."

Bai Ling'er began her account. "My true name is Bai Ling'er. I am also the Medical Immortal spoken of by the world..." At this point, Bai Ling'er's expression briefly grew absent... but she quickly began recounting everything that had happened.

"By chance, I entered the imperial city of the Vermilion Bird Empire to treat someone. But... it was then that the accident occurred. I inadvertently came across a ritual being conducted within the imperial family. They had conspired with the Creation God Sect to strip the divine source from the Relic of the Gods left behind by the Vermilion Bird—the Vermilion Bird Plume..."

Upon hearing the words Creation God Sect, Qi Qingyun's brows immediately furrowed. But seeing Xiao Feng listening intently, she did not interrupt...

"Back then, they were already on the verge of completing the ritual, yet an unexpected variable appeared. That variable was me... I am a direct descendant of the Vermilion Bird God. Perhaps because the formation was incomplete, the divine source that had already been extracted sensed the bloodline flowing within me and rushed straight toward me...

"This caused the Vermilion Bird's divine source to come directly into my possession. But they clearly would not accept such an outcome, so they tried every possible way to extract the Vermilion Bird divine source from my body. And if the Vermilion Bird divine source fell into their hands, it might... cause the Vermilion Bird inheritance to be lost..."

"Thus... I escaped..."

"I came to the Wind Cloud Empire, met Dongfang Lin, and received her protection..." Bai Ling'er's tone paused here.

But by this point, Xiao Feng had already guessed something... His hands clenched tightly as he waited to hear a definite answer... Then a pair of fair, delicate hands took hold of his.

Xiao Feng turned his head and saw a pair of tender eyes. He revealed a faint smile and clasped her hands in return. He said nothing more; everything needed had already been conveyed in silence...

"I think... perhaps you already know. That person was your mother, Dongfang Lin..."

As expected...

"Under her protection, I came to the Xiao family and used it to evade the Vermilion Bird Empire's people..."

"I had thought that I might spend the rest of my life hiding from the Vermilion Bird Empire's search... But... everything changed when you were born..."

"Back then, your father possessed the highest talent in the Mystic Path within the entire family. He went to the Pure Land to participate in the trial to become an Abyssal Knight... But after that, there was no news of him. Perhaps he had already..." She did not continue. She believed Xiao Feng could understand what she meant.

Just as she had expected... Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng froze. After a long while, he took a small step, only to stagger and nearly fall to the ground. Fortunately, Qi Qingyun supported him from the side and kept him from falling.

Although Xiao Feng had never met his biological parents, blood was thicker than water. In his spare moments, he would imagine what his father and mother looked like, and what kind of feelings they held for him...

If they were ever to meet someday, what manner and emotions should he use to face them... But... but... he had never imagined such an outcome!

As though she had already anticipated Xiao Feng's expression upon hearing this terrible news, Bai Ling'er wore a worried expression as well.

"And your mother... was also devastated by this, but she could still sense you within her womb..."

"The world of the abyss was cruel. When news of your father returned to the clan, the entire family had already abandoned their protection of your mother. Your mother could barely protect herself, let alone when she was carrying you..."

"I kept helping your mother ease her mind and protecting the two of you, but... when you were born, it was also when your mother was at her weakest. Perhaps she had long harbored the desire to die... I am sorry... I... failed to save your mother..."

Xiao Feng's soul felt as though it had been struck by a heavenly hammer. He staggered backward... The successive terrible news had left his soul utterly numb... "No wonder... you never told me about my origins..." he murmured softly.

He had never imagined that the parents he had once fantasized about had, on the very day of his birth... just... just...

And he had even imagined how he should face them after they met...

At that moment, he felt a gentle force pull him into a soft embrace. A refined fragrance drifted beneath Xiao Feng's nose...

It was Qi Qingyun. She did not speak; she simply held Xiao Feng like this...

The refined fragrance soothed Xiao Feng's roiling Soul Sea. He tightly wrapped his arms around her slender waist...

After a slight pause, Bai Ling'er continued softly, "Back then, your mother entrusted you to me... She said she loved you very much, but deeply regretted that she would no longer be able to remain by your side. She hoped you could live happily and enjoy every moment... She did not ask that your cultivation be exceptional. She only hoped that you would not become like your father..."

"Back then, she spent every day in tears. Sorrow consumed her soul. But at the moment you were born, she smiled. She smiled so happily... I do not know how long it had been since I had seen her so happy... That scene has remained engraved in my heart to this day... She said you resembled your father very much... Xiao Feng..."

"Xiao Feng... My father... My father's name..." Xiao Feng murmured blankly.

"When you were born, only sixteen Mystic Gates had opened, so the Xiao family did not protect you..."

There were fifty-four Mystic Gates within the human body. The number of opened Mystic Gates determined the speed of mystic cultivation and the rate at which Mystic Energy circulated. The more Mystic Gates that opened, the faster it naturally became. An innate talent of only sixteen Mystic Gates could be considered merely average...

"I had intended to raise you until adulthood, but everything happened so suddenly... The Vermilion Bird Empire's people found me... So I took you and fled the Xiao family..."

"And during that wandering journey, we encountered... the golden polar star I once told you about..."

... "A three-thousand-word mega chapter, cough cough..."