Noon.
The sun hung high in the sky.
Qing Ye was waiting in the courtyard, ready to deal with any sudden turn of events.
I was in the bedroom, letting out faint moans from time to time.
It was starting to hurt.
My little face was frighteningly pale as I stared at the system interface.
It showed that the talent interface was being copied.
I could only grit my teeth and endure the pain.
I could see a ball of light gradually leaving my body, but I had to endure the pain all the same. This was part of the process of rebuilding my spiritual root. How could rebuilding my spiritual root not affect my body? It wasn't something that could be completed in one fell swoop.
"Xiaoyao, are you all right?" Qing Ye asked anxiously from outside.
The more she heard, the more worried she became, and the more she hated a certain scumbag.
With her keeping watch nearby while Junior Sister gave birth to this baby, Junior Sister shouldn't have any more contact with that scumbag. She probably wouldn't get pregnant with another baby, either.
Let this be the only time. Let it end here.
Qing Ye felt a little relieved. She'd learned about Junior Sister early on, before the worst-case scenario could happen.
Her body was only at the Qi Refining Realm, so there was only so much she could do. But she had plenty of pills and magic treasures.
"I... I'm fine."
I spoke up. "It'll probably be a while before I give birth, so don't talk to me."
Who could have guessed that this birth would take a full twelve hours?
Even after the Sky Curtain had turned completely black and countless dark clouds blanketed the night sky, the labor still hadn't come to an end.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
The pain made me want to blow myself up.
I had no idea whether it was the pain of childbirth or the pain of rebuilding my spiritual root. My body felt like it wasn't mine anymore. My senses had been amplified until the pain felt like tearing; it seemed to bore right out from between my bones. I'd lost count of how much I'd sweated, and the bedsheets had long since turned into a soggy mess.
I'd eaten both of the flatbreads we'd prepared.
All I could do was take out my emergency rations and force down a little.
Then I gazed at the system interface with pleading eyes.
Little one, you're going to be the death of your mother.
Once you're born, if you don't behave, I really will get angry.
I muttered to myself as I let out weak, breathless moans. Maybe shouting made me feel a little better. In truth, I was already on the verge of collapse, utterly spent.
In the courtyard.
Qing Ye's eyes changed, her expression turning more solemn than ever.
She immediately took out countless formation flags and planted them in the courtyard's four corners.
Watching the battle at the horizon, she murmured to herself, "I hope the target isn't Ye Xiaoyao."
Five minutes earlier.
An old woman in a cloak moved almost flat against the ground, roaming freely beside Heavenly Sword Peak as if no one could see her.
Suddenly, her blood-red eyes fixed on the highest point of Heavenly Sword Peak. Slowly, she revealed a deeply unsettling smile. "I've long heard that Heavenly Sword Venerable loves to seclude himself. Seeing it with my own eyes today, I can say the rumors are true."
After months of planning, she'd set up a formation around the highest point of Heavenly Sword Peak that could isolate the ripples of battle. It was nearly a sixty-second-rank formation.
It was the highest-grade formation in the Cultivation World.
It was on par with a full-force attack that exhausted every last resource.
Having dealt with the trouble of Heavenly Sword Venerable, the old woman shifted her gaze to the cave dwelling of the Direct Disciple. "Only one troublesome target remains."
She turned and appeared in another part of Heavenly Sword Peak.
"It's a bit of a shame that the one surnamed Xiao isn't here. I won't get the chance to experience the might of Heavenly Sword Peak's Senior Brother."
"But I can at least test the waters with Heavenly Sword Peak's Senior Sister."
Standing beneath the Sky Curtain, the old woman waved a hand. A River of Time appeared beside her, countless spaces winding around one another.
Snap—
She snapped her fingers.
Except for three places, every cultivator on Heavenly Sword Peak fell unconscious.
Only for an instant.
A figure burst out of a cave dwelling. Ye Qingxian looked up at the sky, her expression grave.
A Supreme Expert had invaded Heavenly Sword Peak.
A Transcendence Realm expert.
Perhaps more.
"Please, enlighten me! Enlighten me—"
Unending laughter swept in from all directions.
Ye Qingxian caught sight of a shadow, and then the old woman was gone.
Only a colossal River of Time came crashing down.
Countless places along the river held a gaunt figure.
One terrifying presence after another.
Every one of them was the old woman.
This was an exclusive ability of experts in the Transcendence Realm.
Ye Qingxian wasn't fighting one person. She was fighting the old woman at every point in time.
Ye Qingxian's gaze settled on the formation around Heavenly Sword Peak.
The sounds of battle were completely sealed off.
This formation was probably close to the sixty-second rank. There weren't many sects in the entire Cultivation World with such a deep foundation.
There would be no reinforcements, and none could come.
At that moment, Heavenly Sword Peak was a lone island in the sea.
She could rely on no one but herself.
Ye Qingxian drew her sword without the slightest hesitation.
The girl's voice was crisp and decisive, cold with killing intent.
"Whoever you are, halt."
"Or die!"
The old woman's laughter echoed without end. "I've long heard of Ye Qingxian. Today, I'll test your mettle for myself."
The exchange might have seemed long, but in actual combat, it took less than an instant.
Facing the full force of an expert in the Transcendence Realm, Ye Qingxian tightened her grip on her sword, her expression graver than ever.
She went straight for a killing move, drawing her sword back and thrusting one arm toward the sky.
"Ten Thousand Dao."
Rumble—
Countless Dao Fruits intertwined.
Space folded over and over amid the battle as an enormous axe descended from the heavens.
This no longer resembled a battle on a three-dimensional plane. The axe seemed to be falling from a higher dimension.
The old woman's methods were just as unfathomable.
The two figures grew more and more indistinct.
Only Heavenly Sword Peak remained stranded within Supreme Heaven, which was still part of the three-dimensional world.
Ye Qingxian gripped the battle-axe with one hand and slammed it down before her.
In an instant, nebulae formed and stars shattered.
Endless karmic flames sprang up in the River of Time.
The old woman's figure wailed, then was shattered by the countless Dao Fruits slicing through her.
It hardly looked like an axe coming down. It was more like the true creation of the world.
The Sun and Moon, mountains and rivers, the stars—
All appeared as hazy phantoms.
Under this attack, Heavenly Sword Peak became an infinitesimal point of light. It was the infinite compression of dimensions.
Beneath the axe formed from the Ten Thousand Dao, nothing in the world remained a true image. Everything was merely a single pixel in the boundless void.
Only a killing move of this level could just barely halt the crushing force of the River of Time.
The girl's ceaseless coughing echoed across the heavens and earth.
That was right. Ye Qingxian was injured.
The River of Time was no easy thing to counter.
The old woman's shrill laughter continued. She let the enemy destroy her again and again. As long as she had a single thought, a drop of faint Essence Blood, or even one version of herself at any point in time that remained alive, she could revive without end.
She didn't even bother to defend herself. Simply standing atop the River of Time was enough to force Ye Qingxian back step by step.
"Ye Qingxian, you're going to lose."
The girl's gaze remained calm. Her outstretched hand suddenly clenched.
"Return to One."
She silently repeated the name.
This was the full name of the move.
Rumble—
The axe that had cleaved through the center of the River of Time as if to cut it in half suddenly erupted in a violent explosion.
The aura of the Heavenly Dao seemed to return to the mortal world.
Countless Great Dao appeared in the rivers of time at different points, manifesting at the innumerable moments when the two of them clashed.
"Ah—"
The old woman suddenly screamed. She'd nearly been wiped out completely by that strike.
"Heavenly Dao, the Heavenly Dao—this is the power of the Heavenly Dao!" For the first time, fear welled up in the old woman's heart. She was afraid to keep fighting Ye Qingxian. "How can you wield the power of the Heavenly Dao?"
Then she suddenly understood. "I see! You're trying to cultivate every Great Dao and become a Heavenly Dao unto yourself, aren't you?"
"This isn't true power of the Heavenly Dao."
"You're only copying it."
With that thought, the old woman relaxed and smiled contemptuously. "Give up. You're no great power. You're destined to be no match for me."
"Since ancient times, countless geniuses have been able to fight above their level."
"But beneath Transcendence, everyone is an ant."
Before you continue