The Summit of Snow Mountain

Dazed.

That was Wu Wang's first reaction upon opening his eyes.

His mother was no longer in sight, only a gentle voice lingered by his ear:

"Ba'er, come to my residence."

Looking up, the large tent's canopy was torn open, the dense starlight had not fully dissipated, and the clear fear in his heart, along with his slightly trembling body, all confirmed that the scene just now was not an illusion.

The starry sky, the divine temple, his mother.

"Young Master," a guard stepped forward to remind him, "Lord Cangxue appeared just now and asked you to go to her residence."

Whoosh—

A rapid wind sound came from above. Wu Wang looked up and saw the same sky full of stars, yet they felt somewhat illusory.

"How long have I been sitting here?"

A guard quickly replied, "Replying to the Young Master, it has been three days."

Lin Suqing didn't know what possessed her, but she quietly asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Although I haven't achieved grain abstinence, I have cultivated the Star Invocation Technique and am protected by the power of the stars."

Wu Wang stretched, as if nothing had happened, and said leisurely, "Prepare the carriage, get something to eat on the way, and set off immediately for my mother's residence."

"Yes!"

All the guards responded in unison, and a commotion arose near the large tent.

Lin Suqing was also a bit stunned at this moment, clearly not having recovered from the previous scene.

By the time her mind settled, she found herself vaguely pulled onto Wu Wang's carriage, heading towards the depths of the grassland under the two brilliant star rivers in the sky.

A moment later…

Lin Suqing looked at the stove in front of her, and the spirit beast being roasted on it, feeling a slight headache.

The Young Master's lifestyle was truly too extravagant.

The two spirit beasts on the grill, with three tails, four heads, and six legs, were actually spirit beasts she had only seen in books about exotic creatures – Fairy Happy Fish.

Ah, it was a snowy afternoon.

She found her junior disciple, holding a bamboo scroll, and said in the gentlest voice:

'Junior disciple, look, there are such strange spirit fish in the Northern Wilderness, with three tails, four heads, and six legs, but their flesh is delicious and eating them brings no worries.'

'Senior sister, if I can catch such a spirit beast in the future, I will raise it in the lotus pond outside your door.'

'Oh ho ho ho, junior disciple, are you perhaps…'

'I still have to go meditate and cultivate, senior sister, I'll take my leave now, see you next year.'

Heh, his distance from her began then, didn't it?

She hadn't noticed it at the time.

"What are you thinking about?" Wu Wang asked casually.

Lin Suqing sighed faintly, "The legend of this fish is so beautiful, eating it brings no worries and makes one forget sorrow. I never imagined it would be roasted by you so casually."

Wu Wang smiled. It was just ordinary ingredients.

The first time he saw this thing, he also thought it was a genetic mutation and was afraid to eat it. Later, he couldn't escape the universal law of true fragrance.

He said slowly:

"If the first person who discovered this fish didn't eat it, how would there be a legend of eating it without worries?

Legends themselves carry no emotional color; it's merely the interpreter who considers them beautiful.

Here, try some.

I've been eating this for seven or eight years. Although it looks strange, it's not poisonous."

Lin Suqing snorted, "I have long achieved grain abstinence, and besides… this spirit beast carries my beautiful memories from before, so I will not eat any of it."

Wu Wang chuckled, "Just try one bite. I won't force you to have more."

"Then… alright."

Lin Suqing frowned, pinched the spirit beast leg Wu Wang handed her between her fingertips, and cautiously brought it to her lips, closing her eyes and taking a bite.

A moment later.

The female cultivator, dressed in a white Confucian immortal dress and with her hair styled in cloud buns, patted her slightly bulging belly with satisfaction, her eyes full of apology towards the small pile of bones in front of her.

"I didn't forget my worries either."

"Did you forget when you were eating it?"

Wu Wang squinted and smiled, stretching out his legs and leaning against the edge of the carriage.

He looked at the eastern sky, which was about to break into dawn, and the snow-capped mountains that seemed not far ahead, lost in thought for a moment.

Lin Suqing finally dared to ask, "Young Master, aren't we going to see your mother? Why are you bringing me along?"

"My mother lives at the summit of the snow mountain. I brought you here to explain the origin of the Human Domain's cultivation methods, and to have you take the blame if necessary," Wu Wang said, tilting his chin towards the snow mountain, his tone incredibly natural. "Normally, she only reunites with us when my father returns to the royal court."

"So that's how it is."

Huh? Something feels off.

"Um..."

Lin Suqing glanced at the giant wolf riders guarding the carriage on either side. She pursed her lips and transmitted her thoughts with her spiritual sense, her eyes wide open, filled with a bright light. As if stealing, she asked:

"Is your esteemed mother the true ruler outside the Human Domain, the Primordial Deity, as the legends say?"

"No."

Wu Wang's answer was quite decisive. After thinking for a moment, he explained:

"My mother is one of the contemporary Seven-Day Sacrifices of the Northern Wilds, and also the guardian of our Xiong Bao Clan. Her lifespan is the same as ordinary people; how could she be a deity?

You'll understand when you meet her."

Lin Suqing nodded quite obediently, her expression showing the satisfaction of a gossip-monger who had just gotten the juiciest scoop.

A moment later, she couldn't help but speak again: "Young Master, is your name Xiong Ba? I heard that person, that Fairy, just now call you Ba'er, and your clan all have the surname Xiong."

"Xiong Ba was the name my parents gave me; it's too overtly aggressive," Wu Wang said, looking at his palm with a calm expression. "I also have a self-given Daoist name, Wuwang. You can just call me by my Daoist name."

"Wuwang?"

Lin Suqing twirled a slender finger around her hair. "It's quite ordinary too. Xiong Ba sounds more imposing."

"I don't know the Three Points Return to Origin Qi."

"Huh?"

Wu Wang raised his hand, indicating he didn't want to discuss it further, and gazed quietly at the snow mountain.

The doubts and questions in his heart were more than a hundred times greater than Lin Suqing's.

How could his own mother be standing in the God of Stars' palace?

Lin Suqing might lack knowledge, but Wu Wang, who had scoured various ancient texts in the Northern Wilds for seven or eight years, knew very well that something was amiss here.

As the young patriarch of the second-ranked clan in the Northern Wilds and the youngest Great Star Sacrifice in nearly ten thousand years, he had access to all sorts of secrets of the Northern Wilds.

According to ancient legends of the Northern Wilds, the God of Stars had already fallen.

The end of the ancient Great Wilderness was a reshuffling of Primordial Deity forces. Only the strongest handful of Primordial Deities survived and established a new order in the world.

But at that time, the divine light in his mother's eyes...

Unease.

This was the first time Wu Wang felt a genuine sense of unease since being reborn in the Great Wilderness.

As their group entered the snow mountain range, two pure white Snow Eagles descended from the sky. With their wingspans of thirty feet, they carried Wu Wang and Lin Suqing towards the summit of the snow mountain at high speed.

The guards dutifully stayed with the giant wolf carriage and guarded the main access points to and from the snow mountain.

It was their clan's territory, so they could do as they pleased.

There was a special area at the summit of the snow mountain where auroras converged day and night. Starlight blocked out the wind and snow, as well as the light of the sun and moon.

This wasn't Wu Wang's first time visiting his mother's residence, but this time his feelings were the most complex.

When he was six years old, his mother had left the royal court and moved to live at the summit of this snow mountain. At the time, Wu Wang was told that his mother needed to meditate and comprehend the deeper meanings of the Star Invocation Technique and could not be disturbed.

Before this, he could only see his mother about once every six months, and their reunions were always quite brief.

Now, it seemed, this matter was definitely not simple.

His mother was now over two hundred years old, and her appearance had not changed in the slightest in the twelve years since she gave birth to him.

The Star Invocation Technique did not extend one's lifespan. Even the strongest 'Sun Sacrifice' only had a lifespan of five to six hundred years. His grandmother, a Moon Sacrifice, was already incredibly old...

Caw—

A clear cry pierced the tranquility of the starry sky. The two Snow Eagles landed smoothly, but Lin Suqing nervously channeled her magic power.

A small building stood quietly under the starry sky.

A figure stood before the building. The divine light around her had already been retracted, but she was still so dignified and sacred, exuding an indescribable majesty.

Lin Suqing's Dao heart trembled incessantly; she didn't dare to look directly at this being.

"Mom!"

Wu Wang jumped off the Snow Eagle, a faint starlight swirling around him. He floated dozens of feet in the air and asked in as natural a tone as possible:

"Did you miss your son?"

The female priest in front of the building showed a hint of a warm smile. The skirt she wore, made of an unknown material, fluttered slightly. She sighed softly and chided in a gentle tone:

"How did you find the path to the Star God Palace?

That was truly too dangerous. If I hadn't stopped myself in time, you might have already... You really scared me."

It was still the familiar voice, the familiar tone.

Wu Wang's unease quietly faded, and he chuckled, leaning forward.

It's a shame I'm already a mature young man and can't act spoiled or throw a tantrum anymore.

Behind him, Lin Suqing followed suit, gracefully descending from the Snow Eagle's back. The hem of her skirt fluttered, carrying a hint of ethereal grace, but her radiance was completely overshadowed by the goddess-like figure beside her.

"Mother, let me introduce you!

This is my new tutor, a powerful cultivator from the Human Domain, who has reached the Origin Return Mid-stage."

Lin Suqing immediately raised her hand to her forehead in embarrassment, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

She stammered, "This junior, Lin Suqing, greets... greets..."

Wu Wang said, "Mother's title during the Sun Sacrifice in the Northern Plains is Cangling's Snow. She's usually called Lord Cangxue."

"Greetings, Lord Cangxue!"

"No need for formalities," Cangxue replied softly, appraising Lin Suqing. "The wind and snow are quite heavy here. Let's go inside."

Lin Suqing quickly said, "No, no, it's fine for me to stand outside."

Wu Wang said, "Mother, she has cultivation, so she's not afraid of the wind and snow. Let her stay outside."

"Very well."

Clang!

The wooden door of the small building instantly closed, leaving Lin Suqing standing in the wind and snow, feeling a bit disoriented.

I was just being polite...

Hmph, that bratty Young Master, making me stand outside as punishment. What was the point of coming all this way?

Rolling her eyes slightly, Lin Suqing surveyed the starlight permeating the area, her thoughts growing quite complex.

Could the Young Master's mother really be the Primordial Deity rumored?

That's too terrifying.

Soon, Lin Suqing gave up thinking and just stood there blankly, waiting for the young man to return.

Inside the small building, however, the scene was entirely different.

As Wu Wang entered, before he could even take in the simple furnishings of the wooden house, his mother gently clapped her hands. Starlight, like fine dust, bloomed from beneath their feet.

A moment later, the space transformed into a starry sky. The walls, doors, and windows vanished, leaving only a small wooden table and two cushions placed side-by-side.

Melodious music drifted into their ears, and the starry expanse held a profound mystery that made one want to linger.

Cangxue knelt gracefully on a cushion, gently patting the spot beside her. She spoke warmly, "Come here and let Mother see, have you grown taller again recently?"

Wu Wang scratched his head and moved closer, maintaining a distance of about three inches.

This strange illness of mine, even my mother can't touch me. One touch and I faint.

He suddenly felt a bit lost for words, like navigating the awkwardness of adolescence in his past life.

Moreover, Wu Wang couldn't help but recall the image of his mother's eyes enveloped in divine light, her entire being radiating a chilling majesty.

"Mother, are you... a Star God?"