The northwestern reaches of the Great Thousand World: Hundred Spirit Continent, Hundred Spirit Heaven, Northern Spiritual Realm.
The newly established Mu Domain, the lord's residence.
"Time really does fly."
A young woman stood among the flowers, dressed in a fitted white gown. Her figure was graceful, her features gentle. She lifted her lovely face slightly and gazed into the distance, breathtakingly beautiful.
As she spoke, she gently stroked her smooth, flat belly.
A sacred, motherly glow appeared on her delicate, fair face. A tiny life was being nurtured there, growing stronger by the day.
Happiness mingled with her emotions, and the woman in white slowly sank into her memories.
More than ten years ago, somewhere on Hundred Spirit Continent.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a divine rainbow tore through the sky.
A dazzling orb of light trailed a long tail of blazing spiritual energy, hurtling down like a falling comet and crashing into the depths of the vast Spirit Beast Forest. The earth shook, and the mountains trembled.
A violent shockwave swept wildly through the area, ruthlessly laying waste to everything around it.
Amid the curling smoke, a huge, narrow ravine quickly took shape.
"Truly, a plucked Phoenix is worth less than a chicken. Qing Yanjing, is this where it all ends for you?"
In the center of the cracked crater, a mysterious woman opened her beautiful eyes, their depths clouded with exhaustion. She surveyed the surrounding world and the vicious beasts hurrying toward her in ever greater numbers, then gave a bitter smile.
She tried to raise her slender wrist. Her arm, usually light and graceful, now felt as heavy as a thousand jun. A piercing agony immediately coursed through her body, growing fiercer by the moment.
The mysterious woman let out a long sigh and reluctantly gave up.
Her Supreme Sea was damaged, her spiritual energy exhausted, her meridians shattered, her divine abilities...
If not for that, how could she possibly fear a mere pack of mid- and low-level spirit beasts?
Forget spirit beasts said to rival Divine Soul Realm warriors. Even the mighty beings ranked in the top ten of the Myriad Beasts Record Earth Ranking—she could have crushed them to death with one palm, killing them as easily as ants.
Those ranked in the top ten of the Myriad Beasts Record Earth Ranking could be called Heavenly Beasts, or even Super Heavenly Beasts. The strongest among them could battle human Supremes.
"Roar!"
A striped tiger with bloodshot eyes forced several low growls from its throat. Unable to restrain its savagery, it attacked first, pouncing at her.
It was no exaggeration to say that the flesh and blood essence of an Earth Sovereign powerhouse was comparable to a divine elixir.
If these low-level spirit beasts, the dregs of the Spirit Beast Realm, swallowed this precious flesh-and-blood tonic, they might stir their bloodlines, unlock the hidden treasures within their beastly bodies, and leap into the ranks of mighty Heavenly Beasts.
"You're exhausted. So very exhausted. You fled for your life for seven days and seven nights. Even a god would be weary. Just sleep for a while. Sleep..."
The mysterious woman closed her eyes, translucent as jade.
In the depths of her mind, it seemed a mysterious voice whispered softly beside her ear.
"Clang!"
At the very last moment, the dull sound of flesh colliding with flesh rang out.
The mysterious woman in white opened her eyes again in astonishment.
The striped giant tiger, ranked near the top among mid-level spirit beasts, let out a mournful cry. Its body suddenly exploded, and a tall figure flashed out amid a glow of pale yellow spiritual energy.
Mu Feng, an adventurer from the Northern Spiritual Realm who had spent the night here—a Spirit Wheel Realm warrior—had swung his steel fist and killed the mid-level spirit beast with a single punch.
"What are you standing around for? Go!"
The valiant young man in a warrior's outfit met the woman in white's astonished, delighted gaze, then immediately pulled her to her feet and bound her tightly to his back.
With brisk, practiced movements, he carried the beauty and quickly fought his way out of the encirclement.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Seeing their plump prey about to escape, the beasts that covered the mountains and plains roared, their murderous aura soaring skyward as they all pounced at once, a vast black tide.
In an instant, the situation turned perilous.
But he had never been afraid!
This young warrior named Mu Feng was no more than an ordinary, utterly insignificant creature in the mysterious woman's eyes. Yet even though he was covered in wounds, even with death at his heels, he never put her down.
He kept carrying her on his back as he fought his way out.
The mysterious woman—or rather, Qing Yanjing, the supreme goddess who had fled an arranged marriage in the Buddha God Clan of the Great Thousand World—lay silently against Mu Feng's back, her delicate body soft against him.
Her eyelids drooped, and deep in her beautiful eyes, warmth welled up.
At the same time, a strange feeling she had never experienced before spread through her heart, making her pulse race and filling her whole body with warmth.
"Having someone to lean on feels pretty nice..."
Qing Yanjing smiled, completely at ease.
The next moment, she fell into a deep sleep on his back.
Qing Yanjing and Mu Feng—the goddess of an Ancient Clan and a country bumpkin—pledged themselves to each other here.
"A-Jing."
Heavy footsteps sounded, followed by a call filled with heartfelt affection.
A tall young man in a black robe, with a valiant air, came smiling through the flowers. He took his beloved wife's slender hand in his.
His face was resolute, his bearing steady, and his frame straight as a spear thrust into the heavens. He was the sort of man no one could forget after seeing him once.
Naturally, the only man who could stroll so casually through the Domain Lord's residence as if no one were there was the lord of the Mu Domain, the Divine Soul Realm powerhouse Mu Feng.
Mu Feng had played a vital role in the Mu Domain's rise. Though it had only just been founded, it already stood alongside old powers like the Liu Territory, Luo Territory, and Tang Territory as one of the Northern Spiritual Realm's nine great domains.
"You really never know how to take care of yourself."
Qing Yanjing turned around and raised a slightly cool hand to gently stroke the stubble just beginning to appear on her husband's chin, scolding him with a hint of reproach.
That gesture made him scratch his head and grin foolishly.
She was Qing Yanjing, the supreme goddess of the Buddha God Clan, one of the Five Great God Clans in the Great Thousand World.
Her grandfather was the former patriarch of the Buddha Ancient Clan, a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign renowned throughout the Great Thousand World.
Her father was the head of the Qing Branch, a top Immortal Grade Heavenly Sovereign.
As for her, she was a Spirit Grade Heavenly Sovereign and an intermediate Grandmaster of Spirit Arrays.
Anyway, all you needed to know was that her family background was so impressive it could scare the life out of you.
PS: Happy New Year, brothers!
Before you continue