Xuan Heng

"Alas, this child was born in response to a calamity. His future is likely to be anything but ordinary." Taiqing sighed when he saw the flash of gray light that vanished from Zhou Heng's body.

Yuanshi fell silent at those words and did not speak again.

"Hmph. He is my, Tongtian's, younger brother. Even if fate itself seeks to drive him to his death, it must first ask whether I, Tongtian, agree!"

With a cold snort, Tongtian's Supreme Purity immortal aura instantly swept through the entire valley.

"Let us take him back to Kunlun Mountain first."

As he spoke, Taiqing conjured Supreme Purity immortal light in his hand, carrying the Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus and Zhou Heng back to the foothills of Kunlun Mountain. At last, he placed both the lotus and Zhou Heng into a spiritual pool.

The World-Purifying White Lotus slowly revolved within the spiritual pool. Zhou Heng slept quietly in its lotus heart, clear qi circulating around him, far more stable than before.

In the primordial world, years went uncounted. Day after day passed. Zhou Heng was awake only rarely; most of the time, he felt as though he were steeped in warm water, his consciousness hazy and heavy.

Yet every time he woke, he could sense three different auras.

Taiqing's aura was the faintest, so faint it seemed not to exist. Whenever Supreme Purity immortal light descended, the tearing pain in the depths of Zhou Heng's Primordial Spirit would slowly subside. That power was neither hurried nor slow, patiently smoothing out his shattered consciousness bit by bit.

Yuanshi's aura was the steadiest. Every so often, Jade Purity immortal light would descend outside the white lotus, sorting through his innate clear qi and steadying his aura.

Tongtian came most often, and he did not speak much of the Great Dao.

He would sit beside the lotus pool and speak of the sights beyond Kunlun Mountain—of some cliff where a spiritual herb had appeared, of a little flood dragon in some stream that knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth and had actually dared to spray water at him.

He would also speak of how overbearing the dragon race was, how proud the phoenix race was, and how the qilin race loved to keep the words "suppressing the earth" on their lips.

At first, Zhou Heng found it noisy. But gradually, he grew used to it.

After all, he could not move, could not speak, and did not even have eyes yet. If Tongtian had not sat beside him recounting these tales of the primordial world, he could only stare blankly at the clear light within the white lotus all day.

On this day, Tongtian came again.

He sat by the clear spring, casually snapped off a blade of grass, and stirred the water's surface with it.

"Fourth Brother, your transformation is far too slow."

Deep within the lotus heart, Zhou Heng's consciousness stirred faintly.

He dearly wanted to reply: I want to be faster too.

Unfortunately, no one outside could hear him.

Yet Tongtian seemed to sense something and laughed.

"You're anxious too?"

The white lotus swayed gently.

Tongtian was instantly intrigued.

"You can hear me?"

The white lotus swayed again.

The smile in Tongtian's eyes deepened.

"Interesting. Eldest Brother and Second Brother both said your spiritual consciousness was still unstable and should not be disturbed too much. But I think you're perfectly awake."

The moment he finished speaking, Yuanshi's voice came from nearby.

"So you are disturbing him here?"

Tongtian turned his head.

Yuanshi descended nearby, his robes and bearing immaculate, his expression calm.

Tongtian set down the grass stem and said righteously, "I am helping him familiarize himself with the primordial world."

Yuanshi walked to the lotus pool and glanced at the white lotus.

"He has yet to take form, and his Primordial Spirit has only just settled. At this time, he should rest and recuperate quietly."

Tongtian laughed. "Second Brother, I've heard you say that no fewer than a hundred times over these years."

"Since you have heard it a hundred times, you ought to remember it."

Tongtian looked at the white lotus. "Fourth Brother, don't you think Second Brother is too strict?"

The white lotus remained still. Zhou Heng thought, Don't drag me into your quarrel. I'm very fragile right now.

Tongtian raised a brow at the sight.

"You were moving just now, and now you're pretending to sleep?"

At last, a faint trace of amusement appeared in Yuanshi's eyes.

"He is more sensible than you."

Tongtian was immediately displeased.

"I cannot accept that, Second Brother."

As the two spoke, Taiqing arrived as well.

He remained as serene as ever. After approaching the lotus pool, he first looked at the Dao Embryo within the white lotus, then turned to Yuanshi and Tongtian.

"He shares our origin and was born within the World-Purifying White Lotus. Since he has entered Kunlun, he should have a Dao name. Today is the proper time to bestow one upon our little brother."

Hearing Taiqing's words, Zhou Heng's heart jolted.

In the primordial world, a name was no trivial matter—especially for innate beings. A name was not merely a form of address; it was tied to one's fate. After many beings took form, if their name could not bear the weight of their own foundation, it could instead damage their path of cultivation.

Tongtian stroked his chin.

"Since we are the Three Pure Ones, and he is the youngest brother, then shall we call him the Four Pure Ones?"

Yuanshi gave him a glance.

"Nonsense."

Tongtian laughed. "I only said it casually."

Zhou Heng fell silent within the lotus as well. If he truly walked the primordial world bearing the name Four Pure Ones, everyone would know at once that he was bound to the Three Pure Ones. Forget avoiding calamities—trouble would likely find him before he had even taken form.

Taiqing looked at the white lotus and suddenly asked, "Do you have a name you favor?"

Hearing Taiqing's question, Zhou Heng froze, then began to ponder carefully.

His name in his previous life had been Zhou Heng.

There was no need to keep Zhou.

But he wanted to retain the character "Heng."

It was the only thing that could prove he had once existed.

Within the white lotus, world-purifying white light gently flowed.

Deep within the lotus heart, a wisp of spiritual consciousness struggled to stir the clear qi, tracing an exceedingly faint mark upon the white lotus.

The mark quickly faded.

But all three of the Pure Ones saw it clearly.

"Heng."

Tongtian paused, then burst out laughing.

"He picked a character for himself."

Yuanshi's gaze shifted slightly.

"Since he inherits Pangu's clear qi and is nurtured by the World-Purifying White Lotus, born close to the Dao—xuan signifies profundity and remoteness, the gateway to all mysteries—then let him be called Xuan Heng." Taiqing looked at the white lotus and slowly spoke.

As Taiqing's words fell, the clear qi throughout Kunlun Mountain instantly surged without end.

The petals of the Twelve-Rank World-Purifying White Lotus unfurled. White light spread outward from the lotus heart, while Kunlun's three peaks answered one another from afar. The auras of Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing rose once more, though they were far gentler than the first time.

Zhou Heng—no, Xuan Heng—felt an indescribable connection deep within the lotus heart.

This name seemed to fall directly into his origin. From this moment onward, he had a name in the primordial world.

"Xuan Heng has only just received his Daoist name. His origin is unstable, and he has yet to take form. For the next three epochs, the three of us shall take turns nurturing his origin. We must not slacken."

Taiqing looked at Xuan Heng, whose aura was now far more stable than at the start, and spoke.

"Good, then I'll go first!" Tongtian hurriedly said upon hearing this.

"No. The sharpness in your Shangqing immortal arts is too heavy. Xuan Heng's origin is unstable right now. It is better to have eldest brother stabilize his Primordial Spirit first."

Yuanshi shook his head as he spoke.

Tongtian did not argue. Yuanshi was right this time.

From then on, Xuan Heng was truly settled in Kunlun Mountain.

Taiqing came once every thousand years.

He never spoke much. He would merely sit beside the lotus pool, and even his exposition of the Dao was like wind passing through the mountains—without loud proclamations or layers of abstruse mysteries. He simply transformed the Dao of Taiqing into wisps of clear qi and guided them into the white lotus.

Xuan Heng could not understand all of it, but after every session, he could feel his consciousness grow a little clearer.

Whenever Yuanshi came, he would inspect the restrictions, sort out the spiritual veins, and adjust the spiritual qi within the lotus pool. At first, Xuan Heng was somewhat afraid of this second brother of his. Yuanshi's bearing was simply too stern; even without a single harsh word, he made others afraid to act presumptuously.

But as time passed, Xuan Heng discovered that his second brother was all bark and no bite. If one were to say who treated Xuan Heng best, then in all fairness, it was Yuanshi. Every time Yuanshi came, he would examine Xuan Heng from head to toe, afraid that something might affect Xuan Heng's transformation.

Tongtian, meanwhile, was completely different. Whenever he came, he would tell Xuan Heng about all sorts of things. Sometimes he spoke of a new sword Dao he had comprehended; other times, he simply demonstrated his swordplay before Xuan Heng.

Sword light swept across the mountain walls without harming a blade of grass or a single tree. It merely cleaved apart the clouds surrounding Kunlun Mountain layer by layer. Then, at the end, he would smugly ask Xuan Heng whether he was impressive. Whenever Xuan Heng watched those streaks of sword intent, a strange yearning would always rise in his heart.

This was Tongtian.

The future leader of the Interception Sect.

One of the saints with the most overwhelming killing intent in the primordial world.

Yet at this time, Tongtian was only that Shangqing Daoist of Kunlun Mountain who loved running outside the most—and who most loved talking to his youngest brother before he had taken form.

And now, Xuan Heng had become the youngest brother of the Three Pure Ones as well. As he came into contact and lived alongside them, the thought of stopping the Three Pure Ones from turning against one another grew ever deeper in his heart.