Witnessing the Beginning of Heaven and Earth (Please Follow, Please Tap to Urge Updates)

His consciousness was clear.

"Where... is this?"

Ling Xiao muttered to himself in the chaos.

"Mom?"

"Auntie?"

Ling Xiao instinctively called out twice, but received no response.

His voice did not travel outward.

Because there was no air here, no medium, nothing through which sound could travel.

The moment Ling Xiao's voice left his mouth, it was swallowed by the boundless chaos.

Ling Xiao began to panic.

He tried his best to sense his surroundings, hoping to find even the slightest clue.

He could not perceive up, down, or any direction. He could not see through past or future.

Everything was in its most primordial state, as though the universe had yet to emerge from chaos.

There was no heaven or earth, no sun or moon, no yin or yang, no laws, no order.

There was only chaos.

Boundless, endless chaos.

Ling Xiao had no idea how long he had been drifting through this chaos.

Perhaps a day, perhaps a month, perhaps a year, perhaps ten thousand years.

Here, time and space held no meaning, as though nothing existed at all.

Only his consciousness existed alone within this void.

"Where exactly am I?"

Ling Xiao began asking himself again and again.

He tried desperately to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness.

The soul tool exploded, the shockwave struck, blood poured out, his consciousness blurred...

He remembered everything.

"Am I dead?"

Ling Xiao thought bitterly in the darkness.

"No... probably not."

Ling Xiao could feel that his consciousness remained whole, with no sign of dispersing.

If he had truly died, his soul would have entered reincarnation, yet he felt no guidance whatsoever.

Perhaps he had been trapped somewhere, somewhere that did not belong to Douluo Continent.

Ling Xiao suddenly remembered.

It seemed that he had been here once before.

That was right!

When he had first transmigrated to Douluo Continent, his consciousness had briefly fallen into a stretch of chaos.

Thinking about it carefully now, that chaos had been exactly the same as the one before him.

Except...

Last time, he had awakened very quickly, and Snow Emperor had been the one to wake him.

The moment he opened his eyes, he had seen his mother, Snow Emperor.

But this time, he was trapped.

Ling Xiao wanted to leave, but no matter how hard he struggled, he could not escape this chaos.

Ling Xiao felt helpless.

Had he gone blind again? Had he become an orphan again?

"Mom!"

Ling Xiao shouted with all his strength.

Yet his voice was still swallowed by the chaos, without even the slightest echo.

Ling Xiao began to despair.

He did not know how long he would remain here, nor did he know what was happening in the outside world.

He did not know how the Ice and Snow Emperors were doing, or whether they were still waiting for him.

What point in the timeline was it now? How much longer until the Ice and Snow Emperors' heavenly tribulations arrived?

I can't stay trapped here... Mom is waiting for me. Auntie is waiting for me.

Ling Xiao thought firmly to himself.

I have to get out!

Just as Ling Xiao shouted desperately, he seemed to awaken someone sleeping.

A... giant.

When that giant awoke, Ling Xiao suddenly sensed his presence.

Ling Xiao did not know how large the giant was.

There were no reference points in this chaos, so he could not judge his size.

But he could feel that the giant's existence occupied the very center of this chaos.

He slept there within the chaos, for who knew how many ages.

Until Ling Xiao woke him.

The giant slowly opened his eyes.

One was dazzling like the blazing sun, the other cold and hazy like the pale moon.

Two beams of light burst from his eyes, illuminating a corner of the endless chaos around him.

He saw the chaos.

He saw endless darkness and emptiness, but he did not like the darkness before him.

So he stretched out his hand, and a massive axe appeared in his palm.

It was the only weapon in this chaos, and also the only order within it.

He gripped the giant axe tightly with both hands, then let out a furious roar.

"Roar—!"

That roar was like countless thunderclaps exploding at once, shaking the entire chaos violently.

That axe split open the chaos.

Golden axe light descended like a heavenly river, cleaving the entire chaos into two.

The clear qi rose to become the heavens.

The turbid qi sank to become the earth.

Yin and yang were divided.

Heaven and earth were established.

A ray of light shone in. It was the first dawn after heaven and earth were created.

It was as though he had returned to the moment he first opened his eyes, when he seemed to see Snow Emperor's embrace.

Drawn by that ray of light, Ling Xiao abruptly broke free from the chaos.

"Pant, pant, pant~!"

Inside Ice Crystal Palace.

Ling Xiao, lying on the ice bed, instantly opened his eyes, goosebumps rising all over his body.

Ling Xiao gasped heavily, cold sweat beading on his forehead like raindrops.

That giant axe just now!

It felt as though it had struck his body.

The sensation of being cleaved apart had been too real, leaving him unable to distinguish reality from illusion for a moment.

Suddenly, a pair of warm arms pulled him directly into an embrace.

"Little thing..."

A familiar voice sounded beside his ear.

That gentle voice trembled with long-suppressed longing and heartache.

Ling Xiao could not help but freeze slightly.

A familiar scent entered his nose.

Feeling that familiar embrace, Ling Xiao asked uncertainly.

"Mom?"

"Mhm, it's me."

Snow Emperor's voice was extremely soft, yet it made Ling Xiao feel incredibly warm.

She held Ling Xiao tightly in her arms, as though she wanted to meld him into her body.

Her chin rested atop Ling Xiao's head, her long hair falling around them and shrouding them both.

Ling Xiao felt that familiar embrace, felt the warmth of something he had thought lost and then regained.

His nose suddenly stung.

"Waaah—!"

Before Ling Xiao could react further, another figure suddenly rushed over.

"You little burden! You're finally awake! Do you know how worried we were?!"

Ice Empress's voice was rapid and anxious, carrying a faint sob.

She plunged headfirst into Snow Emperor's embrace, and the three of them held each other tightly.

"Do you know how long you've been unconscious?! Do you know Auntie came to see you every day?!"

"Do you know Xue'er stayed here watching over you every day?! You little thing..."

Ice Empress could not continue.

She immediately turned her head away, refusing to let Ling Xiao and Snow Emperor see her expression.

Wrapped in those two familiar auras, Ling Xiao's voice gradually became choked with emotion as well.

"Mom, Auntie, I'm back."

Inside Ice Crystal Palace.

The three shared a warm moment.

Snow Emperor held Ling Xiao while Ice Empress pressed close beside them. None of the three spoke.

After an unknown amount of time, their emotions slowly settled.

Ice Empress released her tightly clasped arms and took a step back, putting some distance between them.

"Ahem."

Ice Empress pretended to clear her throat, trying to regain the dignity of a Heavenly King.

"You little burden, do you know how long you've been unconscious?"

Ling Xiao shook his head.

"I don't know."