"This is..."
The instant his gaze touched that place, Shi Yi felt his soul shudder.
Within his body far away in the Stone Realm, Dou Qi surged and his blood boiled, as though he were being scorched by heavenly flames or crushed by space itself!
The region before his eyes seemed to be rejecting him!
"Oh, you noticed?"
Within Plane Space, a faintly ethereal voice sounded with a soft laugh, echoing through the darkness and shaking Shi Yi to his very core!
Snap!
As the sound rang out, Shi Yi's vision went dark at that very same instant.
His soul seemed to have been expelled by someone wielding the mighty power of heaven and earth, and his probing came to an abrupt halt.
"As expected of the ancient Double Pupils. Even formed from residual chaos energy, they can faintly glimpse the core of this world as soon as they awaken..."
Within Plane Space, Xiao Lin's voice echoed alone before silence settled once more.
Within the Stone Realm.
Shi Yi held a hand to his forehead, his body swaying slightly. With his gaze withdrawn, his heart churned as though monstrous waves had risen within it!
"..."
"Yi? Yi! Are you all right?"
Shi Yuan's rough voice rang beside Shi Yi's ear. It was deafening, like massive boulders colliding and grinding together, yet there was a trace of anxiety in his tone.
As Shi Yi withdrew his gaze, Shi Yuan gripped his trembling shoulders and shook him back and forth.
The people of the Stone Clan had always been renowned for their powerful bodies.
Had an ordinary person been "kneaded" by those enormous hands, strong enough to split mountains and shatter stone, their body would have broken apart long ago.
Yet Shi Yi had not been crushed in his grip. He merely felt his soul grow somewhat dazed.
"I'm fine, Father."
Shi Yi calmed his turbulent emotions, gently exhaled a stale breath, and stepped out of Shi Yuan's mountain-like embrace.
Although he possessed part of the Double Pupils' origin power, this flesh-and-blood body had still been born on this continent. When he tried to peer into this world's will of the Heavenly Dao, he inevitably felt its suppression and rejection.
Shi Yi knew nothing of this.
Yet his Double Pupils still gazed toward the heavens, piercing the clouds as though he were still searching for that mysterious place he had glimpsed for a fleeting instant.
His instincts told him that secrets unknown to this world were definitely hidden there!
"..."
"You little brat! You've only inherited half of our Stone Clan's bloodline, yet you've already tempered your body to this level at your age. You truly are the son of Shi Yuan!"
Patting the boy's incredibly sturdy body, Shi Yuan could not help bursting into laughter.
"Your mother seems to be preparing some ancient ritual of her Spirit Clan lately. She said it could help your cultivation, improve your talent, or something like that."
"I say she's talking nonsense! With my son's talent, you're bound to have a divine grade bloodline. What help could those paltry tricks of hers possibly offer you?"
Shi Yuan's deafening voice, like mountains collapsing and rocks splitting, instantly pulled Shi Yi out of his distant thoughts and back to reality.
"..."
It seems Mother might be right to keep some things from Father...
Shi Yi silently mused, rather speechless, but his eyes soon grew solemn and resolute.
"Father, I'd like to consult the books in our clan's collection."
"The ones concerning the continent's hidden secrets and what lies beyond Dou Di!"
Meanwhile, within Plane Space.
The sphere of chaotic light trembled violently, and Xiao Lin's phantom embryonic body suddenly swelled, as though an invisible surge of energy had been forcefully poured into it!
"Good grief-"
His eyes widened as he felt that vast torrent of energy pouring in without cease, carrying countless fine strands of energy with it.
[Plane Embryo restoration: 28.7%] [Planar inscription: Innate Double Pupils!]
The feedback from the awakening of the Double Pupils was actually this direct and immense!
Xiao Lin felt countless pores all over his body open, ravenously absorbing the planar improvements brought about by the cultivation of the Children of Fortune and the continent's living beings!
An indescribably pleasurable sensation made him groan involuntarily, and even the Plane Embryo's body visibly grew!
Its surface shone brightly, and its restoration was accelerating too!
"Truly worthy of being one of the strongest seeds among the new generation of prodigies I've brought forth on this continent!"
"He's only at the initial stage, yet he's already feeding back this much energy. If he cultivates to the pinnacle, I'm afraid even the entire continent won't be able to contain such an existence..."
[Target: Shi Yi] [Cultivation: Three-Star Dou Practitioner] [Fortuitous opportunities: Double Pupils; divine grade bloodline (unawakened)] [Fortune value: 610]
Observing Shi Yi's current condition, Xiao Lin's illusory figure could not help smacking his lips.
His current fortune value had already surpassed those of Xun'er, Xiao Tian, and even Xiao Yan!
The higher a person's fortune value, the greater their potential and their future influence on the continent!
They would also have more opportunities to receive the Heavenly Dao's favor and enjoy deeper blessings.
Once their fortune value was high enough, they could be called a Child of Fortune of that plane.
Yet while there might be many Children of Fortune, there should only be one Child of the Plane!
"At this rate, it might not be long before I truly usher in a golden age teeming with prodigies! What a prospect!"
At that moment, fragments of space and time could faintly be seen scattering and tumbling within Xiao Lin's eyes.
"I just wonder whether the Child of the Plane in this glorious age will still be the originally destined Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan..."
In the mountains behind the Xiao Clan in Wutan City.
"Teacher, you're back!"
Sensing Yao Chen's soul fluctuations, Xiao Yan roused himself from cultivation, undisguised joy spreading across his face.
"Little Yanzi, take a look at what your master has brought."
Yao Chen's aged soul floated into the cave, holding a blood-red magic core in one palm. In his other hand, he actually carried the still-smoking corpse of a magical beast!
"Teacher, this is..."
Xiao Yan snapped out of his delight, his pupils contracting sharply as his gaze fell upon the corpse.
At first glance, it was an ape-like magical beast. Red-and-yellow, flame-shaped fur covered its entire body, making it look like a mass of leaping fire.
Its dark brown limbs were immensely thick, with sharp blue claws protruding from them.
Even in death, its ferocity and intense fighting spirit could still be felt!
"I've never seen one before either."
Yao Chen shook his head and tossed the corpse onto the ground with a dull thud.
"Deep within Black Rock Mountain, a hundred li outside Wutan City, this beast killed a third-rank Blazing Fire Scorpion and was about to devour its magic core when I happened upon it. Judging by its aura, it hadn't yet reached maturity, but it already possessed the strength of a Fifth-Order magical beast."
Xiao Yan sucked in a breath of cold air.
A Fifth-Order magical beast was an existence comparable to a Dou Wang expert! This monster had yet to fully mature, yet it was already so terrifying?
And his teacher had actually brought it back with such effortless ease!
"If left to grow, it could probably reach the seventh rank or even higher."
Yao Chen looked thoughtful, a trace of uncertainty flashing through his eyes.
"Now that my soul has stabilized, I intended to go out and find you some low-rank magic cores for refining medicine. I never expected to find a creature like this in territory where the strongest magical beasts were only of the second or third rank."
With a flick of his fingertip, a wisp of crimson flame floated up from between the magical beast's brows, crackling faintly.
"This is... a beast flame?!" Xiao Yan's eyes immediately blazed.
"Indeed. You're in luck, brat!"
Yao Chen gently stroked his beard, a kindly smile on his face.
"The Flame Mantra is still at the Low Yellow Tier. If you can refine this flame, you might be able to raise the cultivation method's tier a little before finding any heavenly flames."
"And this third-rank Blazing Fire Scorpion's magic core can be used to refine a pill. It's just a pity this great ape didn't have one inside..."
Staring at that wisp of crimson flame, Xiao Yan could not help swallowing.
"Teacher, do I have to eat it?"
Before you continue