Chapter 37

One cannot truly understand this feeling unless they have experienced it themselves. It is comparable to the joy of recovering something thought to be lost forever. Even now, whenever Chu Xingyun recalls that moment—how the tiny child hung her head, unresponsive to everything around her, as if she no longer recognized them—he feels a pang of sorrow. Yet, no matter what had just transpired, as long as this child could still smile at them and call their names, nothing else mattered.

His eyes held a hint of a smile, clearly doting on the little one.

Ao Qing, having finally stabilized his injuries, looked up at the sky with a grim expression. Heaven knows that with the resilient constitution of a dragon and his formidable cultivation at the Immortal stage, he had not suffered such heavy injuries in many years. That overwhelming, seemingly endless tribulation lightning was far more ferocious than even his own ascension tribulation.

Rubbing his temples, Ao Qing felt a headache coming on.

"Today's tribulation was far too conspicuous; the entire cultivation world must have witnessed it." Those thunderbolts, which seemed intent on destroying everything in their path, would have alerted anyone in the cultivation world who wasn't dead. Furthermore, the location was too sensitive—the ancestral grounds of the Gong clan, steeped in ancient legends—and it was known that the Taigu Sect had come to pay respects to the ancestors.

Ao Qing paused, setting that topic aside for the moment. Seeing the worried look on Sect Master Yu’s face as he glanced at the little one in his arms—who was oblivious to the gravity of the situation and busy playing with her senior brother’s fingers—he said calmly, "I already have a plan in mind; you need not worry."

"Thank you," Sect Master Yu replied hastily. "I have troubled you today, Uncle-Master."

"Troubled" was an understatement. He had sustained severe injuries, nearly costing him his dragon life.

Ao Qing said coolly, "It was not entirely for your sake." The golden dragon hatchling was the one who had triggered the first wave of the tribulation. In truth, he had assumed his dragon form to face the lightning partly for the sake of his own dragon kin. Moreover, since Yu Youyou had essentially "consumed" the remaining tribulation, causing the thunder to dissipate, it had actually ensured the safety of the dragon bloodline.

Ao Qing caught his breath and added solemnly, "The inheritance of the ancient Immortal stage is truly well-deserved." It was said that the Gong bloodline originated from ancient immortals, and its foundation was extraordinary. Much of what he had heard were mere myths, but today, he had caught a glimpse of the truth. Whether it was the Immortal-stage avatar in the portrait capable of resisting the lightning to protect the descendants' souls, or the black spiritual light that had shielded the Gong clan members' souls from detection during their clan's annihilation, these were feats unheard of for an ordinary Immortal-stage cultivator.

For years, watching the previous Sect Master investigate the destruction of the Gong clan, Ao Qing had often thought that the villains capable of slaughtering so many powerful figures in a single night must have had immense cultivation or overwhelming numbers. Yet, with so many experts gathered, none had discovered that the souls of the Gong clan had been protected and preserved, a testament to the miraculous nature of that black light.

Right... Sect Master Yu had mentioned that the black light had surged into the child's forehead. Recalling the terrifying aura he had sensed from the child at that moment, Ao Qing pondered for a moment but decided not to probe further. The ancient ancestor of the Gong clan had said it was fine, and no one’s word carried more weight than that. If there was no issue, then so be it. Even if she appeared demonic, it did not matter. Thinking back to how the child had cleared her mind at a single call and had become angry and defensive on their behalf, Ao Qing felt no need to dig deeper. As long as the child held kindness in her heart, that was enough.

However, thinking of the little one's gluttony, the Azure Dragon expert pondered for a moment and asked the child, who was currently cooing and acting spoiled toward her senior brother, "When you see me... are you hungry?"

The question sounded familiar. Ao Qing had once asked the child the same regarding the Black Dragon, Ao Xin. His words caused Yu Youyou to turn her head in surprise. Meeting the stern eyes of her grand-uncle, she hurriedly tried to shake her head, but Ao Qing insisted, "Be honest, from the bottom of your heart."

"Fragrant," Chu Xingyun’s mouth twitched. He wanted to ask his honest junior sister if she found everyone she smelled to be "fragrant."

"...Do you want to eat?"

"No! No!" Even with her limited vocabulary, the child was quick to deny it. Seeing Ao Qing reach out to pat her head, she obediently said, "I don't want to!"

When she first met her grand-uncle, she had thought he smelled wonderful; the transcendent fragrance radiating from his immortal energy had indeed left her a bit dazed. But she had never intended to consume his spiritual energy, because she knew it was wrong. Even without her father’s teachings, the child understood that some things were not to be done. Even when she was starving, she tried her best to restrain herself. Even when she was in the Nine Nether Demon City, starved by the Scarlet Flame Demon Lord and treated with disdain by the demons, she had never harmed or consumed any living creature in the city.

One must not harm living beings. That was the first thought that had surfaced when she gained clear memories.

"She comes from the Gong clan, so it is inevitable that she has some unusual traits." Ao Qing patted her little head again, and upon meeting the vertical pupils staring intently from the child's arm, he inwardly snorted. Ignoring the golden dragon, he gritted his teeth and said to Sect Master Yu, "You must let this child travel more. The cultivation world holds many hidden secrets; let her wander so she can find more spiritual energy to nourish herself."

"What do you mean, Uncle-Master?" Sect Master Yu asked in surprise.

"She was likely born with the ancient Immortal body of the Gong clan's heritage. You can tell by how thin and small she is—she isn't getting enough to eat," Ao Qing said, his tone regaining its composure. "She isn't getting enough spiritual energy. When spiritual energy is scarce, she must go hungry. But if she wants to consume more... living on your mountain peak in the sect, will the spiritual energy just run into her mouth? Can you afford to keep her?"

She had swallowed a demon vein in one go, and that had only barely kept her from starving. Then she had consumed a massive amount of divine lightning—good heavens, she had nearly eaten the entire thundercloud—and only then had she gained a little bit of weight. Ao Qing felt despair on behalf of the Taigu Sect... he feared that the wealth accumulated over millions of years wouldn't be enough to satisfy the child in one gulp. A child with such an extraordinary origin could not be confined to the sect, as it would stifle her peerless talent.

Seeing Sect Master Yu hesitate, Ao Qing shook his head. "If you wish to spend a thousand years just cradling a child, then by all means, ignore my suggestion."

"A child?!"

"Her bloodline is too pure; she was never meant to be of this world. You should have realized that when a portion of the tribulation lightning was aimed directly at her. The ancient Immortal body has long since vanished. In our small realm, she is incompatible with the heavens and earth, which is why she attracted the tribulation." Ao Qing looked at the golden dragon with a complex expression. "If she had been born in the higher realms, it would be one thing, but she is in the lower realm. Even after surviving the tribulation, a child like this requires a vast amount of spiritual energy to grow, which is why this world refuses to tolerate her presence."

With such a superior bloodline, growth would be easy in the energy-rich higher realms. But in the lower realm, to allow her to fully mature, it might require draining the spiritual energy of the entire cultivation world just to sustain one person. Thus, the heavens did not permit it.

"So, Youyou can only go hungry in the lower realm," Sect Master Yu said, his heart aching as he held his daughter.

"Her growth period will also far exceed your imagination." It was unlikely the lower realm could support the growth of a child with such an excessively powerful bloodline talent. Because spiritual energy could not be fully supplied, her growth cycle would be stretched to an unimaginable length.

"Ordinary cultivators' children grow to adulthood normally, but for someone like Yu Youyou..." Ao Qing paused, then said slowly to Sect Master Yu, "You must prepare yourself for the possibility that she will remain as she is for a hundred years."

It was too difficult to help the child grow. Sect Master Yu tightened his grip on her, whispering, "No matter what, as long as Youyou is healthy, that is enough." It didn't matter if she remained a child for a hundred years. He only wanted her to be safe and sound.

Seeing him so open-minded, Ao Qing said no more. He looked at the child, who was tilting her head, listening to them talk.

Yu Youyou was also surprised. Having heard so much from her knowledgeable grand-uncle, the child bit the tip of her finger, thinking blankly that this was completely different from what she remembered from the book. In the book, the original Yu Youyou was never said to have an ancient Immortal bloodline; she grew up normally and then ran off to do bad things with a scumbag male cultivator. Such an obvious difference made her think that perhaps it was because the Yu Youyou in the book had never come to pay respects to the ancestors. Because she hadn't paid respects, she didn't have this healthy body.

Moreover, the child felt that today's visit had been worth it. Not only had she finally had a full meal, but she had also seen the souls of the Gong clan members who had surrounded her and smiled at her. They were all so kind, and their gazes were filled with such love and tenderness. Even though their souls were faint, she could still feel the genuine emotions behind those blurred phantoms. They loved her, their descendant, and they were still living on in the form of souls, perhaps even taken away by the Gong clan ancestor, with the possibility of a reunion.

"Where?" The child thought of how the Gong clan ancestor had departed and asked curiously.

Sect Master Yu and Ao Qing exchanged a look, then said slowly, "Likely the higher realms."

That avatar of the Gong clan ancestor had been incomparably powerful. Furthermore, if Sect Master Yu remembered correctly, that figure in the scroll was one of the oldest patriarchs of the Gong clan, having existed for millions of years. Since such an ancestor had pointed toward the heavens, Sect Master Yu explained to his daughter, "He meant the higher realms."

He explained it in detail, and Yu Youyou listened with nods. As Ao Qing stuffed medicinal pills into his mouth while watching the golden dragon, the more he looked, the more frustrated he felt. He took a deep breath and said to Sect Master Yu, "Because of today's tribulation, the Azure Dragon clan has been protected by Youyou, and the Azure Dragon clan acknowledges this debt."

"I'm willing," Yu Youyou said shyly, fiddling with her fingers. Her voice was milky and sweet, and her cheeks were now chubby with baby fat.

Ao Qing resisted the urge to reach out and pinch her cheeks again—she was still too thin—and said, "The cause of the tribulation was simply that a descendant of the Azure Dragon happened to be at the Gong clan grounds; it had nothing to do with anyone else."

With such vast and terrifying thunder, there had to be a logical explanation for the outside world. If it were known that the anomaly was caused by Yu Youyou, she would never be able to live a peaceful life.