His heart stirring with deep emotion, Xu Ying stepped forward hurriedly and bowed in greeting. "Had Senior not awakened in time just now, we would have surely perished at the hands of the heavenly gods."
He felt a natural kinship toward this divine being, as if an aura of familiarity hung about her. Beyond the presence of the Heavenly Dao, there was another familiar sensation.
The Heavenly Dao aura emanating from the Queen Mother of the West was not chaotic like that of the heavenly gods. The Heavenly Dao aura of the heavenly gods often plunged mortals into disarray and clouded their minds, placing them in a perilous state where the Dao could not be heard, for hearing it brought certain death.
The aura of the Queen Mother of the West, however, was upright and tranquil, free of such frenzy and terror. Of course, it was also possible that she could consciously govern her own Heavenly Dao aura.
The divine radiance swirling around her danced like fireworks, rising and falling in succession, blossoming into clustered bouquets, withering, and then blooming elsewhere anew. Qingluan flew over, letting out a joyful phoenix cry toward the sky.
After only a brief moment apart, this green simurgh had grown notably stronger in magic power. The Queen Mother of the West had likely recognized her arduous service and merit in saving her, elevating her cultivation in reward.
Feng Yao walked over as well, bowing to Xu Ying with a smile. "Uncle Xu, you've finally arrived."
Emperor Shenwu approached too, nodding gently toward Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang. He had visited the Jade Pool in the past and taken a portion of its waters; his arrival today to pay respects to the Queen Mother of the West was also the fruition of that karmic bond. Since the Queen Mother of the West had awakened, his fears of the heavenly tribulation were gone—it seemed that by reestablishing her dominion over Kunlun, she had shielded him from his impending doom.
The Queen Mother of the West lightly raised a hand, lifting Xu Ying with unseen force, and smiled. "Girl of the Feng clan, you've mixed up the seniority. You cannot call him Uncle. You must call him Granduncle Supreme."
Hearing this, Feng Yao's face turned pale, and she said dejectedly, "Granduncle Supreme? But he doesn't look that old..."
Unaware of what she was thinking, the Queen Mother of the West said, "He belongs to the lineage of Yuxu Peak. The seniority of Yuxu Peak was already exceedingly high, so he holds an advantage in generational rank. You belong to my lineage of Yuzhu Peak, where the seniority is lower, putting you at a slight disadvantage. Moreover, in true age, he is far older than you. You are three generations behind him, and with your branch already being two generations lower, you must address him as Granduncle Supreme."
In a soft, frail voice, Feng Yao asked, "Why is Granduncle Supreme surnamed Xu while I am surnamed Feng? Are we not one family?"
"Naturally not one family," the Queen Mother of the West replied. "Generation after generation, his Xu family guarded the ancestral land. When the Yellow Emperor offered sacrifices to Heaven and ascended here, it was his Xu family that received him. Your Feng family was left behind by the Yellow Emperor to serve me."
Hearing this, Feng Yao breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face. Suddenly sensing something, she looked up, only to meet Yuan Weiyang's clear gaze. Feng Yao hurriedly pulled herself together and flashed a harmless smile. Yuan Weiyang returned the smile.
The Queen Mother of the West chuckled toward Xu Ying. "Your mother once brought you to study with me, learning Heavenly Dao runes. Back then, you were still wearing split-crotch pants. I even gave you a little flick."
She turned around, signaling Xu Ying to follow. Xu Ying wondered to himself, *A flick to what?*
As she turned, he caught sight of a thick tail sweeping behind her, stirring gusts of thunderstorms. It resembled the tail of a tiger or leopard, yet when he looked closely, no tail was to be seen.
"No wonder whenever I see Heavenly Dao runes, I can always decipher their meaning at a glance. It turns out I studied under Senior in the past," Xu Ying said with a smile.
The Queen Mother of the West looked surprised. Stopping in her tracks, she examined him up and down and said with some perplexity, "Judging by your words, you don't remember your time studying here back then?"
As she studied Xu Ying, an unimaginably colossal presence seemed to appear within the canopy of the sky behind her, inspecting him as well.
Xu Ying looked toward the sky behind her and saw two slits, each stretching for countless li, slowly parting across the firmament. They gradually opened to reveal a pair of gigantic eyes gazing down at him. That gaze seemed capable of peering through the river of time, tracing back through his experiences life after life.
Knowing the Queen Mother of the West was examining him, Xu Ying lowered his guard and allowed her to inspect him freely.
After a thorough look, the Queen Mother of the West frowned slightly. "There are seals within your body—exceedingly formidable ones. Thirty-two seals in total, divided into two layers, locking away your past history. They individually suppress your physical body, Primordial Spirit, memories, divine consciousness, magic power, physical strength, and the dual qi of yin and yang. Two of the seals have grown slightly weaker, but neither has been fully broken. Moreover, your mortal body is incomplete."
Xu Ying was startled. Just as he was about to ask what she meant, the pair of eyes in the sky behind her fell upon Yuan Weiyang. The divine mother showed a look of astonishment, inspecting Yuan Weiyang repeatedly in shock and uncertainty, as if the secrets within Yuan Weiyang were even more captivating to her.
"The seals upon you are also exceedingly fascinating. Truly fascinating..." The Queen Mother of the West looked back and forth, her gaze shifting between Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang as she smiled. "Peculiar. Utterly peculiar. Scion of the Xu family, after you escaped Kunlun back then, what happened? Why do you two bear so many seals?"
Hearing this, the surge of excitement in Xu Ying's chest cooled by half. *Does even the Queen Mother of the West know nothing about my first life?*
At that moment, Lu Wu transformed into a streak of sunset radiance and bolted forward. Falling to the ground and bowing his head, he called out, "Divine Mother above! Lu Wu, Mountain God guarding the gateway to Xiadu in the Kunlun Mountains, has arrived late to the rescue! This subject Lu Wu has completely swept the mountain clean of all evil spirits and heterodox practitioners!"
The big bell also flew over, calling out, "Stone Mountain Bell of Lingling, hearing that the Queen Mother of the West was like a dragon trapped in the shallows, came specifically to the rescue! Joining forces with Lu Wu, this subject has completely swept the mountain clean of all evil spirits and heterodox practitioners!"
Yuan Qi rushed over right behind them. Having just awakened from his poisoning, he was still dazed and muddled. The speech he had prepared in his mind was completely forgotten, so he could only parrot the big bell's words, shouting, "Yuan Qi of Mount Wuwang, hearing that the Queen Mother of the West was like a dragon trapped in the shallows, came specifically to the rescue!"
As he spoke, his mind gradually cleared, and he continued, "Joining forces with Lu Wu and the Stone Mountain Bell, this subject slew demons and purged evil gods. Though covered in a hundred wounds, seeing the Queen Mother of the West safe and sound brings comfort to my heart, and my injuries no longer pain me!"
With that, he choked up and wept.
*A treacherous sycophant!* Lu Wu cursed inwardly. *You aren't even a god of Kunlun, yet you dare curry favor with the Divine Mother!*
The big bell was chagrined. *Even while poisoned, Seventh Master is still sharper with his tongue than I am.* But it quickly felt much better upon remembering the purple grass hanging outside the city taking a whipping—having gained nothing and received a beating on top of it.
Just then, a diminutive deity only knee-high with nine tiger heads waddled out on four short legs from behind the Queen Mother of the West. It rubbed halfway around her calf.
Seeing this tiger-headed, tiger-brained deity, Lu Wu's heart tightened. *Kaiming! This bastard is no good in a fight, but he knows how to rub against the Divine Mother's legs! Relying on having more heads and more scheming minds, he's climbed right over me!*
Lu Wu guarded the town of Xiadu, while Kaiming guarded Zhongdu Town. Although they were of equal rank, Kaiming's status was noticeably a tiny bit higher.
Yuan Qi and the big bell were also struck with awe at the sight of the god Kaiming. *How could a brute like Lu Wu ever win favor against a deity like this? That one knows to shrink in size and rub against legs, while Lu Wu only knows how to fight. Even when trying to please the Queen Mother of the West, he just scurries about cleaning the sacred mountain—toiling hard with nothing to show for it.*
Xu Ying looked at the small deity with nine tiger heads, bewildered. *This god looks just like the Kaiming God I sculpted out of clay...*
The moment the thought crossed his mind, the divine beast Kaiming trotted quickly toward him, leaped into his embrace, and joyfully raised one head after another to nuzzle his chin. Yuan Weiyang was deeply envious and reached out to stroke it as well.
The divine beast Kaiming was originally wary of unfamiliar hands, but sensing her aura, it lazily let her indulge herself.
Lu Wu snorted, pressing his nine tails against the ground and muttering under his breath, "A fawning flatterer, bringing shame upon the High Gods!"
The divine beast Kaiming hopped down from Xu Ying's arms and walked gracefully before Lu Wu.
"I broke the immortal array suppressing the Divine Mother. With her freed, I hold the first merit," Kaiming whispered with a beaming smile.
Lu Wu argued, "Clearly, the immortal who activated the Immortal Seal holds the first merit! Had that immortal not used the seal to counter the descent, what chance would you have had?"
Kaiming did not bother arguing with him. Holding his tail high, he trotted over to the Queen Mother of the West's feet, rubbed against her calf, and then turned back after rubbing only halfway around. His nine heads showed a sneer of ridicule, as if mocking Lu Wu: *If you have the guts, come rub the other half and see who is truly favored.* Lu Wu was furious. Gathering his courage, he took a step forward, but before he could draw near, a glare from the Queen Mother of the West sent him scurrying back in panic.
"Scion of the Xu family, when your parents escorted you in your escape from Kunlun, I could barely protect myself. I know nothing of what happened afterward," the Queen Mother of the West said. "What transpired after you left Kunlun is beyond my knowing."
Back then, the Queen Mother of the West had been shattered, her boundless divine power scattering across the Kunlun Mountains. Fearing her revival, the enemy had left behind the corpses of fallen immortals, erecting the Jianmu Divine Pillar Array with immortal corpses and huabiao pillars. Still uneasy, they laid down an immortal sword array in an attempt to suppress her and prevent her from ever resurrecting.
Xu Ying's face darkened, but hope suddenly rekindled in his heart. "What about my parents? Are they still alive?"
The Queen Mother of the West shook her head.
She did not know either.
The enemies were too powerful and too numerous. She only knew that Xu Ying's parents had covered his breakout from Kunlun, but whether they had survived remained unknown.
"Though the Undying People possess the immortal medicine of the Other Shore and various immortal herbs to prolong life, they are not immortal beings who live forever. Even if they survived after escaping Kunlun, it is impossible for them to have lived until the present day," said the Queen Mother of the West.
Xu Ying asked, "Does the Divine Mother know who the enemy was?"
The Queen Mother of the West looked up toward the sky.
Xu Ying lifted his head as well. There hung a colossal well-like cave-heaven piercing through both the immortal and mortal realms, now plugged shut by someone, with immortal stones weighing down the opening and talismans sealing it. The other end of that cave-heaven was the Immortal Realm.
Why eradicate Kunlun?
Unknown. Perhaps because Kunlun still preserved the primordial Heavenly Dao, or because Kunlun harbored a group of Undying People, or because Kunlun held power that even they feared. Perhaps they simply wished to make their rule more secure. When they choose to destroy you, whatever reason they give has nothing to do with you.
All around, countless pieces of rubble and ruined walls flew upward, assembling into the palace of the Queen Mother of the West.
Within the palace, the Queen Mother of the West entertained her guests. She had the god Kaiming fetch shirou—the flesh of heavenly gods, which granted longevity and extended life by a thousand years when eaten. She also had Qingluan pick the fruit of the Undying Tree, brewed tea from the tender sprouts of the Jade Tree, and sent Lu Wu up the mountain to harvest immortal gold to distribute among everyone.
Xu Ying did not eat his share. Instead, he carefully put away the shirou, flat peaches, jade sprouts, and other gifts, thinking to himself, *Lord Jin hasn't tasted these yet. Eating them would be useless for me anyway, so I might as well save them for him.*
Emperor Shenwu took his leave from the Queen Mother of the West, saying, "Kunlun is no place to linger. Formidable foes may descend from the upper realm at any moment; I must depart soon."
The Queen Mother of the West said, "Fellow Daoist may leave, but I cannot. I am Kunlun."
Reluctant to depart so soon, Xu Ying said, "Emperor Shenwu, go on ahead. Formidable as the upper realm may be, they still have procedures to follow. They will not be able to threaten Kunlun in the immediate future."
Emperor Shenwu looked toward Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang, hesitated briefly, and said, "Having been away from my homeland for six thousand years, I must make a journey to the Taichu World. Once the two of you leave Kunlun, you may seek me out there. I shall never forget the grace of your rescue."
Seeing him off, Xu Ying said, "Emperor Shenwu came to the Yuanshou world from the Cangwu Abyss back then, didn't you? If you wish to return, you can retrace your steps through the Cangwu Abyss..."
Emperor Shenwu interrupted him, shaking his head. "I have never been to the Yuanshou world. I entered the Yuankang world from the Cangwu Abyss, and then entered the Kunlun Ruins from the Yuankang world."
Xu Ying froze, his mind going completely blank.
Yuan Weiyang asked, "Do you mean to say that the Yuankang world also has a Kunlun Ruins?"
Emperor Shenwu nodded. "In the Yuankang world, I encountered heavenly gods bringing apocalypse. I slayed several of them, was driven into the Kunlun Ruins, and fell into an ambush laid by the heavenly gods."
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang exchanged a glance, both sensing that something was fundamentally amiss.
Putting aside his confusion for the moment, Xu Ying said, "When Emperor Shenwu passes through the Netherworld, you should see a Five-Colored Mountain. Upon that mountain is an elder, a junior of yours known as Wu Tianzun, who took charge of the Other Shore of the Martial Dao you left behind after your departure. You may ascend the mountain to meet him."
Emperor Shenwu bowed slightly, turned, and took his leave.
Once he was far away, Yuan Weiyang spoke hastily: "Kunlun is an ancestral land. Could it be that it is not merely the ancestral land of the Yuanshou world, but also the ancestral land of the Yuankang world?"
Xu Ying found it bizarre as well. Suddenly, he recalled how he had once been coerced by Li Xiaoke to return to Shenzhou through the Cangwu Abyss. When the two of them charged upward from different locations within the Cangwu Abyss, they had arrived at completely different worlds!
Back then, Xu Ying had surmised that the Cangwu Abyss was a massive chasm running through various worlds—a chasm connecting the myriad heavens and worlds!
*What if Kunlun is the same?*
Xu Ying blinked. Another memory surfaced: when he had first ascended Yuzhu Peak of Mount Kunlun, Xu Fu had stood atop the immortal mountain Fangzhang, slipping furtively in and out of the Cangwu Abyss at the foot of Yuzhu Peak. Had Xu Fu discovered this as well?
The Cangwu Abyss connected the myriad worlds, and the Cangwu Abyss appeared at the foot of Mount Kunlun. If so, did Kunlun also connect the myriad worlds?
Yuan Weiyang said, "If Kunlun connects the myriad worlds, then it is not merely the ancestral land of Yuanshou and Yuankang."
A wave of astonishment washed over her. "Kunlun is very likely the ancestral land of the myriad heavens and worlds! If Kunlun is the ancestral land of the myriad worlds, then the gods of Kunlun are the gods of the Heavenly Dao! Kunlun itself is the primordial Heavenly Dao world!"
She looked toward Xu Ying.
If Kunlun was the primordial Heavenly Dao world and its gods were the gods of the Heavenly Dao, then... what was the true identity of the Xu clan, who had guarded the shared ancestral land of the myriad heavens and worlds?
Chapter 263