In the courtyard, colors shifted and swirled.
Qi Yuan squatted on the ground, intently watching the ants.
They marched out in orderly columns and returned laden with breadcrumbs.
A figure in a bridal gown stood silently within Qi Yuan's shadow, utterly still.
"Cousin, are ants really that interesting to watch?"
A tender, childish voice called out.
A plump young woman walked over, carrying a swollen belly. Her gaze as she looked at Qi Yuan was particularly complicated.
"It depends... on who is watching the ants with you." Qi Yuan did not look up, continuing to observe the ants, learning the story behind every single one.
"Xiao Fang, don't learn from your cousin. In the future, you're going into business," the young woman said, stroking her belly.
From inside her swollen belly came that same tender voice, laced with displeasure and defiance.
"I don't want to do business! I want to cultivate!"
Evidently, the one speaking with Qi Yuan just now had been... the embryo within the woman's womb.
Indeed, children in this Ancestral Land developed remarkably fast; even embryos had consciousness and could speak.
Thus, Qi Yuan—who at three years old was still watching ants, playing in the mud, and playing house with a bridal gown—appeared exceptionally eccentric.
"Fine, cultivate then. In the future, my Fang'er will surely become a god and an ancestor," the young woman said with a delighted laugh.
About the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.
The embryonic Qi Fang's eyelids twitched. *Strange. In this timeline, this cousin of mine should have died prematurely... How is he still alive?*
Qi Fang was a reborn being who had returned to his infancy.
In the future, he would emerge from the Tianlong Firefly Constellation and become an Ancestor-level existence.
He had been merely a single step away from a true First Ancestor.
However, before he could break through to First Ancestor, a terrifying disaster struck.
All living beings were annihilated in an instant.
This annihilation was in no way inferior to Returning to Nothingness—or rather, it was another manifestation of Returning to Nothingness.
In that instant, all the First Ancestors sacrificed themselves, reversing the timeline in a flash, inverting cause and effect to wind back the mortal realm.
And because of that, he had been reborn.
At the same time, he knew that perhaps... this was not the worldline's first restart.
Yet each time, it ended in spirit annihilation.
*Could it be that another Ancestor-level powerhouse nearby altered the timeline, indirectly affecting my cousin Qi Yuan and allowing him to survive?*
*Even if he survived, though, his development is terribly slow. He's already three years old, yet he's still watching ants.*
*I heard Uncle fed him lots of nutrient fluid, but it still had no effect.*
...
"Xiao Jia, this is a Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid. Before the Divine Wood Universe was opened, there was one blooming amidst chaos.
"Unfortunately, back then you had no consciousness. You couldn't see how it bloomed, nor could you smell its fragrance... Can you... see it now?"
Below the cliff, a magma-like fluid rolled and surged, and a Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid grew at an angle from the rock.
Its stem resembled crushed fine jade, puffing green vapor at every joint; its leaves were long and narrow like swords, with seal script meandering along their veins.
When in bloom, its petals displayed gold-rimmed edges washed with purple around pink pistils, layered tightly, cradling a golden tassel within.
"The orchid... smells nice..."
Her voice was ethereal and halting.
Qi Yuan could almost see Xiao Jia closing her eyes, breathing deeply of the air in this world.
Qi Yuan held Xiao Jia's chilly little hand, a look of pleasant surprise gracing his face. "You can smell the fragrance?"
"Mm..."
Xiao Jia nodded shyly, leaning her body a little closer into Qi Yuan's embrace.
She seemed to want to remember Qi Yuan's scent.
"It looks like it won't be long before I can take you to watch movies, go to amusement parks, visit the Milky Way, visit black holes..." Qi Yuan said.
He needed to travel this world thoroughly, becoming familiar with every layer of earth, every living creature.
As his familiarity grew, and as Samsara reached perfection, Xiao Jia would truly become normal, returning from nonexistence into being.
The magma-like fluid surged upward like ten thousand blossoms bursting into bloom, or molten iron scattering sparks.
"Br-bridal... chamber..."
Xiao Jia stammered, looking slightly anxious.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan chuckled. "Hey, what on earth are you thinking about!"
He held Xiao Jia, just as they had once watched the great desert from the walls of the City of No Return, or dug a hole to sleep in the earth.
The passing years were already wonderful.
Yet at that moment, a voice broke the serenity.
"Human... could you trade this Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid to me?"
Qi Yuan looked over to see a figure faintly visible in the mist not far away.
The figure watched him warily, eyes sweeping over the Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid with a hint of longing.
Being called "Human" came as a slight surprise to Qi Yuan.
"Ming, you're really spoiling the mood here."
The creature concealed in the mist belonged to the Ming clan.
Since the being called him "Human," he called the being "Ming."
Just like a cat calling someone "Human," and a human calling the cat "Cat."
"But I really need this Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid. Our clan chief is injured and needs it to heal," the Ming clan youth said. "Please, help me. I can trade for it."
The Ming clan was naturally kind-hearted.
Otherwise, had it been another clan in this situation, they likely would have launched an underhanded attack against Qi Yuan directly.
"Also, is there something wrong with your companion's body? She lacks the five senses—I'm willing to give my five senses to her!" the Ming clan youth said.
Qi Yuan looked at the Ming youth and smiled faintly. "I appreciate the thought."
The youth's five senses were indeed precious, comparable to certain ultimate principle treasures.
However, bestowing them upon Xiao Jia was not something they could achieve.
"Is that not enough?" The Ming youth was disheartened and anxious.
For a moment, he did not know what to do.
Then, Qi Yuan's crisp voice caught him quite off guard.
"How about this? You won't need the Golden Light Jade Dendrobium Orchid—I'll step in and help cure your clan chief instead. What do you say?" Qi Yuan smiled.
That flower carried a portion of Xiao Jia's memories.
Damaging it would, to some degree, delay the reconstruction of Xiao Jia's true spirit.
Moreover, the flower itself possessed a hazy consciousness of its own.
"This..." The Ming youth was somewhat dumbfounded.
This man couldn't even cure his own companion, yet he wanted to heal their clan chief?
He was rather skeptical of Qi Yuan's medical skills.
"All right." After wrestling with himself for a long while, the Ming youth finally nodded.
"Come on, Xiao Jia. Let's go take a look at the Ming clan. We're checking off another new place."
Taking Xiao Jia's chilly little hand, Qi Yuan vanished alongside the Ming youth.
Ancient texts would later record:
*A youth of the Ming sought medicine and found it possessed by an extraordinary person. Desiring to trade for it, the extraordinary person said, "Why rely on herbs? I can heal him myself."
Guided back to the clan grounds, the crowd erupted in uproar. Yet they watched as the extraordinary person tapped Elder Ming's Lingtai, and the turbid miasma dissipated entirely. His art concluded, he drifted away with the bridal-gowned maiden, leaving the Ming awe-struck.*
Chapter 637