Amidst the swirling, metallic fog, a slender figure emerged from the center of the Wight Wolf's obliterated remains.
It was Feng Luotian.
He stood upright, his small frame drenched in blood. In his arms, he held Mei Yue'er—equally soaked in blood, her breathing shallow but steady as he cradled her against his chest.
As consciousness returned, memories from another life flooded his mind—the life of the Blue-Eyed Phoenix Young Emperor.
As the fragments of his existence locked into place, he recalled:
The Conqueror: The man who, alongside his father, the Demon God Emperor, had conquered countless planets within the vast cultivation universe.
The Record-Breaker: The life of a man who had ascended to the Divine Immortal Realm at the youngest age in recorded history.
The Sage: The knowledge he had acquired as head researcher of Coeus—the Great Library that archived every facet of cultivation in the cosmos.
The Divine Archer: The phantom weight of his weapon, recalling how a single arrow from his hand had once extinguished millions of lives, striking absolute terror into the hearts of his enemies.
Yet, intertwined with this power was the crushing weight of the man who had lost everything. He bore the scars of a sovereign who had watched his world burn and was forced to flee into another reality—a desperate gamble to prepare for the inevitable return of the Calamity.
As the memories of his two lives came together, Feng Luotian began to work out where and when he was.
"This year is Year 145 of a Phoenix Constellation Cycle," he realized, his mind racing through the archives of history. The ritual had not just worked; it had been precise. A flicker of cold determination ignited within him. If the timeline held true, he now possessed the most valuable weapon in the universe: Time and Knowledge. He would have a window to prepare before the first raid of the coming calamity.
"This is Divine Bird City… Yue'er's hometown."
His gaze softened as he looked down at the girl in his arms.
"Yue'er."
He spoke her name with love and grief. In his previous life, he had not grown up here; he had arrived much later as a man, falling for her only after he had carved a name for himself across the stars. They had eventually married, finding centuries of bliss on a peaceful world, tucked away from the reach of the universe's power struggles.
But peace always had its time limit. When the drums of war began to beat and innumerable innocent lives were threatened, Luotian left her side to join the front lines, believing their sanctuary remained secure.
Not long after his departure, word reached Yue'er that her own homeworld was under invasion. Driven by her own "will to protect," she returned to her people to stand against the tide.
Luotian eventually learned of the threat and raced back to support her, but he arrived to find the sky already choked with ash. He found her lifeless among the ruins—a sight that would haunt him for an eternity. Her death was discovered alongside a culprit whose very identity shattered his understanding of justice.
That grief and confusion became a shackle, a spiritual wound that stunted his growth and haunted his soul for decades. It remained a burden he carried until he finally decided to put an end to it all, only to fail in that final endeavor as well.
But this life was different.
By sending him directly to Divine Bird City as a child, his father had granted him a miracle: a chance to meet her centuries earlier. It was a silent mandate from a father to a son: "If you don't want to lose her again, protect her. I have brought you to her sooner—what happens next is up to you."
Luotian felt deeply grateful to his father for giving him this chance.
As his internal landscape settled, another name surfaced from the depths of his memory.
"My sworn brother, Sun Wuji."
A pang of curiosity struck him. Given Wuji's raw talent and iron resolve, why had there been no mention of his name in Luotian's past life? Had he fallen early, a nameless casualty of the coming storms?
A flicker of steel entered Luotian's gaze. Whatever the reason, now that he is my brother, I will not allow the heavens to claim him again.
Then, his expression darkened.
"And Ying Lizhua."
"I never would have expected that the future leader of the Crimson Zephyr Assassin Organization was born here… let alone that he would become my sworn brother in this lifetime."
"And what is this 'God's Crippled Son'?" Luotian chuckled softly to himself, the sheer absurdity of the title ringing through the quiet forest. "Hahaha. Is it truly such a sin to be a commoner? I swear, as a man of the people, I shall contribute more to this world than those so-called cultivators who have bartered their souls for shadows."
But the laughter faded as a more practical question arose.
"But why am I crippled?"
Confused, he began to examine his body. Closing his eyes, Luotian turned his awareness inward and examined the deepest layers of his Soul Core. His knowledge from his past life made the diagnosis swift. He recognized the cause, and a solution was already taking shape in his mind.
His lips curled into a confident smile. "Father… you've done it again. Thank you. This… this is the ultimate game-changer. This is how we rewrite the fate of the world."
Determination surged through him, but one shadow remained, cold and persistent.
"Hmm? Why no recollection of Mother?" His brow furrowed as he scoured every corner of his current memories, only to be met with an empty, aching void. "Why is there no information? Not even a name?"
The question hung in the air like a lingering specter, refusing to be dismissed.
"Never mind it for now," he muttered, shaking off the chill. "The truth will out. I'll seek the answers when the opportunity arises."
His thoughts shifted to his father's recent actions.
"Father's imperial decree? The safest city on the planet?" A dry, cynical laugh escaped his lips, echoing through the blood-stained clearing. "Hahaha… no shit! This isn't making things easier for me at all. If anything, it's the exact opposite. You've dropped me into a nest of vipers, and now I have to clean up the mess you've left behind."
He paused, a flicker of understanding crossing his features as he weighed the sheer scale of the Demon God Emperor's gambit. "But I suppose this is your way of tempering me, isn't it? Making me face the trouble here before anything worse arrives."
A realization struck him then, chilling and profound. His father had stepped into the ritual only minutes before him in their previous realm—so how had he arrived in this world significantly earlier to set all of this in motion?
It had to be a temporal shift in the ritual's effect. The transition between planes must have distorted their arrival times, casting his father into this world years, or perhaps decades, ahead of him.
Luotian's smile returned, broader than before. His body was still fragile, but the helplessness that had followed him for years was gone. He finally knew how to move forward.
"Alright then," he whispered, his voice vibrating with the weight of five centuries of experience. "The opportunity has finally presented itself."
He clenched his fists, the knuckles turning white as he felt the faint, dormant pulse of his true potential. "I will get stronger. I will become a wall that even the heavens cannot scale. I will protect everyone in this world…"
His gaze snapped toward the horizon, piercing through the trees and the sky as though staring directly into the face of an unseen, ancient enemy.
"…from THEM!!"
The memories that had flooded Luotian's mind over a single minute finally settled. He slowly opened his eyes, clearheaded and certain of what he needed to do.
Looking down at the girl in his arms, his expression softened. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, a genuine warmth flickered in his gaze.
"Mhm…" Luotian let out a sharp, ragged groan as the adrenaline began to fade, allowing agony to claw through his nerves. Though they had escaped the Wight Wolf's gullet, the evidence of the beast's ferocity was etched into his flesh—seven deep, bloody punctures marred his torso, weeping crimson onto his shredded clothes.
Kneeling with agonizing care, he laid Yue'er upon the earth. He moved carefully, taking care not to hurt her.
Overhead, the colossal magic array that had dominated the heavens began to retract. Its dazzling, geometric light bled away into the atmosphere until it vanished completely, leaving the forest plunged into a heavy, uneasy quiet.
Then, with a dull thud, a small, round grey stone dropped from the empty air, landing in the dirt beside him.
"The Eternal Dao Lotus Seed!" he breathed, his astonishment breaking through his stoic mask.
His hand reached out instinctively, his fingers brushing the cool, lifeless surface of the artifact. The once-brilliant treasure, which had radiated a universe-shaking energy during the ritual, was now dull and inert. Its lack of color showed how thoroughly its power had been depleted.
Luotian frowned as he inspected it. Deep within the stone, he sensed a faint ripple.
"Hmm? Is there still a spark of life within?" he muttered, a glint of hope and surprise flickering in his azure eyes.
But before he could probe the stone further—
Boom.
A gentle pulse erupted from the seed, releasing a singular wisp of radiant light. This ripple of energy—the seed's final, desperate remnant of life force—burst forth and hovered in the stagnant air.
Luotian watched in stunned silence. The wisp drifted toward him, pulsating momentarily before piercing through his chest with lightning speed. He froze, bracing for impact, only to watch in disbelief as the light surged through and exited his body, streaking toward the unconscious Yue'er. The phenomenon repeated, the light weaving through her frame before shooting off into the dense fog where Wuji lay broken.
Its immediate purpose fulfilled, the wisp did not fade. Instead, it let out a sharp, melodic hum and banked sharply upward. It suddenly accelerated, tearing through the canopy in a white streak that vanished over the horizon too quickly for his eyes to follow.
Moments later, the miracle began.
Thin trails of smoke curled from Luotian's torso as the deep, jagged punctures began to knit themselves shut. Flesh wove back together with unnatural speed; his deathly pallor receded, replaced by the flush of returning health.
Yue'er underwent the same divine restoration. Her torn skin smoothed over and the stains of battle faded, leaving her features untouched and radiant once more.
When the process concluded, Luotian reached out to gently brush the remaining traces of blood from her cheeks. His touch was tender as he wiped her face clean. Watching her breathe peacefully, he smiled.
Turning his attention back to the grey stone, he murmured, "As expected of a Supreme Treasure. Even a mere wisp of its residual energy can mend such catastrophic damage."
His gaze lingered on the now-inert seed, a flicker of iron determination gleaming in his eyes. "That light… I can't shake the feeling that this seed is not dead. If fate permits, I will find the means to resurrect it."
Slipping the seed into his pocket, he turned toward the Wight Wolf's remains. Without hesitation, he reached into the gore and retrieved the Monster Core—a glimmering gem pulsating with a raw power.
Tucking the prize away, Luotian lifted Yue'er back into his arms. Her steady heartbeat was a rhythmic reassurance against his chest. With resolute steps, he began to stride through the lingering fog, his focus locked on the spot where Sun Wuji waited.
For now, he had his siblings to protect. And in this life, nothing would stop him.