Dazed.
This was Wu Wang's first reaction after opening his eyes.
In front of him, there was no longer the figure of his mother, just the gentle voice circling beside his ear:
"Ba'er, come to my dwelling."
Looking up, the big hole torn in the tent's ceiling, the lingering dense starlight, as well as the clear fear in his heart, and his slightly trembling body, all confirmed that the scene just now was not an illusion. The starry sky, the Temple, Mother.
"Young Master," a guard stepped forward to remind, "Lady Cang Xue just appeared and asked you to go to her dwelling."
WHOOSH—
A gust of wind rushed over his head. Wu Wang looked up, still seeing the stars all over the sky, but they felt somewhat illusory.
"How long have I been sitting?"
A guard hurriedly replied, "Young Master, it has been three days."
Lin Suqing didn't know why she asked such a question, whispering softly, "Are you hungry?"
"Although I have not refrained from grains, I have cultivated the Praying Star Technique and am protected by the power of the Stars."
Wu Wang stretched lazily, as if nothing had happened just now, and leisurely said, "Prepare the carriage, whip up something casual to eat on the go, and set off for my mother's dwelling immediately."
"Yes!"
All the guards responded in unison, and there was a commotion around the tent.
At this moment, Lin Suqing was still somewhat stupefied, apparently not having recovered from the shock of the situation. By the time her spiritual mind stabilized, she was already haphazardly pulled onto Wu Wang's carriage and sped towards the depths of the grasslands, heading towards the two dazzling rivers of stars in the sky.
「A moment later...」
Lin Suqing looked at the stove in front of her, and the roasting Spirit Beast on top of the stove, and felt a slight headache.
This Young Master's life was truly too extravagant.
The two Spirit Beasts on the grill—three tails, four heads, six legs—were the kind she had only seen in descriptions of exotic creatures: the Fairy Immortal Happy Fish.
Oh, it was a snowy afternoon.
She had found her Junior Brother with a letter in hand, speaking in the most tender voice:
'Junior Brother, look, there is such a strange Spirit Fish in the Northern Wilderness, with three tails, four heads, and six legs. But its meat is delicious, and eating it frees one from worries.'
'Senior Sister, if I ever catch such a Spirit Beast, I will keep it in the Lotus Pond outside your door.'
'OHOHOHO, Junior Brother, are you implying something to me...'
'I still have to meditate and cultivate. Senior Sister, I take my leave now, see you next year.'
Heh, my Junior Brother's aloofness from me must have started back then, huh.
I hadn't even realized it at the time.
"What are you thinking about?" Wu Wang casually asked.
Lin Suqing sighed ethereally, "The legend of this fish is so graceful; eating it is said to ease worries and make one forget sorrows. Yet, to think it would end up being casually roasted by you."
Wu Wang chuckled. To him it was just everyday food. When he first saw this thing, he also thought it was a genetic mutation and dared not eat it. Later, he too found himself unable to resist its deliciousness.
He said softly, "If the first person who found this fish didn't try to eat it, how would there be a legend of it easing worries? Legends themselves don't have any emotional color; it's just that those who interpret them think they are graceful. Come, have a taste. I've been eating this for seven or eight years. Although it looks odd, it's not poisonous."
Lin Suqing hummed, "I have long abstained from grains, and besides... this Spirit Beast carries my precious memories. I naturally won't eat it."
Wu Wang said with a smile, "Just try a bite. I won't force you to have more."
"Well... okay then."
Lin Suqing frowned as she pinched the leg of the Spirit Beast Wu Wang passed to her between her fingers, carefully brought it to her lips, and took a bite with her eyes closed.
「A little while later.」
The female Cultivator, dressed in a white Confucian fairy robe and hair adorned with cloud bun ornaments, contentedly patted her slightly bulging belly, her eyes filled with guilt towards the small pile of bones in front of her.
"I didn't forget my troubles though."
"Did you forget them while eating?"
Wu Wang grinned, stretching out his legs and leaning against the edge of the carriage. He watched the East Sky breaking dawn and the snow mountain ahead that seemed not too far away, appearing a bit lost in thought.
Only then did Lin Suqing dare to ask, "Young Master, weren't we going to see your mother? Why did you bring me along?"
"My mother lives on the Peak of the Snow Mountain. Bringing you along is to explain the source of the Human Domain's cultivation methods, and if necessary, to let you take the blame," Wu Wang tilted his chin towards the snow mountain, speaking naturally. "Usually, it's only when my father returns to the Royal Court that my mother goes back to reunite."
"So that's how it is."
Eh? Something seemed off.
"That..."
Lin Suqing glanced at the giant wolves guarding the sides of the carriage, her lips twitching. Voice transmitting through Spiritual Sense, her eyes as wide as they could be and gleaming like a thief's, she asked, "Is your mother the legendary true ruler outside the Human Domain—an Innate Deity?"
"Not at all."
Wu Wang's answer was very decisive. After thinking for a moment, he explained, "My mother is one of the current Seven Day Ritualists of the Northern Wilderness, as well as the protector of our Bear Hug Clan. She has the same lifespan as ordinary people. How could she be a Divine Spirit? This matter will become clear when you meet her."
Lin Suqing nodded obediently, her expression highlighting the satisfaction of a gossip-loving girl after getting her hands on some juicy gossip.
After a short while, she couldn't help but speak up again, "Young Master, is your name Xiong Ba? I heard that Fairy Immortal call you Ba'er just now, and everyone in your clan has the surname Xiong."
"Xiong Ba is the name given by my parents; it's too overtly domineering," Wu Wang looked at the palm of his hand, speaking indifferently. "I also have a chosen Daoist name, Wu Wang. You can just call me by this name."
"Wu Wang?"
Lin Suqing twirled a slender finger around her hair. "That's fairly common too. Xiong Ba has more impact."
"I'm not one to use Three Origins Convergence Qi."
"Huh?"
Wu Wang lifted his hand slightly, signaling that he didn't want to elaborate further, as he quietly lost himself in thought looking at the snow mountain.
His doubts and questions were hundreds of times greater than Lin Suqing's.
How could his own mother stand in the great hall of the Star Sky God?
Lin Suqing had little experience, but Wu Wang, who had spent seven or eight years scouring various texts in the Northern Wilderness, was deeply aware of the irregularities. As the young Clan Leader of the second most powerful clan in the Northern Wilderness, and the youngest Grand Star Ritual in nearly ten thousand years, he had access to all aspects of the Northern Wilderness's secrets.
According to ancient rumors in the Northern Wilderness, the Star Sky God had long since fallen. The end of the ancient Great Wilderness was the reshuffling of the powers of the Innate Deities; only a tiny handful of the strongest Innate Deities survived and established a new order between heaven and earth.
But at that time, the Divine Light in his mother's eyes...
Unease.
For the first time in his second life in the Great Wilderness, Wu Wang felt unease from the bottom of his heart.
「...」
Their party had just entered the range of the Big Snow Mountain when two pure white snow eagles descended from the sky. Using their bodies with a wingspan of thirty feet, they carried Wu Wang and Lin Suqing at high speed toward the Peak of the Snow Mountain.
The guards dutifully stayed by the giant wolf carriage, guarding the main entrance to and from the snow mountain.
The territory of his own clan was his to command as he pleased.
At the Peak of the Snow Mountain, there was a special area where auroras gathered regardless of day or night; the starlight blocked out the winds and snow, as well as the radiance of the sun and moon.
It wasn't Wu Wang's first time visiting his mother's residence, but his feelings this time were the most complex.
When he was six, his mother left the Royal Court and moved to live at the Peak of the Snow Mountain. At that time, Wu Wang was told his mother needed to focus on comprehending the deeper mysteries of the Praying Star Technique, undisturbed by others. Previously, he would see his mother only once every six months, and each visit was quite brief.
Now it seemed, things were definitely not simple.
His mother was now over two hundred years old, and in the twelve years since giving birth to him, her appearance had not changed at all. The Praying Star Technique did not extend lifespan, and even the most powerful Sun Ritual had only five to six hundred years of lifespan; his grandmother, a Moon Ritual, was already immensely aged...
SCREECH—
The loud call tore through the tranquil starry sky as the two snow eagles landed smoothly. Lin Suqing nervously mobilized her Mana.
A small building stood quietly under the starry sky.
The figure stood in front of the building. Her Divine Light had already been withdrawn, but she still looked dignified, holy, and exuded a majesty that was difficult to articulate.
Lin Suqing's spiritual mind trembled slightly, not daring to look up directly at this presence.
"Mother!"
Wu Wang jumped off the snow eagle, surrounded by a faint starlight. He floated dozens of yards midair, asking with as natural a tone as he could manage, "Have you missed your child?"
The female priest in front of the building revealed a slightly warm smile, her dress of some unknown material fluttering slightly. Then she sighed softly, chiding with a gentle tone, "How did you find the path to the Star God's Temple? That was indeed too dangerous. Had your mother not held back in time, you might have been... you truly scared me."
It was the familiar voice, the familiar intonation.
The unease in Wu Wang's heart quietly dissipated, and he chuckled as he drew closer.
It was a pity he was already a mature young man and could no longer act coy and petulant.
Behind him, Lin Suqing imitated him, gracefully dropping from the back of the snow eagle. Her skirt fluttered with a slightly ethereal charm, but unfortunately, her radiance was completely overshadowed by the Goddess-like figure in front of her.
"Mother, let me introduce her to you! This is my new tutor, a formidable Cultivator from the Human Domain, with a cultivation level as high as the mid-stage of Returning Yuan."
Lin Suqing immediately felt awkward, raising her hand to her forehead, wishing she could find a crevice to crawl into.
She stammered out, "Junior Lin Suqing, greets... greets..."
Wu Wang said, "My mother's Sun Ritual title in the Northern Wilderness is 'Snow of Cang Lings,' and she is usually addressed as Lady Cang Xue."
"Greetings to Lady Cang Xue!"
"There's no need for such formality," Cang Xue replied softly, looking Lin Suqing up and down a few times. "The wind and snow are severe here; let's talk inside."
Lin Suqing hurriedly said, "No need, no need, I can stand outside just fine."
Wu Wang said, "Mother, she has cultivation and isn't afraid of the wind and snow. Let her stay outside."
"Very well."
CLANG!
The wooden door of the small building instantly closed, leaving Lin Suqing standing amidst the wind and snow in disarray.
She was just being polite... Hmph, this bratty Young Master, having her come all this way just to stand as punishment? Then what was the point of traveling thousands of miles to be here?
Rolling her eyes slightly, Lin Suqing observed the diffuse starlight around her, her thoughts becoming rather complex.
The Young Master's mother couldn't really be one of those Innate Deities from the rumors, could she? That would be too frightening.
Soon, Lin Suqing gave up on thinking and just stood there stiffly, waiting for the young man to return.
「Inside the small building, however, it was a different scene entirely.」
As soon as Wu Wang entered, before he had a chance to observe the simple arrangements around the cabin, his mother gently clapped her hands. Starlight like dust exploded from beneath their feet.
Moments later, the area transformed into a starry space, void of walls, doors, and windows, with only a small wooden table and two close-lying cushions.
Melodious music floated to his ears, the starry sky filled with enchanting mysteries.
Cang Xue gracefully kneeled on one cushion, lightly patting the spot next to her while speaking softly, "Come here and let Mother have a look. Have you grown taller recently?"
Wu Wang scratched his head and scooted over, maintaining a distance of three inches.
His strange illness meant that even his mother's touch would make him faint.
Suddenly, he found it hard to find something to talk about, as if he were back in the awkward phase of his adolescence from his previous life. Moreover, Wu Wang's heart couldn't help but recall the image of his mother's eyes shrouded in Divine Light, her body radiating a frigid majesty.
"Mother, are you... a Star God?"