Yun Wuji swallowed it in one gulp. The seed's yellow light was clearly visible from the outside as it moved toward his chest as if drawn by an invisible force. It continued to slide toward his profound veins until it entered his profound vein world.
A dull boom engulfed Yun Wuji's profound vein world and soul sea. Although Yun Wuji had anticipated this, he was still surprised by the commotion coming from his profound veins.
Every time the Heretic God Seed returned to his body, the Heretic God Profound Veins would undergo a drastic change. This wasn't a change, however. It was.. A transformation!
His profound vein world started shaking violently the moment the yellow profound light entered it. It shook like it was about to shatter at any moment.
At the same time, the other four seeds, Fire, Water, Thunder, and Wind, were all shining brightly as well. They were several times brighter than they had ever been.
The dark seed, on the other hand, had opened up a pitch black domain. It looked so black it was as if that section of his profound veins was completely submerged in darkness.
The Heretic God Seeds all occupied a space in his profound vein world, but the dark seed occupied the largest space of them all. After the earth seed entered, the seeds actually started moving toward each other.
The seeds' profound lights were slowly but surely merging with each other as they continued to get closer. Fire merged with water, water merged with thunder, thunder merged with wind...
This continued until their profound lights had blended seamlessly and were cycling in perfect harmony. The dark domain of the dark seed soundlessly approached the seeds; it merged seamlessly into the five profound lights before expanding all of a sudden.
A huge explosion erupted. It was so loud that it dunked his entire consciousness into pure white. When he finally regained his senses, he saw a completely different world. He felt like he was floating in an infinitely black universe where streams of stars of all colors, crimson red, icy blue, dark purple, bluish green, withered yellow, reddish purple, greenish blue, and more, were floating everywhere.
This world was less 'alive' than the one within his main body, yet it was still a magnificent scene to behold. Ordinary profound practitioners, including Xia Qingyue and Yun Wuxin, could never possess such an outrageous world.
The seven Heretic God's Gates sparkled like seven slumbering stars in this strange cosmos. They looked like they were waiting for the moment they were ignited.
(Heretic God's Gates not Seeds.)
"This place is lame, heh." Hei Xiaolian's image appeared beside him, her eyes sweeping over the scene as she spoke dismissively. Of course, that was only her opinion after becoming accustomed to the main body's profound veins.
"So this is what Ni Xuan's profound vein world looked like." Li Suo's voice rang out as her image manifested as well.
Yun Wuji did not answer her. He had no idea what Ni Xuan's profound vein world truly looked like, but he was certain it was nothing like this. Still, he did not bother correcting her. To him, the Heretic God Profound Veins were not nearly as important as his own profound veins.
Still, he had to give respect where it was due. He turned toward a certain direction and spoke, "Senior Ni Xuan, since you are here, why not show yourself?"
He did not refer to himself as a successor or inheritor because he did not consider himself one in the first place. At most, he would call himself the stepfather of Ni Xuan's daughters.
Even so, he was grateful to the man for leaving behind his inheritance. It had helped him quite a bit, and it still continued to do so.
As Yun Wuji's soul voice echoed across his profound vein world, a tall, slender man slowly manifested into view. His silhouette was as fleeting as a bubble, yet Li Suo still managed to recognize him and softly called out, "Ni… Xuan?"
"Well, shit! There's actually another man inside you!" Hei Xiaolian blurted out in shock, though her reason was entirely different from Li Suo's. She burst into uncontrollable laughter, with tears practically leaking from her eyes. "Hahaha! Geh!"
Yun Wuji, Li Suo, and Ni Xuan, "..."
"Is this truly the Evil Infant?" The silhouette of an old man appeared, staring at Hei Xiaolian with a speechless expression as he muttered in disbelief.
"I long discarded that name. Call me the Evil Mommy!" Hei Xiaolian placed her hand on her waist, lifted her chin proudly, puffed out her chest, and declared with arrogance.
"Please ignore her." Yun Wuji waved his hand, and an invisible force wrapped around Hei Xiaolian, preventing her from speaking further. He then turned to Ni Xuan and said, "Greetings, Senior Heretic God, Ni Xuan."
"I am Yun Wuji, Emperor of the Primal Chaos. I was fortunate enough to receive your inheritance a few years ago."
A warm, gentle smile surfaced on the old man's face. "Yun Wuji, you may be mortal, but you are indeed extraordinary. You could not have reunited the seeds and recreated this world otherwise."
Yun Wuji did not reply. He simply stared at him in silence. Now that he was face-to-face with the man who had lost everything in his attempt to change the world for the better, he could not help but feel a trace of pity.
Ni Xuan let his eyes wander over the world again and again. There was no surprise, no yearning, no reminiscence within him. Only the bleak sentiments of a dying old man.
After a long while, he finally asked, "Did Jie Yuan come back yet?"
"Not yet. She will probably return in another thirteen or fourteen years," Yun Wuji replied with a shake of his head.
"Not yet… not yet…" Ni Xuan muttered slowly. He did not question how Yun Wuji could be so certain of the timing. Instead, he simply gazed at the world in a daze once more.
"Why… do you look like this, Ni Xuan?" Li Suo asked, her voice soft and dreamlike.
"Long time no see, Li Suo," Ni Xuan's silhouette smiled faintly as he spoke. "I did not expect you to survive. How have you been?"
Li Suo replied, "I am doing fine, but I am no longer who I was before. For starters, ninety percent of my memory of you is either blurry or non-existent. Still… I'm certain that this isn't how you looked."
"Haha," Ni Xuan chuckled, "Myriad Tribulations is an unimaginable poison. Even as a Creation God, I was pushed to the brink of death and decay."
"I honestly didn't expect to see you again. I regret that I unintentionally showed you my ugly side, and…" Ni Xuan sighed, "I promised Jie Yuan that I would never see you again, but I broke that promise once when I entrusted Jie'er to you. Today is the second time I broke that promise.
Li Suo's silhouette slowly faded until she was completely gone. Only her voice remained as she replied, "My memory is as ephemeral as the clouds. I am simply unable to recall this matter. For that, I sincerely apologize."
Ni Xuan shook his head smilingly. He felt remorse for breaking his promise to Jie Yuan, but he was equally happy to meet an old friend he thought long dead. "Millions of years have passed, and the world has changed beyond recognition. You may no longer be the Creation God of Life you used to be, but you are almost identical to the Li Suo I remember."
"Now that I think about it, Mo E and my obsession with you were wrong. We should never have tried to woo someone as pure and sacred as you. You were, are, the untouchable star that floats above the mortal coil even to this day."
'Is his inner simp acting up again?' Yun Wuji's brows twitched as he listened to his words. As expected of a simp spanning millions of years, even now, it seemed he still held some feeling for his Goddess.
He was not the only one with this thought. Fortunately, Yun Wuji silenced Hei Xiaolian, or she would have rousted Ni Xuan by now.
"The past should remain in the past," Li Suo replied. "I found myself aimless when I awoke from a long slumber, but I soon discovered a new reason to exist. I believe I am far, far luckier than you."
'Yep, she exists for daddy, here,' Yun Wuji thought to himself smugly as he silenced Hei Xiaolian, who was still struggling. For some strange reason, he wanted to complain. Why were both of them thinking the same thing over and over again?
Had his influence on her really run that deep?
"That is wonderful to hear," Ni Xuan responded with a kind smile, "I am blessed to have a friend like you. It's a shame that I am already dead, and so can no longer repay the favor I owe you."
Li Suo touched Yun Wuji with her divine perception, "He is the reason I exist in the world now. Since you are his benefactor, the favor you have done to him is a favor returned to me. Therefore, you don't need to feel any regret."
She was aware of Xiao Lingxi's identity, and as the Ancestral Goddess's husband and the man on a quest to save the world, Li Suo believed that her reason for living was to assist Yun Wuji and support him on behalf of the Ancestral Goddess.
Ni Xuan's silhouette trembled, nearly collapsing. He had spent millions and millions of years simping for Li Suo to no avail, and now she was saying that a mortal man was her reason to continue existing in this world.
The guy stared at his cheap successor with piercing eyes. 'How the fuck had this mortal managed to do what he and Mo E could not?!' In the end, he let out a long sigh. "I am barely a wisp of a soul. I shouldn't concern myself with this."
Yun Wuji felt his soul power weakening. It seemed he would not last much longer. He quickly waved his hand, and the images of two small girls appeared.
He did not need Ni Xuan to explain anything to him, nor did he have any questions. In fact, the reason he wanted to meet him was simply to satisfy his curiosity and to let Hong'er and You'er see their father.
Ni Xuan froze. His silhouette was still fading, but his gaze was fully affixed on the two girls, unwilling to look away for even an instant.
Hong'er examined the curious world around her for a bit before asking, "What is this strange world… and who is this strange old man?"
You'er's reaction was the complete opposite of hers. She looked just as stunned and dazed as Ni Xuan was. It wasn't until a soul imprint that was placed so, so long ago was triggered that she blurted,
"Fa… ther…"
"Huh???" Hong'er abruptly wheeled around and stared at You'er with vermillion eyes.
"..."
Ni Xuan's silhouette was shaking. If a soul could shed tears, he would be beyond words by now.
"Hong'er," Yun Wuji grabbed her and You'er's dainty hands and said solemnly, "his name is Ni Xuan, and he is your father. Your real father."
"Is that so?" Hong'er's expression turned serious for a moment. Then, she broke into a wide smile and greeted Ni Xuan, "Hello, father! I'm Hong'er. Both Sister Shen Xi and sister Li Suo told me that I used to have a very strange name called Wan Hu… Did you name me that because I'm a glutton?"
"..." Ni Xuan was still staring at her and You'er, and shaking uncontrollably. He was still incapable of speech.
"So, I really have a father," Hong'er smiled happily, "And here I thought big brother was the only family I have!"
Compared to the noisy Hong'er, You'er floated to Ni Xuan. She reached out and tried to touch her father's face with her dainty hands, but all she managed was causing a ripple in his still fading image.
Translucent tears slid down her milky white cheeks one after another. For a time, it couldn't be stopped.
Ni Xuan slowly raised his shivering hands to catch his daughter's tears, but… he could only watch as the brightest jewels in the world slipped through his palm in the cruelest manner possible.
"Father!" Hong'er finally flew over and examined Ni Xuan up close. Her eyes were filled with curiosity and a desire to understand. "Why is your hair and beard so long and thick?"
"Sister Yun Wuxin told me that a father and a mother are the closest people one could have in the world."
"Are you going to treat me really well, like big brother? Will you feed me lots of delicious things in the future, too?"
"Big brother said that mother is coming back soon. Am I really going to have a real family?"
Ni Xuan glanced back and forth between the duo before whispering, "I… don't deserve… to be your father. I brought you to this world… but I'm also the one who pushed you into the abyss…"
"Eh? The Abyss? That's not right! Big brother's the one who jumped down here on his own. You're not the one who pushed us down here!" Hong'er corrected.
Yun Wuji watched the three interact, his expression complex. He understood Ni Xuan's pain. After all, he too had a daughter and a son, and he would never want any harm to come to them. Fortunately, he was far luckier than Ni Xuan, able to always be present with his children, watching them grow.
After speaking with his daughter for a short while, Ni Xuan's silhouette finally crumbled, scattering into countless fading stars. The stars flew toward Yun Wuji and melted into his soul sea in an instant. The Heretic God left Yun Wuji with one final message.
"Thank you, Yun Wuji… With this, I no longer have any regrets in this life."
...
Yun Wuji's consciousness returned to the outside world. His surroundings were still deathly silent, but they felt different from before.
The ground where he had been sitting had collapsed into a massive pit. In fact, the pit was so enormous that it stretched at least ten kilometers in radius.
Strangely, the bottom of the pit was as smooth and flat as a mirror.
Fortunately, he had set up a concealment formation beforehand. Otherwise, it might have alerted others.
Raising his hand, a wisp of profound energy escaped from his index finger. "Finally… Divine Master Realm."
His Heretic God body had already been at the peak of the Divine Sovereign Realm for over three hundred years, unable to break through. Now, with the seal that had been blocking him finally lifted, he had at last managed to break through. The process happened naturally and smoothly, so much so that he hardly even sensed it.
"I'll deal with that memory fragment later," Yun Wuji said, closing his eyes once again. "First, let's refine the Qilin God's Divine Power before thinking about anything else."
...
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