The Phoenix Clan was an ancient and immensely powerful race in the Upper Realm, shrouded in mystery. It was said that they were descendants of the original Phoenix ancestor, but they had long shed their phoenix forms and fully transformed into human shapes.
After their transformation, they not only retained the inherent abilities and talents of the phoenix but also gained the innate Dao bodies of the human race, making them truly extraordinary in both talent and bloodline.
In the hearts of the Phoenix Clan, their bloodline was the most noble in all of heaven and earth, with no other race being able to match it.
Thus, they valued the purity of their bloodline above all else. Marriages within the clan were strictly enforced, and no other race was ever allowed to taint their sacred lineage.
However, several decades ago, something happened within the Phoenix Clan that was considered the ultimate shame and humiliation. The Holy Maiden of the Phoenix Clan had an illicit relationship with a man from the lower realm and even gave birth to a child!
Within the ancestral land, the sacred artifact that protected the purity of their bloodline let out a mournful cry, signaling that the Phoenix bloodline had been tainted by an outsider.
This was something the Phoenix Clan could never tolerate. They immediately sent people to trace the bloodline in the lower realm to capture the Holy Maiden and, in the process, eradicate both the man who defiled her and the illegitimate child.
But before they could descend to the lower realm, the Holy Maiden returned on her own and concealed the child's bloodline.
Without the trace of the child's bloodline, the Phoenix Clan was unable to find him.
The Phoenix Clan's upper echelons were furious.
The Holy Maiden endured unimaginable torture, her soul nearly being scattered.
But even under the relentless pressure of her family, she refused to speak, determined to protect her husband and child, even if it meant her death.
Eventually, the Holy Maiden's brother, who was also the current clan leader of the Phoenix Clan, intervened and pleaded on her behalf, sparing her life.
However, although she was spared from death, her punishment was severe. She was imprisoned in the forbidden grounds of the Phoenix Clan, never to see the light of day again.
And today...
Within the dark, forsaken depths of the forbidden grounds, someone arrived.
He was a tall and imposing figure, radiating a fiery aura of authority. His mere presence caused the very space around him to distort from the terrifying heat.
"Sister, I've come again," he said calmly.
"Hmm," responded a woman in a white dress who was seated on a large boulder ahead, her back turned to him. Her voice was indifferent, almost cold.
The imposing man wasn't angered by her attitude. He spoke evenly, "Do you know why I've come this time?"
"Heh, have you finally decided to execute me?" the woman in white replied with a mocking smile, showing no fear of death, as if life and death were trivial matters.
The man was silent for a moment, his expression complicated. This was his dear sister, yet now, she treated him with such hostility.
After a brief pause, he finally said, "We've found your husband and child."
Whoosh!
The woman in the white dress visibly trembled.
The man continued, "You would never have guessed, but the lower realm they're from is none other than Xuanhuang Heaven, the realm that fell so long ago. And now, Xuanhuang Heaven has returned to the Upper Realm, bringing them along."
"That's impossible!" the woman shouted in disbelief, her beautiful but pallid face turning towards him.
"It's true," he said, unperturbed. "I sent people to track down the faint trace of the aura you left behind all those years ago. They found the realm, and your child bears our clan's bloodline. He even carries the jade pendant you left behind."
"How could this...?" The woman's eyes grew vacant, her face filled with despair.
The man went on:
"What surprised me the most is that your son has become the new Heaven Lord of Xuanhuang. To think, with his mere cultivation of the Heavenly God realm, he has gained the recognition of Xuanhuang Heaven. Such fortune is something even I can only marvel at."
"Heaven Lord of Xuanhuang?!" the woman exclaimed, a spark of hope suddenly igniting in her eyes. "Does that mean the clan will acknowledge him?"
In her mind, regardless of the Phoenix Clan's pride, the status of the Heaven Lord of Xuanhuang should surely be worthy of their bloodline.
If her son had become the Heaven Lord, then he should be able to return to the clan and be accepted, allowing her to reconcile with her family.
This could be a happy ending for all.
However, the man shook his head and sighed, "No. Not only will we not acknowledge him, but... we must kill him."
"Why?!" the woman cried out.
The man paused before replying:
"If he had become the Heaven Lord of one of the other eight Heavens, our clan would naturally accept him. He could even become the next clan leader. But, unfortunately, he is the Heaven Lord of Xuanhuang Heaven."
"You should know a bit about the circumstances surrounding Xuanhuang Heaven's downfall. The power behind it is too terrifying. We must sever all ties with Xuanhuang Heaven, or else... our entire clan could face extinction."
"And with the Heaven Lord of Xuanhuang bearing our clan's bloodline, that connection cannot be severed unless we kill him. Only by doing so can we ensure the safety of the Phoenix Clan."
He sighed again and softly added:
"You must understand, even if we don't kill him, that terrifying force will not spare him. And once they discover that he has our clan's bloodline, we won't be able to escape the consequences."
The woman in white was utterly devastated.
If it were simply a matter of her bloodline flowing outside the clan, there might have been a chance for a resolution. But when it involved the survival of the entire clan, there was no room for compromise.
Her son had to die.
Even if given a choice, she could never risk the survival of her family to save her son. This was a matter of the greater good.
"Why... why?!" she screamed to the heavens like a maddened lioness before lowering her head, tears streaming down her face.
After a long while...
She lifted her head again, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve. Her voice trembling, she asked her brother, "Can... can I see him? Just once?"
The man looked at his sister with a pained expression, feeling a pang of sympathy. He knew his sister had accepted the inevitable fate of her child, despite her deep love for him.
This was the child she had been willing to die for, yet for the sake of their clan's survival, she had no choice but to let him go.
Who could understand such pain?
He took a deep breath, gazing into her eyes, and solemnly nodded. "I can use the secret art of 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon' to project his image from Xuanhuang Heaven and let you see him."
"Thank you, brother," the woman in white whispered after a moment of silence, biting her lip.
"Sigh..."
The man sighed heavily before stomping his foot, unleashing a terrifying aura that surged around him.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
At that moment, the entire forbidden area trembled, the skies above roiled, and the sound of a thousand thunders echoed across the heavens, almost tearing the sky apart.
"By my Dao, connecting to Xuanhuang. If there is any karma, may it all fall upon me! Mirror Flower, Water Moon, open!"
Boom!
An unseen, awe-inspiring force erupted from his body, piercing through the sky and reaching all the way to the distant Xuanhuang Heaven.
At the same time...
Qin Zi, who was meditating in his cave, suddenly felt an overwhelming power descend upon him, enveloping him completely.
"This...!"
He was terrified. He didn't even have time to call for his father before he felt his consciousness being wrenched from his body, caught in a swirling vortex.