With the affairs of the Extreme North concluded, Yu Yuanchen did not linger. He was not a father who enjoyed prying into the private lives of his children; since the knot between Yunting and the Snow Empress had been untied and their bond renewed, the path ahead was one they should walk themselves. With a slight movement of his figure, he returned silently to his home in Purple Blazing Dragon City on the Sun Moon Continent.
Inside the residence, Ye Zhilan and Yu Yunyao sat opposite each other, a lingering trace of worry etched between their brows. Yu Yunting had left a letter saying he was going to find Xue'er, but half a month had passed without a word. Even knowing his high cultivation level, as his mother and sister, how could they not be worried?
"Father!" "Brother Yuanchen!"
Seeing Yu Yuanchen return, the mother and daughter immediately beamed and hurried to greet him.
"No need to worry." Yu Yuanchen smiled slightly, reassuring them, "Yunting is fine. He is currently in the Extreme North, with the Snow Empress."
"The Snow Empress?" Ye Zhilan was slightly startled. She naturally remembered that Lord of the Extreme North. When she and Yu Yuanchen had traveled the continent years ago, she had met that peerless, cold-tempered Snow Woman several times. They had left good impressions on each other and could even be considered to have some friendship.
Thinking of the strangely familiar Xue'er she had seen the first time, could it be... "Brother Yuanchen, the Snow Empress you speak of, could she be the 'Xue'er' Yunting mentioned?"
"It is her." Yu Yuanchen nodded and briefly recounted the general situation, omitting the details of the intense conflict. He only stated that the Snow Empress had transformed and lost her memory for reasons, met Yunting, and now that her memories had returned, the two were in love and currently handling some follow-up matters in the Extreme North.
After listening, Ye Zhilan's expression became somewhat strange. After a long while, she sighed, her tone complex: "It is actually Sister Snow Empress... This... is truly an unexpected twist of fate." She recalled the days when she and the Snow Empress had spoken as equals, and then thought of the fact that the other party was now with her own son... The generational gap was truly a bit messy.
However, she was not a pedantic person and soon smiled with relief: "Forget it, children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. As long as Yunting likes her and Sister Snow Empress is willing, we as parents should just offer our blessings."
Yu Yunyao blinked her large eyes from the side, her face full of curiosity and excitement: "The Lord of the Extreme North has actually become my sister-in-law? My brother is quite capable." The young girl's mind was simple; she only felt this was a legendary love story.
More than ten days later, Yu Yunting indeed returned to Purple Blazing Dragon City with the Snow Empress.
Seeing the Snow Empress again, she was no longer the "Xue'er" of the past with pure eyes and a timid demeanor. Although her appearance remained stunning and her temperament as cold as snow, those ice-blue eyes had regained the depth and majesty belonging to the Lord of the Extreme North, though beneath that majesty, a trace of softness would involuntarily emerge when she looked at Yu Yunting.
And when her gaze turned to Yu Yuanchen and Ye Zhilan, that majesty transformed into an undisguisable awkwardness and a trace of imperceptible shyness. She and the Yuanchen couple had once been peers; now, however... this change in relationship was difficult for her to handle calmly, even with her hundreds of thousands of years of mental cultivation. It felt a bit like having an affair with a best friend's son.
"Sister Snow Empress, I hope you have been well." Ye Zhilan spoke first, her smile gentle as she took the initiative to reach out and hold the Snow Empress's slightly cool hand, breaking the stagnant atmosphere. "The past is like smoke, why dwell on it? Our cultivation has reached this level; so-called rules no longer matter to us. In private, I will still call you sister, and you may do as you please. As long as you two are happy, nothing else matters."
Her magnanimous words immediately warmed the Snow Empress's heart, and that awkwardness dissipated for the most part. She nodded slightly, her voice cold yet carrying a hint of warmth: "Sister Zhi Lan..." Even for someone as cold as her, her earlobes turned slightly red as she spoke the address.
Yu Yuanchen also laughed heartily: "Good! Snow Empress... since we are family, there is no need for such formalities. That Yunting has gained your favor is his good fortune." He swept his gaze over his son, seeing that although Yu Yunting's injuries had not fully healed, he was in high spirits, his brow full of vigor, clearly in an excellent mood, which brought him great comfort.
The family gathered in the hall, drinking tea and chatting. The initial subtle awkwardness soon vanished into thin air within the warm, affectionate atmosphere. Yu Yunyao circled the Snow Empress, chirping with questions about the interesting things in the Extreme North, and the Snow Empress answered patiently, the atmosphere harmonious.
During the conversation, Yu Yuanchen asked about the reason for the Snow Empress's transformation. He had been quite interested in this matter but had not found it appropriate to ask before.
The Snow Empress straightened her expression and answered frankly. It turned out that after Yu Yuanchen's cultivation reached its peak years ago, he had traveled to the Extreme North and had a sparring session with her and the Ice Empress. At that time, she and the Ice Empress had joined forces, borrowing the power of the Extreme North's heaven and earth, yet they had only managed a draw with Yu Yuanchen.
This matter had left a deep mark on her proud heart, which she viewed as a defeat. Coupled with her lack of absolute confidence in surviving the upcoming Seventh Heavenly Tribulation, these factors combined to finally prompt her decision to transform and recultivate.
"Early on, beneath the core glaciers of the Extreme North, I discovered an 'Ice Soul Snow Lotus' that had been gestating for one hundred thousand years. Its origin was pure and its attributes matched mine; it was an excellent trigger for transformation." The Snow Empress said slowly, "After making up my mind, I used that snow lotus as a foundation, dispersed most of my cultivation and memories, and transformed into a human. I had informed the Ice Empress of this matter, asking her to act as my guardian."
Due to the snow lotus, after her successful transformation, her cultivation could be retained at the Soul King level, and her appearance was fixed as a girl of sixteen or seventeen, but there would be a period of rapid recovery. However, just as she had first transformed into a human and her intelligence was still muddled, a vast will originating from ancient times suddenly descended, pulling her into a mysterious inheritance space--the Ice God Ruins!
"That was the place of inheritance left behind after the ancient Ice God fell." A complex look flashed in the Snow Empress's eyes. "I am an Ice and Snow Elf gestated by the heaven and earth of the Extreme North, and I was the most perfect successor for the Ice God's inheritance. Alas, the prohibition against soul beasts becoming gods still existed, and the ruins themselves had no master to resist. It was not until I transformed into a human, bypassing the prohibition, that the inheritance, which had been silent for countless years, immediately summoned me."
The Snow Empress had been a bit dazed by this heaven-sent opportunity. Without guidance, she had rashly begun the god trials without sufficient preparation. The content of the first trial was "to temper the body in the Extreme Cold Ice Flame for one hour, with a time limit of one year."
"The Extreme Cold Ice Flame is a strange fire formed when extreme ice reaches its limit and turns into its opposite. Its exterior is icy and bone-chilling, but its interior contains a terrifying scorching heat that can burn everything to ashes." The Snow Empress's tone carried a hint of lingering fear. "I underestimated its power. Although I managed to hold on with my origin and passed the trial, allowing me to leave the inheritance space, my soul was injured by the intertwined power of ice and fire, leading to a temporary loss of memory. I wandered outside, and later... I was saved by Yunting."
Everyone sighed upon hearing this. They had not expected such twists and turns. Yu Yunting held the Snow Empress's hand even tighter, his eyes full of heartache and lingering fear.
"The Ice God inheritance... fortune and misfortune are intertwined." Yu Yuanchen mused, "Since you have embarked on this path, you must proceed with caution. The god trials are no small matter; for the next trial, you must be fully prepared. If you encounter difficulties, you can come to me."
"Thank you, Uncle." The Snow Empress said gratefully. With a deity like Yu Yuanchen supporting her from behind, she felt more confident about the upcoming god trials.
Family matters thus came to a temporary conclusion. With Yu Yunting and the Snow Empress's relationship accepted by the family, the heavy stone in his heart was lifted, and he settled down in the residence, recuperating while accompanying the Snow Empress as she adapted to her new identity and environment.
Ye Zhilan and Yu Yunyao also sincerely accepted this special family member, and the residence was often filled with laughter.
Seeing the harmony in his home, Yu Yuanchen felt at ease and poured most of his energy back into his own cultivation.
He stayed behind closed doors every day, spending most of his time in the Thunder Secret Realm beneath the ground of Purple Blazing Dragon City. In the center of the secret realm, he sat cross-legged, the chaos-colored "Yuan Chen Divine Spark" in front of his chest rotating slowly, emitting the grand Dao rhyme of creation and evolution.
His mind sank into his body, communicating with the Permission Divine Crystal obtained from the God Realm Committee. In an instant, a vast, boundless, and extremely pure Torrent of Faith descended from the God Realm Sea of Faith across the endless void, pouring continuously into his body through the channel constructed by the divine crystal.
This Power of Faith came from thirty percent of the living beings across the one hundred and eight planes under the jurisdiction of the God Realm. Crossing races and civilizations, it contained the purest prayers, awe, and worship of billions of beings. Yu Yuanchen used his own divine essence as a guide and the Yuan Chen Divine Spark as a furnace, carefully channeling this immense power.
He did not devour it crudely, but rather used his own "Yuan Chen" Dao intent—the beginning of all things, the renewal of all phenomena—as the core to purify and refine these faiths. The miscellaneous thoughts were stripped away, leaving only the purest power of belief, which he used like the finest silk thread to weave and perfect the nascent divine spark.
Inside the divine spark, the prototype of a miniature universe slowly expanded under the nourishment of the Power of Faith. The trajectories of the stars within became increasingly profound, the veins of mountains and rivers clearer, and even vague shadows of life began to evolve within it. Although the process was slow, the divine spark was transforming toward a more perfect and powerful state every moment.
In addition to absorbing faith, Yu Yuanchen was also constantly comprehending the mysteries of the ten thousand laws obtained from the origin of the Saint Demon Continent's Planar Spirit, verifying them against his own Thunder Law and True Meaning of Martial Dao, and combining them with his Yuanchen Great Dao.
His aura became increasingly deep and profound, and his resonance with the heaven and earth laws of the entire Douluo Plane grew tighter. Although he did not deliberately release his majesty, the occasional trace of his Qi was enough to make newly ascended First-level Deities like Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen feel that he was unfathomable.
In his spare time, he would come out of seclusion to reunite with his family and enjoy family joy; or discuss the Dao with Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen, exchanging insights on cultivation after becoming a god; he would also pay attention to the development of the federation and provide guidance on major decisions.
The Douluo Federation, after the unification of the continent, entered a golden age of rapid development. Old barriers were broken, the circulation of resources and technology accelerated, and Soul Tool Technology and the martial dao system erupted with unprecedented vitality. It was a scene of prosperity and peace.
However, Yu Yuanchen knew clearly that under this calm, undercurrents were still surging. His son's romance with the Snow Empress, while accepted by the family, would inevitably face many waves in the future due to the differences between human and beast and the inheritance of god positions.
In the God Realm, the attitudes of the Five Great God Kings were subtle; Goodness, Evil, and Asura were all old monsters who had overlooked the God Realm for countless years, and all needed to be watched. Moreover, the perfection of his own Yuan Chen Divine Spark was a long road ahead.
But his Dao heart was firm and he feared nothing. To him, his family being safe, fellow Daoists walking alongside him, and the path ahead being clear was the best of times. If he felt wary now, it was only because he did not yet have the strength of a God King. Although it could be said that his future achievement of becoming a God King was a certainty, he was not one yet.
He needed to cultivate with a calm heart, accumulate strength, and wait quietly for the winds and clouds to change so he could respond with ease. After all, what the Five Great God Kings valued was only his future.
Time flowed quietly in these peaceful and fulfilling days.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan