Blazing Sun Sect, Sect Master’s Grand Hall.
After Zhu Siyao’s figure disappeared outside the hall doors, the complexity between Zhuxin’s brows not only failed to dissipate—it deepened even further.
The great news that shook the Five Provinces: Qin Qingyue from the Eastern Wasteland and Wu Zhaohua from Central State both attained the Celestial Immortal Form, promising a future among the ranks of immortals and already securing their place in the Immortal Realm.
This only made Zhuxin’s anxiety worse. The realm barrier she had suppressed for so long now showed faint signs of loosening, yet she pressed it down harder with sheer willpower.
She could not break through! To advance at this moment would mean achieving Great Ascension, but losing all hope for the Supreme Sage realm—no chance at becoming an Earth Immortal. Years of planning would be reduced to nothing.
“Sigh, Yao’er……”
A rare, indescribable tenderness and deep pain appeared on her stern face as Zhuxin called her daughter’s name in a low voice.
Zhu Siyao was indeed her daughter; there was no doubt about this—Zhuxin knew it clearly in her heart.
However, this daughter had no father. From her biological makeup to the very source of her existence, she lacked the presence of a “father.”
Zhu Siyao had no biological father.
Because of this, Zhu Siyao was born with an incomplete Destiny, Yin-Yang Imbalance, and failed to inherit Zhuxin’s powerful Pure Yang Body. Her talent appeared mediocre.
Zhuxin slowly rose to her feet, her scarlet-gold robe swirling without wind.
She floated down onto the stone seat like a crimson cloud, her gaze following the direction her daughter had just left.
Her eyes were filled with an unresolvable knot of agony.
Such an expression was extremely rare on the stern face of the Blazing Sun Sect Master.
That was her daughter.
From babbling in swaddling clothes, to stumbling into her arms, to the graceful young woman she was now.
Every moment was like a fine thread, wrapping tightly around her Dao heart that should have been as hard as iron.
Both were from Central State, and though Zhuxin was a once-in-a-generation genius in the Blazing Sun Sect, she was still far behind Wu Zhaohua.
Wu Zhaohua had achieved Jade Liquid Qi Refining, Purple Mansion Foundation, Nine-turn Golden Core, Dragon Aspect Nascent Soul, Primordial Spirit Transformation, Eight Winds Integration, and finally Supreme Sage Great Ascension.
Each step was the pinnacle of its stage, culminating in the Celestial Immortal Form.
Years ago, Wu Zhaohua’s despair-inducing path of talent flashed through Zhuxin’s mind.
As for herself, she only managed to achieve the lesser Spirit Embryo Essence Infant at the Nascent Soul stage.
One misstep led to hardship at every turn, making it nearly impossible to touch the Supreme Sage Great Ascension.
And so, Zhu Siyao was born.
Zhuxin learned of that Forbidden Secret Art and, relying on the power of her Pure Yang Body and the Heaven and Earth Essence, she used only her own bloodline to forcibly conceive this daughter.
As long as she survived to the late Integration stage, she could throw Zhu Siyao into the Sect Treasure, the Burning Heaven Cauldron, and refine her, using her origin to patch her own congenital flaws and forcibly break into the Supreme Sage Great Ascension.
As long as… as long as she could throw that child—who called her ‘mother’ with a sweet voice—into the eternal Earthfire, keeping her spirit alive, forcing her to endure years of soul-burning torment, a fate worse than death…
At that thought, Zhuxin’s heart clenched violently, as if seized by an invisible hand.
She hugged her head in pain, letting out a stifled cry of anguish.
She couldn’t do it.
She simply could not imagine that hellish scene.
Back then, Zhuxin believed her Dao heart was solid enough, believed that it was only a daughter—it did not matter.
As long as she could grow stronger, as long as she could become an Earth Immortal, even a Celestial Immortal, she could pay any price.
But time is the gentlest torture, like a dull blade slicing bit by bit, slowly wearing away her determination.
Because Zhu Siyao was born with an incomplete Destiny, her growth was like that of any ordinary child.
Zhuxin watched her daughter sleep soundly in her arms, listened to her first words call out ‘mother.’
She watched as, supported by her hand, the child took her first steps, then began to ask endless questions about the world with bright curiosity.
She watched her daughter grow up, step by step, and everything was so beautiful.
“Sigh.”
Zhuxin rubbed her pounding temples, once again sinking into that abyssal question that had tormented her countless times.
Should she give up her obsession with climbing the Dao and settle for becoming a mediocre Human Immortal? Or should she personally turn her own flesh and blood into fuel for her ascension?
Blazing Sun Sect, Martial Arena.
On the Martial Arena, spiritual power clashed, sparks flying.
A group of Core Disciples, in the midst of sparring, somehow shifted their topic to the Successor, Zhu Siyao.
“Hmph, the Successor? She only has the Sect Master’s bloodline to rely on.”
“With that level of cultivation, she wouldn’t even rank among the Inner Sect!” one stunning and equally fiery female disciple scoffed, her voice not at all hushed.
“Exactly, the True Yang Formula requires an intact Yin origin, but her? She probably doesn’t even know how ‘Yin origin’ is formed, right? No father…” A nearby female disciple waggled her brows, echoing the sentiment, the malice in her words almost overflowing.
This striking disciple was highly talented and powerful—a leading figure among the younger generation.
Just like Xiao Yue from Wenxuan Sect, she possessed the foundations of Jade Liquid Qi Refining and Purple Mansion Foundation. She now stood at the threshold of Divine Transformation, her future limitless.
To her, the unremarkable position of Successor should never have belonged to Zhu Siyao.
Zhu Siyao happened to be nearby, and every heart-piercing word reached her ears. An indescribable mix of shame and anger instantly overwhelmed her reason.
It was obvious these words were meant for her.
She could accept being called untalented; she could bear being told her cultivation was lacking.
But words like “no father” and “bastard” were absolutely intolerable.
Her spiritual power surged, scarlet flames rising uncontrollably around her.
“Who are you calling fatherless?!”
“Who are you calling fatherless?!” Zhu Siyao glared, unable to restrain her fury, stepping forward to confront them.
The other female disciple met her gaze coolly, unafraid, thinking to herself:
‘Your mother may be Supreme Sage Great Ascension, but what is there to fear? The Successor’s position was never meant for you anyway.’
‘No one would give it to someone who isn’t even at Purple Mansion Foundation.’
“This is the Martial Training Platform. Successor, are you planning to come up for a match?” the fiery beauty sneered, flames rising from her as well, no weaker than Zhu Siyao’s.
Young and proud, neither would back down before the crowd.
Blinded by rage, Zhu Siyao stiffened her neck and shouted, “Fight? Fine, come on!”
The conflict was about to explode.
“Enough!”
A scarlet-gold figure appeared in the arena without warning.
Zhuxin’s face was expressionless as water, her phoenix eyes—so like Zhu Siyao’s—now icy cold.
She spared not a glance at the cowed, silent disciples. Her gaze fell on her daughter, whose face was flushed and body trembling, and that tightly strung cord in her heart was plucked once more, sending a thousand struggles churning.
“Mother…” Zhu Siyao, surprised and with a faint hint of grievance, called out at her mother’s sudden appearance.
Why had her mother come out from that grand hall?
“Come with me.” Zhuxin’s voice was as cold as ever, brooking no refusal.
With a wave of her sleeve, a gentle yet irresistible force enveloped Zhu Siyao. In a flash of red light, the two vanished from the Martial Arena.