Chapter Seventy-Six: The Mystery of Origin

Xiaoling looked at Zixuan for a moment, carefully organizing her thoughts before recounting everything she knew to Tang Wei: how Zixuan had ventured out in the Divine Realm in search of opportunities; how he found the sword cultivator’s secret manual, only to be coerced by the six great Divine Lords; how Ziyang, to save Zixuan’s last shred of divine consciousness, made concessions that finally won the six Divine Lords’ approval; and ultimately, how Ziyang helped Zixuan forge a new physical body. Every detail Tang Wei knew, Xiaoling recounted in full.

Zixuan was stunned. He hadn’t expected the “Old Man Ziyang” that Weiwei always mentioned to be his father, nor that Weiwei herself had been sought out by his father to help restore his body. No wonder Weiwei was so angry upon first meeting him; she knew Ziyang as her master, yet always called him “Old Man Ziyang,” as if there was another layer to their relationship.

He’d once suspected that, since both he and Master Ziyang shared the same surname, there might be some connection between them, but never had he imagined Ziyang was his father. Now it all made sense—the reason Ziyang had privately asked Xiaoling to refine the Five Spirit Treasure for him was because he favored his own son. This realization only deepened his guilt toward Tang Wei, and he silently vowed to treat her even better in the future.

After nearly ten minutes in a daze, Zixuan finally digested the fact that Ziyang was his father. Reviewing the entire affair again, he found himself as curious as Tang Wei about the origins of the twins. He couldn’t help but ask, “So, whose children are Yaya and Chongchong, really?”

“That’s what I’ve been keeping from you. Strictly speaking, the twins could be considered both of yours,” Xiaoling replied after a moment’s thought, deciding this was the best way.

Tang Wei and Zixuan were both shocked, exclaiming in unison, “Ours?”

“How is that possible? I didn’t even know Zixuan back then—how could Yaya and Chongchong be his children?” Tang Wei demanded, her expression stern. All her precautions had been for nothing; she was already part of his family, and yet Ziyang had forbidden Xiaoling from telling her the truth. That old man had really gone too far.

Zixuan’s reaction was the opposite—he was thrilled, pressing eagerly, “Quick, tell us! Quick!” Ha, we already have children together; now Weiwei can’t escape me!

Xiaoling began to explain, “Back then, when Zixuan was forced to the brink of annihilation by the six Divine Lords, Ziyang arrived just in time to preserve his last wisp of divine consciousness. Since a trace of consciousness remained in his body, Zixuan wasn’t truly dead. But Ziyang had another plan. Time was tight, and to implement it quickly, he agreed to share the sword cultivator’s secret with the eight great clans, allowing them all to possess it.”

Zixuan, never so anxious before, immediately asked, “But what does this have to do with Yaya and Chongchong?”

“Oh, why are you in such a hurry? Xiaoling will get to it! Don’t interrupt!” Tang Wei was just as eager, annoyed by Zixuan’s interjection.

Seeing their impatience, Xiaoling decided not to keep them in suspense and went straight to the point: “As long as a person’s consciousness hasn’t dissipated, their heart’s blood remains. With Zixuan’s heart’s blood and the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood as the core of the array, it was possible to slowly nurture that wisp of consciousness and repair his soul. Though the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood is incredibly rare, with Ziyang’s status at the time, it wasn’t hard to acquire. So even in a crisis, as long as that wisp of consciousness was preserved, Ziyang could easily revive Zixuan. Of course, the six Divine Lords knew this method—they didn’t truly want to fight Ziyang. Their goal was only the sword cultivator’s manual. As long as Ziyang handed it over, the six would gladly let him revive his son.”

“What is heart’s blood? If Ziyang had a way to revive Zixuan, why did everything else happen afterward?” Tang Wei voiced the question in her heart. Zixuan was equally curious but afraid to ask, nervously scratching his head. Now that Tang Wei brought it up, he was relieved. After all, having unspoken questions is always uncomfortable.

Xiaoling, amused by their interaction, answered, “Heart’s blood is a person’s essence—there are only nine drops in the body, and they exist only while one is alive. When a person dies, they vanish. Ziyang could have easily revived Zixuan, but since the sword cultivator’s manual was now in the hands of the six Divine Lords, they would soon devise ways to counter sword cultivation. Zixuan would have no advantage in practicing it anymore, and with his pride, waking up to such a reality would be worse than death.”

Zixuan nodded in agreement, sighing, “True, that Zixuan was humiliated from childhood and must have been determined to rise above everyone. To wake from such a dream would indeed be worse than death.”

Tang Wei smacked him on the head, scolding, “That Zixuan is you! Why are you sighing? You only lost your memories of the Divine Realm. Now you have spiritual roots, no one mocks you, and you have no pressure—you’ve become gentle. It’s like starting over.”

“You’re right! With Weiwei looking after me, and now being able to cultivate the Chaos Technique, I’ll be a dragon among men! Why bother with the past?” Zixuan boasted shamelessly.

Tang Wei, unable to stand his conceited demeanor, rolled her eyes and retorted, “Dragon among men? More like a bear!”

Seeing the two about to argue again, Xiaoling quickly interjected, “Do you want to hear what happened next or not?”

“Of course!” they said in unison, snapping out of their banter. Tang Wei shot Zixuan another glare before turning to Xiaoling.

Xiaoling continued, “Ziyang expended all his cultivation to help Zixuan forge a body of chaos. He’s still somewhere recovering. To prove his method worked, Ziyang had tried it thousands of times with others, using their consciousness and essence as experiments, and various single-rooted spiritual bodies as array guides, but none succeeded. Only when he found elder sister’s unique five spiritual roots did Ziyang believe he’d succeed, and so he risked using Zixuan’s consciousness and a drop of essence. Once Zixuan’s soul recovered, he used the remaining eight drops to rebuild his body.”

“Wasn’t Ziyang afraid that if it failed, his precious son would die for good?” Tang Wei asked curiously.

“Not really. If it failed, only a drop of essence would be wasted—rebuilding the body later would be harder, but Zixuan’s consciousness was safely nurtured in the Millennium Soul-Nurturing Wood,” Xiaoling explained.

Tang Wei pressed, “Such an uncertain method—why not try it with someone else first?”

“Because elder sister’s spiritual roots are rare—three roots equally balanced, and the other two also balanced. Such a body is considered a cultivation waste, but is actually highly sought after, matching Ziyang’s ideal. If he tried with others, he wouldn’t find another with such qualifications. The bodies used in previous experiments were only similar, and there were backup candidates, so it made sense to try first,” Xiaoling clarified.

“So my soul is unique, then?” Tang Wei guessed.

“Still no second one found!” Xiaoling couldn’t guarantee absolute uniqueness, but Ziyang hadn’t found another like hers, which is why he risked it.

Zixuan, tired of their chatter, quickly changed the subject, “What’s the real reason behind Yaya and Chongchong’s existence?”

“Oh!” Xiaoling realized the conversation had drifted—today wasn’t about Zixuan’s resurrection, but about the twins. She quickly returned to the main point: “Ziyang placed two equally qualified spiritual bodies into elder sister’s body, used Zixuan’s essence as a guide, and drew in one drop of elder sister’s essence to help them form physical bodies. Their souls complemented each other, helping elder sister achieve a balanced five-element spiritual body.”

Seeing their confused faces, Xiaoling explained further: “A woman’s pregnancy is mysterious; souls entwine, forming a natural soul-nurturing array with the child. When a spiritual body passes through the womb, its roots and qualifications can subtly change. Ziyang used this principle, slightly modifying the natural array in elder sister’s body, resulting in what you see today.”

Tang Wei listened for a long time, still unclear on the specifics, but she understood one thing: the twins were conceived from both her and Zixuan’s essence.

“Incredible!” Zixuan was silent for a moment, finally uttering this.

After pondering, Zixuan asked, “Since they’re our children, shouldn’t we be able to use tracking techniques with something carrying her aura to find them? Why didn’t you do that at the time? Is there something wrong with them?”