"Who is it!!!" Ling Tian's heart trembled violently!
The moment the voice sounded, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; his blood seemed to freeze. His limbs were completely immobile, and even the surrounding air became as viscous as iron, as if thoroughly confined by some invisible force.
"Phantom Nether Sound..."
Ling Tian suddenly remembered what his master had once said: if he encountered someone who could produce the Phantom Nether Sound, he must avoid them at all costs! Such individuals could influence people's minds with their voices, and their own strength was at least above the Out-of-Body Stage—something he, in his current state, could not contend with!
"Kid, don't waste your energy. Space confinement isn't something an ant like you can break."
A faint voice sounded behind Ling Tian, carrying a hint of mockery and playfulness.
"This Venerable One sees that you, at such a young age, have already reached the Crystallization stage. Your talent is indeed extraordinary, but if you dare to resist again, this Venerable One wouldn't mind personally crushing an ant!"
As the words fell, a silver-haired youth slowly walked in front of Ling Tian.
"Kid, this Venerable One asks you, why do you have the Origin Qi of the Overlord Dragon Clan within your body?"
The silver-haired youth spoke indifferently, his voice imbued with an undeniable authority.
"What Overlord? What Origin? I don't know what you're talking about! Quickly release the confinement!" Ling Tian struggled.
He looked at the silver-haired youth in front of him; the other party was clearly standing before him but kept his eyes closed.
"Also, who are you? Why are your eyes closed? Are you afraid to look at me!?"
"You brat! Are you tired of living!? How dare you speak to Lord Emperor like that!"
Hong Ling, who was standing nearby, heard Ling Tian's unrestrained words and instantly her eyebrows shot up, her almond eyes widened, and she pointed at Ling Tian, scolding him angrily.
"Heh heh, since you are so eager for this Venerable One to open his eyes, then this Venerable One shall grant your wish."
The next moment, the silver-haired youth suddenly opened his eyes! In an instant, two clusters of eerie green light shot out from his eyes, like two deep stars!
Heavens! What kind of eyes were these? There were no pupils, no whites, only endless darkness, and the shimmering starlight within that darkness, as if stars were revolving.
"This! This is...? Not good!" An alarm blared in Ling Tian's heart, and he felt a chill shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
He instantly closed his eyes, while silently chanting in his heart: "Eyes observe the nose, nose observes the mouth, mouth observes the heart, Jade Void Pure Heart Incantation!" Countless profound incantations floated out from Ling Tian's mouth, swirling and dancing around him. In an instant, a faint white light enveloped Ling Tian's body.
"Heh, how ridiculous! A mere ant, yet you dare to try and block this Venerable One's illusionary art?" The silver-haired youth sneered disdainfully at the sight.
"Closing your eyes is useless! Myriad Manifestations Illusionary Eyes!" The silver-haired youth formed a hand seal, and the stars in his eyes suddenly accelerated their rotation, erupting into dazzling nine-colored light! The light was incredibly splendid, like the most beautiful fireworks in the world.
His eyes, which had originally shimmered like stars, now transformed into two swirling masses of misty Qi, spinning wildly like two giant kaleidoscopes.
Ling Tian's body trembled slightly, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead. He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to resist the strange power invading his mind. In just a moment, his head slowly drooped, and the humming chanting gradually ceased.
He stood there, shoulders slumped, on the jade dragon sword, his expression constantly shifting: sometimes sad, sometimes joyful, sometimes angry, sometimes fearful... "Heavenly Demonic Law! Enter the Illusion!" The silver-haired youth gently made a grasping motion in front of Ling Tian, and many hazy gray mists slowly drifted out from Ling Tian's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
These mists slowly condensed into a mass above Ling Tian's head, like a gray cloud.
Within the cloud, blurry images began to appear... At three quarters past seven in the evening, Lingyun City was festooned with lanterns and streamers.
Ninety-nine glazed Dragon-patterned lanterns hung from the eaves of the Ling family's main hall, illuminating it as brightly as day. In the square in front of the hall, thirty-six bronze Kui Niu cauldrons exhaled green smoke, which transformed into the shapes of immortal cranes and Auspicious Beasts, swirling among the guests. Ling Tian, just six years old, wearing a dark ceremonial robe with gold trim, sat on his father's lap, counting the gift list, while his mother, with frost condensing on her fingertips, was adding a pair of crystal-clear ice-crystal tail feathers to a sugar Phoenix.
"Tian'er, this is your father's birthday gift for you." Ling Zhan smiled and stroked Ling Tian's small head, holding up a crimson jade token in his palm.
Upon the jade token, a lifelike five-clawed fiery Dragon was coiled. The Dragon's eyes were inlaid with two flickering sparks of fire, as if it could break out of the jade and soar into the sky at any moment.
"Fiery Dragon Token?!"
Steward Chen, who was pouring wine nearby, suddenly trembled, spilling wine on his sleeve without noticing. The usually composed middle-aged man stared fixedly at the token, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down: "Patriarch, this is what can mobilize the Fiery Dragon Iron Cavalry..."
"Haha! Tian'er could compose poetry at three, entered the martial Dao at five, and at six, he has already entered the fifth layer of Qi Refining. As the Qilin Son of my Ling family, he will sooner or later take over the position of Patriarch." Ling Zhan said proudly, stroking Ling Tian's small head.
"Old Chen, you have been with the Ling family for more than twenty years. You watched Tian'er grow up; in my heart, you are no different from his own uncle."
Ling Zhan laughed heartily and waved his hand, and the Fiery Dragon Token landed steadily in Ling Tian's arms.
"When Tian'er comes of age, I will personally teach him to command soldiers, to lead my Ling family's Fiery Dragon Iron Cavalry, and conquer all directions!"
After three rounds of drinks,
A crow's cry suddenly sounded outside the hall. Sharp, mournful, piercing through the laughter in the courtyard.
"Whoosh—"
A black streak penetrated the hall door! It shot directly towards Ling Tian!
The Fiery Dragon Token in Ling Tian's arms suddenly erupted in flames. The fiery sparks in the Dragon's eyes exploded into a net of fire, forcefully repelling the murderous intent.
At this moment, a short blade slipped from Steward Chen's sleeve, and a cold gleam flashed across Ling Zhan's throat.
"Chen Mo! You!" Ling Zhan spun and retreated violently, Ling Tian in his arms thrown off by the Qi wave. His mother, Su Qingxue, caught the child in mid-air, and as her skirt billowed, she flung hundreds of ice shards towards Steward Chen Mo, but they were all shattered by the arrows raining in from outside the hall.
"Black Scale Arrows... Dark Feather Wolf Riders!" Ling Zhan's eyes were splitting with rage.
He couldn't imagine that Chen Mo was an enemy spy planted in his Ling family.
"Boom!"
The nine Dragon glazed lanterns all exploded, and lamp oil poured down like rain. Ling Tian, in his mother's arms, witnessed a scene he would never forget—his Uncle Chen, with whom he had playfully begged for candy just yesterday, now expressionlessly slit the throat of the Third Elder; the maid Chun Tao, who always secretly gave him osmanthus cakes, pulled out poisoned Emei daggers from her sleeves and stabbed them into his Seventh Uncle's back; even his cousin Ling Qing, who was usually the kindest to him, had his neck broken.
"Why..." The six-year-old child's scream was caught in his throat. Su Qingxue formed a hand seal, and frost spread wildly from her feet, sealing Ling Tian into an ice coffin: "Brother Zhan! Activate the forbidden array!"
Ling Zhan punched and shattered the jade pendant on his chest. The entire Lingyun City shook violently, and seventy-two coiled Dragon pillars broke through the earth, the lightning spewing from their Dragon mouths weaving into a net. The Dark Feather soldiers turned into charcoal in the electric net, and Steward Chen's left arm was also consumed by the lightning fire, but he seemed to feel no pain, wielding his single arm to slash at the ice coffin.
"Take Tian'er away!" Ling Zhan was covered in blood, crushing the head of a Dark Feather Cultivator with his bare hands. His back arched, and blue veins, like swimming Dragons, protruded beneath his skin—this was him burning his vital essence blood to activate a forbidden art!
Su Qingxue bit her tongue, spitting a mouthful of essence blood onto the ice coffin. Blood-colored runes appeared on the coffin lid, and then she had her warhorse, the Green Scale Steed, carry the crying and pounding Ling Tian galloping towards the back mountain. From inside the ice coffin, Ling Tian saw his father tear open Steward Chen's chest with his bare hands, only to be pierced through the heart by three Black Scale Arrows.
"Father—!!!"
The child in the ice coffin frantically pounded the coffin walls. The icy surface reflected his distorted face, tears freezing into ice shards on his cheeks. Behind him, successive explosions echoed—that was the Ling family Cultivators self-destructing their inner cores... On the fifth day, at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), God Forbidden Forest
Ling Tian huddled under the belly of the Green Scale Steed. This intelligent Yao Beast had lamed its left front hoof; the fluid flowing from its wound was not blood, but a viscous liquid mixed with ice shards.
The sound of dry branches breaking echoed.
"The little bastard can really run." The voice of a Dark Feather Cultivator came from the mist.
The Green Scale Steed suddenly reared up! It bit Ling Tian's collar and flung him onto its back, a resolute green light bursting from its single eye. The Yao Beast's inner core burst from its body, transforming into thousands of wind blades that swept towards the pursuers, while its main body carried the child towards Soul Severing Cliff.
"Stop it!"
A rain of arrows pursued the horse's tail, embedding themselves in the ground. As the Green Scale Steed leaped off the cliff, it turned back, its moist muzzle brushing Ling Tian's palm, like a silent farewell.
The falling wind filled his sleeves. Ling Tian clutched the half-melted Fiery Dragon Token, and the crimson jade token suddenly erupted in dazzling light. Countless ghostly hands reached out from the black mist at the bottom of the cliff, but they shrieked and dissipated upon touching the fiery sparks of the Dragon's eyes.
"Tian'er... live..."
His mother's whispers echoed in the Void Realm. The child let his body fall into the endless darkness, tightly clutching a half-eaten, blood-stained crystal red bean paste cake—it was the last thing his mother had given him before the ice coffin sealed.
A tear slipped from Ling Tian's eye... Present Day
"Sister, Ling Tian... he's so pitiful."
Hong Ling tightly gripped Qing Sha's sleeve, her eyes slightly red.
After all, being a young woman, her heart was soft; she had already forgotten that just moments ago, Ling Tian and she were still enemies.
"So that old fellow Long Daozi is your master. That jade dragon sword of his, it seems, is the one beneath your feet."
The silver-haired youth spoke slowly, a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"No wonder you have the Origin Qi of the Overlord Dragon Clan in your body. I just didn't expect that he would even pass the jade dragon sword to you. It's quite interesting, hehehe..." The silver-haired youth revealed an inscrutable smile.
Suddenly! The heavens and earth changed color, layers of dark clouds appeared in the northern sky, and the sea became even more turbulent, with towering waves crashing in!
"Hmph, this Venerable One was just about to give Long Daozi a big gift, but those old fellows from the Sea Clan woke up. They really pick the worst times!" The silver-haired youth cursed, closed his eyes, and with a swipe of his palm, the gray cloud above Ling Tian's head slowly dissipated. At the same time, he called out behind him: "Let's go."
The silver-haired youth thrust his single hand forward through the air, as if plunging into the Void Realm, and half of his palm disappeared.
With a tear, space was ripped open, and spatial energy burst forth, a black storm sweeping in all directions, but it only caused the youth's clothes to flap loudly.
"Ling Tian, is it? We will meet again." Turning his head to glance at Ling Tian, who was still in the illusion, the silver-haired youth stepped into the Void Realm. An invisible energy ripple spread from his feet, and astonishingly, the previously violent and turbulent space instantly calmed down. Hong Ling and Qing Sha followed closely behind him.
Just after the Void Realm crack disappeared, the jade dragon sword in Ling Tian's hand suddenly began to hum and tremble, its entire body turning crimson.
"Ugh..."
With a muffled groan, Ling Tian was startled awake by the jade dragon sword's anomaly. A tearing pain instantly swept through his mind, as if something was trying to forcefully break through his memories.
Moments later, the pain receded. Ling Tian slowly opened his eyes, his gaze carrying a hint of fatigue and deep apprehension.
"What terrifying strength! Just a glance, and I almost completely sank into the illusion. Who exactly is this person!" Ling Tian thought to himself.
He did not know that everything about him had already been seen by the three of them.
"Jade Dragon, thank you."
Ling Tian looked down at the jade dragon sword in his hand; the sword body still trembled slightly, seeming to respond to him.
"Rumble!"
The calm sea surface suddenly began to fluctuate violently! Waves rose and fell, and something beneath the sea seemed to be slowly breaking through the water!
"What's going on?!"
Ling Tian's expression changed, and a strong sense of alarm rose in his heart.
This sudden change made him smell a hint of danger.
One wave had not settled before another rose!