”UGH!”
With each breath that Xinzi took in, Heaven’s skin paled, pulsing veins and discomfort twisted her face, and she clutched at her chest.
”S…stop!” Heaven stretched one hand out, urging Xinzi to end the breathing exercise.
Of course, he didn’t listen. Joke, if he could make Heaven feel pain by just breathing, why the hell would he stop? Heaven’s groans and grimaces galvanized Xinzi’s exercise, and he breathed harder. The energies that powered the artificial divine world broke down, vanishing in Xinzi’s dantian. In that instant, Xinzi could feel his cultivation, bones, and Divine Power improve massively.
His body returned to the Grand Tribulation Platform, which shook as if rejecting Xinzi’s breathing patterns. The sky darkened, berserk lightning and calamitous thunder flashing, cracking and rumbling across the land.
Heaven’s gaze darkened, and she fell on one knee. Sweat—more like drops of fiery divine light—poured out of Heaven’s forehead, but still rushed towards Xinzi’s dantian. In that instant, Xinzi felt as if he could devour the multiverse with a single breath.
”Xinzi…you are playing with dangerous powers. You’ve always played with dangerous powers. Be careful…for none can predict where they will lead you.” Heaven whispered, and just like Xinzi, pulled in a deep breath. Instantly, the chaos brewing in the sky came to a screeching halt.
Heaven’s skin regained its glow, and though she maintained a dignified look, she didn’t seem to suffer that much anymore.
”Oh, Xinzi, your existence is such a delightful abomination. Fine, I concede for now. But Xinzi, you and I are bound by a common destiny. One day, you will be mine.” Leaving those words behind, the incarnation of Heaven’s Will broke into particles of light, vanishing from Xinzi and Shenzhuo’s sight.
Still, Xinzi breathed, spurred on by an impulse to swallow the Heavens and Earth.
”Zhen’er, careful—” Barely had Shenzhuo’s warning chimed that loud shockwaves shook Xinzi’s body. Long and pulsing veins formed across his arms, chest and face. His heartbeat sped up, in a flash spiraling out of control, and he clutched at his chest, puking uncontrollably.
But instead of mushed-up food or liquids, streams of fire, water, wood, earth, wind, solar flames, darkness, lightning, and many other elemental manifestations, flowed out of Xinzi’s mouth.
His eyes went bloodshot. But as the last bit of excess element poured out of his mouth, Xinzi’s heart returned to its normal beat, and he regained his composure. Perplexed, Xinzi wiped his lips and glanced at his hand, scanning himself through his Divine Sense.
”Fascinating,” Xinzi whispered, for indeed he had never been exposed to such a terrifying, yet fascinating cultivation method. Each time that Xinzi breathed in, he striped something from the world—something that he didn’t have to give back.
”The Breath is the technique that separates the Primevals from the rest. Only those that master a Breath can reach the peak of the cultivation road. However, entities like Yongye, Yanglong, Doumu, Yudi, Wahuang, and I, all have a Limited Breath. I have the Dao Breath. Yongye has the Night Breath, Yanglong the Solar Breath, and so on.
Aside from you, there is one other junior with the potential to unlock a Breath. But he doesn’t have the Swallowing Skill. And even if he practiced demonism, he would never have your Swallowing Skill. He also doesn’t have that Five Elements Transmutative Technique. This means that just like us old-timers, the best he can do is to unlock a Limited Breath.” Here, Shenzhuo paused, his lips flashing a radiant smile.
”Zhen’er, thanks to the Nine-Jade Crown, I have learned a lot about you. You’ve grown splendidly, and though it pains me to admit it, I cannot help you in comprehending the Primordial Breath. The best I can do is to help you grasp the Dao Breath—if only you’d allow me to. We don’t have much time. To preserve the avatar I created in the crown, I have to go to sleep.”
”Dad is worried about his son. How cute…” ending the self-scan, Xinzi shifted his attention back to Shenzhuo.
”Truth be told, you’re not as useless as I thought. What a pity that you’re talking to the wrong person. Your words—honeyed or not—can’t affect me. And since I have no need to pretend, don’t expect any warmth from me,” Xinzi said in a calm and straightforward tone.
A hint of bitterness flashed through Shenzhuo’s eyes, but his smile stayed unchanged.
”With that said, there is something that I’ve always wanted to ask. Don’t you have any regret? I mean, falling for Yongye pretty much fucked up your life. It’s impressive that you went undefeated in the Crusades, slaying several Demon Monarchs, only to end up Yongye’s bitch. Come on, admit it, you’re full of regret.”
”No regret,” Shenzhuo replied without a second thought.
”Huh?”
”Zhen’er, your mother is the second-best thing to ever happen to me. I feel sorry for Yaochi, who watched the man she’d been designed to love get snatched under her nose. I feel sorry for you, who now pays the price for my ineptitude. But I will never, under no circumstances, regret the day that I took Yongye into my arms.” Shenzhuo reiterated his thoughts, the words making Xinzi’s eyes narrow at his old man.
”Wow, flabbergasting. Yongye whipped you up real good.”
”I guess you could say that.”
”How did she do it? What’s her secret?”
”…”
”Silence? Really? No need to be shy. We’re among boys here. I swear I won’t tell on you. Just need to add those tricks to my arsenal. How did Yongye swindle the Heavenly Emperor to the point that he never watched out for her schemes?”
”I knew.” Shenzhuo shook his head, denying Xinzi’s assumption.
”What?” Unable to process the words that he’d just heard, Xinzi blinked in confusion.
”I knew. I just didn’t care to stop her. As far as I can recall, I was never free. Duty, responsibilities, and loyalty, always bound me in one way or another. So, losing my freedom…doesn’t mean that much to me. Yongye or Heaven, what does it matter? As for my cultivation, I care even less.
Zhen’er, I have defeated entities with grander backgrounds than I can ever aspire to. Butchered the Demon Monarchs that should have been my equals, and ruled the Celestial Paradise for trillions of years.
The only Devil with the ability to resist me was imprisoned eons ago. So, said bluntly, if Hell didn’t have a role to play in the grand scheme of things, I would have destroyed the Infernal Paradise in times immemorial.
I am powerful, so powerful that power bores me.
So, Zhen’er, if I can use those worthless bits of power and freedom to test your mother’s heart. Why should I not?” Shenzhuo seriously asked. And for the first time since he’d received the Heavenly Dao, Xinzi could feel tumultuous emotions surge from the shadowy corners of his Divine Soul.
”Because she is heartless. Anyone with a functioning brain knows that Yongye is heartless! But you—YOU—had to give that heartless bitch the opportunity to become invincible!” Fists balled up, Xinzi rose from the platform, rage burning in his eyes as he strode towards Shenzhuo.
”If I didn’t…you wouldn’t be here,” Shenzhuo said, and faced with these simple words, Xinzi didn’t know what to reply.
”Zhen’er, this confrontation with Heaven wasn’t without gains. Your Divine Soul has regained its true shape, and your Swallowing Skill is on the verge of true awakening. I hope that you can master the Primordial Breath and unlock your true potential.” Undulating waves of divine light left Shenzhuo’s forehead, pouring into Xinzi’s mind, and showing him a step-by-step guide to the Dao Breath.
”Last but not the least…I’m sorry. Zhen’er, please forgive me for never being there for you. But though you won’t be able to see me, I will be watching…every step of the way.”
Afterward, the Heavenly Emperor broke into clouds of mist and returned to the Nine-Jade Crown.
”I don’t need you. I already got…my replacement,” Xinzi said, and the brief surge of emotions vanished subsequently.