A group of guards was making their rounds on top of a steep wall. This wall seemed to stretch for kilometers and there was no end visible in sight.
They all were kind of bored and not really keeping much attention to what was happening around them. It was nothing new, they did this multiple times for years. There was no reason to push themselves, doing the bare minimum was enough.
Due to this, they were all a bit slow on the uptake when it happened. They heard a strange rumble and then the whole place began to shake. The thick bricks on the walls started cracking from some kind of pressure.
This was indeed strange as these walls were reinforced and had lasted without taking any damage for multiple years. The soldiers looked around while moving their spears and bows forward. Soon they saw something in the distance.
“W-what is that? Quick, we need to alert the elder!”
Before they could react they felt a massive oppressive force wash over them. This was clearly a nascent soul aura and it was coming off from the approaching object.
The soldiers on the walls were mostly cultivators in the foundation establishment realm. They were even on the weaker side of that. People that were forced to perform tasks like this were mostly ones that failed to advance further.
This was a border region between two sects and they were the first defense as well. They were mostly here to man cannons that had a power similar to core formation elders.
But now they were a bit preoccupied with trying to resist this massive pressure. They were even unable to fire at the fast-moving object that was speeding towards them.
Suddenly an elder appeared that could actually move. He looked out into the distance and narrowed his eyes. The moment he realized what was coming his way he started to sweat.
“M-make way!”
He called out while flying to the side. He realized who the faction coming was and had decided to let them through.
A massive iron fortress that was covered in golden energy pushed on without stopping. There were no words exchanged between the people at the border wall and the passing forces.
The moment they flew over the wall it started crumbling apart and even more, cracks appeared. No attacks were needed, just by being there this object was causing massive destruction in its wake.
“E-elder… we need to report back to the sect, our Demon Subduing Sect is being attacked!”
A man on a sword appeared and flew over to the only nascent soul cultivator that was there. The elder looked at the core formation master and narrowed his eyes. He moved his hand up and promptly smacked the other man’s head.
“S-senior?”
The man held his hurting noggin while being flabbergasted.
“You fool! Do you know who that was? Do you want to get me killed like that idiot Zhan Jie?”
The nascent soul master started cussing out his junior in front of everyone. The lower cultivators didn’t know why but the man had a reason to be like this.
He received the notice that Zhan Jie had intercepted Zhang Dong from the United Element’s Sect. Both of them had thought but who won was now clear.
This left the Demon Subduing Sect in a bind. Should they aid the Limitless Sword Society and go against the new rising power? Or should they wait this out and take a more passive approach?
This was also what the Dragon Gate Sect Patriarch was thinking about. While the decisions were being made in the background Zhang Dong was still seated in the engine room.
They had just arrived at this Sect’s territory. If they flew through it they would arrive faster at their home turf. He was slightly worried that they might have gotten attacked, he felt the nascent soul cultivator on the outside. He backed off quite quickly and didn’t even shout at them, this kind of showed him this sect’s stance.
While giving it all to power this power-hungry beast of an engine he was looking at his system screen. His wife was part of his sect so he could see her status. It showed him various things along the lines of potential and devotion.
This wasn’t what he was interested in though. She had a certain trait in that large table which was the indication for her pregnancy. The worrisome thing was that it had ‘Imminent’ written next to it.
He wanted to teleport there right this instant but was afraid to leave the people of this ship alone. He was in the territory of a sect he had shaky relations with. If he just left the Argonaut could be captured. The ship had a lot of firepower but that was against other large targets.
Hitting even an early stage nascent soul cultivator was hard. Even worse when there were multiple cultivators firing back. This sect had at least ten of those nascent soul elders flying around in these lands. If they let them be like the one at the border region was debatable.
Zhang Dong needed to force it through with all his might. He took out a handful of pills from his spatial ring and munched them down.
He felt invigorated after swallowing these high grade pills that he himself had made. With the boost of spiritual energy, the ship flew even faster.
The people on board weren’t having such a grand time. The ship wasn’t constructed to take this much power. The gravitational forces that the huge ship had to go against also exceeded the advised limits.
Most of them were glued to the floor and unable to move. The Captain was still sitting in his large chair but his whole body was sinking into it. His cheeks looked squished and his eyes were closed as he tried not to pass out.
The people weren’t in danger but some of them were passing out while unable to handle the increased speed.
The ship turned into a blur in the sky, stopping it now was practically impossible. ……………..
“Uhhh… that was a strong one…”
Feng Liena was laying back in a large bed while grasping her tummy. There were other sect members in the room with her.
There was a large intricate formation drawn on the ground with the bed she was on in the middle of it. There were several cultivators sitting in strategic locations giving out a similar holy aura to that of Zhang Dong’s.
This was a previously prepared birthing chamber prepared by the greatest medical minds and formation experts that the sect could muster.
The previous birth of the young lady was already a miracle and the Matriarch was bedridden for weeks afterward. Zhang Dong had chosen to prepare for the second time, his wife was adamant about getting another child even when he was against it. He was fine with one miracle but was afraid of the consequences. Feng Liena on the other hand wanted to have another go at it.
This had been prepared beforehand to make the second attempt much smoother. There was a little problem as the formation required Zhang Dong to be there. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work at full capacity.
He was the only one with pure enough holy energies to make this process halfway safe. The others hadn’t progressed in their Dao enough and were only core formation cultivators. Feng Liena on the other hand was a nascent soul master, someone greatly above their power level.
“Mwomy…”
A small child was in the room, holding her was Zhang Jin. Other members from both the Zhang and Feng Clan were still in the room but most were outside.
“Don’t worry, mummy will be alright, daddy will come back soon…”
Feng Liena replied while looking at her daughter that was in her grandfather’s hands. She was sweating profusely, she had gone through this ordeal once before but this time it was even worse.
The whole room was glowing with faint golden energy. The runic symbols pulsated with faint light as the whole structure was still missing it’s main battery.
“Yes, we need to leave your mom, for now, you’ll have to play with grandpa for now.”
Zhang Jin smiled while looking at Feng Liena. She was close to giving birth and he couldn’t let the small child witness something like that. The child sniffled a bit as she was carried away.
“What of my husband?”
Feng Liena asked while gritting her teeth, she could feel that something was wrong. The previous experience wasn’t this bad, she had a tough time staying awake. She also denied the usage of any painkillers afraid that they would affect the child inside her belly.
“The Patriarch was stalled during his return by the Limitless Sword Society leader…”
One of the maids explained what transpired and how Zhang Dong needed to slain Zhan Jie during his return. The news was troubling as her husband reassured her that he wouldn’t be seeking any trouble.
“At least he is safe, he will have some explaining to do when he returns.”
Feng Liena chuckled while another jolt of pain ran through her body. She couldn’t help but scream out in pain. The people around her were quick to react, they inserted all of their spiritual energy into the holy formation. With the influx of the healing energies the pain slightly subsided and the Matriarch was brought back before she could pass out.
Soon another jolt of pain ran through the woman’s whole body. This time around her whole body convulsed while giving out a menacing aura. The energies inside her body were going berserk due to the birth.
The oppressive aura caused everyone in the room to shiver. Some of the lesser cultivators even passed out instantly.
Suddenly a portal of bluish light sprung open right beside the bed that Feng Liena was shuddering in.
A panting Zhang Dong walked out, it looked like he was in the middle of swallowing something. He was sweating all over quite uncharacteristic for a master of his level. He had somehow managed to push the ship towards his own territory and appeared here to aid his wife.
The moment he entered the entire formation churned with power. The whole room turned into a golden spectacle. The people could finally let out a sigh of relief as the Patriarch arrived.
“What took you so long.”
Feng Liena replied in a weak voice while Zhang Dong grasped her hand. A pleasant feeling washed over her instantly as her husband shared the burden with her. His face contorted slightly as he transferred most of the pain that his wife was feeling towards himself.
He wanted to give his wife a hug but he needed to move into a specific location in the room. Some of the maids moved in place and took care of Feng Liena’s needs while he squatted down.
He placed himself in the center of the formation and began inserting his holy energies into it. The room lit up once more, many tiny golden fireflies appeared and started dancing around. They all gently flew around Feng Liena’s belly and started slowly falling onto it. The moment they did they were absorbed, their healing energies aiding in the birth.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, soon the whole process had taken over a day. The people outside were pacing back and forth.
Everyone that was closely related to the sect Patriarch and Matriarch was here. Their disciples and close family members, even close friends like Huo Qiang. All of them were worried as this birth was a special one.
They all waited patiently without saying anything. They could feel the powerful energies coming from the room within which gave them a reason to rejoice. They knew that Zhang Dong was working diligently, soon they would be adding a new member to the Zhang family.