âIn this life, her name⦠is Xiao Lingxi.â
Since the moment Yun Che realized that he was speaking with the Ancestral God herself, he had been treating her like the highest being in the entire universe, which she was. He hadnât dared to release the spiritual pressure that he naturally imposed upon others in the norm, nor had he dared to interrupt her too many times.
He might be the unparalleled great emperor of the Primal Chaos, but he was smaller than an ant compared to the Ancestral God.
The world existed because the Ancestral God created it. The reason she went through a thousand reincarnations to come back to life was to eliminate a hidden threat to the Primal Chaos as well. Both her existence and her purpose deserved his greatest respect.
However, when the Ancestral God began talking about her final cycle of life, every sentence she spoke had invoked a sense of deja vu. The more she spoke, the stronger the feeling became until finally, when the name âXiao Lingxiâ resounded clearly inside his soul sea, the calm he just barely mustered was completely washed away into nothingness. He was so shocked that his soul sea world grew turbulent in response to his emotions.
Xiao⦠Ling⦠Xiâ¦
It was the single most familiar name in his life.
Ling⦠Xiâ¦
My Lingxi⦠sheâs⦠the Ancestral Godâs reincarnationâ¦?
Noâ¦
Sheâ¦
The Ancestral God!?
He might never feel this much shock again in his life. His soul sea had transformed into a storm made of towering sea waves and innumerable giant vortices. He felt like his consciousness was spun round and round in one of these vortices until he lost all ability to think completely.
He had grown up together with Xiao Lingxi. There was no one who knew her better or was closer to her than him.
She was sweet-tempered to the point of being weak, but that was only in regards to matters that didnât involve him. Otherwise, she could be tough, bold, and even outright reckless at times. At the very least, no one would connect her with the word âmightyâ.
Her profound talent was extremely mediocre. She cultivated hard to protect him when they were younger, but she quickly lost the motivation to continue after his profound veins regrew, and he reached a point where he no longer needed her protection. She had never had any interest in cultivating after all.
She would rather be a normal girl in a small city who, besides taking care of her father, Yongan and Yongning in the norm, quietly looked forward to his next return home.
Many times, she had compared herself to Yun Cheâs harem of women and believed herself wanting.
In reality though⦠Yun Che could exaggerate his wildest delusion a thousand times over, and he still could never imagine that his childhood friend, Xiao Lingxi was the reincarnating Ancestral God herselfâ¦
The one God who created the Creation Gods, the Devil Emperors and even the Primal Chaos itself!
It was at this moment that an extraordinarily gentle soul energy wrapped around his person. It gradually quelled his soul sea and returned clarity to his mind.
âThis is probably quite the difficult surprise for you to swallow,â the voice said in a mild tone. âYou were her childhood friend, and now her official husband after you completed a wedding with her.â
â...â Yun Che still couldnât form a coherent sentence.
As his mind became clear once more, he began to recall all the inexplicable happenings around Xiao Lingxi.
She could read the World-Defying Heaven Manual, a text that was written in the language created by the Ancestral God herself, the Divine Text of Absolute Beginning. The World-Defying Heaven Manual itself was the Ancestral Divine Art left behind by the Ancestral God.
The reason he could never truly consummate his marriage with her⦠was it because the level of their existences were so far apart that a union was simply impossible, or because the Ancestral God set up some sort of restriction that prevented anyone from contaminating her during her final cycle?
Xiao Lingxiâ¦
The Ancestral Godâ¦
Yun Che was already trying his best, but he still couldnât truly reconcile the true names.
Suddenly, he noticed something and asked that question that had fully formed in his mind a while ago, âYou⦠are the Ancestral Will of the Ancestral God, right?â
âThat is correct,â the womanâs voice replied.
âYou said that the Ancestral Will and Memories will fall aslumber during the Ancestral Godâs final reincarnation.â Yun Che forced his soul to calm down before continuing, âSo why⦠are you awake right now? Lingxi is still present, so her cycle is still ongoing. Shouldnât you be asleep right now? Why are youââ
His words suddenly caught in his throat. Despite being inside the soul world, he could clearly hear his heartâs wild beating.
He had a faint idea what the voice was going to say next.
âItâs because this last cycle has already ended in failure. Even the near-complete Ancestral Sacred Body has been greatly undone. The reason for thatâ¦â she said quietly and gently, âyou have already guessed the answer.â
âWas it because of⦠me?â Yun Che murmured.
Not only did she fail her last cycle, her Ancestral Sacred Body was⦠greatly undone!?
âIt all happened on the day you were getting married⦠on that day, she woke you up very early in the morning, dressed you in the wedding clothes she had sown herself, and watched you drink the morning porridge she had cooked herselfâ¦â
Before he knew it, when the womanâs voice grew so soft and distant that he couldnât hear her anymore. Then, a new scene had unfolded inside his soul sea:
âLittle Che, wake up! You need to get out of bed now!â
âMm⦠itâs still so early. Just let me sleep in a little longer.â
âLittle Che, wake up! Todayâs the day youâre getting married to Miss Situ, and itâs almost time already! Quickly!â
â¦â¦â¦â¦
âLittle Che, I made this porridge for you. You have a weak constitution, and itâs going to be a long morning, so⦠you should finish everything.â
âPhew, Iâm done⦠I wonder if I can still eat your meals after I get married, Little Aunt.â
âHeehe, donât forget that the governorâs daughter is marrying into your family, not the other way around. If you want, I can prepare your meals every day just like before.â
âOf course not! Didnât I promise you yesterday that Iâd never forget about you even after I marry Situ Xuan? Weâll spend just as much time with each other as we used to, and Iâll always be there whenever you call for me!â
âGood boy! Still⦠youâve really become a big boy, havenât you Little Che?â
â¦â¦â¦â¦
âBig brother! Big brother!! Iâm here⦠wow, your wedding clothes are pretty impressive⦠So er... how does it feel to get married? Why do I feel like youâre not very excited?â
âTo be honest, I am not excited. It was something my parents decided before I was born, and Iâve only met Situ Xuan a couple of times. I donât even quite remember how she looks, which is why I barely care about the wedding at all⦠you on the other hand, are unusually excited given the time of the day. Itâs not just because of my wedding, is it?â
âHehe⦠I do have some good news to share. The day before yesterday, my father invited a friend of hisâa teacher from New Moon Profound Palaceâover to his house. He was hoping to ask for a favor and drop me into New Moon Profound Palace. But after his friend saw me, he said that someone of my talent should just join Blue Wind Profound Palace directly!â
âOh! Thatâs amazing! Thatâs something the entire Floating Cloud City should celebrate!â
âHehehe! I was so excited I havenât slept for the past two days. When I join Blue Wind Profound Palace and become even stronger than before, Iâm sure no one will ever dare to bully you again!â
âYour entrance to Blue Wind Profound Palace is what we really should celebrate. I bet the entire city will rejoice on the day you⦠officially enter⦠Blue Wind... Profound... Palaceâ¦â
â¦â¦â¦â¦
It was the âdreamâ he had seen many years ago. In this âdreamâ, the person he was getting married to wasnât Xia Qingyue, but Situ Xuan. Moreover, Xia Yuanba had had a powerful body, extraordinary talent, and a pair of eyes that shone with divine light. Andâ¦
Why⦠why do these images and voices feel so realâ¦
These memoriesâ¦
Ughâ¦
Suddenly, his soul world began shaking violently. It looked like it might collapse into itself.
An infinite amount of images and voices intermingled chaotically in his mind, and his heart beat so hard and fast that it felt like it might implode at any moment. His consciousness was fading, and his memories were blurring. It felt like a billion sticks were stirring up his soul sea.
He wanted to scream and struggle, but he wasnât able to make even a single sound.
Lingxiâ¦
Yuanbaâ¦
Situ Xuanâ¦
Xia Qingyueâ¦
â¦â¦
Qing⦠yueâ¦
â¦â¦
Suddenly, the turmoil in his soul sea came to a complete stop.
Then, his mind and his memories became clear like never before.
Even his dreams had become as clear as yesterday.
However, some things were growing the opposite. His old memories kept blurring more and more despite his mad struggles to keep them. In the end, he could only watch them depart his mind and even his soul completely.
He stared at the gray world in front of him blankly and unmoving.
âDo you recall them now?â The womanâs voice spoke once more. âThe true memories that were hidden beneath the nothingness.â
â...â Yun Che couldnât say a word. He felt like had suddenly fallen into an unwakeable dream.
âThe baby your foster father, Xiao Ying did everything in his power to save wasnât the daughter of Xia Hongyi, Xia Qingyue, but the daughter of the governor of Floating Cloud City, Situ Xuan.â
âJust the same, the man who was so grateful toward Xiao Ying that he publicly declared that his daughter would wed Xiao Yingâs son wasnât Xia Hongyi, but Situ Nan⦠naturally, your fiance was also Situ Xuan, not Xia Qingyue.â
âThe Xia Yuanba in your memories was his true appearance until an extraordinary change overtook him when you were sixteen years old.â
âNnghâ¦â Yun Che let out low moans from time to time. He was suffering not from pain, but a kind of confusion, separation, misalignment, and distortion that no word in his dictionary could properly describe. All he could say was that it felt absolutely unpleasant.
All of his memories regarding Xia Yuanba before he was sixteen had been altered. The Xia Yuanba in his memories now matched the Xia Yuanba in his dreams perfectly: a powerful physique, extraordinary talent, and a pair of eyes that seemed capable of seeing through oneâs soul.
Just the same, all of his memories regarding Xia Qingyue before he was sixteen had been cut out from his mind completely. They were already unnaturally shallow in the first place, but now he remembered them like he would an unforgotten dream: unreal and prone to vanishing at any moment.
Moreover, memories of Situ Xuan had replaced them. The amount of times he met with Situ Xuan during the first sixteen years of his life could be counted on one hand, but each one was as clear and heart-wrenching as yesterday.
He could even remember every sneering word she said, every disdainful look she shot him, every playful bit of malice she wore on her face.
In every memory where Xiao Lie told him about the story of Xiao Ying saving a female baby, the baby had always been the governorâs daughter.
In his memories, Xia Yuanba didnât just have a powerful build, but also a domineering behavior to match. He had feared nothing and no one.
And in his memories, Xia Yuanba⦠was the only child Xia Hongyi had ever had!
âWhereâs Qingyue⦠whereâs Qingyue!?!â He frantically searched through the absolute mess he called his memories, but no matter how hard he tried everything relating to her before he was sixteen⦠was just a transient, unforgotten dream.
âDonât you understand yet?â
Yun Cheâs appearance put a small sigh into the Ancestral Willâs voice. âBefore you were sixteen, before your wedding day to be exact, Xia Qingyue⦠never existed.â