Chapter 66 – Retribution

What was happening to him?

Why was he completely rigid, unable to move?

Why did he feel so on edge? Only when faced with a formidable foe or an overwhelmingly terrifying situation would a bird ruffle its feathers. What could possibly cause him, the pinnacle of power, to do the same?

Why did he simultaneously want to escape Yun Xiguang’s grasp yet dive headfirst into his embrace, increasing their contact as much as possible?

What kind of enchantment had he fallen under?

Yun Xiguang was unaware that the seemingly obedient, motionless, and docile little yellow chick was internally in turmoil.

He had intended to say more to Chi Qiong, but Li Zheng and the others had already returned to the room at that moment.

As the flames dissipated, Li Zheng and the group waited for a while. Azure Dragon even flew up to the sky for a look, and after confirming that Bai Ze had awakened, they all came in to visit him.

Unfortunately, they chose the exact moment when Chi Qiong’s emotions were surging, just as Yun Xiguang was soothing him.

With so many people suddenly crowding the room, Chi Qiong’s mood became extremely irritable. He wanted nothing more than to shoo everyone away, leaving him alone with Yun Xiguang. Consequently, his feathers fluffed up even more.

Fortunately, Yun Xiguang noticed his unease and gently stroked his body, which calmed down his fluffed feathers.

The gentle comfort helped Chi Qiong regain his composure, and his mindset gradually returned to normal.

Seeing the little spirit bird’s feathers smoothed out, Yun Xiguang, as he usually did, placed Chi Qiong on his shoulder.

Sitting upright on Yun Xiguang’s shoulder, Chi Qiong’s thoughts were still somewhat scattered. He decided to close his eyes, ignoring the outside world and focusing solely on sorting out his emotions.

The group first congratulated Qin Shu and Bai Ze, wishing them good fortune after their narrow escape from death.

Subsequently, everyone’s attention shifted to Yun Xiguang.

As Chi Qiong’s strength grew stronger, the weakening of the law’s shielding effect allowed Bai Ze to recognize Chi Qiong’s divine identity, bypassing the barrier. Naturally, the others also noticed something different about Yun Xiguang.

Li Zheng observed Yun Xiguang for a while before he spoke up. “Little Yun, is there a possibility that you’re hiding a significant secret, one that grants you immense power?”

Yun Xiguang knew that there was no longer any way to conceal his abilities. He nodded and said, “Yes, I have secrets, and not just one.”

Zhang Jiancha, the inspector, politely asked, “Oh, not just one secret. Then… how many can you tell us?”

Yun Xiguang was in an exceptionally good mood at the moment. He smiled lightly and said, “If it were possible, I’d like to reveal all my secrets to you, but some things, even if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to hear.”

Ning Shan asked, “Just like how we can’t remember anything about your mother, Ling Qingkong?”

Yun Xiguang was slightly taken aback. “You’ve remembered something about my mother?”

Li Zheng nodded. “Not much has come back to me, but my memories are slowly recovering. I remember that Ling Qingkong was my idol when I was in school, someone I aspired to emulate.”

Yun Xiguang smiled with relief, knowing that someone had finally recalled his parents.

Today truly was a fortunate day, as it seemed that all his emotional knots were about to be untied.

Thus, Yun Xiguang said, “It’s not your fault for not remembering them. After all, it was the spatial-temporal power of Zhulong. Human lifespans are merely a century long, and memories are powerless against the relentless passage of thousands upon thousands of years.”

“Zhulong?!” the crowd exclaimed in unison.

Yun Xiguang explained, “Indeed. When my parents met their end, I saw a massive black snake tail in the sky. That was actually Zhulong’s tail. Later on, when the Spiritbond World investigated the case, I believe the other two Heaven-grade Spiritbond Masters must have discovered the truth. However, the truth was too much for the Spiritbond World to bear at the time. Revealing that Zhulong had awakened would have caused chaos within the realm. Therefore, those in charge kept the matter hidden and allowed all records to vanish.”

Even now, Yun Xiguang understood the reasons behind the cover-up.

If he were to announce worldwide that the end of the world was imminent, people would undoubtedly panic, leading to a surge in criminal activities throughout society.

Most importantly, the Spiritbond World lacked the power to deal with Zhulong at that time.

Even if all the Heaven-grade Spiritbond Masters joined forces, they couldn’t eliminate Zhulong.

Furthermore, Zhulong didn’t seem interested in causing trouble at the time, remaining hidden. It would have been counterproductive to provoke Zhulong over this matter, potentially leading to even greater calamities. Instead, it was better to bide their time, gather strength, and then face Zhulong once they were powerful enough to stand a chance.

Previously, Yun Xiguang had learned about Zhulong from Yun Boquan but didn’t share the information with Li Zheng and the others for similar reasons.

Now, however, Yun Xiguang’s strength and mental fortitude had grown significantly, giving him the confidence to reveal the truth to everyone.

Zhang Jiancha was puzzled. “Ling Qingkong was indeed an extraordinary woman who accomplished many seemingly impossible feats, but surely she couldn’t have attracted the attention of Zhulong?”

Yun Xiguang replied, “To this day, I’m unsure what my parents discovered that led Zhulong to take action personally. But I suspect it might have something to do with the last words they left behind before their deaths.”

“Their last words? You didn’t mention anything back then,” Li Zheng, who had been involved in the case at the time, said.

Yun Xiguang clarified, “That’s because my mother didn’t directly reveal the content of the last words to me. Instead, she conveyed them to me through coded messages. Decoding these messages took me years, but eventually, I uncovered the answer. The nine-word message they left behind was ‘Heart’s Blood Falls, Heavenly Fire Remains, Spirit Beast Codex.'”

“Heavenly fire?!” The crowd’s voices grew louder, filled with astonishment at the mention of the heavenly fire.

Yun Xiguang continued, “Yes. Initially, I thought my parents meant for me to subdue the heavenly fire and use it to avenge their deaths. But when I learned that our enemy was Zhulong, I realized that the heavenly fire was powerless against him. Moreover, the mere method of subduing the heavenly fire wasn’t worth Zhulong taking action against my parents.

“I believe that my parents must have uncovered a far more terrifying secret. Perhaps the reason Zhulong acted personally was that my parents had already gained control over the heavenly fire, and ordinary beasts were incapable of dealing with them. Thus, Zhulong, who was immune to the heavenly fire, was the one to intervene.”

This was Yun Xiguang’s deduction after learning about his mother from Hai Ruobo.

Ling Qingkong was a woman who dared to challenge outdated rules. She was incredibly brave and brimming with creativity, never allowing others to bear the risks for her.

Yun Xiguang was certain that the method of subduing the heavenly fire was discovered by Ling Qingkong herself. Given her character, she would never conduct experiments on others; instead, she would take matters into her own hands and subdue the first strand of heavenly fire herself, only revealing the confirmed results afterward.

“In other words, when Ling Qingkong applied for Earth-grade Spiritbond Master status, she already possessed the strength to defeat Heaven-grade Spiritbond Masters on her own, without relying on beasts,” Li Zheng said with a wistful expression.

If Ling Qingkong were still alive, she would have been an incomparably powerful force.

No, even in death, she hadn’t ceased creating miracles.

Had it not been for her arrangements before her death, Yun Xiguang wouldn’t have reached this point today.

With the determination of a warrior severing his own wrist, she extracted Yun Xiguang’s spirit root right before her death. A mother cutting off her child’s future was an act of extraordinary decisiveness, and Ling Qingkong had done just that.

Removing the spirit root was to dispel the enemy’s desire to exterminate all traces, ensuring Yun Xiguang’s survival.

Revealing the secret of subduing the heavenly fire to Yun Xiguang provided him with the opportunity to regain his strength after losing everything. By conveying the secret through coded messages, she ensured that Yun Xiguang would only learn the clues after he possessed sufficient wisdom and maturity to decipher them. If Yun Xiguang lacked the necessary disposition, she would allow him to lead an ordinary life.

Lastly, entrusting Yun Xiguang’s spirit root to the Crimson Chi gave him a chance to break free from the Beast Codex’s control while instilling a sense of gratitude in him toward Yun Xiguang, which ensured his protection even after her passing.

At that time, Yun Xiguang should have perished in the disaster.

Yet, Ling Qingkong personally paved a path to survival for Yun Xiguang and meticulously planned his course for the next ten years.

Only now did Yun Xiguang fully comprehend the significance of everything his mother had done.

Bai Ze said, “When Ling Qingkong applied for Earth-grade Spiritbond Master status, I attempted to predict her future, but I couldn’t see anything. There was nothing to be seen.”

“Why?” Yun Xiguang asked.

Bai Ze explained, “Her fate was not supposed to be like this. She was destined to pursue science, become a geologist, discover rare mineral deposits, and leave her name in history books. Her destiny was to remain single, unburdened by relationships.”

“In other words, I shouldn’t have been born?” Yun Xiguang was surprised.

Bai Ze nodded. “You are a life outside the plans of heaven and earth, a glitch since birth, created by Ling Qingkong.

“Ling Qingkong’s future was beyond my predictions, but I believe that since she discovered the method to subdue the heavenly fire a decade ago, there’s a possibility that if she were alive today, or… if she obtained a strand of spirit energy, she might have already researched the Fire of Rules. If that were the case, perhaps she could have become a threat to them.”

These words sparked new insights in Yun Xiguang’s mind.

He had been pondering what secret his parents uncovered that led to Zhulong’s decision to eliminate them. Bai Ze had already predicted the apocalypse and could potentially locate the other phoenix feathers in the future. Yet, the ones aiming to kill him were mere ants compared to an existence as powerful as Zhulong.

There was only one plausible explanation for Zhulong’s involvement: Yun Xiguang’s parents posed a potential threat to him!

“You’re right!” Yun Xiguang exclaimed. “Perhaps the entity lurking in the shadows feared that my mother would encounter a strand of spirit energy and create another miracle, becoming a potential hazard to them.”

Zhang Jiancha questioned, “Is a less than 1% possibility worth Zhulong taking action?”

Bai Ze added, “Even if she mastered the Fire of Rules, she still wouldn’t be a match for them.”

They possessed Zhulong, Youying, and even the Heavenly Law itself. It was not something a mere human wielding the feeble Fire of Rules could overcome.

However, Yun Xiguang countered, “But with the Fire of Rules, she could defeat all spirit beasts that obtained spirit energy. She had the power to gather all nine strands of spirit energy.

“Moreover, my mother’s last words mentioned the Beast Codex!”

Yun Xiguang suddenly recalled that after Chi Qiong broke into the confidential archives, he was immediately drawn to the Beast Codex, located thousands of miles away. He entered the illusory reality of the Beast Codex and was effortlessly absorbed into it.

Although the reason remained unknown, there was undoubtedly some sort of attraction between the Beast Codex and Chi Qiong.

Yun Xiguang’s thoughts became clearer. He said, “Once my mother gathered all nine strands of spirit energy and possessed the Beast Codex, such a powerful allure would surely draw him out of his slumber, even if he was in a deep sleep.

“But according to the arrangement of the Heavenly Laws, he must not awaken.”

To prevent this remote possibility, Zhulong took action and killed his parents.

However, neither the Heavenly Laws nor Zhulong could have anticipated that this act inadvertently accelerated Chi Qiong’s awakening.

Originally, Chi Qiong’s awakening was merely a possibility, and even Ling Qingkong would have encountered numerous obstacles to achieve it.

By then, the Spiritbond World would have been severely weakened in its efforts to gather the nine strands of spirit energy, which would have resulted in widespread suffering in the world.

But unexpectedly, Ling Qingkong’s death not only made Chi Qiong’s awakening a certainty but also prevented any harm to the world.

Everything had become simpler than before.

This was truly an instance of making a mistake worse by trying to correct it.

Yun Xiguang shook his head and sighed, “Retribution.”