Chapter Ninety-Five: The Past of His Parents

Ji Muyu did not give up on persuading Yin Yao to activate the Ice Spirit Formation, and his methods were exactly as she had anticipated. In the end, Yin Yao agreed to his demand and said that she would open the formation on the third day before the great battle. That, in a roundabout way, also meant that whether Ji Muyu could obtain the Mourning Lotus would depend entirely on the outcome of that war.

Of course, when Yin Yao had first chosen to place the Mourning Lotus in Ice Spirit Valley, she had already foreseen all that would follow. One had to know that within Ice Spirit Valley, her spiritual power was inexhaustible. The advantage was wholly on her side.

Yin Yao had not deceived Ji Muyu. On the final day, she indeed went to Ice Spirit Valley and opened the Ice Spirit Formation, revealing the valley’s true face to the world once more.

However, what Ji Muyu did not know was that the moment Yin Yao opened the formation, she fell into a coma. No one had expected this. Chu Suyi and Li Su tacitly sealed off the news, not allowing even the slightest whisper of it to leak out.

The unconscious Yin Yao did not wake for a long time. Everyone grew anxious, pacing in circles. Yet no one dared act rashly. After all, when Mu Ye had checked her pulse, everything in her body had shown as normal, without the slightest abnormality, and yet she remained in a coma without any sign of awakening. At that moment, everyone only hoped that Yin Yao would safely wake within the agreed time. Nothing else mattered.

Within Yin Yao’s consciousness, she felt as though she had arrived in another era. Unlike the scene when she had last met her father, she also felt strangely light, as if she were merely a strand of lonely spirit drifting aimlessly.

Slowly descending from the heights, Yin Yao saw many people, things, and scenes she had never witnessed before. She discovered that the world she now inhabited possessed a very peculiar phenomenon: every person here wielded the mysterious powers that had once puzzled her. Behind each and every one of them shimmered the phantom outline of a fox, and the strength of every single person in this place was above the Void Realm.

She drifted through this inexplicable world for nearly three months, yet she did not feel that much time had passed. It seemed that time here moved much faster than it did on the Wasteland Continent.

No one discovered Yin Yao’s existence, and no one knew that every movement they made had already fallen under another’s gaze. Yin Yao still remembered that when she had first entered this world and desperately sought a way out, nothing responded to her efforts, so she had eventually given up. But three months had already passed. She did not know what had become of the world outside.

Just as she once again struggled with being unable to leave this world, a thick bank of mist suddenly appeared before her. It seemed to hold some mysterious attraction, drawing Yin Yao step by step toward it.

Deep within the mist stood the familiar yet unfamiliar middle-aged man, smiling as he watched Yin Yao approach: “Yao’er, you’ve come. I’m glad you reached here in such a short time.”

“Father?” Yin Yao’s voice was filled with joy and disbelief she could not hide.

The handsome, slightly weathered middle-aged man across from her was none other than her master from her former world, and her true father. She had never expected to see him again under such circumstances.

“Yao’er, don’t be nervous. Only three days have passed outside. Your three-month agreement has not yet arrived. In a moment, I will help you leave here, and then you will still make it in time. My appearance this time should be the second-to-last within this space. After you defeat Ji Muyu, I will appear once more to tell you where to find your mother and me.”

As he looked at Yin Yao, there was tenderness in the middle-aged man’s eyes, along with clear relief.

Yin Yao looked at her father and hurriedly asked, “I can come to find you now?”

“Yes, child.”

“Father, can you tell me about your past with Mother? Uncle Li is unwilling to speak much, and Mother rarely mentions it. Now you also believe I have the strength to come find you, so is it time to tell me everything?” At this moment, Yin Yao was unusually earnest. She truly wanted to know. She did not wish to remain a person who knew nothing.

Seeing the stubborn resolve on Yin Yao’s face, the middle-aged man sighed. She really was just as obstinate as her mother.

“Since you truly want to know, then I won’t hide it from you. Everything Li Jin told you was correct. As for me, I was just an ordinary human. But I was deeply devoted to cultivation, and my strength gradually grew, becoming no weaker than that of those born with special inherited powers.”

“Your mother, Silver Fox, was originally the Spirit Maiden of the Spirit Fox Clan. She had outstanding talent and cultivated diligently. Had it not been for that chance meeting, she would already have become the next clan leader of the Spirit Fox Clan. But she happened to encounter me, and I nearly ruined everything for her. Because she was about to inherit the position of clan leader, she left the Spirit Fox territory to savor her last bit of freedom, and there she was attacked by outsiders. I happened to pass by and saved her.”

Yin Yao nodded, thinking that once again it was that melodramatic plot: the hero saving the beauty.

“Actually, your mother could have handled those people with ease. It was just that at the time, she discovered there was someone else present besides herself and the men who meant her harm. The key was that she could not sense what power that person possessed. She could not detect any hereditary ability in me at all. What she did not know was that I was one of the rarest kinds of people in that world: an ordinary person without inherited powers.”

“My intervention aroused her curiosity, so she found all sorts of excuses that were not really excuses just to stay by my side. Gradually, we grew fond of each other and ended up together. Only then did I learn of your mother’s identity. She feared I would back away, so she kept comforting me, never knowing that I was never the sort of proud man who would retreat. I was grateful for her tenderness. But good times did not last long. People from the Spirit Fox Clan came looking for her, learned of us, and forced me to leave.”

“What?!”

Hearing this, Yin Yao could not help blurting out the words. Her father seldom spoke of his own strength; he always spoke of how wonderful her mother was. But how could a woman like her mother have fallen in love with a man who was not powerful? That could only mean her father was extraordinary, and his strength was beyond measure. What right did the people of the Spirit Fox Clan have to split apart a pair of lovers?

Seeing his daughter’s agitated expression, the middle-aged man smiled gently. “Let me finish.”

“All right.” Yin Yao nodded. She wanted to know all the things she had never understood.

“Your mother and I did not yield. We chose to elope. By then, your mother was already pregnant with you. But when we fled the Spirit Fox Clan, we did not know that internal strife had broken out there. The clan had split in two: one became the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, and the other the White Fox Clan. Those who had come looking for your mother before actually hoped she would return to take charge of the situation. But your mother and I knew nothing of that at the time.”

“We were regarded as traitors to the Spirit Fox Clan. The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan sent people to hunt down your mother and me, unwilling to let her return. In the end, we could not withstand so many enemies, so we chose to flee to the Wasteland Continent, which is subordinate to the Void Continent. Because once we went there, the price we would pay was immense. Our strength would regress to the peak of the Void Realm, unable to advance any further, and we would also never be able to return to the Void Continent.”

“Didn’t you two arrive at the Wasteland Continent together? Then why were you not by Mother’s side in the end?” Yin Yao did not understand and could only ask.

“Your mother was already pregnant, so moving around was somewhat inconvenient. To ensure her safe escape, I separated from her and drew the attention of the pursuers. I was captured, and your mother went to the Wasteland Continent. It was only later that I suddenly discovered time and space had been thrown into disorder. Your soul was not in this world at all, but had gone to a place called the Twenty-First Century. I exhausted my energy to condense an avatar, went to the Twenty-First Century, found you, and brought you back.”

This time, her father explained things in greater detail, and Yin Yao finally understood why she had come here.

“I think you must be curious about how your mother did not die, am I right? Your mother was the Spirit Maiden of the Spirit Fox Clan and possessed extraordinary power. She was not so easy to kill. That ambush did not take her life. Instead, it created an opportunity that sent her back to the Void Continent. But the moment she returned, she was seized by the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan and vanished without a trace.”

At the end of his words, the middle-aged man lowered his head, as though endless sorrow weighed upon him.

Yin Yao walked softly to his side and spoke in a gentle voice, “Father, it’s all right. Your daughter already has the strength now. I will surely rescue you, and I will also bring Mother back to your side safe and sound.”

The middle-aged man raised his head and smiled with relief. “Mm, I believe you, my daughter. You will not disappoint us. Oh, I haven’t told you your father’s name yet. Remember it well. Your father’s name is Mo Qin.”

After speaking those final words, the middle-aged man vanished where he stood. Yin Yao felt as though her soul body were being tugged away by some force, dragging her out of this place. She could not help feeling alarmed.

“Go back, child. Believe that we will meet again very soon.”

In the empty expanse, her father’s voice echoed once more, and Yin Yao’s heart gradually settled. So this was her father’s power. He could always make her feel safe whenever she was at a loss.

When Yin Yao opened her eyes again, she was back. Familiar room, familiar people.

Chu Suyi was the first to notice that Yin Yao had awakened. He hurried to the bedside. “Yin Yao, you’re awake! You nearly scared everyone to death!”

“Yao’er, what happened to you? What took place while you were unconscious?” Li Su followed quickly.

“Yin Yao, are you all right?”

“How do you feel now?”

Everyone’s concern was more than Yin Yao could have hoped for. She smiled at them. “I’m fine.”

“All right, with so many questions, how is Yin Yao supposed to answer them? As for her condition, you should ask me, the physician. Please step aside and let me check her pulse.” Mu Ye looked at everyone’s reaction and could only shake his head helplessly.

The crowd quickly made way so that Mu Ye could examine Yin Yao at once.

“Yin Yao is fine now. Everyone can rest easy,” Mu Ye announced. Hearing this, everyone finally let out a breath of relief. Anyone would be frightened by a person inexplicably falling unconscious for three whole days.

Just as everyone was about to rush forward with more questions, Yin Yao waved them off. “Don’t worry about me. I’m all right. Everyone should focus on preparing for tonight’s fierce battle.”

Seeing her attitude, everyone understood and did not ask further.

“All right, since Yin Yao is fine now, let’s go prepare,” Li Su said, gesturing to everyone as they filed out together.

Inside the palace, Ji Muyu stood before the imperial study, gazing toward the palace gates as if waiting for something. Behind him stood two people: Yin Su and Lie, who had just emerged from seclusion.

The three of them wore the same expressionless faces, yet everyone believed that within their hearts, they were anticipating tonight’s battle as much as anyone else.

This was a battle that would determine life and death. The victor would be king, and the defeated would be prey.