Chapter 2: The seed is planted

In the southern region, where three clans coexisted amid the vast expanse of mountains, there was one peak that blended seamlessly with its surroundings. Though the region was renowned for its rugged terrain, few knew of the mysterious secret resting at its base: a dormant soul, awaiting its moment to be reborn.

...….

"Xiong Zi, are you alright, my dear?" asked a middle-aged woman with brown hair, her voice tinged with concern.

Xiong Zi, his eyes shadowed by dark circles, met his wife's gaze. He looked weary, as if sleep had eluded him for days.

They were sprinting through the night, completing a scouting mission assigned by their clan. 

"It's just some unsettling dreams I've been having," he replied, attempting to sound reassuring. "Nothing serious."

His wife, Xiong Er, furrowed her brow. "I've had strange dreams as well, since… you know."

Xiong Zi understood her reference. Recent weeks had been harsh. Xiong Er had been gravely injured in their last mission, her cultivation talent plummeting from C grade to D grade. Compounding their grief, she had suffered a miscarriage, leaving her unable to bear children. Xiong Zi had exhausted their savings on refining a healing Gu,which failed giving him a serious wound instead, deepening their despair.

And lately, Xiong Zi had been haunted by visions of a boy urging him to find him within a dead tree.

"What do the dreams involve?" Xiong Er asked.

"A young boy asking me to seek him out," Xiong Zi replied.

"In a dead tree?" 

"Yes."

Xiong Er's eyes widened.

"Oh… the boy I saw seemed no older than three weeks—the same age our child might have been…"

The memory of their lost child still haunted Xiong Zi. He had tried to comfort his wife, but he felt a deep-seated guilt for not being there when needed most. 

"That's peculiar. I've been having the same dream," Xiong Zi said. "I don't believe it's a mere coincidence."

"Could it be the work of Gu masters?" Xiong Er suggested.

Xiong Zi considered the possibility but dismissed it. "We're only rank 2 Gu masters. I doubt anyone with such power would target us."

They had avoided conflicts within their clan, focusing on missions and steering clear of politics. Unbeknownst to them, their fate was about to change.

"Honey?"

"Yes?"

"I just heard a voice nearby."

"Are you certain? My Gu worms detected nothing."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in their minds, soothing and mystical, clearing their thoughts and compelling them to listen.

'Father, Mother… I am close.'

The couple were filled with terror and for some reason,hope. The voice claimed to be their child's, and despite the illogical nature of their hope, they clung to it.

They followed the voice to a dead tree, completely different from the vibrant trees around it. Inside the tree glowed a faint green light, and the voice urged them closer.

Without hesitation, they touched the green light. It drew a small amount of their blood but miraculously healed them both. Xiong Zi's injuries vanished, and his primal essence was restored. Xiong Er's cultivation talent was revived returning to C grand,and even enhanced, with her primeval essence level increasing from 60% to 70%. Xiong Zi's  talent improved too from 65% to 75%, elevating them both to B grade.

The tree cracked open, revealing a heart-like core from which a blinding light emerged, enveloping them and transforming them into youthful forms,then the light went straight into Xiong Er's stomach.

Then the tree gifted them one final gift: a fruit emitting an aura of absolute dominance, before getting wrapped in wood from a branch of the tree, making the fruit's aura dissipated. As the tree withered and vanished, leaving the couple in awe and fear.

"What just happened?" Xiong Zi exclaimed, bewildered and elated at his newfound vitality.

He picked the ball of wood , scared of this unknown but also existed deep down for what opportunities this may give him.

Xiong eventually snapped out of it and checked on his wife's state

"Dear ! Are you alright?!"

"Dear! This feeling… I'm pregnant!" Xiong Er announced with astonishment.

Xiong Zi, stunned, could scarcely process the revelation.

"It must be an immortal inheritance!" Xiong Er declared. "We've been granted another chance!"

Xiong Zi was skeptical if this was really what his wife said , and the whole pregnancy thing didn't sit right with him , is she really pregnant?Is that even his child ? Wasn't his child dead? Is this "inheritance" from an immortal who they only heared about in legends?

But when he saw the joy on his wife's face, he stopped his skepticism for a moment accepting the possibility, though he remained uncertain.

He was still worried about his wife's well being , so he was going to check on her physical and mental state when they return, after they explain what happened to the clan that is.

They were overwhelmed and uncertain how to explain their miraculous transformation to their clan. They decided to present the truth as an immortal inheritance while concealing Xiong Er's pregnancy and the mysterious ball of wood.

Unbeknownst to Xiong Er, she would soon give birth to a child whose power would one day make the entire Gu world tremble.

...….

Meanwhile, in a distant graveyard, a woman awakened in what seemed to be her own grave.

"Fairy Zi Wei, it is truly refreshing to see such beauty awaken."

"Who are you?" she inquired, her voice steady despite her confusion.

"I am the current Lord of the Heaven Overseer Tower. Our heavenly court needs your aid once more, now that you have finally awakened," he responded.

Fairy Zi Wei pondered, then whispered to herself, "Ning Zu, have you finally returned, or has fate caught up with you?"

...….

Some where else

In a shadowy cave in the northern plains, a statue resembling a young man began to tremble and crack. With a sudden burst, the statue shattered, and the young man emerged, awakening for the first time in years.

"It appears the main body has found a way to revive without heaven's will interference,"

he looked at his hand that was shaking with joy.

"My role has begun. I have less than sixteen years to prepare, but I believe that will suffice."

As he spoke, the young man touched the ground, bit his finger, and drew a symbol that only he knew with his blood. This act triggered a concealed spatial pathway, one that only a venerable's method could discern. He was transported to a secluded time path grotto-heaven brimming with cultivation resources and a true meaning , promising a great grand master attainment in the art of information path.And because it's a time path grotto heaven , time will pass very quickly here compared to the outside world.

"Once I finish absorbing the main body's legacy in information path, two years will have passed in the outside world, but that should pose no problem, as I will be at least a level 7 immortal by then."

The young man surveyed the treasures and resources that would fuel his cultivation over the coming years.

"This... will be interesting."

With that declaration, he plunged into his cultivation with determination.