Granny Xi Wuqing
The Flame Cang Domain, located in the southern part of the Great Desolate Realm!
This place was already close to the edge of the Three Thousand Dao Domains.
Crossing two more domains to the south would lead to a vast, desolate land filled with towering mountains and ridges!
It was a place teeming with poisonous insects, miasma, treacherous waters, and perilous ravines, devoid of any human presence.
The Flame Cang Domain itself was sparsely populated. Compared to other bustling domains, it felt remote and exuded a wild, untamed aura.
This domain was named after the Flame Cang Mountain Range.
The Flame Cang Mountain Range stretched endlessly, like a colossal dragon coiled upon the earth, winding and twisting, spanning east to west.
It was filled with towering divine peaks and fraught with dangers!
In a secluded corner of this mountain range, there lay a hidden cave dwelling.
The exterior of the cave was protected by layers of powerful formations and restrictions, preventing intrusions from the ferocious beasts of the mountains and other cultivators.
The interior of the cave was not large, and its furnishings were simplicity itself.
A pearl embedded in the ceiling emitted a faint, firefly-like glow.
There was a stone table, a stone stool, and a stone bed.
A few utensils were placed on the stone table.
Aside from that, there was nothing else!
At this moment, an old woman sat cross-legged on the stone bed.
Her head was lowered, her silver hair cascading down, obscuring her face.
Beside her lay a walking stick, covered in a thick layer of dust.
The old woman wore a plain gray robe, and the skin on her exposed hands was like withered tree bark, devoid of any luster.
She sat there quietly, her body hunched.
Time seemed to pass swiftly, yet she remained utterly still.
It was unclear whether she was alive or already dead!
The cave was filled with a heavy atmosphere of solitude.
It was as if time had no meaning here.
Without any unexpected events, it seemed everything would remain this way indefinitely.
But after an unknown amount of time—perhaps a fleeting moment, perhaps a hundred years—
On this day, the space within the cave rippled faintly.
The formations outside silently collapsed!
Then, a spatial passage appeared, and two young figures—a man and a woman—stepped out.
It was Jiang Wuxu and Su Qingfrost.
"Granny!"
Su Qingfrost looked at the old woman on the stone bed and called out softly.
But there was no response.
"Granny Xi, Frost and I have come to see you," Jiang Wuxu followed, but still received no reply.
This made their hearts sink.
Su Qingfrost's eyes instantly turned red.
In her perception, the old woman's body had almost no life force left.
Like a candle flickering in the wind, it could extinguish at any moment!
"Granny!"
Su Qingfrost rushed forward, half-kneeling before the old woman.
She grasped her hands tightly, channeling a surge of overwhelming energy into her body.
She even used her Heavenly Emperor origin!
After a long while, the old woman finally moved slightly.
This brought a flicker of joy to Su Qingfrost and Jiang Wuxu.
But the next moment, that joy vanished, replaced by deep sorrow.
The old woman before them slowly raised her head.
From beneath her silver hair, a face aged to the extreme was revealed.
Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes cloudy, her frame emaciated!
Time had carved deep marks on her face with its merciless blade!
This appearance was vastly different from the one in their memories!
"Granny!"
"How did you age so much!"
Su Qingfrost choked out, her voice trembling.
Jiang Wuxu couldn't help but wipe the corners of his eyes.
The sight of the old woman filled him with indescribable sadness.
"Little Qingfrost, why have you come?"
The old woman spoke, her voice hoarse and faint.
She looked at the woman before her, a faint light struggling to gather in her cloudy eyes.
She tried to lift a hand, wanting to touch Su Qingfrost's face.
A faint, happy smile appeared on the old woman's lips.
Perhaps due to the miraculous effects of the Heavenly Emperor origin, after a while, the old woman's condition improved significantly.
Her speech became clearer.
Her life force was now more than ten times stronger than before!
"Little Qingfrost, don't be sad."
"I've lived for over a hundred thousand years, always alone. I never expected that, as my time nears its end, you'd still remember me."
"Come, sit. Jiang, you sit too. Since you're here, stay and chat with me."
"It's been over a century since I last spoke!"
The old woman reached out, wiping away Su Qingfrost's tears.
Jiang Wuxu helped his wife up, and they sat together by the stone bed.
The old woman was overjoyed to see the couple.
She initiated the conversation, chatting with them.
They spoke of the past, of times long gone.
Then, Granny Xi noticed Su Qingfrost's pregnant belly.
She seemed surprised by the little one's existence but was mostly delighted.
Her words were filled with endless affection.
As the three talked, they didn't notice that Jiang Yuqiong, inside the womb, was listening intently, catching every word.
"So this is the Granny Xi Mom was talking about!"
"No wonder Mom gets so sad whenever she mentions her. So that's why."
Jiang Yuqiong quietly listened to their conversation and soon learned many things he hadn't known before.
Granny Xi's real name was Xi Wuqing.
Nearly a hundred thousand years ago, she had already reached the Quasi-Saint Realm!
She was a powerful independent cultivator, always solitary and alone!
When Su Qingfrost left her sect to explore the Three Thousand Dao Domains, she met Granny Xi by chance.
The old woman adored this little girl!
She treated her like her own granddaughter, often teasing her!
At the same time, she provided Su Qingfrost with immense help!
Back then, Su Qingfrost was still weak, and the old woman taught her the Dao, guiding her cultivation.
Time and again, when Su Qingfrost faced deadly peril, it was Granny Xi who stepped in to save her.
She remembered one time when Su Qingfrost fought a Saint Son from a sacred land, slaying him with a single sword strike, killing him on the spot!
But this enraged the Saint Son's protector!
He was a true Saint Ancestor-level powerhouse!
Watching his Saint Son die before his eyes, he ignored the rule that "elders must not interfere in the disputes of the younger generation" and attacked, intending to crush Su Qingfrost!
Granny Xi was there at the time.
With her Half-Saint cultivation, she fought against the Saint Ancestor!
That battle left her gravely injured!
She paid a heavy price to escape with Su Qingfrost!
Another time, a secret realm opened, and Su Qingfrost, Jiang Wuxu, Su Qingtian, and Su Qingyu went to explore it together.
Su Qingtian obtained a supreme treasure but was targeted.
As soon as they left the secret realm, they were ambushed by a group of powerhouses, their lives hanging by a thread.
To save Su Qingtian, Granny Xi didn't hesitate to use a pill!
It was her life's savings!
A divine pill meant for breaking through to the Saint Ancestor Realm!
Such incidents, one after another, Su Qingfrost remembered them all.
"You could say, without Granny Xi, there wouldn't be the Mom of today."
"Having a Half-Saint by her side was crucial for her growth!"
Jiang Yuqiong sighed.
He knew that his parents' sect back then wasn't very powerful.
The strongest among them was only at the Cave Profound Realm.
But Granny Xi was a Half-Step Saint Ancestor!
Without her, there likely wouldn't be the Frost Heaven Emperor who now reigns supreme!
Unfortunately, this old woman, who had lived for over a hundred thousand years, could never cross that final step.
The Saint Ancestor Realm stood like an insurmountable chasm, barring her path.
Year after year, Granny Xi was now in her twilight, frail and nearing her end.
After Su Qingfrost became an Emperor, she sought many spiritual herbs and treasures, but they could only barely extend Granny Xi's life.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death—the cycle of nature!
Even with heaven-defying methods, it was hard to reverse!
This was Su Qingfrost's greatest unresolved knot.