Battle Through the Heavens: Purple Heaven Thunder Emperor

Chapter 487 The Flame of Life

Not far from the ancient tree, there is a waterfall cascading down the cliff of Leishan Mountain, like a silver river falling from the heavens, with a roaring sound and splashing up thousands of water droplets.

Below the waterfall, a clear, emerald-green pool is formed, its water cool and exuding a subtle, ethereal charm.

Xiao Bai sat casually on the grass by the pool, holding a bright green bamboo fishing rod in his hand, the fishing line dangling into the deep pool water.

In his lap sat the exquisitely beautiful Xiao Qing. The little girl imitated him, her small hands gripping the fishing rod tightly, her big eyes fixed on the small float on the water, her little face full of focus and anticipation.

"Daddy, why aren't the fish biting the bait?"

After waiting for a while without any movement, Xiao Qing became impatient, wiggled her little bottom, and looked up at Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai lowered his head, nuzzled his chin against his daughter's soft hair, and chuckled, "Fishing requires patience, just like cultivation; you can't rush it—"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Bai flicked his finger almost imperceptibly, and a wisp of fighting spirit silently disappeared into the water.

"Wow! It's moving! Daddy, pull it out!"

Xiao Qing saw the buoy suddenly sink and immediately shouted excitedly.

Xiao Bai cooperated by lifting the fishing rod, and a silvery fish, about a foot long, was pulled out of the water, jumping and wriggling on the hook.

"I caught one! I caught one!"

Xiao Qing clapped her little hands and cheered with joy.

"Hehe, Qing'er is just lucky."

Xiao Bai took the fish off the plate and put it into a small wooden bucket next to him. Finally, there was a fish in the bucket.

Yun Yun, who was brewing tea with her delicate hands at a small table, couldn't help but raise her beautiful eyes and give Xiao Bai a slightly reproachful glare.

How could she not see that Xiao Bai was secretly helping her?

This guy spoils his daughter rotten.

She picked up a cup of freshly brewed tea, its liquor a vibrant green with a delicate aroma, and handed it to Xiao Bai.

Taking the teacup, Xiao Bai took a sip, then placed it on the small table beside him before turning his head and looking at Yun Yun: "You've reached the second level of Dou Zun? It seems that the energy of the seal in your body is being refined and absorbed at an increasingly faster rate."

""

Upon hearing this, Yun Yun walked to the grass beside him and sat down cross-legged, gently smoothing the hem of her plain white dress. She then nodded slightly and softly said, "Since my grandmother's resurrection, she has guided me through many techniques for refining seals. Otherwise, it would have taken me quite some time to reach my current level by relying solely on my own exploration."

Xiao Bai nodded, his gaze returning to the now still buoy in the deep pool, and asked calmly, "Xian'er intends for you to refine that Bodhi Heart, but you—disagree?"

Upon hearing this, Yun Yun gave him a light glare and said coquettishly, "You're eavesdropping on our private conversations as young ladies?"

Xiao Bai shook his head and chuckled, "I don't have that kind of leisure. When Bodhi was talking to me before, she casually mentioned that the Immortal had refused to give it the Bodhi Heart. At that time, I knew that she probably wanted to leave this opportunity to you. Later, when I saw that you two looked a little strange after you finished talking, I roughly guessed what was going on."

Yun Yun suddenly realized, and then felt a little helpless. The man beside her, who seemed to be carefree in many ways, was actually meticulous and observant, and probably knew everything perfectly well.

In his presence, all my little schemes always seemed to be laid bare.

She bit her red lips, hesitating to speak: "I—"

"Don't feel embarrassed or guilty towards anyone."

Xiao Bai seemed to be able to see through her thoughts. Before she could finish speaking, he spoke softly, interrupting her, "Among the four of you, Cai Lin is the king of the snake-people, and her bloodline needs to evolve; Xian'er has a calamity-poison body, and her constitution is special; both of them have both hidden dangers and opportunities. Therefore, I am indeed paying more attention to their cultivation paths than to you and Xun'er."

He paused, then continued, "As for Xun'er, her identity is special. The ancient clan has already made a complete plan for her cultivation path, and I can't interfere with it."

At this point, Xiao Bai paused slightly, turned his head to look at the person beside him who was staring blankly at him, and his voice became somewhat low: "Only you—Yun'er. I haven't interfered too much with your cultivation. You have a gentle nature and dislike fighting, so my original intention was for you to cultivate peacefully at your own pace for the time being..."

"No!"

Yun Yun hurriedly shook her head, interrupting him, her tone urgent, "I've never felt you've wronged me! If it weren't for you, I might still be in the Jia Ma Empire, at most a Dou Zong, how could I have achieved my current cultivation level? I—I just feel that the Bodhi Heart is too precious, Xian'er, she—"

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she hurried to explain.

Xiao Bai smiled as he looked at her, gently pressing down on her trembling hand as she spoke, soothingly saying, "I'm not saying this because I think you have any grievances. Do you think I don't understand your personality? I just want to tell you that you can accept that Bodhi heart without any psychological burden, and you don't need to worry about whether the others will have any opinions about it. They won't care about these things either."

After saying that, he sighed slightly.

To be fair, Yun Yun's strength at this point in time is already much stronger than that of her contemporaries in the original work. This may be partly due to the guidance of Granny Hua, but it is probably more the result of her own silent hard work behind the scenes.

After all, being among Xun'er, Cai Lin, and Xiao Yi Xian, three women who are top-notch in terms of both talent and bloodline, would likely make even many so-called geniuses on the continent feel overshadowed and under immense pressure.

These subtle details were things he had only gradually noticed during the days since he brought her back to Zixiao Palace.

Yun'er is shy, has a calm nature, and doesn't like to compete.

There is only one Bodhi Heart, and Little Fairy Doctor is currently at a bottleneck. She must be embarrassed to take this opportunity for herself, so she declined.

However, Xiao Bai doesn't have many demands on her, or rather, on the four of them.

Whether they are Dou Zun or Dou Sheng, as long as they are still the four of them, that's fine.

At this stage, there is not much difference in cultivation level.

When his cultivation advances further and he travels to the vast world, if he ascends to the highest realm, even if Yun Yun's talent is weak, it is not impossible for him to help her reach the supreme realm.

"Alright, that's settled then!"

Seeing that she was pursing her red lips and not speaking, Xiao Bai knew that her indecisive nature was acting up again, so he did not give her a chance to hesitate and decided on the matter directly.

He even reached out and pinched her smooth, pretty face with a touch of affection.

Yun Yun was stunned by his sudden act of intimacy. Feeling the warm touch on her face, a faint light flickered in her eyes, seemingly helpless, yet also—a hint of sweetness at being cherished.

She reached out and took his large hand, which was playfully rubbing against her face, and grasped it, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a hint of shyness as she playfully scolded, "You're so annoying—Qing'er is still here!"

"Qing'er didn't see anything!"

The little girl who had been eavesdropping nearby immediately covered her eyes with her hands and shouted loudly.

But between those fingers, a pair of large, dark eyes were darting around slyly, clearly not missing a thing.

Xiao Bai was amused by his daughter's quirky appearance and laughed heartily. He reached out and rubbed her little head, which made the little girl giggle and rub her head against his chest.

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, Xiao Bai's eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he had sensed something.

He turned to Yun Yun beside him, whose cheeks still held a faint blush, and smiled, "Yun'er, Nalan Yanran is here. Go and bring her over. The one who came with her—"

Let's invite them along too.

In front of the Wuliang Hall.

The plaza, paved with white marble, is surrounded by towering stone pillars with coiled dragons, creating a magnificent scene.

At this moment, Nalan Yanran was standing at the edge of the square, looking at the back of the Zixiao Palace disciple who had led her there, and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

The disciple had originally said he was going to take her to see the elder in charge of receiving visitors, but as soon as they arrived in front of the Wuliang Hall, he seemed to receive some kind of instruction and only told her to wait there before hurriedly leaving, leaving her and the old man beside him behind.

She turned to look at the elderly man beside her, whose body was somewhat hunched.

He was leaning on what looked like an ordinary wooden cane, and his steps were even somewhat unsteady and shaky.

This was encountered when reporting to the Zixiao City Lord's Mansion; the person also claimed to be visiting the Zixiao Palace.

In Nalan Yanran's perception, the old man showed no signs of fighting spirit, appearing to be just an ordinary mortal.

She even guessed that this might be an elder from the family of one of the disciples in Zixiao Palace, who had come to visit relatives.

However, the old man's condition was rather strange at this moment.

Unlike Nalan Yanran, he did not survey his surroundings. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his eyes no longer cloudy, but instead gleaming with inner light, staring intently at the towering canopy of the giant tree behind the Wuliang Palace.

His eyes revealed an extremely strange look, not just astonishment, but more like an exploration, a kind of shock as if he had seen something legendary.

"Yanran!"

Just as Nalan Yanran was filled with doubt and uncertainty, a familiar voice with a gentle smile came from ahead.

She turned her head sharply and saw a graceful figure with an increasingly elegant and noble demeanor looking at her with a gentle smile on the tall white marble steps of the Wuliang Hall.

"teacher!"

Nalan Yanran was overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to Yun Yun, where she respectfully bowed.

Yun Yun looked at her disciple, who was growing more and more graceful, and carefully examined her from head to toe for a moment. Seeing that her breathing was steady, her spirits were high, and she showed no signs of injury or fatigue, she was relieved. Her gaze then turned to the old man with a cane at the bottom of the steps.

At this moment, the old man also turned his gaze away from the ancient Bodhi tree and looked at Yunyun on the steps.

His gaze returned to its previous calmness, even carrying a hint of—presence—restraint.

He nodded slightly to Yun Yun as a greeting, without saying anything.

Yun Yun's delicate eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She couldn't sense any energy fluctuations from the old man either, but since Xiao Bai had specifically instructed her to "invite" him over, this person must be extraordinary.

She was gentle by nature, and seeing the hint of reserve in the former's eyes, she didn't show anything. She simply nodded slightly in return and said in a calm tone, "Old man, please come with me. My husband invites you."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light seemed to flash in the old man's cloudy eyes. Leaning on his cane, he stepped onto the stairs.

Nalan Yanran followed Yun Yun in silence as they passed through the magnificent Wuliang Hall and followed a quiet stone path toward the waterfall at the back of the mountain.

The closer you get to the back of the mountain, the richer the energy in the air becomes, and the greenery and trees grow even more lush and vibrant.

Nalan Yanran could clearly feel that the breathing of the old man with the cane beside her seemed slightly more rapid than before, and his seemingly dim old eyes would occasionally sweep over the strange flowers and exotic plants along the way that emitted spiritual light.

Before long, the sound of water grew louder, and the cascading waterfall and the emerald green pool came into view.

Nalan Yanran spotted Xiao Bai sitting at a stone table by the pool at a glance.

He wore a purple robe, his white hair was as white as snow, and he had a relaxed posture, as if he had blended into the surrounding mountains and rivers.

At this moment, he was calmly looking in their direction, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

The moment she saw Xiao Bai, the elderly man with a cane who had been walking silently beside her suddenly stopped in his tracks!

His originally hunched back straightened up a little involuntarily at this moment!

He gripped the seemingly ordinary cane in his hand even tighter.

The calm and reserved expression on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and — surprise and doubt!

In an instant, Nalan Yanran keenly sensed that the surrounding air seemed to freeze!

An invisible, suffocating pressure arose out of nowhere, making it difficult for her to breathe, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably.

She looked in shock at the old man beside her, then at Xiao Bai, who remained calm by the pool, completely bewildered by what had happened.

Just as she felt the pressure was about to crush her, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, a soft "Uh-huh!"

A muffled groan came from beside me.

The old man, who seemed ordinary to her, was pushed back three steps by an invisible force before he could barely regain his balance.

His aged face was filled with extreme shock and disbelief. He suddenly looked up and stared in horror at Xiao Bai by the pool!

Yun Yun was also startled!

Just a moment ago, she clearly felt that a faint yet terrifying aura, like the prelude to a volcanic eruption, suddenly emanated from the old man, making her soul tremble.

That aura was as deep and unfathomable as an abyss, far exceeding her imagination!

Her internal fighting spirit subconsciously began to circulate, but before she could make a move...

"Rustling sound—!"

Above everyone's heads, on the canopy of that towering giant tree, all the branches and leaves moved without wind, making a loud and rapid rustling sound.

A vast and imposing pressure, like the heavens and earth, descended suddenly, like an ancient behemoth awakened, and firmly locked onto the old man with the cane.

The old man felt the terrifying pressure emanating from the man, and his expression changed drastically. He hurriedly spoke, his voice filled with an unprecedented urgency and panic: "Palace Master Xiao! Wait! This old man's trip—has no ill intentions!"

Xiao Bai remained calm and casually raised his hand.

In an instant, the violently swaying tree canopy calmed down, and the immense pressure that had permeated the air receded like a tide, as if it had never existed.

The suffocating sense of stillness in the room instantly dissipated.

Xiao Bai's dark eyes did not fall on the face of the still-shaken old man, but slowly moved down, finally settling on the seemingly ordinary wooden cane in his hand.

"Ranked fifth on the Strange Flame Ranking —"

"The Flame of Life!"

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