lonely
In Yan Xiu's first life, he was born in a small village on earth.
He has had vague memories since birth.
A golden divine body, a crumbling world, and the remnant black soul within the spiritual veins of Yaoxi Mountain. He knew who he was and what he must do: gather the fragments of divine power scattered across heaven and earth, restore his strength, return to Yaoxi Mountain, and awaken the other half of his soul.
At that time, he wandered the human world, found fragments of divine power embedded in stone tablets from the ruins of ancient temples, absorbed the remaining divinity from the plants and trees in the mountains, and even drew out that faint trace of divine power from the blood of mortals.
Kill them... and you can take back the divine power.
Ten thousand years ago, Gao's divine power was scattered between heaven and earth, and had long been integrated into the flesh and blood of all living beings, but most people could not perceive it.
It took him several decades to gather about 30% of the divine power.
But the loss of reincarnation is far more serious than he imagined. Every rebirth will wash away his memory, and every time he collects divine power, it will consume the essence of his soul.
By the third life, he could no longer remember the details of the ancient mythological world, and only remembered two vague goals: "collecting divine power" and "returning to Yaoxi Mountain".
In the fifth life, he finally collected 60% of the divine power.
By then, he was a white-haired old man, living in a dilapidated temple at the foot of Yaoxi Mountain. He could clearly feel the call of the black remnant soul in his spiritual veins, and he could also feel that his soul was about to collapse.
He had reincarnated too many times, and the cessation of incense had deprived him of nourishment. Sixty percent of the divine power was colliding in his body, but it could not completely merge with his soul. Instead, it was like a blunt knife, cutting his consciousness day by day.
He knew he couldn't wait any longer.
That morning, he leaned on a dry wooden cane and walked step by step towards the depths of Yaoxi Mountain. The mountain path was rugged and his legs were no longer flexible, so he had to gasp for breath with each step.
But he had to return to the depths of his spiritual veins. Even if he only had 60% of his divine power, he would try to awaken the other half of his soul.
But when he reached halfway up the mountain, his body suddenly staggered and a mouthful of blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth.
The divine power within him began to unravel, and the essence of his soul burned away bit by bit like dry grass on fire. He collapsed under the banyan tree, his consciousness gradually fading, and he was about to completely dissipate into the world.
Just then, a small white bird landed on his chest.
The white bird, only the size of a fist, its feathers still covered in down, chirped and rubbed its tiny head against his cheek. The old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at the lively little creature on his chest.
It is this...
He knew his time was up and he could not move forward.
But divine power must have a container—the land, a statue, or a person... If it shatters into thin air without support, it will dissipate. If the divine power dissipates like this, it will pollute the mountains and forests and harm these innocent creatures.
The ownerless divine power...will become a weapon and turn this land into a hell on earth.
Maybe he shouldn't worry about that. Hadn't he killed enough people? He was just worried that there was no one to control his divine power.
He used up his last bit of strength to slowly channel the divine power in his body, and injected it into the white bird's body bit by bit along its chest.
"I'll give you a chance."
The moment the divine power was injected, the white bird let out a crisp cry, and a faint cold white halo surrounded its body.
The old man looked at it, a faint smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, his consciousness completely sank into darkness, and his soul fell into reincarnation again.
Instinctively, the old man closed his eyes, resisting the impending pain. He didn't remember what was waiting for him, but deep in his soul there was always fear, the price of entering the cycle of reincarnation with an irreversible body.
He is not forgiven by heaven.
But this time...it seems a little different.
The old man opened his eyes and found himself falling into nothingness.
The little white bird shook its head, as if it had no idea what was happening. It flapped its wings and flew back to the bamboo forest deep in Yaoxi Mountain.
After the divine power dissipated, the spiritual energy of the heaven and earth in Yaoxi Mountain began to decline at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The plants and trees that were once able to cultivate and transform themselves could no longer gather immortal energy; fewer and fewer birds and beasts in the mountains were awakening their spiritual intelligence, and most of them could only maintain the form of ordinary animals; even the divinity in the spiritual veins seemed to have been sucked out of its core, leaving only a thin shell.
No one knew the reason. Only the master vaguely sensed that the divine power in the spiritual vein seemed to be taken away by some force, but he could not find any specific trace.
While morning dew still clung to the pine needles, Yan Xiu had already stood for a long time at the spiritual vein on the northern slope of Yaoxi Mountain. The cold white divine power emanating from his fingertips lightly brushed the ground, but only touched a thin layer of spiritual energy.
This was the 37th spiritual vein he had explored in the past half month, and there was still no trace of divine power fragments.
He was always vague about his origins. He only remembered that his master had "picked" him up from a crevice beside a mountain stream. At that time, he had just transformed, and his body was wrapped in a faint cold white glow. He didn't even know whether he was a plant or a rock.
The master did not ask any further questions, but only said, "Since you were born in Yaoxi Mountain, you are a person of Yaoxi Mountain." He gave him the name "Yan Xiu", taught him magic, and protected him as he grew up.
The memories of this life were exceptionally clear, so clear that he could recall fragments of the ancient mythological world ten thousand years ago, and every step he took in collecting divine power in his reincarnation—until the fifth life, when he collapsed under a banyan tree with sixty percent of his divine power.
When he woke up, he had transformed. Back at Yaoxi Mountain, 60% of his divine power was gone, leaving only this young body and his obsession with "finding the full divine power."
Why? Where did the divine power go... He had no idea.
Did it disappear again... or was it taken away by someone?
Why did he want divine power? Who was he going to give it to...
Over the years, he has traveled through every inch of Yaoxi Mountain and sneaked down the mountain countless times, but that 60% of his divine power seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, and only a faint remnant remained in his spiritual veins.
He could only find the remaining 40% first, but progress was slow. The cold white divine power colliding in his body often reminded him of the roar of the black remnant soul deep in his spiritual veins.
"If we can't find it, it will completely disappear."
"Brother Yan Xiu! Come here quickly! Xiao Que is about to transform!"
Wu Yi's shout suddenly came from the direction of the bamboo forest.
The young man seemed to be impatient to do anything. Yan Xiu withdrew the divine power that was probing the spiritual veins and turned to walk towards the bamboo forest.
He had been to that bamboo forest countless times, because he could occasionally feel a very faint and familiar fluctuation of divine power, but he could never grasp the source and just thought it was an illusion of the remnants of the spiritual vein.
He also remembered that there lived a white bird inside that loved to jump around.
But as soon as he reached the edge of the bamboo forest, his steps stopped.
Above the bluestone, the familiar white bird folded its wings, a faint white light emanating from its body. It wasn't the usual ethereal glow of a transformed fairy, but a cold white with a warm and divine aura.
The original divine power in his body... and the 60% of divine power he lost, are of the same origin!
Yan Xiu's fingertips trembled slightly, and he subconsciously took two steps forward, his eyes fixed on the white light.
Wu Yi had already run off to look for his other senior brothers and sisters. Only he and the white bird were left in the bamboo forest. Amid the rustling sound of the morning breeze blowing through the bamboo leaves, he could clearly feel the faint fluctuations of divine power continuously emanating from the white bird, like a stream flowing into a river or sea, creating a subtle resonance with the cold white divine power in his body.
"It's her..." Yan Xiu's Adam's apple twitched, and the confusion that had been weighing on his heart for years suddenly began to clear. He had searched Yaoxi Mountain's spiritual veins, the vegetation, and even the villages at the foot of the mountain, but he had never imagined that 60% of the divine power could be hidden in the body of a small bird.
Soon, Yingtang, Yuwei, and Jinger followed Wuyi over. Wuyi squatted beside the bluestone, his eyes shining like stars, while Yanxiu stood behind the crowd, the divine power at his fingertips quietly retreating, leaving only a faint trace, confirming the resonance.
That’s right, it was indeed that 60% of the divine power… For some reason, there was a seal protecting the divine power from dissipating. At this moment, it was wrapped deep within Bai Que’s divine essence, trembling slightly with the transformed white light.
The white light grew brighter and brighter, dyeing the bluestone a brilliant white.
Yan Xiu watched Bai Que's silhouette stretch out in the light, its fine down fading away to reveal a plain robe. The silver bells on its twin buns rang softly as it moved, until the light faded away, revealing a little girl rubbing her eyes and sitting on the bluestone.
"Who are you?" She looked up, her eyes full of confusion, and her gaze first fell on Wu Yi who was in the front.
Wu Yi was very anxious. He squatted down and shouted, "My name is Wu Yi! Call me brother!"
The little girl pouted and said, "You are about the same age as me, I won't scream."
When Wu Yi turned to complain, Yan Xiu slowly stepped forward. He looked at the girl's delicate face, the silver bells on her hair still jingling. He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, revealing only his usual gentleness: "I am Yan Xiu."
Jing Er put his hands on his hips and teased her: "Xiao Bao, what should I call you?"
The little girl was quite obedient and called out to them one by one: "Senior Brother Yan Xiu, Senior Brother Yu Wei, Senior Sister Ying Tang, Senior Sister Jing Er."
The only one missing was Wu Yi, who was jumping up and down. Yan Xiu looked at Wu Yi, who was so anxious that she was about to cry, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes fell on the little girl's fingertips.
There was an almost invisible layer of cold white light, rising and falling gently with her breathing.
"What about me? What about me!" Wu Yi stretched out his hand and handed over a wild fruit, his tone full of grievance.
The little girl took it without hesitation and took a big bite. The sweet juice was on the corner of her mouth. She smiled, revealing two small canine teeth. The sunlight shone through the bamboo leaves and fell on her face, like a layer of gold.
Yan Xiu looked at this scene and his fingertips moved subconsciously.
He suddenly remembered the white bird that landed on his chest before he died in his fifth life. It was also so vivid, carrying a warmth that could dispel despair.
So it was him... who took the initiative to give away his divine power?
Wu Yi was still crying about how she "couldn't be a senior brother", but Yingtang had already smiled and ruffled the little girl's hair:
"Can I call you Yunxiu from now on? Like the clouds in the mountains, and also like the Xiuyu in the spiritual veins."
"Yunxiu..." Yan Xiu repeated the name in his mind, his eyes falling on the silver bell in her hair.
Jingle bells keep going, what a lively child.
After that day, Yunxiu became the most lively presence in Yaoxi Mountain. She always loved following Yingtang to collect herbs, pestered Yuwei with stories from the human world, and often dragged Wuyi along for runs and jumps in the mountains. And Yanxiu became her most patient senior brother during sword practice.
He taught her how to hold a sword and helped her lift heavy objects.
Every time they touched, he could feel the cold white divine power hidden deep within her divine essence. Like a sealed stream, it stayed quietly in place, echoing the power in his body from afar.
He watched her chop the sword on the stone again and again, and helped her pick up the sword with a smile. The divine power at his fingertips would quietly help her stabilize her disordered breath.
He never told anyone that the sixty percent of divine power he had been searching for for years lay within Yunxiu. Nor did he tell anyone that every time he watched her practice swordplay by the stream, he was quietly strengthening the seal.
He himself couldn't explain why.
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