Chapter 7 — The Beast King's Blood Seal

With a roaring cry, I brought my blade downward with earth-shattering force. The colossal demonic titan mirrored my motion, thrusting its six massive arms directly into the intricate core of the grand sword formation. A thunderous sequence of explosions rent the air as the entire mountain range of the Beast Taming Sect violently shuddered, the very fabric of the sky tearing open as a colossal rift spewed torrents of blinding, crimson spiritual energy that swept across the highest peaks. As the blinding smoke and debris finally cleared, the Myriad Swords Return to Origin Formation lay completely shattered into dust. Every single elder and disciple simultaneously spewed great mouthfuls of dark blood, collapsing limply to the ground with their fates hanging by a thread. Only the grandmaster managed to barely remain standing, though the natal spiritual sword in his trembling grasp had already snapped into multiple useless fragments. He stared at me, his eyes brimming with sheer despair and a disbelief so profound it bordered on madness. You… you have already attained… the Nascent Soul realm. I ignored his utter terror, stepping closer with slow, deliberate strides. Now the time has finally come for us to settle our debts completely.

The grandmaster stared at me, a sudden flash of grim determination crossing his weary features. He knew deep down that he was no longer a match for me, yet as the supreme leader of his sect, how could he surrender without a fight? He ignited his very life essence, sacrificing his future to trade for a brief, explosive surge of power, and unleashed his ultimate, desperate strike directly at me. With a casual flick of my wrist, I swept my blade. A razor-sharp wave of black darkness tore through the void, reducing all of his desperate attacks to absolute nothingness. His body froze rigidly in place where he stood, and a microscopic line of blood slowly materialized across his forehead, extending downward. With a dull thud, his lifeless body split cleanly in half and collapsed into the dirt. The dreaded master of the Beast Taming Sect had fallen. The surviving elders and disciples, utterly paralyzed by the grotesque sight, scrambled and crawled down the mountain trails in a frantic bid for their lives. I made no move to pursue them, for my true objective had never been mere revenge upon the rabble.

I walked steadily until I stood before the familiar threshold of the icy grotto, the very prison where I had once been confined to suffer. With a single powerful kick, I shattered the heavy stone door into a million pieces. Inside, a disheveled woman with matted hair and a terribly emaciated figure was huddled miserably in the darkest corner, shivering uncontrollably. It was Ling Xi. Stripped of her cultivation base by the grandmaster, she had been cast into this frozen abyss to rot and die in utter neglect. Hearing the deafening crash, she slowly raised her head and caught sight of me standing in the doorway. Her pupils contracted sharply, her pale face twisting into an expression of unadulterated horror. You… do not come any closer. She scrambled frantically backward against the cold stone wall like a cornered, terrified rodent. Why have you returned? Did you not already leave this place far behind? I advanced until I stood directly over her, looking down from a position of absolute dominance. I have returned purely to ask you a single question, my voice remarkably calm and steady. In our past life, when I lay dying… why did you utter those cruel words to me? Why, at the very threshold of my death, did you insist on revealing the entire truth? Was it merely to watch me suffer in helpless agony and absolute despair?

Ling Xi froze completely, utterly unprepared for such a query. She stared at me blankly before suddenly bursting into a shrill, demented fit of laughter. Ha ha ha ha! Yes! That is precisely what I wanted! I wanted to witness your torment! I wanted to see you stripped of all hope! Her eyes burned with the manic fire of a deranged soul. By what right did you possess everything from the moment of your birth? By what divine favor did that ancient sacred beast choose you instead of me? I simply desired to strip away everything you held dear, to leave you with nothing in this world, to ensure you died with eternal regret burning in your chest! I wanted you to understand once and for all that you could never defeat me, that for all eternity you would remain beneath my heel!

So that was the truth of it all. It was merely petty, venomous jealousy. As I gazed down at her trembling form, a profound numbness washed over me, leaving my heart utterly devoid of emotion. I slowly raised my blade. Ling Xi’s manic laughter choked off instantly as she stared in mortal terror at the gleaming edge of the weapon. No… you cannot kill us… we are sisters after all… Sisters? I let out a cold, mocking laugh. From the very moment you harbored malicious intent toward me, we ceased to be sisters. A flash of silver light illuminated the dim cavern. Blood splattered wildly across the cold stone walls. The grievances of my past life and the bitter hatred of the present dissolved into nothingness like morning mist.

As I stepped out of the grotto, the warm golden rays of the sun bathed my shoulders, and for the first time in my existence, my spirit felt profoundly light and untethered. Mo Yuan trotted forward, gently rubbing his massive head against my shoulder in affectionate greeting. I looked down at the ancient beast, falling into a silent contemplation before I finally spoke. Let us go home. I vaulted gracefully onto his broad back. We are returning to the north. Behind us, the once-glorious Beast Taming Sect was swallowed entirely by a raging ocean of fire, its very name forever erased from the annals of the mortal cultivation world.

Upon returning to the majestic Dragon Palace of the Northern Sea, I found Ao Lin waiting patiently within the grand crystalline hall. He looked up as I entered, showing no signs of surprise. You have returned. His tone carried the gentle familiarity of one waiting for a beloved wanderer to come home. Yes. I dismounted from Mo Yuan and walked directly toward him. The Beast Taming Sect exists no longer. I am aware, Ao Lin murmured with a soft nod, a look of profound approval in his golden eyes. You performed admirably. A faint, knowing smile danced within his luminous gaze. Now that your vengeance is complete and your heart’s desires fulfilled, have you given any thought to remaining here by my side as my queen? He had brought up the matter once more. I met his gaze, offering no immediate reply. In truth, I had nowhere else in the vast, boundless world to call my own; the Northern Sea Dragon Palace felt strangely like the only true sanctuary left to me. Moreover, toward this enigmatic and powerful Dragon King, I felt not a shred of aversion, but rather a lingering curiosity that refused to fade. Before you give me your answer, Ao Lin said softly, waving his hand to summon a shimmering water mirror before us, I wish to show you something.

Within the glowing surface of the mirror, the image of a majestic woman materialized. She wore flowing golden celestial robes of exquisite craftsmanship, possessing a breathtaking beauty and a noble, commanding aura, yet the space between her delicate brows bore a striking seven-part resemblance to my own face. She sat quietly before an ornate desk, gently caressing a large, obsidian dragon egg. Who is she? I asked, my breath catching in my throat. She was my elder sister, and the previous incarnation of the supreme Demon Sovereign, Ao Lin explained, a trace of sorrow coloring his deep voice. Ten thousand years ago, during the cataclysmic war between gods and demons, she perished alongside the Demon Lord to protect our kindred, leaving behind only a fragile fragment of her soul that drifted helplessly into the cycle of reincarnation. And that sacred dragon egg… is the sole bloodline she left behind in this realm. He looked at me, his gaze burning with intensity. For one hundred thousand years, I have searched relentlessly for her. And for one hundred thousand years, my soul has sought her presence.

A deafening roar echoed through the chambers of my mind. Could it be that I was the reincarnation of the ancient Demon Sovereign? And that mysterious dragon egg… was my own flesh and blood? The mere thought felt overwhelmingly absurd. I am well aware that this truth is difficult to accept all at once, Ao Lin continued gently. Yet the sovereign demon aura resting within your palm, and the ancient cultivation manual you mastered, could only ever be commanded by the direct lineage of the Demon Sovereign. Furthermore… he gestured toward the colossal beast resting nearby. Mo Yuan is an archaic divine beast who bends the knee to only one true master throughout his entire existence. The fact that he was briefly ensnared by Ling Xi’s soul-guiding arts was solely because she accidentally carried a faint trace of your aura upon her person. From beginning to end, the only entity he has ever truly served is the primordial demon sovereign aura slumbering deep within your soul.

Everything suddenly fell into place. The reason the ancient manual resonated so effortlessly with my constitution. The ease with which I harnessed the sovereign's power. The stubborn, unwavering loyalty Mo Yuan had always shown me. As it turned out, I had never been the human cultivator Ling Ye at all. I was something far greater. I fell into a deep silence as I struggled to digest this monumental revelation, finally raising my eyes to meet Ao Lin’s steady gaze. Where is that dragon egg kept now? A brilliant flash of joy illuminated his golden eyes, for he understood that I had finally accepted my true heritage. It rests deep within the forbidden sanctum of the palace. For ten millennia, I have nourished it with my own heart's blood, yet it has never shown the slightest sign of hatching. Perhaps… it was simply waiting for the return of its mother. A tremor ran through my very soul. Mother. The word felt simultaneously entirely foreign and intimately familiar. Take me to see it.

Guided by Ao Lin, we descended into the deepest, most secluded abyss of the Dragon Palace's forbidden grounds. Resting atop an enormous bed of freezing celestial jade was a towering, pitch-black dragon egg, humming with a faint, dormant vitality. I could clearly sense a fragile, flickering heartbeat trapped within its heavy shell. Slowly, hesitantly, I reached out my hand and gently stroked the icy, metallic surface. The moment my fingertips brushed against the shell, the dragon egg gave a violent, joyful shudder. A blinding streak of golden radiance burst forth from a jagged fracture across its surface. Crack! The first fissure expanded rapidly across the shell in a spiderweb pattern. Ao Lin and Mo Yuan held their collective breaths, watching with wide, anticipating eyes. With a final resonant snap, the tough outer shell completely disintegrated. Emerging from the blinding brilliance was a tiny black dragon—its entire body covered in glossy, midnight-black scales, two adorable little golden horns budding upon its brow, and a pair of intelligent, dark phoenix eyes that mirrored my own. It blinked curiously at the vast new world before fastening its gaze directly upon me. A moment of stillness passed before it let out a soft, melodious, and utterly tender dragon cry of pure ecstasy. Scrambling clumsily on four short legs, it hurtled straight toward me, burying its tiny head directly into my arms as if seeking the warmth it had been denied for millennia. Mother… The soft, infant voice sent ripples of fierce emotion straight through my heart. I pulled the little creature tightly against my chest, the corners of my eyes stinging with hot, unexpected tears. The heart that had remained frozen in ice for a century melted entirely in this single, perfect moment. I finally had a true home. I finally had family. Looking up, I met Ao Lin’s gaze, his eyes shining with the gentle, boundless depth of the ocean. Perhaps remaining here, to stand beside him as the queen of the Northern Sea, was not such a bad destiny after all.