412: family at the time of farewell

"It's no good, this child..."

After an unknown number of days, Old Potato sighed, looked at the couple dressed in animal hides, and shook his head.

The couple immediately burst into tears.

"I have done everything I can to prolong his life, but his life force is continuously draining away, as if being rejected by heaven and earth.

"I fear that in a few more days, nothing can save him..."

Old Potato said this, but then frowned: "But the strange thing is, although this child is young, he possesses astonishing willpower. His will to live keeps his life hanging in the balance... Whether he can defeat death now will likely depend on his willpower."

Although he said this, Old Potato held no hope.

What kind of willpower could a child less than a year old possess?

Although the Xuanhuan World has mystical things like the Dao Heart, sometimes inner thoughts can truly influence external matter, making people exclaim how unscientific it is.

But Old Potato and the others had studied this and found no record of a one-year-old child possessing a Dao Heart, let alone willpower strong enough to affect those of Fifth Rank and above—that was simply impossible.

Old Potato handed the infant back to the couple and sighed.

Finally, he asked the question he hadn't had a chance to ask before:

"What exactly happened?"

The couple wiped away their tears and said painfully:

"Kinsmen harming each other... please forgive us, Immortal Master."

Only then did Old Potato understand that these three came from an ancient Family named the 'Shi Clan', with a long Legacy.

Precisely because of its long Legacy, there were too many collateral and branch lines. As generations split off, the Family developed internal hierarchies.

The main Family was in the Central Domain, rumored to be a major power there, while other branch families were scattered across various regions.

Approximately ten thousand years ago, a branch of the Shi Clan arrived in the Eastern Domain, continued eastward, and eventually settled within the Yuyao Kingdom.

The Shi Clan had its own inherited cultivation methods, and since the main lineage was powerful, the Kings of the Yuyao Kingdom did not make trouble for them; instead, they granted them land.

Also around ten thousand years ago, though the exact time is unknown, the Great Flood Dragon of the East Sea traveled north, breathing fog and clouds, severing the connection between the Yuyao Kingdom and North Mountain.

This also resulted in a sub-branch of the Shi Clan being trapped in North Mountain. They fell into decline and even lost contact with the main lineage. Furthermore, since North Mountain was ruled by the Yao Race, survival was difficult for the Human Race, leading to the development of new local hierarchies.

The couple were members of a small Shi Clan tribe. The child's name was 'Shi Tian', and shortly after birth, he displayed unusual phenomena, possessing a 'Supreme Bone'.

The couple couldn't clearly explain what this Supreme Bone was, but a major figure in the North Mountain main Family possessed a more complete Shi Clan Legacy and immediately became interested upon discovering the Supreme Bone.

This major figure cruelly dug the Supreme Bone out of the body of the less-than-one-year-old infant and transplanted it into their own child.

The couple pleaded for Shi Tian's treatment but were refused. Helpless, they risked traveling south, attempting to find a way back to the Central Domain to seek aid from the true main Family.

After listening, Old Potato remained silent for a long time before sighing:

"Even among kinsmen, there is such a law of the jungle..."

Old Potato was about to offer a comment or two, but he suddenly remembered that he himself had recently been tricked by players and almost lost his Strange Fire.

He suddenly found himself speechless, left only with helplessness and sorrow.

The couple held their child, finally bowed deeply to Old Potato, and asked for his name.

"Immortal Master, if this child can survive this ordeal, we will surely teach him to remember you. If we meet again in the future, we will never fail the Immortal Master!"

Old Potato shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Just live well."

He did not believe the child would survive.

Even if he survived, having had that 'Supreme Bone' extracted from his body, his cultivation would surely be extremely difficult, making any progress impossible.

This piece of Karma was of little use.

Old Potato was about to leave, but still felt some concern and couldn't help but ask, "What are your plans now?"

The couple exchanged glances and said:

"We still want to find the main Family; perhaps they can save him."

Old Potato shook his head and said, "The Eastern Domain is vast. Even if I can walk through the air and leap a hundred miles at a time, I still cannot fully explore it.

"If you want to find the main Family in the Central Domain, who knows how much time that will take."

The husband said:

"We are not looking for the Central Domain main Family, but rather traveling south to find another branch of the Shi Clan. Perhaps we can find the local main Family there and get him treated... ultimately, we are just leaving it up to fate."

Old Potato knew nothing about the Shi Clan or how they were distributed, so he said no more, merely giving them a protective Talisman before drifting away.

This incident was merely a small interlude for him, at best a side quest without a reward.

He did not take it to heart.

What he currently cared about most was the Beast Fire.

Old Potato searched North Mountain and found many Yao Beasts possessing Beast Fire, most of them Sixth Rank, and a few Fifth Rank.

He was only taking the fire, not engaging in life-or-death combat, so given his Realm and cultivation, it wasn't particularly dangerous.

However, the trouble was that all the Great Yao currently existing in North Mountain were controlled by the Yuyao Kingdom.

It seemed their intelligence was shared through some unique method.

This ultimately led to a situation where, just as Old Potato defeated another Sixth Rank Yao Beast and forcibly took its fire, a Fifth Rank Great Yao suddenly appeared.

The Great Yao looked like a mountainous Giant Ape, its forelimbs hanging down, connected to the earth, and its body covered in thick fur like a forest.

Old Potato remembered that this was a Great Yao native to North Mountain, one that had caused the Immortal Dynasty a lot of trouble when the Yao Race marched south.

Yet now it was being stood upon by a Yuyao Kingdom Envoy, its eyes dull.

Helian Rui, the Yuyao Kingdom Envoy, looked at Old Potato and spoke:

"Fellow Daoist, you are so arrogant, taking fire repeatedly. What gives you such confidence?"

Old Potato thought, *This is bad*, but outwardly, he did not show much panic, only answering calmly:

"Although I take the fire, I have not truly harmed the Yao Beast's Origin. I believe I have acted with restraint and will not cause loss to the Yuyao Kingdom.

"If your esteemed kingdom is unwilling for me to take the fire myself, I also have some Spirit Stones and Treasure that I can exchange."

Helian Rui stared at Old Potato, and the Giant Ape beneath his feet let out a silent breath from its nostrils.

All surrounding sounds quieted down, and then Yao Beasts quickly gathered, shaking the earth, causing Old Potato to tremble with fear.

He swept his Spiritual Sense around, preparing to forcefully Break through and leave.

Helian Rui suddenly spoke:

"Fellow Daoist, since you need Beast Fire, why bother searching secretly? Why not come to my Yuyao Kingdom? A King can personally bestow the fire, which would also fulfill the advancement of your strange fire."

Cold sweat streamed down Old Potato's face as he said, "That won't be necessary. I shall leave now."

The Giant Ape suddenly raised its hand, then abruptly brought it down, its full power pressing onto the ground, instantly cracking open a massive fissure.

Helian Rui continued:

"Fellow Daoist, there is no need to panic. You can come to my Yuyao Kingdom with peace of mind. It is merely a matter of mutual benefit."