The moment the Bell Seal pressed down, a light flashed at Bai Shuangshuang’s brow.
The light seeped out from deep within her bones, as if something had purified Bai Shuangshuang from the inside out.
That light overflowed along the edges of the Bell Seal, climbing up her forehead, nose bridge, and cheeks, casting her entire face like a jade sculpture.
At this moment, Bai Shuangshuang was like a deity!
Then, the entire Southern Region stirred.
The first to change was the Southern Region’s highest peak, Cangwu Yue.
The perennial snow on the peak suddenly hummed, cracks splitting through the snow layers, and golden light burst forth from the fissures, as if something was awakening deep within the mountain.
The sea of clouds at the mountainside churned, rising from below like the entire mountain was breathing.
The hunters at the foot of the mountain looked up and saw something they had never seen in their lives—a seven-colored radiance appeared at the peak of Cangwu Yue, spanning the sky from the summit deep into the clouds.
“The mountain god has appeared!”
Some knelt down, more and more people knelt, and hymns of praise surged like a tidal wave.
But this was only the beginning.
Tianzhu Peak split open.
The enormous boulder at the summit broke apart on its own, and from the crack grew a glowing ancient pine tree.
Its needles were like emerald jade, each one producing a bell-like tinkle in the wind.
Luoxing Lake boiled over.
The lake water churned, and countless points of light rose from the bottom, as if stars that had slept for a thousand years were resurfacing.
The waterfall at Biluo Pool flowed backward, water flying from bottom to top, condensing into a transparent rainbow bridge in midair.
Qingya, Baishui, Zigai, Yuntai… hundreds of famous mountains and great rivers across the Southern Region all manifested miracles at the same moment, each in a different way.
And what they shared was that each location gave rise to a beam of radiant light, multicolored, varying in depth.
These beams of light flew out from deep within the mountains and rivers, streaking across the sky, surging toward the same direction.
Jingnan Prince Manor.
On the sky canopy, the stars began to move—a visible displacement.
One by one, stars flew in from every corner of the firmament, converging above the Royal City, then beginning to rearrange and reorganize.
First, they outlined the silhouette of a mountain range.
That was Cangwu Yue.
Then came the second, Tianzhu Peak, then the third, the fourth…
One after another, the phantom images of famous mountains and rivers flashed across the sky canopy, like a slowly unfurling map of the Southern Region’s landscapes.
Each time a mountain or river appeared, the corresponding beam of light on the ground would suddenly surge, as if answering the call.
The commoners in the Royal City were stunned at first, then erupted into chaos.
“Look at the sky!”
“That’s Cangwu Yue! I recognize that shape!”
“Tianzhu Peak is there too—Luoxing Lake—Biluo Pool—all of them are there!”
Some knelt, some cried, some held their children and pointed at the sky canopy, unable to speak.
Inside the Prince’s Mansion, Zhao Qingyue and Qiu Yue, the instigators, were completely dumbfounded.
Zhao Qingyue’s hand was still raised, holding the Bell Seal, forgetting to lower it.
Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide round, watching the phantom images of mountains and rivers light up one by one on the sky canopy, feeling like she was dreaming.
Qiu Yue wasn’t much better.
As a cultivator, she had seen more supernatural phenomena than ordinary people, but she had never witnessed anything like this.
Mountains and rivers resonating, stars arrayed in formation, the Spiritual Qi of the entire Southern Region surging toward one direction.
‘Ah? Is this something I’m worthy to see?’
She instinctively glanced toward Bai Shuangshuang, then froze.
The Spiritual Qi wasn’t drifting over—it was pouring in.
The radiance from Cangwu Yue arrived first, like a golden waterfall descending from the sky, slamming heavily into Bai Shuangshuang’s body.
Yes, slamming in.
Close behind came the emerald light of Tianzhu Peak, the silver glow of Luoxing Lake, the rainbow bridge of Biluo Pool…
Hundreds of beams of light converged from all directions, merging into a vast river of light, submerging Bai Shuangshuang entirely.
And the Red-Gold Flame?
It was devouring all of this frantically.
It was like a beast that had been starving for too long, finally encountering a feast, and beginning to gorge itself.
The faster the Spiritual Qi poured in, the faster it devoured.
But this time, it wasn’t burning to destroy—it was refining.
The red-gold flame, carrying a sea of Spiritual Qi, surged through Bai Shuangshuang’s meridians.
Every inch of meridian it burned was widened and fortified.
Every acupoint it passed through was lit up and made transparent.
The meridians were being reshaped even as they were scorched, like a sword blank repeatedly forged, shedding impurities in the blazing fire to reveal the edge within.
The speed of Spiritual Qi influx grew faster and faster.
The Spiritual Qi from hundreds of mountains and rivers formed a massive vortex above Bai Shuangshuang’s head, visible for hundreds of miles.
The vortex rotated slowly, radiating tens of thousands of beams of light, enveloping the entire Royal City in a sacred brilliance.
Everyone in the Prince’s Mansion had run out, looking up at the sky, their faces filled with awe.
Zhao Qingchuan stood at the entrance of the Council Hall, still holding a teacup, the tea long cold without him noticing.
Hengyang Xiansheng stood behind him, a rare look of astonishment on his usually composed face.
The entire Royal City was trembling.
And Bai Shuangshuang knew nothing of all this.
Her consciousness had completely sunk into her Dantian.
All she saw was that the Red-Gold Flame’s devouring gradually slowed, like a satiated beast finally starting to doze.
The flame no longer rampaged but slowly contracted…
In the very center of her Dantian, the flame condensed into a seed.
It was red-gold.
The seed’s surface shimmered with a flame’s luster, yet also exuded the green vitality of new growth.
Two completely different auras intertwined, entwining and nurturing each other.
Had the Dao Seed been formed?
Bai Shuangshuang slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were still unfocused, her pupils dilated for a moment before slowly coming into clarity.
She saw Zhao Qingyue’s face—the tears on that face still wet, the eye sockets red, the mouth moving, but she couldn’t hear what she was saying.
She also saw Qiu Yue’s face—a face full of disbelief, mouth also open, but no sound.
Feeling somewhat unreal, she looked inward into her Dantian again.
That red-gold Dao Seed was truly there, quietly suspended, lush with vitality, surrounded by tiny red-gold flames.
Two utterly opposite things had somehow fused together.
This was a miracle.
There was no senior to guide her, no book to reference.
But a very certain voice echoed in Bai Shuangshuang’s mind.
‘This is a Heaven-grade Dao Seed. A Heaven-grade Dao Seed that was beyond your reach in your past life.’
Bai Shuangshuang’s lips moved, her voice so hoarse it was barely audible.
“I… succeeded?”
“You nearly scared me to death, you know that?!”
Zhao Qingyue stared at Bai Shuangshuang, her voice filled with sobs and screams.
This was the first time she had truly been angry since she had picked Bai Shuangshuang up and brought her to the manor.
But she wasn’t angry that the flames on Bai Shuangshuang might harm her—she was angry that this wretched girl had dared to risk her life doing something so dangerous.
“I almost thought… I was going to lose you too, you know…”
Zhao Qingyue cried as she spoke.
She thought back to that year again, when Zhao Qingyao left, and she had been just as desperate…