After finishing the script, Tianyi and Daoyi decided to go out and take a walk—or rather, collect more inspiration to improve the script. They eventually found themselves on Flamecloud Peak.

  “You two are finally having a child,” Yan Nie said.

  “Have you been expecting us to have one?” Tianyi asked, clearly confused. Having a child was his and Daoyi’s personal affair, so why was Yan Nie so concerned?

  Yan Nie sent Tianyi a deadpan stare. “Haven’t you realized that you’re the only couple in the chat group without a child?”

  Tianyi blinked. He recalled all the posts and realized that what Yan Nie said was true. His friends had posted stories and pictures of their firstborn children a long time ago. Especially those who had found countless lovers—they practically posted about a newborn child every few years or so.

  Even those who remained devoted to one spouse now had countless descendants. Take Yan Nie, for example. He had a daughter and a son, the eldest and the younger, respectively.

  Speaking of Yan Nie’s children, the second son was rather normal. Not normal as in average, but his life trajectory played out as many people expected. He had talent, perhaps greater than his father’s, but without the same tempering and hardships, his rise was much slower. Still, he became a true immortal and eventually an immortal monarch, making Yan Nie the envy of many fathers for having such a talented son.

  While Yan Nie was a divinity, his son was still in the Extremity Immortal Realm.

  In contrast, his daughter’s experience was much more legendary. Yan Xiao wasn’t the protagonist of the tale, but a large part of it.

  Like her brother, Yan Xiao followed the expected trajectory as the daughter of the famed Divine Flame Sovereign. She reached the Pathfinding Immortal Realm earlier than her brother, ascended to the Seamless Immortal Realm, and broke through to the Extremity Immortal Realm.

  It was only when she became an immortal empress that her legendary story spread far and wide, and it was thanks to her spouse.

  The most striking thing was that her spouse wasn’t born in the prime timeline. Their meeting could only be attributed to a fleeting encounter—one that should have led to nothing.

  His name was Chen Hai.

  Because Yan Nie only existed in the prime timeline, Yan Xiao’s counterpart had a far inferior background. That said, it was still superior to Chen Hai’s. It was a classic tale of a poor boy falling in love with a noble lady.

  Before their first meeting, Yan Xiao had already taken over her counterpart’s body, giving her a transcendental aura. Her features were already top-tier, and coupled with her aura, they made countless boys—and even a select few girls—fall head over heels for her.

  Yan Xiao had noticed Chen Hai, but only a little. They had grouped together to enter an immortal grotto to improve their potential. The improvement relied entirely on willpower. She naturally claimed first place, but Chen Hai actually claimed second by a large margin.

  She hadn’t cared at the time. Yan Xiao needed to ascend to the Immortal Realm before she could merge her alternate timeline into her true self. It was a process all immortal emperors underwent, but she learned this was another scheme of the Heavenly Dao.

  Each time she ascended to the Immortal Realm in these alternate timelines, the Heavenly Dao would brand her soul with its quintessence. When her counterpart merged with her soul, the quintessence in her soul would follow along, increasing the Heavenly Dao’s influence.

  If her counterpart perished, this would not happen—but Yan Xiao’s talent would not increase either. For an immortal emperor, merging with their counterparts offered tangible benefits, hence why many immortal emperors focused on this aspect instead of wholeheartedly comprehending and fusing the worldly laws.

  However, Yan Xiao was not willing. As the Divine Flame Sovereign’s eldest child, she had her pride and confidence. She did not want to abandon the talent boost brought by the process, nor did she want to be branded.

  Thankfully, her Uncle Xi provided a technique that could guard against the Heavenly Dao’s branding. The only troublesome part was that it would make the process longer, forcing her to stay in the alternate timeline for a longer period.

  Because of this, thousands of years passed in the alternate timeline.

  As if recreating her father’s experience, Chen Hai formed enmities with many forces, but despite being hated and hunted down, she always managed to rise to the top. Throughout this period, Yan Xiao encountered Chen Hai multiple times.

  Perhaps a fleeting glance while she was traveling and he was fleeing from his enemies. Or both of them were attacked by devilish cultivators, forcing the two to team up. Or maybe the two stumbled upon an immortal legacy. Gradually, a relationship formed.

  It wasn’t love—at least from Yan Xiao’s view. She gained an appreciation for Chen Hai. Although she rejected him, she did not distance herself from him. She knew that she would eventually return to the prime timeline, but Chen Hai would likely perish in the alternate timeline. If that was the case, why bother sinking deeper into the relationship?

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  Friends, but not lovers. It was the perfect distance for Yan Xiao.

  Despite Yan Xiao’s repeated rejections, Chen Hai did not give up. He simply did not voice them. Yan Xiao naturally saw this, but she cared not. That changed when Chen Hai became a true immortal. His Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation was the most difficult one in recorded history, and he almost perished in it. Even after succeeding, he had to hide and recuperate to heal his injuries.

  The source of this was because Yan Xiao had given him the shielding technique against the Heavenly Dao’s brand.

  Not only would it cause the heavenly tribulation’s difficulty to surge, but the new immortal would have to absorb spiritual qi slowly to form his immortal body because the Heavenly Dao’s quintessence was deeply intertwined with the immortal qi the Heavenly Dao bestowed for the immortal body’s creation.

  It took Chen Hai hundreds of years to form his immortal body. He immediately went to find Yan Xiao, who was still a Transcending Mortality Saint. The first thing he did was not to confess, but to worry about her. He knew that Yan Xiao possessed talent equal to his, if not superior. Yet why was she still lingering at the Transcending Mortality Realm?

  He did not question her and asked only if she wanted help.

  Naturally, Yan Xiao avoided the question. She told him that if he could become an immortal monarch when he ascended to the Pathfinding Immortal Realm, she would tell him the truth. Puzzled, Chen Hai suppressed his confession. During their days together, Chen Hai vaguely discovered that Yan Xiao had a secret greater than he expected.

  With newfound motivation, Chen Hai successfully became an immortal monarch. Before undergoing his Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, his comprehension of the worldly law was already incredibly high, making him an immortal lord immediately after ascension. Still, the final bottleneck wasn’t something determination and time could break.

  Luckily, Chen Hai succeeded a few years before Yan Xiao underwent her Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. The world thought Chen Hai’s heavenly tribulation was difficult, but it paled in comparison to Yan Xiao’s Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation. Although she appeared mortal, Yan Xiao was in essence an immortal empress, which increased the difficulty—not to mention the shielding technique.

  Upon becoming a true immortal, Yan Xiao’s body became faint. Chen Hai started to fret, but after listening to the truth, he swore to chase after her.

  When she returned to the prime timeline, Yan Xiao recalled Chen Hai’s words, but she didn’t think he could fulfill his vow. A hundred thousand years later, she was shocked to see Chen Hai again. Although he had only reached the Origin Immortal Realm and not the Divine Realm, he still managed to reach the prime timeline.

  It was something Tianyi became interested in upon hearing about it. He took time to investigate and discovered that Chen Hai’s timeline had neared the point of collapse. Ordinarily, the timeline should not have degenerated this swiftly. Not even destroying the Huang Realm would cause such deterioration.

  Tianyi later discovered that Chen Hai’s travel method had caused undue damage to the timeline. Chen Hai himself likely never knew of the consequences. Otherwise, Tianyi would have interfered and prevented Chen Hai from becoming a couple with Yan Xiao. Yan Xiao called him Uncle, and it was only right to look after her.

  Though, Chen Hai already needed to cross a mountain. Yan Nie completely rejected Chen Hai. In his eyes, Yan Xiao was still his precious baby. How could he stand a wild monkey taking advantage of his girl?

  Perhaps it had something to do with their characters. Although Yan Nie had calmed down, he used to be a very passionate man. In contrast, Chen Hai was composed and preferred to plan everything out. He could even humiliate himself momentarily in order to live and get revenge. That was not to say he was cowardly.

  Yan Nie used this as an excuse, saying Chen Hai would make his baby girl suffer. Of course, this was just one of the many nitpicks.

  Even their names conflicted. Yan Nie’s name contained the word “flame,” while Chen Hai was named after the sea.

  “What about Xiao’er and Chen Hai? When are they going to have a child? They’ve been together for so long, but I heard nothing. Your son already has over a hundred generations of descendants,” Tianyi said. He gave his friend a questioning gaze. “You aren’t going to separate them and not let them have a child, are you?”

  To Tianyi’s surprise, Yan Nie’s face didn’t darken. He showed a proud expression, gloating even. “My Xiao Xiao is such a smart girl. She says she doesn’t plan to have a child until she reaches the Divine Realm like her papa. Mark my words, she will definitely see that boy’s true colors once he leaves her!”

  Now it was Tianyi’s turn to give Yan Nie a deadpan stare. He opened his mouth to speak, but he sensed people coming. When he looked over, a playful smile appeared on his lips. Yan Nie sensed them later, but not by much. His face immediately darkened.

  “Father-in-law, I’ll never leave Xiao Xiao.”

  “That’s my name for my baby girl. It’s my sole exclusive privilege!”

  Already familiar with his father-in-law’s unreasonableness, Chen Hai simply smiled peacefully.

  “Father, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m already an adult, and I can make my own decisions,” Yan Xiao said, exasperated. She reached for Chen Hai’s hand and squeezed a bit in reassurance. Unlike Yan Nie and Yun Xialan, Yan Xiao and Chen Hai weren’t husband and wife but dao companions.

  Yan Xiao looked at Tianyi. She knew how naggy her father could get. It wasn’t so bad, but it intensified once Chen Hai appeared, so she needed to change the topic pronto. “Uncle Xi, did you enter an alternate timeline?”

  Tianyi didn’t deny it. “How did you know?”

  “I heard that many outstanding disciples were disappearing, so I became interested,” Yan Xiao explained. “After investigating, I realized that all of them had the exact same face. Strangely, they all looked like Uncle Xi except for the eyes. I was curious, so I waited near someone who I knew had a similar face, and I saw someone in purple appear in the sky. Not long after, the disciple I was keeping my eyes on disappeared. And that purple figure reminded me of Uncle Xi.”

  “I didn’t expect anyone to see me,” Tianyi said with a sigh. When he took action, he really didn’t care if anyone saw him, so he didn’t conceal himself. After all, he would leave the timeline after—and if his appearance caused problems, it wouldn’t be him in trouble. He just didn’t expect Yan Xiao to see him taking action.

  “So why did Uncle Xi capture those people? Are they counterparts of your enemy? But who would dare to become enemies with Uncle Xi? Maybe a member of the Xi Imperial Family from the founding era?” Yan Xiao asked, her eyes sparkling like embers, full of curiosity.

  Tianyi made a disgusted expression, while Daoyi giggled into her fist. “I don’t ever want to be related to that guy.”

  “Are you talking about the Dragon Emperor?” Yan Nie asked. Although he didn’t have a life-and-death feud with every Dragon Emperor clone, he also killed his fair share of them—mostly because Pan Lanyue caught their attention, angering him.

  “Yes.” Tianyi raised a finger, like a lecturer. “You see, a long, long time ago, before the penultimate Divine Beast–Human War…”

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