The Phoenix extended its wing, releasing a golden circle of light that shot toward Han Lei.
Zhennan held his child tighter instinctively, but Lieyan spoke first, her voice gentle:
"Nothing harmful will happen to him. It will hurt a little. That's all."
The golden mark pressed itself into the infant's chest. Han Lei cried instantly. Zhennan rocked him carefully, soothing him until the child fell asleep again.
Lieyan continued, "That mark is a key to this inheritance. Together with the amulet, it will let him return here without being attacked by the inheritance defenses. The mark also lets him enter at any time—so long as he has enough aether shards to fuel the activation. The energy cost is very high."
Zhennan nodded, checking his son's breathing and pulse again and again.
Lieyan inhaled deeply. She already knew what she was about to say next would be the thing Zhennan hated most—because she had seen already how much he truly cared for his child. Many men would only care about the power this place offered, but Zhennan? His first thought had always been his son's safety.
"Zhennan," she said softly, "you must calm yourself for what I am about to tell you. I cannot guarantee that the teleportation exit will send both of you to the same place. I am not a cultivator of the space path. I only have basic knowledge. My main path is flame and regeneration. Space is… rare, and extremely difficult for my kind to master."
Zhennan's jaw clenched.
Lieyan continued, "So I will give you a method to find your son. I will link your Qi sense to his inheritance Qi. When he is in proximity—within a quarter of a region's radius—you will feel it. All you will need to do is travel across each side of the region until you sense him. I will also place several defensive and offensive artifacts on him—ones undetectable by anyone below Emberwake Realm. They will kill anyone who attempts to harm him. And lastly… I will give you a connection to his heart. Even if he is far away, you will always know if he still lives."
Zhennan's voice cracked. "You expect me to just… accept this? What if he dies? Can't you wake that puppet? I saw him stabilize the space! He could help!"
Lieyan shook her head, regret in her eyes.
"I cannot. Those puppets were made personally by my master—your ancestor. They require his foundation spark. Only his spark can power them fully. I cannot revive them."
He gritted his teeth. He didn't want to hand his child over. But he had no choice. Xue Lian and Han Yu were still outside. If the Empire wanted to erase evidence of their failure, they might kill them. He needed to go back. He needed to protect them. And then—eventually—he needed to hunt down Han Lei's location again.
He slowly surrendered his son into Lieyan's wings.
Lieyan wrapped Han Lei in protective formation after formation.
She disguised dozens of artifacts on the child's body—undetectable by any normal sight or spiritual sense. She placed marks that emitted the aura of a powerful beast, enough to deter any lesser blood beast from approaching she did the same for Zhennan she even gave him a bonus"i will put a protective layer around you with this artifact unfortunately it's only a one time artifact but it should be enough incase someone finds you and interrogates you can lie to them without endangering yourself snd they wouldn't find anything strange it should give you enough time to be portrayed as victim so you must give that about yourself also you must not allow them to find han lei they would do anything to get him if they find out about what he has so i want you to act like he died even if you found him i want you to introduce him as your adoptive son or disciple for his safety"zhennan nodded knowing the gravity of the situation.
Then she began constructing the space formation.
When it activated, Zhennan looked one last time at Lieyan.
She nodded: trust.
He stepped in.
The world twisted instantly. His senses exploded—he felt weightlessness and pressure at the same time—like a void yet impossibly full. The shield Lieyan put on him protected his body, but he could not feel his limbs.
Then suddenly ground.
Heat.
Light.
He staggered, sand beneath his feet. A desert. A burning one.
He looked around stiffly—
His worst fear hit like a blade.
His son was nowhere near him.
He used the mark connection Lieyan gave him.
He felt Han Lei's heart—alive. Safe.
But the tracking mark could not pinpoint a direction yet.
Zhennan exhaled in agony and determination.
He would go back toward his remaining family—Xue Lian and Han Yu—first.
Then he would search for Han Lei.
He would not stop until all three were safe.
Even if he had to tear apart the entire region to find them.
Zhennan moved toward his clan grounds. Maybe Xue Lian is still there with their son . He had to try.
When he arrived, the place was swarming with imperial soldiers. Patrols everywhere. Search units sweeping every hall.
He waited until nightfall and infiltrated from the shadows—silent, sharp, determined.
He moved around every corner, slipped past guards, checked rooms—but he could not find his wife. Nor his son.
Desperate, he decided to ambush a lone soldier and interrogate him. He stepped forward—
—and a hand tapped his back.
"I knew it. If you survived, you would come here, Zhennan."
Zhennan spun around.
Xie Tianhun stood behind him. His armor was torn, his skin scarred, dried blood on his face. He looked both exhausted and dangerous.
"Come with me," Tianhun said calmly. "I have many questions. And you will answer all of them."
Zhennan cursed himself internally. Tianhun was gravely injured and Zhennan still didn't detect him. How sloppy had he become?
Tianhun smirked slightly. "Don't worry. With your personality, coming here to save your other wife and son was the only logical move. And I am a fair man. I will give you a chance to clear your name."
Zhennan followed him inside a sealed room.
There, Zhennan told everything—at least everything he intended to tell.
He said his father had sent him on a fake mission. That Xue Lian warned him something was wrong, so he returned. That his father knocked both of them unconscious. Then lied—claiming the Empire attacked.
He said Zhenwu was a demonic cultivator. That he killed He Ruying—Zhennan's wife—and tried to use Zhennan and his son as mere materials to break into what looked like an inheritance.
He claimed he didn't know what that place was. That his father never told him anything about it.
He added that he tried to save his other son, but failed. He described the moment the ground collapsed beneath him, and how something sucked him inside—like a portal tearing open.
"It felt like my bones were breaking," Zhennan said quietly. "If it was a true space crack, I'd be dead. So it must have been a portal collapsing."
Tianhun observed him closely.
Everything matched.
Maro had already said that Zhenwu planned to use Zhennan and Han Lei as a way out of the inheritance. Both testimonies aligned. And Tianhun himself had escaped the inheritance through a collapsing spatial point—just like Lu Chenhao had.
Zhennan's claim made sense.
The only thing Tianhun doubted was the part about Zhennan knowing nothing of the inheritance beforehand. Zhenwu was paranoid, yes—but still. That part was suspicious.
Tianhun asked one more question:
"And your father?"
Zhennan's eyes darkened into pure venom. "He survived. He used… my son… to open another portal. And escaped."
Tianhun nodded slowly. He had expected that monster to still be alive.
"Alright. For now—stay here. You will be questioned again. You may be taken to the Imperial Capital."
Tianhun left the room.
Zhennan sat alone in the dark.
He had lied. He had lied many times.
He hid the truth about Han Lei. He pretended his son was dead. If the Empire discovered the mark Lieyan placed on his child—they would take Han Lei by force. Use him as a key. Drain him dry.
He would never allow that.
Once he found his child—he would hide him, raise him as a disciple, change his name if needed.
A week passed.
Tianhun interrogated him multiple times.
During that week, news spread:
Strange structures began appearing all over the region. Beasts poured out. Treasures surfaced. Sect disciples, rogue cultivators, and imperial forces clashed everywhere.
Zhennan was questioned repeatedly about these new structures—but he claimed he knew nothing. He even handed over his spatial ring—empty—to prove his claim.
Tianhun still wasn't fully convinced. For all he knew, Zhennan could have hidden treasures before returning to the clan.
Then Tianhun received an order from the Empire—he himself was summoned to deal with rogue cultivators.
So he decided to take Zhennan with him.
That same day, a woman entered.
Tianhun looked up. "Officer Yuru."
She had long golden hair, wore silky golden clothes with no armor, and released the aura of a Rank 2 cultivator. But the strangest thing—she wore a white blindfold over her eyes.
"Hello, General. I hope I am not intruding?" she said gently.
Tianhun approached her. "They sent you and not your mother?"
Yuru smiled. "They said this would be good training for me. My mother is sick and could not come."
Tianhun sighed. "Where is the order scroll?"
She handed it over. He read it, returned it, and left without another word.
As he exited, he muttered to himself:
"So the Marshalls don't consider this matter that serious. If a child was sent—not her mother—not the main Truth Seekers—then that boy is lucky. If it wasn't her, he could only pray to keep his sanity."
Tianhun walked to his men. Two young men joined him—one looked similar to Tianhun, the other had long black hair and fiery eyes.
"Xie Yang, An Ming," Tianhun ordered. "Call the others. We are leaving."
They obeyed immediately.
Inside, Zhao Yuru sat down before Zhennan.
She read the report of everything he had said so far.
Then she spoke softly:
"I will ask a series of questions. If you lie—you will suffer pain beyond imagination. But if you told the truth—you will walk free."
Zhennan nodded.
She removed her blindfold.
Her eyes were pure black.
Zhennan froze. He recognized it instantly.
"A Truth Seeker…"
They were infamous across the Empire. They specialized in information, interrogation, loyalty, and extraction of truth.
But Zhennan silently steadied his heartbeat.
Lieyan had protected him.
She placed safeguards in him to block lie detection and illusion interrogation. He just needed to stay calm.
Zhao Yuru began.
He repeated the same story he told Tianhun. Every detail. Every word. Every emotion.
Not too perfect—so it would not sound rehearsed.
And Zhao Yuru detected no lies.
Because everything he said—was technically true.
She continued interrogating him for another week. She asked about the inheritance's entrances, exits, owner, history, treasures, every secret she could think of.
Every answer was the same.
Every answer felt true.