Chapter 2 — Seed of Fate
The forest lay in quiet repose.
Spring wind drifted gently between towering ancient trees, stirring fallen leaves into slow, circling paths. Beneath the canopy, hidden far from mortal roads and sect boundaries, stood a humble wooden hut. Its walls were old, its roof patched by hand, yet it carried a faint, unexplainable tranquility—as though the heavens avoided disturbing this place.
Inside the hut, Luo Xin'er sat beside the narrow window.
Moonlight brushed her pale face, tracing the gentle curve of her cheeks and the exhaustion that could not be hidden. Her body had grown thinner in recent months, weakened by hardship and long wandering, yet her beauty had not faded. Instead, it had transformed—tempered by resolve, carved by sacrifice.
One hand rested upon her belly.
Beneath her palm, life stirred.
A faint warmth pulsed there, steady and persistent, like a quiet promise that refused to be extinguished.
Across from her, the old man sat cross-legged upon a woven mat. His gray robes were plain, his posture unassuming, yet the air around him seemed heavier, deeper. His clouded eyes were half-closed, as though he were not observing the hut, nor the forest, but something far beyond mortal sight.
He was listening.
Listening not with ears—but with soul.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
For the first time since Luo Xin'er had met him, a sharp, piercing light flashed through their depths.
"Impossible…" he murmured.
The word escaped him without control, heavy with disbelief.
Luo Xin'er's heart skipped. She turned toward him, anxiety flashing across her face. "Senior?"
The old man rose slowly to his feet. His expression was no longer calm. It was shaken—deeply so.
His spiritual sense surged outward, penetrating flesh and bone, slipping past blood and meridians, descending directly into the unborn child's inner world.
What he saw caused even his ancient Dao heart to tremble.
Inside the womb, within a consciousness that should not yet exist, energy flowed like vast rivers. Meridians that should have remained dormant until birth pulsed with vitality. Qi condensed naturally, circulated smoothly, and surged again and again like tidal waves guided by invisible laws.
This was not chaotic absorption.
This was cultivation.
Refined. Ordered. Purposeful.
Luo Xiao Tian—still unborn—had already stepped into the first level of the Renegade Warrior Realm, his foundation stable and complete. Even more terrifying… he stood at the very threshold of breaking into the second level.
The old man's lips trembled.
Then—
He threw his head back and laughed.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The sound burst forth like rolling thunder, echoing through the hut and spilling into the forest. The rafters trembled. Even the night wind seemed to recoil.
"Heaven and earth, you truly play cruel games!" he roared. "A child not yet born, not yet awakened to the martial soul… and yet he already walks the path of cultivation!"
His laughter was sharp, wild, filled with both madness and awe.
"The so-called waste of the Xiao Clan?" he sneered. "If those blind fools knew the truth, they would drown in their own shame!"
Luo Xin'er's body shook. Her eyes widened as tears spilled freely down her cheeks. She clutched her belly tightly, her breathing uneven.
Her son.
Not a cripple.
Not a burden.
A miracle.
The old man's laughter slowly faded, dissolving into a heavy silence. He stared at Luo Xin'er's belly for a long time, his expression shifting—solemn, conflicted, reverent.
At last, he extended a trembling hand.
"Since fate has led you to this old man…" he said slowly, "then I will not turn away."
A faint golden glow bloomed in his palm.
There, resting quietly as though it had existed since the beginning of time , was a seed no larger than a fingernail. Its surface shimmered with Dao patterns that appeared and vanished in endless cycles. Each pulse it released carried an indescribable pressure—creation and destruction woven into a single rhythm.
Luo Xin'er gasped, instinctively recoiling.
"That is—!"
The old man nodded, reverence filling his voice.
"An Ancient Dao Seed."
The hut seemed to grow smaller.
"Every thousand years," he continued, "one descends from the heavens, born of the Heavenly Dao itself. Even emperors of past ages slaughtered nations for a chance to obtain one. Where it truly comes from… none know."
His gaze sharpened.
"But one truth remains unchanging—he who bears it walks a path no mortal was meant to tread."
Without hesitation, he pressed his glowing hand against Luo Xin'er's belly.
"Child," he murmured, his voice echoing with unseen authority, "take this seed… and let the heavens bear witness to your fate."
The instant the Dao Seed entered Luo Xiao Tian's unborn body—
The inner world exploded.
The ancient scroll beneath the twin souls shuddered violently. The nine heavenly chains rattled like divine thunder, their radiance flaring uncontrollably.
The Dao Seed descended.
Straight into the depths of the scroll.
CRACK!
One of the heavenly chains shattered.
The sound echoed like a decree from the heavens themselves, shaking mountains, tearing through clouds, and sending ripples across unseen realms.
The twin souls stirred.
The white soul—crystalline as jade—opened its eyes.
Golden rivers of Time surged from its pupils, freezing the void into absolute stillness. Past, present, and future overlapped, stacking atop one another like folded pages of destiny.
The black soul rose as well.
Its gaze twisted reality. Endless distances collapsed inward, space tearing and folding as though the void had learned to breathe.
For the first time—
The two turned toward each other.
The scroll split open, revealing storms of runes and Dao patterns. The twin souls leapt forward, colliding with the force of ancient lords.
Time roared.
Space screamed.
A single clash sent shockwaves through the soul world. Ages froze, then shattered. Realms folded, then collapsed. Rivers reversed their flow, only to vanish into nothingness.
The elf of light darted desperately between them, her tiny wings trembling as she cried out in a voice no mortal could hear.
But neither soul listened.
In the hut, Luo Xin'er screamed.
Her body convulsed violently as terrifying energy surged through her womb. The old man slammed both palms against her abdomen, his qi erupting outward as he struggled to suppress the storm.
"So fierce…" he muttered, sweat pouring down his wrinkled face. "So terrifying… these twin souls will either devour each other—or devour the heavens."
Another chain shattered.
Then another.
Each broken link dissolved into torrents of Dao essence, feeding the battle further.
At last—
The Dao Seed pulsed once more.
Its light wrapped around both souls, binding them together with threads of yin and yang.
They resisted. They roared. But slowly, painfully, their backs pressed together once more.
The scroll sealed itself.
Silence returned.
Seven months passed.
Moonlight bathed the forest as Luo Xin'er slept peacefully, unaware that fate had shifted again.
Within the womb, Luo Xiao Tian opened his eyes.
The ancient scroll awaited him.
"It is time," the elf of light said softly. "The Three Soul Changes."
The First Change — Darkness
Dark qi surged.
Pain followed.
The soul devoured the abyss.
The Second Change — Light
White qi erupted.
He endured heavenly purification.
The Third Change — Balance
Light and darkness clashed.
Time and space screamed.
Then—
Harmony.
Four heavenly chains shattered.
His cultivation surged.
From late-stage first level—
To third level Renegade Warrior Realm.
The forest knelt.
The heavens twisted.
Within the soul world, the boy smiled faintly.