"Are we really leaving?" Liu Tianji asked while constantly turning her head to look back.
Although she was blind, the act of looking back was purely symbolic, reflecting her reluctance.
"It can't be helped," Mingyuan sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "This is an insight I gained from my experiences so far—strength invites challenges."
Liu Tianji tilted her head in confusion, clearly wanting Mingyuan to explain.
Mingyuan didn't mind clarifying his insight as it would help him iron out these thoughts.
"Let's extrapolate from mortal life in the village when a group of kids gather in one block, another group inevitably takes form in a different block. Now, the strongest group will face endless challenges from the weaker party for whatever reason.
"Some might say hey, children are playful by nature and with their rebellious streak, conflicts are to be expected."
Mingyuan reached over to pat Liu Tianji's small head, enjoying the look of contemplation on her face.
"Let's scale things up from the village to an entire region. My presence here is like a new kid entering the block, and my constant attacks on wild beasts will eventually draw the attention of interested parties.
"They will get curious and ask, how come the Liu village has had it easy these past few years? How can there be no refugees and no deaths? As for the wild beasts, they will also wonder why their brethren didn't make it back from a simple human settlement.
"Clearly, the well-maintained balance for countless years was broken, but what is the cause and effect? Since I already interfered once, I can no longer disentangle myself from this karma. The longer I stay, the heavier the karma, until someone equal to me arrives to balance things out.
"The Heavenly Dao is emotionless and impartial, seeking to balance all things. Good and bad, high and low. The wild beasts I killed and will kill, the human lives lost and about to be lost, are all sacrifices towards establishing the new balance.
"Ever since ancient times, long periods of peace are followed by a world-ending catastrophe, then a fierce struggle, then a maintained balance. These are the secrets of heaven, from the mundane to the extraordinary, it all falls down to one word: Balance."
Mingyuan looked down, and with his innate sense for fate and karma, he could feel the mysterious forces coalescing around Liu Tianji.
She was quickly comprehending and digesting his insights into fate, karma, and destiny.
By his estimation, her day of awakening was getting even closer.
When Liu Tianji came back to her senses, she realized that by now, the village was no where to be seen.
She and her father stood by a cliff, observing the clouds scurrying away.
It was a beautiful, breathtaking sight.
After a long silence, Mingyuan asked with a faint smile, "See why I chose you of all people, Tianji? Your talent is about to erupt like a tide. Your Liu village's fate can't contain or suppress your karma, and it will cause a disaster.
"We can spend our time here freely from now on, and when your fate erupts, that will be the day of our separation."
By now, Mingyuan truly understood the meaning of the fate-suppressing treasures that stabilize a sect's or a family's fate.
If the greatest karma in a faction was isolated or concentrated on a treasure, the Heavenly Dao will balance things out by birthing an equally powerful treasure.
However, if that fate belonged to a living being, then the efforts to balance out the fate would also fall on another living being or a group of them.
It was truly terrifying to think about.
"Fate, what a peculiar thing…" Mingyuan thought to himself, and while lost in his thoughts, he noticed a flash of yellow light exploding around Liu Tianji.
He smiled faintly.
Finally, his first x16 multiplier was born.
[Intertwined Fate: Liu Tianji (Yellow)
Entry 1: Realm Comprehension Feedback
Entry 2: Technique Comprehension Feedback
Entry 3: ???]
Mingyuan focused on the third entry to view the options. However, he quickly noticed that he could only choose between two options and not three, either treasure feedback or cultivation base feedback.
After thinking about it briefly, he decided to choose the cultivation base feedback.
As for treasures, Lu Xuan was a better option, especially when he later claims ownership of the Chaos Supreme Treasure hidden in his soul.
Mingyuan looked at Liu Tianji who was looking into the distance. Although blind, her instincts told her that she was in a very beautiful place right now.
"Am I going to see you again after this separation, Father?" Liu Tianji finally asked.
Mingyuan smiled faintly and said, "No matter where you go, Tianji, I will always watch over you. If I get the chance, I'll definitely visit."
He wasn't lying. Now, with his live streaming feature, Liu Tianji was always within his sight.
No matter the time or place, as long as their fates remained intertwined through the system as an anchor point, nothing can separate her from his senses.
As for whether someone or something that could overpower the system existed? Mingyuan didn't think so, nor did he care.
With her doubts cleared up, Liu Tianji opened up to her foster father more and more by the day.
Mingyuan also paid attention to Lu Xuan's development during this time.
The guy went through the Golden Core realm like a rocket.
From the initial-stage, early-stage, intermediate-stage, and briefly touching the late-stage.
With his comprehension and talent, it was an easy journey. However, to achieve Nascent Soul one must go through the process of sublimating the soul, which means clearing the heart of all doubts and regrets.
It was inevitable that Lu Xuan would go back to the Qin Dynasty and seek justice from those who wronged his predecessor.
The build-up for Lu Xuan's next adventure was already underway, and Liu Tianji's awakening would be the first ripple in the clear waters of the Ashveil Continent.
An era of geniuses and competition is on the horizon, and it was bound to be as exciting as it was terrifying.
Mingyuan sat by the cliffside, a herbal cigar in his mouth as he breathed out streams of thick white smoke, blending seamlessly into the layers of clouds beneath.
On this day, Liu Tianji opened her eyes for the first time since her birth.
…
Throughout the Heavenly Secrets Province, countless Old Ancestors deep in secluded cultivation opened their eyes.
Immediately, their eyes shifted to one particular spot in the sky.
The next moment, these figures hidden from public view for tens of thousands of years shifted black and white, space and time, crossing endless distances with an overwhelming pressure.
The moment Liu Tianji opened her eyes, the beauty of nature had yet to register in her mind before the sky rumbled.
The sea of clouds parted.
One half of the sky was dark, the other glowing with divine radiance.
Liu Tianji's face turned pale as a killing intent so malevolent and gruesome locked onto her eyes.
Tears of blood streaked down her cheeks.
At this moment, Mingyuan stepped in front of her, taking the pressure and killing intent onto himself.
A split second later, the killing intent melted away like snow on steaming sand.
"Demons dare reach their hands into my Heavenly Secrets Province? Truly tired of living!"
Boom! Boom!
The dark sky and bright sky moved far away in the blink of an eye, and the clouds returned as though an illusion had passed.
However, Liu Tianji knew that it wasn't an illusion, because a host of old Daoists, men and women, suddenly appeared in front of her foster father.
They smiled kindly, but she was feeling very nervous.
At this moment, she understood the weight of her fate and her foster father's considerations.
Just this pressure alone would have reduced the Liu villagers to ashes in a split second.