[Year 1021]
[Your descendants, Li Changsheng and Li Changyao, journey to foreign lands to seek reinforcements.]
[Along the way, the siblings encountered fleeing members of the Wu Tribe. They learned that the Divine Phoenix, a divine bird totem, had been captured.
A Sage Elder of the tribe fought to the death against the Blood Moon in the Western Frontier, while the Rising Sun Sage Elder was reduced to a running dog within the Blood Moon.
The divine bird totem has been eradicated.]
[The other two totems suffered the exact same fate.]
[The siblings encountered an elder of the divine bird totem on their journey. From him, they learned that the Wu Tribe factions belonging to the three major totems outside the Blood Moon gathered to resist it.
The Wu Tribe's Great Emperor, Qi Zhu, sharing old ties with the Phoenix and the Golden Dragon, charged furiously into the Blood Moon.
He was ambushed by the Human Race, causing the heavens and earth in Sunreach Prefecture of the Western Frontier to change color.
Mountains and rivers collapsed, turning the region into a death zone, and Great Emperor Qi Zhu fled in defeat.]
"Even a Great Emperor was defeated!" Li Changyao stared bloodlessly at the mighty, fleeing Wu Tribe army. "Brother, we..."
The words caught in her throat. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't bring herself to utter the word "flee."
At the very least, facing a terror as absolute as the Blood Moon, her normally timid older brother had never once mentioned the word "flee."
"The outcome has not yet been decided. We've endured so many hardships in the past and survived them all, haven't we?" Li Changsheng offered a strained smile.
The Immortal Infant in his arms sucked its finger, a cold sneer forming at the corners of its mouth.
"You humans are truly laughable, daring to cooperate with us. And to even attempt to use our hands to eradicate the Emperor-realm experts of the Wu Tribe!
You want to be the fisherman, utterly ignorant that you are already in the most dangerous domain. Take care that you don't end up on the dinner plate instead of reeling in the fish."
"You have no right to laugh."
Li Changsheng wasn't the least bit angry. He placed the Immortal Infant into the cradle in Li Changyao's hands and sprinkled itching powder on it.
"You lost a long time ago. Besides, you are a captive.
You even left your tens of thousands of years of accumulated cultivation base to Banshu Weide. Right now, you are even inferior to the most ordinary of immortals."
"You are nothing more than emergency rations for us siblings now."
The Immortal Infant wailed and cried. As Li Changsheng's eyes turned pitch-black, It didn't dare to utter another word.
This boy possessed the eyes that only the Human Emperor wielded.
The Human Emperor suppressed the world, and the Human Emperor's Eye of Authority could even suppress an immortal's immortal power.
...
[Year 1022]
[Your descendants, Li Changsheng and Li Changyao, arrived in the Auric Empire.
In the lands their family elders had once tread, they investigated the situation of the two major Human Race nations through the estates of the Hall of Heavenly Principles.
While seeking every possible source of assistance, they also accumulated foundational resources for the family to help Li Changyao seek her path to a breakthrough.]
[The two found themselves in Auraria City, the city where Li Yaoqing had once stayed as an apothecary.
They were received by the City Lord of Auraria City. Even as a City Lord, this person remained completely ignorant of the matters concerning the immortals.]
[...]
[Congratulations! Your descendant Li Tianming, after a year and a half of interaction with the White Jade Immortal, has finally assimilated the White Jade Immortal's immortal power.
Acquired Trait: Half-Immortal!]
At this time, back in the family, everyone gathered to stand guard for Li Tianming's breakthrough, fearing he might suffer side effects after becoming a half-immortal.
However, this worry was clearly superfluous.
After becoming a half-immortal, the numerous brothers inside Li Tianming's mind finally let the White Jade Immortal off the hook.
The White Jade Immortal knelt numbly in the terrifying, black-rain-soaked world, weeping bitterly.
Its flawless, uncarved jade-like body hunched over as It pounded the muddy earth, crying, "Animals!"
A year and a half... No one knew how It had survived this year and a half.
Fourteen personalities had ravaged It endlessly. These consciousnesses, brimming with evil thoughts, seemed to possess an inexhaustible supply of torturous ideas.
The White Jade Immortal finally understood exactly what a terrifying existence Li Tianming was.
This was a creature that ought to suffer divine retribution. It couldn't fathom why, out of the four people present back then, It had chosen this specific monstrosity.
What was supposed to be a smooth possession and coexistence had turned into a desperate battle royale for survival.
"I must escape... I absolutely must escape, even if it means death!"
At this time.
Li Tianming sat cross-legged, staring blankly. He confirmed once again that he was not the master of his own body.
The kneeling White Jade Immortal within him was continuously funneling Spiritual power into him.
That was half of the Spiritual power the White Jade Immortal had consumed from the Dao-Comprehending Linghu Xian, more than enough for him to break through to the Body Integration realm.
Everything before his eyes was changing; all things in the world were magnified to the microscopic level.
Becoming a Nascent Soul opened the gate to rules, and even the Dao methods used at the Body Integration realm still involved gathering the rules between heaven and earth to become a master of a specific domain of rules.
But after becoming a half-immortal, he seemed to finally understand why immortals were so incredibly powerful.
It was because they commanded higher-tier 'laws'; they were inherently a part of heaven and earth themselves.
Li Tianming stretched out his hand.
Wielding the White Jade Immortal's immortal power, his hand gradually took on the appearance of white jade, blending seamlessly into the air and the environment, becoming a part of heaven and earth as well.
He was certain that even if a Body Integration mighty figure stood right in front of him, they would not be able to detect his presence in the slightest.
He slowly picked up a rock.
In an instant, the rock disappeared bit by bit. It didn't turn to dust, but rather faded into nothingness, entirely erasing the existence of what he touched.
Inside his mind, many 'him's were sitting cross-legged.
The 'Calm' version of himself smiled faintly and said, "Go, find a deserted place. The Spiritual power on his body is enough for us to push open the Dao Gate."
"Dao Gate..."
Li Tianming's eyes lost their focus, filled with bewilderment and fear. He couldn't see the Dao Gate, but the many 'him's in his mind all could.
"The Dao Gate of Pollution and Plague."
Hearing the 'him' answer, Li Tianming subconsciously said, "Should we go ask Grandpa Old Tree?"
"No need, jie jie jie. What could that reddish Old Tree possibly understand?!"
The 'Arrogant' version of himself sneered fiercely.