"So cute! Is it a boy or a girl this time?" Zi Yan leaned in to get a closer look at the baby.
"It's a boy, Miss Zi Yan!" The midwife replied with a respectful smile.
"A boy... I actually prefer girls more!" Zi Yan muttered to herself, sounding a bit disappointed, as if she were the one who had given birth and was now passing judgment on the child.
"Cai'er, look at our child; he's a little man now..." After Caier had recovered somewhat, Gu Fei wiped the sweat from her face and then took the baby from Zi Yan to hand him to Cai'er.
"My child... the aura of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python..." Cai'er immediately sensed the familiar aura within the baby. She understood that the child's ability to be born as a Dou Ancestor was likely due to the power of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, whose soul had not completely dissipated and had now been reborn through the child's body.
(TL/n: I wonder why he didn't evolve Cai Lin into the nine-colored python when he entered the Beast Region since he knows the story. He even missed the Demon Saint Huang Quan's inheritance that awards one low, one mid, and one high Heaven tier Dou technique. That's three Heaven Tier Dou techniques in total...)
"Have you thought of a name for him yet?" asked Xiao Yi Xian suddenly.
Gu Fei paused for a moment, looking at the still-crying baby in his arms, and then smiled. "My child is born as a Dou Zong, truly unmatched in the world. So, let's name him Wushuang, Gu Wushuang! How does that sound?"
"Wushuang!"
"That name works, it sounds powerful!"
"Hopefully, this little guy will grow up to be a man as outstanding as his father..." Everyone in the room started affectionately calling out the name "Gu Wushuang." As if recognizing his name, Wushuang stopped crying and even began to smile.
"A crying Dou Ancestor... that's a first in life," Gu Fei said dotingly as he looked at Wushuang.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Xian Yue was also very excited. "Great! I have a little brother now!" She cheered as she ran over, and Xiao Yi Xian picked her up so she could get a closer look at Wushuang.
Zi Yan, seeing how happy Gu Fei's family was, pouted slightly and muttered to herself, "I really want to have a child with Big Brother Gu Fei too!"
Shortly after Wushuang was born, Gu Fei planned to refine a pill for him. Although he didn't want to force his child to grow up too quickly, he could still improve the child's physique. During this time, when Gu Fei completed refining the pill, the sky directly unleashed an eight-colored Pill Lightning. His progress in alchemy was nearly as rapid as his advancement in cultivation.
While Gu Fei was refining the pill, Zi Yan sneaked over to Xian Yue.
"Xian Yue, do you want to eat this spirit fruit?" Zi Yan asked, trying to tempt Xian Yue.
"I do!" Xiao Xianle's little head nodded eagerly, her eyes fixed on the tempting fruit in Zi Yan's hand.
"Alright, then don't call me big sister anymore. Call me 'Auntie' instead!" Zi Yan said with a mischievous smile.
"Big Sister Zi Yan, why do you suddenly want me to call you Auntie?" Xian Yue asked, puzzled by the new title.
"Don't ask why, just do it. If you call me Auntie, the spirit fruit is yours. And if you do, I'll sneak one of these fruits for you every day!" Zi Yan promised.
"Every day? Alright, I'll call you Auntie! Auntie Zi Yan!" Xiao Xianle shouted happily.
Zi Yan smiled to herself. If she wanted to have a child with Gu Fei, she'd have to start by changing her status in the family.
...
Southern Region of Central Plains, Falling Star Pavilion.
Xiao Yan and his mentor had been here for half a year. With Feng Xian's protection and resource support, their situation had greatly improved. Although Yao Lao still lacked a physical body, his soul power had recovered significantly.
As Feng Xian's friend and the founder of Falling Star Pavilion, the entire pavilion was mobilized to help Yao Lao recover his soul power and to search for information about different Heavenly Flames for Xiao Yan. Only by obtaining a Heavenly Flame could Xiao Yan refine a body for Yao Lao, allowing him to be reborn.
"What are your plans next?" One day, Feng Xian visited Yao Lao and Xiao Yan's residence and asked Xiao Yan.
"To restore my teacher's body and to gain more power for myself, I must continue searching for Heavenly Flames... I will find a Heavenly Flame and bring my teacher back to life!" Xiao Yan declared firmly, clenching his fists with determination. He was both angry and frustrated, having repeatedly missed out on several opportunities to obtain a Heavenly Flame.
"Heavenly Flames are rare and hard to come by. Keep a calm mind," Feng Xian said, patting Xiao Yan's shoulder.
"In the Pill Tower, there is a Heavenly Flame called 'Three Thousand Burning Flame.' If you can place among the top in the Pill Gathering, you'll have a chance to refine it. This is the only known Heavenly Flame with a traceable location," Yao Lao explained. However, Feng Xian hesitated and frowned as if he had something difficult to say.
After a moment of hesitation, Feng Xian spoke up, "That Heavenly Flame in the Pill Tower... it was refined by someone a few years ago."
"What? The Heavenly Flame in the Pill Tower is gone too?"
"Does that mean there's no reward for participating in the Pill Gathering now?" Xiao Yan was shocked to learn that the Three Thousand Burning Flame had already been taken, and his excitement quickly turned to despair.
...
Gu Realm.
Gu Fei was focusing his mind as the Heavenly Flame in his hands danced like a sentient dragon. His control over the flame had reached an extraordinary level. With complete concentration, he used the flame to refine one medicinal herb after another. The herbs gradually melted into a crystal-clear liquid, and there were several such liquid blobs beside the pill furnace.
"Merge!" Gu Fei commanded, bringing the liquid blobs together and using the Heavenly Flame to fuse them. However, as time passed, he suddenly felt a wave of mental exhaustion. The fused medicinal essences began to crack with a "hiss," before shattering into ashes under the flame.
"Another failure..." Gu Fei sighed, feeling a bit frustrated. This time, he had attempted to refine a Tier Nine Pill, but it had failed.
"My soul power is no longer sufficient to support the refining of higher-tier pills," Gu Fei realized. His soul had already reached the late Spirit Realm, and to advance further in alchemy, he needed to step into the Heaven Realm, which would require rare and powerful materials. However, such materials were almost impossible to find.
"There's only one place left!" Gu Fei thought of a location: the Hall of souls. This force harvested souls and extracted their essence. If he could seize the soul essence from one of its three main halls, his soul power would undergo a significant transformation.
The Hun Clan's collection of souls was meant to enhance their own soul powers and make them stronger. However, this plan required caution, as Gu Fei knew that there were spies from the Hun Clan within the Gu Clan. As the top young master of the Gu Clan, his movements might already be under surveillance by them. There was always a risk of being ambushed by Hun Clan experts while outside.
Even with his deep understanding of the Hun Clan's plans and secrets, Gu Fei couldn't help but feel a sense of dread towards them- this was the terror they inspired.
He couldn't act openly, and asking the Gu Clan elders for help might expose his intentions. The three main halls of the Hall of Souls were guarded by powerful experts, so he needed a Dou Saint-level ally to accompany him.
He thought of Zi Yan.
Given Zi Yan's current strength, unless the Soul Hall's master, Hun Mie Sheng, intervened personally, no one in the Hall of Souls could match her.
"This girl Zi Yan is going to be really useful..." Gu Fei thought with a smile. To ensure he could persuade her, he even prepared a large number of candies- something Zi Yan could never resist.
After making his preparations, Gu Fei left his room to find Zi Yan, and coincidentally, he found her playing with Xian Yue.
Zi Yan was holding an enticing fruit, while Xian Yue was eagerly looking at it, impatient to eat it. Then, Zi Yan asked a question that Gu Fei, who had just arrived, happened to overhear.
"Be good, call me Auntie one more time!"
Gu Fei: "?"