Chapter 703

One man, one woman.

"Father, Mother!"

Shi Hao's expression changed, and he cried out.

He could not believe he had truly seen his father and mother here.

He could not forget the battle in the Stone Kingdom's imperial city, when his father slaughtered mercilessly for his sake, raging with a golden battle spear to kill those who aided the tyrants, and defiantly broke ties with his clan.

He could not forget how his mother took him far into the western frontier, traveling countless ten thousand li, enduring countless ambushes along the way, and suffering grievous injuries.

Everything seemed as if it had happened yesterday—his parents holding him, racing everywhere to prolong his life.

They had no solution; they searched all the way to the Stone Clan's ancestral land but found nothing, and in the end were forced to journey to the ancient divine mountains, still to no avail, until finally they entered the Xuan Realm in despair.

All memories echoed in his mind, and now, after years of longing, his wish had truly come true—he had finally reunited, seeing the familiar figures.

Though this was hardly the best moment.

"Hao'er!"

Shi Ziling and Qin Yining, upon seeing Shi Hao, also trembled in voice.

They had almost thought themselves dreaming, but it was not—a dream—this child before them was truly their own, the infant they had left behind in the Wild Region, now grown to this stature, having taken as master an immensely powerful being, stormed the Everlasting Mountain, slain its divine spirit, seized its Five Elements Mountain, and forced even the Everlasting Mountain's venerables to treat them with deference, nearly kneeling to beg them to save the Everlasting Mountain.

Now that they truly saw their child, both trembled, opened their mouths, yet could not utter a single complete sentence.

Over these many years, countless affairs had piled up; within the Qin Zu, once they entered, they rarely escaped. Now, seeing their child, deep inside they felt guilt, regret, pain—their spirits shook, eyes brimming with tears, calling out that familiar yet slightly alien name, emotions of joy and guilt intertwined.

Both stumbled forward, rushing quickly toward him.

"Father, Mother!"

Little Shi Hao also wept; though he had now cultivated to the Formation Array realm and could be crowned a king, he was still merely a child—not yet a teenager.

After all these years, seeing his parents, he could not help but weep.

He had longed for this day for many years.

"Child, this is my son!"

In the midst of them, Shi Ziling and Qin Yining embraced Shi Hao and wept bitterly.

Fang Yu observed all of this.

His gaze fixed on Shi Ziling and Qin Yining, and also on the Qin Zu venerable behind them—now this venerable had lost all the Everlasting Mountain's arrogance, no longer aloof, trembling before Fang Yu as if awaiting his forgiveness.

"You've made quite the clever plan."

Fang Yu's gaze drifted leisurely toward the deeper reaches of the Everlasting Mountain, where a courtyard lay, within it a sapphire lake, ancient architecture, a grove of bamboo, spiritual energy thick as if nearly liquefied.

Within that courtyard was another child, smaller than Shi Hao, yet brimming with spiritual energy, naturally extraordinary.

"After so long, another child? This one is named Qin Hao?"

Fang Yu's gaze fixed on that courtyard, knowing this was the child Shi Ziling and Qin Yining had borne in recent years—still called "Hao," but no longer bearing the Shi surname, now bearing the Qin surname.

Qin Hao.

Shi Hao.

They were brothers.

Fang Yu's gaze turned to Shi Ziling, Qin Yining, and Shi Hao nearby, their bond deep—over these years, both Shi Ziling and Qin Yining had clearly been imprisoned by the Qin Zu, pressured to bear another child.

The Everlasting Mountain Qin Zu had learned their first child was born with a Supreme Bone, so they decided to force the couple to bear another child—if they could produce a second Supreme Bone for the Qin Zu, the Everlasting Mountain would dominate all eight realms of the lower world.

Ancient texts recorded similar cases: bearing a second child in hopes of another Supreme Bone was unlikely, but even if unsuccessful, the second child's bloodline would still be extraordinary.

Nearby, Shi Ziling and Qin Yining recounted the past.

Qin Yining had originally come from beyond the realms, training in the Wild Region, when she was betrayed and nearly lost all her cultivation; later she met Shi Ziling, they respected and loved each other, and eventually married, giving birth to Shi Hao.

Afterwards, due to the affairs of the Wang Fu, Shi Ziling and his wife came to the Everlasting Mountain, only to be immediately imprisoned, then learned that Qin Yining's injury had been caused by someone within their own clan.

The vast Everlasting Mountain was rife with internal strife, divided into factions—factions originating from the upper realm, spilling down to the lower realm.

Qin Yining's faction had lost; upon arriving at the Everlasting Mountain, they were immediately imprisoned. But when the Everlasting Mountain learned their child possessed a Supreme Bone, they were stunned—word even reached the upper realm's Everlasting Mountain, drawing its attention.

Yet the Supreme Bone had already been extracted; nothing could undo it, nothing could be recovered.

Shi Yi had drawn the Everlasting Mountain's attention; the lower realm's Everlasting Mountain decided to wait for the right moment to capture Shi Yi, then harvest his Supreme Bone again, ensuring it did not remain in the lower realm.

Shi Ziling and Qin Yining pleaded desperately with Qin Zu members to send sacred medicine to Shi Village to heal the pitiful Shi Hao—but they were refused.

The Everlasting Mountain's overseers were cold and dismissive, calling it a waste—sacred medicine could never prolong the life of a worthless child.

From then on, the couple was imprisoned on the Everlasting Mountain.

The turning point came when the upper realm's Everlasting Mountain launched the Supreme Rebirth Plan, requiring them to bear another child. The Qin Zu deceived the couple, claiming that if they conceived a second child, they might use its potent, nearly identical blood to nourish the dying, weakened first child and save him.

Such a lie meant for children somehow fooled the couple—of course, they had no other choice, so they bore a second child, even willing to sacrifice the second to save the first.

But later, the Qin Zu broke their word, refusing to let them leave, ignoring their pleas.

Time passed, until now—Shi Ziling and Qin Yining remained imprisoned on the Everlasting Mountain, unable to leave.

Had Fang Yu not come, they would have remained imprisoned forever.

"Look at this—such conduct, and now you want your own couple to plead with me to spare you? Kneel. Standing must be exhausting."

After hearing Shi Ziling and Qin Yining's tale, Fang Yu's gaze turned to the previous venerable—empty space seemed to form an ancient divine mountain.

The previous venerable immediately knelt.

He could not stand.