Chapter 125: Past Events

"Many years ago, I was born in a very beautiful place. It was a realm filled with divine birds and exotic beasts that do not exist in the human world, and it held an abundance of cultivation resources. Everything I used, ate, or wore since childhood was something the human world could never offer."

"Some people call that world the Nine Passes Battlefield, while others simply call it the Nine Passes World. To the human world, that place would surely be considered an immortal realm."

Xiao Mei spoke in a soft voice.

Song Yue was stunned.

Xiao Mei looked at her youngest son with loving eyes and sighed, "You have already obtained the Heaven-Reaching Stele, haven't you? It is often said that many things are fated, and destiny is difficult to escape or change."

Song Yue never imagined that his own mother... had actually come from that world!

"Since I was a child, I had heard countless legends about the human world and read a vast number of works describing human life. I longed for it..."

"I didn't like cultivation; in fact, I even loathed it. It was too dull!"

"My family was very well-off, and my siblings were... well, I suppose they were fine with me, though they thought I was a bit rebellious and idle."

A look of reminiscence appeared in Xiao Mei's eyes as she spoke to Song Yue about her past.

In the vast Nine Passes World, the Xiao family was considered an ancient clan with a large population and significant influence in their region.

"Your father’s family, the Song clan, was just as prominent in that same area as my Xiao family. Unlike me, your father was a diligent and ambitious person with quite impressive natural talent."

"If we had never met, gotten to know each other, and fallen in love, perhaps today he would have become a pillar of his clan, possessing a very high level of cultivation and status."

"The year I met your father, he was nineteen, with a cultivation base approaching the middle stage of the Spirit-Gathering phase. I was much worse off—my cultivation had barely reached the peak of the Conduit phase, and that year, I was already seventeen..."

Seventeen years old at the peak of the Conduit phase... and that was considered poor?

Song Yue felt his perception being rewritten.

Yet, he was more curious about something else. Although his parents were now considered to have a bit of cultivation... of course, his father didn't know about his own potential, but his mother’s cultivation clearly hadn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage!

Other than the fact that they didn't age like ordinary people, there seemed to be no difference between them and the common masses of this world.

He didn't rush to ask, choosing instead to listen quietly to his mother’s story.

"Two young people, their hearts first stirred by love, fell for one another. We dreamed of our future and planned our path in life."

"Everything seemed so beautiful."

"Until... our romance was discovered by our families."

Xiao Mei smiled bitterly. "Before that, I had no idea that the Xiao and Song families had a grievance. They weren't in a state of hostility at the time; while they weren't exactly close, there were even intermarriages between them."

"My father, your grandfather, was furious when he found out. He strictly forbade me from seeing your father and refused to explain why."

"Of course, I wouldn't agree to such an unreasonable demand, and I resisted with all my might."

"As for your father, the situation was much the same. He was forced to break ties with me. Your father had a fiery temper and ended up having a falling out with his family elders."

Song Yue couldn't help but ask, "Why exactly was that? Did my grandfather and your father have a feud?"

Xiao Mei shook her head. "No."

Song Yue frowned. "Then why?"

Xiao Mei replied, "I only learned later that about seven hundred years ago, ancestors of the Xiao and Song families from a certain generation had been best friends. Later, for reasons unknown, they had a falling out—and it wasn't just a simple disagreement; they became bitter enemies who swore against each other."

Xiao Mei sighed. "Ever since then, the two families established an unwritten rule: direct descendants were strictly forbidden from intermarrying."

Song Yue said, "But that was so many years ago..."

Xiao Mei smiled bitterly. "Exactly, which is why I had no idea this rule existed, and your father didn't know either."

"As for those who had intermarried, they were not direct descendants of those two ancestors, so no one really cared about it after so much time had passed."

"But for direct lineages like your father and me, we were strictly forbidden from being together."

Song Yue couldn't help but mutter, "How melodramatic."

Several hundred years—in the human world, dynasties would have changed at least once! Who would still remember such a thing?

These ancient cultivation clans, with their long lifespans and unbroken traditions, were truly rotten to the core in certain respects.

Xiao Mei glanced at her son and nodded. "That’s exactly what I said back then."

Song Yue was speechless.

Xiao Mei continued, "I argued my case, pointing out that so many years had passed, the descendants didn't even know why they had fallen out, and both ancestors were long dead. Why cling to such a broken rule? If we truly loved each other, why couldn't we be together?"

Song Yue nodded in agreement.

Xiao Mei smiled bitterly. "But your grandfather and your father’s father both seemed set in their ways. No matter what, they refused to let us be together."

"During those days, many people came to persuade me not to stand up against my father, but I rebuffed them all. I refused to yield."

Song Yue looked at his mother and asked, "What about my grandmother?"

Xiao Mei looked melancholic and said softly, "Your grandmother... she stood on your grandfather's side."

Song Yue: "..."

"In the end, your father and I were both placed under house arrest, our cultivation bases were sealed, and our magical artifacts were confiscated. We were not allowed any contact with each other."

"Not long after, your grandfather began arranging a marriage for me, intending to marry me off to a distant land."

Xiao Mei whispered, "The Nine Passes World is vast. In many places, without high-level flight artifacts, one could barely reach them in a lifetime relying on one's own power. If converted to the distances of the human world, the Nine Passes World spans over ten thousand light-years from east to west!"

"That big?"

Song Yue was shocked. He had known the Nine Passes World was vast, but he hadn't realized it was to such an extent.

Xiao Mei nodded. "One of my sisters secretly told me about the plans, and it was then that my heart turned to ash. I thought, if I couldn't escape, I would rather die!"

"Fortunately, heaven leaves a door open. Not long after, the opportunity arrived."

"That day, the person your grandfather wanted me to marry arrived. People came to dress me in fine clothes. If the other party had been willing, I would have been taken away that very day!"

Song Yue frowned, feeling a trace of resentment toward the grandfather he had never met.

A stubborn, old-fashioned, heartless man!

To treat his own daughter like that—he almost got my mother killed!

"Your grandmother saw how bitterly I was crying and couldn't bear it. She secretly unsealed my cultivation and told me that if I truly didn't want this, I should go to the human world. But she warned me that going there would come at a great price!"

Song Yue asked in surprise, "She... wasn't she on my grandfather's side?"

Xiao Mei replied, "She was my mother after all. She understood that if a woman marries someone she does not love, she will never be happy in her life."

Grandmother was alright, after all! Song Yue thought to himself.

Xiao Mei continued, "Coincidentally, your grandfather was also arranging a blind date for your father at the time. The two sides had no communication, yet their actions were identical!"

"It was as if destiny had willed it. On the same day, both my cultivation and your father's were unsealed, and we were both forced to meet strangers."

"And the one who unsealed your father's cultivation was your grandmother."

Song Yue: "..." Well, my grandmother was pretty good too.

Xiao Mei’s gaze softened. "Later, when your father and I talked about this, we both felt it was miraculous, as if there were a mysterious force guiding everything."

"That day, your father and I shared an incredible connection. We both found a chance to run away and, without saying a word, headed to the place we frequented most."

"After we met, we didn't hesitate for a moment. He took out the artifact his mother had given him, I took out the one my mother had given me, and we forcibly tore open the boundary of the world. Just like that, we arrived in the human world with nothing."

"During that process, both our cultivation levels plummeted, and we suffered irreversible dao-wounds..."

Xiao Mei whispered, "This is the 'descent of immortals' from the legends, but the beauty was only in people's imaginations. The reality is often bloody and unbearable to witness!"

She looked at her son. "So, when you and your sister asked about this when you were young, your father and I couldn't tell you the truth. We could only bear the pain and tell you that they... were already gone."

Song Yue nodded, expressing his understanding. The existence of the Nine Passes World was a secret that could not be told to ordinary people in this world.

Still, the origins of his parents were truly incredible.

If he hadn't heard it from his mother herself, he would never have believed it was true.

"You ran away just like that—did they never come looking for you?" Song Yue asked.

Xiao Mei said, "Of course they did. Many years ago, when your brother and sister were just born, people from your father’s side came."

"When they saw that we had both become mere mortals and saw how cute your brother and sister were, they sighed, said nothing, and turned to leave."

"Later, the people your grandfather sent also came to the human world once. Those people were warriors who had gone out from Earth. After they found us and saw that the situation was irreversible, they didn't say much, only left us one message: 'Never dream of returning to the Nine Passes World again; both families have struck your names from their records.'"

Song Yue said, "That's for the best."

Xiao Mei looked at Song Yue. "It is for the best. To be honest, I have never regretted coming to the human world with your father! And he has never regretted it either!"

"No matter how hard or tiring it was, we did it willingly!"

"But seeing what happened today, I suddenly hate myself. Why can't I cultivate anymore? If I were even a minor Spirit-Gathering cultivator, I could have controlled those villains with a single thought..."

At this, Xiao Mei’s eyes turned red again.

Song Yue reached out, took his mother’s hand, and said earnestly, "Mom, don't be sad. You have me!"

"Yes, Mom knows. Actually, Mom really didn't want you to get that cursed stele... and didn't want you to know about that world. Being a selfish, unfilial daughter is enough for me; I didn't want you to have to bear it."

"You aren't selfish; you just wanted to protect your children."

Song Yue said seriously, "Even if one day I return to the Nine Passes World, I won't go looking for them. Since you and Dad have already been disowned, you have nothing to do with them from now on."

"We are who we are, and they are who they are."

"But I will find a way to heal your and Dad's dao-wounds!"

Song Yue looked at his mother firmly. "I am probably much stronger than you imagine now. I can even find a way to handle the seals on my master, so your problems can definitely be solved!"

"Yes, my precious son is the best!" Xiao Mei said.

"Mom, I know you might not believe it, but it doesn't matter. I will prove with facts that we don't need to rely on anyone to live well!" Song Yue said with a determined gaze.

To Song Yue's surprise, his mother had a great tolerance for alcohol!

After several drinks, she wasn't even tipsy.

After the meal, he took her to the funeral home to pay his final respects to the deceased company executive.

When they arrived, the body had already been placed in the casket.

The family of the deceased had arrived, grief-stricken. Being reasonable people, after learning the truth, they didn't blame Song Yu too much; all their fury was directed at the Higgins family of the Star of God.

But it was helpless; as Earthlings like them, they had no ability to take revenge.

Hearing that the mastermind was dead, they felt a slight sense of relief, but their hearts were also filled with regret—why couldn't it have happened sooner?

For this, all Song Yu could do was offer a large sum of money as compensation.

The loss of a loved one could never be mended; she could only ensure that her best friend's parents would live their later years without worry.

This incident was a massive blow to Song Yu.

She had perfectly inherited her mother’s personality, possessing high talent for cultivation but not liking it at all.

She only wanted to be a queen galloping through the seas of business.

But what happened today was like a heavy slap that woke her up.

She wanted to cultivate!

She wanted to become a true powerhouse!

Seeing Song Yue accompanying their mother, Song Yu spoke bluntly, telling her younger brother her inner thoughts.

Song Yue didn't hesitate. He took out some medicinal pills and called Qian Qianxue and Wen Rou, asking them to come home later. He wanted to take out those scriptures for his sister to study and see if she could gain anything.

He could also have Wen Rou check if there was any way to recover from the dao-wounds his mother suffered.

Song Yue vaguely remembered that the Alchemy Classics and Alchemy Books should have relevant records.

The two women didn't know exactly what had happened, but they agreed readily.

Song Yue didn't stay long. He asked Sun Tong to help look after things and drove his flying saucer to the outskirts of Beijing. As expected, the handsome man had already taken his companion's body and left.

The Jade Cauldron Sect—he had noted it down. He would settle this score later!

Song Yue steered the flying saucer toward the Western world.

He was going to exterminate the three-headed dragon.