Chapter 2979 - Father and Son Put On the Pressure

The Eternal Heavens Domain had five celestial capitals. The Xuanli Celestial Capital was one of the five.

The Xuanli Sect was the Xuanli Celestial Capital’s ruling faction. Its founder was Heavenly Sovereign Ling, one of the nine Heavenly Sovereigns.

Every other cultivation faction in the Xuanli Celestial Capital looked to the Xuanli Sect for leadership, and all of them took Heavenly Sovereign Ling for their supreme ruler.

Halfway up the slopes of a grand mountain in the territories of the Xuanli Sect, Luo Yan stood by the side of a cliff, clothes flowing around her and long hair fluttering in the wind. Her beautiful face glowed beneath the ethereal light of the heavens.

She was tall, graceful, and dressed only in a simple, understated, pale blue robe. She had no jewelry or other adornments, yet she was as beautiful as a hibiscus in bloom.

She carried a snow-white sword case on her back, lending her an additional air of fearsome valiance.

“Human life is fleeting, just as plants wither after but one autumn,” Luo Yan said with a soft sigh.

A wind blew past, rustling her clothes and revealing her snowy ankles. Each was bound with a cold, black metal chain. The thin metal was deeply embedded in her flesh, creating a startling, bloody wound on each leg.

The shackles were attached to a black stone stele in front of a thatched hut not far from the cliffside.

Luo Yan hadn’t left the surrounding three-hundred-foot radius in countless years because she was under house arrest, or rather, “hut arrest.”

“A’Yan.” A warm voice called out from afar, and a black-robed, white-haired young man strode over. He had twin sabers on his back, one as red as fire, the other as black as ink.

This was Ling Wenxuan, Heavenly Sovereign Ling’s only son.

Everyone in the Xuanli Celestial Capital called him “Young Sovereign.”

He was born blessed with wisdom and extraordinary talent. His path through Eternity was full of legendary flair.

Luo Yan turned to face him. “What’s the occasion? Why would someone as busy as you go out of his way to visit me?”

Her voice was cold and tinged with mockery.

As she moved, the chains binding her ankles rubbed together and clattered.

Ling Wenxuan looked ashamed. “A’Yan, over the past few years, a lot has happened in the Eternal Heavens Domain. As the Young Sovereign of the Xuanli Sect, I have a lot to attend to, so...”

Here, Luo Yan cut him off. “No need to explain. Just tell me why you’re here. Are you planning to convince me to change my allegiance and join the Xuanli Sect again? If so, you can just save yourself some time and leave immediately.”

Ling Wenxuan shook his head. “I have other important business to discuss with you. Moreover, I can say with certainty that so long as you agree, you’ll regain your freedom. You won’t be trapped here any longer!”

Luo Yan blinked, stunned. Then, she suddenly grew excited. “Would Yun’er be willing to visit me?”

A strange look appeared on Ling Wenxuan’s face. “Yun’er has always longed to meet you.”

Luo Yan took a moment to calm herself. “What is it? So long as it doesn’t require me to pledge myself to the Xuanli Sect, I can consider it, if only for Yun’er’s sake.”

Ling Wenxuan laughed. “For you, this couldn’t be any simpler!”

Ling Wenxuan took out two jade slips, then passed them both to her. “First, have a look at these.”

The two slips recorded information about the battles in the ruins of the Heart-Tempering Sword House and the Obscured Heavens Mountains.

After reading them, Luo Yan fell into a daze, waves of emotion coursing through her heart. A long time passed before she managed to calm down.

The Heart-Tempering Sword House has been destroyed, and the Malevolent Sword Venerate is dead! And master... has reincarnated and returned!

All of these truths came as an enormous shock.

She’d been imprisoned here for countless years. She knew nothing of what went on in the outside world.

Now, she’d received such shocking news out of the blue. For a moment, she almost dared not believe it.

She reviled none more than the Malevolent Sword Venerate, whom she saw as the enemy who killed her master. She refused to live under the same sky as him.

This was the reason she’d left the Heart-Tempering Sword House in the first place.

Still, as much as she hated the Malevolent Sword Venerate, she could never have imagined that he’d be so cruel as to destroy their ancestral grounds, nor could she have anticipated that he’d kill himself!

Moreover, the greatest obsession of her lifetime was waiting until her master returned through the cycle of reincarnation. It was for this reason that she’d never given up on herself or attempted suicide despite countless years of imprisonment.

It was only by living that she could one day welcome her master back.

And now, he’d reincarnated and returned!

To Luo Yan, this was unquestionably wonderful news.

A long time passed before she gradually calmed down and looked at Ling Wenxuan. “Does the business you came here to discuss have anything to do with my master’s reincarnation?”

Ling Wenxuan nodded. “A’Yan, I’ve already talked to my father about it. All you have to do is agree to negotiate with the Heart-Tempering Sword House on behalf of the Xuanli Sect.”

“Negotiate? About what?” said Luo Yan. “Speak plainly.”

Ling Wenxuan laughed. “Don’t be nervous, A’Yan. This is excellent news for you, for the Xuanli Sect, and for Yun’er, too.”

He paused, then said, “The Heart-Tempering Sword House has a treasure called the Cauldron of Fate. It’s connected to that lost Eternal Throne, and...”

Here, Luo Yan laughed coldly. “No wonder. So, you and your father are after an opportunity to create a new Heavenly Sovereign!”

Her voice was full of mockery.

Ling Wenxuan’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. He sighed. “A’Yan, you and I are Dao Partners, and I’m Yun’er’s father. As his father, do you think I’d hurt you?”

Luo Yan’s expression shifted erratically. “Don’t change the subject. You and your father just want to trade my life for the Cauldron of Fate. And you’re seriously going on about our bond as Dao Partners? Things ended between us a long, long time ago.”

Ling Wenxuan’s gaze was suddenly frosty. “Fine, A’Yan. No need to discuss the past. Instead, allow me to be blunt. Do you really think my father would have tolerated your continued existence if you weren’t still useful to us?”

Luo Yan’s heart ached, and her beautiful face paled. “Ling Wenxuan, do you think I’m living in degradation like this simply because I’m afraid to die? I was really blind back then. How could I have fallen for a white-eyed wolf like you?”

Ling Wenxuan snapped, “A’Yan, I didn’t come here to argue with you. All these years, I’ve stood up to my father, and I’ve never mistreated you. If you have any semblance of a conscience, you ought to consider your child!”

Here, he gazed intently at Luo Yan. “Yun’er is now the most dazzling, unparalleled genius in the Xuanli Sect. He’s a peak Immeasurable Realm Dao Lord, and it won’t be long before he breaks into the Heavenly Fate Realm and becomes the youngest Heavenly Monarch in the sect’s history!”

His gaze was heated. “Father promised me that if we acquire the Cauldron of Fate and retrieve the lost Eternal Throne, he’ll grant Yun’er an opportunity to become a Heavenly Sovereign!"

He said slowly and clearly, “As his mother, shouldn’t you want that for him? Yun’er is your own flesh and blood!”

Luo Yan’s face was increasingly pallid, her expression full of uncertainty.

After a brief pause, she asked suddenly, “And why aren’t you interested in this opportunity to become a Heavenly Sovereign?”

Ling Wenxuan seemed to have anticipated that she’d ask this. He said directly, “You don’t know this yet, A’Yan, but I’ve set my sights on yet another opportunity! It won’t be long before an event called the Struggle for Heavenly Fate begins, and the victor will receive a chance to become a Heavenly Sovereign!”

He pointed at himself. “And I’m dead-set on claiming this opportunity!”

His expression filled with anticipation. “A’Yan, can you imagine it? If both Yun’er and I became Heavenly Sovereigns, the Xuanli Sect would have three Heavenly Sovereigns!

“One sect with three Sovereigns! Nothing of the sort has ever happened in the Eternal Heavens Domain!” Ling Wenxuan’s eyes flashed. “When that day arrives, everyone in the Eternal Heavens Domain will have to kneel at our feet!”

Luo Yan was stunned. This was her first time realizing that Heavenly Sovereign Ling and his son had such wild ambitions!

Ling Wenxuan said gently, “A’Yan, for our son’s sake, and for the sake of your freedom, please, agree, okay? So long as you agree, we can be a family again. Father won’t reject you any longer, either!

“Going forward, your father-in-law, husband, and son will all be Heavenly Sovereigns. How glorious would that be?” said Ling Wenxuan. There was a tempting power in his voice; he was clearly trying to influence her heart!

But Luo Yan refused. She just said coldly, “Don’t bother trying to persuade me. I can tell you in no uncertain terms that I won’t agree, not even if you threaten my life!”

Ling Wenxuan’s expression darkened, and the depths of his gaze surged with irrepressible anger. “You hate me. That’s fine, I can overlook that, but... shouldn’t you consider Yun’er?”

Suddenly, another voice arose out of nowhere. “Mother, is the Heart-Tempering Sword House really more important to you than Father and me?”

Luo Yan felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She looked over and saw a tall man in white approaching from afar. His long hair was as dark as ink, and his face was smooth and fair. His features bore a striking resemblance to her own.

This was the son she’d had with Ling Wenxuan—Ling Moyun!

“Yun’er... You’re... Yun’er...” The rims of her eyes reddened.

Not long after her son was born, Heavenly Sovereign Ling took him away. In the countless years that followed, Ling Wenxuan was her only source of information about her son.

This was the first time she’d seen her son since they were first separated.

He was unfamiliar, yet somehow, as familiar as could be.

No matter what, he was her son, her own flesh and blood, the one she longed for day and night!

Her heart was instantly full of excitement, sorrow, grief, and shame. Try as she might, she couldn’t calm down.

In stark contrast, the white-robed Ling Moyun was as cold as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

He walked over to his father’s side and said calmly, “Mother, the Heart-Tempering Sword House has already fallen. The surviving riffraff are in no way worthy of your concern!”

Luo Yan stiffened as if suddenly awakening from a dream. Her brow furrowed. “Yun’er, how could you say such a thing?”

The words ‘surviving riffraff’ were like a knife plunged into her heart.

Ling Moyun said, “Mother, forgive me if my words sting, but as a disciple of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, you should have been doomed the moment you fell into Grandfather’s hands. If Father hadn’t begged for mercy on your behalf, you’d have died a long time ago.

“Over the years, Father has never mistreated you, but you’ve never appreciated his kindness. All you can think about is the Heart-Tempering Sword House. You’ve never cared about Father or me in the slightest.”

Ling Moyun was visibly angry. “I really don’t get it!”

Luo Yan stood there in a daze, her beautiful face pallid. She felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart. So, this... is what my son really thinks of me?

Ling Moyun continued. “If you want me to acknowledge you as my mother, accept Father’s offer, okay? That way, we can be a family again. Grandfather will no longer see you as an enemy, either. Isn’t that more important than some Heart-Tempering Sword House?”

Here, he threw himself to his knees and kowtowed. “Mother, I’m begging you!”

Meanwhile, Ling Wenxuan looked at Luo Yan.