Chapter 740: Time Reversal

“That beast, Yuan Yang… is he dead?”

Forcefully taken away by the Star Emperor’s Clone, Yang Xiao didn’t even bother to observe his new surroundings before asking a question the moment he reappeared.

He knew.

This Clone of the Star Emperor contained a sliver of the Great Emperor’s Soul.

It could directly share information with the Star Emperor’s true body.

So, if Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch had truly died at the hands of the Star Emperor’s true body, this Clone would know immediately.

“‘Yuan Yang Beast…’ You… you just called him ‘Yuan Yang Beast’?”

However,

To Yang Xiao’s surprise, the moment the words left his mouth, the Star Emperor’s expression became exceedingly strange.

But soon,

He understood.

‘This so-called grandfather of mine in this life must know that Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch is my biological father.’

‘Otherwise, why would he be so shocked?’

At that, he simply nodded.

“He tried to plunder my bloodline for his own cultivation. If a person like that isn’t a beast, what is?”

Yang Xiao said nonchalantly.

“Bloodline plunder? You mean…”

At this,

The Star Emperor’s expression changed.

Yang Xiao merely gave a faint nod.

At the same time,

He thought for a moment, then sliced open his finger. Using a drop of his Essence Blood as a catalyst and harnessing the Power of Time, he began to reverse time to see what had truly happened to this body of his.

In truth,

A long time ago,

Yang Xiao had this idea—to look back at his own past and see what was really going on with this body.

But various matters had delayed him.

Besides,

At the time, he didn’t know that his body’s Essence Qi had been depleted because his Bloodline Essence Qi was stolen, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.

But things were different now.

He knew what had happened and had his suspicions.

Naturally, he had to verify them.

Especially since, judging by the current situation, his so-called grandfather, the Star Emperor, seemed to be unaware of this matter. This made him even more eager to find out what had happened back then.

So, without offering any explanation,

He directly expended a drop of Essence Blood and used it as a medium to begin the Time Reversal.

With his current power, reversing time by a mere dozen or so years wasn’t particularly difficult.

But when the Time Reversal began and the images from the past appeared,

Yang Xiao was caught,

Completely off guard.

He had expected to see only that beast Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch stealing his Bloodline Essence Qi. He never imagined that the scenes revealed in the vision would far exceed his expectations.

A few of the events involved, in particular, shook him to his core.

It turned out,

Back then, Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch hadn’t just drained the Bloodline Essence Qi from his body—he had also tried to kill him.

It was Nangong Xingyue.

His mother in this life, who had given her all.

To save his life.

Although, at that time, he wasn’t yet Yang Xiao.

But ever since he had taken over this body, he had declared that he would shoulder all of Yang Xiao’s burdens. Therefore, whether it was his father Yang Zhentian, the maid Yun’Er, or his seven sworn brothers…

…he treated them all with sincerity.

And now,

Another person was added to that list.

His mother in this life, Nangong Xingyue, and by extension, Nangong Tianling as well.

Because,

The debt of gratitude this body owed was simply too great for him to repay.

After all, back then, Nangong Xingyue had nearly died to save him.

Not to mention that just a few days ago, she had personally intervened to save him from the Star Emperor.

It could be said,

Even without counting the previous favor, Yang Xiao owed her this debt.

“Beast! Truly a beast! To think Xingyue suffered so much torment and pain back then… It’s all my fault. As her father, I failed to protect her!”

Just as feelings of acceptance and gratitude for his mother in this life, Nangong Xingyue, blossomed in Yang Xiao’s heart,

The Star Emperor beside him began to roar.

As a father,

At this moment, watching the images of the past, seeing his most beloved daughter being deceived by that beast Yuan Yang and then subjected to such cruelty…

…having their child’s Essence Qi drained, on the verge of being killed.

And right after his daughter had given birth, no less.

Such agony…

What father would want his daughter to endure that?

Furthermore, to save her child, Nangong Xingyue had given everything to him, using her own Essence Qi—already depleted from childbirth—to replenish his.

At the same time,

She had to flee from that beast Yuan Yang’s pursuit.

Such pain.

Such hardship.

For the Star Emperor, it was simply unimaginable.

Before,

He might have held some resentment toward his daughter, Nangong Xingyue, because that girl had abandoned her own father for a man.

But now, seeing that his daughter had gone through such an ordeal,

Nearly dying just to save her child,

And then, to protect him from pursuit, she had painfully entrusted him to others when she was at death’s door,

Before setting off alone,

The Star Emperor’s eyes grew moist.

As did Yang Xiao’s.

Before seeing all this, he never would have imagined that this woman, as a mother, was so great.

So selfless.

She had practically exchanged her own life for a sliver of hope for this body of his.

‘No wonder this body managed to survive even after its Essence Qi was drained. No wonder Father was always so lost in reverie whenever he thought of Mother. A woman as remarkable as her is truly a rare find in this world.’

Yang Xiao thought to himself.

At the same time,

There was another reason he felt he had to be grateful to this woman.

The Mysterious Furnace Cauldron.

That little thing.

She had actually risked it all to take it while Yuan Yang was absorbed in his cultivation after draining all the Essence Qi from this body.

And though the later visions didn’t show where she took the Furnace Cauldron,

Yang Xiao could easily guess.

It must have been her who placed it in Junior Brother Xuan Yang’s Secret Realm.

As for why she put it in a residence so similar to the one from his first life,

Yang Xiao didn’t know.

But regardless, he was certain that he had only obtained this item because of Nangong Xingyue.

All things considered,

How could Yang Xiao not accept her?

‘Perhaps having a mother like her isn’t so bad after all.’

Yang Xiao thought.

He looked at the tear-streaked Star Emperor.

A new sense of acceptance bloomed within him for the old man as well.

And right at that moment,

The Star Emperor also looked at Yang Xiao, his eyes filled with immense guilt. He raised a hand, wanting to gently pat his head, but in the end, he just clapped him on the shoulder.

“Child, you’ve suffered all these years. Your revenge, your mother’s revenge… Grandfather will avenge you both!”

As he spoke,

This Clone of the Star Emperor,

Tore open the void,

And stepped into the Void Dark Realm.

“Child, wait for my return! I, Nangong Xiongtian, will definitely bring you back the head of that beast!”

As his voice faded,

This Clone of the Star Emperor vanished.

Yang Xiao reached out a hand,

But he was too late to say anything.

A heavy feeling,

Sank into his heart.

He knew.

Although the Star Emperor had spoken with great resolve, the situation was likely not optimistic.

If he truly had the absolute advantage, there would be no need to send this Clone—which contained a sliver of his Soul and was possibly the last one not engaged in the battle—to join the fight as well.

This clearly meant he wasn’t confident.

It was even possible,

That he could no longer suppress Yuan Yang Immortal Monarch.

However,

Even knowing this, Yang Xiao had no way to stop him.

Because he was too weak.

Just like a moment ago, the Star Emperor had left before he could even get a word out.

He was utterly powerless to stop him.

At this thought,

Yang Xiao’s fists clenched tightly.

He swore to himself.

‘I must get stronger.’

‘Much stronger.’

And just then, as Yang Xiao watched the Star Emperor’s Clone depart, feeling utterly helpless,

A figure,

Suddenly appeared beside him,

Letting out a soft sigh,

Instantly startling Yang Xiao back to his senses.