C863 Mother

"Kin Rourou!"

At the mention of this name, many alchemists and Medicine Slaves of the Medicine Sect furrowed their brows.

Clearly, they were familiar with Yu Yuan's mother.

"Kin Rourou..."

Yu Yuan froze. Standing outside the grand hall of the Medicine Sect, he was hearing his mother's name for the first time in his life, and it struck him as both odd and intriguing.

With little memory to guide him, he knew only that his parents had spared no effort in trying to heal him.

And they had faced grave misfortunes as a result.

Despite learning from Hong Qi about someone sacrificing everything for him, the realization that it was his own parents moved him deeply.

Whoosh!

Yan Qiling cradled a coloured glaze lamp in her hand, within which the slender soul was visibly drawing itself together.

The three souls—of heaven, earth, and humanity—converged, revealing the figure of a delicate woman with features as fine as a painting.

The woman, not yet fully conscious, had her eyes closed and her soul curled up inside the lamp, trembling ever so slightly as if in fear.

At the sight, Yu Yuan felt a profound stirring in the most vulnerable part of his heart.

"My mother, her name is Kin Rourou... What is she so afraid of? What has happened to her?"

A powerful urge to uncover the truth and protect her welled up inside Yu Yuan. He was desperate to understand what had transpired to leave his mother in such a state.

Who else, aside from Lee Tihai and Yun Hao, had harmed his mother?

"Her body is likely in the care of Shi Yuxuan of the Medicine Sect," Yan Qiling said, paying no mind to the other alchemists. "Don't worry. Once her soul reunites with her body and has time to acclimate, she'll awaken on her own. Leave it to me; she's in good hands."

With that, Yan Qiling's gaze shifted to a stone door, her eyes narrowing with impatience. "Sect Master Shi, shall I coax you out?"

"Squeak!"

The firmly closed stone door swung open.

Dressed in the garb of an alchemist, Shi Yuxuan emerged with a look of deep sorrow. He peered into the lamp Yan Qiling held, scrutinizing it closely before asking, "Sir, is that truly Rourou's soul?"

Regret and sorrow flickered in Shi Yuxuan's eyes, but he quickly subdued them.

"Sect Master!"

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

Members of the Medicine Sect called out in greeting as they spotted him.

"Yu Yuan!"

Bai Shenshen, who had dealt with Yu Yuan on numerous occasions, emerged from a building brimming with medicinal herbs. "Is it really you?!"

Initially, Bai Shenshen, upon hearing Yan Qiling's voice, thought it was a prank. But upon realizing Yu Yuan was truly present, her surprise was palpable.

She then caught sight of the soul shadow within the colored glaze lamp in Yan Qiling's hand. "It's truly Sister Rou Rou!"

In a single stride, Yu Yuan closed the distance and stood before Shi Yuxuan, his expression turning stern as he demanded, "Sect Master Shi, what exactly is the relationship between my mother and your Medicine Sect?"

His heart harbored enmity as he summoned his scabbard.

Without invoking a single sword spell, the sheer sword intent emanating from the scabbard was enough to make the sect master feel as though his soul was on the brink of being shredded.

Had he become this powerful already?

Shi Yuxuan silently mused.

Having encountered Yu Yuan in Chilly Wind Valley, Shi Yuxuan was still only in the late stages of the Yin God Stage, and his alchemist rank was at the Heaven Level.

Years of dedication to alchemy had caused his own cultivation to stagnate. Now, just being pointed at with Yu Yuan's scabbard made him uneasy.

What level had Yu Yuan been at back in Chilly Wind Valley?

How many years had passed since then?

The gentle son had such astonishing talent and strength?

He was struck by a wave of emotion, then, recalling Yan Qiling's earlier words, he exclaimed in astonishment, "Yu Yuan, are you the heir to the Medicine God, Hong Qi?"

"Indeed, his legacy was acquired in Chilly Wind Valley," Yan Qiling responded with a soft smile, adding, "Moreover, the Yu family from Darkmoon City descends from the previous Fiend Sect master, the Evil King Yu Xi. Sect Master Shi, I've gleaned some fragmented memories from her soul..."

Shi Yuxuan's expression shifted, "A legacy from the Medicine God, a lineage from the Evil King, the Yu family... they have such a heritage?"

Several of the Medicine Sect's elders, privy to the details, watched his reaction and sighed inwardly in amazement.

Wasn't it you who once scorned the Yu family, dismissing that young man named Yu Jue?

"Mr. Yan?" Yu Yuan called out sternly.

"Your mother, she should have called him 'uncle'," Yan Qiling huffed, gesturing towards Shi Yuxuan of the Medicine Sect. "After your father's trials in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, he ventured into the Jade Peak mountains in search of spiritual herbs and met your mother. They journeyed together in search of herbs and quickly fell in love. It was Sect Master Shi here who looked down on the Yu family for being too insignificant and tried to break them apart."

"Ultimately, your mother renounced her ties to the Medicine Sect, concealed everything, and didn't even reveal she was an alchemist before marrying into the Yu family of Darkmoon City."

"And Sect Master Shi? From that moment on, he refused to acknowledge any relation to your mother and prohibited anyone in the sect from disclosing her identity."

He succinctly laid out the circumstances.

After a brief pause, he used a soul transmission to share another detail with Yu Yuan.

Because Yu Yuan's Heavenly and Earthly Souls were still missing, his parents had once sought medicine from Shi Yuxuan at the Medicine Sect. They were met with humiliation and a heartless refusal.

Subsequently, they ventured to the Nether Abyss, only to come back empty-handed.

Shortly after leaving the Nether Abyss, they were ambushed by Lee Tihai, but the Blood God Cult intervened. The outcome was Kin Rourou's soul being imprisoned by Lee Tihai, while her father, Yu Jue, was taken by Hidden Dragon Lake.

The Blood God Cult member, lacking in cultivation, managed to seize only Kin Rourou's physical body.

Later, he personally visited the Jade Peak mountains and presented Kin Rourou's corporeal remains to Shi Yuxuan.

This was the chain of events, deduced from the chaotic memories Yan Qiling had sorted through while aiding Kin Rourou in the unification of her three souls.

Yu Yuan absorbed the story in silence. When he looked at Shi Yuxuan again, his gaze was cold and accusing.

Shi Yuxuan, fully aware of his fault, hung his head and said, "Back then, I underestimated Yu Jue. Rourou's alchemical genius was undeniable. She was destined to join the Medicine God Sect and had the potential to outshine me, to rise to prominence within the Medicine God Sect on the Quietus Continent. She fell for him early on, and without a second thought, she married Yu Jue, even bearing you..."

He left his sentence hanging, his clothes shredded to pieces.

Beneath the tattered fabric lay a silver armor, intricately etched with the images of a dragon, a vermillion bird, a black phoenix, a qilin, and a white tiger. It radiated a dazzling aura of spiritual energy, shielding against the burst of crimson sword light that had broken free from its scabbard.

Shi Yuxuan, ill-suited for combat, paled and hastily sidestepped.

"Yu Yuan, he's not worth your wrath," Yan Qiling counseled, his voice grave. "Master Shi, if you would, lead the way."

"Oh, right, of course!"

Shi Yuxuan bobbed his head eagerly, foregoing any further chatter, and made a beeline for the building.

Shortly thereafter, in a chamber constructed of cool white jade, Yu Yuan beheld the slender silhouette of his mother.

She reposed on an emerald jade bed, her eyes sealed shut, lashes long and dark.

Her pale skin exuded a rich scent of herbs, permeating the entire subterranean chamber.

The medicinal aroma softened the anger in Yu Yuan's expression, recognizing Shi Yuxuan's exhaustive efforts in preserving his mother's corporeal form with only the finest pellets.

"My disdain for the Yu family, my contempt for Yu Jue, stems from my deep affection for her," Shi Yuxuan confessed, his face twisted with anguish. "She is my niece, the sole daughter of my sister, and I am childless. I regard her as my own. Her innate gift for alchemy was exceptional. I believed that even the role of sect master of the Medicine Sect didn't do her justice, so I did everything in my power to support her ambition to join the Medicine God Sect!"

"Yu Jue, at that time, was utterly unworthy of her in every respect!"

Shi Yuxuan vented, baring his soul.

Meanwhile, Yan Qiling had lifted the cover of the coloured glaze lamp, gently cradling Kin Rourou's soul, and carefully placed it at the center of her brow.

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