"What do you mean?" Qu wren peered at his brother intensely to check whether he was joking. It didn't seem like he was. "How am I your half-brother? It doesn't make sense."
Diago sighed loudly, pulling him closer. "We might not share the same father, but we are family. You are our precious brother."
Even Ren nodded with a bright smile.
"It doesn't make sense at all! Why does my biological father have anything to do with me moving out! You both are allowed to the surface, but I'm not? Why? I need to know today. I don't care if I hurt anyone,"
The door suddenly opened and his mother walked out slightly, sniffing. "Because it will only endanger your life! You... do you know how much we had to struggle to even protect you..."
Qu wren just shook his head.
Feng Mian in his phoenix form nuzzled against his trembling hand, chirping softly in an effort to calm him down. Seeing the look in wren's mother's eyes, he knew there was something important going on.
'But how can wren be their child if they don't share either parent... it doesn't make sense?..'
He silently watched the ongoing drama.
"Mum... from what were you protecting me from? Unless you explain it clearly, how will I understand?"
His mum sighed loudly, holding her head. "All of you sit down."
The three brothers and a phoenix sat down on the conch shell couch. "Wren... have you wondered why you have pink hair while the rest of the oyster clan has white hair?" she squatted down and held his stiff hands.
"Maybe my father had pink hair."
"Yes... yes indeed. Your eminent the emperor Wang Bushen, your father had pink hair and so did your mother."
Feng Mian perked up, ruffling his wings. 'No way! Wang Bushen! The one and only cultivator that ascended from this world! That's can't be! He did not have any children!!'
Back when he was a small hatchling, he used to hear some rumors about this great cultivator that ascended to the upper realm. It gave him the motivation to cultivate himself into a greater being. His main goal was to reach the upper realm and make a paradise of a home.
Everything changed when he met wren... it changed for the good...
He nuzzled against wren's trembling fingertip.
Qu wren narrowed his eyes slightly. "I thought you were my mother?" he looked at his brothers for answers. Even they seem surprised by this news.
"I'm not even related to you guys?! Oh my god...."
"No no... You are my flesh and blood wren." She leaned over and hugged him softly. "I carried you for nine months as I would any baby. You are my baby." She kissed his frowning brows.
"b-but ... but you said my mother had pink hair..."
Sighing, she sat down on the ground. "To explain that I need to start with the history of our clan."
The three boys keenly listened.
"Our oyster clan was initially a land-dwelling one. When the lands flourished with spiritual energy, when the air was filled with so much energy that any creature born would be a powerful one, we ruled over the oceans under the great eminent emperor Wang Boshan.
The Mers, the fishes, the sharks, and the coral clans remained peaceful under our control.
Under the rule of great sage emperor, our clan flourished.
In just the age of thousand, our emperor was proclaimed the most powerful beast cultivator of all times. Not only was he able to take down any creature that challenged him, but he also ruled with a kind heart.
As the rules of water, the oyster clan took control of the other races that lived in the waters. One of such clan was the golden jellyfish clan. They hid in the deep waters, never surfacing. But one day, their young princess wanted to explore the world.
She swam up to the surface.
As per destiny, the emperor saw her. They fell in love instantly.
After decades of having a secret relationship, she revealed to him that she had special blood. A blood that could make anyone immortal."
She paused, looking at everyone.
"Immortal? But with cultivation, anyone can be immortal." Diago frowned deeply.
"Not this clan. Special golden blood runs through their veins. They never cultivated any special cultivation technique, yet they retained their immortality. It was said to be the gift of the suns and the water gods."
She gripped wren's hands.
"The emperor accepted the young lady with the promise never to reveal the secret of her clan. They got married soon. The joyful marriage went on for days. Even as a kid, I still remember that day the skies glowed golden and pink from all the fireworks."
She chuckled softly.
"Are they...." wren doubtfully looked at her.
"hmm they are your parents,"
"Where are they? What.... happened to them?"
His mother's expression went dull. "A few days later.... one of the ministers in the emperor's court got to know of your mother's special blood. Greed arose in the people's hearts. Like snakes waiting in the shadows, they waited for a chance to attack.
That chance came sooner than they had expected.
The young emperor was about to break through to the holy sky sage level. It was a level of cultivation no man or creature had reached in these lands. He went into seclusion to face the thousand golden heavenly thunders.
This gave the chance to those greedy men.
A huge uprising arose to capture your mother. The poor woman ran. But how long could she run without any spiritual energy?
She got captured."
Qu wren's heart started to pound loudly. "What happened? What did they do to her?"
"they..... they killed her and drank her blood...."
An uncontrollable rage gushed out of his body. The spiritual energy started to burn, everything hotter than the furnace.
"Wren, stop that!" Diago shouted, feeling his skin boil in the heat. "hey you..." he glanced at Feng Mian. "Stop him."
Feng Mian hopped over to wren's shoulders and gently nuzzled against him. "chip..."
Soon wren's spiritual energy came to control. "Who are they..... tell me their names?.."
"Not now. I won't tell you anything about them. If you go and confront them, you will end up with the same fate as your mother."
Qu wren clenched his hand tightly. "I'm not weak."
"You are not weak but they are very powerful spiritual cultivators that lived for centuries." She gripped his hand and gently massaged it.
"What about my father? What did he do?"
"He broke through the final level that we know of. What he didn't know was that after breaking through this level, he physically could not stay here in these lands. He ascended. Until this day he is said to be trying to come back during our hevenly rains." She whispered.
"Ascended where?"
"To a world that is higher than ours. Only those who break through the final level can ascend,"
Listening to this Feng Mian's eyes went wide. He had heard of this mysterious world before. As a young fledgling, he even aspired to ascend to this world.
"How did I come to exist if my mother is...." a small tear rolled down wren's face. It instantly formed into a small pearl.
"Oh, baby..." his mother hugged him tightly. "No one knew your mother was pregnant at that time. When her body was destroyed, so was yours. With all her very last powers, your mother conserved your soul and handed it to our clan leaders. The last bloodline of the heavenly Emperor and the only survivor of the golden jellyfish clan's soul became our only treasure."
"For years, we took care of your soul. But a few hundred years ago, your soul started to diminish. You were dying..." she sobbed loudly.
"The elders collectively decided to arrange a surrogate for your soul. I... I volunteered."