Xi Shen's POV
Opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was a very handsome young man. He was dressed in a blue robe with a golden outline, with long dark hair that reached his knees and was held by a small hairpin. The big black eyes looked back at me, in the back of my mind something said to me this man was important.
And the face seemed familiar. I quickly searched through my memories and remembered he was my father, the current Xi Clan patriarch and the 6th level Foundation Establishment cultivator.
However, why was he here and why did a flag formation and talismans surround me to hide my presence? These questions were more important than my current cultivation progress.
"You are finally awake?" Xi Li asked with a small smile, spreading his hands for a hug. However, to me, this man could be a stranger, but the feeling of warmth I feel when I see him can't be erased, "What? You don't recognize this old man?"
The warm feeling I hadn't felt for so long came back, the feeling of love, of belonging. That's when I started to accept I was Xi Shen and Chris, I was both of them, and this was really my father.
"Shen'er will you give this old man a hug?" When he asked that question, my body moved on its own. And we embraced each other, something I haven't felt in so long, fatherly love.
After pulling apart, he looked at me with glittering eyes. I checked myself, and boy did I get surprised, "Qi Gathering, 6th stage" A happy smile spread across my face, and I unconsciously checked my status.
{Status}
[Name: Xi Shen 喜神]
[Age: 12/110]
[Inheritance: Master of Devine Palace(Immortal Emperor) #Mortal Part]
[Cultivation: 6th level of Qi Gathering]
[Cultivation Method: Dao of Longevity]
[Physique: Thousand Leaves Body - Heavenly Grade]
[Root: Six Element Root - Heavenly Grade]
[Spells: None]
[Arts: None]
[Looks: Above Average]
Looking at my status, two things attracted my attention, my increased lifespan and my physique. 'Thousand Leaves Body' is one of the top ten Heavenly Physiques because it gives longevity and its like tailor-made for my cultivation method. Both of them focus on making your lifespan longer by strengthening your vitality and making you almost invincible in the same realm by increasing your spiritual power twofold.
And I can already see the results, my lifespan which was at 70 is now 110, which was the life span of the 9th level of Qi Gathering. One bonus of Thousand Leaves Body is I get to keep my youthful look until the day I die, of course, I will stop aging when I'm in my prime, as I'm not even a teenager yet.
A voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "I see you're shocked as much as I am. However, this is a blessing and a curse, you mustn't tell anyone about your physique. If anyone finds out…" My father paused for a moment and with a more serious expression said, "You must eliminate them.".
My father looked at me with contentment, his eyes glittering, "Shen'er you were always kindhearted, I wish I could protect you. But the world is cruel, so cruel in fact that your own family will turn against you just for the opportunity. You must either shield yourself from these people by eliminating them or becoming strong enough so they won't dare scheme against you."
My father's words resonated in my mind, but the mentality of Earth's peacefulness can't be erased with just a few words. But I put that in the back of my mind and nodded. "I understand."
Looking at my father for a minute, his aura seems unfathomable, 'As expected of a Foundation Establishment expert.' After thinking it over for a good minute, I decided to tell him a bit of the truth.
"Father, this worthless son has unlocked Thousand Leaves Body"
A strange light flashed in his eyes as he let out a long sigh, "I knew it must be Heavenly Grade, but I didn't expect one of the top ten. The Heavens must have taken pity on our Xi Clan." He patted my shoulder and said with great care, "Good son, you didn't disappoint this old man"
Looking at his loving expression my heart was filled with joy, praise was something I didn't receive from anybody except my sister. The day she died was the worst day of my life.
As he saw something was off my father took my hand and checked my spiritual energy, "What's wrong? Why did your spiritual energy go chaotic for a moment?" He quickly began to search for something in his storage bag "If your cultivation is unstable, take these pills, although they are Mortal Grade, it's better than nothing."
A reassuring smile appeared on my face, "My cultivation is stable, it's just I remembered something."
Seeing the smile, father's expression softened, "Fine, but still take these they are of no use to me anyway."
Looking at the Mortal Grade Qi Condensation pills in my hand, I took them without much consideration. That is how much I trusted the person in front of me.
Xi Shen lived his whole life with only his father by his side, and he was the person who sacrificed so much for him. So who am I not to trust him? After his mother died at Ming Shu's hand, only his father and a few loyal servants stayed behind. Everybody else was either killed or fled, afraid of being targeted by that demon.
After the pill entered my mouth it quickly dissolved into pure spiritual power, or Qi, and entered my bones and organs. Condensing my foundation, quickly sitting in a lotus position I began to recite the Dao of Longevity in my mind, this marked my first time trying cultivation.
It was amazing, with every breath I felt more refreshed and energized, like I was getting a full body massage by Heaven and Earth. Or have drunk a few too many cups of coffee.
My father put his hands on my back and poured his spiritual power, helping me stabilize my cultivation. With Heavenly Grade physique, it wasn't so difficult to cultivate, Shen from my memories found it extremely difficult to cultivate. His upper limit was that, or my upper limit.
It's really weird looking at it now, I'm him and he is me, but the weird thing is how easy was to accept the fact I died, got reborn, and awakened my memories. It's weird, and yet the fact that it happened to me isn't so shocking, why?
I don't know anymore, I can't wrap my head around it so I'll leave it for later. 'Focus' was only on my mind. And after half an hour I digested the pills and my cultivation rose, almost to half a step to the 7th level.
"Hah" I exhaled spiritual power, and my father again patted my shoulder and with an excited voice said, "I can't believe it, your physique is monstrous. To achieve so much with just a few Qi Condensation pills. As expected from one of the top ten Heavenly Physiques. Again, no one must know about your physique, they will covet it, of that I'm certain."
I felt more stable, like before I'd been standing on a moving boat but now I'm onto firm ground. This feeling was good. One more thing I noticed was that my father was more relieved like a huge boulder that had been sitting on his chest had been lifted.
"Your mother would be so proud of you, if only she had known her son would awaken the Heavenly Physique. But that bastard had to come that day..." The aura of Foundation Establishment erupted and enveloped the courtyard, scaring all the birds and some servants.
Quickly two people arrived at the scene, when they saw my father and me they quickly greeted us. "Greetings Lord, Young Master"
The older one, Zhu Yingshu, asked my father, "Lord, what has caused you to release that murderous aura? It shouldn't be..." And he looked at me and fell silent. "If Young Master has caused you to be mad, please quell your anger", Zhu Yingshu again bowed.
Zhu Yingshu wasn't from the Xi Clan, rather he was from my mother's side. He was her Dao Protector, standing at the 4th level of Foundation Establishment. He looked quite old like he was in his seventies, with a long gray beard and hair that reached his back, which was tied in a bun. He wore a white robe, evoking a simple look, but the aura he emitted was far from simple.
"You beg on his behalf" My father's aura began to rise, it made me suffocate, "Good, Yingshu you always had a soft spot for Shen'er, keep it that way." A hearty laugh could be heard from my father.
Surprise flashed through Zu Yingshu's eyes, but it quickly dimmed as realization struck him, "Of course, my Lord. This old man will rather die than let anything happen to the Young Master."
A strange light flashed in my father's eyes and he quickly restricted his pressure, "Zhen Ning, you should learn from Yingshu, he knows what is important."
The younger of the two was Zhen Ning, father's right-hand man. He always looked out for father, he was his teacher. A very educated man, with a lean figure, long gray hair, and a small beard, he looked to be in his fifties.
Zhen Ning clasped his hands with firm eyes and exclaimed, "My Lord, you are most important."
"In many years I've known you, this is one mistake you made. It's not me that is important, it's future generations. And the future of my Xi Clan is Shen'er, so from now on you two will be his Dao Protectors."
A look of shock appeared in both their eyes, but it quickly got replaced by an understanding. Both of them were smart enough to connect the dots. Bowing deeply, they said in unison, "We accept your order!"
Turning towards me, they said bowing, "Greetings, my Lord!" Respectful expressions appeared on their faces. I felt flustered for a moment before composing myself and reaching an internal understanding of the situation.
"No need for 'Lord' title, it only belongs to my father, you can keep 'Young Master' I prefer it that way." Again their eyes shone with a strange glint, both having interpreted my sentence with a different meaning. "You can leave"
"Understood, Young Master", both of them quickly bowed and left, standing just far enough so they could hear me if I called them.
My father was looking at me both impressed and glad, "You handled that pretty well, as expected from my son. Honestly, I didn't react so well when your grandfather made Zhen Ning my Dao Protector. I was so excited I went off to show off in front of my peers." A look of melancholy appeared on his face, but it quickly dissolved into a happy expression.
"But look at you, you have a serenity as tranquil as a calm lake, which is much desired in this world full of deceptionars" Admiration flashed in my father's eyes, "You should understand why I made them your Dao Protectors."
As he said that, I fell into deep thought, "I think I understand, the cultivation world is full of dangerous people. And I will need someone to protect me, teach me, and guide me in this world." My father nodded "But, I don't understand one thing, why can't that person be you?"
He looked at me for a long moment, before doing some kind of incantation and a barrier rose around us, presumably blocking all sound, because I couldn't hear the servent's chatter, "I'm preparing to enter seclusion and breakthrough to the 7th level of Foundation Establishment."
These words hit me like thunder because according to my memory, he isn't even 200 years old, he was 120 years old, which was pretty young for a Foundation Establishment cultivator. 'And he was going to make a breakthrough to the 7th level. Wow, my father's talent is impressive. Too bad grandpa died from Ming Shu's vicious attack. If our clan was at its peak, my father would receive the needed resources.'
"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you." It was everything I could say because I was left astonished by my father's talent. 'He has the hope to reach Golden Core, maybe even Nascent Soul, and he would be the first in Xi Clan to do so.'
"Don't congratulate me just yet, when I begin my seclusion I hope you can enter Harmony Blossom Sect, although they are a Middle-class Sect they are one of the top 5 sects in the whole Zheng Dynasty." He took out a small jade, green in color, emitting Wood Qi, "I have their recommendation letter here, with this you can take the exam and if you pass you will be promoted to the Outer Sect if you fail you will enter as a servant."
He looked for my reaction, but after reading novels about the cultivation world, and having experienced Qin Qiqiang's legacy, I felt it was quite normal. If one didn't have enough talent then one had to fend for themselves, in this dog-eat-dog world.
Seeing my calmness my father praised me, "Still so calm, the next generation has already suppressed us." He let out a small laugh and looked at me pleasingly, "The reason I'm sending you there is because 'Pillars of Harmony', are four Nascent Soul Great Elders, and their sect master is also in the 5th level of Nascent Soul stage. Although not the most powerful, they hold their place pretty well. And you need protection, now more than ever."
He took out one more jade slip, "This is the map towards the Harmony Blossom Sect, it contains secret passages I discovered in my youth. The sect can do what your father is unable to do, I'm deeply ashamed as a father and as a patriarch."
I wanted to comfort him, but no words came out. I didn't know what to say to a man that has seen his whole clan exterminated and the love of his life die in agony.