Three months later, in the Chaos Dead Zone.
In the vast, desolate void, only the Yin and Yang forces seethed and intertwined. Every collision between them triggered violent upheavals that shook the very cosmos.
Even Eighth Order Open Heaven cultivators could not afford to take the shockwaves lightly, which was why countless years had seen virtually no one venture into the Chaos Dead Zone. For all the opportunities such a chaotic and dangerous place might hold, the dangers far outweighed them.
The first time Yang Kai had come here, had it not been for the Giant Spirit God A'Er shielding him, he would have perished many times over with his then Sixth Order cultivation.
After the Ink Clan invaded the Three Thousand Worlds, they too had set their sights on this place. But once they witnessed the myriad perils within, they abandoned the idea entirely.
This hostile domain was simply not something they could conquer. The Ink Clan's Royal Lord had even worried whether the two formidable existences here might bear the Ink Clan any ill will. Yet after observing for years, these two who had always lived within the Chaos Dead Zone showed no intention of leaving. Later, from the mouths of some Ink Slaves, the Royal Lord learned that while these two bore fearsome reputations, they had never once left the Chaos Dead Zone since ancient times — a fact that put his mind somewhat at ease.
Yang Kai arrived here as easily as taking a familiar road, finding Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan on a massive floating continent where they were cultivating their armies of Little Stone Race warriors.
Seeing each other again, both Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were left speechless.
Ever since Yang Kai had provided them with the Little Stone Race — that peculiar form of life — the two of them had become utterly enamoured with these game-like confrontations, using them to determine their standing relative to each other.
But the last two times Yang Kai had visited, nothing good had come of it. Not only had he walked away with vast quantities of Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals, he had also swept up nearly every Little Stone Race warrior they had painstakingly cultivated.
It left them feeling like Yang Kai's labourers. Each time he departed, they felt as though they had been hollowed out.
So upon seeing Yang Kai again, Big Brother Huang already had a headache: "Why are you here again?"
Big Sister Lan promptly added, "We can give you Yellow Crystals and Blue Crystals, but no Little Stone Race warriors. It hasn't been long enough — we haven't cultivated many yet."
It had been only a few hundred years since Yang Kai's last visit...
Yang Kai cupped his fists with a warm smile and bowed to the two before him. "This little brother greets Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan! I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding between us."
Big Brother Huang managed a thin, insincere smile. "Heh!"
Yang Kai quickly put on a serious expression. "My visit this time isn't to ask for anything from the two of you — I've simply come to pay my respects. Of course, if you should wish to bestow something upon me... well, when an elder offers a gift, one must not decline!"
"Nothing!" Big Brother Huang shook his small head like a rattle drum. "Absolutely nothing! Now then, you've seen us, so go back the way you came."
Yang Kai looked genuinely stricken. "Why must Big Brother Huang be so distant with this little brother?" If there had been some jest in calling them Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan before, then after witnessing that beam of light and all its implications during the time regression, the jest had become entirely earnest.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan really were elder-sibling-tier existences within the Sacred Spirit family.
Big Brother Huang let out a long, helpless sigh. "If I don't keep some distance, I'm afraid you really will strip us bare."
Even Yang Kai, with his thick skin, couldn't help but flush slightly. When he considered his behaviour over those last two visits, it really had been a bit much...
"Alright, so why exactly have you come this time?" Big Sister Lan asked with understanding. The Ink Clan was invading the myriad worlds, humanity was in dire straits — if Yang Kai didn't have some pressing matter, there was no way he would have trotted all the way out here to chat endlessly.
At the mention of serious business, Yang Kai's expression turned solemn. "I do have something! Do you two recall that last time I came to visit, I spoke of the First Light of Creation?"
Big Brother Huang couldn't help but look up at him. "You've found a lead?"
The last time Yang Kai had discussed the First Light with them, it had concerned their very origins — they were naturally anxious to know more. But despite having lived long enough, they knew nothing about that First Light and had no idea how to investigate, leaving them to place their hopes entirely in Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded solemnly. "By a stroke of fortune, during a time regression, I saw that First Light with my own eyes!"
He then recounted everything he had experienced in the Ancestral Land in meticulous detail, withholding nothing — not even the hazy humanoid figure that had appeared after the First Light struck the Ancestral Land and dissipated.
"Everything I witnessed during the time regression must be events that occurred in the distant past within the Ancestral Land, remembered by the Ancestral Land itself. During my cultivation, I resonated with the Ancestral Land and was able to peer into those ancient secrets firsthand. However, in the scene I witnessed, the First Light appeared somewhat incomplete before it struck the Ancestral Land — it had clearly already shed its Solar and Lunar forces. So I theorise that before arriving at the Ancestral Land, the First Light passed through this Chaos Dead Zone and shed its Solar and Lunar powers here, and from that, the two of you were born!"
The Solar and Lunar forces had not immediately become Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. They had undergone countless further years of transformation before becoming Zhuozhao and Youying.
As Big Brother Huang had once told him before, back then their consciousnesses were hazy and indistinct, carrying a sense of having been abandoned. Only much later, when their awareness had fully developed and they had gained their own sapience, did they find themselves within the Chaos Dead Zone — where they had remained ever since, never once departing.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan exchanged a glance, their expressions unfathomable.