Chapter 182: Accepting Defeat, Lu Dao
After Lu Xunxian released him, Lu Xuanyuan collapsed to the ground in utter disarray.
"So — do you still want to continue?"
Seeing that Lu Xuanyuan appeared ready to attack again, Lu Xunxian prepared to finish him off.
He had already given the man a chance. If Lu Xuanyuan refused to take it, there was no reason to keep him alive.
But Lu Xuanyuan hauled himself to his feet and fixed Lu Xunxian with a gaze full of wariness. In the end, however, he did not make another move.
"Those of the Lu Family have always honored their losses. I lost to you because my strength was lacking."
"But mark my words — the day will come when I take my revenge with my own hands and wash away this disgrace."
"If you've got the nerve, give me your name."
Lu Xuanyuan snorted coldly and stared Lu Xunxian down.
Seeing this display, Lu Xunxian couldn't help but look mildly amused.
"Call me Profound Immortal."
After all, those Immortal Emperors from earlier already knew his title. If Lu Xuanyuan wanted to find out, a bit of asking around would do the trick.
"Profound Immortal, is it? I, Lu Xuanyuan, will remember this day. You'd better stay alive — your life is mine to claim!"
With that, Lu Xuanyuan turned on his heel and left without a backward glance, completely oblivious to the fact that the compass inside his Storage Ring was pointing directly at Lu Xunxian.
After Lu Xuanyuan departed, a trace of worry surfaced in the Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor's eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Profound Immortal, this matter may have grown serious."
"The Lu Family is an absolute behemoth in the Dao Realm. Being targeted by this Lu Xuanyuan, I'm afraid... well, never mind."
As though recalling something, she ultimately held her tongue.
It had been 3.1 billion years since anyone last ascended to the Dao Realm.
The Dao Realm had become something of a legend.
Were it not for the occasional visitors who descended from the Dao Realm to the Immortal Realm, they would never have known that realms more powerful than the Immortal Emperor even existed.
Lu Xunxian's tone remained unperturbed, clearly unbothered by the Lu Family.
"It's fine. I won't start trouble with them as long as they don't start trouble with me."
With that, Lu Xunxian turned his gaze toward Chengtian Mountain.
Inside the Body-Melding Immortal Cave, the sphere of light had shed its radiance, revealing its true form — a pristine, unblemished egg.
In the next instant, Lu Xunxian took a single step and appeared before the egg.
The Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor hurried after him.
At the sight of the Dao Spirit's egg, a look of nostalgia crossed her features.
"This is the first time I've ever witnessed a Dao Spirit's birth."
Hearing the tone in her voice, Lu Xunxian raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Oh? You're a Peak Immortal Emperor, Fellow Daoist Vermilion Bird — and you've never seen a Dao Spirit being born?"
"Of course not. A Dao Spirit is a creation of heaven and earth's Great Dao. Forget a hundred million years — even a billion or ten billion years may pass without one ever being born."
The Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor spoke evenly.
But she quickly caught herself, and a faint blush crept across her face.
"Also — I'm still very young, I'll have you know. I've only been alive for thirty-seven million, three hundred and twenty thousand years."
"I see."
Lu Xunxian nodded in understanding.
He had to admit, the Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor's talent was remarkable. Reaching the Peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm in just over thirty-seven million years — probably only a freak of nature like Gu Daoshi surpassed her.
The Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor seemed to remember something, and she fixed Lu Xunxian with a serious look.
"One more thing — stop calling me 'Fellow Daoist Vermilion Bird.' If you don't mind, you can call me Zhu Qingyan."
Zhu Qingyan — the Vermilion Bird Immortal Emperor's true name.
Lu Xunxian nodded at her request.
"Alright, Fellow Daoist Vermilion Bird."
Zhu Qingyan: ...
Having answered, Lu Xunxian turned his attention back to the white egg.
In the next instant, a flick of his finger sent a single drop of blood flying from his fingertip. It landed on the egg's surface and was absorbed instantly.
He was claiming ownership.
Before the egg hatched, while the Dao Spirit had yet to emerge, one had to infuse it with their own blood to establish a master-servant bond.
If one waited until after the Dao Spirit was born, this method would no longer work.
The Dao Spirit would then become a self-aware entity of its own.
After Lu Xunxian's blood seeped in, the egg began to tremble faintly. A crisp crackling sound followed.
Hairline fractures spider-webbed across the egg's surface.
The Dao Spirit was about to be born.
Seeing this, Lu Xunxian swept his hand and erected a barrier around the Body-Melding Immortal Cave.
Without it, the terrifying aura released at the moment of the Dao Spirit's birth would obliterate the entire Tiansheng Continent.
Under the watchful gazes of Lu Xunxian and Zhu Qingyan, a tiny figure hatched from the egg — a small being of pure, immaculate white.
The figure was no larger than a palm. The fragments of eggshell that had fallen to the ground floated back up and were absorbed by the newborn.
After absorbing the shell, the figure grew at a visible rate, and before long had taken the form of a human child.
The little figure slowly opened its eyes, then — guided by the unique bond between them — turned to look at Lu Xunxian.
Perhaps because it had only just been born and understood nothing of the world, the Dao Spirit couldn't control its own power. Its steps were clumsy and unsteady.
It tottered its way to Lu Xunxian, then spoke its first words.
"Greetings, Master."
Lu Xunxian looked at the Dao Spirit, then at Zhu Qingyan, and asked with some curiosity.
"Does a Dao Spirit need cultivation arts or anything of the sort?"
"No. A Dao Spirit is born with cultivation arts, Immortal Arts, and everything else built in."
Zhu Qingyan explained, but then added after a moment's thought.
"Other things do need to be taught, though — things like how to live, basic customs, that sort of thing."
After all, while a Dao Spirit was born of heaven and earth, in practice it was not so different from a human.
If there was one key difference, it was that a Dao Spirit's talent dwarfed that of any human by an astronomical margin.
Specifically, it surpassed everyone.
Even Gu Daoshi's talent paled in comparison to a Dao Spirit's.
Lu Xunxian nodded, then placed a finger on the Dao Spirit's forehead, transmitting a wealth of human knowledge and customs into its mind.
"Thank you, Master."
The Dao Spirit knelt in gratitude.
Lu Xunxian thought of something and spoke to the Dao Spirit.
"You don't have a name yet. From today onward, you'll share my surname — Lu. As for a given name..."
Midway through, another thought occurred to him.
"By the way, do Dao Spirits have a gender?"
"No. Dao Spirits are genderless." Zhu Qingyan answered quickly.
Lu Xunxian lowered his head in thought.
"In that case, we'll consider him male."
Having settled the Dao Spirit's gender, Lu Xunxian chose a name. The surname would be Lu, after his own. And for the given name — since it was a Dao Spirit, he would simply call it Lu Dao.
"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Master." Lu Dao knelt, lowering his head with solemn gratitude.
"Alright, come along."
With that, Lu Xunxian waved his hand and brought everyone back to the Stellar Realm.
Inside the Stellar Realm, the battle between Lu Qingyun and Luo Qianxue in the arena was still underway.
From the look of things, however, the tide was gradually turning in Luo Qianxue's favor.