A Spark Named Brightmoon

“Don’t rush! Put on your clothes before you go outside,” Yu Wei’s voice came from inside the house.

“The clothes we prepared are much too small…” Qiu Ye’s urgent voice sounded as well.

Boom!

The entire door panel flew straight off its hinges. A small child with flowing hair and no clothes on came running out. In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning and the others could tell the toddler was a girl. Her skin seemed delicate enough to drip water, and her eyes were filled with a lively, spirited intelligence. What was even more striking was that there was a divine flame insignia upon her forehead.

Around the young girl, tongues of flame swirled, making her look like a fiery immortal child.

“Boom!” The little girl cheerfully gave the flying door another kick. The wooden planks shattered into pieces from the impact, and only then did she reveal an expression of delight. Her gaze swept across Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Ji Liuzhen, the Whitewater Hound, and all the others, and she spoke in a crisp, clear voice, “Which one of you is my father?”

Ji Ning, Mu Northson, Uncle White, and the rest were all frozen, gaping in stunned disbelief.

It took quite a while before they snapped out of it.

“My heavens.” Mu Northson blinked. “This… this just came out of the womb?”

“It is said that the children of Immortals and Fiendgods are extraordinary. This is the first time I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes. It’s just too…” Ji Liuzhen was also dazed.

“Ning’er and Yu Wei’s child?” The Whitewater Hound was a bit dumbfounded. “Ning’er was always such a well-behaved child, and Yu Wei was so considerate. How did they end up with this little girl…”

Ji Ning’s Dao-heart was formidable; he was the first to recover. He laughed. “You can’t just run around naked like that. You have to put on clothes when you’re outside, or else you’ll cause a scene. Mm… your body seems to be that of a three-year-old child. I’m afraid your mother and the others hadn’t prepared such big clothes for you. Besides, ordinary clothes can’t withstand the flames you were born with.” Ji Ning raised a finger and pointed from afar.

Whoosh.

A stream of flames and a stream of water intertwined, swirling around the girl’s body. In an instant, they formed a lovely red bellyband, making her look exceedingly cute.

“Are you my father?” The little girl stared at Ji Ning.

Being stared at by his daughter filled Ji Ning’s heart with immense satisfaction. His daughter was far too adorable; it was as if she were a favorite of Heaven and Earth, born with such exquisite spirituality and intelligence.

“Yes.” Ji Ning smiled and nodded.

“He is your father.” At that moment, Yu Wei and Qiu Ye also walked out of the house. Their expressions were fascinating, especially Yu Wei’s, which was quite complex. It was a bit surprising that the child was born so large, could speak, run, and command flames. While the children of Immortals and Fiendgods did have peculiarities, most were born as normal infants.

“I heard people talking outside while I was in mother’s belly. I heard my father’s name is Ji Ning. Are you Ji Ning?” The girl bit her finger as she looked at Ji Ning.

“That’s right, I am Ji Ning.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Daughter pays respects to her father.” The girl immediately fell to her knees with a swift thump and kowtowed.

“Father. Mother.” The girl looked at Ji Ning and Yu Wei, extremely excited. “Have you chosen a name for me yet?”

Ji Ning and Yu Wei exchanged a glance. This daughter of theirs had exceeded all their expectations. However, Ji Ning and Yu Wei were no ordinary people. Ji Ning laughed. “Senior apprentice-sister, you were the one who said you would choose the name.”

Yu Wei nodded gently. “Since she is a girl, let us call her Brightmoon.”

“Brightmoon?” Ji Ning was briefly stunned.

Long ago…

During the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, Ji Ning had stunned the entire gathering. It was in the ‘Painting of Rivers and Mountains by Moonlight’ that he and his senior apprentice-sister had pledged their love and become Dao-companions.

“From this day forward, you shall be called Ji Brightmoon.” Ji Ning said to the girl standing within the flames.

“Ji Brightmoon? Ji Brightmoon? Haha, Ji Brightmoon… Ji Brightmoon…” The girl ran joyfully through the courtyard, shouting her name over and over again, utterly thrilled.

Xiaoqing drew close and whispered quietly, “Master, it looks like your daughter is wilder than most young boys. And she’s only just been born—if she’s this wild now, I can’t even imagine what she’ll be like later on.”

Ji Ning smiled and nodded. “We will need to properly discipline her in the future.”

…

His daughter Ji Brightmoon was incredibly gifted. The moment she was born, she possessed a Fiendgod body comparable to the Zifu Disciple level, and she could control flames. This was actually quite normal. Genuine Fiendgods born from Heaven and Earth started at the Xiantian level, while those born from the Primordial Chaos could be Empyrean Gods or True Gods from birth!

Take Ancestor Dragon’s nine sons—each had been born at the Empyrean God level.

In the ancient era, there were many children born of Immortals and Fiendgods.

For instance, the founder of the Shaoyin clan, ‘Shaoyin Chou’, had been the offspring of a Shaoyin clan member and a Fiendgod, which was why he was so hideous. Many divine beasts were the result of ancient, powerful Fiendgods mating with demonic beasts. When a demonic beast carried the bloodline of a Fiendgod within it, it was called a ‘divine beast’. The purer the bloodline, the stronger the beast.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were both human by nature, so their child was naturally human in form.

However, Ji Ning was still relatively weak. His child had been born with a Fiendgod body at the Zifu level, but had no achievements in Ki Refining whatsoever. That would require her own cultivation.

Any Fiendgod…

Even the lofty True Gods who wished to practice Ki Refining had to start from the very beginning. Daofather Crimsonbright and Patriarch Subhuti had been born as True Gods of Chaos, and only later did they take up Ki Refining, eventually reaching the ‘Daofather’ level in that path as well.

“Father, father, carry me on your back.”

“Father is the best.”

Ji Ning carried his daughter on his back as they toured Brightheart Island. Although the island had been moved into the ‘Violet-Glow Pearl’ world, nothing much had changed.

…

“Father, Fiendgod Body Refining is so boring. Let’s just do Ki Refining instead.”

“Brightmoon, do you want to taste your mother’s whip?”

“Wicked father! So mean!”

…

Faced with his adorable daughter, Ji Ning simply could not act the part of a strict father. Yu Wei, however, was able to steel her heart. She would carry a whip; whenever her daughter misbehaved, she would use it to ‘discipline’ her. This made little Brightmoon somewhat afraid of her mother. She could laugh and play before Ji Ning, but before Yu Wei, she was respectful and perfectly well-behaved.

“There’s no need to be so strict.” Ji Ning had spoken alone with Yu Wei about it. “Our daughter is still young. You can see that she has excellent talent, but she is like a blank canvas. We need to teach her slowly. Don’t rush.”

“We are in the middle of a great tribulation; how can we afford to slack off?” Yu Wei shook her head.

…

“Perform the ‘Sixteen Forms of the Flamecloud Sword’ your father taught you.” Yu Wei held a willow branch. Although it was just an ordinary willow switch, it was protected by a layer of Celestial Immortal magic power. When Yu Wei grew angry, she would grab Brightmoon and spank her on her little bottom with the switch, making Brightmoon cry out loudly.

As a Celestial Immortal, she could make it sting without truly injuring Brightmoon.

“Yes.” Brightmoon’s eyes were red. Her lips quivered, as if she was about to cry.

“Hm?” Yu Wei’s brow furrowed.

Brightmoon immediately grew frightened. She grabbed a sword and began to practice the sword-art. This was a set of sword-arts Ji Ning had created, perfectly suited for foundation building. The sixteen forms were divided into two volumes. One volume was fiercely yang, the other softly yin, and together they contained the complete ‘Dao of Blazing Fire’.

Ji Ning stood to one side, watching with a beaming smile. Brightmoon threw him a pitiful glance, secretly grumbling to herself: “Mean father. You’re both ganging up on me together.”

“Her potential is truly astonishing. After only three days of cultivation, her Ki Refining has already broken through to the Xiantian level,” Ji Ning mused. “And I’ve taught her many sword techniques. She seems to have the highest talent in the path of Fire; her talent in Metal, Wood, Water, and Earth is far inferior in comparison. Senior apprentice-sister is called the ‘Fire Rainbow Immortal’, but she also had excellent comprehension in the Dao of Water. As for me, I have extremely high talent in all Five Elements. How did this daughter of mine end up so skewed?”

Among the Five Elements, her talent in the other four was merely average for a normal cultivator.

But her talent in the Dao of Fire was monstrous.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were not surprised. Both were extremely gifted. Yu Wei had become a Celestial Immortal, so of course her talent was formidable. Ji Ning’s second true body had already reached the Pure Yang True Immortal level. For their daughter to excel in only a single Dao of Fire was hardly worth mentioning.

“Rumble…”

The heavens and earth rumbled continuously. Dark clouds shrouded the land, while the two enormous floating cities, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and the Seamless City, still hung in midair.

“Ink Bamboo.” A strand of will stretched across the void.

“Crimsonbright.” Another strand of will responded.

“Your Seamless Gate is truly willing to spend. You’ve even gone so far as to refine a Daofather puppet. For this single Realm War, is it worth it? Even if you win, even if you conquer the entire Crimsonbright Realm, we will simply counterattack in the future and take it back.” Daofather Crimsonbright’s will was filled with immense fury.

“Oh? The intelligence network of your Nuwa Alliance truly is well-informed.” Daofather Ink Bamboo replied. Just now, he had received the Daofather puppet.

Who would have thought the Nuwa Alliance had learned of it immediately.

Daofather Ink Bamboo had no other choice. If it were not for their overwhelming advantage in the ‘Dao of Puppets’ and ‘Intelligence’, the Seamless Gate would never be able to contend with the Nuwa Alliance. From the ancient era to the present day, the Nuwa Alliance had always been the orthodox power of the Three Realms. The Daoist and Buddhist sects, the ancient imperial clan… all of them belonged to the Nuwa Alliance.

The Nuwa Alliance was filled with an endless stream of experts, and had no shortage of top-tier powers. The most powerful Three Sovereigns of ancient humanity, the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects, some Empyrean Gods born from Chaos…

Thus, the Nuwa Alliance’s methods were also extraordinary.

When it came to gathering intelligence, the Nuwa Alliance was simply not comparable to the Lord of the Seamless Gate, who had merged himself with the Heavenly Dao. But the refinement of a Daofather puppet, the deployment of 1.8 million Celestial Immortals, and the countless resources… it was a massive undertaking. The Nuwa Alliance had long since learned of it. After all, although they could not attack the ‘All-Demon Realm’, the Nuwa Alliance had never ceased their infiltration and investigation.

“Ink Bamboo, you are also well aware that although this Realm War is important, the struggle for qi of fortune has only just begun. Are you not being a bit too reckless within my Crimsonbright Realm?” Daofather Crimsonbright was very displeased.

The Three Realms were vast beyond compare.

At present, only a few Realm Wars had been fought. The struggle over qi of fortune had only just begun. To use a Daofather puppet this early—if the Nuwa Alliance wished to win, they would also have to dispatch powerful forces to respond. If every Realm War was fought this way, even the True Gods and Daofathers would feel the sting. The cost would be far too great, exceeding the bottom line of both sides.

The treasures of the Three Realms were finite. The Seamless Gate’s materials were also finite. It was precisely because Wuxiao had refined a single Daofather puppet that the ‘Lord of All Demons’ had personally come to ask about it. It was only due to Wuxiao’s special status that the Lord of All Demons had not pursued the matter further.

“This time, the Seamless Gate will definitely win.” Daofather Ink Bamboo declared. “Since you already know about the Daofather puppet… then you had better think of a way to deal with it.”