The argent pillar of light was visible not only from the Fleeting Mist Sect and the Northern Region but from all of those on the Heaven Continent. Even immortal emperors of the other Continents could sense the pillar of light even if they could not see it.

And the reason for this was...

"Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus?"

Tianyi said, testing the words on his tongue.

Mengfei nodded. Currently, she was sitting inside the Fleeting Mist Sect's Main Hall. She was not alone as Elder Shan, Tianyi, Daoyi, Sect Master Yun, and several Fleeting Mist Sect Elders were there too.

The pillar of light interfered with the techniques of cultivators so that Tianyi couldn't kill the fleeing Five Poison Sect members. Mengfei had constructed a formation to temporarily protect the Fleeting Mist Sect against the pillar of light's abilities, or rather the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. And now, they convened to discuss the matters at hand.

"It is a legendary lotus that was rarely seen even in the primordial era." Mengfei continued. "Just its mere presence distorts the qi, whether it be true qi or spiritual qi. It has many uses; the most prominent would be to form a new body or soul. It's not the only component, of course, but it is the most crucial one."

"Then shall I congratulate Grand Elder Xi on her harvest?" Elder Shan said while stroking his beard."

Mengfei shook her head.

"Strictly speaking, the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus is not mature yet. It can only be considered an Eight Yin Lotus now. There will be some time before it can be harvested."

"I have led the Fleeting Mist Sect for hundreds of years, yet I have not noticed such a thing." Sect Master Yun said with a sigh.

"There is no need to lament. The Lightning Sea was suppressing the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus. Had I not come, it is highly possible that it would be culled before it ripened. Although it is a material of the highest rank, it is still fragile. I had been watching it, waiting for it to mature."

"Is the pillar of light part of the maturation process?" Tianyi asked.

Mengfei nodded. "I was initially suppressing it using a formation that controlled the lightning seas. But the balance was disrupted, and the light was released. All the powerful immortals in the Huang Realm will come to compete for it now."

"Ah!" Tianyi's voice leaked. He recalled when he summoned the black clouds and lightning bolts. He had drawn some of the lightning from the Lightning Sea to fuel his technique.

Elder Shan gave a look to Tianyi, but he looked away and dared not look at his mother. He kept his head down.

Sect Master Yun was worrying about something else. He had not seen the intricacies of Tianyi's technique, and neither had Daoyi or the other members of the Fleeting Mist Sect, so he did not know all this trouble was caused by Tianyi.

What he worried about was what would happen to the Fleeting Mist Sect. In comparison to the people of Xi Mengfei's level, they were less than a flea. An insignificant bug.

Experts on the level of immortal emperors, no, even an ordinary immortal would be enough to decimate the Fleeting Mist Sect from the face of the Huang Realm. And that was only considering the stray attacks, just one unlucky shot, and they would be gone.

"Sword Empress, this... what should we do?" Sect Master Yun asked. He knew the logical thing was to move. Although the Fleeting Mist Sect occupied the land with the greatest concentration of spiritual qi, but it was not as important as their survival.

Although it was troublesome, they could move all their resources. Also, their guardian formation had just been destroyed, so there was no point in rebuilding it at all.

"You should leave." Mengfei bluntly said. "You should leave as far as possible. We would likely move the battle into the Vast Void, but before then, any attacks are still dangerous." The "we" Mengfei mentioned would were naturally the immortal emperors like her.

At the competition for a treasure at the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus's level, ordinary Immortals were just like ants.

"After the battle, whether I claim the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus or not, I will help you construct a guardian formation that will not lose to even a third-rate sect," Mengfei said, her eyes calm.

Sect Master Yun's face alighted with joy before he quickly suppressed it. "No, no, no! That's too much. Our sect can't compare to third-rate sects. It might even bring jealously!"

Those were just words Sect Master Yun said on the surface. It was not even courtesy words of rejection. He was just afraid that open desire would only incite contempt from Mengfei. He very much wanted to accept and shout a loud "YES!" for the world to hear. Although Mengfei seemed gentle and courteous, just one displeasure from an immortal empress like her was enough to spell disaster.

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"I only have guardian formations at that level and above. Modifying them is too troublesome. If you want, I don't have to construct a guardian formation. You can ask for something else."

Sect Master Yun became speechless. He had thought that Mengfei was generous. It turned out that she was just too lazy to modify the guardian formations to weaken them.

Modifying a sect guardian formation to weaken it was easier than strengthening it, but guardian formations are large and complex. The ones Mengfei knew were all top tier, so the effort to put into it would not be worth it.

"Then, I'll humbly accept this grace." Sect Master Yun stood up and bowed to Mengfei. While he bowed, his eyes connected with Elder Shan's.

Elder Shan's eyes were clearly stating, "Don't think I don't know how happy you are."

"Grand Elder, then what about us?" Elder Shan spoke. The "us" he spoke of naturally referred to himself, Tianyi, and Daoyi.

"I will send you back to the sect," Mengfei said.

She could not compete for the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus and protect the three of them at the same time. In addition, she was injured. Her right arm was gone, and this dropped her combat prowess by over thirty percent. And she also needed to suppress the sword casket next to her, dropping her combat prowess by another twenty percent. It could be said that Xi Mengfei was going to compete against the other immortals at less than full power.

Having settled that, the meeting was dispersed. Sect Master Yun had to discuss with his Elders where to relocate while the battle of the immortals raged.

Tianyi and Mengfei were alone in a room. It wasn't like they would be immediately sent away.

"Sorry," Tianyi said, his eyes downcast. There was none of the usual calmness or young master act from Tianyi. He didn't know, but his voice had cracks in it.

"It's fine," Mengfei said. Her eyes were calm and clear, as if Tianyi's action hadn't impeded her in any way.

"IT'S NOT FINE!" Tianyi suddenly shouted and locked gazes with Mengfei, his eyes glistening.

Mengfei never saw this side of Tianyi before and could only watch in shock. None of her previous experiences had prepared her for Tianyi's sudden outburst.

"It's not fine," Tianyi shouted, his voice grating and hoarse. "I ruined your chance! If I had not foolishly used the lighting from the Lightning Sea, you would have been able to take the Sovereign Nine Yin Lotus without attracting any attention! You wouldn't have to fight other immortal emperors!"

Tianyi didn't know what was going on. It was as if a lock on his emotion had been shattered, and he had no control over them. Red hot tears streaked down his cheeks. For the first time in this life, Tianyi cried.

"Since I've been born, all I've done is take! Take! And TAKE from you! I've never done anything in this life! I've only taken and never given anything back! At the very least, I should be able to not drag you down! But I can't even do that!"

As Tianyi shouted at Mengfei, his voice hoarse, he recalled a certain memory. It wasn't as Tianyi, but back on Earth.

He didn't remember the event exactly, but he asked his mom to buy something for him. He pleaded several times, but his mom refused. He had even thrown a fit at his mom, but it only lasted a day. He had thrown it into the back of his mind, but a week later, his mom had bought the thing he asked for.

Tianyi recalled he felt like this. Tears streamed down his face, his emotions unchecked, and an overwhelming sense of guilt eating away at him.

He knew it was selfish to ask his mom to purchase something for him. She had been divorced and had to work till late into the night to send him to a good school. She often said, "Study hard now, so you don't have to be like me."

He had comprehended why his mom rejected it logically, but he was just so driven by envy, envy at his friends who had it. And not him. But seeing his mom purchase it anyways after his outburst was like someone had plunged a knife into his heart. It would have been easier if she hadn't. If she hadn't, then Tianyi would have been able to continually release his dissatisfaction with life and blame it all on his mom.

'I'm a terrible person for even thinking that.'

And now, even as a weak nascent soul grandmaster, he had even dragged his mother, an exalted immortal empress, down. Was there any child more wretched than he?

Mengfei didn't know what to do. She saw Tianyi's reddening eyes, the clear liquid falling down his cheeks. She moved to wipe them off, but no matter how she wiped, more would come. Finally, she held Tianyi like when she returned from the Vast Void.

Her left arm wrapped around Tianyi's back protectively as if to shield him from all the world's sadness.

"When I was young," Mengfei said, her voice gentle and carrying none of the dignity it usually had. "Emperor-Father and Consort-Mother never heeded me. It was like I was an unneeded thing."

There was a trace of melancholy and hidden sadness that she, herself, failed to detect.

"I grew used to it. I eventually grew to think that I did not need it. I just lived my days as if I was dead. Then my master discovered me. She told me I was a promising seed. I was needed, by her, by the sect. That is my only value, my talent in cultivation. So cultivation became my life. Every time I ascended or made a breakthrough, my heart palpitated whenever master gazed at me with her eyes and complimented me."

There was a faraway look in her eyes as Mengfei spoke. Her story couldn't be considered common, but neither was it rare. She was simply a child who had never come to understand her love.

"I poured all my effort into ascending to a higher realm. I became happy, or what I thought was happiness. Even with this happiness, I could not forget the heartlessness of my Emperor-Father and Consort-Mother. They became my inner devil. Even when I passed my Inner Devil Tribulation, it still existed. After my master died, I began to look at things differently."

"Although I became needed by the sect, there was no one to compliment me or stroke my head anymore. I started to become detached. I felt myself growing colder and colder. I began to see everything from a bystander's point of view, from man to man, from earth to earth, from heaven to heaven. I even saw myself this way. Eventually, I became an immortal monarch after comprehending the Law of Heaven-Earth-Man. I don't know how those days came to pass. I live my life like a puppet, only focusing on becoming stronger and perfecting my cultivation. Just like my master wanted."

"Something things happened, and an accident occurred. Eventually, you were born. When you were born, I didn't know what to do. I still don't. But you were smart and brilliant, unlike me. Did you know? Every time you talked about me to others, I heard you. Whenever you said I was strong, my heart beat faster; when you said that you were proud to have me as a mother, tears streamed down my face. Every time you spoke of me, I was happy. Happier than when master compliment, happier than any day of my life."

Mengfei hugged Tianyi even stronger.

"Yi'er, I'm happy that you were born to me. I am a worthless mother... but thank you... for being my son."