85 The Final Journey

Yun listened to the story being told by the hermit calmly, but when she was told the name of the young woman in the tale she was incomparably shocked. Huli Baolong? Wasn't that her family's name, and even the second name was there! This name must be related to her somehow! But knowing cultivators and their incredible lifespans, it was possible that this was centuries ago.

The Hermit paused his tale for a moment as felt the shock run through Yun. He looked at her and asked a simple question that brought relevance to everything around them, "Child, what is your name?"

Yun was frozen for a few moments, having to be asked a second time, before she finally managed an answer, "Answering elder, this one is Huli Yunlong, one of two children of Huli Weilong who was the sole survivor of the garrison at Cora Sylverwar's massacre."

The Wild Wind Hermit was thoughtful for a while, waiting for Yun to recover, before continuing the tale with a little more detail regarding the young woman, as he now knew that this could be precious family history.

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Within the array formation the lights danced as the Fire and Lightning elemental energies nearly engulfed the young woman. She was unaware of the true meaning of this, but she knew that such a flashy display likely meant something important, so she felt very proud.

Outside the formation the Hermit was completely shocked. The dual-elemental cultivator his father had sought, going so far as to spend a great deal of his fortune to search the Cradle and even some of the nearer regions of the massive super-continent, was sitting here in front of him just months after his father's passing.

After the array stopped completely he gestured to the young girl to follow him as he led her to the main hall. There he first sat down and waited for her to sit as well before he began to speak.

"Child, you are quite special. You may not know it because your family has fallen into decline, but for someone to resonate so strongly with two elements, especially Fire and Lightning, is nearly unheard of. My father obtained a special technique for such people long ago, and he even managed to successfully cultivate part of it in spite of his lack of affinity for the Lightning element.

"As a result of his understandings he also managed to repair the technique manual where it was slightly damaged by time. This was his life's work, and his dream. Now I pass it on to you. If you'll be my second disciple I'll help raise you and protect you where appropriate, while providing resources for your growth. Is this what you wish?"

The young girl sat deep in thought for a few moments before she unwaveringly confirmed her decision. She would take him as her Master and train in his father's special technique manual.

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Years later the young girl had grown into an adult, had even married and had a child, but she had not achieved greatness yet. She was still only in the middle Houtian realms and was working towards the next realm within that space, her Third Mortal Rebirth, where she would break her body down and rebuild it, imbuing every corner of the body with a strong connection to the Spiritual and Heavenly Qi. Before she was able to spend time on this she must first raise her child to a point where he could survive on his own though. At present her son was simply too young to be separated from her for the period of time required for her to undergo this moment in cultivation.

As her son grew bit by bit she was nearing the time when she could wean him and finally undergo the short seclusion she needed to complete the Third Mortal Rebirth and achieve Houtian Large Success. This was the final time she would need to perform this before advancing to the Xiantian realms if she did not choose to undergo the other three additional levels of Rebirth.

Then, one day, disaster struck. No one knows exactly how it happened, but a massive fire raged across the region she was living with her family. Within the fires were many rampaging vicious beasts which would never pose a threat to someone of her level, but the sheer quantity and berserk behaviors caused problems of their own.

Finally, in the midst of defending her family, Huli Baolong was grievously injured by a high ranking beast. She managed to slay the beast, but her deep injury would further prevent her from advancing realms for a number of years. During this time where she was recovering her son had grown up into a young man and began cultivating an Earth Element technique that was given by his father's family. He was blessed with good talent, and was quickly recruited to join one of the big three sects.

After he left home his mother began to take on jobs again, but one day she took one that was far more dangerous than advertised.

During the mission her old wound, which was nearly healed, was forcibly torn open again. During this time of weakness she was attacked by a group of Volvaka in the cave she had escaped to and mortally wounded. With the last of her strength she killed those who had come into the cave, sent a message to Tian Lei about her location, and collapsed the entrance to the cave to prevent the Volvaka from looting her corpse.

When Tian Lei managed to find her body it had decayed absurdly fast. Her bones, which should have been pristine for centuries due to her cultivation, were blackened and brittle, barely more than ash. Something sinister had infected her body when she was wounded and destroyed her from the inside.

Tian Lei, in his grief, returned to the Hunting Hall Sect and began to piece together the clues, but never discovered some of the crucial information, about this incident.