Chapter 175: Because She Threatened The Heavenly Dao’s Status
After calming the emotions of Ming Cangzhu and Jiang Yuejian, Ming Zhaoshuang recounted her experiences during this period, informing them that her cultivation had already reached the Great Perfection of Late Golden Core, just one step away from Early Nascent Soul.
Hearing this, both were surprised and overjoyed. They praised Ming Zhaoshuang profusely, even more exaggeratingly than the System, clearly extremely satisfied with her as their daughter.
Ming Zhaoshuang stayed with the Ming family for several more days. Seeing that they treated her as they always had, showering her with the best of everything,
she gradually put her mind at ease. She found a moment and gathered Jiang Yuejian, Ming Cangzhu, and Ming Chenxing together again.
The two looked at her, not understanding.
Ming Zhaoshuang got straight to the point, saying, “Dad, Mom, I’m not actually your daughter, am I?”
Ming Cangzhu and Jiang Yuejian’s expressions stiffened. Before they could reply, Ming Zhaoshuang’s eyes curved, her beautiful eyes as radiant as red plum blossoms in the snow.
She said, “What I mean is, in terms of bloodline, I am not your daughter.”
In terms of bloodline, she was not.
But in terms of recognition, she was.
Jiang Yuejian understood the implication in her words, and her eyes were about to well up with tears again. Fortunately, Ming Zhaoshuang quickly wiped them away, saying helplessly, “Mom, I’m just here to seek the truth, not to sever our relationship.”
“No matter what, you raised me for over ten years. Do you think I’m ungrateful and would abandon you just because I’m not your blood relative?”
Jiang Yuejian said indignantly, “Who dares to say that about you? I’ll be the first to object.”
Ming Zhaoshuang patted her palm, saying reassuringly, “So, tell me about my background.”
Asking Jiang Yuejian and Ming Cangzhu directly was obviously the quickest way. As for why Ming Chenxing was also present, it was because she feared the former two knew less than Ming Chenxing.
After all, Ming Chenxing possessed the Setting Sun Sword Technique, while Jiang Yuejian and Ming Cangzhu only taught the original owner the Ming family’s sword techniques.
Since Ming Zhaoshuang wanted to ask, she naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it.
While thinking, Ming Zhaoshuang turned her gaze to Ming Cangzhu and said to him, “Dad, you wouldn’t think that way either, would you?”
Ming Cangzhu mumbled, “How could that be? I just didn’t expect you to find out so soon.”
After all, Ming Zhaoshuang’s soul had only returned about half a year ago. They didn’t know that Ming Zhaoshuang was a transmigration from a book, nor that she had undergone the baptism of the Heaven and Earth Yin Yang Formation. Therefore, they were extremely surprised that Ming Zhaoshuang could know this matter.
Ming Zhaoshuang said, “Probably because I’m smart and guessed it.”
Saying this, she looked at Ming Chenxing. Under his slightly astonished gaze, Ming Zhaoshuang smiled, “I have the right to know my origins, and I have the right to understand where my future lies.”
Upon hearing this, Ming Cangzhu and Jiang Yuejian no longer hesitated and began to speak with Ming Zhaoshuang.
If it was about Ming Zhaoshuang’s background, Ming Cangzhu and Jiang Yuejian truly didn’t know the specifics, only that her mother was.
Ming Zhaoshuang’s mother was named Ming Cangsheng. She was Ming Cangzhu’s older sister, a Peak Grade Gold Spirit Root with exceptional talent. She was a heavenly prodigy who broke through to the Spirit Transformation Stage before the age of one hundred and entered the Upper Cultivation World.
At that time, Ming Cangzhu had not yet been born. He had only vaguely heard his parents mention that he had an elder sister who cultivated in Cangshan.
Cangshan, one of the three great regions of the Upper Realm, could even surpass the Sword Sect. Therefore, during Ming Cangzhu’s childhood, he spent his days bragging about his elder sister with his friends.
It was a pity, however, that he only had a High Grade Earth Spirit Root, not as formidable as Ming Cangsheng.
By his twenties, he was only at the Golden Core Mid-stage.
It was that year that he saw his elder sister, her orange dress fluttering, her brows sharp, holding a golden sword, full of youthful spirit. She tossed him many talismans and magical artifacts, exuding an air of carefree joy that left a deep impression on Ming Cangzhu.
She looked at her younger brother, her brows raised, the red mole at the corner of her eye so captivating.
“Ah Zhu, cultivate well. Sister will carve out an empire for you in the Upper Cultivation World!”
Ming Cangzhu had been striving towards such a goal ever since. Until the day he broke through to the Mid Nascent Soul stage, he saw his elder sister again.
A mortal, devoid of any spiritual power.
The exuberance was gone, the arrogance vanished, leaving only a vast silence.
The snow that day was gray and white, the moonlight desolate, filling his vision.
Ming Cangsheng’s hair was disheveled, her clothes blood-stained, holding an infant with a severed arm. She collapsed before him, filled with desperate pleas.
She tightly gripped Ming Cangzhu’s arm, the blood on her hands seeming to soak through him.
“Ah Zhu, this is my daughter. Please take good care of her for me… you must, take good care of her.”
Before Ming Cangzhu could reply, he saw Ming Cangsheng rush into the frost and snow. She didn’t even have a chance to look at him, as if about to face some colossal entity.
He only managed to ask her one question: “What is her name!”
At that moment, the moonlight shone on the snow, resembling flying frost. Ming Cangsheng finally turned her head and spoke her last words to Ming Cangzhu:
“Her name is Zhaoshuang, the ‘Zhao’ from ‘Sword Illuminate Frost’ (Zhaoshuang).”
After that, Ming Cangzhu never saw Ming Cangsheng again. She disappeared like a dissipating cloud, vanishing entirely from his years.
Ming Cangzhu was initially worried that Jiang Yuejian, his Dao Companion at the time, might not like Ming Zhaoshuang due to her severed arm, causing him anxiety. He never expected that Jiang Yuejian, upon seeing her, decided to adopt her immediately.
Ming Cangzhu looked at Ming Zhaoshuang’s severed arm, worried that she wouldn’t be able to cultivate because of it, or even be ridiculed.
However, Jiang Yuejian said, “Although the Lower Realm doesn’t have the ability to regrow her severed arm, we cannot give up. Even if she has to wield a sword with her left hand, that’s perfectly fine.”
“If all else fails, we’ll raise her for the rest of our lives. With the vast Ming family, can’t we even support one little girl?”
Jiang Yuejian didn’t know why, but she felt she had to raise her, and raise her well.
Even if she was born missing an arm, she would still raise her!
Since Jiang Yuejian didn’t object, Ming Cangzhu naturally had no reason to. The two of them then sought out all the Pill Cultivators and physicians, solely to enable Ming Zhaoshuang to regrow an arm, so she could grasp a sword before the age of six.
Not long after, Qin Du came knocking. He presented a token, stating that Ming Cangsheng had arranged a marriage for Ming Zhaoshuang with his son, to become Dao Companions.
Since Ming Cangsheng had spoken for it, Ming Cangzhu and the others naturally had no reason to refuse, so the marriage smoothly fell into place.
Around the time Ming Zhaoshuang could barely speak, another mysterious person arrived at the Ming family.
Ming Cangzhu didn’t know who he was or why he was there. He only knew that his cultivation was profound, his demeanor distant in white clothes. He caused Ming Zhaoshuang’s flesh and bones to regenerate, making her hands whole.
He looked at Ming Zhaoshuang with a pained expression and said to Ming Cangzhu, “Her constitution is special. To completely escape her fate, I could only split her divine soul, preventing her from forming attachments or falling in love. This may be difficult for you…”
Ming Cangzhu anxiously asked, “What is Shuang’er’s fate?”
The person remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “To be influenced, controlled, and even killed by the Heavenly Dao.”
Ming Cangzhu was suddenly shocked and said, “The Heavenly Dao? Why would the Heavenly Dao want to kill Shuang’er?”
Shouldn’t the Heavenly Dao uphold the order of heaven and earth and protect the peace of all living beings?
Why would it attack an infant without reason?
The person merely said, “Because she threatened the status of the current Heavenly Dao.”
Having said all that, the person refused to speak further. Ming Cangzhu could only sigh and have him split Ming Zhaoshuang’s divine soul, and he took away one crucial soul and spirit.
“If she cannot become Dao Companions with Qin Feilong, then on the day she cultivates to Deity Transformation, someone will guide her to where she is meant to go. You need not worry.”
Ming Cangzhu finally asked, “Will her soul return?”
“Yes,”
The person looked into Ming Cangzhu’s eyes and said, word for word, “The day her soul returns is the day the Heavenly Dao perishes.”
