Hei Xuan poured steaming tea into Yun Lintian's cup, the fragrant aroma carrying an inexplicable weight—like drinking liquid shadows.
"Were you surprised?" the God of Darkness asked casually. "By my avatar."
Yun Lintian picked up the cup, swirling the dark liquid slightly before nodding. "Slightly."
Hei Xuan chuckled. "In your tiline, the original Primordial Gods have already disappeared, haven't they?" His dark eyes glead with ancient wisdom. "You don't have much experience facing one directly."
Yun Lintian didn't deny it. "There was a war. Between all Primordial Gods on my side."
Hei Yue, who had been quietly sipping her tea, nearly choked. "What!?"
Hei Xuan's fingers stilled for a fraction of a second—the only sign of his surprise. "Go on."
"It was, without a doubt, instigated by the God of Ti," Yun Lintian continued, his voice calm but edged with frost. "By the end, all Primordial Gods were gone. But they managed to pass down their legacies to inheritors before they fell."
A heavy silence settled over the hut. Even Mu Ren, standing guard outside, seed to tense.
Hei Xuan set his cup down with deliberate slowness. "So that's why you crossed ti itself." His gaze sharpened. "To stop the war before it begins."
Yun Lintian t his eyes. "A part of it, yes. However, my goal here has always been to gather as much of the Primordial Gods' powers as possible."
Hei Xuan leaned back, shadows curling around his fingers like living smoke. "Nian Shi has always been… peculiar. Even among us Twelve, he stood apart."
"Father," Hei Yue cut in, frowning, "you never told this."
"Because it wasn't relevant, until now." Hei Xuan's expression darkened. "The God of Ti rarely interacts with the others. He observes. Records. Manipulates."
Yun Lintian's grip tightened on his cup. "In my tiline, he orchestrated conflicts between the Primordial Gods, weakening them before making his move."
"Divide and conquer," Hei Xuan mused. "A mortal tactic, but effective even at our level." He studied Yun Lintian. "You said that the God of Darkness in your era was different. How so?"
Yun Lintian swirled his tea, watching the dark liquid ripple. "The God of Darkness in my tiline... he wasn't like you."
Hei Xuan's fingers stilled. "Explain."
"He allied with the God of Ti early on," Yun Lintian said. "Acted as a warden—preventing the God of Fate's inheritor from erging and disrupting Nian Shi's plans."
Hei Yue frowned. "God of Fate? There's no such Primordial God here."
Yun Lintian nodded. "Exactly. In my tiline, there were Thirteen Primordial Gods, not Twelve. The God of Fate was the first to notice Nian Shi's sches."
Hei Xuan's eyes glead with sudden interest. "What was this God of Fate like?"
"A seer. A strategist," Yun Lintian replied. "He prepared countless counterasures against the God of Ti. That's why Nian Shi always targeted him first—sealing his inheritors, erasing his legacy."
A shadow passed over Hei Xuan's face. "What about the inheritor of the God of Darkness in your tiline?"
"Yao Huang," Yun Lintian said. "He inherited the God of Darkness' will but not completely. Although he did indeed join Nian Shi's side, he simply tried his best to stay alive in this whirlpool of chaos." He t Hei Xuan's gaze. "I killed him. That's why I have the legacy of the God of Darkness."
The hut fell silent.
Mu Ren's grip on his sword tightened outside.
Hei Xuan, however, burst into laughter—a rich, booming sound that shook the teacups. "Good! Saves the trouble of hunting down my disgraceful counterpart!"
Hei Yue blinked. "Father?"
"What?" Hei Xuan wiped his eyes, still chuckling. "You expect to mourn a version of myself who beca a dog for the God of Ti?" His smile faded. "Though it does confirm one thing—Nian Shi's corruption runs deeper than I thought."
Yun Lintian nodded. "Which is why I need your power. Not as an inheritor—but completely."
Hei Xuan studied him for a long mont. Then—
"Tell about this God of Fate's counterasures."
Yun Lintian exhaled slowly. "For now, I only know that the God of Fate left three safeguards."
"First—my profound vein." He tapped his chest. "A cultivation thod designed to absorb and harmonize all Primordial powers without self-destruction."
Hei Xuan's eyebrows rose. "That explains how you suppressed my avatar."
"Second," Yun Lintian continued, "he scattered fragnts of prophecy across tilines. Clues to identify Nian Shi's manipulations."
"And the third?" Hei Yue leaned forward.
"."
Silence.
"You?" Hei Xuan's voice dropped to a whisper.
Yun Lintian t his gaze evenly. "I'm not just a ti traveler. The God of Fate engineered my birth across multiple realities—a failsafe ant to converge all tilines against Nian Shi."
The implications hung heavy in the air.
Hei Xuan was the first to break the silence. "So that's why you can wield multiple Divine Beast souls. Why your aura feels... spliced." His eyes narrowed. "You're not just Yun Lintian. You're a living weapon."
Yun Lintian didn't deny it.
Hei Yue's cup shattered in her grip. "That's—!"
"Brilliant," Hei Xuan finished, his lips curling into a grin. "To turn the God of Ti's own weapon—manipulation of tilines—against him?" He laughed again. "I like this God of Fate!"
Yun Lintian's expression remained grim. "His plans weren't perfect. Nian Shi still prevailed in most tilines. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to co here."
Hei Yue bit her lip and looked at Yun Lintian with concern.
"That… Are you alright?" she asked softly.
Hei Xuan looked at his daughter with a teasing smile. "Oh, my daughter is already worried about her husband's well-being."
"Father!" Hei Yue protested, her face flushed.
Yun Lintian took a sip of tea and calmly responded, "I'm fine. It was indeed unsettling to know that my entire life was nothing but a pawn on a chessboard. However, I am more grateful to the God of Fate for giving such power to protect the people around . Without him and my parents, I would be nothing."
A hint of admiration flashed across Hei Yue's eyes as she looked at him.
On the side, Hei Xuan smiled and said, "I am no different from you in this regard. We are all pawns of our own fates."
The hut fell silent once again.
A mont later, Yun Lintian raised his head to look at Hei Xuan and asked, "I want to ask you a question. Why did you allow your subordinates to harm mortals?"
Hei Xuan took a sip of tea and asked with a smile, "You an Xuan Shen's actions?"
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