““To think brother would actually come out of his meditation, it makes big brother happy!””

The burly, dark skinned, black haired man grinned as he patted the red haired youth’s back.

Following the two males from behind were a woman and a bald youth, conversing enthusiastically as they held each other’s hands.

“Eldest brother sure does look enthusiastic!” the girl exclaimed.

Her figure was generous, and was extremely good-looking. She seemed to be a woman in her late thirties, however she had an exotic air about her which, coupled with her somewhat feline traits, made it difficult to guess her real age.

Her dark skin wasn’t the same dark hue of the burly man’s, instead it was a lighter brown, the same color as that of freshly made, hot chocolate.

She had long white hair that had a slight black hue here and there, resembling the black stripes of a white tiger. Her eyes only showed the white of the cornea and she wore a white tribal dress decorated with animal bones, dangling from it.

“After almost a thousand years, youngest brother finally got out, and he looks like he has also recovered from the death of his mother! How could he not be excited?” the bald youth chuckled.

He wore a pair of arcane jade-green sandals, which twinkled mysteriously. Dangling from his neck, down on his slim, yet toned, chest, were many necklaces made out of countless teeth.

An azure tattoo of a dragon went down from the top of his head, all the way down to his ankles. Being bare-chested, the dragon was exposed for the most part, only covered by a pair of worn down, ancient looking pants.

Lifting his eyes, his gaze landed on the back of that problematic, red skinned brother of his.

Sure spending one thousand years in seclusion was nothing to beasts such as them, who could basically transcend their mortality and live forever, or at least, as much as their minds could support them. However, with the strange attitude that Ren Hong had shown before segregating himself in the forest hut had filled his three older siblings with uneasiness.

Fortunately, that worries had been dispelled after seeing that their brother was not only alright, but also looked like he had gotten over the death of his mother, lady Jin FengHuang.

All in all, a thousand year was not much if it meant their brother was fine. Actually, a few millennia was such an insignificant price to pay… then again, in that single one thousand years, so much had changed!

Sighing with feeling, he looked at his hand in the girl’s own and felt warmth rising from within his chest. As his gaze wandered from the girl’s hand up to her smiling face, his lips also arranged in a wide grin.

“Hey Bro, ever had any thoughts about becoming an uncle? Last night was close!”

Ren Bai’s face turned a bright red which contrasted with her darker skin. Her eyes turning into two fiery orbs, she turned to look at the bald youth, boiling with rage:

“Dear Lord! I swear Ren Long, if you forget about the prevention next time as well, I’ll fucking murder you!”

Ren Long rubbed the bridge of his nose and winked, blushing himself:

“Ehehe, what’s wrong? Do you not want any kids? I wonder what they would be called! After all, our parents were the ‘Primordial Emperors’, we are the ‘Divine Kings’… following that logic, wouldn’t they be something like the ‘Heavenly Kings’? That sounds dope!”

Cheng Hao finally managed to break free of the burly youth’s chokehold and turned around, beaming:

“You guys got into that kind of relationship? Congratulations! Where is my niece?”

Ren Long shook his head sighing:

“Man, I tried, but the girl keeps panicking whenever we tried! Can you believe that? I mean, I get one might want to take it slow, but, in the meantime, the humans down there have gotten through dozens of generations!”

“I-I’m just not feeling like it!”

“He’s right you know? In a thousand years, those guys must have already multiplied like rabbits.” Cheng Hao intervened, frowning as if he was pondering deeply.

Ren Bai sighed and shook her head:

“Whatever! What could you boys possibly understand!”

The four siblings all laughed and the atmosphere between them lost all tension and the mood grew lighter.

Suddenly, Cheng Hao suddenly seemed to remember something as he shouted:

“Wait, I feel so bad for not being there when the news first came out! What should we do about that!”

“You were deep into meditation at the time, brother Hong! Don’t feel bad, there was nothing you could do about it!” Ren Long waved his hands as he shook his head, dismissingly. He played with the bone necklaces hanging from his neck, lowering his head as he tried to hide his red cheeks.

Cheng Hao shook his head full of crimson hair:

“Are you kidding! That’s no excuse! We are friends! No, we are brothers! Blood may be stronger than water, but the alcohol shared after a battlefield between comrades is even sturdier! How could I possibly have missed such a joyous occasion such as two of my three greatest friends getting together? We should definitely have a feast or something!”

At the mention of a feast, Ren Bai paled as she shook her head:

“No thanks! Last time it was a disaster! I’d rather not eat anything in a while, thank you very much! It has been that way for centuries, I am afraid I won’t be stopping now!”

Cheng Hao tilted his head in confusion as he pondered out aloud:

“What happened? Did you let Ren Hei cook or something? Nah, after the time we almost died a few million years ago, I doubt someone could be that idiotic to- YOU FUCKING DID, DIDN’T YOU!“

Ren Long and Ren Bai held their heads low in shame, dark lines appearing on their foreheads. The bald youth and the dark skinned girl were trembling, traumatized by memories they had tried to bury deep into their minds, only to have them resurfacing at this moment.

“”We still think that Blue Squid with Roasted Almonds, Mcaroni, Syrup Grapes and Purple-Clovered Garlic we cooked was a delicacy! It was indeed a shame you only managed to finish half!”” Ren Hei pushed his chest out with pride, only to be met with the hateful glare of the couple.

Cheng Hao sent an inquiring glance their way as he recalled a certain piece of information: Blue Squid usually ranged from a few dozen to a hundred meters in length… and the two of them had actually been able to eat half of that?

The red skinned boy said nothing, however his eyes full of pity clearly meant something along the lines of: “Your poor stomach, intestine and whatever other organs are involved in the digestive process!”

In response, the Azure Dragon compressed his voice into a string:

“By taking turns at eating and heading to the island’s borders to throw everything up, we somehow managed to finish half of that damned squid! Why have we never given a recipe book to that fucking turtle!”

Cheng Hao sighed then waved his hands, changing the topic:

“Well, looks like my idea for a feast was rejected! How about we…” The crimson youth’s eyes glimmered sharply for the fraction of a second.

“Go for a stroll?”

…

“Shiny! And so many flowers!” Ren Bai opened her mouth wide.

“Woah, Hong, you had such a wonderful idea!” Ren Long exclaimed as he looked around him: multicolored rays of light shone through the air as they bounced off the crystal-clear ground.

“”Seriously, our brother is quite good when it comes to ‘strolls’! The Heavenly Plains? Truly, genius! How did this come to your mind, I’m curious now! Could it be you actually spent the last thousand years looking for a spot where you could go for a walk? Buahaha!” Ren Hei bellowed as he gazed with excitement upon his surroundings, the snake coiled around his shoulder also looked around with interest.

It was like walking on top of a thin crystal surface, extending for countless miles, beyond the horizon. On the crystal, beautiful plants of all sizes and kinds grew, despite the lack of grass or water.

The reason that was possible were the rays of colored light that shone down from above and were then reflected from the mirror-like surface below. These rays were akin to physical Spiritual Energy, and those plants could use that as nourishment to grow. This allowed for all kinds of plants to grow, starting from plain, old grass, all the way up to colossal medicinal herbs whose scent was intense to the upmost.

This made the scenery a beautiful sight that could without doubt rival even that of the World Ocean, maybe even surpassing it. Below the crystal it was a sea of white, such that it was like walking on top of a frozen lake.

Ren Bai threw herself on the ground where the vegetation was especially dense, laying on the soft grass. As she laughed with delight as she set her sight on all kinds of flowers, a black-and-golden-feathered bird, emitting a majestic aura, landed beside her.

The bird eyed Cheng Hao with both rage and fear, but suppressed both and simply stood by the side of its master. The red skinned youth ignored the golden beast’s glare and wore a happy smile on his face. However, below this mask of happiness, was a mixture of both excitement and uneasiness.

Will he appear, or will he not? How will it be like? Sister never told me anything about it, so I have no clue! Still, now that the annoying blue eyed guy is gone, I am finally free to search for my origins!

Cheng Hao’s eyes were burning with excitement, even his blood was pumping, but he kept his smiling expression on his face and simply waited. However, soon he would be unable to hold the excitement! After all, this was a chance like no other!

What is the Mountain? Who are the Souls of the Mountain? What is our Aim, our Goal by exterminating Immortals? And, most importantly, why did I appear here, in the Heavenly Plains on that precise day, many centuries ago?

I want answers! And, if it goes like last time, that guy that possessed my, Xu Ling’s, body, in that memory that surfaced in the battle against Yin Hei, should have them! If I can somehow recreate the circumstances that brought to his appearance, I should be able to find the answers that I seek!