Martial Peak

Chapter 5585: Fang Tian Ci

If Fang Yu Bai wasn’t mistaken, the sound was coming from his Wife’s belly.

Although he wasn’t powerful, he was in the True Element Boundary at the very least. He could hear sounds that the mortals were unable to hear.

Furthermore, he was very familiar with this kind of sound.

When the child was still fine back then, he would always lean his head against his Wife’s belly to listen to the child’s movements. The thudding sounds were the child’s heartbeat.

“Shush!” He suddenly ordered.

Instantly, the maidservants and midwives stopped weeping and kept their mouths shut.

Seated beside the bed, Fang Yu Bai observed his Wife. He wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but he believed that some of the colour had been restored to his Wife’s originally pale face.

*Dong…* 

Another gentle thud was heard from his Wife’s belly.

Fang Yu Bai trembled and leaned in close to his Wife before pressing his ear against her belly, waiting anxiously.

*Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong…*

The weak heartbeat was a sign that the child in the belly had been brought back to life. Although the heartbeat was initially in a mess, it gradually began pounding normally. Fang Yu Bai even had a feeling that the heartbeat was stronger than what he had heard in the past.

All of a sudden, his Wife’s belly swelled a little. Fang Yu Bai instantly felt that someone kicked him through the flesh. Even though the kick was gentle, he almost jumped in shock.

“Ah!” He widened his eyes in disbelief as he quickly took his Wife’s wrist and examined her pulse.

A moment later, tears started streaming down his face, “Thank the Heavens!”

The maidservants and midwives looked at each other as they had no idea what was going on.

One hour later, Zhong Yu Xiu slowly regained her senses, and the moment she opened her eyes, she saw Fang Yu Bai beside the bed.

“You’re finally awake, my wife,” Fang Yu Bai was pleasantly surprised. Although he had examined his wife and confirmed that she was fine, it wasn’t until she awakened that he breathed a sigh of relief.

A dazed Zhong Yu Xiu stared at her Husband as her mind gradually became clear. Tears slid down from her reddened eyes as she asked, “What happened to the child, my husband?”

Despite knowing that her child was probably gone for good, she still couldn’t help asking her Husband about it to get a definitive answer.

Fang Yu Bai patted the back of her hand and replied with a smile, “Don’t worry, my wife. The child is fine.”

Zhong Yu Xiu didn’t believe him as she cried, “There’s no need to console me, my husband. I’m able to… accept the truth.”

Hearing that, Fang Yu Bai couldn’t help smiling, “I’m not trying to console you. The child is really fine. You’re a cultivator too; if you don’t believe me, you can examine yourself.”

Realising that her husband wasn’t pulling her leg, Zhong Yu Xiu doubtfully activated her power and carefully examined her body. What she discovered astounded her.

Not only was the child in her belly indeed fine, but she could also feel that the child’s vitality was far stronger than before.

[What’s going on?]

She remembered that her belly was in sharp pain on this day, and there hadn’t been any movement from her child for half a day. Before she passed out, her lower body had even started bleeding.

She was ready to accept the fact that her child was gone for good, but the truth turned out to be such a pleasant surprise.

“Am I dreaming, my husband?” She still couldn’t believe that her child was alive.

Fang Yu Bai placated her, saying, “You’re not dreaming. Everything is going well.”

Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Zhong Yu Xiu started bawling her eyes out. All her worries over the past few days were gone as she could finally vent out her sorrow. Although she was crying, she felt relieved.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, it might affect the child,” not knowing what to do, Fang Yu Bai could only help wipe the tears off the corners of her eyes.

Zhong Yu Xiu nodded repeatedly, but she couldn’t stop her tears from sliding down her cheeks. It wasn’t until a long time later that she gradually calmed down. While stroking her belly, she bit her lip and said, “The child is hungry, my husband.”

Fang Yu Bai was startled for a moment before guffawing, “Give me a moment, my wife. I’ll tell the cooks to prepare something for you.”

With that, he turned around and left.

The news of his dead child being brought back to life soon spread around. It was also said that lightning struck on a clear day when it happened, which was an unusual phenomenon.

Soon, everyone heard about this incident. All the villagers thought that the Fang Family’s ancestors had done enough good deeds to make the Heavens bring the child back from death’s door.

Those who believed the story became even more respectful of the Heavens, while the non-believers dismissed it as superstition.

After all, the child was still in her belly. Other than the Fang Family members, no one knew if the child had really been resurrected. With that said, lightning had indeed struck from the clear sky on that day, and the news had sent a shockwave across the entire Void World.

Void Dao Temple and the major Sects had sent some people to look into the matter, but they discovered nothing in the end.

Zhong Yu Xiu’s belly became larger by the day, but what was strange was that since the incident that day, her child’s vitality had never become weaker. On the other hand, Zhong Yu Xiu was originally somewhat thin, but she too had gradually become chubby.

10 months into the pregnancy, she was finally ready to give birth. While Fang Yu Bai was waiting anxiously outside the room, the maidservants and midwives kept streaming in and out of the place.

One hour later, a loud cry was heard coming from the room. The next moment, a maidservant rushed over and reported, “Congratulations, Patriarch! It’s a boy!”

At this point, Fang Yu Bai’s face was covered in tears, for he finally had an heir.

There was a new Young Master in the Fang Family, and his name was Fang Tian Ci. Fang Yu Bai felt that the child was given to them by the Heavens. If not for the Heavens having mercy on them that day, the child would’ve passed away.

Since he only had a single child in his old age, Fang Yu Bai doted on him. Although the Fang Family couldn’t be considered wealthy, the Patriarch was still quite generous to his child.

If the average child had been doted on like this since a young age, he would probably grow up to be a willful person; however, Fang Tian Ci turned out to be well-mannered. Despite growing up in a rich family, he had never done anything that harmed others’ interests. Moreover, he was an intelligent and genial person; as such, the villagers in the Fang Family Village were quite fond of him.

As time passed, the child grew up to be a young man.

Fang Yu Bai wanted him to join the Seven Stars Sect, so he had been trying to build a foundation for him by teaching him some simple cultivation methods since the latter was a young boy.

However, much to his chagrin, even though his child was intelligent, he didn’t seem to be a talented cultivator.

It wasn’t until Fang Tian Ci was 13 that he reached the Initial Element Boundary. Another five years later, he finally ascended to the Qi Transformation Boundary.

There was no doubt his aptitude was slightly better than that of Fang Yu Bai, but it was still quite limited. One had to know that World Energy was abundant in the Void World. If one was a prodigy, they would reach the True Element Boundary by the age of 18.

However, Fang Tian Ci was only in the Qi Transformation Boundary, which was two Great Realms below the True Element Boundary.

Certainly, those from the Seven Stars Sect wouldn’t be interested in someone with such weak aptitude. Even the smaller Sects wouldn’t accept him.

As such, Fang Yu Bai decided to give up on this small dream. He was lucky enough to have a child, so demanding him to have a good aptitude for cultivation was downright greedy.

Fortunately, Fang Tian Ci possessed an unwavering spirit and was quite hard-working, so despite his lack of talent, he still built a very solid foundation.

Since he was an only child, his parents weren’t willing to let him leave the village and become anyone’s Disciple in a faraway place; as such, they decided to just teach him at home.

Time went by slowly.

Fang Yu Bai and his Wife were now old and frail. Their cultivation was weak, so they couldn’t enjoy a long life. With the abundance of World Energy in the Void World, even mortals who had never cultivated before could live past 100 years, but there would still come a day when they passed away. Despite being cultivators, the married couple could only live for slightly longer than that.

They increasingly felt that they didn’t have much energy left, and their days were surely numbered.

Fortunately, Fang Tian Ci was married. Although his Wife wasn’t a Young Lady from a wealthy family, their families were equally matched. She had also given birth to Fang Tian Ci’s children.

Several years later, Fang Yu Bai and Zhong Yu Xiu passed away in close succession.

As time passed, wrinkles started appearing on Fang Tian Ci’s face. When he was 150 years old, his Wife also left him for the next world.

He only had one Wife for all his life, just like his parents. His love for his Wife was steadfast and unshakable. Unfortunately, his Wife was just a commoner who had never cultivated before, so she didn’t live for long.

Although he now had some children and even grandchildren, the death of his Wife was still devastating to Fang Tian Ci. He seemed to have aged significantly overnight as his hair turned grey.

His parents were long gone, and even his only Wife was no longer with him. Since there were quite a few Fang Family members now, Fang Tian Ci felt he no longer had any worries.

He summoned his children to the Fang Family’s Grand Hall and informed them about his intention to leave home.

Certainly, his children were not willing to see him depart. Although Fang Tian Ci had been cultivating since he was a young child, he was only in the Immortal Ascension Boundary now. Given his advanced age and frailty, how was he supposed to take care of himself if he went out to explore the world now?

Although it was generally safe in the Void World, the current Fang Tian Ci couldn’t possibly fend off ill-intentioned people on his own should he come across any danger.

All the same, Fang Tian Ci had made up his mind. He only summoned his children to inform them about his decision, not discuss it with them.

Several days later, Fang Tian Ci left the Fang Family Village on his own. Behind him, his children and grandchildren fell on their knees as they watched him leave.

In fact, Fang Tian Ci had no idea why he had decided to go out on an excursion. Supposedly, he was no longer a high-spirited and ambitious youth. At his age, he was supposed to spend his retirement years having fun with his grandchildren; however, there was a voice in his heart that kept telling him that he should go out and see this wonderful world at least once.

This kind of urge had been with him since he was very young.

Unfortunately, his aptitude was unremarkable, and he was weak. When he was young, he couldn’t possibly leave his parents, and when his parents passed away, he was already married with children. His weakness couldn’t help him realise his dream.

Now that his wife was gone, he reckoned that his children and grandchildren no longer needed him. Since he had no more worries, he decided to make his dream come true despite knowing that he might be killed somewhere along the way.

One night, he arrived at a certain mountain and sat down to cultivate.

Since he started cultivating, he had never slacked off over the years. Although his cultivation was weak, he knew that little drops of water made a mighty ocean over time; therefore, he would never miss cultivating every day.

This helped build a solid foundation for him. Although he was no match for some of the talented young people, his True Qi was quite robust for one in the Immortal Ascension Boundary. Rarely would anyone in the same Boundary be a match for him.

However, the moment he started cultivating on this day, he realised that something was off.

He had reached the Immortal Ascension Boundary Ninth Stage 30 years ago, which he felt was his limit. Over the years, he had never been able to break through this bottleneck.

His aptitude and body simply didn’t allow him to walk any further on the Martial Dao.

Nevertheless, on this day, the bottleneck that had blocked him for 30 years showed signs of cracking.