The Pig Emperor huddled cautiously, head bowed, stealing glances at the woman.

It couldn’t understand why such a being would appear here.

The woman pointed at Mo Qi, patted the Pig Emperor’s head, then dissolved into white light and returned to the ring.

The Pig Emperor froze.

’No way. Could it be that Mo the kid is actually connected to this great personage?’

The Pig Emperor’s first reaction wasn’t pride, but a desire to get far away from Mo Qi and cut all ties.

’This personage is no peaceful soul. The very name of the Witch once made countless people tremble in fear.’

’In that great battle, if not ten thousand, then at least eight thousand powerful figures died at her hands.’

’If word gets out, being by Mo Qi’s side means I won’t even know what killed me when the time comes.’

For a moment, the Pig Emperor was lost in thought, its heart wavering.

Clearly, staying with Mo Qi would be a huge opportunity, but it also came with immense risk.

Finally, the Pig Emperor steeled its resolve. "A pig that doesn’t want to eat delicious food isn’t a qualified Emperor! Mo Qi, this Emperor is betting the rest of my life on you!"

"Huh? What’s wrong with Mo the kid?"

Only then did the Pig Emperor realize something was amiss. The space and time around them were frozen.

Mo Qi’s qi and blood were surging and his condition was excellent, but he lacked a certain spiritual vitality.

Looking over at Xu He, he was a miserable sight, covered in blood.

But the Pig Emperor smelled more of Mo Qi’s blood on him.

"So that’s what happened." Taking in the surroundings, the Pig Emperor pieced together most of what had occurred.

Just then, the light from the ring began to fade, and time and space slowly returned to normal.

The Pig Emperor chuckled. "Once that guy Xu He wakes up, I won’t be able to handle him. Mo the kid, you’re in luck. This Emperor gained some new abilities after digesting that Spirit Marrow."

...

"Witch, hand over the item, and we’ll let you go!"

In a daze, a bellowing shout reached Mo Qi’s ears—a voice shrill and agitated, tinged with three parts fear and seven parts greed.

’Didn’t I die?’ Mo Qi wondered in his confusion.

His eyelids were unbearably heavy, his body limp and weak.

"If you have the guts, then come and take it!"

A crisp, pleasant female voice rang out, and Mo Qi felt a strange sense of intimacy.

’That voice is so familiar. Why do I feel like crying?’

Mo Qi forced his eyes open and beheld a scene that shook him to his very core.

High in the sky, a lone, elegant figure in white was surrounded by countless, densely packed black shadows.

It was a woman of delicate beauty, a faint smile gracing her lips.

The moment he saw the woman, Mo Qi’s nose stung. A torrent of sorrow and longing flooded his heart.

"Mother!"

Mo Qi murmured the word, tears blurring his vision.

Although his memory of her was vague, so much so that he could no longer picture her face in his mind...

...the moment he saw the woman in white, Mo Qi was absolutely certain. This was his mother!

It was a connection of blood that resonated from the depths of his very soul!

"Witch, since you refuse to be sensible, don’t blame us for resorting to force."

"Everyone, attack together! Kill her, and we’ll divide the spoils later!"

A great battle erupted between the woman in white and the myriad black shadows.

Instantly, countless portents filled the air. The gleam of blades and swords threatened to tear the very heavens asunder.

A mountain-and-sea-like torrent of Energy raged and exploded, ripping countless fissures across the entire sky.

The shouts of men, the roars of beasts, piercing shrieks, and long wails all converged into a cacophony like the roar of a thousand armies.

The woman in white stood at the epicenter of the tempest, her expression unchanged as she calmly struck back.

The battle quickly reached a fever pitch. Countless mountains and rivers, entire seas, were annihilated in the conflict.

Compared to this, the so-called Vajra Realm and Void Realm were as insignificant as ants.

Death. Swaths of bodies rained down from the sky, all slain by the hand of the woman in white.

But she, too, was grievously wounded, her white robes stained with blood.

"Mother!"

Seeing this, Mo Qi’s eyes widened in fury. He wanted to rush forward and help, but found he was completely unable to move.

He was a mere spectator, forced to watch it all unfold.

And it seemed no one else could see him at all.

In the end, the woman in white collapsed from exhaustion, while only a few of the swarming black shadows remained.

"Kill!"

A colossal hand tore through the sky, emerging from a fissure. It seized the woman in white and squeezed.

"No!"

Mo Qi struggled wildly. Suddenly, the ground beneath him vanished, and an immense force pulled him into a rapid descent.

His vision went black, and he knew no more.

When Mo Qi regained consciousness, it was to the sensation of being slapped awake by the Pig Emperor.

"Mother!"

Mo Qi shot up, gazing around in a daze.

He was in a familiar, boundless wasteland.

Before him was a small, fat pig with a terrified expression. Not far off lay a gaunt old man, a good part of his torso sliced away by a sharp blade.

Memories flooded back like a tidal wave, and Mo Qi remembered everything.

’I’m not dead?!’

"Pig Emperor, did you save me?"

The Pig Emperor glanced at its own trotters, then back at Mo Qi.

"Mo Qi, we know each other, but you can’t just go claiming people as relatives. This Emperor is a true man, not your mother... Wait!"

The Pig Emperor stopped mid-sentence as a thought suddenly struck it.

’No way... That great personage is Mo Qi’s mother?!’

’Oh my heavens!’

The Pig Emperor’s jaw dropped, its face a mask of utter shock. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

At that moment, the light from the ring on Mo Qi’s chest vanished completely, and it reverted to its rusty, iron-loop appearance.

The frozen flow of time resumed.

"Die, die, DIE! Mo Qi, I’ll kill you!" Xu He roared maniacally, whipping his arm to slam Mo Qi to the ground and tear him to pieces.

But his hand swung through empty air.

Huh?

Xu He froze. There was nothing in his hand but a pool of fresh blood.

’What’s going on?!’

Then, he saw Mo Qi, completely unharmed, a short distance away.

This...

Xu He was completely bewildered. He had no idea that time had just been frozen; his memory was stuck on the moment he had crushed Mo Qi’s heart.

"Hey, hey, Mo Qi, what did you do to him? I think he’s lost his mind," the Pig Emperor asked via thought-transmission.

"It’s just as you see."

The Pig Emperor looked at Xu He, who was missing half his body, and remarked admiringly, "Not bad at all. To think you could do this to the old geezer without this Emperor’s help."

Mo Qi felt no trace of happiness or pride. The image of the woman in white being crushed by that colossal hand was seared into his mind.

He didn’t think it was just a dream; the scenes had been far too real.

’Mother was a peerless expert? Is she really dead?’

’Who were all those people that surrounded her? What were they trying to take from her?’

’Why did my mother leave me behind?’

’If she was that powerful, then what about my father? Why do I have no memory of him?’

All of it was a complete mystery to Mo Qi.

"Mo Qi, why aren’t you injured at all? And how did you get over there?"

Xu He’s shocked roar shattered Mo Qi’s train of thought.

Mo Qi stood up and stretched his limbs, discovering his Cultivation had actually broken through to the next level.

Of the Nine Transformations into Spirit, he had now reached the Eighth Transformation Innate.

Mo Qi shot Xu He a cool glance. If before he had considered the Peak of Vajra Realm to be powerful, now, after witnessing the epic battle in his dream, Xu He couldn’t exert the slightest bit of pressure on him.