The forest lay silent, as if holding its breath. Mist curled like silver ribbons around the ancient trunks, sunlight breaking through in fractured beams. Within the protective formation, Xuan Mo slept peacefully, his small chest rising and falling in perfect rhythm. But beyond the boundary, the world was alive, vast, and waiting.
Yuan Liuyue knelt beside him one last time, her molten-gold hair catching the morning light like a halo. She brushed a delicate hand over his forehead, her amber-green eyes softening for a fleeting moment.
"You rest, little one," she whispered, her voice both warmth and steel. "For I must go see the world. There are threats rising… and I must know where the storm brews."
Her lips pressed gently against his brow, a mother's blessing lingering like fire and shadow. Then, with a subtle movement of her hands, a golden light enveloped her, and her massive flying vessel—the Nine Heaven Jade Ark—materialized with a hum that vibrated the air. Its surface shimmered like polished jade, streaks of gold tracing intricate runes that glowed faintly with ancient energy. The vessel hovered effortlessly above the forest canopy, tethered to the world only by Yuan Liuyue's will.
With a fluid motion, she stepped onto the deck. The air trembled beneath her aura, bending the mist and sunlight alike. As she rose, roots from the formation stretched briefly, as if acknowledging her departure and lending their strength to her flight. The forest, sacred and alive, seemed to sigh in relief.
Above, the sky opened into vast stretches of mountains, rivers, and sprawling mortal cities. Dynasties perched on cliffs like monumental fortresses, each palace glowing faintly with protective arrays. Rivers of qi flowed through the lands, glittering streams of spiritual energy that nourished cultivators and whispered of ancient legacies.
Yuan Liuyue's Nine Heaven Jade Ark cut through the sky effortlessly, streaking across floating terraces and dynasties. Each gust of wind she created rippled across valleys below. Farmers paused mid-harvest, disciples training in courtyards froze mid-strike, and distant palaces tilted slightly as if bowing to her presence. Even clouds bent around her, streaking with gold in her wake.
She passed over the Celestial Radiance Grand Sect, where a storm of crimson energy coiled like serpents around a young Core Formation disciple—Lian Zhen. His aura twisted violently, reacting to the destruction of his father's sect, and his golden core pulsed with barely contained rage. Yuan Liuyue's amber-green eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the danger radiating from him. she decided he will be her sons wet stone
Her vessel slowed, floating silently on currents of her own creation. She surveyed the landscape, noting other sects, dynasties, and formations, each humming with life and ambition. Yet none challenged her presence, not openly, not yet.
Her mind briefly flicked back to her son, cradled within the invincible formation. He slept, oblivious to the storms gathering beyond, but even in slumber, his aura resonated faintly with the forest, a subtle thread linking mother and son.
"Soon," she murmured, voice carrying over the deck, soft yet carrying the weight of mountains, "the world will awaken to the power we guard. And when it does… I will be ready."
With a flick of her hand, the Nine Heaven Jade Ark surged forward, skimming over mountains, rivers, and palaces. The mortal realm stretched endlessly below, a tapestry of life, ambition, and cultivation. Each floating terrace and grand palace seemed to shrink before her presence, shadows stretching from her vessel like tendrils of inevitability.
Far in the distance, the heir of the Celestial Radiance Grand Sect trained, unaware of the observer high above. Yet Yuan Liuyue could feel him, his pulse of anger and budding Core Formation energy, and she knew the time was coming when mother and son would confront the rising threat directly.
And so, wings of jade and shadow carried her over the mortal realm, a silent guardian, a storm in waiting, and a mother who would let no threat go unchallenged.