Ascended Without Me: Cultivating with a Genius Son | Chapter 171 | The Light of Ascension | Novela.app

Chapter 171 - The Light of Ascension Li Lin had ascended first, a departure that carried a heavy weight of regret despite the inevitability of his path. Fortunately, the Dream Realm possessed formidable strength and deep foundations; he did not need to worry about his mother’s safety in his absence. Yet, even with that assurance, his heart was filled with an agonizing reluctance to leave. It was only at this moment, as the celestial laws began to pull at his very essence, that he truly understood the profound sorrow his father must have felt when they were parted. "Xiao Lin, I will come to find you soon. You can go with a peaceful heart!" Li Xue called out, her voice trembling slightly. Even as she spoke, a strange sense of awkwardness washed over her. She couldn't help but feel that her words sounded a bit too much like a final, tragic farewell from some melodrama she might have watched in her past life. "Mother, if there is nothing urgent, please do not go out and wander aimlessly. Stay safely within the Dream Realm and focus on your path," Li Lin urged, his expression solemn. He knew his mother’s penchant for curiosity and trouble, and even as he ascended to a higher plane, his primary concern remained her well-being. "I know, I know," Li Xue replied, her tone softening as she tried to comfort him. "I will wait right here in the Dream Realm until it is my time to ascend. Don't you worry about me." "Then... I shall go first. Once I find Father, we will wait for you together!" Li Lin took one last, lingering look at his mother, his eyes memorizing every detail of her face. Slowly, under the influence of the Guiding Divine Light, his physical form began to shimmer and fade, becoming increasingly translucent until he was but a silhouette of radiant energy. Li Xue’s eyes brimmed with tears. She held them back as long as she could, but the moment her son vanished completely into the celestial void, they finally spilled over. Although she knew this was merely a temporary parting, the void left in her heart was vast. No matter how powerful her son became, no matter if he stood at the pinnacle of the realms, in a mother’s eyes, he would always be that child who needed her care. The instinct to worry and protect was a tether that even the highest cultivation could not sever. Standing nearby, Jin Sang curled his lip in a silent sneer, his heart seething with a hidden bitterness. *That damned Heavenly Fox Clan... that cursed Bai Haoran!* he thought venomously. *To think he would actually use a child to bind the Sovereign’s heart to him. How utterly shameless! What a calculating scoundrel!* Jin Sang was not the only one harboring such thoughts. Both Lei Yan and Feng Yan felt a deep sense of irritation prickling at their spirits. Their Sovereign had merely undergone the cycle of reincarnation; how had she suddenly become the "belonging" of the Heavenly Fox Clan Leader? To them, it was an affront that bordered on the intolerable. Huan Xi, however, remained as stolid and expressionless as ever. Her mind was a blank slate, governed entirely by the Sovereign’s will. Her loyalty was absolute and devoid of complex emotion; if the Sovereign were to take a liking to a demon, a Buddha, or even a monster, Huan Xi would not hesitate for a second. She would march straight into the Demon Realm, the Buddha Realm, or the Yao Realm, kidnap the object of her Sovereign's affection, strip them bare, and scrub them clean to be presented as a gift. It was because of this unwavering, almost robotic nature that among the Nine Divine Guards, Huan Xi was often referred to by other names: Stolid Huan Xi, the Wood Illusion God, or simply the Wood Goddess. To her, the machinations of the Fox Clan were irrelevant so long as the Sovereign was content.