Bai Yue gazed at the six great-grandfathers with keen interest, eager to hear more juicy gossip so she could relay it back to Luoniang.
The inside stories of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon royal family were not something just any demon could know. There were few consorts in the Demon God Emperor Palace, and Luoniang had never even experienced the thrills of palace intrigue; Bai Yue figured she could use these gossip sessions to help Luoniang catch up.
However, the eldest patriarch put a stop to it. He pressed a hand to his forehead, shot an exasperated glance at the bickering fifth and sixth patriarchs, and scolded with a headache, "Enough! Stop the squabbling. I feel nothing but shame to have such unworthy descendants."
"Exactly. You’ve been arguing about the same stale, trivial nonsense for five or six hundred years—don't you get tired of it?" the second patriarch chimed in with a snort.
The eldest patriarch straightened his expression and said to Bai Yue with a smile, "Child, don't let their bickering fool you. In the past, they were as respectful as any father and son."
As he tried his best to restore the dignity of his unruly descendants, Bai Yue could only offer a polite smile. Still, she had mostly figured out that the eldest was the patriarch—the one with the highest seniority—which was why all the other grandfathers obeyed him and dared not act too insolently in his presence.
"Great-great-great-grandfather, I always feel like calling you that just makes you sound old," Bai Yue said, affectionately hugging his arm with a sweet smile.
The patriarch, who was already over seven thousand years old, felt his frozen heart soften at being addressed so tenderly by his descendant.
The eldest patriarch made an immediate executive decision: "Child, we are the hidden strength of the demon race, the Supreme Elders. Internally, you can just call us Great-Grandfather, Second Grandfather, Third Grandfather, and so on."
"To the outside world, our identity is that of Supreme Elders. Every generation of Demon God Emperors learns of our existence upon ascending to the throne, so you don't need to worry about how to explain this to Fengxiu when you return."
Bai Yue blinked, suddenly realizing something: "Great-Grandfather, you said that every Demon God Emperor knows of your existence upon taking the throne, so why was I able to see you just by coming here to activate my Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon bloodline?"
"Child, it is because you are the Mother of Destiny from the prophecy, the key to saving the fate of our demon race," the first Supreme Elder said with a radiant smile.
"But it is too early to speak of such things. You only need to know that whatever you wish to do, the demon race will be your backing."
Bai Yue emerged from the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar in a daze and hurried back to the Demon God Emperor Palace. Residing within her Sea of Consciousness were the souls of six Tier 9 Level 9 Heaven-Defying Demon powerhouses.
Seeing Bai Yue return from the pillar so quickly, Fengxiu was left completely bewildered.
"Yue'er, you were only inside for a day and a night. How are you out already? Did something go wrong?"
In Fengxiu’s experience, activating the bloodline of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan should have taken at least ten days and nights. Even though Yue'er was a human-demon hybrid, her cultivation aptitude shouldn't have been so poor that she finished in a single day.
Then, with a flash of white light, six figures appeared. Fengxiu’s pupils constricted, and he said in disbelief, "Ancestors? How did you all come out?"
"And you followed Yue'er out? Could it be... is Yue'er truly the Mother of Destiny from the prophecy?"
Seeing Fengxiu’s expression, Bai Yue was finally convinced that these men were indeed the Supreme Elders of the demon race—the title "Ancestors" had even come out.
"Indeed, little Xiu! You have raised a fine daughter!" the sixth Supreme Elder said with a look of gratification.
Hearing the nickname "little Xiu," Bai Yue couldn't suppress the smile at the corner of her lips. Her father’s pet name was almost as cute as A Bao's!
"Father! Please, can you show me some respect in front of my daughter? Don’t use that name! I am, after all, a Demigod powerhouse and the Emperor of the demon race!" Fengxiu said, his mouth twitching.
"Two hundred years without seeing you, and my son has developed such a sense of pride! So you know how to care about your image now!" The sixth Supreme Elder looked surprised, though he did stop calling him little Xiu.
"Father, what is this prophecy you speak of, and what is this Mother of Destiny? You’ve got me completely confused!" Bai Yue asked, bewildered.
Only then did Fengxiu begin to explain, revealing a secret known only to the masters of the demon race through the ages—the Demon God Emperors and the Star Demon Gods.
The prophecy of the Mother of Destiny was made by the only Star Demon God in demon history to have ever utilized a Life Prophecy.
*When the Heavenly Dao is born and time rewinds, light and darkness intertwine. The Child of Destiny and the God of Divine Retribution shall merge, bound by blood. Yet, the Mother of Destiny is the only way to break the cycle; through the power of love, the calamity of Divine Retribution may be extinguished.*
Listening to the prophecy, Bai Yue finally understood what it meant to be the Mother of Destiny.
Her son, little Haochen, was the Child of Destiny, and she was the Child of Destiny's mother. Therefore, the way to break the cycle was, in short, to use her love to influence the God of Divine Retribution.
"Liuliu, come out!"
"Explain to me how I am supposed to influence the God of Divine Retribution, Austin Griffin!"
【Host, influence him with love, educate him with love. Liuliu believes you can do it.】
*I don’t even have confidence in myself; what good does your belief do?*
As for the Supreme Elders, they were a part of the demon race's foundation, preserved as living strength to deal with the arrival of the Divine Retribution. However, because they had lost their physical bodies and remained only as souls, they had to rely on the power of the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar—a super-artifact—to shield themselves from being assimilated by the imperfect laws of the Heavenly Dao.
Listening to the first Supreme Elder’s explanation, Bai Yue understood how System Liuliu had managed to trick the grandfathers into following her.
"Yue'er, your father never imagined you would be the Mother of Destiny," Fengxiu said, sounding melancholy. "What are your plans now?"
"I plan to take Haochen to the human lands. Father, I can cultivate now, and with the protection of the six grandfathers, I certainly won't encounter any danger," Bai Yue said with a grin.
Fengxiu looked deeply at his daughter. Though he was reluctant to let her go, he knew this was not something he could prevent. Yue'er had taken on the responsibility of the Mother of Destiny and had her own path to walk. As a father, the only thing he could do was ensure his daughter had as few worries as possible.
Fengxiu thought for a moment and said, "Yue'er, Haochen is still young. Why don't you go first? Once you are settled, send me a message, and I will have Haochen sent to you."
"If this boy leaves with you, your father will miss him so much he won't be able to sleep."
Since her own father had put it that way, Bai Yue had no choice but to delay their departure again and again, until System Liuliu warned her that if she didn't leave now, she would miss the census in Aoting Town and be unable to register Haochen for the selection at the Knight Temple’s Aoting branch. Only then did she have to leave.
Fengxiu used his Demigod power to tear open a space rift, instantly transporting his grandson Haochen and his daughter Bai Yue to Aoting Town.
After a rushed arrival, Bai Yue settled down in Aoting Town, making a living by washing clothes and living a very frugal life.
In reality, she was quietly improving her strength. She had gone from the First Step to the Fifth Step in terms of spiritual power in just one year.
System Liuliu had extracted the light attribute from her body and placed it into a puppet produced by the system shop, complete with a designated gender and age.
【Name: Bai Qian】
【Attribute: Light】
【Race: Human】
【Age: Six years old】
Looking at this new physical form, Bai Yue projected a wisp of her consciousness—imbued with the power of the Heavenly Dao—into it. She moved the body with the same ease as her own. As expected, products from the system were top-tier; it was just as agile as her original body.