Seeing a living, breathing Kun Peng with his own eyes struck Yu Xuan far harder than he expected.

He knew of ancient beasts.

He had studied records of primordial species.

But something about seeing a being you once imagined as a child.

The ones from a childhood story?

Something about watching a creature that once lived only between the pages of a slightly torn book.

Those hit differently.

Especially when they blot out the sun.

And Yu Xuan was sure he would see more of such legendary creatures.

"AUUHHHHAAAA—!"

The Kun Peng’s cry rippled across the Land of Mortality.

It was not merely sound.

It was a declaration.

A signal.

A summon.

The cry traveled through sky, leaf-realms, ocean depths, and even the trunk of the Dao Blessed Primordial Heaven and Earth Divine Spirit Tree.

Every sentient being within this sealed world heard it.

Yu Xuan felt it in his bones.

Then.

The blazing sun above began to dim.

Not gradually.

Rapidly.

As if pulled away by unseen hands, or rather by itself?

In its place, the moon surged forward – milky-silver, self-luminous, serene yet imposing.

Yu Xuan blinked.

For a moment he thought time had accelerated.

But that was not it.

It was not time.

The Sun and Moon were literally exchanging positions.

And as the lunar glow took dominance, the massive Kun Peng tilted downward, wings folding as its incomprehensible body descended toward the distant ocean that surrounded the Divine Spirit Tree.

’Is it diving into the ocean beneath the Tree?’ Yu Xuan wondered, recalling the vast primordial waters he had glimpsed earlier through the Nine Headed Serpent, Shemei’s enhanced vision.

The ocean beneath this realm was no normal sea.

Terrifying presences slept within it.

So, the transition completed within breaths.

Night fell.

Cold and serene.

The moon shone softly.

Yu Xuan glanced at Jian Chen.

The silver-haired misunderstood uncle stood unmoved.

Only a slight narrowing of the eyes.

’So maybe this is normal here?’ Yu Xuan concluded.

He did not know that the Kun Peng’s cry had awakened more than scenery.

Several slumbering legends across distant leaves had opened their eyes.

The Land of Mortality was stirring.

And Legends who had remained dormant for a long period of time began to pay attention.

***

After the initial awe faded, Yu Xuan found himself strangely nostalgic.

’I really should reread Tales of the Spirit Chicken when I get back home...’

By Home he meant the Eternal Star Heavenly World.

And somehow, the book now felt historically important.

He leapt back onto the tree branch and resumed his upside-down meditation once more.

At this point, upside-down had become natural.

Time passed.

The moon hung high, radiating a tranquil brilliance.

’How long do I need to wait?’ Yu Xuan thought.

His body, now mortal here required rest.

He opened one eye lazily.

"The moon sure is beautiful..." His voice trailed.

Sleep crept in.

And eventually.

He drifted off.

But outside, unbeknownst to him—

A small orb of light drifted silently toward the tree.

It glowed like a miniature sun.

Jian Chen’s eyes opened immediately.

"Seventh Sun," he said.

"Are you here to impart a technique on him?"

The orb pulsed once.

Ripples moved across its surface like solar flares trapped in restraint.

Moments ago it had been the blazing sun in the sky.

This was the Seventh Sun of Heaven – born in the First Era, a true celestial entity who had once illuminated the First Worlds to ever exist.

Now compressed into a manageable form within this sealed domain.

It hovered near Jian Chen.

The air shimmered.

A subtle resonance spread.

"Jian Chen," the Seventh Sun’s bright voice sounded, not through vibration, but through light itself.

"What is your connection to this child?"

Jian Chen remained silent for a moment.

His silver hair stirred without wind.

"I am wondering as well," Jian Chen said slowly.

"I examined him carefully, yet I found no present karmic link connecting us. And still... he feels like something from a distant past."

He paused.

His gaze deepened.

"...A very distant past."

He had realized something or at least brushed against a possibility.

And for someone of his level, such uncertainty was unexpected.

’Don’t tell me... could someone from my direct bloodline have reincarnated into a human?’ a thought surfaced.

That should be impossible.

Reincarnation was not a child’s toy.

Even those who partially grasped Samsara knew that direct-bloodline transmigration across the true bloodline of beings on his level would require interference from higher authorities.

’Did an Underworld Lord intervene?’

The idea lingered unpleasantly.

The Seventh Sun pulsed once, its surface rippling like molten gold.

"Your thoughts have grown heavy," it observed.

Jian Chen exhaled faintly.

"I am simply curious what surprise you intend to bestow upon the challenger this time."

The Seventh Sun of Heaven was infamous for its temperament.

Brilliant.

Generous.

And Unpredictable.

Every challenger who had entered the Land of Mortality had received something from it – a technique, an insight, and even Heavenly Flames.

It was one of the Sun’s peculiar quirks.

Ancient suns grew bored too.

But this time.

The small blazing sphere let out a sharp, bright snort.

"Hmph! That child has no manners."

Jian Chen raised a brow at this unexpected line.

"He openly praised my wife’s beauty in front of everyone and not a single word about me, not even a remark about how magnificent we look together!"

Its light intensified slightly, as if puffing up in pride.

The moon hanging above, the serene, silver luminescence – was its wife.

Earlier, when Yu Xuan had muttered "The moon sure is beautiful...", he had meant it absentmindedly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The Moon had been pleased.

But he had unknowingly committed a social blunder of great proportions because many beings here had heard it.

And when the Seventh Sun had taken its position in the sky before the exchange.

Yu Xuan had said nothing.

Nothing at all.

Kids these days truly did not understand the importance of sun!

Especially conscious suns.

The Seventh Sun simmered.

"He ignored me entirely! And that too in my own sky! Now, I, The Seventh Sun shall teach this brat a lesson," it declared.

"On behalf of all conscious suns across the Heavens."

Jian Chen laughed lightly.