Ye Chen had always been speculating about Chen Ruo's origins, even suspecting at one point that she might be his master's daughter, because the experiences she described were remarkably similar to those of him and his master in the past.
His master had once been a Battle Saint of his generation. A hundred thousand years ago, he too had fought on the Human Sovereign's path, encountering the ancient invincible kings of the Donghua Clan, slaying many king-level foes along the way, becoming a True King-level existence, ascending to the realm of a Great Power. But in the end, he was tragically forced to fall under the combined schemes of several supreme Great Powers.
His own experiences in his previous life were surprisingly similar. In order to become the sole True King, he had slain various king-level enemies, ultimately becoming the one and only True King. His final fall was also the result of several supreme Great Powers conspiring behind the scenes.
Those Great Powers, who had once dealt with his master, engaged in life-and-death duels that shattered countless stars and stained the starry sky with blood. His master had managed to take down two or three of them with his life, forging a feud of death. Thus, Qian Yue's fall forty years ago was also their doing.
As for Chen Ruo, at least in his previous life when he was still Qian Yue, he didn't remember having such a daughter. But along this journey, witnessing the various Void Dao divine abilities Chen Ruo displayed, along with that sense of familiarity, there was no one else it could be but Yaya.
Chen Ruo, that is, Yaya, giggled, "I didn't expect Daddy to still recognize Yaya. Is it true that a girl changes completely by eighteen?"
She twirled in the air. Having long since shed her black robe, she now wore a white gauze dress, holy and snow-white, pure and refined, her figure slender and graceful, standing tall and elegant. With bright eyes and white teeth, she was like a flower bud blooming with captivating beauty, drawing everyone's attention.
Ye Chen smiled slightly. Speaking of Yaya's origins, she wasn't actually his biological daughter, but rather one he had "picked up," with a story behind it.
In the past, he had been fortunate enough to obtain a priceless World Tree seed. The so-called World Tree was a supreme being on par with mythical holy spirits like the True Dragon, Phoenix, and Kunpeng, possessing boundless potential. It was said that when grown to its peak, it could battle Emperors and Sovereigns, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Dao.
The World Tree was even rarer in the world, ultimately capable of growing to a truly sky-shrouding, sun-blocking scale, vast and boundless, capable of evolving into great worlds, mastering the Dao of Worlds, and especially innately proficient in the void, hence its name, World Tree.
Naturally, the more powerful a being, the fewer in number they were. For example, True Dragons were exceedingly rare; most of those circulating in the world merely possessed a trace of diluted bloodline.
Since the Mythical Era, throughout countless years, the number of World Trees had never exceeded five. After the Mythical Era, only one had ever manifested in the world—the very World Tree seed he obtained. He had managed to sprout and nurture it at the cost of hundreds of millions of jin of spirit stones, which speaks volumes.
At that time, the World Tree seed had only grown three tender leaves, possessing a certain level of sentience. It regarded the first person it saw—himself—as its father, becoming very dependent.
Because he also had a cute little beast named Yiyi back then, following the beast's babbling sounds, he named the World Tree seed with the homophonic name Yaya, though he wasn't sure if Yaya was male or female.
Now, the girl's appearance had proven she was female, and born with beauty that could topple nations, peerless in appearance. In the future, she could become one of the most beautiful women in the Myriad Domains.
In the blink of an eye, many years had passed. The Yaya of the past had now taken human form, becoming an innocent and naive young girl, having grown up, and her cultivation was not weak—in fact, much stronger than his own. He even felt Wang Shan couldn't compare, making him sigh that time was truly the greatest force in the world.
However, there was one thing that puzzled him. Back when he fell, Yaya was still a young sprout, adhering to his body. When he suffered complete annihilation of both body and spirit, he thought Yaya had also dissipated into smoke. After awakening, he had always felt guilty, believing he had implicated Yaya. Why was she safe and sound?
When he asked this question, Chen Ruo, that is, Yaya, shook her head gently and said, "I'm not sure either. At that time, I thought I would die along with Daddy. I lost consciousness. When I regained it, I found myself in a paradise-like place, with Daddy's Primordial Battle Body and other secret treasures also there. I only remember the last thing I heard before losing consciousness was a final, ethereal voice, as if saying my fate wasn't meant to end, that the World Tree's lineage couldn't be severed, or it would incur heavenly punishment, and that it would be needed for a future battle or something like that."
Hearing this, Ye Chen trembled all over. He seemed to understand what it was.
Back then, the reason he had miraculously survived wasn't because of himself, but because there was an invisible hand manipulating things behind the scenes, rescuing him and placing layer upon layer of shackles and seals on his True Spirit.
He suspected that Yaya's survival and the transfer of his other secret treasures might also be due to that mysterious existence.
But what was the true purpose of that mysterious existence? It made him doubt.
"Daddy, Daddy—" Yaya called softly twice, interrupting Ye Chen's contemplation. He snapped back to reality, offering an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Daddy was lost in thought for a moment."
Yaya smiled with dimples, slyly saying, "You must have been captivated by Yaya's beauty, right?"
Ye Chen ruffled her smooth, silky hair, showing great affection, "Of course. Just look at whose daughter you are."
"You messed it up," Yaya muttered, but she clearly enjoyed this fatherly ruffling, showing not a hint of displeasure.
Wang Shan watched with an amazed expression, muttering to himself, "So the savage senior sister also has such a cute side."
"Little Shanzi, what are you saying?" Yaya's ears were sharp. Hearing his idle chatter, she immediately widened her bright eyes, hands on her hips, looking fierce.
"Nothing, nothing, junior sister, you must have misheard," Wang Shan hurriedly lowered his head and softened his tone. Against this somewhat savage senior sister, he was helpless. He couldn't beat her in a fight, and all the elders doted on her excessively. Since childhood, she had been showered with endless affection. He could do nothing but feel helpless.
Moreover, he genuinely liked this senior sister from the bottom of his heart. Not only was she devastatingly beautiful, but her nature was also pure, innocent, and guileless. That bit of savagery only made her seem more childishly adorable, much more charmingly cute than those refined young ladies from great families.
Sometimes, this senior sister was quite protective at critical moments, having helped him out many times. Therefore, he was quite willing to be bullied by her.
"Yaya, over these years, how have your mothers been?"
After a moment of silence, Ye Chen finally couldn't help but ask this question, his heart trembling, fearing he might hear bad news.
They were his beloved confidantes, the wives he had pledged for a lifetime. They had known each other since his weakest days—meeting, getting acquainted, understanding each other, falling in love, and loving deeply.
"Not well at all," Yaya replied, her beautiful big eyes reddening, on the verge of tears, her small hand tightly clutching his sleeve.
"What happened?" Ye Chen's heart trembled.