"Of course it's true. Mother, rest assured, Xiao Fei is really fine now," Ye Yunfei said with a smile.
Ye Yunfei walked to Xiao Fei's side, took out a vermilion-colored medicinal pill, and gently slipped it into her mouth.
Then, he extended his palm. With a thought, a vast surge of spiritual power burst forth from his palm, slowly transmitting into Xiao Fei's body.
Xiao Fei's previously pale face immediately began to change, becoming more and more rosy. A powerful vitality emanated from within her.
Faintly, one could see the silhouette of a colossal Vermilion Bird materialize from Xiao Fei's body, spreading its wings and soaring through the heavens!
This indicated that the Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian within Xiao Fei's body had also begun to recover!
"Mother, in a small while longer, Xiao Fei will fully awaken," Ye Yunfei said to Miao Ziqiong.
"That's wonderful. Xiao Fei is finally alright!" Miao Ziqiong's eyes instantly reddened.
For these past few years, she had guarded her daughter day and night, waiting precisely for this moment.
She felt she had owed her daughter far, far too much!
"Truly worthy of being a Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian! After being siphoned away continuously for two years, it can start recovering in such a short time," Ye Yunfei couldn't help but sigh as he looked at that Vermilion Bird shadowy figure.
"I would rather that neither Xiao Fei nor I possessed this Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian. If we mother and daughter didn't have this Divine Meridian, we could probably have lived a relatively peaceful life. That kind of life is what I truly desire," Miao Ziqiong looked at the Vermilion Bird silhouette above Xiao Fei's body, her feelings complex, and whispered.
"Mother, don't worry. I will settle the debts the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm owes our family with absolute clarity," Ye Yunfei's face darkened upon hearing his mother's words.
Miao Ziqiong was right; it could be said that half of the hardships their family suffered originated from the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm!
"No. Yunfei, the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm is too powerful! We may not be their match. Now that we mother and daughter are safe, we should quickly leave the Vermilion Bird Realm, find a hidden place to stay, and live a peaceful life. Perhaps that would be the best option," Miao Ziqiong's expression changed slightly upon hearing Ye Yunfei's words. She suddenly realized that after her son came to the Vermilion Bird Realm to rescue her and her daughter, the high-level members of the Miao Clan would surely seek them out.
Perhaps, at this very moment, the Miao Clan's upper echelon was already searching everywhere for the whereabouts of her and her daughter.
"Mother, the grudge between us and the Miao Clan cannot be escaped. In truth, our family has been evading the Miao Clan all these years, even fleeing to a Small World like the Tianxuan Continent. But what was the result? You and Xiao Fei were still captured and brought to the Vermilion Bird Realm one after the other. So, running away is useless. Besides, I might not necessarily need to fear the Miao Clan anymore," Ye Yunfei stated.
"Yes. Our family has been running all these years, yet we still couldn't escape. It's just... the Miao Clan is too powerful. We have no other choice but to flee. Yunfei, promise me, don't confront the Miao Clan head-on unless you are absolutely certain. Safety comes first in everything. I don't want anything to happen to you or Xiao Fei," Miao Ziqiong said with concern.
She knew her son was monstrously talented, but deep in her heart, she still felt the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm was far too powerful.
"Mother, I want to ask you something. After you came to the Vermilion Bird Realm, have you met the Vermilion Bird King's third son?" Ye Yunfei pondered for a moment and suddenly asked.
Upon hearing Ye Yunfei's question, Miao Ziqiong suddenly fell silent.
Because she herself was the daughter of the Vermilion Bird King's third son!
"Yunfei, don't blame your grandfather. Everything he did was to protect me. In fact, if he hadn't sealed the Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian within my body in time and sent me to the Canghuang Realm back then, I probably would have died long ago," Miao Ziqiong broke the silence after a moment and spoke.
Back when Miao Ziqiong was two years old, her Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian suddenly awoke. After the eldest prince and second prince learned of it, they tried every means to get rid of Miao Ziqiong. To protect his daughter, Miao Ziqiong's father, the Vermilion Bird King's third son, used an ancient secret technique to seal the Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian within her body. He then ordered the maidservant named A Feng to take Miao Ziqiong and flee to the Canghuang Realm.
The details of this process had been told to Ye Yunfei by A Feng back in the Canghuang Realm.
Viewed this way, Miao Ziqiong's father indeed bore no fault.
If one insisted on finding fault, it could only be said that he was too weak, unable to protect even his own daughter.
"I don't blame him. I just want to ask him about... the Vermilion Bird King," Ye Yunfei's feelings also became somewhat complex at the mention of this grandfather he had never met. He wasn't sure what attitude he should adopt towards him.
"Yunfei, you want to ask him about the Vermilion Bird King? What do you want to know?" Miao Ziqiong was startled upon hearing this.
"I want to know where the Vermilion Bird King is now and, specifically, what his current level of power is," Ye Yunfei answered truthfully.
"You want to know the Vermilion Bird King's current strength? Why?" Miao Ziqiong was both surprised and curious.
"Yes. I truly want to know the Vermilion Bird King's current strength. If he is still at the Half-Emperor level, then I will sweep across the entire Vermilion Bird Realm, immediately settling accounts with the Miao Clan for the debts they owe our family over these years, and I will settle them with absolute clarity. If the Vermilion Bird King has already reached the level of a Heavenly Emperor, then I will have to postpone settling scores with him for a while longer," Ye Yunfei replied.
"Heavenly Emperor level strength? Yunfei, are you saying the Vermilion Bird King might already possess Heavenly Emperor level power?" Hearing Ye Yunfei's words, Miao Ziqiong couldn't help but be greatly alarmed.
In the vast cosmos of the Three Thousand Worlds, for the vast majority of beings, a Heavenly Emperor was like a divine dragon in the sky: lofty, invincible, and not to be provoked.
"It's possible. From what I know, the Vermilion Bird Divine Meridian of the Miao Clan, if nurtured to its highest potential, has the possibility of producing a powerhouse at the Heavenly Emperor level. This is also the only thing I am currently wary of in this Vermilion Bird Realm. Otherwise, I would have already wiped out a major part of the Miao Clan," Ye Yunfei said slowly.
"Yunfei, you want to wipe out the Miao Clan?" Miao Ziqiong was shocked to her core upon hearing her son's words.
"The Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm will inevitably have a large portion of their forces extinguished," Ye Yunfei said with an icy laugh.
"Yunfei..." Miao Ziqiong tried to dissuade him.
"Mother, there's no need to say more. The debts the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm owes our family are far too deep to be explained in a few words. Xiao Fei being poisoned alone is reason enough for me to destroy the Miao Clan," Ye Yunfei said.
Miao Ziqiong heard this, gave a soft sigh, and remained silent. She also knew that the hatred her son held for the Miao Clan of the Vermilion Bird Realm was deeply ingrained and couldn't be dissolved with mere words.
"Yunfei, actually, your mother is worried about you," Miao Ziqiong said softly.
"Mother, rest assured, I know my limits. I want to go see grandfather," Ye Yunfei said.
"Make your own decision," Miao Ziqiong thought for a moment and nodded.
"Look! Xiao Fei seems to be waking up!" Miao Ziqiong suddenly raised her voice, exclaiming excitedly.
Xiao Fei was indeed stirring, slowly opening her eyes.
Both Ye Yunfei and Miao Ziqiong were overjoyed and rushed over simultaneously.