I was born a god, the son of the Demon Lord.

Xu Yuan didn't care. She glanced down at Xu Nanyi, then looked into Shen Jiuyuan's arms... There was a dragon cub inside.

Today was supposed to be a business trip to catch someone, but it turned out to be a buy-one-get-two-free deal.

She wanted that dragon too.

Xu Yuan jumped off the rock and held up one finger, waving it.

"I'll make a deal. Now that your identity is exposed, if you step out of the inner circle of the Demon Cave, those demons will come after you. You're all alone—"

She glanced at the little dragon struggling desperately in his arms, "I can't protect them."

Shen Jiuyuan's hand tightened.

"Come back to the Sacred Land of Taiyuan with me. The demons dare not set foot there. I promise to raise your little phoenix to be plump and healthy. I'll take care of all her food."

Shen Jiuyuan remained silent.

He glanced at the little phoenix clinging to Xu Yuan's collar, then looked down at the little dragon in his own arms, its vertical pupils gazing longingly at the opposite side.

She was telling the truth; the Asura Demon Emperor Clan would indeed not let her go.

Shen Jiuyuan turned his head and snorted coldly: "Give me back that chick first."

"You agree first!"

"..."

Xu Yuan waited three seconds, then jumped right next to him, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes!"

She handed the little phoenix back, and Xu Nanyi obediently nestled back on Shen Jiuyuan's shoulder, even secretly winking at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan took a step back, spread her wings, and golden feathers swirled in the dim light.

"Let's get to know each other again."

She patted her chest and raised her chin.

"My name is Xu Yuan. Xu means promise, and Yuan means wish."

"The fourth generation guardian of the Taiyuan Realm, located in the south."

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in her face, falling on her radiant smile.

……

Vientiane Star Platform.

In the heart of the Taiyuan Holy Land, there is an octagonal altar suspended in the void.

Ten fist-sized beads, each a different color, hung silently above their respective stone bases on the altar, arranged in a circle.

Normally, these ten beads are no different from decorations, hanging quietly, and the people who guard the altar occasionally use them as clothes racks.

Today is different.

Tianxing sat cross-legged on the edge of the altar, turning a compass in his hand, his face yawning towards the void beneath the black veil. The eleven-year-old boy, with his white hair cascading over his wide purple robe, looked like a dandelion seed fallen into an eggplant patch.

He's on duty today.

Being on duty means that everyone else has run away, leaving the work to him.

The elders said they were out on business, but actually they just didn't want to see the altar.

This place is so boring that not even a bird can fly in. I'm so bored that my compass is practically worn out from spinning so much.

He was about to turn over and take a nap.

An explosion occurred behind me.

The ten beads detached from the stone base at the same time, spinning at high speed. Their trajectory changed from a flat circle to a spiral as they rose, spinning faster and faster until the colors all blurred into a shimmering mass.

Immediately afterwards, ten beams of light shot into the sky, colliding, merging, and exploding a hundred feet above the altar.

It transforms into a sea of ​​stars.

Countless stars emerged from nothingness and spread across the altar dome, each star having its own place, each in its own direction, arranged according to some ancient rule.

Tianxing was hit by the light and bounced up from the ground.

"Varied--"

Before he could finish speaking, five stars lit up simultaneously in the sea of ​​stars.

One of the crimson-gold stars was particularly dazzling, its light almost overshadowing all the surrounding stars.

The compass in Tianxing's hand began to spin wildly, its pointer pointing in five directions simultaneously as if splitting in half.

He was completely devastated.

"What's going on with this Taiyuan Star Chart?! Another guardian has appeared!"

Tianxing was so anxious that he spun around twice on the spot. Just as he was about to cast a spell to send a message, a white shadow swept over from the other side of the covered bridge and landed on the edge of the altar.

Lin Qingyue.

She wore a white dress with silver patterns that ran from the cuffs to her shoulders. Her high ponytail drew a neat arc behind her, and her pale blue eyes reflected the starlight. Her face was clear and ethereal.

She glanced at the top of her head and her brow twitched slightly.

"What's going on with this star chart?"

"I don't know either!" The Celestial Compass was shoved in front of her. "Aren't guardians only a new generation emerging every thousand years?! Our generation has only just gathered four, and the next generation has already appeared?!"

Lin Qingyue raised her hand and brushed away the compass that he had poked at the tip of her nose.

Tianxing had already begun muttering incantations, his footsteps darting back and forth on the altar.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Could it be that the Star Chart thinks our generation is too weak and wants to eliminate us altogether?! Preparing successors ahead of time?! I'm only eleven years old! The cultivation world hasn't even seen my handsome face yet!"

Lin Qingyue rolled her eyes. It's good that you have self-awareness, but could you please stop shouting?

She slapped Tianxing on the back of the head.

"Enough talk, let's find out where the fifth generation guardian appeared."

Tianxing rubbed his head and said "Oh," then made a hand gesture, causing the compass to rotate in mid-air.

The sea of ​​stars above surged and shifted, piecing together the outline of the Taiyuan Realm. Mountains, rivers, and boundary divisions were all outlined with starlight.

Then the brightest crimson-gold star froze.

Tianxing leaned over and glanced at the coordinates.

"...The Cave of Ten Thousand Demons?"

He turned to look at Lin Qingyue, his expression indescribable.

"Two stars from the fifth generation appeared in the Demon Cave. Isn't that where Sister Yuan went to pick up the last unlucky kid of our generation?"

Tianxing's eyes darted around, and he held up a finger: "How about we send a message to Sister Yuan? We can also bring back the next generation of unlucky little devils while we're at it? It'd be such a good deal."

Lin Qingyue stared at the star map for a moment, her blue eyes reflecting the two stars that had fallen into the Ten Thousand Demon Cave, and her expression darkened.

"I'll go deliver a message to her and contact the seniors to come back as soon as possible to discuss this." She turned around, her toes touching the bridge. "You stay and guard the altar."

"Huh? It's me again?"

Lin Qingyue didn't even turn her head: "What do you think being on duty is all about?"

The white figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Tianxing stood under a sky full of stars, the wind blowing through his white hair and wide purple robe.

"...Alright then."

He squatted down, holding the compass, looked up at the slowly rotating sea of ​​stars, and pursed his lips.

"The fifth generation. I wonder what kind of little guys they are."

"Anyway, he's definitely not much more reliable than me."