In a magnificent castle, the atmosphere was joyous. The servants were busy in the decoration and making sweets. The guards were ready with their spears, swords and bows for any uncalled situation. Entire castle was surrounded with a blue-light barrier. But all over the mood was of happiness for the grandchild of castle lord was about to be borne any second!

In a well-constructed room lit with moon-stones, a woman was undergoing childbirth. Outside the room, three men in magnificent robes were standing feverishly. They had extraordinary bearings and their aura was of royalty.

"Father, you're more nervous than me even though it is me who is going to become the dad," joked the youngest of the three. He was a handsome looking youth who looked someone who is in his early twenties even though he was 400years old. For mortals such a lifespan was impossible but for martial artists, it was a very short span!

" Zhen Ming, you say I am nervous? Of course, I am nervous. You, my incompetent son, didn't father a single child in your 400 years of life. So how can I not be nervous when my first grandchild is about to born?" said the male who appeared to be in his mid-fifties from his looks. He had eagle-like eyes and a long greyish beard.

The unexpected reply made Zhen Ming's face twitch. He only wanted to lighten the mood. Who would have known that he would become the joke?

"Zhen Ling, it's enough. Your son was trying to cheer us up. You don't have so brutally honest," said the third person with a serious tone though his expression showed that he was enjoying the divine comedy between father and son. He had long red hairs and his robes were full of extravagant designs.

"Lin Feng, what would you understand? My incompetent son didn't give me a single grandchild. MY wife died far too early otherwise I would have her give birth to competent children who would have given me dozens of grandchildren by now."

This time both Zhen Ming and Lin Feng's face twitched. Zhen Ling was far too honest for his love for grandchildren! In fact Lin Feng himself was about to become the grandfather. He was the father of Zhen Ming's wife.

Still, his love for grandchild was under control. He was a martial artist and his cultivation base was strong. He could easily live for few more thousand years and had enough time to experience the joy of being a grandfather. Lin Feng also has a son named Lin Zheng who is known as the greatest scammer of the century. Lin Feng was sure his scammer son would give him dozens of grandson given his personality.

It was at this moment the sound of thunder reverberated throughout the castle. It was as if there was an explosion going in the night sky. The three of them sensed something strange, and they dashed to the balcony. The scene they saw was something they would never forget till the end of their lives.

As far as their eyes could see the sky is covered with violet-colored clouds. The violet clouds were spreading violet radiance which flowed to the ground. The violet radiance seemed full of vitality and holy aura. It fell on the ground and everywhere it went it led to the spread of vitality.

Even though the castle was protected by the barrier and didn't allow any foreign matter it could do nothing to obstruct the violet glow. It was if the barrier didn't exist at all as far the violet glow was concerned.

Dead grass regained its life. Flowers bloomed, dead springs regained their spiritual essence, old people regained longevity, blind people regained their eyesight, and physically handicapped people were no longer handicapped! The diseases which only the top alchemists of the empire can cure were so easily destroyed as if they never existed.

The martial artists on other hand found the spiritual essence in the world getting stronger. Many found that they were no longer struck by bottlenecks! Few even had promotion in their realms.

For both cultivators and mortals, the violet radiance was nothing less than the blessings of Heavens. Mortals and cultivators alike thanked the Heavens. Everything happened in the time of three breaths!

Meanwhile, Zhen Ling in the castle was terror-struck. He was a very powerful cultivator who had reached Divine Manifestation Realm. A cultivation realm where one can feel themselves to be a part of nature. Before Divine Manifestation Realm, one can use the laws of nature to one's advantage. By understanding the principles and laws of Heavenly Dao and using their cultivation base as a medium, the cultivator can shrink the ground to an inch, call the wind and summon the rain and create a domain. But after reaching Divine Manifestation Realm one can actually make their own body and soul a part of the Great Dao even though they were not even a speck of dust in the eyes of Great Dao.

Zhen Ling felt that this heavenly phenomenon was occurring throughout the empire? Were the Heavens blessing my empire? No! For Heavens, the boundary made by the humans didn't matter. This heavenly blessing is spread throughout the continent...no perhaps throughout the Planet. What could cause it? Why was it happening? He felt that he couldn't understand the principles and laws of this phenomenon at all. The only thing he could feel was that it was spreading to an area far greater than his scope of understanding...

Suddenly a fierce shriek from inside the castle brought the three people back to their senses. Their faces turned unsightly when they realized that the shriek came from the room where the childbirth was taking place...

All of them instantly teleported inside the room, and what they saw were far more shocking than the scene before. They felt that the earlier scene of violet clouds and violet radiance doing miracles was just a spark compared to the scene before them which was like a fire.

The room where the childbirth was taking place was grand with its length being a hundred meters and the height being no less than twenty meters. It was no less grand than a mortal kingdom's palace. The entire room which was initially lit with moon-stars now no longer offered any radiance as if they didn't dare to offer glow.

Upon a magnificent bed lied a woman who was trembling and shouting because the moment she gave birth the space above her bed was occupied by violet clouds that were spreading violet radiance. That was not the cause of her horror...the cause of horror was that the same time a floating river appeared whose water appeared to be made of stars. Blue orbs were floating in this heavenly river. The violet clouds were occupying the space above the woman's bed and the surrounding space was occupied by the heavenly river.

When Zhen Ling saw this river he was dumbstruck again for he has read about this river! In ancient records, it is said that the life and death cycle i.e. the saṃsāra of all beings is managed by Lord Yama. The Yama uses two rivers to manage the saṃsāra. One was the River of Death in which one's soul would flow after one dies. The River of Death was invisible and it existed everywhere. It flowed along with every living being though they could never feel or sense it as if it was in the different plane of existence. When a living being died his/her soul would go that invisible River of Death. The river would take the souls to Yama who would decide their fate and reward them hell or heaven.

Similarly, to continue the saṃsāra cycle of the Universe, the souls judged by Yama would travel to new bodies for their rebirth through River of Life. The flow of this river was opposite to that of River of Death. Both rivers shared similar abilities, but they were of opposite nature like Yin and Yang. The River of Life didn't surround every being unlike River of Dead. It would flow towards a place where a new life was about to be born and give that body with the soul the moment the body came to exist outside of mother's womb. Before soul fuses with a body, the latter was just essence and energy. It is only after the fusion of essence, energy, and soul would there be a true living being.

So how could Zhen Ling not be dumbstruck? The Rivers of Life and Death were existences that no one can sense or see...not even Great Saints! So what can make this immortal existence show itself? Was it caused by the violet clouds? But why would these violet clouds appear inside the room? Was the phenomenon outside a red herring?

He didn't have time to contemplate further when he noticed his newly born grandchild floating in the air towards the violet clouds present in the room. A soul in the shape of blue orb flowed out from the River of Life. At the same time the violet clouds start scattering away and what came in its place was a violet bead. The bead was as large as a baby's fist and it was engraved with strange golden-colored runes. The moment the bead appeared everyone in the room fell to their knees including the female servants, the female doctor and the newly arrived three men. The only exceptions were the mother and child. It was as if the bead felt some gratitude to the new mother for giving birth.

The others were not so lucky. They were trembling from fear especially the newly arrived men. How can a bead make them kneel and so powerless? Was our cultivation a joke? They were existence similar to Gods in the eyes of mortals, and yet they were kneeling to a bead! What was this ridiculous pressure? They tried to resist but with no result. They even felt that the bead didn't make them kneel...it was their very soul who wished to kneel. Zhang Ling was sure that the bead could wipe out their existence anytime it wished!

The soul in the shape of blue orb flew towards the bead, and they both started fusing with each other. It was as if the soul and bead were one, to begin with. The soul offered no resistance. It was as if it accepted the bead on its own violation and not because of bead's divine might.

The entire room was filled with holy radiance. None saw what the fusion of bead and soul looked like. The only thing Zhang Ling felt was that a golden radiance went towards his floating grandchild. After that, he could feel nothing else as his grandchild's body radiated a blinding radiance.

When Zhang Ling and others opened their eyes the River of Life and bead had long disappeared. The newly born child was in the bosom of her mother and looking at her with his sky-blue eyes. My child is safe! This was the last thought of the mother who lost her consciousness due to exhaustion.

The other spectators weren't so lucky and had no luxury of being relaxed. Zhen Ling, Zhen Ming and Lin Feng rushed towards the mother-child duo.

"A boy!" The new dad beamed with joy though he couldn't hide the worry of the early event from his tone. The newborn looked at his father with his sky-blue eyes and then fell asleep.

"We couldn't let anyone know what occurred here," Zhen Ling said solemnly. Today was the day he was supposed to be happy, but he had a premonition if the happenings of this event were spread he would invite extermination of his family. He has lived for thousands of years and knew the working of human nature. Talent and wealth bring envy. The unknown brings far worse...

"The heavenly phenomenon earlier was spread throughout the empire if not the continent. I don't think anyone else noticed what happened when my daughter was undergoing childbirth. The barrier surrounding the castle should be able to stop from others sending their perception inside. Even we didn't felt the existence of that strange river and the violet clouds in the room even though the barrier didn't restrict our perception. We would have been oblivious to the phenomenon if not for the shriek of my daughter."

"Lin Feng, you're right, but we can't take any chances. All those old monsters out there would want to know the cause of the heavenly phenomenon which spread vitality throughout the area. For cultivators of my cultivation base it's very hard to make a slight improvement in a hundred years but now my cultivation has strengthened due to the fickle amount of violet radiance, and same goes for other cultivators throughout the empire. Even I would try to find the source of this phenomenon and get the benefits no matter the cost and means. The phenomenon of three breaths can give so many benefits so what would happen if one can find the true source of the phenomenon?"

"Human beings will die for riches and cultivators would die for a chance to improve their strength. The saying is really true. What should we do?"

When Lin Feng said this he gazed towards the female servants and a female doctor. Zhen Ling understood the meaning. The female doctor had lived for a long time, and she understood what was going on. She fell to her knees and started begging.

"Sir, please don't kill me. I swear on Heavenly Dao that I would never show anything happened here! If I break my promise may I be stuck in hell for all eternity!" begged the female doctor.

She knew that she has courted disaster by being present here. Zhen Ling was the twenty-fifth imperial prince!! The Emperor had countless children and the chance of Zhen Ling becoming the emperor was almost zero but even still he held a great power and influence among the empire!!

He was one of the strongest experts in the empire, so he can decide the fate of lesser people like the doctor much less the servants who were slaves. Imperial family can kill as they like!! That was the benefit of being a royalty.

"Snort! I can take no chances!" The moment Zhen Ling said these four fire-balls appeared in the air out of nowhere which flew towards the servants and doctor. They were burned to ashes in a blink of an eye. They didn't even get chance to cry for the fire generated by a cultivator was something that not even low-grade magical tools can handle much fewer cultivators of Awakening Realm.

Not even their ashes remained.

"Ming'Er, compensate their families. Tell them that an assassin broke in and tried to murder my grandson. The servants and doctors died while protecting the child. Their shrieks alerted you and at the end, you killed the assassin. Reward their families for their bravery. Also, launch an investigation on the guards for allowing an assassin to barge in."

"Yes, father," replied Zhen Ming with a solemn voice. He did felt sympathy for the dead but at the end, it was the only sympathy. He couldn't take any chances with the safety of his child.

Zhen Ming would have killed the servants and doctor himself if his father hasn't killed them. He had killed countless enemies, and he has long learned that a man has to be ruthless when the situation dictates.

He looked at his sleeping child and his eyes were filled with love. In his eyes, there was also worry about the fate of his child. Cultivators risk their lives at every junction, but he felt that the fate of his child was far crueler than any cultivator before.

The birth of this child caused a heavenly phenomenon so how can his life be any ordinary? His fate was already decided to be full of danger. For now, perhaps they can hide the truth from others but what about future? No secret can be concealed forever. One day the truth would be revealed...

Thinking about the future scenarios he wished that his child was ordinary. He would be disappointed to see his child being weak but at least he could live happily in the limited glory. Being extraordinary would perhaps bring him glory and power but so would the danger and chance of death.

"What we cultivators cultivate is the strength but what my son would cultivate is fate," mumbled the mother in her sleep.

Alas, they are worried about the wrong person. It is the world they should be worried about and not their son!