Re-birth: The Beginning after the End

When he was far from the Beast Tamer Sect, Mo Xing materialized atop the highest mountain peak in the range. He stood silhouetted against the cosmic backdrop, golden eyes reflecting the moon as he contemplated the events of the past week. The Ascending Plateau Realm spread beneath him like a miniature universe—sect compounds, small villages, and wild domains all illuminated by the same moon light

Similar to Li Hua with Little Firefly, Mo Xing had maintained a protective spiritual barrier between himself and his companion during his intimate reunion with his princess. Now, with deliberate intent, he dissolved this barrier, allowing the connection to reestablish completely.

The response was immediate. Mian Mian, his spirit companion, manifested before him with a flash of radiance that briefly outshone the moon itself. The spirit beast hovered at eye level, wings crossed against her chest in a posture of unmistakable indignation.

Her appearance had subtly transformed during their separation—feathers now displaying a deeper obsidian luster intertwined with gold and silver filaments that hadn't been present before. The evolution suggested that Mo Xing's reconnection with his original power had affected his spiritual companion as well, awakening dormant aspects of her true nature.

"Fourteen days," Mian Mian's voice resonated directly in his consciousness, her tone combining dignity with childish petulance in a way only divine spirits beasts could achieve. "Fourteen days of complete exclusion while you engaged in...sexual activities."

Mo Xing's lips curved into an indulgent smile. "An absolute necessity, I assure you," he replied with the patient tone of one accustomed to tantrums.

"Hmph." Mian Mian turned dramatically, presenting her back and elaborately plumed tail in a perfect display of affronted dignity. Her wings fluttered once for emphasis—the spiritual equivalent of a door being slammed.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the display, her theatrics a welcome counterpoint to the weight of responsibility settling once more upon his shoulders. "I'll make it up to you later," he promised.

Mian Mian turned to look at him from the corner of her eyes, her imperious profile silhouetted against the moon. "I want beef sticks and crystallized spirit nectar from the Night Blossom Mountains," she declared with the authority of one negotiating from a position of power. "And not those inferior versions—the authentic ones infused with fifth-rank beast essence."

The demands were simultaneously grand and endearingly mundane—a perfect encapsulation of Mian Mian's nature. For all her immortal power and cosmic awareness, she maintained peculiarly specific tastes that had followed her across dimensional boundaries.

"Agreed," Mo Xing replied with a gravity that belied the whimsical nature of her requests. "Make a list. I'll make sure to grant you all your wants."

Mian Mian nodded, but paused for a moment, her eyes studying him with a penetrating perception. Her head tilted slightly, feathers shifting to capture different spectrums of spiritual energy emanating from his essence.

"You've changed," she observed with quiet certainty. "Not in appearance, but in fundamental resonance. The cold, calculating mystique that has defined you for centuries in this realm has... softened. There's warmth in you now, happiness interwoven with the depths of your soul." Her wings adjusted, recalibrating her assessment. "Though your essential vigilance remains unchanged—perhaps even intensified. You're still as tensely coiled as ever, ready to strike at the slightest threat."

It was a remarkably accurate assessment, delivered with the precision that had made Mian Mian invaluable to him. Where others saw only the exterior, she perceived the undercurrents that shaped the being beneath.

"Reunion changes even immortals," Mo Xing acknowledged, his golden eyes reflecting the starlight as he gazed beyond the physical horizon. "Just as separation once did."

Mian Mian's feathers rippled in understanding, iridescent filaments catching the moonlight. "Now, where to? What course shall we set in motion first?"

"To the Celestial Plains," Mo Xing said with quiet determination.

Mian Mian's crystalline eyes widened, wings momentarily freezing mid-flutter. "Master... you don't mean to challenge the—"

"Not exactly what you're thinking, Mian Mian," Mo Xing interrupted, his smile turning mischievous in a way that had always made her tremble. "Obviously, I want her to grow stronger—so powerful that nothing in this realm or beyond could ever separate us again. But she is my everything, and I will not risk her needlessly." His golden eyes gleamed with ancient cunning. "I'll remain in the shadows and ensure her success. She already intends to continue that path... so I will optimize their potential for victory."

"Master..." Mian Mian began, preparing to explain all the ways this plan courted disaster. It was a ridiculously dangerous undertaking that risked exposing his true nature to the most powerful forces in this world.

But the look in his eyes stopped her objections before they could form. This wasn't merely strategic calculation or tactical maneuvering—this was devotion transcending reason, the same force that had brought him to this world. She couldn't deny him this chance to secure peace, especially when something in her own soul urged her toward the same goal. This wasn't merely his task but theirs.

"Then, we should first return to your quarters and develop our strategy with proper resources," Mian Mian suggested, her practical nature reasserting itself.

Mo Xing nodded.

"What about Mo Tao?" Mian Mian asked hesitantly.

"We'll involve him selectively," he decided after a moment's consideration.

"And what of the other souls you've been tracking, Master?" Mian Mian asked, her voice lowering despite the isolation of their mountain perch. "Should we continue that pursuit simultaneously?"

Mo Xing's golden eyes narrowed slightly, calculating priorities. "As of right now, they are secondary concerns," he determined, his voice carrying absolute finality.

"Yes, Master," Mian Mian acknowledged, sensing that the discussion had reached its conclusion.

Without another word, the two vanished into concentrated darkness—not merely traveling through shadows but becoming shadow itself, their essence temporarily merging with the void that existed between all physical matter. They left behind no spiritual trace, no ripple, nothing that even the most sensitive detection arrays could identify as unusual activity.

Only the moon remained as witness to their presence and departure, its light illuminating nothing but empty mountain air.