"Daddy, what fun things are you talking about?" Xiao Ling and Xiao Meng flapped their Dou Qi Wings and fluttered down before Xiao Tian, looking up at him with eager curiosity.
"Nothing at all, little ones."
Seeing his elusive smile, the two girls did not press further. Instead, they dove straight into Xiao Tian's arms, both wearing expressions that clearly showed they had a favor to ask.
"Daddy... can you build us a Sky City?" Xiao Meng blinked her large eyes, pleading with innocent charm. Beside her, Xiao Ling offered the exact same pleading look.
Watching from the side, the other women wore amused expressions, enjoying the spectacle.
"No problem, Daddy will make one just for you," Xiao Tian said warmly. Looking into his daughters' bright, expectant eyes, how could he possibly refuse?
*He really is completely wrapped around their fingers,* Han Yue and the others thought in unison, entirely unperturbed by his instant surrender.
---
Xiao Tian spent the next two days crafting a compact Sky City for his daughters to play in. Curiously, Zi Yan had not joined them at all during this time.
Usually the most energetic of the group, Zi Yan had become visibly sluggish and listless over the past few days. Exhaustion weighed so heavily on her that she could barely keep her eyes open as she finally tracked Xiao Tian down.
"Big bad guy... I think I'm about to advance," Zi Yan murmured weakly, her words faint and halting. Her small face was unusually flushed.
Xiao Tian immediately scooped her up into a princess carry. The moment his hands touched her, he felt her skin burning with heat, as though an furnace were blazing inside her body. Sensing her internal condition, he quickly understood what was happening.
Without hesitation, he carried her away, instantly reappearing deep inside Heavenly Beast Mountain, where the surrounding heaven and earth energy was at its densest.
Xiao Tian had previously partitioned this realm into several private cultivation chambers, where most of the women routinely trained. Combined with the trials of the Trial Tower, the sheer energy density here comfortably rivaled—and even slightly surpassed—the famed No. 1 cultivation room in the Heavenly Flame Training Pagoda.
"You can undergo your breakthrough here; it will speed up the process."
Xiao Tian guided her directly into her personal training chamber. Before she could even respond, Zi Yan closed her eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
The moment she lost consciousness, a radiant purple glow surged from within her body. The brilliant light expanded until it formed a massive cocoon roughly a zhang wide, completely enveloping her form.
Sensing the sudden shift in spatial energy, the others quickly rushed into the chamber.
"Junior Xiao Tian, what is happening?" Han Yue asked, inspecting the shimmering purple light cocoon curiously. "Is that Senior Sister Zi Yan's aura I feel inside?"
"It is a self-preservation mechanism her body uses while advancing," Xiao Tian replied with a soft chuckle, reassured by the steady pulse of her aura.
"Ah, so that explains it!" Ya Fei smiled gently at the glowing cocoon. "No wonder she hasn't been playing with Ling Ling and Meng Meng lately, and why she's been nibbling on pills all day without her usual energy. I thought she had simply grown bored. Typical Magical Beasts fall into a deep slumber when they evolve, but Zi Yan forms a protective cocoon. Her bloodline must be exceptionally high."
Qing Lin tilted her head, glancing over at Medusa. "Then why didn't Sister Cai Li's Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python form a cocoon when she advanced? Her bloodline is among the absolute highest on the entire continent."
*Thump.*
A dainty knuckle tipped with crimson nail polish lightly tapped Qing Lin's head.
Medusa casually pinched Qing Lin's cheek. "Your 'Sister Cai Li' isn't a pure Magical Beast, so I don't undergo the same process. Or would you rather see me wrapped up like a giant caterpillar?"
"A little bit... oh, wait, no! Of course not!" Qing Lin blurted out before realizing her mistake, quickly backtracking. "I was just wondering if your cocoon would be colorful, like a rainbow!"
"Qing'er, you've spent too much time around Xiao Tian; you've learned how to slick-talk your way out of trouble," Yun Yun teased from the side. Meanwhile, the Little Fairy Doctor was absent, currently cultivating in the Poisonous Miasma Forest.
"So, do we just leave her here?" Xiao Huiying asked, crouching beside the glowing orb.
"Yes. The rich energy here will accelerate her evolution, and it's the safest location for her."
As Xiao Tian spoke, he casually extended his soul perception outward, watching his two daughters happily exploring their new Sky City. It had already become their personal wonderland; they had transferred all their favorite toys into it and sometimes even fell asleep up in the clouds.
"That makes sense," Yun Yun agreed with a nod. "Since we usually train here anyway, we can keep an eye on her and handle any sudden changes."
"Alright, let's leave her to rest. An evolution like this will take some time."
The women agreed, quietly exiting the room to return to their respective duties. With the power of the Boundless Heaven Divine Palace growing rapidly, everyone had taken on greater responsibilities—even Han Yue had begun managing some of its internal affairs.
Xiao Tian remained the only truly idle person in the entire organization.
After leaving Zi Yan's chamber, Xiao Tian walked deeper into Heavenly Beast Mountain until he stood before a glowing, seven-colored Magical Beast egg. Its life force was growing noticeably stronger, though his senses told him it would not hatch anytime soon. Because it was constructed entirely from soul force, it still needed to reconstruct a complete soul, form a physical body, and absorb vast amounts of energy before it could emerge.
It was fundamentally different from the Heavenly Thunder Dragon; when the system had acquired Xiao Huiying, she had already been fully formed for a long time and merely required energy to hatch.
Looking at the radiant egg and reflecting on Medusa's pregnancy, Xiao Tian had a sudden, strange premonition: both would likely enter the world around the same time.
---
Time slipped away, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
At the front hall of the Heavenly Emperor Palace, a figure clad in a striking red dress glided inside. Her long legs carried her with an effortless, alluring grace as her gaze swept across her grand surroundings.
Finding the main hall empty, Hu Jia casually selected a seat.
She took in the opulence of the palace, muttering under her breath, *"So this is where that insufferable Xiao Tian keeps his beauties? Even the guards are all attractive women. It's downright absurd."*
She huffed softly. *"And how on earth did Xun'er end up with a smooth-talking philanderer like him? If I were strong enough to beat him, I'd fight her over it just to bring her to her senses."*
Within half a minute of her sitting down, a attentive maid stepped forward and served her a cup of fresh tea.
Hu Jia took a gentle sip. Almost instantly, the lingering fatigue from her grueling travels began to dissolve, leaving her mind remarkably clear and refreshed.
"Oh... this tea is incredible," she murmured in surprise. "Just one sip and the exhaustion is completely gone."
"Of course it is. Everything here was prepared specifically with your arrival in mind," a smooth voice called out. "That tea is the latest refined product straight from our Medicine Palace."