Hidden By Moonlight

The warmth of spirit-beast stew still lingered on Lin Yuan's lips when Lady Yuexian rose from the table. She tied her robe tighter with one hand, her expression serene but purposeful.

"Come with me," she said.

Lin Yuan blinked, setting down his chopsticks. "Where are we going?"

"To the underground treasure house," she replied. "Where the sect stores its most valuable flames, artifacts… and opportunities."

---

Descent into Secrets

The marble steps behind the inner sanctum spiraled downward like a tunnel into the earth's veins. With every step, the air grew heavier.

Ancient runes lined the walls, pulsing faintly with silver-blue light. The deeper they went, the more the spiritual pressure pressed against Lin Yuan's chest, like a silent warning.

At the jade gate of the vault, two silver-robed elders bowed low to Lady Yuexian. Without a word, she lifted her hand.

The gate groaned open.

Inside floated hundreds of crystal orbs, each containing a flame of impossible color—blue lightning, emerald heartbeats, translucent wisps that bent the light itself. The chamber thrummed with bound spiritual energy, heat rippling in soft waves.

A robed elder with long gray brows stepped forward, his voice dry as old parchment.

"So this is the one who submitted the Sun-Moon Great Array?"

Lin Yuan bowed. "Yes, Elder."

"I've brought her for flame affinity testing," Lady Yuexian said smoothly.

"Very well."

With a gesture, a sigil of burning runes appeared on the floor, its script shifting constantly, alive with flame.

"Place your hand on the seal," the elder instructed. "Let the flames speak."

---

The Flame's Voice

Lin Yuan took a steady breath and pressed his palm against the sigil.

Fwoooosh.

Three crystal flames surged to life—silver-white, gold-touched, and pale sky-blue. Their light mingled and scattered across the floor.

The elder's eyes narrowed. "Three affinities? Remarkable."

Lady Yuexian's arms crossed, her tone calm but proud. "She has a treasure body. She survived over a hundred high-grade healing pills during Taiyin body refinement—and remained conscious through most of it. His foundation is unusually firm."

The elder nodded with new interest. "Step forward. Let the flames call to you. Choose not the one that shines brightest—but the one that feels like home."

Lin Yuan moved slowly between the floating orbs. Some flared brilliantly, others hissed with aggression. But most felt wrong. Too violent. Too cold.

And then… he felt it.

A soft white-gold flame pulsed gently in its crystal cage, like sunlight through morning mist. It wasn't hot—it was warm. Familiar. Healing.

When he reached out, his fingers tingled.

"This one," Lin Yuan whispered. "It feels… like me."

Lady Yuexian's brows lifted. "That is the Sunfire Seed."

The elder's face stiffened. "A healing flame. Incredibly rare. But it lacks offensive strength."

Yuexian turned to Lin Yuan. "Are you sure? The Sunfire protects and restores. But it grows slowly, and it requires sunstones to feed—resources nearly extinct. Cultivating it will be difficult. You can use it to make pill.And there are those who would kill to possess it.Because it's very valuable. "

Lin Yuan thought of Xiao Hu and Qingxue. Of pain. Of survival.

"I still choose it."

---

Blood and Bond

Back at the Sect Leader's residence, Xiao Hu was the first to run over.

"Let me see your fire!"

Lin Yuan raised his hand. A flicker of white-gold danced softly in his palm, like a flame on the breeze.

Xiao Hu frowned. "That's it? It's not even hot."

Lady Yuexian chuckled. "It's not meant to burn. It's meant to protect."

She led them into a sealed Qi-gathering chamber.

"Cut your hand," she instructed. "Let the flame enter your blood. I'll monitor the process. Do not resist it."

Lin Yuan bit into his thumb and let the Sunfire drift into the wound.

No pain. No heat. Only a soft throb, like a heartbeat syncing with his own.

"Do you feel anything?" Yuexian asked, eyes narrowed.

Lin Yuan shook his head. "No. It's… already inside."

Her frown deepened. "That was too fast."

She spent the next five hours circulating her Qi through his meridians. Searching. Watching.

There was no backlash. No instability. No rejection.

By the end, it was Yuexian who collapsed from exhaustion.

"It's night," she murmured. "Let's rest."

---

The Truth Beneath the Flame

Later that night, Lin Yuan ask Lady Mingyan quietly.

"Why did the flame merge with me so easily?" he asked. "It didn't even burn. It just felt… like sunlight."

Lady Mingyan hesitated, then nodded. "Now that you've accepted the Sunfire, you deserve to know."

She folded her hands. "Lady Yinluo… she's half-fairy. No one in this world knows that except your mothers."

Lin Yuan's eyes widened.

"Her father was a true fairy," Mingyan continued. "Her mother was from the Taiyin Sect. They cultivated together for a hundred years—never knowing they were falling in love. Your grandmother used to cultivate in a sunflower garden. She would spend hours there, talking to herself. Healing. Blooming."

"One day," she smiled wistfully, "your grandfather took human form and confessed. She left the sect with permission. They lived as healers. And gave birth to your mother."

"…How are babies born?" Lin Yuan asked, blinking.

Mingyan chuckled gently. "When two people marry, they ask to The God,Who created everything,for a blessing. Then, they perform a secret ritual—sharing a small part of the man's body and a small part of the woman's. These two parts marge and grow together inside the woman's belly."

"Why there?" Lin Yuan asked, curious.

"Because it's the safest place," she replied. "Women don't run around wildly. We're gentler. When I was pregnant, I walked slowly, carefully, so the child inside me wouldn't be harmed."

"The baby doesn't eat or cry inside," she added. "The mother's blood feeds it. It don't need to pee and poop.The mother do everything and when it's grown enough… the body opens, like a door. But it's painful. There's a blood. But that's how your mother was born."

"Later, your grandmother sent her to Taiyin Sect. Your grandfather gave the sect some fragment of his flame. One piece... you inherited. That's why the Sunfire merged with you so easily.".....

"When you awakened fairy blood, your mother… recognize she was half-fairy too?"

Lin Yuan say, "I understand. "

Mingyan nodded slowly. "But your father's grandfather—he hated fairies. So we sealed your bloodline. Fairies are nearly extinct, and demons… they don't like them."

Lin Yuan asked, almost in a whisper, "Do you hate fairies?"

Mingyan looked away. "My clan does. But I don't. That's why… we've tried to give you peace."

---

The Flame Awakens

That night, Lin Yuan curled beside Qingxue and Xiao Hu, candlelight dancing across their peaceful faces. Blankets tangled. Story books lay forgotten.

He closed his eyes.

Ba-dump.

His heart pulsed—not with pain, but with presence.

A warmth stirred within him. Not fire. Not heat. Something deeper. Gentle. Familiar.

The Sunfire had awakened.

---

The First Mission

At dawn, Lady Yuexian met him in the garden behind her home. The mist coiled around her like silk.

She handed him a scroll.

"A mission," she said simply.

Lin Yuan frowned. "Already?"

"A rogue cultivator has appeared in the eastern range," she explained. "He's using demonic fire techniques. Hurting villagers."

She looked him in the eye. "You'll go with inner disciples. Observe. Assist. Learn. And above all—survive."

Lin Yuan took the scroll. Bowed.

"I understand."

Lin Yuan understand. There is something wrong. He just received sun fire seeds and he got a mission like this. Where spiritual fire is very rare. He understand someone bad is going to happened with him. His life maybe in danger.

.....

🧬 Details on the rogue cultivator and demonic fflam💭 Lady Yuexian's thoughts about Lin Yuan's past and ffut🐉 A new beast companion, flame mutation, or fairy legacy aawakYou're building an epic blend of warmth, mystery, and spiritual depth. This chapter is a turning point—and it reads bebeautib