Hereditary!
A single diagnosis from this Medicinal Sage had verified many, many, and far too many of Wei Wuyin's previous deductions of his mother's condition and their connection. Even before his understanding of his Magi lineage, Wei Wuyin was always heavily suspicious of his mother's past aliment of sporadic memory loss and his own after his rite against the Wall of Heaven during his early years. This was further exacerbated by his time-travel shenanigans all those years ago.
That time long ago, he had fled from the Wall of Heaven with Bai Lin in tow and suffered extensive damage to his brain and skull, enough to create a lasting dent that had only healed with years. His id, ego, and awareness of thought, which constituted the totality of his sense of self and mind, was locked in his Mind's Eye's space, the passage between his mind's Sea of Consciousness and his soul, forced to repeatedly assimilate his newly created mental incarnations representing a fresh psyche again and again on a cycle in a bid to not lose himself. It was only after Eden's former mental incarnation was devoured by Wei Wuyin and transformed into his third Heart of Qi that he broke free from this accursed state and regained his freedom.
That was a rather perilous time that defined many of his habits, principles, and future paths. Most notable of those principles was his belief in concoction standards instilled by the former Eden Earth Sect's Sect Master and his decisiveness for survival. What occurred then could be likened to repeated decisions to essentially end himself time and time again.
Finally, Wei Wuyin had verification by the heavens themselves! After all, everything else was largely an educated guess on his part and nothing could be verified without his mother being present and alive.
Wei Wuyin's brother's facial expression subtly shifted as a glint sparked within his eyes. He looked at Wei Wuyin. Wei Wuyin caught this feeling of being consciously stared at. When he was younger, Wei Wuyin wasn't foolishly ignorant of a simple fact: his older brother was not his full-blood brother, but his half-blood brother. They were only blood-bound by their father, not their mother.
This was what they had originally thought. It was hard not to see it after the distinctive differences in their features, most notably the silver irises the two shared. However, due to her incessant memory loss, his mother during any of her stretches of memory treated his brother no differently than him in terms of the quantity of love and care.
But this statement from Sage Xiaotian further solidified this undeniable truth. Wei Wuyin knew that Magi births were sporadic and uncertain, and their souls traversed the cycle of samsara and were born randomly across the starry skies, so their blood relation was irrelevant to the greater scheme of things. The chances of a Magi giving birth to a Magi were exceedingly low unless there was an existence that could control the cycle of soul rebirth such as a Supreme Sage to an extent.
But Wei Wuyin was under no delusion, his brother was not a Magi, and after this verification, he was only a half-brother. As for his mother, the hereditary condition must be caused by the Magi lineage or originated from her original lineage. This gave birth to the inevitable question: "Where did his mother come from?"
His father had discovered her alone and nurtured her to health, and they fell for each other shortly thereafter. She lost her memory again, and his father had never given up reigniting that spark between them. The sheer fact that he had the charisma to make her fall for him again and again and again was praiseworthy.
Steadying his heart, Wei Wuyin's brother inhaled slightly before expelling out a turbid breath. "Sage Xiaotian, if I may ask: what is this hereditary condition you speak of?"
"..." Sage Xiaotian looked away towards Wei Wuyin's father and Minister Long. She seemed to be in thought, ignoring Wei Wuyin's brother. Wei Wuyin's mother remained silent, observing the situation. She knew more about the situation than these two, so she was quietly awaiting the news from her husband. Seeing how haughty she was acting, there was no need to lower their pride and ask.
Wei Wuyin was of a similar mind. This entire process was meant to press a heavy weight on his consciousness, further investing him into the scenario—37%. It was working.
Eventually, Wei Wuyin's father and Minister Long returned. The latter seemed in an uplifted mood while the former was contemplative and slightly aged as if a heavy weight of unbearable stress was placed on his lifespan, draining away a few years within a few breaths. The sight was dampening to the spirits.
"Seems like you've completed your examinations, Sage Xiaotian?" Minister Long's emotions were easier to observe at the moment. He was rather satisfied with their discussion.
"I have," Sage Xiaotian answered flatly. "Have the matter concluded or...?" She trailed off as she eyed Wei Wuyin's father.
"Concluded. All that's left is to finalize some details and tie up some loose ends. As for alleviating Fellow Wu's wife of her affliction, please do so. I'll bear the cost of the procedure." Minister Long said confidently.
The light in the family of four's eyes sparkled intensely, and even Wei Wuyin's father brightened in expression and energy, seemingly unable to wait.
Sage Xiaotian stared at Minister Long for a long while and straightforwardly nodded, "I'll need three items to perform the spell."
"Can you tell us what my mother has been affected by? What's causing her condition?" Wei Wuyin asked. It was clear that his father, brother, and mother in this reality wouldn't ask. Perhaps allowing Minister Long to shoulder the cost was the heavens sly way of placing an inestimable nigh-infinite value on the items and Sage Xiaotian's time. Regardless, he refused to not know.
"..." Sage Xiaotian looked reluctant and indifferent. What Wei Wuyin could tell she wasn't going to explain or simply dismiss his question with vague answers. However, Wei Wuyin refused.
He took a step forward and clasped his fists. "Please tell me, Sage Xiaotian!" His voice was loud and powerful despite his small frame. She frowned in response. But just as she did, seemingly about to chastise Wei Wuyin, his two pupils glowed as a soulful light erupted, causing his soul to erupt with a powerful wave of power, scattering the red dust—7%.
A haze flickered across this dimensional reality for the briefest of seconds, and Sage Xiaotian's expression distorted into a twisted frown.
"How persistent for a little child," she said. Wei Wuyin's eyes glowed with what could be considered a strong light of hope and he sunk into the dimensional influence, solidifying everything as red dust clashed against his soul—24%.
Seeing this, as if in response to his actions, Minister Long urged: "It's fine. What harm will telling them do? It's best if such diligent sons knew all the details."
31%. Sage Xiaotian seemed persuaded. "Fine. Since Minister Long wishes to inform you of all the details, then I shall not withhold any details, even if it may prove detrimental to your continued cultivation."
43%. Wei Wuyin's soul was swarmed by specks of red dust as he offered no resistance. In fact, he was purposefully allowing the red dust to entrench itself upon his soul.
The ears of Wei Wuyin's brother, father, and mother perked as they focused their entire attention on Sage Xiaotian. Despite her warning, they were all too interested in the truth. How could they not? The plight had left them with far too many heartbreaking moments. She began with a point of her slender finger to the sky:
"I'll start from the very beginning. Over eighty thousand years ago, our world was a very different world. It was ruled by beings that were massive in stature and greater than Mortal Gods. They were regarded as Titans. These Titans ruled a portion of the starry skies with absolute supremacy. But this did not last.
"A great conflict unfolded between the sovereign of all demons and the Titans. It was catastrophic. It caused the sovereigns of other races to involve themselves, further causing indescribable chaos. In the end, a deal was made and our world was sealed. Before that, countless races and beings that were not Titans or Humans fought and fell. Some died. Others—imprisoned in an eternal, endless purgatory.
"Certain things occurred, and bloodline lineages were disseminated across the stars and found themselves in all corners of this sealed world. This included humans born with powerful Titan bloodlines. However, the Sovereigns were not done yet. They sent a variety of races here for their own reasons.
"One of these races was a divergent, abnormal, and incomplete race that you regard as Elves. Most of these races failed and became extinct within a few tens of thousands of years of development. They were failures. While elvenkind has eked out survival, they have only lived a little longer due to the mercy of others and by discarding their dignity, labeled as inferior with a false smile.
"You," Sage Xiaotian pointed to Wei Wuyin's mother, "do not belong to one of these inferior races classified by our world, or another of those races that didn't die but was largely forgotten, thought to be extinct. Your origins stem from something else. They were mere myths in the world beyond ours, and beyond that world—blights of the greatest horror, and I can only assume that it was sent into our world due to the reckless carelessness of those greater beings."
"Are you saying I'm...not human?" Wei Wuyin's mother could no longer hold her shock. Her disbelief caused her voice to tremble.
Sage Xiaotian indifferently shook her head, not caring if this gave Wei Wuyin's mother relief or more questions. She gave a stern look as if to say not to interrupt again, continuing:
"During the greater beings' actions of sending in countless races, they had accidentally sent in this myth of a species, and that species must have intermingled with humans, propagating its bloodline for the sake of survival somehow.
"However, you're human. So is your son. However, you're also a...
"Anima-Devourer!"

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