Half an hour later.
After turning the entire courtyard inside and out several times, Chu Chengzhou fell silent as he looked at the single red strand of long hair in his hand.
He had memories from birth and clearly remembered that his mother's hair was red because her martial soul, the Flame Banner, bore the fire attribute.
There was no doubt this red hair belonged to his mother, but he had found no bodily remains of his father.
What was more, even this strand of red hair had been found in a corner of the courtyard outside the house.
Could it be that after his parents met with an accident back then, his grandparents cleaned the house and swept away fallen hairs and other things with the trash?
For a time, Chu Chengzhou's mood grew unbearably heavy.
With his parents only at the two-ring Great Soul Master level back then, they certainly could not have left behind lingering soul remnants. In other words, he could only seek a chance at resurrection through their bodily remains.
He now had his mother's DNA, but his father's...
Mm, perhaps after reviving his mother, he could go search the soul beast forest where the two of them had fallen back then.
Flesh decays easily, but bones are hard to truly rot away. Even if they were eaten by a soul beast, they likely would not be completely digested and would most likely be excreted with the feces.
If he turned the whole soul beast forest over and gathered all hair, bones, and other items belonging to human soul masters in the forest, then tried them one by one, the chance of resurrection would not be absolutely lost.
Steadying his mind, Chu Chengzhou carefully put the strand of red hair back into his storage soul guide, then took the Tianmeng Iceworm and went to his grandparents' home.
Since he was already back in Nuoding City, it would not do to skip visiting the two elders.
In the living room, lights blazed.
Because their soul power ranks had risen greatly, even after more than ten years, the two elders actually looked a bit younger than when Chu Chengzhou first awakened his martial soul.
At the moment, his grandmother Li Wan was fussing over him, while his grandfather Su Nan chimed in from time to time.
As for Tianmeng?
After a few greetings and some tea, the two elders ignored him. A stranger could not compare with their beloved eldest grandson.
"By the way, little Chengzhou, where is Xiao Wu? Why did she not come back with you?"
Concern for her grandson voiced, Li Wan then fretted over her granddaughter.
"Xiao Wu is in training. She will not be back soon."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
"Alright then. How long do you plan to stay home this time?"
Knowing her grandson was very busy, Li Wan asked.
"Grandma, I still have matters. I will leave tomorrow."
It was already late. After reviving his mother tomorrow, Chu Chengzhou planned to go scrape the soul beast forest where his parents had met their end.
Suddenly, something important occurred to him.
His parents had been his grandparents' disciples and had often stayed here. Perhaps some corner of the courtyard still held hair his father had shed back then.
At once, suppressing his excitement, Chu Chengzhou spread his spiritual power over the entire courtyard, collecting every strand of hair that existed on the ground.
"Uh, little Chengzhou, what are you doing?"
Seeing their beloved eldest grandson with eyes closed as hairs from corners inside and outside the house flew into his hand one by one, Su Nan asked in puzzlement.
"Grandpa, I want to see if the house still has any DNA my father left behind back then."
"Dee-en-ay? What is that?"
"Oh, you can think of it as bodily material, like flesh, hair, or fingernails."
"And what can you do by collecting this DNA?"
Su Nan asked.
"I need it, and it is very important."
Chu Chengzhou's face was serious.
"Very important? Then would teeth do? When your parents were young and changed their baby teeth, your grandmother could not bear to throw them away and saved them all."
Rubbing his chin, Su Nan spoke.
Children generally complete their baby teeth around age six and then begin to change teeth.
More importantly, many parents keep their children's shed baby teeth as a way to commemorate their growth. He was not the only one.
"Teeth? Excellent. Grandpa, please give them to me."
At once, Chu Chengzhou said excitedly.
Flesh and hair have DNA, and teeth do too.
This solved it. With the baby teeth his father had shed as a child, he would not need to scrape the soul beast forest three feet deep.
Since they were only baby teeth, Su Nan did not understand why his beloved eldest grandson was so excited, but he did not ask further. He stood and went to fetch them.
Before long, Su Nan returned to the living room and handed Chu Chengzhou two small boxes.
Opening them, Chu Chengzhou saw several small baby teeth in each box.
Mm, the teeth in one box clearly showed signs of cavities. One look said that child had eaten too much sugar.
"This one is your father's, and this one is your mother's."
Su Nan pointed to one small box, then to the other box that held the decayed baby teeth.
Right, his mother had loved sweets as a child and had gotten cavities.
"Next comes the moment to witness a miracle."
Narrowing his eyes, Chu Chengzhou spoke and left the living room for the courtyard.
Su Nan: "..."
Li Wan: "..."
The two elders looked at each other, perplexed.
"You two elders should come up and watch. You will see."
Tianmeng beside them spoke.
Hearing this, the two elders nodded and followed out of the living room.
In the courtyard, Chu Chengzhou materialized his martial soul. Pure-gold spirit rings shone, and the size-suppressed Xiao Qing and Xiao Guang took form beside him.
In the next second, a brilliant emerald pillar of light rose from Nuoding City. The pillar, steeped in a rich aura of life, lit the night sky over the entire city.
Immediately after, using the baby teeth as a base, bones grew and flesh spread. In the blink of an eye, beneath the brilliant emerald pillar, a young black-haired figure condensed into being.
As fluctuations of the law of life surged, yin and yang reversed, the dead revived, and the fully formed body gained the pulses of life and soul.
Casting a glance at his completely naked father, Chu Chengzhou took a set of clothes from his storage soul guide and tossed it over, covering his waist.
"Grandma, please go to the room and fetch a set of women's clothes."
Without immediately reviving his mother, Chu Chengzhou turned to the stunned Li Wan.
"Oh."
Li Wan nodded dazedly and turned back into the house.
"Hiss."
Watching the scene of yin and yang reversed before him, Su Nan feared it was an illusion. He plucked a tuft of his own beard and winced at the pain.
Once sure he was not mistaken, Su Nan hurriedly asked, "Little Chengzhou, can you really revive them?"
"Uh, where is this?"
Just then, before Chu Chengzhou could answer, his father, Chu Chenghao, who had been lying on the ground, grabbed the clothes over his waist, scratched his head, and stood up, face full of confusion.