Tianxiang Mountain, Xuanyang Sect, Bishui Peak.
As the highest peak of the Xuanyang Sect and the one most abundant in heaven and earth spiritual energy, this was where Shangguan Danqing, the former leader of the Xuanyang Sect, and his family resided.
Chen Wuyou had been feeling rather gloomy after being hauled along the entire way by Shangguan Danqing, but the moment he realized they had arrived home, his depression vanished entirely. The instant his feet touched the ground, he bounded in two or three strides into the misty, cloud-shrouded celestial courtyard.
"Grandmother, Master, Mistress, little sister Mo, I'm back!"
At the sound of his voice, the entire house fell silent for a fraction of a second before someone emerged.
At the front was a woman of dignified and elegant bearing—none other than the grandmother Chen Wuyou had just called out to, Ye Xiya.
Chen Wuyou often vented his grievances about Shangguan Danqing behind his back, and the thing he complained about most was that while Shangguan Danqing looked like a reasonably sprightly old man, his grandmother Ye Xiya was a great beauty upon whom the passage of time had left only the faintest of traces.
Put bluntly, what a waste of heaven's gifts!
Pbah, a celestial being!
The moment she saw Chen Wuyou, a smile immediately bloomed on Ye Xiya's face. She stepped forward quickly to pull Chen Wuyou into an embrace by the shoulders, looking him up and down with meticulous care.
"Wuyou, you've been out for a trip, why have you lost weight? Were you exhausted by the tournament?"
Hearing this, before Chen Wuyou could reply, he heard Shangguan Danqing chime in with an old rascal's cynicism, "Hmph, exhausted for sure, but whether it was because of that is anyone's guess."
"What do you mean?" Ye Xiya looked at Shangguan Danqing with a puzzled expression.
Chen Wuyou felt a jolt in his heart. He forced a quick laugh and hurried to change the subject, "Grandmother, while I was away these past few days, I missed you so much."
Hearing this, Ye Xiya instantly cast Shangguan Danqing's remark to the winds and gently stroked the boy's clean, fair face. "Grandmother missed you too. Come, let's go inside."
"You got it." Chen Wuyou nodded obediently and followed Ye Xiya toward the house, though he didn't forget to turn back and make a funny face at Shangguan Danqing.
Back home, this was his territory!
"You little rascal!" Seeing himself not only ignored by his cultivation partner but now mocked by this brat, Shangguan Danqing grew so furious that his hair and beard bristled. Yet, fearing that Chen Wuyou would complain to Ye Xiya, he swallowed his anger and followed them into the house.As soon as he stepped into the room, a rather delicate and adorable "little pendant" suddenly attached itself to Chen Wuyou's neck.
"Brother Wuyou, did you miss me?"
The playful young girl hung onto Chen Wuyou, blinking her watery eyes as she asked.
Chen Wuyou reached out and rubbed that fluffy head. The tender, blushing face of the ten-year-old girl truly filled him with fondness, and he broke into an indulgent smile. "With our Mo'er being so cute, how could I not miss you?"
From behind came Shangguan Danqing's exasperated voice.
His own granddaughter had been listless ever since Chen Wuyou left, but the moment the person returned, she instantly wanted to glue herself to him!
"Ahem, Mo'er, don't you see your grandfather?" Shangguan Danqing put on a serious and dignified air. Behind him, three gazes landed on Shangguan Danqing all at once.
"Grandfather, you've only been outside for less than half an hour."
The young girl pouted her little lips and spoke with complete honesty.
Chen Wuyou, meanwhile, arched his brows with a hint of complacency.
At that, Shangguan Danqing's retreating figure visibly slumped with dejection.
"That's right, Grand-Aunt, where are Master and Mistress?"
Chen Wuyou asked as he gently set Shangguan Mo down from his body.
"Them?" Ye Xiya motioned toward Shangguan Danqing with her chin. "According to the old man, some strange anomaly seems to have occurred in the Northern Domain, so your master and mistress went to investigate."
"Anomalies?" Chen Wuyou cast a puzzled look.
At that, the old man puffed out his chest with a look of triumph.
See? Whenever it was a serious matter, the right to speak still belonged to him!
"Ahem." Shangguan Danqing put on airs. "This Northern Domain, these past few days, has indeed been a bit restless~"
"Spit it out properly." Ye Xiya slapped Shangguan Danqing on the back of the head with dissatisfaction.In front of Ye Xiya, this old man who could scare the Xuanyang Sect into total evacuation in the blink of an eye immediately caved and could only honestly say: "In the central region of the Northern Desert these past few days, cultivators have frequently seen lightning flashing and beast shadows darting past. Many people assumed some supreme treasure or heavenly material had manifested, so they all scrambled to seize it."
"Yet unexpectedly, everyone who went to seize the treasure has never returned."
"They're all dead?" Chen Wuyou raised an eyebrow."That's the bizarre part." Shangguan Danqing's expression abruptly turned serious. "Many disciples from prominent families have their Destiny Soul Tablets kept within their clans, linked to their personal soul imprints. Yet after they disappeared, those Destiny Soul Tablets—which should have shattered—only showed varying degrees of subtle changes, while the rest remained entirely intact."
"So they aren't dead?"
"Rather than saying they aren't dead, old man, I'm inclined to believe that their connection to the Destiny Soul Tablets has been forcibly maintained by some special force."
With that, Shangguan Danqing produced two palm-sized, dragon-patterned talismans.
Chen Wuyou instantly recognized that the one glowing with a golden light was his own.
As for the other, while it looked much the same as his at a glance, a closer inspection revealed that the spot where the dragon pattern was engraved was emitting an eerie, ghostly green glow.
Ye Xiya took the talisman and explained to Chen Wuyou, "Wuyou, this is the Destiny Soul Tablet of a Xuanyang Sect disciple who went missing in the Northern Domain. I once used my spiritual sense to examine it closely, but every time I tried to probe the nature of that green light, I met with intense rejection, and the attempt had to be abandoned."
"Even Grandmistress can't do it?" Chen Wuyou was somewhat surprised.
In terms of raw combat power, Shangguan Danqing dominated the Nine Suns realm, but when it came to the strength of one's soul, probably ten Shangguan Danqings together wouldn't be a match for Ye Xiya.
Something even she couldn't probe must be extraordinarily bizarre.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, Father and Mother won't be in danger, will they?"
Standing nearby, Shangguan Mo tightly grasped Chen Wuyou's hand and asked with concern.
"Don't worry, Mo'er," Shangguan Danqing comforted his granddaughter. "That brat your father and your mother joining forces—even I can't beat them. They'll be fine."
Having said that, Shangguan Danqing and Chen Wuyou simultaneously turned to look at each other.
"You little brat, what are you staring at me for?"
"Just admiring how handsome you are, Old Senior." Chen Wuyou tilted his head and shrugged. It seemed like a casual, offhand joke, but his clear eyes flashed with an unusual glint.
"Stop running your mouth!"
"Hmph~~~" Chen Wuyou curled his lip.
......
Over the following days, Chen Wuyou first enjoyed Ye Xiya's meticulous, all-encompassing care, and then, unable to resist Shangguan Mo's pouting and pleading, he took the young woman for a stroll around Tianxiang Mountain.
"Brother Wuyou, let's go visit 'Xiaoqiu'."
As she spoke, the girl was sitting obediently beside Chen Wuyou atop Bishui Peak, admiring the dreamlike, breathtaking immortal scenery of the Xuanyang Sect.
*Chirp, chirp.*
A cyan-blue spirit beast landed on Chen Wuyou's shoulder, affectionately rubbing against his neck.
Chen Wuyou reached out to stroke the lovely creature, saying with some emotion, "Now that you mention it, it really has been a long time since we went to see it."
Speaking of Xiaoqiu—though the name sounded like something adorable—in reality, to anyone except Shangguan Mo and Chen Wuyou, that fellow could truly be called a rampaging flood dragon.
After all, how many people would raise a pure-blood Crimson Flame Qilin like an ordinary mortal cat or dog?
Fortunately, the two had encountered that fellow when it was still a heart-meltingly cute cub. Otherwise, even if Chen Wuyou were to cut off his head and present it to Shangguan Danqing to brew medicinal wine, the old man would never have agreed to adopt a ferocious spirit beast capable of harming his precious granddaughter.
"No kidding~" At the mention of this, Shangguan Mo looked somewhat displeased. "Father and Grandfather wouldn't let me leave Bishui Peak alone for too long, and Brother Wuyou, you're always away...... It's been almost three months since I last saw Xiaoqiu."
Hearing this, Chen Wuyou initially wanted to smile; to a cultivator, three months was merely the blink of an eye. But seeing Shangguan Mo's pouting, sorrowful expression, he was suddenly filled with tenderness and instantly stood up.
"Let's go, Mo'er!" Chen Wuyou flashed a wide grin. "Brother will take you to see Xiaoqiu!"
"Really?!" The young girl's bright eyes were filled with delight.
"Of course, would your big brother lie to you?!" Chen Wuyou patted his chest. "I won't go out tomorrow either; I'll stay right here at home with you!"
"Yay!" The girl happily threw herself into Chen Wuyou's arms. "Brother Wuyou, you're the best!!"
At the same time, in a not-so-distant place, a melodious and graceful flute tune rang out, only to abruptly cut off.
"What is it, Miss?"
"It's nothing, just that I suddenly felt a sense of relief...... Is that Young Master Chen still coming to ha—ah, visiting tomorrow?"
"Yes, he is. And I heard he's even going to increase the frequency......"
"Oh? Well, that's strange."
The next moment, the enchanting flute music rose once again.