The Yan family was filled with both joy and anxiety.
The joy was that, after several hundred years, someone from the Yan family had finally been chosen by an immortal sect, and not just by anyone—**Ye Wuchen, the ancestor of the Lingxiao Sect**, had personally named her and taken her as his disciple. What an incredible honor!
The anxiety was...
The baby girl they had finally longed for, whom they hadn't even had time to hold properly, was about to be taken away?
Madame Yan, Liu Qingcheng, cradled Yan Luoluo, her eyes turning slightly red. "I haven't even heard her call me Mother yet..."
Yan Yixuan sighed, just as he was about to comfort his wife, when a hurried sound of footsteps echoed from outside the estate—
"Milord! An imperial decree has arrived from the palace!"
The imperial decree was unrolled, the characters on the golden silk brocade glaringly harsh:
"The legitimate daughter of the Yan family is blessed with extraordinary intelligence. She is specially betrothed to the Crown Prince and shall enter the Eastern Palace upon reaching the age of sixteen."
Yan Yixuan's expression plummeted instantly.
Liu Qingcheng let out a cold laugh. "Such 'extraordinary intelligence'! Luoluo was only born a few days ago, and already they know she's intelligent?"
—This was clearly aimed right at the Yan family!
The Yan family's wealth rivaled a nation, and the Liu family boasted countless military achievements. The imperial family of the Qingyun Kingdom had been harboring suspicion and jealousy for a long time. Now, they actually wanted to use Yan Luoluo as a hostage to completely get both families under their thumb!
Yan Yixuan clenched the imperial decree, cold light flashing in his eyes. "My love, we must never send Luoluo into the imperial palace."
Liu Qingcheng gritted her teeth. "But defying an imperial decree is a capital offense..."
"Not necessarily." Yan Yixuan suddenly looked toward the jade slip on the table and slowly said, "If Luoluo is **the disciple of the Lingxiao Sect's ancestor**, would the imperial family still dare to force this marriage?"
Yan Yixuan placed the imperial decree and the jade slip side by side in front of Yan Luoluo.
"Luoluo, your parents won't decide your future for you," he said softly. "If you choose the imperial decree, the Yan family will risk everything to keep you safe; if you choose the immortal path..."
He paused, giving a bitter smile. "Your parents... will just have to wait for you to come home."
Yan Luoluo blinked her large eyes, her gaze shifting back and forth between the imperial decree and the jade slip.
Enter the palace to become the Crown Prince's consort?
—Watch the Crown Prince surround himself with concubines every single day?
—Get trapped in the deep palace playing petty, scheming politics?
—And end up serving as a hostage and dragging down the whole family?
Bah!
With a wave of her tiny hand, she gave the jade slip a solid "slap", let out excited squeals of "yi-ya", and kicked her short legs repeatedly.
Immortal cultivation! She must cultivate!
Who wants to get married? She was going to be a big boss!
The reason Yan Luoluo chose the immortal path so decisively was not just to escape a marriage.
She had already inquired about it (though mostly by eavesdropping on the maids gossiping)—
1. Dao companions in the immortal cultivation world are bound for life, witnessed by the Heavenly Dao. Dare to cheat? Divine heavenly tribulation awaits!
2. The strong are respected, and even the emperor must bow to high-level cultivators!
3. Longevity is vast; with just a casual closed-door seclusion, mortal dynasties could rise and fall through several generations!
Wasn't this so much better than being a Crown Prince's consort?
Besides...
She glanced at the three characters "Ye Wuchen" on the jade slip, muttering to herself: Why does this name sound so inexplicably familiar?
When Yan Yixuan informed the imperial family of Yan Luoluo's choice, the Emperor of the Qingyun Kingdom flew into a rage. "Audacious! How dare you defy Our decree?!"
However, when Ye Wuchen's sword intent descended from afar, splitting the gates of the imperial palace's grand hall in a single strike—
The Emperor changed his tune instantly. "Immortal Master, calm your anger! It was Us... this junior overstepped!"
—In the face of absolute strength, imperial power was worth less than dirt!
Yet this emperor refused to accept it and still pressed hard against the Yan family, wanting to use imperial might to force them into submission.
The next morning, Ye Wuchen stood atop the peak of the Lingxiao Sect, his white robes fluttering in the wind, his gaze ice-cold.
With a slight flick of his fingertip, another streak of sword intent pierced through the void, traversing a thousand miles in an instant to strike straight at the grand hall of the Qingyun Kingdom's imperial palace!
"BOOM!!!"
The plaque of the Hall of Supreme Harmony shattered on the spot, debris flying everywhere, scaring the civil and military officials so badly their legs turned to jelly and they dropped to their knees. The emperor tumbled straight down from the dragon throne.
"I—I was wrong! Immortal Venerable, spare my life!" The emperor was as pale as death, kowtowing frantically.
Ye Wuchen's indifferent voice resounded across the imperial city like thunder:
"The Qingyun Kingdom?"
"A mere nation of ants, and you dare use the name of a Divine Beast?"
"If you ever dare covet this seat's disciple again—"
He lifted his finger slightly, and a barren mountain in the distance turned into fine powder with a "bang".
"This shall be your fate."
The entire Qingyun Kingdom fell into a terrified silence.
They finally remembered—
Who was Ye Wuchen?
—The peerless killing god who single-handedly suppressed the demon clan's rebellion seven hundred years ago, decapitated the previous Demon Lord with a single sword, and leveled the calamities of the Ghost Domain with a wave of his hand!
—The universally acknowledged "number one person under the Heavenly Dao" in the cultivation world!
Never mind wiping out a Qingyun Kingdom, even if he were in a bad mood today and casually split the entire continent in two, the cultivation world would only applaud and praise him for cutting it so neatly!
After all, this big shot's daily routine usually went like this:
-When in a good mood: he would enter closed-door cultivation, ignoring worldly affairs;
-When in a fair mood: he would casually save the common people and be worshipped by millions;
-When in a bad mood...
—The last time he was in a bad mood, the demon race still hadn't dared to rebuild their king city.
Once the news spread, the cultivation world was abuzz with discussion:
"The Immortal Venerable is taking a disciple? What a joyous occasion!"
"What? The Qingyun Kingdom dared to snatch his disciple? Hahahahaha, have they grown tired of living?"
"The Immortal Venerable didn't just wipe out the nation directly? He really is getting more and more merciful!"
Meanwhile, Ye Wuchen himself was leisurely brewing tea, glancing sideways at the trembling envoy of the Qingyun Kingdom:
"Go back and tell your emperor."
"This seat is merely taking a disciple, not destroying the world—"
"What is he panicking about?"
The envoy: "..." (You nearly blew the imperial palace away with a single sword just a moment ago!!!)
At the same time, Yan Luoluo was lying in her cradle, kicking her little feet and scheming happily:
"This master is a keeper; when trouble comes, he really steps up!"
"Overbearing, fiercely protective, and invincible—he's simply the perfect backing!"
She had already started daydreaming about her future life of running amok and enjoying herself in the cultivation world, unaware that...
On Nine Heavens Peak, Ye Wuchen looked at the little bun acting all smug in the water mirror, the corners of his lips curling up slightly:
"Little one, why do you think this seat took you as a disciple?"
—A destined Dao companion, of course, has to be raised from childhood.
The Qingyun Kingdom... oh no, it should be called the Qingyun Kingdom now.
The emperor summoned all his civil and military officials through the night and tearfully announced:
"Starting from today, our nation is renamed the 'Qingyun Kingdom'! Whoever dares utter the two characters 'Qinglong' shall have their entire clan executed!"
—After all, while the name of a Divine Beast was noble, one's life was worth more!
He even personally drafted an imperial decree proclaiming the Yan and Liu families as "National Guardian Meritorious Subjects", awarding them a thousand mu of spiritual fields and exempting them from taxes for a hundred years. He was practically moments away from carving "Immortal Venerable, I was wrong" right onto his forehead.
When Ye Wuchen learned of this, he merely gave a faint "hmm." "They know what's good for them."
He turned around and instructed the elders of the Lingxiao Sect: "Send two disciples to the Qingyun Kingdom to serve as State Preceptors—keep an eye on them."
—Forgiveness? Non-existent.
—This seat was merely too lazy to destroy the nation, not genuinely magnanimous!
Ye Wuchen still felt uneasy.
—What if that dog of an emperor said one thing and did another?
—What if some other cultivator coveted his disciple?
—What if Yan Luoluo got promised in an arranged marriage to some brat next door?!
(A certain Immortal Venerable selectively ignored the fact that his own disciple was currently nothing more than a milk-drinking baby)
Thus, he pinched a hand seal and split off an avatar—
Dressed in fluttering white with picturesque features, though his cultivation was suppressed to the Golden Core stage.
The avatar descended upon the Yan Estate and bowed to Yan Yixuan: "I am 'Chen Wuye', a disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, obeying my master's order to protect the little Junior Sister."
Yan Yixuan was moved to tears. "The Immortal Sect is so righteous!"
(Completely failing to notice that this "disciple" shared the exact same name as a certain ancestor, just with the order scrambled)
The moment Yan Luoluo first laid eyes on "Chen Wuye", her eyes went straight.
—Sword-shaped brows, starry eyes, broad shoulders and a narrow waist; just standing there, he looked like a painting of a beauty!
—Not to mention that faintly visible outline of abdominal muscles...
(A certain baby wiped away some non-existent drool)
As a result, everyone in the Yan Estate frequently witnessed scenes like this:
-Yan Luoluo making babbling sounds and reaching out to be held, seizing the opportunity to bury her little face in "Senior Brother's" neck to inhale deeply;
-Kicking her legs on purpose while drinking spiritual beast milk, her tiny feet stepping precisely onto his abs;
-Even gnawing on her fingers and pretending to cry, refusing to stop until "Senior Brother" kissed her cheek...
Chen Wuye (Ye Wuchen's true self): "..."
(Helpless on the surface, secretly thrilled on the inside)
One day, Ye Wuchen's true body was holding a meeting in the Lingxiao Sect when he suddenly went silent.
—His avatar was currently having his collar pulled open by his little apprentice who was feeling his collarbone!
The elders only saw their ancestor suddenly crush his teacup, the tips of his ears turning red: "... What kind of system is this!"
Everyone: "? ? ?"
(Totally unaware of who their Master was scolding)
Back at the Yan Estate, "Chen Wuye" pinched Yan Luoluo's mischievous little hand and sighed softly: "Junior Sister, men and women should not touch when handing things over."
Yan Luoluo: "Yi-ya!" (Righteous baby-talk translation: This is pure infant instinct!)
Ye Wuchen: "..."
—Heavenly Dao above, is it too late for this seat to regret this now?
—Fine, a Dao companion I raised myself; I'll just have to endure it.
Time flew by, and Yan Luoluo turned three.
—And she had successfully graduated to become the Yan Estate's number one "heartthrob".
Her daily routine went like this:
-In the morning, standing on tiptoes to pinch a maid's pretty cheek: "Big Sister's rouge looks so pretty today~ Just like the rosy clouds in the sky~" (The maid ran off blushing)
-At noon, sneaking over to the neighboring Liu Estate and tugging at the young master's sleeve: "Brother Ziqing, hold me, my legs won't work anymore~" (The young master of the Liu family was left flustered and at a loss)
-At dusk, diving straight into "Chen Wuye's" arms, her tiny finger poking his chest: "Senior Brother, it's hard right here. Did you hide some candy in there?" (Chen Wuchen's avatar experienced a stutter in his breathing)
Ye Wuchen's true body crushed his eighteenth set of tea sets back at the Lingxiao Sect.
The elders: "Master seems to have quite a bit of temper lately..."
In front of the water mirror, Ye Wuchen watched his own apprentice flirt with yet another passerby, and finally couldn't sit still anymore.
—At three years old she was already flirting with everyone in sight, what would she be like when she grew up?!
—No, I have to keep her busy!
So one day, "Chen Wuye" picked up Yan Luoluo with a serious expression: "Junior Sister, it's time to test your spiritual roots."
Yan Luoluo's eyes lit up: "Can I do dual cultivation with Senior Brother once we finish testing?"
"..." Ye Wuchen's avatar almost suffered a spiritual power backlash. "Who taught you that word?!"
Yan Luoluo (blinking innocently): "Yesterday when I walked past the study, I heard Daddy reading it from a book~"
(Yan Yixuan: Danger!)
On the spiritual testing stone, Yan Luoluo's tiny hand had just pressed down—
"BOOM!!!"
A bolt of Hùndùn light soared straight into the sky, and the entire sky abruptly changed color! The clouds churned like an angry sea, and spiritual energy gathered frantically!
Ye Wuchen's pupils contracted, and he formed a hand seal instantly: "Seal!"
A majestic wave of spiritual energy pressed down, forcibly suppressing that terrifying anomaly back down, and the brilliance of the spiritual roots was also forcefully twisted into a mottled "four spiritual roots".
Yan Luoluo tilted her head: "Senior Brother, am I really bad at this?"
Ye Wuchen (wiping cold sweat): "No, you're exceptionally good..." So good you almost lured out all the old monsters of the cultivation world!
Not that he couldn't beat them, mind you, but it would just be too troublesome, and he wasn't planning to go to war with the entire cultivation world just yet.
That very night, Ye Wuchen's true body arrived in person at the Yan Estate.
—Don't ask, asking means his avatar couldn't hold down the fort anymore!
He announced with a blank expression: "Starting from today, this seat will personally guide Luoluo's cultivation."
Yan Yixuan was flattered and shocked: "But my little daughter is only three..."
Ye Wuchen (glancing at Yan Luoluo, who was stealthily tugging at his sleeve): "No matter, we'll start with heart cultivation methods."
—Lest she spend all day thinking about nonsense!
Thus, Yan Luoluo's fresh timetable was born:
-Chen hour: Meditation (actually being held in Master's arms to prevent her from running around)
-Wu hour: Learning spiritual herbs (taking the opportunity to stuff flower petals into Master's collar)
-You hour: Calligraphy practice (filling the paper with "Master is so pretty")
Ye Wuchen (sighing for the N-th time): "... What kind of sins did this seat commit."