Yan Luoluo stood at the entrance of the Cave Abode, staring dumbfounded at the scene before her. The originally dignified and rustic Cave Abode now had its roof wide open, with a few charred beams drooping pitifully, and the ground scattered with rubble smashed to pieces by lightning. Most exaggerated of all, right in the center of the Cave Abode's floor was a deep pit three zhang in diameter, with wisps of blue smoke still rising from the bottom.
"Did... did I do this?" She lowered her head and looked at her own hands, where traces of undispersed lightning still danced around her fingertips. In her memory, when other senior brothers and senior sisters formed their Golden Cores, the most their heavenly tribulations did was blast the head off the stone lion at the Cave Abode's entrance—who had ever blown up their entire Cave Abode into an open-air plaza like this?
Suddenly, a breeze swept past, and the remaining half of the Cave Abode's stone door crashed to the ground with a bang, kicking up a cloud of dust. Yan Luoluo subconsciously took half a step back, ended up stepping on a charred piece of wood, and nearly slipped and fell.
"We're done for, we're done for, when Master comes back and sees this..." Her mind already conjured the image of Ye Wuchen's ice-berg face gradually turning dark. "I certainly can't afford to pay for the damages. Should I... play dumb?"
On second thought, however, given Ye Wuchen's cultivation level, a single pinch of his fingers would reveal who had done the deed. Yan Luoluo sighed and resigned herself to cleaning up the mess. What was more, she had to completely erase everything she had researched regarding formations and the like. Although this place belonged exclusively to Ye Wuchen as a secluded cultivation retreat, who knew if someone might sneak in quietly, see this formation, and secretly learn it?
And if their mastery was poor and they ended up suffering a deviation in their cultivation, wouldn't she be left taking the blame? Absolutely not!
Halfway through the cleanup, Yan Luoluo spotted a peculiar stone in the corner. The entire stone was crystalline, its surface covered in intricate golden patterns, and it still carried a faint sensation of static electricity when touched.
"This is... a Heavenly Thunder Crystal?" Her eyes widened in surprise. This kind of supreme heavenly treasure, produced only in extremely pure heavenly tribulations, was said to help thunder-attribute cultivators break through bottlenecks.
Just as she prepared to examine it closely, the stone suddenly cracked with a "click," and a furry, purple little beast rolled out from inside. The little fellow was only the size of a palm, resembling a squirrel, but with a pair of miniature lightning-bolt-shaped wings growing on its back.
"Chirp!" The little beast shook the eggshell fragments off its body and tilted its head to look at Yan Luoluo.
Yan Luoluo: "......"
The little beast: "Chirp chirp!"
Yan Luoluo: "You couldn't possibly be... the spiritual embodiment of the heavenly thunder?"
After tidying up the Cave Abode, Yan Luoluo decided to go pay her respects to the Sect Master first. Just as she reached the main peak plaza, she heard a wave of commotion.
"Have you heard? The Lingtian Sect's newly risen kendo genius is coming over early to study!"
"You mean that Liu Ziqing who cultivates the Ruthless Dao?"
"Word has it that back then, he was..."
The discussion came to an abrupt halt the moment they caught sight of Yan Luoluo. A few disciples offered awkward bows, though their gazes couldn't help but dart back and forth between her and a white-clad figure in the distance.
Yan Luoluo followed their line of sight and saw a tall, upright man practicing his sword on the martial arts arena. His swordsmanship was fierce, every single move carrying the resolute intent to sever all emotional ties—he had clearly already reached the Foundation Establishment Great Perfection stage.
"Liu... Ziqing?" Yan Luoluo almost failed to recognize him. The gentle and jade-like youth from ten years ago now wore cold sternness across his brow, and only when he turned did the crooked peace talisman at his waist sway gently in the breeze.
On the way to the Sect Master's grand hall, Yan Luoluo learned quite a bit of news from a passing senior sister.
"Chu Qingyao is the darling of the Lingtian Sect right now," the senior sister lowered her voice. "They say her talent for alchemy is extremely high, and she can already refine grade-seven pills."
Yan Luoluo raised an eyebrow: "So fast? Normal cultivation couldn't possibly..."
"You said it!" the senior sister said mysteriously. "Some people have seen her frequently going to the back mountain forbidden area in the middle of the night, and her cultivation surges every time she comes back. What's even stranger is that the senior brothers who follow her around have all started acting weird lately..."
As they spoke, a team of Lingtian Sect disciples approached from the opposite direction. The leading woman wore pink, her smile sweet, surrounded by several male cultivators with vacant expressions in their eyes.
Yan Luoluo merely glanced in that direction and paid them no further mind; after all, she couldn't stir up any major trouble for the time being.
When she found Chu Qingli at Sword Peak, the latter was practicing her sword. Ten years had passed, and the once gentle maiden was now striking and heroic, her sword forms carrying unquestionable resolution.
"Qingli!" Yan Luoluo called out, waving.
Chu Qingli withdrew her sword and turned around. A flash of emotion crossed her eyes, which quickly returned to calm: "Junior Uncle, you've emerged from seclusion."
As the two reminisced, Yan Luoluo noticed an extra sword scar on Chu Qingli's wrist. Upon inquiry, she learned that this was the mark left behind from personally severing her emotional ties while cultivating the Ruthless Dao.
"Was it worth it?" Yan Luoluo asked softly.
Chu Qingli looked into the distance: "Compared to being deceived and used, I'd rather choose a clear-headed solitude."
At that moment, a beam of sword light descended from the sky. Gu Qinghan appeared with a dark face and grabbed Chu Qingli's wrist: "You promised you would reconsider!"
Yan Luoluo tactfully took a few steps back, only to hear Chu Qingli say coldly: "Master, please show some self-respect."
"What self-respect! You clearly..."
"A cultivator of the Ruthless Dao should not entangle themselves in mortal romance."
"Then what was that when you secretly kissed me the other night? An academic exchange?!"
Yan Luoluo: "......"
It seemed she had just overheard some incredible gossip!
By evening, Yan Luoluo finally found Ye Wuchen in the back mountain forbidden area. He stood at the edge of the cliff, his robes fluttering, his entire body wreathed in the aura of an impending breakthrough.
"Master!" Yan Luoluo trotted over, "Are you ascending?"
Ye Wuchen turned around, his gaze lingering on her for a moment: "Has your Golden Core stabilized?"
"Mm-hmm!" Yan Luoluo showed off her cultivation like she was presenting a treasure, and incidentally pulled out the purple little beast, "I even found this..."
Ye Wuchen lowered his gaze to look at the furry purple little beast in Yan Luoluo's palm. The little fellow was tilting its head, blinking its round, glossy eyes, occasionally letting out a "chirp" while the lightning patterns on its wings glowed faintly.
"Sent by the Heavenly Dao?" He reached out and lightly tapped the thunder beast's forehead, sensing the pure heavenly tribulation power contained within, and raised his eyebrows slightly, "Quite generous of them."
Yan Luoluo chuckled as she held the little fellow closer: "Master, it doesn't have a name yet. Why don't you help me pick one?"
Ye Wuchen glanced at her: "You want me to name it?"
"Right!" Yan Luoluo's eyes shone brightly, "Names chosen by Master are definitely going to sound good!"
Ye Wuchen pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the little beast and finally resting on the lightning patterns on its wings.
"Let's call it 'Jingzhe'."
"Jingzhe?" Yan Luoluo blinked, "You mean the Awakening of Insects spring thunder Jingzhe?"
"Mm," Ye Wuchen said calmly. "The thunder beast is transformed from heavenly thunder, so this name fits the occasion."
"Jingzhe..." Yan Luoluo lowered her head to tease the little fellow, "Do you like this name?"
"Chirp!" The little beast fluttered its wings cheerfully, and a tiny electric arc went "crack" right against the tip of Yan Luoluo's nose.
"Ouch!" She covered her nose, tears welling up, "Master, it zapped me!"
A hint of a smile flashed in the depths of Ye Wuchen's eyes as he reached out and ruffled the crown of her head: "Serves you right."
Yan Luoluo rubbed her nose, suddenly recalling something, and looked up to ask: "Master, are you going to ascend soon?"
Ye Wuchen's expression remained unchanged: "Not quite that fast yet."
"Really?" She stared at him suspiciously, "But you're clearly already at the Mahayana stage Great Perfection..."
Ye Wuchen lowered his gaze to look at her, then suddenly reached out and pinched her cheek: "What, hoping for your Master to leave early?"
"Not at all!" Yan Luoluo batted his hand away and muttered, "I'm just afraid you'll suddenly ascend and leave me all alone..."
Ye Wuchen's gaze deepened slightly, and he suddenly leaned in close, his voice low: "Don't worry, even if I ascend—"
His fingertip gently lifted her chin, and he said word by word:
"Your Master will take you along with him."
Yan Luoluo: "......"
Her face turned red in a "swoosh."
Ye Wuchen looked at her reaction with satisfaction, thinking to himself—
How could he possibly let anyone else poach the cabbage he had raised for so many years?
Naturally, he would do it himself...
(The Heavenly Dao covered its eyes from the clouds: "Aha, the son-in-law has finally figured it out!")
Jingzhe seemed very interested in Yan Luoluo's reaction. It fluttered its wings and flew up to the top of her head, its little claws tugging at her hair as it kept up a chorus of "chirp chirp."
Yan Luoluo pulled it down and poked its head: "You ungrateful little thing, you zapped me just now, and now you're clinging to me again?"
Jingzhe tilted its head, then suddenly opened its mouth—
"Boom!"
A thumb-thick bolt of purple lightning directly struck the stone table beside them, instantly reducing the table to fine powder.
Yan Luoluo: "......"
Ye Wuchen: "......"
Jingzhe: "Chirp?"
Yan Luoluo slowly turned her head to look at Ye Wuchen: "Master, is it... a bit too strong?"
Ye Wuchen calmly flicked his sleeve, clearing away the pile of powder: "Things sent by the Heavenly Dao are naturally no ordinary items."
He paused, then added: "However, it seems to have acknowledged you as its master."
Yan Luoluo's eyes lit up: "Really?"
She tentatively stretched out her hand: "Jingzhe, come here!"
The little beast flew joyfully into her palm and affectionately rubbed against her finger.
Yan Luoluo looked at Ye Wuchen smugly: "Master, I have a Divine Beast too!"
Ye Wuchen gave a light hum: "Mm, it'll be even easier to tear the house down from now on."
Yan Luoluo: "......"
(Cave Abode: Who did I offend???)
"By the way, the repair costs for the Cave Abode will be deducted from your monthly stipend."
"......"
(Cave Abode: You really do still love me after all!)
"Right, keep your advancement to the Golden Core stage a secret for now. Your Hùndùn spiritual roots will reveal their advantages the moment you reach the Golden Core stage. To avoid you being targeted by others, I'll first use my arts to suppress your cultivation back down to the Foundation Establishment stage."
"Ah? Is it really that outrageous?"
"It's not that outrageous. Back when your Master here reached the Golden Core stage, I was already a Deity Transformation stage cultivator within three years. That's precisely why so many cultivators want to get their hands on Hùndùn spiritual roots."
"…But when I broke through, didn't I summon heavenly thunder? Can't they sense that?"
"Your Master set up a Mahayana-stage concealment formation. Everyone else will only know that you've reached Foundation Establishment. Besides, haven't you noticed? How could a cultivator at the Golden Core stage possibly face only nine bolts of heavenly thunder..."
Yan Luoluo understood. This meant that even the Heavenly Dao was helping her hide it! Could she really be the biological daughter of the Heavenly Dao?
(Heavenly Dao: You finally figured it out! My good daughter!)
[Post-story omake]
One day, Ye Wuchen made Yan Luoluo angry. Yan Luoluo was furious, yet she couldn't beat him anyway; every time she tried to pin him down and beat him, the one end up pinned and crying in the end was always herself.
Yan Luoluo: "Jingzhe, zap him!"
Ye Wuchen: (Gives a cold glance)
Jingzhe: "......Chirp." (Silently shrinks back into Yan Luoluo's sleeve)
Yan Luoluo: "??? Why are you cowing out?!"
Jingzhe: (Covers its eyes with its wings)
Ye Wuchen: (Satisfiedly strokes the thunder beast's head)
Heavenly Dao: "Tsk tsk, even the Divine Beast is afraid of the son-in-law; the daughter's status in the household is looking worrisome in the future..."