Amid rolling dust, after countless months and countless trials, Shen Shuanghan and her disciple finally returned to the Yaoguang Holy Land within the Yaoguang God Domain.
At the gates of the Yaoguang Holy Land, Shen Shuanghan appeared wearing a blue veil, cradling Luo Yue in her arms. Following closely behind her was a beast they had captured during their trip, intended to serve as a mount for Luo Yue.
"Greetings, Emperor Venerable Shuanghan."
"Greetings, Emperor Venerable Shuanghan."
"Rise."
At Shen Shuanghan's cold, detached voice, the two guards dared to stand. It was only natural—an Emperor Venerable represented top-tier might within the Holy Land. Unless there were exceptional circumstances, they always resided in the forbidden grounds, their whereabouts as elusive as dragons. Moreover, aside from holding the title of Emperor Venerable, Shen Shuanghan was the Holy Lord's sole disciple and the future Holy Lord—though who knew how long that would take.
The sound of their conversation woke Luo Yue from her deep sleep. Listening to the unfamiliar voices around her, the infant's tiny mind finally rebooted once more.
Luo Yue blinked up at Shen Shuanghan, her habitually freezing voice softening just a sliver.
"Awake? Are you hungry? Master will go find you something to eat right now."
Having soothed Luo Yue, Shen Shuanghan vanished from the guards' sight in a flash.
*Luo Yue:* *Is there any possibility that I just woke up?*
"Did Emperor Venerable Shuanghan take on a disciple? And such a tiny little thing, too."
"Right? Judging by the looks of it, it must have been born not long ago."
"So cute, though. I wonder where Emperor Venerable Shuanghan managed to find such an adorable little girl. I want to pet her so badly."
"Stop talking, just honestly keep watch. Later, let's have the senior sisters go scout the path ahead, and we'll follow behind. That'll be safer."
"That makes sense."
At this moment, our little cutie Luo Yue had no idea that she had already caught people's eyes the moment she arrived at the Holy Land.
Qingxue Peak was the most crude and desolate peak in the entire Yaoguang Holy Land—without exception.
Because across the entire Qingxue Peak, apart from the natural landscapes already present on the mountain, there was only a single wooden cabin. This cabin was the residence of Shen Shuanghan, renowned throughout the God Domain as the strongest prodigy and the most beautiful fairy.
In Shen Shuanghan's own words from the past: items unrelated to cultivation are useless; as long as it's functional, it'll do. Even the luxurious Cloud-Crossing Shuttle in her possession had been an initiation gift given to her by the Yaoguang Holy Lord back then.
This directly resulted in the spiritual porridge Shen Shuanghan was currently cooking being begged or borrowed from the master of neighboring Baihua Peak.
A moment later, Shen Shuanghan walked in carrying a bowl of spiritual porridge whose flavor depended entirely on the quality of its raw ingredients. To make matters worse under these conditions, she only let Luo Yue drink the broth.
"Yuer, why aren't you eating anymore? Are you full?"
"Yiyi~"
"Is this my cute little grand-disciple?"
A figure in white walked into the wooden cabin, glanced at the surrounding environment, and instantly began to worry about Luo Yue's future living conditions.
*If there's a chance in the future, I should still take my dear grand-disciple back to my place. Better not let him suffer like this.*
"Master."
"Mm. What is the name of this dear grand-disciple of mine?"
Asking Liu Yunyan, she reached out and took Luo Yue from Shen Shuanghan's arms.
"Luo Yue."
"Mm, not bad. Huh? It's a boy?"
(Note: This refers to biological sex, not preferences! If you really insist, it's not entirely out of the question... *covers face*)
"Yes. I found him deep within the Misty Smoke Forest. At the time, he was lying naked in a sea of flowers, neither crying nor making a fuss. Seeing that there was no one else around, I took it upon myself to take him as my disciple and bring him back. Shuanghan acted arbitrarily and disregarded the rules of the Holy Land; I ask Master to punish me."
"Is that so? Alone, stark naked... Then how did he appear? Was he nurtured by heaven and earth?"
Watching Liu Yunyan fall into contemplation, Shen Shuanghan stood respectfully before her.
"Forget it. Perhaps this is simply fate's design. Didn't you once say you wouldn't take any disciples? Having such a cute little fellow keep you company isn't bad either."
"As for cultivation, you might as well give up on that idea. Your cultivation has already hit its ceiling anyway; unless I die, you'll find it hard to advance even an inch—even though you possess the most unique Tianyuan Earth Spirit Physique, that exception still holds. Unless one of the other nine God Lords suffers some accident and dies, perhaps you'll still have a chance to break through. From now on, just properly guide this little fellow."
"As for little Luo Yue's sex, it's enough that we within our Holy Land know the truth. Although no one dares to gossip about our Yaoguang Holy Land, we have exclusively female disciples from antiquity down to the present day. Having a male disciple suddenly appear after all this time is still somewhat inappropriate. Later on, I will also issue an order telling the lower disciples to mind themselves."
As for why Liu Yunyan didn't mention keeping it a strict secret from the outside world—guess why Shen Shuanghan had only just finished feeding Luo Yue when Liu Yunyan arrived right after? Besides, Liu Yunyan didn't want her precious little grand-disciple to live in constant fear of slipping up on her own home turf.
"Understood."
"Mm. I came here this time because I heard from that girl Yourong that you brought back a little grand-disciple, so I specifically came to take a look. Very well, it's getting late, and Master must return to handle affairs of the Holy Land."
Liu Yunyan gently stroked Luo Yue's little face before handing him back to Shen Shuanghan, vanishing in a flash. Then, her final words echoed in Shen Shuanghan's ear.
"Right, it's about time you changed up this Qingxue Peak of yours. Don't make my dear grand-disciple suffer."
Shen Shuanghan looked around her surroundings and fell into deep thought.
"Perhaps it really is time for a change."
......
The next morning, a ray of sunlight pierced into the room, landing on Shen Shuanghan's face.
It had been centuries since she last slept. Looking at the little one sleeping soundly in her arms, Shen Shuanghan lowered her head and kissed his cheek.
"My Yuer is such a good boy. Today, Master will build a much more comfortable environment for you."
With that, Shen Shuanghan walked out the door on tiptoe. But the moment she left Qingxue Peak, a sneaky figure slipped right into her small wooden cabin.
There was no helping it; with Shen Shuanghan's formidable strength, aside from the Holy Lord, no one dared to enter Qingxue Peak without permission—not even other Emperor Venerables or Venerables. As for the peak masters, they generally had no reason to visit Qingxue Peak.
Yet today, Hua Yourong had to be that sneaky rascal, directly taking advantage of her absence to ransack the house.
Looking at the sleeping Luo Yue, the smile on Hua Yourong's face grew even wider. She carefully picked him up and planted a loud *muah* right on Luo Yue's face.
"He looked so cute yesterday without me looking closely, but seeing him up close today, he's definitely even cuter! Little one, Big Sister is going to take you out to play."
With that, she cradled Luo Yue and vanished from Qingxue Peak in a flash.
On Baihua Peak, several peerless beauties sat inside the Baihua Palace.
"What took you so long? Weren't you just going to go hold a child?"
"Talk is cheap. Given that fellow Shen Shuanghan's temperament, do you think she would casually lend her precious disciple to us?"
"Huh? This wasn't borrowed?"
At the sudden, earth-shattering question from the Discipline Peak Master, the various peak masters present froze instantly.
"This... I took advantage of Shuanghan being out on business to... to steal him."
"What?!"
The Spring Return Peak Master snapped to her feet, and the masters of the other peaks couldn't sit still either.
"I think we'd better go find the Holy Lord. Probably only the Holy Lord can save our lives now."
The Discipline Peak Master thought rather quickly and immediately offered a solution.
The Scarlet Fire Peak Master beside her immediately chimed in, "Lin Meier is right. That's the only course of action left to us. We can also explain the situation to the Holy Lord so we can openly play with this little fellow in the future."
"Alright then, let's head over right now."
Hua Yourong turned around with Luo Yue in her arms and prepared to leave.
"Hold on. You've played with him for so long; it's about time you let us have a turn."
Heaven Sword Peak Master Bai Yuehua flashed in front of Hua Yourong and snatched Luo Yue out of her arms before she could react.
Looking at the little fellow sleeping soundly in her arms, Bai Yuehua couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth no matter how hard she tried.
"So cute. I wish he were my disciple."
"You certainly dare to dream. Just playing with him is enough; if you actually dared to snatch him, Shen Shuanghan's sword would honestly pierce right through your body."
Spring Return Peak Master Chen Qiqi reached out to stroke Luo Yue's little face, then glanced back at Hua Yourong.
"Didn't you say this little fellow has a pair of exceptionally pretty big eyes? Why don't we pry them open and take a look?"
Hearing this, Bai Yuehua cast a wary look at her and decisively turned to leave.
"Were you born just recently? How can you be so utterly unhinged?"
Lin Meier also shot a look of disgust at Chen Qiqi, hurriedly rushing forward to chase after Bai Yuehua.
"Inhuman."
As Scarlet Fire Peak Master Chi Lingyu passed by Chen Qiqi, she similarly cast a look of disdain.
"Absolute lunatic," Hua Yourong muttered under her breath as she hurried away.
"Hey, what did I even do?! I was just curious!"