"Hmph, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Oh, by the way, Lingtian, don't you think this courtyard is a bit strange?" Jiang Linglong said, turning to Jiang Lingtian with a solemn expression.
"Strange? What's strange about this place? Isn't it just that the Dao Rhyme and laws within the courtyard are a bit richer?" Jiang Wanjie still looked puzzled.
"Linglong is right, this courtyard is indeed rather strange." Jiang Lingtian, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke up.
"Lingtian, you kid, did you notice something too?" Jiang Wanjie asked hurriedly.
"Aura—the aura of living beings!" Jiang Lingtian said to Jiang Wanjie and the others with a grave face.
"The aura of living beings? Lingtian, are you kidding me? The only living things kept in this courtyard are this big rooster and a few fish, aren't they?" Jiang Wanjie glanced doubtfully at the big rooster nearby.
"That's right, this really is just an ordinary big rooster." Though heavily skeptical, out of trust for Jiang Lingtian, Jiang Wanjie still activated his Eye of Truth.
The pupils of Jiang Wanjie's eyes turned slightly pale, and an inexplicable aura immediately emanated from his entire body. The Eye of Truth could pierce through all mists and illusions.
This was precisely a technique from the *Tianji Manual*, a foundational scripture accessible only to the direct bloodline of the Jiang Family.
Although Jiang Wanjie did not specialize in the *Tianji Manual*, he had practiced some of its techniques since childhood, the most fundamental of which was the Eye of Truth.
Using the Eye of Truth, Jiang Wanjie fixed his gaze firmly on the big rooster in the coop. Suddenly, the cry of a phoenix rang in his ears, followed by the phantom image of a phoenix flashing through his mind, snapping him awake with a start.
"What? How is this possible? Could I have just been seeing things?" Beads of cold sweat broke out on Jiang Wanjie's forehead, and his hands trembled slightly.
"Lingtian, was what you said just now true?" Jiang Wanjie turned to look at Jiang Lingtian, seemingly wanting confirmation.
Jiang Lingtian nodded slightly with a solemn expression, silently confirming Jiang Wanjie's words.
"Hiss..." Jiang Wanjie drew a deep breath, suddenly feeling an oppressive weight within the courtyard.
"Linglong, was that axe just now... also... in the same situation?"
"That's right." Jiang Linglong, usually rather lively, still seemed not to have fully recovered her wits, but she still answered Jiang Wanjie's question.
"This courtyard harbors great terror."
Just like that, the three of them, who had originally come here wanting to seek guidance from the Emperor Son, instantly lost all such thoughts.
Seek guidance my ass! They couldn't even pick up a broken axe. Even any random animal in this courtyard was likely a legendary divine beast. And as the master of the courtyard, what manner of existence must Jiang Chen be?
Trapped in this eerie atmosphere, Jiang Wanjie and the other two somehow managed to hold on until Jiang Chen came out of the room.
"What's wrong with you three, acting all so serious? Alright, the food is cooked. Hurry up and come help bring the dishes out." Seeing the three of them sitting in silence in the courtyard, Jiang Chen felt a bit puzzled, but he didn't press them further.
"Emperor Son, you're finally done cooking. We'll go help bring it out right now." As if seeing a lifeline, Jiang Wanjie jumped up hurriedly, dragging Jiang Lingtian and Jiang Linglong along with him as they rushed into the house and brought out the dishes prepared by the stove.
"Come, sit down and eat. The food is rather simple, I hope you don't mind." Looking at the two vegetable dishes and a plate of stir-fried meat on the table, Jiang Chen smiled somewhat apologetically at Jiang Wanjie and the others.
"No, no, Emperor Son, you're being too polite. Being able to have you cook for us personally is already our supreme honor; how could we possibly disdain it?" Not daring to act superior, Jiang Wanjie waved his hands repeatedly.
"Eat up. These vegetables and the rice were grown personally by me, you know." Jiang Chen said calmly.
"You mean they were all grown right here in this courtyard?" Jiang Wanjie asked casually.
"Yes, right behind this house there is a small plot of land. I figured it would be a waste to leave it idle, so I used it to grow some vegetables and rice to meet my daily personal needs."
"What? Emperor Son, is what you're saying true?" A flash of sharp light crossed Jiang Wanjie's eyes as a thought suddenly occurred to him. He picked up the bowl in front of him and began to wolf down the food in huge mouthfuls.
In truth, Jiang Wanjie had just reasoned that since everything in this courtyard was an object of great terror, the vegetables and rice grown here must certainly be extraordinary items as well.
After a bout of ravenous eating, Jiang Wanjie had single-handedly polished off a large majority of the food.
After the meal, Jiang Wanjie rubbed his round, stuffed belly, a look of utter satisfaction on his face.
"Emperor Son, if I must say so, your culinary skills are definitely the most delicious I've ever tasted in all these years."
Hearing this, even Jiang Linglong, who was always bickering with Jiang Wanjie, couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Emperor Son, Jiang Wanjie isn't wrong for once this time. The food you cooked is indeed exceptionally delicious." Jiang Linglong nodded with a serious expression.
"Hahahaha! Is it really that good? But the rice and vegetables here were nurtured right within this courtyard. After absorbing the Dao Rhyme and laws, they are rare treasures by nature. Naturally, the taste is exceptionally delicious." With that, Jiang Chen gathered up the empty bowls and chopsticks.
Meanwhile, having eaten and drunk their fill in the courtyard, Jiang Wanjie and the others all assumed deeply relaxed postures.
"Linglong, you really have to hand it to him—experiencing this kind of comfortable life once in a while is actually not bad at all." Jiang Wanjie looked at the tranquil little courtyard.
He seemed to recall his own past; ever since leaving the Jiang Family at the age of ten, he had been training and fighting on the road right up until now. Although his cultivation was outstanding across the entire Wuji Immortal Realm, ranking in the top ten among the younger generation, he had spent his entire journey constantly pushing himself through trials without daring to relax for even a single second. And whenever he returned to the Jiang Family from his travels, he had to deal with various elders of the clan. He had never experienced such a deeply relaxing state of being.
Hearing Jiang Wanjie's words, Jiang Lingtian and Jiang Linglong beside him were deeply moved as well. How could the two of them not feel the exact same way?
Just as the three of them were lost in emotion, faint auras suddenly began to emanate from all of their bodies.
"What? What is going on here?" Jiang Wanjie and Jiang Linglong cried out simultaneously.
Even the usually taciturn Jiang Lingtian wore a look of shock and uncertainty.
"How can this be? My cultivation level is actually climbing slowly." After sensing his own condition, Jiang Wanjie noticed that Jiang Lingtian and Jiang Linglong beside him seemed to be experiencing the exact same thing.
"I suggest you all calm your minds and absorb it slowly. This time, I am granting you all a stroke of good fortune. Whether you can break through depends entirely on your own luck." Jiang Chen's voice suddenly drifted out from the room.