The old man's white hair was falling out and his face was full of age spots. It was obvious he was nearing the end of his life.
"He’s from the generation of my father's grandfather and close to two hundred years old. That is to say, he was once at the Earth Saint stage."
Mortals had a hundred-year limit, but not many lived to be that old. Most of them grew weak by age sixty and started losing beast ki, unable to escape the limits of nature. At the Earth Saint stage, their lifespan would be doubled, to a maximum of two hundred years. However, once a person reaches a hundred and fifty, they would start going downhill. Such limits on life was nature’s law. Reaching the Saint stage didn’t mean one could escape old age, sickness, and death. No matter what cultivation level the old man used to be, his beast ki had mostly dispersed.
"Little Yang, is that you? Say something!" the old man fretted.
"I’m Li Muyang’s son." Tianming quickly stepped forward to help the old man into the courtyard.
The courtyard hadn’t been cleaned for a long time, and both sides of the path were covered with weeds as tall as a person. The house was also very old, with mosquitoes everywhere.
"What? Are you Little Yang's beard?" The old man looked puzzled.
"Great Granduncle, I’m his son. My name is Tianming."
"What? His beard became a spiritual being and turned into a human? Do you want my life?" asked the old man.
Tianming didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
"Beard spirit, don't eat me. Come, have some pickles and braised eggs. That’s all I have." The old man shivered as he pulled on Tianming.
Perhaps he had lived for too long. Although he couldn't see with his eyes, he could still move around in this courtyard with his cane. Tianming couldn’t help but feel distressed. Even at such an old age, there was no one to care for the old man. And apparently, Li Muyang was brought up by him.
"Big Brother, what should we do?" Releasing Spiritual Attachment, Feiling appeared beside him.
Ying Huo and Meow Meow came out as well. Those tyrannical little rascals were very excited to come to a new place, and brought Lan Huang with them as well. In the courtyard was an Ink Qilin that was so old its skin was peeling. It opened its eyes and looked at the visitors, then closed them again in boredom and continued sleeping.
"Since we’re here, we might as well make ourselves comfortable. Let's clean the place up and settle down," said Tianming.
"Alright, no problem! Meow Meow, I’ll leave the task of cleaning to you!" Ying Huo flew out to explore this new world.
"Don’t worry, Brother Chicken!" Meow Meow patted Lan Huang’s thick dragon paw, "Brother Tortoise, you were just born, so you’d better behave. I’m going to have a rest first."
"What Brother Tortoise, it’s a dragon!" glared Tianming.
Meow Meow yawned and rolled on the ground, four paws in the air, already asleep.
"Damn, that was fast."
"Bro, let me help! Should I clean?" Eyes gleaming, an excited Lan Huang spat out a mouthful of water.
And a wall collapsed.
"Wow, fun!" Its eyes shone.
"Get out of here, all three of you!" Sweating profusely, Tianming drove Lan Huang away first, then caught Meow Meow and threw it out.
In mid-air, the black cat switched positions, yawned, and went back to sleep, until plop! It seemed to have fallen into water.
"Meow! Is there a flood? Why am I drowning?! " Meow Meow jumped up from the lake.
"Who castrated you? Doesn’t that mean you’re a eunuch?" gloated Ying Huo.
Suddenly, a beast landed in the water, and countless waves slammed into Ying Huo and Meow Meow.
"There’s water. How exciting!" Like a mountain, Lan Huang rolled in the lake.
"Chicken Bro, Cat Bro, where are you?" asked Lan Huang.
"Damn it, I was eaten by you!" roared Ying Huo.
"Ah!"
Lan Huang opened its mouth and vomited, and out came a little chick and a black cat.
"Do you eat shit? Your stomach stinks!" shouted Ying Huo.
"Sorry, Chicken Bro. I probably sucked you into my intestines. I ate too much fish a few days ago and haven't pooped yet!"
"Damn it!"
……
It took Tianming and Feiling over an hour to clean the place. With her help, their new warm nest would soon be ready.
"Haha, shall we sleep here tonight?" Tianming smirked.
"Dream on. Cultivators don't need sleep. Get out!" Feiling chuckled, well aware of his wicked thoughts.
"Beauty, now that we’re in the barren hills and mountains, you can cry out to the heavens, but the heavens won't respond. Cry out to the earth, but the earth is impervious." Tianming held out his hands.
"What do you want to do?" asked Feiling.
"You."
"Little Yang! Little Yang! Are you back?" A figure banged on the door.
Tianming felt his breathing stagnate.
……
In the pavilion in the courtyard, Tianming spent a long time massaging the old man's shoulders. There was some wine left in his spatial ring. As soon as the old man caught a whiff of it, his eyes lit up as if he could see again. It seemed he had a bad memory, and suffered from dementia. Even after Tianming repeatedly explained his identity, the old man still called him Little Yang.
"Little Yang, what were you doing hiding in the room with Jingjing just now?"
"Jingjing?"
Is he referring to the Theocracy Princess Jiang Lingjing? thought Tianming.
"Little Yang, when will you and Jingjing finally have a chubby baby I can play with?"
Tianming thought angrily, The chubby baby is standing in front of you!
"Great Granduncle, how long have I been with Jingjing?" Tianming asked.
"How should I know how long you’ve been sneaking around? You little bastard! You should’ve told me sooner. I was worried you couldn't find a wife!" chided the old man.
At his age, the old man was sometimes clear, and other times confused. It was unlikely Tianming would obtain any important information from him.
"Little Yang, sit down and listen as I tell you about my brilliant deeds. When you grow up, you must try to be as handsome and dashing as me!" The old man slapped his thigh and passionately continued, "Back then, when I was only fifteen, there was no one comparable to me throughout the entire Mo clan and sect. At the time, I was so handsome, the beauties who pursued me had to queue up from the palace all the way to here!"
A considerable amount of time later, Tianming carried the old man, who had finally fallen asleep, back to his room. Just as he placed him in bed, the old man sat up, patted his thigh, and fervently repeated, "Back then, when I was only..."
As he was gushing on, he suddenly asked, "Who are you?"
"Great Granduncle, I’m Little Yang," replied Tianming.
"Liar! Little Yang is cultivating hard outside and said he will return after ten days. Are you here to steal my eggs? Get out!"
"Alright."
"Little Yang is still growing. You bastards leave my eggs alone!"
After Tianming left the room, the old man still droned on and on.
"Great Granduncle is too old, so his mind isn’t very clear." Feiling stood at the door.
"Yes. But I can tell that he was the one who raised my father. I’ll take care of him from now on," said Tianming.
"Mhmm."
"Let’s go out and look around. This place is really quiet."
There was a large, crystal clear lake in front of the courtyard where the three lifebound beasts were currently fishing. Obviously, Lan Huang’s presence had seriously lowered Ying Huo and Meow Meow’s intelligence.
The two sat by the lake, Feiling hugging her legs. Under the moonlight, her snow-white skin shone with a translucent luster. A pair of bright eyes looked out at the lake in front of her, so the waters were reflected in her eyes like a blue sea.
"Big Brother, do you think your father will come to save you?" Feiling asked.
"I'd like him to show up. If he does, everything will be revealed. To be honest, I’d really like to meet him. After all, he’s my father. But I don’t think he will. For so many years, he’s never come to see me. Who knows how much he values me?" Tianming smiled helplessly.
"Big Brother, you’re just guessing. I believe he has his own reasons. Let's look on the bright side, shall we?"
"Of course!" Tianming pulled her in to lean on his shoulder.
"Besides, there’s a very important point!"
"What?"
"He left you the Primordial Chaos Beasts, so he must love you!"
"Yes." Tianming's eyes lit up as the faith in his heart gradually strengthened.
The night was beautiful, and the location was perfect. However, tomorrow morning, they would enter a most turbulent vortex.
"The Theocracy seems to have a place called Decimo Dao Palace. I must figure out the details of it, since it may be related to my way out,” said Tianming.
"Yes, I’ve heard of it too. Is the Decimo Dao Palace related to the Aeonic Grandbane? "
"Probably not. It might just be a coincidence," Tianming said.
"Big Brother, if your father doesn’t come even after you enter the Infernal Soul Purgatory, will they up their methods?" Feiling worried.
"Perhaps. However, I can see that, as far as these three people are concerned, they hate Li Muyang so much that they’re taking out their anger on me. My situation in the Ancient Qilin Clan will be known tomorrow. As long as no one stops me from becoming stronger, perhaps one day, even if my father doesn’t show up, I can stop being controlled by others. I’d like to find out for myself just how strong the geniuses of the Theocracy are!" His eyes burned with passion.
"I’ll remain alive, at least until my father shows up. And as long as I’m alive, I’ll have opportunities. So let’s wait and see!"
In fact, his eyes had already scanned the entire city. Although it was a place filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, it made his blood boil.
"It’s alright. In fact, I was planning on visiting the Theocracy after the sect war. Now, the only difference is that I wasn’t able to say goodbye to my godfather and Qingyu. We’ll just pretend we’re traveling," said Tianming.
"Well, I must try everything to prevent us from being bullied," added Feiling. What she was referring to was the remaining five seals. Perhaps there was a stronger ability that had yet to be unsealed.
"Together, we’ll fight destiny!" Tianming held out his hand.
"Yes!" Feiling placed her tender hand in his.
Their gazes were fiery.
"Nicely said, but it’s all just to hold Ling’er’s hand, isn’t it?" laughed Ying Huo.
In the courtyard behind him, a heavy object suddenly fell to the ground. Then came the sound of cursing. Great Granduncle was asleep, so who could it be?
1. In Chinese, “drown” is a homophone for “castrate”.