Yin Lang’s feelings were somewhat complicated.
Although he knew that before meeting his mother, his father had been a libertine who spent years frolicking among flowers, there was still a big difference between hearing about it personally and hearing it secondhand.
Yin Lang couldn’t be bothered to play along with his act, and immediately sneered, “Acting as if you really have a son.”
For cultivators, having offspring was difficult. For someone like Yin Jiuxuan who had reached the Tribulation stage and could still leave behind descendants was already one in ten thousand. Wanting a second one was like trying to ascend to heaven in broad daylight—what kind of pipe dream was that!
The smile on Yin Jiuxuan’s face slowly faded. This time he began to seriously examine the youth before him, his brow slightly raised. “Oh? It seems you really aren’t one of those people sent to claim kinship. How strange then. You don’t share this Venerable’s blood, nor do you look anything like this Venerable, yet why does your aura feel so familiar to me?”
Yin Lang flashed him a smile.
“None of your damn business.”
Yin Jiuxuan was stunned, then laughed aloud. Compared to his previous false, cloying manner, this laugh was completely genuine, with the corners of his eyes and brows curving upward. “You little fellow, how very interesting.”
He released Yin Lang and leaned against a street-side stall, lifting his chin toward him. “Mm, now I’m truly interested in you. Little fellow, what brings you to Jiang City?”
Yin Lang ignored him, subtly observing his surroundings instead.
No one had ever entered a Dao Integration stage inheritance secret realm before. Its setup was entirely at the whim of the realm’s master—most would base it on the master’s own experiences, while a few might construct it from things they had seen.
After looking around without finding a third person, Yin Lang simply asked, “What’s my name?”
“…” Yin Jiuxuan pointed at himself with some hesitation. “You’re asking me?”
Yin Lang: “Do you see a third person here?”
Yin Jiuxuan looked upward. “Aren’t there two idiots up there?”
Yin Lang: “…” All right then, definitely his real father.
Having cracked a joke, Yin Jiuxuan became slightly more serious. “You don’t know your own name and come asking me, someone you’ve only met once… Stop glaring at me. That kid earlier didn’t tell me his name—how would I know what the hell he’s called? Speaking of which, I haven’t asked your name yet either, have I?”
Yin Lang snorted lightly and ignored him.
Still testing, constantly testing—how could this old bastard be so suspicious?
Yin Jiuxuan boredly picked up a trinket from the stall. “Hey, what’s that kid to you anyway? To make you give away a treasure like the Soul-Subduing artifact, your relationship must be very close, right? The thing is, he’s a bit stupid. You two looked at me differently—how could I not tell you’re two different people?”
Yin Lang: “Disciple.”
Yin Jiuxuan: “Oh, no wonder then.”
After a while longer.
Yin Jiuxuan: “The way you look at me is also strange, as if we haven’t seen each other in a long time. You’re not afraid of me at all, yet I’ve never heard of someone like you among the righteous spiritual cultivators in recent years.”
Yin Lang couldn’t be bothered to respond to him. Yin Jiuxuan himself became more enthusiastic the more he talked. “I felt close to you the moment I saw you, as if we should naturally be father and son… Hey, I’m serious! I think you’re quite interesting. Anyway, I really don’t have a son, so why don’t you actually become my son? Young Venerable of the Second Demon Realm—you’d reach the heavens in one step.”
“Shut up.”
“My son’s coldness breaks this father’s heart…”
Yin Jiuxuan lamented by himself for a while. Finding that Yin Lang was completely unmoved by his act, he sheepishly dropped the pretense and followed behind his unilaterally acknowledged son, asking after his well-being. “Son, what are you looking for? Dad will help you—”
“Xi!”
The two turned around simultaneously. A woman of shallow cultivation was braving the demonic qi flying through the sky, circling around the remnants of tables and chairs scattered on the ground, struggling toward them.
Yin Jiuxuan stroked his chin. “Your disciple’s mother?”
His gaze swept over Mother Qu’s body. When it passed over the dirt and grease stains, he couldn’t help but frown and quickly retreated. “Son, you handle this.”
Mother Qu finally managed to get close. Her face full of worry, she heard Yin Jiuxuan’s form of address, and in that instant she transformed into an enraged lioness. With surprising strength, she grabbed ‘Qu Xi’ and pulled him behind her, glaring fiercely at Yin Jiuxuan. “Stop calling him that! This is my son. If you don’t have a son, don’t go around claiming other people’s children!”
Yin Jiuxuan, who indeed had no son: “…”
His eyes narrowed slightly. He could tolerate Yin Lang’s insolence in his presence, but that didn’t mean any random nobody could ignore the dignity of a Demon Venerable.
His gaze lingered on Mother Qu’s face for nearly half a minute before he suddenly smiled. “No wonder this Venerable finds you familiar. If it isn’t the eldest daughter of the Qu family from the Southern Kingdom?”
The Southern Kingdom was one of the Li Dynasty’s vassal kingdoms, and among the many vassal kingdoms of the Li Dynasty, it was considered one of the largest. However, Yin Lang noticed another word.
Qu Xi.
Very few people knew that this was the true name of the Lantian Continent’s only Dao Integration stage rogue cultivator.
Yin Lang relaxed slightly. Having historical facts to rely on was much easier for finding the key points than wild guessing.
Logically speaking, over a thousand years ago there must have been tens of thousands of incidents of demonic cultivators attacking spiritual cultivator cities, large and small. Even adding the Demon Venerable still left quite a range. However, Yin Lang knew a secret about Daoist Tianxuan’s background.
Qu Xi took his mother’s surname but was actually the son of the Fifth Demon Venerable of the demonic path back then. Later, the Fifth Demon Venerable fell from power without warning, and Diwu Hong seized the opportunity to take his position.
“This is Old Fifth’s son?” Yin Jiuxuan said at the same time.
Mother Qu gripped ‘Qu Xi’s’ arm tightly, glaring at him warily. “I don’t know who this Old Fifth you’re talking about is. Xi is my son and has nothing to do with any random people!”
“Yin Jiuxuan! What are you doing? You’ve been gone so long and still haven’t finished? Get back here!”
An impatient male voice came from the distance. By the time the voice arrived, the person had also landed beside the three of them. The newcomer had handsome features but couldn’t hide his deeply accumulated fatigue.
He glanced at the Qu mother and son. When his gaze passed over Mother Qu, it suddenly stopped, revealing some hesitation. He patiently searched through his memories. “…Qu Fu’an?”
“I’m not!”
Mother Qu hastily raised her sleeve to cover her face, forcefully pulling at ‘Qu Xi.’ “Xi, let’s go!”
With three Demon Venerables present, how could a powerless woman successfully escape?
Especially the Fifth Demon Venerable—he reached out to pull away her arm to see her face. Mother Qu was so anxious she was about to cry. “What are you doing! I already said I don’t know you!”
Her intense reaction only confirmed his suspicion. “So it really is you.”
After saying this, the Fifth Demon Venerable turned to grab ‘Qu Xi.’ “Then this must be the child you were carrying back then? You made such a fuss, even threatening to bash your head against a wall rather than give me the child. This Venerable wants to see what kind of child you treasure so much!”
Yin Jiuxuan didn’t care when he grabbed Mother Qu, but when he reached for ‘Qu Xi,’ that was unacceptable. He extended his hand to block him. “Old Fifth, even claiming a son should follow a first-come-first-served principle. I’ve already claimed this child. Isn’t it a bit much for you to snatch him halfway?”
The Fifth Demon Venerable was shocked by this statement, especially since he had already clearly seen ‘Qu Xi’s’ appearance. After stammering for a long time, he exclaimed in amazement. “…I never knew you had a hobby of eagerly wearing a…helping others raise their sons?”
Yin Jiuxuan’s face darkened.
He cursed: “If your eyes don’t work, go find a place to get them treated. What are you going crazy about? Look carefully. The shell is your son, but is the soul inside him yours?”
Fifth Demon Venerable: “??? What are you saying? I can’t hear you?”
Yin Jiuxuan: “…?”
Seeing that the Fifth Demon Venerable’s expression didn’t seem fake, he reached out and grabbed ‘Qu Xi,’ pinching his chin and examining him thoroughly.
This time it was Yin Lang whose face darkened.
“Let go!”
Yin Jiuxuan calmly brushed him aside. “Don’t fuss. There are two Demon Venerables here—one of them has to be your father. It wouldn’t do to recognize the wrong father. Come, let me take a good look.”
The Fifth Demon Venerable was shocked. “You’re the blind one, aren’t you? Look at his features—which part doesn’t resemble me? And which part resembles you? How could he possibly be your son? Everyone in the Demon Territory knows you don’t have a son at all!”
“…Old Fifth, are you looking for a fight?”
“Fight if you want! You can forget about stealing my son even in your dreams!”
Yin Jiuxuan narrowed his eyes at him. After a long while, he pointed toward outside the city. “Can’t fight properly in the city. You go first, I’ll follow in the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.”
The Fifth Demon Venerable quickly ran off.
Yin Jiuxuan glanced at Mother Qu again and casually set up a barrier. “Can’t say or don’t want to say?”
Yin Lang was rubbing his chin and didn’t react immediately. “?”
Yin Jiuxuan sneered, gesturing at ‘Qu Xi’ to look at the chaos around them. “Ever since he came down, he hasn’t said a single sentence that doesn’t mention his son. I’ve known Old Fifth for so many years—how did I not know he cared about his son this much?”
With the entire city engulfed in flames of war, the Fifth Demon Venerable’s eyes could only see his son. Was this normal?
Yin Lang’s chin-rubbing motion gradually slowed as a pair of dark eyes fixed intently on Yin Jiuxuan, his face showing hesitation. “You…”
‘Rumble—’
The demonic qi barrier had disappeared at some point. The clouds in the sky churned, and thunder dragons flashed into view.
Having dealt with the Heavenly Dao many times, Yin Lang instantly realized something and looked sharply at Yin Jiuxuan. “You are—”
Lightning surged, and a thunder bolt as thick as an adult’s waist struck down, not allowing him to speak the truth.
Yin Jiuxuan raised his palm and pushed him away. Father and son separated by ten zhang, and the thunder crashed into the ground, instantly creating a massive crater three zhang wide.
The lightning didn’t stop, constantly threading through the clouds like a giant eye overlooking the world, watching closely for anyone who dared violate the rules.
A figure suddenly emerged from the void, waving a hand in the air. After doing something unknown, a hazy layer of mist appeared in their field of vision. The youth said in exasperation, “Damn it, what did you guys do? I finally managed to pacify the Heavenly Dao, and now it’s going crazy again chasing after me!”
He turned his head in all directions looking for the culprit. When his gaze fell on Yin Jiuxuan, he suddenly made a sound of surprise. “A living soul? How did you get into my secret… Holy sh*t!”
The lightning ‘whoosh!’ immediately came straight for him!
The Daoist-robed youth was like an agile monkey. Without anyone seeing how he dodged, no matter how the thunder chased his ass, it never managed to strike him.
“Hey hey, didn’t we already agree that I’d spare that kid and you’d spare me? How can you go back on your word afterward!”
The youth’s voice grew more and more distant, and the thunder was led away by him.
Standing ten zhang away, Yin Jiuxuan suddenly smiled faintly.
“It seems I won’t have no descendants after all. Pretty lucky. Your mother is… forget it, don’t tell me.” His tone was light. “Love—that sort of thing loses its appeal when it’s spoiled in advance.”
Yin Lang said coolly, “Who would have thought—a philandering, fickle guy like you would actually yearn for love.”
“Hahaha, it’s a novel experience, wouldn’t you say?”
The two fell silent again.
Facing the father who had died young and whom he hadn’t seen for hundreds of years, Yin Lang didn’t know what he should say either. Yin Jiuxuan had many things he wanted to ask, but inexplicably they stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out.
Ten zhang—the distance between life and death.
“Damn it, hurry up!”
The youth’s phantom drilled out from the side. The thunder was still in the distance—it seemed he had used some method to shield himself from the Heavenly Dao’s ears and eyes. His hair was all mussed up from his own scratching as he urged them anxiously. “Come on, come on! I can’t hide from the Heavenly Dao for long. If you have anything to say, say it quickly. When you died I was in seclusion and didn’t have time to intervene. This time I’m repaying the favor for when you gave me a hand back then. Hurry the hell up!”
“There wasn’t really anything to say in the first place.” Yin Jiuxuan let out a long breath, as if relieved.
He looked at Yin Lang, imagining through this body what that future child’s features might be like, and slowly began to smile.
“In your time, I should have been dead for a very long time. No need to tell me how I died. Everyone dies eventually. Even if I avoid it once, there will always be a next time. Just let nature take its course.”
“The only thing I feel guilty about is probably letting you, a child, face the storms of the cultivation world alone.”
Yin Jiuxuan took something from his chest and tossed it over. “Take it. Consider it compensation from this unqualified father. What I can give you, aside from the Floating Shadow Army, is probably only this.”
It was an irregular piece of broken jade, emanating a lustrous glow.
“This thing originally broke into seven pieces. I only managed to snatch this one. You probably have a good idea where the rest are.”
The young man lowered his voice. “No wonder that old bastard Yan Yan searched all of Floating Shadow City and couldn’t find it. Turns out you gave it away at this moment.”
“I have nothing left to say. Go back and live your own life.”
His figure dissipated in the increasingly thick mist, and the distant rumbling thunder instantly ceased.
The young man breathed a sigh of relief, scratched his head and turned around. “So you…” What do you plan to do next?
Before he could finish, the youth standing there opened his slightly confused eyes. “…Who are you?”
Daoist Tianxuan: “…”
He let out a long sigh, looking toward the mottled city walls in the distance where the thick fog was dispersing. “I suppose I am… a witness to a farewell.”