Chapter 74: Chapter 71: Peach Blossoms Bring a Word or Two

Although it had been uninhabited for forty years and fallen into disrepair, the Array had kept it from gathering too much dust. It would be habitable after a quick cleaning.

Du Youqian wasn’t a fussy person. He planned to sleep here for the night, open the Treasure Vault tomorrow, and rearrange things a bit. Then, he would find a Marketplace to rent a cavern estate, consume the Snow Wormwood Yang Supplement Pill to cultivate until he reached Qi Cultivation Perfection, and only then emerge.

He would also refine a batch of Celestial Demon Sacrifice Pills, allowing him to break through to Foundation Establishment Combat Power whenever he wished.

’Nice.’

Just then, a faint sound seemed to drift in on the wind.

Du Youqian’s Physique was in no way inferior to someone at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage; his hearing and sight were even sharper.

Focusing his senses, he managed to catch the faint voice.

"Ancestor, your unworthy descendant Liao Minmin begs you to emerge from seclusion! The Liao Family has been exterminated, and Minmin is the sole survivor! Please, seek justice for the Liao Family and avenge your descendants!"

Du Youqian’s interest was piqued. He channeled Magical Power into his eyes and peered into the distance.

He saw the young woman from that fleeting glimpse earlier. Her clothes were tattered, her hair was a mess, and her face was caked in grime.

Her cheeks bore thin, bloody scratches from being whipped by branches, and her feet were raw and bleeding. Though utterly exhausted, her gaze remained resolute, a fire seeming to burn within her eyes.

’A descendant of the Liao Family?’

Du Youqian didn’t really care.

Of the entire Liao Family, only Liao Leizhong held any emotional significance for him, as he had raised the boy himself.

As long as Liao Leizhong had been able to die of old age, Du Youqian would have no lingering attachments.

After all, the Liao Family owed him, but he owed them nothing.

’Still, this girl has piqued my interest. Judging by the Array’s reaction, could she actually have a Spirit Root?’

Spirit Roots were exceptionally rare, after all.

Since leaving the Feixian Peak Blessed Land, Du Youqian had passed through three kingdoms and encountered tens of millions of people, yet only the boatman’s son, Shen Miao, and this young woman, Liao Minmin, possessed a Spirit Root.

Du Youqian mulled it over for a moment before tossing out one of the Paper Cranes he had personally crafted.

The Paper Crane grew as it met the wind, rapidly expanding until it was ten feet tall with a twenty-foot wingspan. With a FLAP FLAP of its wings, it flew before the young woman.

Although Liao Minmin’s will was strong, she had been through a long and arduous journey, often starving for months on end, to reach Soul-shaking Mountain.

She had followed the directions in Ancestor Lie’s journal but had been unable to find the ancestor, and was at a point of being tormented by doubt, hesitation, and anger.

Suddenly seeing the lifelike Paper Crane flying nimbly toward her, she knew her months of suffering had not been in vain. The Immortal Master, her ancestor, had finally acted.

"Ancestor!" Liao Minmin cried out in sorrow. She couldn’t hold on any longer. Her vision went black, and her body collapsed. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

~~~~~~~~~~

’So warm... It feels just like when I was a child, when we all gathered around the stove to hear Ancestor Lie tell stories.’

’Back then, Ancestor Lie was already over 120 years old, but his Spirit was still excellent. He could eat three large bowls of rice and a pound of meat at every meal, and he always had to have a pot of wine with dinner.’

’Ancestor Lie was a bold and heroic old man. I heard he had a magnificent, curly beard when he was young.’

’Even when he grew old and his beard turned snow-white, he was still majestic.’

’Ancestor Lie was very good-natured. Perhaps because he had endured hardships in his youth, he was very tolerant toward his family, even to the point of doting on them.’

’Even a child born of a concubine like me was, in his eyes, loved just as much as the legitimate descendants. He never showed any prejudice...’

’Ah, Ancestor Lie... he was the pillar that held up our family.’

’Even then, everyone knew he was old and frail. Not even an Innate Grandmaster could possibly maintain their physical prime past the age of 120.’

’But as long as Ancestor Lie was there, no one dared to make a move against the Liao Family.’

’They wouldn’t even dare to scheme against us in the shadows.’

’How happy our family was back then...’

~~~~~~~~~~~

Du Youqian noticed Liao Minmin’s eyes darting about rapidly under her lids. Realizing she was about to wake, he infused a stream of Magical Power into her.

For a Mortal, this Magical Power was a potent tonic. Liao Minmin’s complexion instantly grew rosy. She let out a soft groan, like a child stirring contentedly, and opened her eyes.

A moment later, her vision focused, landing on Du Youqian’s face.

Even though this person—sitting with a relaxed air on a crude, old chair—was far too young, looking almost like a debonair young man, she had no doubt that this must be the legendary Immortal Master, their ancestor.

How could an ordinary young man possess such a gentle yet wise gaze?

’As for his youthful appearance... it’s perfectly normal for an Immortal Master to be ageless, isn’t it?’

’And the fact that he doesn’t look like the portrait passed down through the family doesn’t mean anything. It’s just that Ancestor Lie wasn’t a very good painter.’

"Ah! Ancestor!" She scrambled off the bed, dropped to her knees, and pressed her forehead to the floor. "Ancestor! Please avenge the Liao Family for us!"

As she spoke, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

"How did Lei’Er die?"

It took Liao Minmin a moment to process the name "Lei’Er" coming from the young ancestor’s lips before she realized he was referring to Ancestor Lie, Liao Leizhong.

"Ancestor, Ancestor Lie lived to the age of 127 and passed away peacefully from old age. After he was gone, the family’s fortunes declined day by day. There were many villains who coveted our family’s Inheritance. They colluded with Cyan Bamboo Castle and launched a surprise attack on us."

"In just a few short months, the family was torn apart, its members almost completely wiped out. I am the only one who survived. Even the infants in their swaddling clothes... they were all..."

At this, Liao Minmin was so overcome with grief she could no longer speak.

Listening to her story, Du Youqian couldn’t help but feel a flicker of pity.

"I see," he said. "However, I am not the ancestor of your Liao Family. Lei’Er was my adopted son. Apart from him, the rest of the Liao Family has nothing to do with me."

Hearing the ancestor’s words, Liao Minmin looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. Her face went slack, and she froze on the spot, utterly stunned.

After all, she was only a fifteen-year-old girl. And though she was the daughter of a concubine, she had grown up in that wealthy family accustomed to fine clothes and rich food, with little real-world experience.