Invincible Dad-Chapter 761 The dream of billions of female cultivators_1
Xu Lai stared blankly.
So similar. Incredibly so.
One hundred thousand years had not been enough for Xu Lai to forget the past. The seven-year-old child hiding in the back room, from his spiritual aura to the look in his eyes, was a seventy-percent likeness of his Second Senior Brother, Song Zhongling, as a child.
Even his Spiritual Root was just as mediocre.
"Qingfeng."
A call from his Senior Sister brought Xu Lai back to his senses.
Only then did he realize that the kindly-looking shop owner had subtly shielded the little boy behind him and was now chuckling.
"Do you happen to know my child, sir?"
Though he was smiling, his words were laced with heavy suspicion. Not long ago, he had traveled to a larger, more distant city to restock his goods and found the little fellow passed out from hunger by the main road. Moved by pity, he brought him back to the rouge shop. He couldn’t promise a life of riches, but he could at least ensure the boy would never go hungry. Having never married or had children of his own, he treated the boy as his own son. Any parent would grow tense seeing a stranger stare at their child so intently.
"He reminds me of an old friend," Xu Lai sighed.
Yu Guiwan tilted her head. She genuinely hadn’t expected Xu Lai to be so stunned. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, which was why the shopkeeper felt like he was facing a formidable foe.
"Don’t worry, Shopkeeper," Yu Guiwan said with a light laugh. "My Junior Brother was just reminded of something and got carried away."
Hearing the words of a regular customer, the shopkeeper finally let his guard down. "My apologies, esteemed guests, you’ve seen something embarrassing," he said with a wry smile. "I found the boy and took him in. He’s been coming home with injuries recently, beaten up by some of the other children on the street. I thought this gentleman..."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "...was the parent of one of those children, here to hold my boy accountable."
The little boy, still hiding behind the rouge shop owner, offered a shy smile.
Xu Lai squatted down and beckoned with his hand. "Come here."
To the shopkeeper’s astonishment, the child, who was wary of all strangers, actually walked over. He stood before Xu Lai, his big eyes blinking.
"The other children have been bullying you."
"Mhm."
"Why don’t you fight back?"
"Th-they have... have lots and lots of p-people. I c-can’t... beat them."
The little boy stuttered, taking several times longer than a normal child to form a sentence.
Xu Lai’s expression grew distant for a moment. Even the stutter was exactly like his Second Senior Brother’s.
"Then do you want to pursue cultivation?"
"What is... is cultivation?"
"It means to walk the path of cultivation with immortality as your goal. Along the way, you will gain much, but you will also lose much."
"My dad... c-can he... cultivate?"
The ’dad’ he referred to was, of course, the rouge shop owner.
Xu Lai shook his head. "He doesn’t have a Spiritual Root. His aptitude isn’t sufficient; he couldn’t even reach the Qi Condensation stage."
"What ab-about me?"
"Honestly, your aptitude is quite average. But living for ten or twenty thousand years should still be achievable."
"Then I won’t cultivate."
It was the only sentence the boy spoke without a stutter.
The rouge shop owner was dumbfounded. It was only then that he realized the two before him were disciples of the immortals. He dropped to his knees with a thud.
"I beg you, Immortals, please take my child into an Immortal Gate!"
In the mortal world, everyone from kings and nobles down to the common folk yearned for the Immortal Gates. Immortals could live forever, ride the clouds and mist, and enjoy endless glory and wealth. The benefits were countless.
"I d-don’t want... long life. I want to be w-with my... my dad."
The little boy took a step back.
That single small step filled the rouge shop owner with a mix of frustration, anxiety, and an indescribable sense of being touched.
Yu Guiwan opened her mouth to speak but then stopped herself.
Xu Lai remained composed and didn’t press the matter, simply offering a final piece of advice.
"Alright. If you ever change your mind, walk a hundred miles west from the city gate. You will find a Sect Gate there bearing the words ’Heavenly Court.’ Alternatively, you can take this wooden token and go directly to the Liuyun Sect. They will accept you as a core disciple."
The Liuyun Sect.
It was the largest Immortal Gate within a thousand-mile radius!
Before the rouge shop owner could even process the shock of their identities, the two of them dissolved into a wisp of light smoke and vanished.
The figures were gone.
But their voices lingered.
"The Immortal Path is long; follow your heart."
"Silly child, why didn’t you agree? Once you become an Immortal, no one will ever dare to bully you again!" the shopkeeper cried anxiously.
"I d-don’t want to... to leave Dad."
"Silly child." The simple answer made the rouge shop owner break down in tears. "I just found you on the street! Why would you—"
"Dad, I’m... I’m hungry." The little boy cut him off. "I want to eat... steamed buns."
"..."
The rouge shop owner sighed deeply, his eyes filling with even greater affection. "Dad will go make them for you."
"I want... want spicy ones."
「...」
"Junior Brother, why didn’t you let the rouge shop owner try to persuade him?" Yu Guiwan asked, puzzled.
"Senior Sister, if you had the choice, would you have wanted to be born into a family of cultivators or an ordinary one?" Xu Lai asked.
"Naturally, I would have wanted to cast aside all my troubles and live as an ordinary mortal," Yu Guiwan said, before hesitating. "But if I had, I never would have met you or our two Junior Brothers."
"That’s right. The moment you step onto the path of cultivation, the mortal and immortal worlds are forever parted." Xu Lai’s eyes crinkled into a smile. "He’s young, but just like Second Senior Brother, he has a clear understanding of what he truly wants."
"But in the end, he isn’t your Second Senior Brother."
"Senior Sister, it’s rare for us to be in town. The New Year Festival is in a few days. Let’s buy some firecrackers to bring back to the Sect Gate. Master loves a lively atmosphere." Xu Lai changed the subject.
"That old man doesn’t like lively atmospheres at all." Yu Guiwan pouted. "He worried about you until the day he died, afraid that if I left the Mass Burial Mound, it would affect your Dao-heart."
"It certainly did." Xu Lai teased, "Why don’t you go back then, Senior Sister?"
Yu Guiwan gave Xu Lai a playful, coquettish glare. "Xu Qingfeng," she chided with a laugh, "you’re asking for a beating!"
"You can’t beat me anyway."
"Then I’ll write a letter right now and tell our Junior Brother and Sister all about Emperor Qingfeng’s three million female confidantes." Yu Guiwan’s smile was all mischief.
"???"
Xu Lai’s expression soured. "Last time it was only three hundred thousand. How did it gain an extra zero so quickly?"
"So the three million is a lie?"
"It is!"
"Which means the three hundred thousand is real."
"...Senior Sister, buy whatever you like today. I’ll go sell a couple of Spirit Stones. Everything’s on me."
"Hah." Yu Guiwan glanced at him sideways. "Come on, give your Senior Sister the scoop. How many were there, really?"
"You’re still curious about that?"
"Of course! Go ask anyone in the Four Immortal Domains. Is there a single cultivator out there who isn’t interested in your gossip?" Yu Guiwan said with a grin. "You’re the dream man of hundreds of millions of female cultivators, after all."
"..."
Xu Lai’s face went grim, and he turned to leave.
"Junior Brother, where are you going?"
"Back to Earth."
"Wait, wait, wait! Your Senior Sister was wrong. Please, just stay until after the New Year Festival," she pleaded.
The town was much larger than it had been a hundred thousand years ago, but the passage of time was still stark—both the streets and the people were completely different from how he remembered.
After buying some firecrackers and some snacks typically eaten during the New Year Festival in the Immortal Domain, the Senior Sister and Junior Brother left together.
Back at the entrance to the Heavenly Court’s Sect Gate.
Xu Lai’s pupils contracted sharply. He saw someone who had no business being there.
