Yun Yi readily agreed. "All right."
Nan Xunran nodded, then closed his eyes slightly and placed his hands together against his forehead. A faint light shone where they overlapped.
As the light flickered, the spiritual power in the surroundings began to gather, forming a massive vortex.
He slowly lowered his hands and moved his fingers, and the spiritual power flowed with the motion of his fingertips.
Gradually, an illusory human outline appeared in midair.
Nan Xunran looked at the outline and pointed at it. "Senior, please enter it."
At his words, Yun Yi moved, turning into a streak of light and flying into the human outline.
Immediately afterward, Nan Xunran raised his right hand, gently turned his fingers, and brought them together.
A sphere of light flew from his hand and vanished into the human outline.
Nan Xunran watched him, nodded slightly, and said, "Done."
The illusory figure slowly descended to the ground. Yun Yi felt himself over, then turned to Nan Xunran and exclaimed, "Impressive, kid!"
Nan Xunran pressed his hand against Yun Yi's forehead. Yun Yi felt as though an invisible shackle had been placed on his soul, its power binding his soul tightly.
Yun Yi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that a Slave Mark?"
He didn't resist, but said somewhat helplessly, "What? You still don't trust me?"
Nan Xunran replied coolly, "I don't."
Yun Yi: "..."
He waved a hand, unwilling to continue the subject. "All right, all right, let's drop it."
"I'll be going now. Just call me if you need anything."
After saying that, he saw Nan Xunran nod and disappeared into the void.
Sacred Domain
All the great clans received invitations from Nan Xiao.
A clan elder looked at the invitation and pondered for a moment before saying, "Inviting us at a time like this, it must be because of the Nan Clan's divine son."
He then gave a decisive order. "Reply and say we'll arrive before noon tomorrow."
Bai Clan
Everyone looked at the invitation before them, their expressions varied.
Nan Xiao had also taken the trouble to write Bai Wanying a letter, detailing Nan Xunran's recent experiences and his coma.
Bai Wanying sprang to her feet. "I'm returning to the Nan Clan today."
The elders looked troubled, hesitating to speak.
"What? You want to stop me?" Bai Wanying arched a delicate brow, her tone unfriendly.
An aged voice rang out. "Go. We'll accompany you."
Bai Wanying nodded indifferently. All she wanted now was to see her son as soon as possible.
She cursed inwardly. Nan Xiao, that bastard! Ran'er had fallen into a coma, and he hadn't even told her about something so serious.
Half an hour later
Nan Clan
The members of the Bai Clan arrived in a hurry.
Bai Wanying hurried into the Divine Son Hall, calling out, "Ran'er!"
Hearing her voice, Nan Xunran paused in surprise. "Mother?"
Bai Wanying stepped forward, took Nan Xunran's hand, and asked with concern, "Your father told me about your coma. How are you feeling?"
Nan Xunran bent down slightly and shook his head gently. "Don't worry, Mother. I'm fine now."
Bai Wanying reached out and lightly poked Nan Xunran's forehead. "Oh, you!"
Her face was full of tenderness, her brows drawn together slightly.
Smiling, Nan Xunran raised a hand and gave a gentle wave. A light flashed.
It was the reward from the earlier task—the Thousand-Illusion Buyao.
Bai Wanying looked at the exquisite hairpin and asked in puzzlement, "A buyao?"
"Mm. The Thousand-Illusion Buyao is a defensive magic artifact that can withstand three fatal attacks."
Bai Wanying broke into a delighted smile. "Oh, hurry and put it on me!"
Nan Xunran stepped forward, gently smoothed his mother's hair, and carefully slipped the buyao into her bun.
Bai Wanying raised a hand and gently stroked the buyao in her hair, a tender smile on her lips.
Bai Wanying gently patted Nan Xunran's shoulder and said softly, "I still need to see your father, so I'll be going."
Then she added gently, "You're the main guest at tomorrow's banquet, so get plenty of rest."
Nan Xunran nodded slightly and replied, "Don't worry, Mother."
Bai Wanying then gave a slight nod, turned, and left.
The day of the banquet
Between 9 and 11 a.m.
People from the various clans arrived one after another, and all manner of strange vehicles and magic treasures appeared in the sky.
Everyone looked up, marveling at the sight.
"All the clans of the Sacred Domain should be here, shouldn't they?"
"Even those reclusive clans have come."
Someone shouted, "Look! It's a prodigy of the Longevity Lin Clan!"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a tall, upright young man standing proudly on an exquisite flying boat, his expression full of arrogance.
"It's Shen He'an, the Jade-Faced Asura!" someone else shouted, and everyone's gaze immediately focused on a handsome man.
"Then the one behind him must be Shen Xinyue, the Cold-Faced Rakshasa," someone guessed in a low voice.
Immediately afterward, a figure appeared like a ghost, a long sword in hand and a chilling presence emanating from her.
"It's the Azure Moon Sword Immortal, Su Zhuyi of the Su Clan!"
Someone looked at several other unfamiliar faces in midair and asked, "Which clans are those prodigies from? Their presence is so oppressive. Why have we never seen them before?"
"They must be prodigies from those reclusive clans. They rarely venture out, so naturally we wouldn't know of them."