In front of Villa No. 9.
"Xiao Hao, didn't you say you missed your brother?"
"Now that you've seen him, why aren't you greeting him?"
Qin Wanqing spoke softly to the little boy beside her.
Shi Yi looked at the little boy. This was his younger brother, Shi Hao, six years his junior.
He was also the key reason this family had not fallen apart, and the fuse that had driven Shi Yi away from this home.
"Brother!"
Shi Hao hid at Qin Wanqing's side and called out timidly.
"Mm."
Shi Yi nodded.
He could sense that Shi Hao was somewhat afraid—or rather, afraid of his eyes.
Children forgot things easily, but that was only true of happy things. As for things that frightened them, they would remember them forever.
His eyes had already cast a shadow in the other boy's heart. That was why Shi Hao feared him and found it difficult to grow close to him.
Seeing this, Qin Wanqing sighed inwardly. Still, she did not say much and led Shi Yi inside.
Shi Yi walked through the house. Though the furnishings had not changed much, he felt an unfamiliar distance in his heart.
His mother spoke to him gently, yet he felt as though he and this family were separated by an invisible gap.
Before long, the man of the house, Shi Xuan, returned.
He wore an exquisite suit and glasses. Though he was a middle-aged man in his forties, his features remained sharply defined, and he had kept himself in good shape.
Standing beside Qin Wanqing, he looked very well matched with her.
"Xiao Yi is back!"
Shi Xuan smiled when he saw Shi Yi.
On his way over, he scooped up the running Shi Hao into his arms.
"Xiao Hao, have you been naughty again?"
Shi Xuan rubbed the stubble on his chin against Shi Hao's face.
It was clear that Shi Xuan liked Shi Hao, this son of his, very much.
The life of this family of three was truly warm and cozy.
After Shi Yi finished dinner at home, he left.
He did not let Shi Xuan drive him away, instead hailing a taxi and leaving directly.
Watching Shi Yi behave like a guest who left as soon as he finished eating, Qin Wanqing felt conflicted.
From May to October every year, the Great Zhou Dynasty received a greater amount of rainfall.
During the rainy season, torrential rain poured down, and most of the rainwater upstream converged into the Yonghuai River.
This was also the sign that the Yonghuai River's flood season had arrived.
At that time, the Dan River would rise with it, perhaps even developing into a flood disaster.
Quick-witted residents would move away from the Dan River during the season of heavy rain, fleeing the rising waters.
"It's pouring!"
As soon as Shi Yi returned to the Central Great World, he saw rain pouring down in sheets.
This caught Shi Yi by surprise. He had not expected to arrive just in time for such a heavy downpour.
Fortunately, there was a cave not far away.
When he had chosen this place before leaving, it had not only been because the terrain was high and secluded, but also because there was a cave nearby.
Shi Yi quickened his pace and soon reached the cave.
The cave was not large and could hold only a dozen or so people standing. Still, it was more than enough for one person to shelter from the rain.
"With rain this heavy, the Dan River's flood season must be coming."
"I wonder whether it'll turn into a flood disaster."
Shi Yi felt somewhat worried.
He was still near the Dan River. Although he was in a high place and would not be flooded, the road back would certainly be submerged, affecting his return journey.
Of course, he could directly travel to the large tree outside Anyuan Town, but that would deviate from his plans.
"Let's wait for the rain to stop first."
"Even if I go to the tree, it should be raining heavily there too. It's better to shelter here."
It was common knowledge from school textbooks that one should not shelter beneath a tree on a rainy day.
Shi Yi had long completed his nine years of compulsory education, so he naturally understood such things.
"The matters on Blue Star can be put aside for now. Next, I'll focus on martial arts training."
"At the same time, I need to put learning the writing here on the agenda, and I can't forget to inquire about methods for attaining the Path of Immortality."
Shi Yi had never given up on his plans to seek a method to attain immortality.
The path of martial cultivation was not bad, but who could refuse the dream of flying on a sword?
When he had used a drone to scout the area, he had accidentally filmed a scene of someone controlling flying needles. It had left a deep impression on him.
However, he had only just arrived in the Central Great World then and knew little about this world. For safety's sake, he had not continued using the drone to investigate.
After all, the drone he had brought that time was rather loud. Its sound could be heard from far away, making it easy to discover.
Later, Shi Yi used the drone to film the area again, but he found no traces of anything.
Even the bodies of the people killed by the flying needles in the footage had vanished.
"When the time is right, I'll reveal that I've advanced to the Blood Essence Realm. Then I'll be able to come into contact with more things!"
While chatting with Zhao Cheng, Shi Yi had asked about many matters. Zhao Cheng told him some things, while for others, Zhao Cheng told him not to touch them for the time being.
And in those conversations, the Blood Essence Realm was a threshold.
Rumble!
Within the pitch-black storm clouds, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Then, an ear-splitting peal of thunder erupted.
Out in the wilderness, the sound was even louder, as if it were exploding right beside his ears, shaking one's very soul to pieces.
Shi Yi's thoughts were interrupted. He instinctively raised his head to look at the sky, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.
For he abruptly discovered that enormous rings of lightning had formed layer upon layer in the sky, each ring distinctly separated from the next.
Every peal of thunder came from within those layered rings, differing from what he had learned—that lightning and thunder were "caused by electrical discharge between cloud layers carrying different charges, or between clouds and the ground."
In his eyes, the lightning was spilling out from those enormous thunder rings.
At the same time, he could see peculiar blue auras appearing as the lightning tore through the sky, then dispersing between heaven and earth.
"Could attaining the Path of Immortality have something to do with these blue auras?"
This thought arose in Shi Yi's mind.
The red blood essence his Double Pupils saw was related to martial cultivation, related to blood essence.
Yet he had never seen these blue auras before. Only now, amid the flashing lightning and roaring thunder, could he see them.
This world was vastly different from Blue Star. Some things simply could not be explained by Blue Star's science.
"The more I understand this world, the more mysterious it feels."
Shi Yi's gaze burned brightly.
And the more it was so, the more interested he became.
The lightning and thunder continued for more than an hour before finally stopping. Those enormous thunder rings vanished as well, but the rain only fell harder, showing no sign of stopping.
Shi Yi had originally thought that a heavy rain would end before long.
Drizzling rain lingered without end; torrential rain came in a rush and went in a rush.
"It looks like it might rain all day today. Returning to Anyuan Town may have to be postponed!"
Shi Yi frowned slightly. This differed from his original plan.
His return date would have to be delayed.
Before the might of nature, even the finest plans were useless. All he could do was wait.
Unless he could overturn heaven and earth with one hand, wipe away the dark clouds, and replace them with a sky stretching ten thousand miles clear.
"I'll cultivate here for a while. If the rain still hasn't stopped later, I'll return to Blue Star first!"
After thinking it over, Shi Yi chose to cultivate in the cave.
The three moves he practiced did not create much commotion and did not require much space.
Cultivating after returning to Blue Star would have no effect, so he could only cultivate here.
As for going back to his home in Anyuan Town to cultivate, he had never even considered it.
Before you continue