The Old Man, It's Only Heaven Rank

Su Hongyuan painfully opened his eyes and looked toward Su Chen with a cloudy gaze. A faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as he spoke in a hoarse, low voice.

"Qingtian said you're the great genius of our Su Family, with a Supreme Spirit Root!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A violent bout of coughing rang out. Su Chen wanted to step forward, but Su Hongyuan waved his hand.

"Don't worry about me. It's an old ailment!"

Su Hongyuan drew two deep breaths before continuing. "You will all be pillars of my Lineage in the future. I hope you can lead the Su Family even farther."

"Grandpa doesn't have much time left. I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you any longer."

Although it was their first meeting, Su Chen could still sense the goodwill and affection radiating from Su Hongyuan.

Su He's daughter, Su Qianqian, had tears welling in her eyes and began to sob softly.

A sorrowful atmosphere permeated the underground passage.

Sorrow also surfaced in Su Qingtian's eyes, along with deep self-reproach.

Su Hongyuan had ended up in this state because of him. Without that incident back then, his father would never have fallen into such a predicament.

A half-step Void Refinement stage cultivator had a lifespan of at least five thousand years, yet Su Hongyuan had become like this at only fifteen hundred. It was all because of him.

"Damn it!"

Su Qingtian clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

Su Hongyuan turned toward Su Qingtian, a gentle smile on his face. "Child, it's all right. Everything has its own destiny. What happened back then wasn't your fault, so you don't need to blame yourself so much."

Su Qingtian said nothing. He clenched his fists as his entire body trembled, desperately suppressing the grief in his heart.

It had been over a decade. This was the first time Su Hongyuan had summoned all of them since the Su Family entered Bright Moon City.

This also meant that his life was nearing its end.

Su Hongyuan said helplessly, "I heard from Qingyun that the Four Great Families joined forces against you. Unfortunately, I can only remain in the Su Family and can't use the last of my strength to clear your obstacles."

A formation had been set up here, and he was connected to it, relying on the power absorbed from the earth to survive.

The moment he left the formation, he would quickly die.

Even if he wanted to use his last bit of strength to help the Su Family, he was truly powerless to do so.

Su Qingyun said sorrowfully, "Father, you've already done so much for us. There's no need to go this far."

"You've accompanied us all the way. We can walk the rest of it ourselves."

A weak smile appeared on Su Hongyuan's face. "In that case... I can rest easy."

On the other side, Su Chen stared intently at Su Hongyuan. The problem afflicting the old man seemed somewhat unusual.

He sensed that Su Hongyuan's weak life force wasn't due to a lifespan issue. Rather, it was because his body and soul were feeble. Such a condition was usually caused by burning one's blood essence or using some sort of Taboo cultivation technique, resulting in backlash that damaged the body.

Su Hongyuan swept his gaze over them once more. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and said in a calm tone, "Being able to see you all one last time, I have no regrets in this life."

"You should all leave. I want to be quiet for a while."

Su Qingtian and the others wore pained expressions. They all knew there would be no next meeting.

The aura around Su Hongyuan was rapidly weakening. At most, he could hold on for another two or three days.

Although Su Hongyuan had never once left this underground passage during all these years in Bright Moon City, he remained the pillar of the Su Family. Without him, the Wang Family would have joined forces with the Yuan Family and Li Family to attack the Su Family long ago.

If they weren't wary of the might he still commanded, how could the Su Family's two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators withstand the combined assault of three families?

More precisely, it was four families, because the He Family had allied with the Su Family back then largely because of Su Hongyuan.

Su Qingshan's eldest son, Su Minghu, suddenly spoke. "Grandpa, is there really no way to save you? There are quite a few heavenly treasures in Bright Moon City that can extend one's life. They shouldn't be especially difficult to obtain."

The other younger members also turned toward Su Hongyuan, their eyes filled with confusion.

Su Hongyuan opened his eyes, affection filling his face. "Grandpa's illness isn't a problem with his lifespan. His qi and blood have withered. Only an object that defies the heavens can save me, and such things are exceedingly rare in the world."

"The fact that you have this thought is enough to make Grandpa happy."

Su Minghu's eyes were filled with gloom. The Su Family valued kinship deeply. Although this was their first time meeting Su Hongyuan, blood was thicker than water, and none of them wanted to watch him die just like this.

Although Su Hongyuan appeared completely at peace, they could all sense a profound helplessness in the old man.

No one wanted to die. Su Hongyuan was no exception.

At that moment, Su Chen suddenly spoke.

"Father, I'd like to stay behind and speak with the old man alone. Is that all right?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qingtian nodded bleakly. Without saying a word, he turned and left the underground cavern.

The others also said nothing. Su Chen now held an extremely high position within the Lineage, so they could still grant him this small favor. One after another, they withdrew from the underground cavern.

Soon, only Su Chen and Su Hongyuan remained inside the entire cavern.

Su Hongyuan's face was kind, but his voice was feeble. "Child, what did you want to tell me?"

Su Chen was silent for a moment before asking curiously, "Old man, what would it take to save you?"

Regardless of the reason, he didn't want Su Hongyuan to die just like this.

Hearing this, Su Hongyuan shook his head with a bitter smile and spoke helplessly:

"You want to seek help from that master of yours, don't you? Qingtian told me about you. But my situation is different. If it had been a few years earlier, I might still have been saved. But now my blood essence has withered, my meridians have collapsed, and my physical body has caved in. Any treasure capable of saving me would have to be at least Heaven Rank."

"And it would have to be an ultimate treasure that could bring the dead back to life and regrow bones before there was even a chance."

Su Hongyuan's voice was low as he tried to persuade Su Chen not to waste his efforts on him.

Su Qingtian had told him that Su Chen had a master, but in Su Hongyuan's view, the problems afflicting him were too severe. There was no way to turn the tide.

Suddenly, an immense life force surged through the underground passage. It was so dense that even Su Hongyuan's feeble aura grew considerably stronger.

Su Hongyuan's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared incredulously at the red fruit in Su Chen's hand.

Golden patterns grew across the fruit, Dao charm flowing around it. Its life essence circulated within, and anyone could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary object.

Su Chen's tone was calm. "Old man, it's only Heaven Rank."

"This is called an Earth Treasury Fruit. It can bring the dead back to life and regrow bones. It should be enough to resolve the problem afflicting you."

Su Hongyuan's eyes widened. His originally weak face was filled with excitement. Although he didn't know what the fruit was, he understood perfectly that the problems in his body would certainly be resolved once he ate it.

Heaven Rank!

It really was Heaven Rank!

"This... was it also given to you by your master?"

When Su Qingtian had told him that Su Chen had a master, he had assumed that the master was merely at the Body Integration Realm. He had never imagined that Su Chen could produce a Heaven Rank ultimate treasure.

Yet Su Chen had given him a tremendous surprise.

It seemed that this master of his was even more powerful than he had imagined.

Su Chen didn't blush or miss a beat as he said, "Of course. Heaven Rank isn't anything special."