Return to the Homeland

The two entered the canyon one after the other, passing through the barrier of light.

The moment they entered, a wave of extremely pure Spirit Qi washed over them, carrying the rich fragrance of earth and the fresh scent of grass and trees. Mo Xuan took a deep breath, and his spirits immediately lifted.

He looked around and saw clear skies and drifting white clouds within the canyon. Verdant mountain ranges rose in the distance, while a Spirit Spring babbled nearby. Beneath Towering Ancient Trees, Exotic Flowers and Herbs competed in splendor, and Spirit Birds and Exotic Beasts played among them... What a peaceful, tranquil Immortal Scene.

"This... this..." Mo Xuan stared at the sight before him, temporarily at a loss for words.

As the young master of the Kirin Clan, he was no ignorant bumpkin. On the contrary, he had seen countless Immortal Blessed Lands whose scenery far surpassed this place. Even in terms of the density of Spirit Qi, there were as many as hairs on an ox that could rival it.

Yet there were not many places as peaceful and tranquil as this. Especially over the past few centuries, most of the places he and Lin Yan had encountered outside were desolate lands of barren mountains and foul waters. Seeing such scenery so suddenly today dealt a tremendous blow to his senses.

Lin Yan was merely a living being at the Earth Immortal realm. How could his home be this nice? He, Mo Xuan, the Seven-Colored Qilin, was the three-thousand-five-hundred-and-seventy-sixth-generation great-grandson of Ancestor Qilin and the legitimate young master of the Kirin Clan. Yet compared to the scenery here, his own Cave Dwelling in the clan was inferior by more than just a little.

Seeing Mo Xuan's astonished expression, Lin Yan's small sense of vanity was greatly satisfied. He deliberately smiled blandly. "Xiao Mo, what do you think? My home's environment is pretty good, right? Of course, it definitely can't compare with your Kirin Clan's Qilin Cliff, so please don't laugh at it."

"Uh... how could I? How could I? It's very good, very good," Mo Xuan said somewhat awkwardly. After all, he had previously bragged to Lin Yan about how wonderful his Cave Dwelling was. But in truth, his Cave Dwelling was really just a cave dwelling. Its scenery and environment could not compare to Lin Yan's Canyon Home at all.

But the pride of the Kirin Clan kept him from admitting that fact. He secretly made up his mind that after returning to Qilin Cliff, he would definitely redecorate his Cave Dwelling. No matter what, he could not lose to Lin Yan, that Death Land Dragon.

Just as Lin Yan was about to continue showing Mo Xuan around, waves of tremors suddenly came from beneath their feet. Mo Xuan looked up and discovered nine figures of varying lengths rapidly... wriggling over from every direction within the canyon. Their plump bodies continuously rubbed against the ground, making the earth shake again and again.

They were none other than Lin Yan's nine Earth Dragon subordinates, from Lin Er to Lin Shi. Through the information relayed by the array, they learned that their boss had returned and hurried over to see him.

After several hundred years apart, every one of them had grown several times larger. The biggest, Lin Er, was nearly over two hundred zhang long, while even the smallest, Lin Shi, measured more than a hundred zhang in length.

From afar, the nine Earth Dragons looked like nine enormous earthy yellow pythons. Dense Earth Element Essence swirled around their bodies, and their auras were much stronger than before Lin Yan left.

The nine Earth Dragon subordinates arrived before Lin Yan and stopped together. They raised the front halves of their bodies high, continuously making cheerful hissing sounds. Their huge bodies twisted back and forth across the ground, expressing their excitement and joy at seeing their boss again.

Looking at his subordinates, Lin Yan felt warmth rise in his heart. He used his Divine Sense to stroke each of their heads and said with a smile, "All right, all right, I'm back. Looks like none of you slacked off these past few centuries. Your cultivation has improved quite a bit."

"Boss, Boss, you're finally back!"

"Boss, we missed you so much!"

"Boss, did you bring us presents?"

"Boss, Boss, did you tame that Spirit Beast beside you?"

"Idiot Lin Qi, that Spirit Beast's aura is even stronger than Boss's. How could Boss possibly tame him? He must be Boss's friend. We have to call him Senior, understand?"

The subordinates noisily greeted Lin Yan, occasionally casting curious glances at the beautiful Seven-Colored Qilin beside him.

Listening to his subordinates chirp about everything that had happened since they parted, Lin Yan could clearly sense that their intelligence had improved significantly over the years. It seemed they had done a fine job completing the lessons he left for them.

Lin Yan patted Lin Er, who was closest to him, then pointed at the other subordinates as he introduced them to Mo Xuan. "Xiao Mo, let me introduce them. These are the clan members I told you about: Lin Er, Lin San... Lin Jiu, Lin Shi. Their intelligence has awakened, but they have not yet taken human form."

He then turned to his subordinates. "This is Elder Mo Xuan of the Kirin Clan. He is my friend and a distinguished guest of our canyon. Be polite."

Upon hearing Lin Yan's introduction, the subordinates immediately fell silent. Imitating what Lin Yan had taught them before, they obediently lowered themselves to the ground and spoke in unison to Mo Xuan with Divine Sense, "Greetings, Elder Mo Xuan!"

The voices of the nine Earth Dragons were perfectly synchronized and carried quite an imposing air. Yet their childish voices, paired with their enormous bodies, somehow made for a comical sight.

Mo Xuan did not see it that way. Seeing how well-behaved these Earth Dragons were and hearing them call him Senior again and again, he immediately found every one of them adorable.

"Mm... hello. You... are very good," Mo Xuan greeted the Earth Dragon subordinates.

Seeing the Kirin Senior praise them the moment they met, the Earth Dragon subordinates happily wriggled about on the ground.

"Kirin Senior, you're very good too!"

"Idiot Xiao Shi, you should call him Elder Mo Xuan! Elder Mo Xuan, you're very polite!"

"Elder Mo Xuan, I found a really, really poisonous spiritual herb. I'll take you to try it!"

"Elder Mo Xuan, don't listen to Xiao Ba's nonsense. You'll get diarrhea if you eat that grass."

"Elder Mo Xuan, let me show you around our canyon instead. Our canyon is really beautiful."

"Elder Mo Xuan, Elder Mo Xuan, I'll show you around. I know this place best—I know where the most fun places are."

"Nonsense, I know it best. I'll take Elder Mo Xuan."

Lin Yan: "..."

Watching the Earth Dragon subordinates crowd around the Seven-Colored Qilin Mo Xuan and head deeper into the canyon, Lin Yan was a little dumbfounded.

The Earth Dragon subordinates had the intelligence of five- or six-year-old children at most. Why was a Kirin at the Heavenly Immortal realm acting like a child too? Not only could he not even manage a proper greeting, he was actually playing so enthusiastically with a bunch of children?

Feeling somewhat speechless, Lin Yan naturally had no intention of accompanying them. He still had serious business to attend to.

He arrived at the central part of the canyon, where the core Array Eye of the Nine Palaces Earth Vein Great Array was located. With a thought, the Primal Chaos Plate flew from his body and hovered in the air.

With a wave of his hand, he opened the spatial entrance of the Primal Chaos Plate and released the Jade Spirit Deer Herd, Colorful Cloud Sparrows, Hundred Flower Bees, and other Spirit Beasts that had been cultivating in the Clear Spirit Space's Upper Four Layers. With another wave, he also released Star Tear Orchids, Clear Heart Bamboo, Condensed Jade Grass, and the sapling of the Middle-Grade Spiritual Root, the Pure World White Lotus.

The Spirit Beasts were suddenly brought into a new environment and were all greatly startled. Only after seeing Lin Yan beside them did they relax and begin examining their new surroundings.

"This is my Canyon Home, and it is where you will live from now on. You can look around and choose places you like. If you have any requests, tell me, and I'll make some adjustments for you," Lin Yan said to the Spirit Beasts spread across the ground.

Lin Yan had carefully selected these Spirit Beast groups, and they had long known that he intended to find them a new, safe place to live. Now that they saw this residence was not only safe but also had an exceptionally good environment, every one of them was satisfied. Upon hearing Lin Yan's words, they hurried deeper into the canyon to seek out places they liked.

As for the Spiritual Roots and Plants, most of them took root where they stood. The Spirit Qi was most concentrated in the entire canyon here, so naturally this was their first choice for taking root.

After arranging these Spirit Beasts and Spiritual Roots, Lin Yan prepared to raise the overall environmental grade of the canyon next.