The Same As Ever

Xu Yan looked at Qin Tian strangely. "Old Mr. Qin, your chess skills are... hard to describe."

He had thought that after living so long, Qin Tian's chess skills would be extraordinary. Turns out he'd been overthinking it.

Qin Tian's chess was astonishingly awful, just like Qin Yudie's.

As soon as Xu Yan thought of the way Qin Yudie played chess, he suddenly understood.

So Qin Yudie had learned to play from Qin Tian. No wonder they were equally terrible.

"Old Qin, let me play a game with Senior Xu," Jiang Taiyuan said.

The game of chess itself was secondary. What he really wanted was to experience the Dao's meaning more deeply.

Playing chess with Senior Xu was practically like being baptized by the Dao's meaning.

This was an incredible opportunity!

Xu Yan held on to a sliver of hope as he played against Jiang Taiyuan, but the moment Jiang Taiyuan made his first move, that hope was dashed.

Jiang Taiyuan was even worse than Qin Tian. Truly, each one was worse than the last.

It took just a few moves for Jiang Taiyuan to lose, and he lost without the slightest chance of turning things around.

But he was delighted. One game had deepened his understanding of the Great Dao, bringing him even closer to the Sea of Consciousness Second Heaven.

After that, Qin Tian and Jiang Taiyuan took turns playing against Xu Yan, letting him once again enjoy the pleasure of crushing Qin Yudie.

And since his opponents were two old men, he didn't need to show any tenderness. He barely held back at all, defeating either Qin Tian or Jiang Taiyuan in just a few moves every time.

The more brutally they lost, the happier Jiang Taiyuan and Qin Tian became. In the end, they left in high spirits. Playing chess with Xu Yan had benefited them tremendously—more than a single session of secluded cultivation.

So they decided they would seek out Senior Xu for more games from then on, to experience his Dao's meaning. It was the best way to cultivate.

"Little Fox, do you think those two old men have a masochistic streak? They're so happy even after getting crushed," Xu Yan said.

It was one thing for him to enjoy crushing them, but why were Qin Tian and Jiang Taiyuan, the ones getting crushed, even happier than he was?

That's because they can experience Dao charm. This is an opportunity that doesn't come along often.

But compared to Qin Tian and Jiang Taiyuan, she was the one who benefited the most. Living with Xu Yan meant she could experience the natural, effortless Dao charm he released with every gesture, at every moment.

She had even begun to grow somewhat enamored with this life: someone to take care of her, and a constant chance to comprehend Dao charm.

A life like this was impossible anywhere but Xu Yan's place.

"These people are back again!"

Xu Yan saw Murong Yue and the others who had tried to take Su Jiuer away last time, and spoke with some concern.

He didn't know why they were so determined to take Su Jiuer away. If they liked foxes, they could just buy one. Why steal someone else's pet?

But this time he planned to explain things clearly, so he hadn't closed the door. Hiding from them wasn't a solution. If they came every day, he couldn't keep the door shut every day. He wouldn't be able to do business that way.

"Senior, this time we've come with sincerity. As long as you're willing to give us Little Fox, this pill is yours!"

Murong Yue walked up to the shop and looked at Xu Yan by the entrance. She took out a pill in a small box, opened it, and showed it to him.

After she returned to the Murong Family last time and told them that Little Fox had fallen into the hands of the Supreme Elder of the Tianren Sect, her family had given her this Nine Revolutions Returning Yang Pill to trade for Little Fox.

The Nine Revolutions Returning Yang Pill could extend one's lifespan. Since the other party was the Supreme Elder of the Tianren Sect, he was surely quite old. He should be willing to trade the pill for a little Fox Demon.

Murong Yue thought her family's reasoning made sense. Otherwise, why would Xu Yan, as the Supreme Elder of the Tianren Sect, still look like a young man unless he was a cultivator who treasured his lifespan?

"A pill? I don't want that thing," Xu Yan said, raising an eyebrow. "Come inside and let's talk properly. I'm not unreasonable, but you'll have to give me a reason why you want to take Little Fox away."

With that, he went into the shop and sat down at the table, ready to have a proper talk with Murong Yue.

Murong Yue furrowed her delicate brows, not expecting Xu Yan to turn down the Nine Revolutions Returning Yang Pill.

But since he was willing to talk, there was still a chance.

This time, Murong Yue had brought only two members of her family, three people in all. They stepped into the shop's outer hall.

The world before their eyes changed in an instant. Endless laws of the Great Dao unfolded into all manner of visions.

There were endless stars and flying swords filling the sky, bearing down on them.

The two people behind Murong Yue went weak in the knees and collapsed right outside the door, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.

Murong Yue herself fared little better. Her face was deathly pale, and she could barely breathe.

Fortunately, the Dao's meaning wasn't deliberately releasing its power to suppress them. Otherwise, they would already be dead.

Xu Yan saw the two people Murong Yue had brought lying outside the shop and said, "Miss, the two people you brought seem a little frail. How did they just collapse outside?"

He had thought they were all cultivators, judging by their impressive air. Turns out they were just putting on an act and were actually weak as could be.

Murong Yue's expression was grim. By now, she realized that Xu Yan couldn't possibly be the Supreme Elder of the Tianren Sect.

The Tianren Sect couldn't possibly have someone this powerful!

Suppressing the shock in her heart, she bowed to Xu Yan in apology. "Senior, I'm sorry. We won't disturb you again."

Then she fled, dragging her two family members along.

After leaving Xu Yan's shop, Murong Yue was still shaken.

She had never imagined that such an eminent senior was living in seclusion in Tianren City. Everything in the little shop was utterly natural, infused with the profound principles of the Great Dao.

And those calligraphy and paintings, as well as the Wooden Puppet, all contained the Supreme Great Dao. Just a wisp of Dao charm emanating from them would be enough to kill her.

She thought to herself that the Tianren Sect Supreme Elder token must have been a smokescreen, meant to let him live in seclusion in Tianren City without anyone discovering that he was a hidden master.

Murong Yue quickened her pace, eager to return to her family.

She had to convince them to stop cooperating with the Demon Tiger Clan. That little fox was untouchable!

Xu Yan sat in the shop, utterly baffled.

They had entered with an imposing air, then fled in the blink of an eye and even apologized to him.

None of it made any sense.

What a strange world. There really were a lot of oddballs these days.

Su Jiuer looked at Xu Yan from the table with admiration. He had said that the Murong Family's people were weak, and the Murong Family's young lady hadn't dared to talk back—instead, she had apologized.

So cool!

She felt smug too. Trying to catch me? Not a chance!

For the next few days, no one from the Murong Family showed up. It seemed they had given up on capturing Su Jiuer.

But a group of black-clad people entered Tianren City. There weren't many of them, but every one of them had a powerful aura.

They were all Demon Race cultivators, and they had only one target: capture Su Jiuer!