"Daddy! I'm back!"
Her cheerful, lively voice rang through the vast Zixiao Palace like a heavenly melody.
"Daddy!"
Xiruan pointed toward the door.
"Daddy, look! Look what I brought back for you!"
Master Tongtian looked in the direction she was pointing.
Outside the gates of Zixiao Palace stood a line of familiar figures.
Every one of them wore a complicated expression, full of excitement, anxiety, guilt, and longing.
Immortal Wuyun...
Immortal Qiushou...
Jinguang Immortal...
Ling Ya Xian...
And the disciples of the Seven Attendant Immortals, the outer disciples, and the nominal disciples—so many that he had nearly forgotten their names...
They... they had all come back!
"Ma... Master..."
Immortal Wuyun looked at the familiar figure seated on the meditation cushion, unable to contain his excitement.
With a thud, he dropped to his knees. Tears welled in his tiger eyes, and his voice turned hoarse.
"Your disciple... Immortal Wuyun, pays his respects to Master!"
"Your disciple... has failed you! I brought shame upon you! Please, Master... punish me!"
"Clatter—"
As Immortal Wuyun knelt, the Jie Sect Disciples behind him fell to their knees in unison.
"Your disciples pay our respects to Master!"
"Please, Master... punish us!"
They offered no excuses, nor did they speak of the boundless suffering they had endured in the Underworld.
All they felt was a profound guilt toward their master.
Master Tongtian gazed at the sea of disciples kneeling before him and listened to their familiar calls of "Master."
Looking at the disciples he had lost and now regained, he let out a soft sigh. All his tangled emotions came down to that.
"You're back... That's all that matters."
"You're all... back. That's all that matters."
The atmosphere inside Zixiao Palace had never been so lively.
Immortal Wuyun, Immortal Qiushou, and the other Jie Sect Disciples crowded around Master Tongtian, chattering about their grievances and how much they had missed him over the years.
When they got emotional, even several burly men couldn't help wiping away their tears.
Master Tongtian looked at the disciples he had lost and regained, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.
Xiruan sat to one side, watching the lively scene with a face brimming with pride.
This was all thanks to me!
I brought back so many employees for Daddy. Now his company won't go bankrupt!
The more she thought about it, the happier she became. She felt she was the most capable and filial little girl in the whole world.
"Daddy, look how happy they all are!" Xiruan sidled up to Master Tongtian, eager to claim credit.
"Mhm, they're very happy." Master Tongtian stroked her little head, his voice tinged with gratitude. "Daddy... is happy too."
He looked at Xiruan, his heart filled with emotions too complicated to put into words.
"Master, if not for Little Senior Sister... if not for her intervention, we would have sunk into the Ninefold Netherworld forever and never seen you again!"
Immortal Wuyun spoke to Master Tongtian, visibly moved.
"That's right! Little Senior Sister possesses immense powers and boundless magic! She turned the whole Underworld upside down all by herself. Even Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was beaten until he cried for his parents!"
"She did more than that! I heard from Senior Sister Wudang that Little Senior Sister went and caused a commotion at Spirit Mountain, too, smashing the Western Saints' sacred treasure!"
"Really? That's incredible!"
"Little Senior Sister is mighty! The revival of the Jie Sect is in sight!"
The disciples began chattering among themselves, their gazes fixed on Xiruan, each one more fervent than the last.
As Master Tongtian listened to their praise, the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, forcibly cutting off their discussion.
"Enough. Let's not dwell on the past." He spoke in a grave voice.
"Although you have escaped, your True Spirits have suffered severe damage, and you are gravely weakened. The urgent priority is to find a safe place where you can recuperate and rebuild your immortal bodies."
"Master is right." Immortal Wuyun and the others knew their condition, and they all nodded.
"But, Master..." One disciple looked troubled. "Golden Turtle Island has been destroyed, and our sect's home is gone. In this vast Three Realms, where can we possibly go?"
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At those words, the lively atmosphere turned cold in an instant.
That was right. Golden Turtle Island was gone.
They... had no home.
The Jie Sect Disciples all lowered their heads, their faces gloomy.
Xiruan listened from the side, her little brows furrowing tightly.
Golden Turtle Island? What kind of place was that? Was it where Daddy's company headquarters used to be?
It was destroyed?
Their home was gone?
No wonder Daddy and his employees all looked so miserable.
She looked at the downcast crowd.
No!
She absolutely couldn't let things stay this way!
Daddy's company might be down on its luck now, but they'd gotten all the employees back. As long as everyone worked together, they could surely make a comeback!
And the first step toward making a comeback was getting a grand office!
A huge, beautiful headquarters—preferably made of gold!
That way, they could recruit more employees and make all those bad guys who looked down on Daddy eat their words!
"Daddy, don't be sad!"
Xiruan jumped to her feet, hands on her hips, and announced in a clear voice, "So what if our company headquarters is gone? We'll just build another one!"
"And if we're building one, it'll be the biggest, grandest, and shiniest of them all!"
Master Tongtian and the disciples stared at her, stunned by her bold declaration.
"Little Senior Sister... I'm afraid..."
Immortal Wuyun gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Rebuilding our sect's home is easier said than done."
"It would take an enormous amount of heavenly treasures and earthly materials, not to mention a blessed land where spiritual veins converge..."
They had no people, no money, and not even a place to stay. How could they rebuild their sect's home?
"Heavenly treasures and earthly materials? A blessed land?" Xiruan blinked her big, bright eyes. "Are those things hard to find?"
To her, they were just shiny stones and pretty places. What was so hard about that?
"Not hard! Not hard at all!" Xiruan patted her little chest and confidently took charge. "Don't worry, everyone! Leave the building to me!"
"You're all injured, so you're our top priority. Stay here with Daddy and don't go anywhere."
"I'll go out by myself, find our company a prime location, and borrow some building materials while I'm at it!"
"What?! You're going out alone?!" Master Tongtian was so startled he nearly leaped off his meditation cushion.
What was she thinking?!
Going out alone?
Did she have any idea how many enemies she'd made out there?
Haotian of the Heavenly Court, Yuanshi of Kunlun Mountain, and the Two Saints of the West... Which of them didn't want to capture her and tear her limb from limb?
Going out alone now would be like walking into a tiger's den and throwing her life away!
"No! Absolutely not!" Master Tongtian rejected the idea without a second thought. "It's too dangerous out there! You can't go!"
"Daddy, it's fine!" Xiruan waved her little hand dismissively. "I already beat all those bad guys. They're probably all hiding at home and too scared to come out!"
"Besides, I'm really strong!" She even held up her Chaos Baby Bottle and waved it in front of Master Tongtian to prove how powerful she was.
Master Tongtian looked at the bottle that made his heart race and felt dizzy.
It was precisely because you were so powerful that I was worried!
"Master, please let her go," Holy Mother Wudang urged from the side. She had an almost blind faith in Xiruan.
"With her powers, is there anywhere in the Three Realms she can't go? How could a few insignificant troublemakers possibly harm her?"
"That's right, Master! We believe in Little Senior Sister!" Immortal Wuyun and the others chimed in.
To them, Xiruan had become the very definition of omnipotence.
Master Tongtian looked at his fervent disciples, then at his resolute daughter, and felt utterly exhausted.
Once this Little Ancestor had made up her mind, not even nine oxen could drag her back.
"Alas..." He let out a long sigh and could only give in.
"Then... then be careful. If you can't beat them... run, understand?" he reminded her weakly.
"I know, I know! Don't worry, Daddy!" Xiruan was so happy to get permission that she jumped three feet into the air.
She waved to Master Tongtian and all the Jie Sect Disciples.
"Wait for my good news! I'll be back soon!"
With that, she slung the bottle over her shoulder and rushed out of Zixiao Palace.
Master Tongtian watched the red figure disappear into the chaos. He slumped helplessly onto his meditation cushion and muttered to himself,
"It's over... The Three Realms... are about to be in chaos again..."
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