Parents Arrive

By the time Zhou Yang emerged from Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's cave residence, his expression had completely returned to calm.

To advance from Qi Refining Layer Seven to Qi Refining Layer Nine within a little over ten years was nearly impossible for an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator with a Mid-grade Spiritual Root.

On the path of cultivation, breakthroughs only became harder the further one went. After Qi Refining Layer Seven, gaining one layer of cultivation every ten years was already considered a very respectable pace for cultivators with Mid-grade Spiritual Roots.

Take Zhou Yang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, and his Third Aunt, Zhou Xuanyu. Both had reached Qi Refining Layer Seven in their thirties. Zhou Xuanhao had not reached Qi Refining Layer Nine until he was sixty-three, while Zhou Xuanyu had been slightly faster, though she too had only reached Qi Refining Layer Nine at fifty-eight.

Zhou Yang had reached Qi Refining Layer Seven at twenty-two. Under normal circumstances, he would certainly be able to raise his cultivation to Qi Refining Layer Nine before turning fifty, leaving him another ten years to plan for Foundation Establishment.

But since Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan had already made it clear that he would help resolve the matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill, Zhou Yang had to take a gamble. Given the Zhou Lineage's current situation, it would absolutely be unable to produce enough spirit stones to purchase two Foundation Establishment Pills anytime soon.

Zhou Yang did not want what had happened to Third Aunt Zhou Xuanyu to play out again upon himself.

I had originally planned to focus wholeheartedly on improving my Artifact Forging Art once I broke through to Qi Refining Layer Seven. But now, if I want to reach Qi Refining Layer Nine as soon as possible, I can only set Artifact Forging Art aside for the time being.

For an immortal cultivator, the most fundamental and important matter was still raising one's cultivation realm. Skills such as artifact forging and pill refinement should also serve that purpose.

When raising his cultivation realm conflicted with improving his Artifact Forging Art, Zhou Yang would naturally abandon the latter without hesitation and focus on cultivation.

If he neglected cultivation in order to improve his Artifact Forging Art, he would be putting the cart before the horse. By the time regret came, it would be too late.

Having made up his mind, he immediately returned to the cave residence where he had previously secluded himself and resumed cultivating.

To let him reach Qi Refining Layer Nine within a little over ten years, the Old Clan Leader had made a special exception and temporarily assigned this cave residence to him. Furthermore, no Lineage assignments would be imposed upon him over the coming years.

His only task now was cultivation, cultivation, and more cultivation—to do everything possible to reach Qi Refining Layer Nine as quickly as he could.

While Zhou Yang shut himself away and cultivated single-mindedly, the Late Qi Cultivation cultivators stationed in various places by the Zhou Lineage also returned to the Lineage one after another under the pretext of mourning the Lineage's Great Elder, Zhou Qian.

Naturally, those returning cultivators included Zhou Yang's father, Zhou Xuanhao, and his mother, Lin Yuting.

"Father, Mother, when did you return? Why did you not tell your son earlier? Do you know how much I missed you both?"

Several months later, Zhou Yang received a voice transmission from Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, summoning him down the mountain to discuss matters at the Lineage ancestral hall. The moment he arrived, he spotted his parents standing among a group of elders, and in an instant, his eyes reddened.

"Mother missed you too, Yang'er!"

Mother Zhou, her eyes also reddened, pushed through the crowd and pulled her son, whom she had not seen in seven or eight years, into a tight embrace.

"My Yang'er has grown taller. When Mother left, you were only as tall as Mother's shoulder. Now you are a whole head taller than Mother—and even more handsome!"

The woman held her son by the shoulders, her face brimming with affection as she stretched out a jade-like hand to caress Zhou Yang's handsome face, smooth as jade. Her eyes overflowed with joy.

"All right, all right. This is the ancestral hall. You mother and son should mind yourselves. Once the serious business is done, you can talk to your hearts' content in private."

As a man, Father Zhou was better at holding himself back. Seeing his wife and son, reunited after so long, clinging to each other and weeping, he found the sight both warm and touching, yet feared it might invite gossip from the other clansmen. He could not help but reprimand them softly, reminding them to mind the occasion.

Yet before Zhou Yang and Mother Zhou could respond and separate, Zhou Xuanyu, who had been watching with similarly reddened eyes, spoke up with no politeness whatsoever, mocking him.

"Sister-in-law and Yang'er have not seen each other in eight years. What is wrong with them sharing a few intimate words when they meet? Big Brother, it would be one thing if you said such things before the younger generation, but everyone gathered here today is already seventy or eighty years old. Who among us does not have a wife, children, or daughters? Who would not understand that feeling?"

"It would have been one thing if you did not visit Yang'er at the mountaintop cave residence yourself, but you even insisted on stopping Sister-in-law from going as well. Is that how a father should behave? Is that how a husband should behave?"

The older generation of the Zhou Lineage all knew that Zhou Xuanhao and Zhou Xuanyu had never quite seen eye to eye since childhood.

Both possessed Mid-grade Spiritual Roots. One was a few years older and had always acted as the eldest, while the other was Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan's granddaughter. She had been doted on by the elders since childhood and spoiled into habit; her cultivation was also a level higher, so she simply did not give this elder brother any face.

When they were young, the two had been at odds, openly and covertly struggling against one another and causing endless commotion within the Lineage. It was only after they grew older and spent long periods apart carrying out Lineage assignments that their relationship gradually eased.

Yet whenever an opportunity arose, Zhou Xuanyu would still seize it to verbally mock her elder brother, Zhou Xuanhao.

It could not be helped. Women had always held grudges more deeply than men!

Hearing Zhou Xuanyu mock Zhou Xuanhao, the cultivators of the Zhou Lineage's "Xuan" generation in the ancestral hall immediately exchanged strange looks, each looking at the other before turning their heads away. None dared take sides, and none dared speak.

As for elders of the "Guang" generation, such as Zhou Quan and Zhou Yun, they had long since grown accustomed to it. Not only did no one wish to intervene, they even watched with chuckling smiles, exchanging meaningful glances as if they could not wait to see the two of them start fighting.

The elders all knew of these old affairs, but Zhou Yang did not know a thing about them.

When he saw Third Aunt step forward to speak for him and his mother, he was both moved and worried that a misunderstanding might arise.

He knew that his father's refusal to visit him absolutely did not mean Father Zhou did not care. Quite the contrary—his father cared too much, which was why he did not wish to disturb his cultivation and delay his Dao Path.

Thus, he hurriedly pulled free from his mother's embrace and looked anxiously at Third Aunt Zhou Xuanyu as he explained for his father, "Third Aunt, you have misunderstood my father. Father and Mother did not visit me only because they did not wish to disturb your nephew's cultivation. And your nephew truly was somewhat discourteous just now. I ask all elders to forgive me."

Seeing his anxious appearance, everyone who knew the truth held back their laughter, including his mother, Lin Yuting.

Zhou Xuanyu, however, rolled her eyes and snorted in annoyance. "Hmph, hmph, hmph! Little Nine, you truly are an ungrateful white-eyed wolf. The moment your father and mother return, you forget all the kindness your Third Aunt has shown you. Sure enough, since you were not born to me, there is always a layer between us!"

"Pfft!"

Hearing this, Mother Zhou finally broke into laughter through her tears.

Then, seeing her son stare at her in bewilderment, she lightly poked Zhou Yang's forehead with a jade finger and laughed. "All right, Yang'er. Your Third Aunt is jealous. Since all the elders of the Lineage happen to be here today, why not acknowledge your Third Aunt as your adoptive mother? That way, she will not keep overturning her vinegar jar and splashing your father with sourness."

"I think this is a fine idea. Little Nine, what do you say?"

Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan, who had not spoken until now, suddenly brightened and could not help voicing his agreement with Lin Yuting's suggestion.

Zhou Xuanyu, who had initially looked displeased at being called jealous by Mother Zhou, now had a flash of delight in her eyes. She stared at Zhou Yang without blinking, her expression completely betraying her true thoughts.

"If you have no objection, your father does not object either."

Zhou Xuanhao, who likewise had not spoken until then, narrowed his eyes and gave Zhou Yang his opinion.

With both his parents agreeing, the Old Clan Leader personally speaking, and Third Aunt having always loved and cared for him since childhood, Zhou Yang thought it over and immediately walked before Zhou Xuanyu. He dropped to both knees, respectfully kowtowed three times, and said, "Your son, Zhou Yang, greets Adoptive Mother."

Ordinarily, he should also have paid respects to Zhou Xuanyu's husband, Third Uncle Wu Tao, as his adoptive father.

However, Wu Tao was a son-in-law who had married into the Zhou Lineage, and in terms of trust, he could never compare to a Zhou clansman. The Crimson Flame Iron Ore Vein was an absolute secret of the Zhou Lineage. Old Clan Leader Zhou Minghan had long issued strict orders that unless Zhou Yang could Achieve Foundation Establishment, this matter must not be revealed to outsiders in the slightest.

Thus, several of the Zhou Lineage's in-laws, including Wu Tao, were currently stationed outside in place of Zhou clansmen such as Zhou Xuanhao, who had been recalled to the Lineage.

"Good child, my good child. Get up, quickly, get up!"

The tension vanished from Zhou Xuanyu's face. Her smile bloomed like a flower as she hurriedly reached out to help Zhou Yang up, her beautiful eyes filled with delight.

"Congratulations, Third Sister, on gaining an adoptive son!"

The group of Zhou Lineage cultivators from the "Xuan" generation, who had previously watched their noses and guarded their hearts, now seemed to awaken from a dream and began offering their congratulations with smiles.

The elders of the "Guang" generation, who had been exchanging looks and chuckling, also burst into hearty laughter and offered their blessings. "Hahaha! Third Girl has wanted a son for so many years, and today she has finally gotten her wish. This truly calls for congratulations, congratulations!"

Hearing the congratulations from these elders and fellow clansmen, Zhou Xuanyu's lovely face brightened with an even wider smile. Without any hesitation, she grabbed Zhou Yang's arm, pulled him into her embrace, and hugged him fiercely. Laughing aloud, she said, "Say whatever you like. I simply like Yang'er. I have liked this child's steady temperament and cleverness since he was little. This is what a fine man of the Zhou Lineage ought to be like."

Zhou Yang was held in Zhou Xuanyu's embrace with a completely bewildered look. His eyes widened as he looked toward his smiling mother, Lin Yuting, feeling as though his mother had sold him off.

Sure enough, the next moment, he saw Mother Zhou narrow her beautiful eyes and smile at his newly acknowledged adoptive mother. "Even masters give gifts when accepting disciples. Since Sister Xuanyu has accepted Yang'er as her adoptive son, there ought to be a gift, should there not? Our Yang'er does not lack pills or spirit stones, so I think Sister Xuanyu should simply give him some talismans she personally refined."

"Lin Yuting, you really are something! I was wondering why you had suddenly become so kind, willing to share your precious son with me. So you had your eyes on the treasures in my hands!" Zhou Xuanyu raised her willow brows and shot Mother Zhou a fierce glare, pretending to be displeased as though she were truly angered.

But when she turned back to Zhou Yang, who looked awkward in her embrace, she gave a tinkling laugh. "Hehehe, Yang'er still knows to care for his adoptive mother, unlike your heartless mother. For the sake of a few measly talismans, she schemes against her good sister of so many years!"

Though she said that, her hands did not hesitate in the slightest. She patted her Storage Bag and took out a thick stack of talismans gleaming with spiritual light, stuffing them into Zhou Yang's hands.

"Good child, take these. These talismans are all practice works your adoptive mother has made over the years. Use them first. If you run out, come ask Adoptive Mother for more. Your adoptive mother may lack other things, but she does not lack talismans she has drawn herself!"

Practice works?

Could practice talismans all be Tier 2 High-grade?

Looking at the thick stack of talismans in his hands, Zhou Yang felt warmth fill his heart, moved beyond words.

He knew that every talisman within this stack was a fine work into which his adoptive mother, Zhou Xuanyu, had poured tremendous effort.

Even though Zhou Xuanyu herself was a Tier 2 High-grade Talisman Master, she could not possibly have many Tier 2 High-grade talismans in her possession. Yet she had given him such a thick stack all at once, fully showing how dearly she cared for him.

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