Actually, Jiang Ming had long anticipated this day. He just had not expected it to come so suddenly. Brilliant rosy light blanketed the bamboo hut where Nannan slept, and one ray of it transformed into a passage.
Little Nannan's tiny figure was shrouded in immortal light, as though she were ascending with the rosy glow, ascending to immortality in broad daylight.
At that moment, every inch of her tiny body and skin glowed. Her clothes reverted within the rosy light to their original tattered state, covered in patches, even revealing her little toes.
She still wore those two delicate horn braids. Her little face, which Jiang Ming had washed clean, became grimy again. Her eyes were tightly shut as she slept soundly, so no one could see those bright, watery eyes of hers.
This was what the Ruthless Empress had looked like as a child. This was her obsession. Amid the soaring radiance, little Nannan gleamed like seven-colored glazed crystal, flawless and immaculate. Every inch of her skin carried a sacred aura, immortal energy permeating the air. One look at her made it feel as though one's soul had been cleansed and one's body purified.
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, the rosy light withdrew, and little Nannan vanished into the spatial passage. The heavenly phenomenon above also disappeared completely.
All of it happened in an instant.
Many people had not seen it. Those who had were left stunned, with no idea what had happened.
Hua Yunfei and Ji Haoyue stared blankly at Jiang Ming, waiting to hear what he had to say.
"Amitabha Buddha. Fate begins and fades, gathers and scatters. All things in this world have causes and effects. Everything is the best arrangement, and everything has its destined course.
"Last night, the dawn breeze was cool, like an old friend returning. Not for immortality, only to wait for your return amid the mortal world."
Jiang Ming let out a long sigh and said nothing more. He quietly closed his eyes. Two trails of bloody tears flowed from them, and blood also trickled from between his brows.
There was no need to doubt it. He had done it deliberately.
Some things were destined to remain impossible to explain clearly.
"Brother Yunfei, do you know that little girl's background?" Ji Haoyue asked curiously.
"I heard Brother Sanzang mention that he encountered her twice while traveling. He felt they were fated, so he kept her by his side. I never expected her to be so extraordinary, like a little fairy," Hua Yunfei said with heartfelt admiration.
"What happened, Yunfei?"
"Someone said they saw a little girl ascend with rosy light."
Before long, several old men and old women returned in a hurry and began asking questions.
Of course, Jiang Ming kept his eyes closed and refused to speak.
Hua Yunfei could only recount what had just happened, repeating both what he had told Ji Haoyue and Jiang Ming's earlier words.
"This is truly extraordinary. Could she be the Dao Fruit of some great figure, walking the world and undergoing tribulations after dreaming for a hundred years?" Ji Hong spoke up. As an ancient relic of a Desolate Ancient Family, with profound family foundations and countless ancient texts at his disposal, he had the greatest authority to speak on such matters.
"Judging by this young friend's condition, could he have attempted to use a Buddhist School divine ability to peer into something, only to suffer a backlash?" Ji Hong continued.
Sure enough, Jiang Ming had been right not to explain.
If he said nothing, there would always be someone knowledgeable enough to fill in the blanks. See? Everything had been neatly explained.
Amitabha Buddha!
The Western Desert needed talents like you.
Over the following months, Jiang Ming sat motionless on that cliff for three months.
Not long after little Nannan left, Ji Haoyue also bade farewell. He planned to return to seclusion and declared that he would assault the Fourth-Level Secret Realm, refusing to emerge until he had broken through the Four Extremities.
Hua Yunfei had long prepared the cultivation resources needed for his breakthrough and was also preparing to enter seclusion.
As for Jiang Ming, he remained seated at the cliff's edge. Another three months passed, and Dao fire blazed over his body. In an instant, his entire body turned into a wisp of green smoke.
In truth, Jiang Ming had left long ago, departing together with Ji Haoyue.
What had sat there was merely one of his hairs. His true body had already used the Seventy-Two Transformations to leave Taixuan Sect.
Matters here had been settled. For someone as unlucky as him, it was better not to linger in one place for too long.
After little Nannan left, Jiang Ming could not help thinking of his own daughter again.
He stood outside Clearwind Town and gazed from afar at that small figure. For a moment, his feet seemed rooted to the ground. He could not bear to leave and had the impulse to throw everything aside and embrace her.
This was his own daughter.
She wore a little white outfit and had two horn braids as well, the most common hairstyle for young girls. She was adorable, with rosy cheeks, and her father Jiang Tang had taken good care of her.
"Grandpa, why haven't Father and Mother come back yet? Tingting has been very good and hasn't been naughty. Tingting listens, eats on time, and sleeps on time."
The three-year-old girl was a clever little thing, but the more sensible a child was, the more adults' hearts ached for her.
"Tingting, be good. Your parents must be in seclusion. They are immortal cultivators who can fly. Once they emerge from seclusion, they'll come see you."
Jiang Bo already had a bad feeling. He had sent people to inquire at the Li Family, but the Li Family refused to say anything.
However, some servants of the Li Family knew something and let a few details slip. They said that his son Jiang Ming and daughter-in-law Lingzhi had both died, torn to pieces by a Lightning Bird.
The little white clothes Tingting wore were mourning clothes!
Overwhelmed by grief, the old man secretly turned away, tears already streaming down his face. Afraid Tingting would see, he hurriedly wiped them away with a wave of his hand.
The family restaurant remained in the hands of his father, Jiang Tang. The Li Family had not made any rash moves and had been remarkably patient.
Especially lately, someone had seen Jiang Ming wandering around like a madman. The Li Family secretly sent people after him, but they found nothing at all.
The Li Family was now trapped in an impossible position and utterly panicked. They feared the truth would be exposed. If the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven learned that fellow disciples had slaughtered one another, it would purge their sect and exterminate their entire family.
They feared Jiang Ming would regain his senses and settle the score afterward.
They did not dare lay hands on Jiang Tang or Jiang Tingting, afraid that the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven would learn of it and deduce that Jiang Ming and Lingzhi's deaths were connected to the Li Family.
Moreover, publicly, Jiang Ming and the Li Family's Seventh Young Master had been discovered in Clearwind Town by an elder of the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven, who saw their talent for immortal cultivation and brought them to the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven. On the surface, the two were fellow townsmen and had a rather good relationship.
If the Li Family acted against Elder Jiang and three-year-old Tingting, it would be seen as heartless and inhumane. The elders of the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven, only twenty li away, would take offense, affecting the Seventh Young Master's reputation and immortal path.
Besides, the Li Family's Seventh Young Master had only average cultivation talent. He was not qualified to wander around freely and had remained at the Smoke Glow Grotto-Heaven, cultivating bitterly in seclusion.
In the original story, the Li Family did not dare act. They delayed for another two years, until Ye Fan arrived in Clearwind Town and first encountered Tingting and Elder Jiang. When the Li Family's Seventh Young Master returned home to visit relatives, he merely came to bully Elder Jiang and Tingting.
The Li Family's Seventh Young Master had always coveted the beauty of Smoke Glow Fairy Lingzhi. Jiang Ming guessed that he harbored wicked intentions and intended to wait until little Tingting grew up before making her his servant girl.
To Jiang Ming, the few cultivators in the Li Family were merely Sea of Bitterness cultivators, people he could crush to death with a single finger.
However, in Jiang Ming's view, this karmic bond between Tingting and Ye Fan was still necessary. After all, that kid Ye Fan was rather loyal and righteous. In the original story, he even gave Tingting a piece of Extreme Dao Treasure Material, Phoenix Blood Scarlet Gold.
There was also the Supreme Yin Holy Emperor's Supreme Yin Scripture.
He had already failed terribly as a father. Was he now supposed to alter the story and change the blessings that Lingzhi's spirit in heaven had brought to protect their daughter?
In the end, Jiang Ming transformed into Bai Ze and spent six painstaking months refining two jade talismans containing the Light of Blessing. He secretly implanted them into Tingting and his father Jiang Tang.
At the very center of the jade talismans was his sword intent. If they encountered mortal danger, it would activate and could kill Dao Palace cultivators.
Six months passed.
Jiang Ming had already become a Late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
If not for how mysterious this body was, along with the changes brought by his cultivation that made him vastly different from his previous life, and if he had not placed such importance on tempering every realm,
he would have long since reached Foundation Establishment Stage Completion.