After leaving the Council Hall, they headed back to Purple Dawn Peak.
Xiao Jixue suddenly asked Tang Yan, "Do you want to keep living on Purple Dawn Peak, or should I arrange a separate peak for you?"
"Purple Dawn Peak," Tang Yan replied without hesitation.
[Are you kidding? I can't get too far away from Xiao Jixue.]
Xiao Jixue's raven-feather lashes trembled slightly, and an unreadable emotion flickered deep within his silver-black eyes.
His heart thumped merrily in his chest.
[Ding—Xiao Jixue's affection +5. Total affection: 30]
"Let's go." The young man spoke in a low voice and took the lead.
Tang Yan hurried after him, chuckling as he listened to the system's announcement.
The mission was going smoothly!
Given time, Xiao Jixue would surely be moved by his love and never turn evil and become a villain.
After leaving the Council Hall, Fu Shouci went to a small town at the foot of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's mountain.
He entered a residence with practiced familiarity.
Inside the courtyard, a mature young wife with stunning features and incomparable charm welcomed him in, her face brimming with delight.
"Darling Fu! It's been so long since you came to see me. I've missed you to death~"
As he spoke, the young wife abruptly shuddered, as though disgusted by his own simpering tone.
Smiling, Fu Shouci pinched her tender cheek.
"Well, here I am."
Bai Yi giggled coquettishly and wrapped his arms around Fu Shouci's neck, breathing sweetly into his ear.
"Darling Fu, I have good news for you. I'm pregnant."
"!! What? You're pregnant? With my child?" Fu Shouci exclaimed.
Surprise and delight spread across his face as he gazed at Bai Yi with sparkling eyes.
It was extremely difficult for cultivators to have children, and the higher their cultivation, the harder it became.
Fu Shouci was already over seven hundred years old and had reached Half-Step Tribulation Transcendence.
Having a child who carried the power of his bloodline was something Fu Shouci had never dared dream of.
Seeing the joy on his face, Bai Yi felt a pang of guilt, but still smiled and said,
"I really am pregnant. Check for yourself if you don't believe me."
Fu Shouci hurriedly placed his fingers on Bai Yi's pulse. After examining him, he confirmed that Bai Yi was indeed three months pregnant.
Judging by the dates, the child had to be his.
Overjoyed, Fu Shouci pulled Bai Yi tightly into his arms.
"Yi! This is wonderful, Yi! I'm going to have a child of my own, Yi!"
Taking advantage of his happiness, Bai Yi hurriedly made a small request.
"Darling Fu, now that I'm pregnant, I have two mouths to feed. I've almost spent all the spirit stones you gave me before, so..."
Fu Shouci was exceedingly generous with Bai Yi.
He immediately took out a platinum jade token. "There are five hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones inside. Spend those for now. I'll give you more later."
Bai Yi accepted it without the slightest hesitation and planted a loud kiss on Fu Shouci's cheek to express his gratitude.
"Thank you, darling Fu. Love you~"
Fu Shouci was riding high on his good fortune. Smiling, he said to Bai Yi,
"Yi, now that you're carrying my child, I plan to choose an auspicious day for our Dao Companion Ceremony. What do you think?"
"You always put it off before, but now that you're pregnant, surely you won't refuse again?"
Fu Shouci gazed at her resolutely, leaving no room for refusal.
With his head lowered, Bai Yi stiffened. The joy of getting five hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones for nothing vanished without a trace.
Seeing Fu Shouci's unyielding expression, Bai Yi could only furrow his brows and agree for the time being.
"All right. I'll hold a Dao Companion Ceremony with you."
"Hahaha, good! Wonderful!" Fu Shouci laughed with delight.
Hugging Bai Yi tightly, he excitedly kissed her left cheek. "Two joyous occasions in one day! Yi, I'm truly so happy."
Fu Shouci was both thrilled and overjoyed.
But where he couldn't see, Bai Yi's face was full of worry.
"Master sent word for us to go to the Council Hall," Xiao Jixue told Tang Yan.
Tang Yan picked up a spirit fruit, took a bite, and mumbled, "Coming."
The Southern Region had always enjoyed friendly relations with the Eastern Region, whose leading sect was the Divine Medicine Sect.
Every two years, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and the Divine Medicine Sect jointly held the Two-Sect Grand Competition to assess the progress of each other's disciples.
It also gave disciples from both sects a platform to exchange cultivation insights, keeping them from training in isolation.
Today, the Grand Elder of the Divine Medicine Sect had brought several of the sect's elders and their personal disciples to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to discuss matters.
Fu Shouci and Liang Qiu, the Grand Elder of the Divine Medicine Sect, had never gotten along.
Sure enough, Liang Qiu was currently in the Council Hall, showing off his treasured disciples to Fu Shouci.
Fu Shouci's temper flared, too.
Showing off disciples, was he? Who was afraid of whom?
His eldest disciple, Xiao Jixue, had reached Nascent Soul at twenty-six and ranked first on the Heavenly Prodigy Rankings!
His second disciple, Li Mo, might still be at the peak of Golden Core, but he was a prominent figure ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Prodigy Rankings!
His third disciple, Feng Sheng...
His fourth disciple, Cui Yishu...
Even his fifth disciple, Tang Yan, though now crippled, had once placed tenth on the Heavenly Prodigy Rankings while merely at the peak of Golden Core!
When Tang Yan and Xiao Jixue arrived at the Council Hall,
Li Mo and the others were already there. The other Peak Masters' personal disciples were also seated in their respective places, facing the people from the Divine Medicine Sect across the hall.
Seeing Tang Yan enter, Feng Sheng hurriedly waved him over.
"Junior Brother, come sit over here with Eldest Senior Brother. I've already moved your chairs for you."
Hehehe~~ Sitting beside Junior Brother would make it easier to enjoy the gossip! She was so farsighted!
Across from them, Liang Qiu, the Grand Elder of the Divine Medicine Sect, glanced at Tang Yan, who had no cultivation whatsoever, and sneered.
"Fu Shouci, your judgment is getting worse and worse. You've even taken in a worthless cripple whose cultivation was destroyed. Aren't you afraid of tarnishing your reputation as Dao Venerable Tian Ci?"
Tang Yan sat beside Feng Sheng and rolled his eyes in a decidedly undignified manner.
[What the hell are you laughing at, you old geezer!]
Called an old geezer, Liang Qiu flew into a rage. "How dare you!"
His sharp gaze swept over the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's personal disciples one by one, trying to find the little brat who had insulted him.
At the sight, a smile involuntarily crept onto Fu Shouci's lips.
He didn't know what his fifth disciple meant by "old geezer," but it certainly wasn't anything nice.
Hahaha! Taking this disciple in had been well worth it!
Tang Yan sipped his Spirit Tea. [Is this old geezer nuts? Why's he talking to himself?]
Then his peach-blossom eyes suddenly widened.
[Holy crap! Old geezer Liang Qiu has some major gossip!]
Fu Shouci: !! Old geezer Liang Qiu has major gossip?! What is it? What is it?! ʘᴗʘ
His eyes lit up, and his ears immediately perked up.
Everyone from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect suddenly grew just as animated. Feng Sheng was grinning so broadly that her eyes all but disappeared.
Across from them, however, Liang Qiu was utterly dumbfounded.
He wasn't hearing things!
He really could hear someone's voice, but not a single person in the hall had opened their mouth!
Wait! Could that old bastard Fu Shouci have used some illusion to toy with him?
Liang Qiu's sinister gaze immediately landed on Fu Shouci's face.
But in the very next instant, he froze on the spot.
[Old geezer Liang Qiu fell in love with a woman, and after they lived together for ten whole years, she finally became pregnant with his child?]
Liang Qiu's eyes went wide. Fuck! How did this mysterious person know? He'd kept this under tight wraps!
Feeling the countless scrutinizing gazes directed at him,
a terrifying thought surfaced in Liang Qiu's mind.
Could everyone in this hall hear that mysterious voice?!
Seeing old geezer Liang's rigid expression, Fu Shouci smiled even more merrily.
Meanwhile, Tang Yan's jaw nearly hit the floor.
[Holy shit!! The woman old geezer Liang loves is Master's lover?!! Huh?!]
Fu Shouci's smile froze. "???"
Liang Qiu's pupils quaked. "???"
Wh-what?
Everyone else: Holy crap! Mind-blowing! Explosive! (°ー°〃)
Before you continue