Qin Tianyi chuckled, then led Zhang Yuan underground.
Along the way, Zhang Yuan saw quite a few familiar faces, such as Cui Yuanxi's third uncle, Cui Wenshan, a [Profound Mystery Celestial Person] of the Aohai Cui Clan. He rescued those he was on good terms with and left his enemies alone.
"I truly owe you my thanks this time, fellow Daoist."
Cui Wenshan let out a long breath and cupped his hands toward Zhang Yuan in thanks.
"You're too kind, [Profound Mystery] senior. Is Miss Yuanxi doing well?" Zhang Yuan asked.
Cui Wenshan smiled at the question and teased, "She's doing well enough, but she's been rather restless. Every day, she's thinking of ways to sneak out. Even the ancestors can barely keep her in check anymore, and you bear some responsibility for that, fellow Daoist Zhang."
When he first met Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan had still been a Qi Refining Perfected Person, with a long way to go before becoming a Celestial Person. Yet in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yuan had become a Celestial Person and even rescued him.
Only a year had passed, yet Cui Wenshan felt as though the world remained while its people had changed, leaving him overwhelmed with emotion.
The speed at which Zhang Yuan had attained the Celestial Person realm was simply too astonishing. He had advanced even faster than Yuanxi, who was destined to become a Celestial Person.
Come to think of it, Zhang Yuan clearly possessed exceptional talent and a decent character. He was also close to Yuanxi, and their investigation had found his background reasonably clean. He seemed an excellent candidate to marry into the clan, one worthy of Yuanxi.
Personally, Cui Wenshan thought highly of the match between Zhang Yuan and Cui Yuanxi.
Yet for some reason, the