When Si Chen went to bid Su Miaoyin farewell, she was brewing tea on Cloudwatch Terrace atop the Joyous Union Sect's main peak.
Amid the swirling clouds and mist, she heard footsteps and smiled without turning around. "Leaving?"
"Yes."
Si Chen sat down across from her. "I came to say goodbye, Aunt Su."
Su Miaoyin poured him a cup of tea, unsurprised.
"I knew you would say that."
She sighed, a touch of wistfulness in her voice. "Your Third Uncle was just the same back then. He could never stay in one place. However good the Joyous Union Sect might be, to people like you, it's only a way station."
Partway through, she suddenly seemed to remember something. "Your Third Uncle said his Dao lay among the stars and seas..."
When she finished, a teasing look entered her eyes. "So... is yours the same?"
Si Chen gave it serious thought.
The stars and seas?
That was indeed somewhere he had spent hundreds of millions of years.
But before Si Chen could answer, Su Miaoyin laughed first.
She waved a hand. "Never mind, never mind. Pretend I didn't ask. You people from the Si Household really are all alike."
She took a sip of tea, her expression growing serious. "What happened in the Southern Region isn't simple. The ninth and tenth on the Azure Profound Ranking fell at the same time. Both major sects have already sent people, and countless rogue cultivators have gone as well."
"It's only natural that you'd be interested."
She looked at Si Chen. "But there are a few things I need to tell you."
Si Chen set down his teacup and nodded.
"First."
Su Miaoyin raised a finger. "That place is near the Southern Region's border. There are many demons in the Southern Region, so it