No sooner had Luo Yue returned to the Luo Residence than Luo Qingying and the others found themselves too busy to spare a moment.
A crowd of old men had followed right on their heels, all distinguished elders from holy lands and Desolate Ancient Families.
These old fellows had witnessed the terror of the Luo Family's little demoness firsthand today. Afraid she might enter their own stone workshops, they had simply kept a close watch on her the entire way, taking the opportunity to visit the Luo Family.
"Yue'er, take the king of medicines to the rear mountain first. I'll entertain these people," Luo Qingying told Luo Yue through divine sense.
Luo Qingying could hardly turn away these distinguished elders from major powers. He could only hand the king of medicines to Luo Yue and have her take it to Old Master Luo while he stayed to receive their guests.
Naturally, Luo Yue had no objections.
However,
What she had not expected was to spot another little figure she had never thought would be here.
"Speaking of which, why are you here too?"
Luo Yue turned to look at the little girl before her, somewhat puzzled.
Behind her, Little Yao Xi hugged her small Jade Cauldron and gave a haughty little snort. She turned her face to the right, leaving Luo Yue facing nothing but the back of her dark-haired head, and walked into the Luo Residence on her own.
"Hehe, Fairy Yao Li went back to the Yao Family to fetch that ten-thousand-year moon lotus. Your youngest aunt told her to leave Yao Xi here as collateral," Luo Yue's Sixth Uncle, Luo Qingsun, explained with a grin.
He then volunteered to take Little Yao Xi to one of the residence's courtyards.
Seeing his sleazy eagerness to please Little Yao Xi, Luo Yue was speechless. She had almost forgotten that this Sixth Uncle of hers was apparently one of Fairy Yao Li's many bootlickers in Qingyun Province.
"Sixth Brother is hopeless. I honestly can't see what's so great about Yao Li." Luo Qingluan shook her head too, scornful of her brother's behavior.
Luo Yue offered no comment.
By now, she had gradually worked out the Luo Family's current structure.
Within the Luo Family, Third Uncle Luo Qingying was probably the only person who could truly shoulder responsibility on his own. The others, like Sixth Uncle and her youngest aunt, were utterly unreliable: one was a bootlicker, the other a gambling addict, and the rest were idle heirs who spent their days doing nothing.
They either had mediocre talent or had willingly sunk into degeneracy, muddling through life without a care.
The older generation was somewhat better, with a few elders at the peak of the dragon transformation realm still holding things together. But among the younger generation, almost none could be relied upon.
The Luo Family had suffered a calamity a century ago. They had once possessed several supreme elders who were half-step great powers, but all of them had died in that disaster. The family had been gravely weakened and had yet to recover.
That was to say nothing of the recent accident in the Divine Source Ancient Mine, which had cost them several more elders in the dragon transformation realm! At present, Luo Tiangang was the Luo Family's only remaining ancestor in the immortal platform realm.
I still need to save the old man as soon as possible. If Third Uncle has to hold everything up alone, this family will collapse sooner or later, Luo Yue thought with a sigh.
Following a familiar route through the Luo Residence's imposing corridors and past several courtyards suffused with spiritual energy, Luo Yue reached the rear mountain of the Reddish-Brown Lonely Peak deep within the estate.
This was not her first visit.
The person inside had clearly sensed her arrival long ago. As Luo Yue approached the cave entrance, the invisible barrier rippled like water, opening a passage for her.
Thick ice crystals coated the cave walls. The faint sound of flowing water came from its depths, and an aged aura that still retained a keen edge spread outward.
"Luo Yue pays her respects to Great-Grandfather!"
Upon reaching the entrance, Luo Yue solemnly bowed.
Deep within the Cold Pool Cliff Cave, Old Master Luo Tiangang did not appear, but his voice rang beside Luo Yue's ears like a great bell, carrying a barely perceptible trace of weariness and gratification. "Little Yue'er is back. I've already heard. You certainly caused quite a stir."
"It was only a small matter. Please don't laugh at me, Great-Grandfather," Luo Yue said sheepishly.
This old man had probably seen everything she had done today.
"Bringing down a top-tier holy land stone workshop is hardly a small matter."
"They say the Source Heavenly Master also gambled holy land stone workshops into ruin in his younger days. He even won himself the Holy Maiden of an Ancient Holy Land."
"Your father followed his example back then and stole away the Jiang Family's pearl in the palm."
"Little Yue'er, why don't you visit a few more of those holy land stone workshops? Bring a Holy Maiden home for the Luo Family too." Old Master Luo chuckled, clearly in excellent spirits.
Luo Yue clicked her tongue inwardly at his words.
Funny you should say that. The future Holy Maiden of the Yaoguang Holy Land really is in the Luo Family right now.
And she's the little-girl edition, too.
"Great-Grandfather, please refine this king of medicines." Luo Yue took out a jade box.
Inside the jade box she held was the exquisite, seven-colored king of medicines, shimmering with light and radiating tremendous vital essence. Its rich medicinal fragrance made the surrounding plants seem to blossom into a second spring.
"A king of medicines, a sacred medicine that can borrow another five hundred years from heaven..." The old man's voice drifted from the Cold Pool Cliff Cave. He fell silent for a long while before speaking again.
"Unfortunately, it is no longer of any use to me. Keep it for yourself, Little Yue'er."
Luo Yue froze slightly.
No use? How could that be?
This was a rare king of medicines that could extend one's life by five hundred years and nourish one's origin. Even for a gravely wounded, dying Holy Lord level figure, it would be a lifeline.
Though the old man's condition was dire, with his origin eroded and his divine soul tormented by a curse, the king of medicines' immense vital essence was precisely what he needed. At the very least, it could greatly ease his suffering, stabilize his injuries, and even buy him more time.
"Great-Grandfather?"
Luo Yue's voice remained cool, but its ending carried the faintest hint of confusion and insistence. Holding the jade box, she stepped forward. "Yue'er found this especially as a birthday gift for you. This king of medicines contains boundless vitality. It might suppress the curse within you."
The laughter within the Cold Pool Cliff Cave stopped abruptly.
"Even a king of medicines could, at most, give me another fifty years in peak condition. Using it on this old man would be a waste of heaven's treasures..." Luo Tiangang's voice came from deep within the Cold Pool Cliff Cave.
It held the calm of someone who had seen through life and death.
To him, fifty years would pass in the flick of a finger. What good would that do his pursuit of the Great Dao? Prolonging the life of a dying man with one foot in the grave would only squander a heavenly treasure.
Besides,
He, Luo Tiangang, had not yet fallen so low that he needed a precious medicine painstakingly found by his tiny granddaughter just to cling to life!
So that's why... Luo Yue finally understood
Why he refused to accept this king of medicines.
"Great-Grandfather, this isn't merely clinging to your last breath."
After some thought, Luo Yue decided to try another way of persuading him. She took another step forward and said,
"If you fall, Great-Grandfather, the Luo Family will immediately be left swaying in the wind and rain. As things stand, Third Uncle is one tree trying to support the whole roof, while Sixth Uncle and Youngest Aunt can't be entrusted with it. Outside, packs of wolves circle the Divine Source Ancient Mine; within, the other families watch us like hungry tigers."
She paused. Her voice was soft, but each word rang clearly against the cold stone walls.
"This king of medicines means fifty years in peak condition for you, Great-Grandfather. That will be enough to support Luo Yue until her divine king body matures."
"Give Yue'er fifty years!"
"When my divine king body reaches full mastery, I will personally wash away your curse with divine king blood!" Luo Yue spoke that final sentence with utmost seriousness.
With that,
She set down the king of medicines and left without looking back.
Silence and cold returned to the Cold Pool Cave.
Only after Luo Yue's aura had completely vanished from his perception did the heroic air Luo Tiangang had struggled to maintain slacken slightly. Pain surged over his withered body like a tide.
Yet he still burst into booming laughter, shaking ice crystals loose from the cave walls.
"Hahaha! Good! What a little Yue'er!"
"She's even more of a troublemaker than her father!"
"Full mastery of her divine body within fifty years? Splendid! Splendid! Now that is what the Luo Family's divine body should be like!" After his laughter subsided, a sharp light once again kindled in his deeply sunken eyes.
With deliberate provocation, his divine sense stabbed like an invisible blade at a presence concealed in the void as he sneered,
"Jiang Yun, you old turtle! Did you see that?"
"Look at the gift my Yue'er found for me! An eighty-nine-thousand-year-old king of medicines!"
"An Immortal Treasure that can borrow another five hundred years from heaven!"
"Hehe, have you ever seen a treasure like this in your life? I doubt your Jiang Family's treasury could produce even a single leaf from a king of medicines! Hahaha!"
Old Master Luo laughed without restraint.
But the void remained utterly silent. Only his divine sense, steeped in mockery, echoed through it.
No one answered.
"What, playing mute again? Or are you hiding in the dark, so green with envy you're bleeding?" A mocking look appeared on Old Master Luo's gaunt face.
"Forget it."
Receiving no answer, Luo Tiangang found it rather dull. He waved his hand and spoke coldly.
"If you want this king of medicines, Jiang Yun, just take it! With me in this state, I couldn't fight you for it anyway."
With that,
He did not wait for whatever reply Jiang Yun might offer, slowly closing his eyes in exhaustion.
After withdrawing his divine sense completely, Old Master Luo sank once more into the deathly stillness of the boundless Cold Pool and the painful struggle against the curse.
"Old bastard, I'll let you live a few more years."
At that moment,
The man in hiding finally spoke. He left without taking the king of medicines from the ground.
Although he could have taken it simply by reaching out, and Luo Tiangang would not have stopped him, he did not do so.
This time, the rear mountain fell completely silent.
Within the Cold Pool Cave, only the bone-piercing cold remained, along with an aged hero in his twilight years whose proud bones still stood unbowed.
Anyway, as far as Luo Yue was concerned, the pride ingrained in these elders' very bones and their so-called heroic spirit were awkward to the point of being unbearable...
After leaving the forbidden grounds of the rear mountain, Luo Yue did not head straight back to her own courtyard. Instead, she turned toward a guest courtyard planted with a secluded bamboo grove.
That was where Luo Qingsun had so attentively arranged for Little Yao Xi to stay.
The moment she stepped through a moon gate, she heard a clear, girlish rebuke tinged with embarrassment and anger.
"Why do you keep following me!"
On a stone stool in the courtyard, Little Yao Xi looked like a kitten with its fur bristling. Hugging her precious little Jade Cauldron, which held half a portion of earth-milk spirit liquid, she glared indignantly at Luo Qingsun beside her.
Luo Qingsun rubbed his hands, looking embarrassed and ingratiating. "Ahem, don't be angry, little sister Xi'er. Sixth Uncle just thinks you're adorable. Look how lovely this courtyard is, so peaceful and elegant. When your sister..."
"Who's your little sister? Go away!"
Yao Xi's little face was taut. Beneath her soft pink lips, two pointed little canine teeth showed faintly, as though she were ready to bite at any moment.
She did not want this creepy uncle anywhere near her. One look was enough to tell he had designs on her sister.
Luo Yue's arrival was like a pebble tossed into this awkward stalemate.
Luo Qingsun, who had nearly been branded a creepy uncle, immediately looked as though he had spotted his savior and hurriedly said,
"Oh, Little Yue'er, you're finally here!"
"Quick, you two are about the same age. Have a nice chat. Sixth Uncle will get you some spirit fruit and snacks!"
With that, he slipped away as though fleeing.
Upon seeing Luo Yue, Yao Xi first instinctively tightened her hold on the little Jade Cauldron.
Then she remembered the "humiliation" of having her head patted. She immediately puffed out her little chest again, tried hard to keep her face stern, and glared at Luo Yue with what she thought was a fierce look.
"Why look so fierce when you see me? What, are you afraid I'll steal your spirit milk?" Seeing her looking just like a little rabbit, Luo Yue felt an urge to tease her.
The little-girl version of the Yaoguang Holy Maiden was both hissy and adorable. If she did not tease her now, she would never have another chance like this.
"You've already touched my head twice!"
Little Yao Xi voiced her displeasure.
Clearly, she had also counted the first time Luo Yue had tapped her forehead with a finger.
"Children should have their heads patted more. That's how they grow tall." Luo Yue spun her nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
"Really? Then let me pat yours too."
Yao Xi rolled her eyes dramatically.
At that, Luo Yue's icy blue eyes shifted slightly. Her cool little face remained expressionless, but a glimmer of amusement flickered deep within her eyes.
"Sure, as long as you can reach."
As she spoke,
She even held her hand horizontally over Yao Xi's head, teasingly comparing their heights.
Little Yao Xi was clearly a little shorter than her...
"Don't look down on me! What's so great about being a little taller?" Belittled over her height, Yao Xi flushed even redder and stared indignantly at Luo Yue.
"I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, I'll let you touch it."
Luo Yue tilted her head slightly, her silver hair cascading over her shoulder like a waterfall, and spoke with an utterly earnest face.
Little Yao Xi clearly had not expected her to agree so readily, much less lean closer of her own accord. Her little hands loosened their grip on the Jade Cauldron slightly, and her wide eyes filled with suspicion and wariness.
This silver-haired scoundrel definitely has a trick up her sleeve!
She used this exact expression to run circles around everyone at the Gambling Stone Workshop today!
But with the opportunity right in front of her, Yao Xi could not bear to let it slip away.
She hesitated, then cautiously extended her free little hand. Tentatively, and with a touch of pent-up spite, she reached for Luo Yue's glossy, silky silver hair, aiming for the crown of her head!
She was going to mess it all up!
Just as Yao Xi's fingers were about to touch those cool strands, the corner of Luo Yue's mouth curled upward in an almost imperceptible arc.
"Freeze."
A whisper, accompanied by an exceedingly faint ripple of divine sense.
Yao Xi felt a sudden chill around the wrist of her outstretched hand, as though invisible chains of ice had wound around it. Her movement instantly froze in midair.
Though her hand was only an inch or so from Luo Yue's silver hair, she could not lower it another fraction.
It did not hurt, but it carried an irresistible restraining force that left her entire arm unable to move.
"You! You cheated!"
"Let go of me! You said I could touch it!"
Yao Xi's little face flushed crimson in an instant, and she stamped her foot in furious frustration.
Luo Yue slowly straightened and looked down at her. Though there was little difference in their heights, her sheer presence utterly overwhelmed Little Yao Xi, whose wrists were frozen fast as she flailed helplessly, unable to break free.
At that moment,
Little Yao Xi's wrists were shackled by invisible, icy divine power. She could only watch as the black and white points of starlight in Luo Yue's ice-blue eyes abruptly spun faster, like two profound miniature universes collapsing and re-forming.
A vast, icy consciousness, suffused with the sense of endless deduction, instantly locked onto her!
"You... what are you going to do?!"
Little Yao Xi was both frightened and furious, her voice carrying a tremor she herself had not noticed.
She instinctively tried to retreat, tried to cover her forehead, but Luo Yue held her so firmly that she could not move.
"Be good. Let me take a close look."
Luo Yue remained unhurried and unflustered. After freezing the little girl in place, the black and white points of starlight deep within her ice-blue eyes slowly revolved.
She intended to use the [Yellow River Chart and Lo Shu] to perform a close-range deduction of the Vast Cold Moon Palace between Yao Xi's brows and copy it down. Perhaps it would help perfect the Divine King Body Vision of Cold River Reflecting the Moon.