"It is not that I dare not."
"The time simply has not come."
Ji Chengjing still wanted to argue, but Consort Nian had already lost the patience to discuss the matter further.
This foolish son of hers!
"When we reach the northwest, first return with me to the Nian Household in Suzhou to pay respects to our ancestors. After the homecoming ceremonies are over, go to Yanmen Pass yourself."
"Do not expect Qing Chen to come out to welcome you, and above all, do not put on the airs of a Five-Pearl Commandery Prince."
Ji Chengjing froze, then wondered whether he had misheard. "What did you say, Mother?"
"I want you to take Qing Chen as your master." Consort Nian's tone did not waver in the slightest; clearly, this was no spur-of-the-moment idea.
Ji Chengjing's expression immediately darkened.
"Absolutely not!"
"I am an Imperial Prince of Great Jin, the Pacify-the-West Commandery Prince! Even if Qing Chen has become the Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Governor, he is still merely Father's subject. Yet you now want me to bow to him as a disciple. Would that not needlessly drag my dignity through the dirt?"
"Besides, Qing Chen came from the Demonic Path and cultivates blood arts. He is ruthless, greedy, and lustful. His reputation is utterly rotten!"
"If I took someone like that as my master, what would the cultivators of the world think? What would Father think?"
Consort Nian's brows drew tightly together. "Do you know what standing he holds now?"
"Deputy Branch Master of the Origin-Initial Devil Sect's Primordial Magnetism Branch, Sect Leader of the Demon Lotus Sect of Gouwu Sea, Great Jin's first-class Azure Abyss Marquis, Protector of the Western Regions, and Acting Northwestern Circuit-Surveying Governor. He commands two million Dao Soldiers, and the Nascent Soul and Dharma Nascent Soul True