"Is there anything you need my help with?"
Chen Yu spoke. "I can tell you're a good person."
"Better not."
Old Uncle Jiang gave a bitter smile. "They have immortals behind them. We can't afford to provoke them. Things are fine as they are."
"If you stand up for us, you'll only draw the flames onto yourself."
Old Uncle Jiang was a kind man. He did not want Chen Yu to get involved and bring disaster upon himself.
During their conversation, he also explained the backgrounds of the two families.
Simply put, the old man's son and daughter-in-law had both been cultivators. They had joined Yanxia Cave Heaven as disciples.
Unfortunately, because they were too upright, they had offended the Li Family's cultivator, and the two sides had become enemies.
Later, the old man's son and daughter-in-law had met with an accident while gathering medicinal herbs, dying in an attack by a demonic beast.
Without his son and daughter-in-law, every step of the old man's life had become a struggle. The Li Family obstructed and oppressed him at every turn, reducing him to his current state.
"What truly despicable behavior."
Chen Yu sighed. "From top to bottom, they're all the same."
The old man was unwilling to think the worst of people and believed only that his son and daughter-in-law had died in an accident.
But Chen Yu knew that their deaths were inextricably linked to the Li Family's cultivator.
That man had struck from the shadows, ultimately bringing about this outcome.
Had it ended there, that would have been one thing. But after killing the old man's son and daughter-in-law, he still came to bully a lonely old man and a pitiful orphan girl. That truly went too far.
"Have you thought about the future, Uncle?"
Chen Yu asked.
"What future is there?"
Old Uncle Jiang smiled bitterly. He had long since given up hope for the future, and only when he looked at Jiang Tingting did a hint of tenderness appear on his face. "I'm already very old. All I want now is to raise this child. Everything else has nothing to do with an old man like me anymore."
"There's nothing wrong with thinking that way, Uncle, but I'm afraid others might not share your thoughts."
Chen Yu spoke. "Given the Li Family's nature, what do you think they'll do once Tingting grows up?"
"Tingting is a lovely girl, and she'll probably be quite pretty when she grows up. In a world like this, what future awaits a girl without parents or relatives to back her up?"
"That..."
Old Uncle Jiang's expression changed drastically in an instant.
He had always been a kind man, unwilling to think too badly of others, wanting only to raise his granddaughter.
But that did not mean he was ignorant of the world's dangers.
What would happen when Tingting grew into a beautiful girl and faced those wolves and jackals of the Li Family? It was truly something he dared not imagine.
The mere thought of such a scene terrified Old Uncle Jiang.
"I feel a real affinity with this child."
Chen Yu smiled at Tingting before him, his manner as gentle as ever. "If you're willing, Uncle, how about letting this child become my disciple?"
"Well..."
Hesitation appeared on Old Uncle Jiang's face.
The matter of cultivation had left a shadow over his heart.
His father, son, and daughter-in-law had all been cultivators, yet every one of them had met a terrible end. Naturally, he had misgivings about cultivation.
But just as Chen Yu had said, this world was treacherous. If a little girl could not grasp sufficient strength, her future days would likely become especially miserable.
Seeing his hesitation, Chen Yu continued, "Besides, unless I'm mistaken, this child's constitution should be very special."
"This is the legendary Taiyin Body, endowed with extraordinary talent. If she embarks on the path of cultivation, her progress will be smooth. But it also has a drawback."
"What drawback?"
Old Uncle Jiang's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition rose within him.
"The origin of the Taiyin Body is too powerful, causing an imbalance between yin and yang."
Chen Yu said, "Unless something unexpected happens, someone with this constitution is destined not to live past twenty."
Not live past twenty?
Hearing those words, Old Uncle Jiang's vision went black, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
For an old man watching over his granddaughter, those words were truly too cruel.
His parents and children had all died. Now, only this one granddaughter remained, and his sole wish was to watch over her as she grew up.
But now, was even that one wish going to come to nothing?
"So this child actually has no choice."
Chen Yu spoke softly. "Let her take me as her master and embark on the path of cultivation, and she'll still have a chance to extend her life. But if you keep letting her remain a mortal, I'm afraid she'll most likely pass away before you."
"Tingting, come take your master!"
After hearing Chen Yu's words, Old Uncle Jiang no longer hesitated and immediately dragged the girl over.
From the look of things, even if the girl refused, he would force her through the ceremony.
"There's really no need for that."
Chen Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Then he looked at the little girl before him, who resembled a figure carved from jade, his expression gentle. "Are you willing to take me as your master?"
"If I take you as my master, big brother, can I eat my fill every day?"
Curiosity filled Jiang Tingting's eyes as she looked at Chen Yu with a gaze as pure as gemstones.
"Of course."
Chen Yu smiled and stroked her head. "From now on, just stay by your master's side and live an honest life."
"Okay."
A smile immediately appeared on the girl's face.
For a little girl her age, she did not understand what taking a master meant, but she had an inexplicable ability to instinctively sense the goodwill and malice of others.
That was precisely why she seemed so close to Chen Yu.
[Obtained a wisp of taiyin body origin...] [Taiyin body origin: one-tenth of a Taiyin Body's origin. Using it can slowly transform your constitution into a Taiyin Divine Body.]
Only one-tenth of its origin?
Chen Yu was somewhat surprised as he looked at the information appearing before him. Never mind. That's enough.
In the early stages of cultivation, having a Divine Body was enough for him. This taiyin body origin was not all that important.
As for why there was only one-tenth, it should have been because Jiang Tingting was still a child and had yet to embark on the path of cultivation.
Without embarking on the path of cultivation, her constitution's origin had yet to awaken, so the traces of Dao resonance he could obtain by checking in were also very limited. Naturally, the gains were small.
It was just like Ye Fan before.
But that did not matter.
After all, he could check in with the same thing more than once. Once Jiang Tingting embarked on the path of cultivation in the future, he could simply check in again.
Cultivators had far more time than mortals, and Chen Yu had that patience.
But before that, it's time to deal with those people from the Li Family.
He stood up and gazed into the near distance.
The Li Family was a powerful local clan entrenched nearby. Along with another powerful clan, the Wang Family, it dominated the area.
Both clans had a cultivator among their ranks, and they were rivals.
Of course, their strength amounted to little.
Judging by the original course of events, the cultivators of these two families were merely minor cultivators who had not even entered the Life Spring Realm.
Minor cultivators like that would be dealt with in an instant even if they appeared before Chen Yu.
But behind those two stood forces such as Yanxia Cave Heaven.
For the time being, Chen Yu only wanted to cultivate in seclusion and did not want to invite too much trouble.
So he chose to act under cover of night.