Standing inside the inn, Ye Fan looked at Chen Yu, and that strange feeling in his heart grew ever more distinct.
Before him, Chen Yu stood quietly, looking every bit an exceptionally handsome youth.
If Ye Fan remembered correctly, the other party was actually only fifteen or sixteen.
At that age, if he were still on Earth, he would most likely still be in school, yet here he was about to get married.
It really was a strange feeling.
Meeting Chen Yu's somewhat peculiar gaze, Chen Yu could not help glancing sideways. "Are you thinking something rather rude?"
"No, you're overthinking it."
Ye Fan wore a harmless smile, looking just like an ordinary, innocent young boy.
"Bad big brother."
Little Tingting looked solemn beside them. "He must be thinking bad things about Master and Sister Ruyu!"
Clearly, just as Yan Ruyu liked Jiang Tingting very much, Jiang Tingting was equally fond of Yan Ruyu, and she immediately grew unhappy at Ye Fan's behavior.
"Sister Ruyu?"
Ye Fan keenly picked up on the name. "Is that your bride, Teacher Chen?"
"Yes."
Chen Yu nodded, then said, "Since you've already left Spirit Ruins Paradise, you might as well come with me."
"As it happens, I've only just arrived on the Big Dipper and don't have many people at my disposal. You and Pang Bo have come at just the right time."
"Then you'll have to offer me good terms, Teacher Chen."
Ye Fan smiled as he spoke. "Otherwise, wouldn't we two brothers be getting a raw deal, putting our lives on the line for you?"
"Of course, of course."
Chen Yu waved a hand, indicating that everything was negotiable.
Just then, he suddenly raised his head and looked outside.
In his sight, several riders were approaching from afar.
They were cultivators, a considerable rarity in this small town, and their appearance immediately drew many people's attention.
"People from the Jiang Family?"
Standing there, he murmured to himself, "They came rather quickly."
"Teacher Chen?"
Before him, Ye Fan looked at Chen Yu in puzzlement, not understanding what had happened.
Only when those Jiang Family riders came forward and began searching the surroundings did he realize what was going on.
The Jiang Family riders entered the town and began searching for people surnamed Jiang.
They soon found their targets, setting their sights on Old Uncle Jiang and his family.
"May I ask if your father was Jiang Zhe?"
A man in white found Old Uncle Jiang and questioned him carefully.
"You knew my father?"
Surprise appeared on Old Uncle Jiang's face.
When he revealed his identity, delight also appeared on the faces of the Jiang Family cultivators before him.
"You really are a descendant of Great-Grandfather Jiang Zhe?"
"May I ask where your father is?"
"He passed away more than fifty years ago."
Old Uncle Jiang looked sorrowful, as though recalling some painful memory.
According to his recollections, his father had suffered greatly when he died, as though undergoing some brutal ordeal, and it had taken a long time before he finally passed away.
The white-robed youth named Jiang Yifei was meticulous.
After asking carefully about the details, he confirmed Old Uncle Jiang's identity: he was indeed a descendant of Jiang Ze.
In terms of seniority, this man was their granduncle, as well as the person they had come to find.
After confirming his identity, Jiang Yifei explained their background as descendants of the Jiang Family and invited Old Uncle Jiang to return to the family.
Yet Old Uncle Jiang merely shook his head. "I'm only an old man, a candle guttering in the wind. I just want somewhere to spend my remaining years, not to get involved in my forebears' affairs again."
"As for the things you've mentioned, I actually already know about them."
Back when Chen Yu first accepted Little Tingting as his disciple, he had told them.
Old Uncle Jiang also knew that he was a descendant of the Jiang Family.
But he had not reacted particularly strongly to this, nor had he entertained any thoughts of returning to the Jiang Family.
After all, he was a mortal who had never cultivated. Just how vast the Jiang Family's power was had nothing to do with him. He only wanted to spend his remaining years looking after Jiang Tingting.
Besides, leaving the Jiang Family all those years ago had been his father's own decision.
Although decades had passed, Old Uncle Jiang still remembered his father's pain and melancholy back then.
If his father had been happy in the Jiang Family, presumably he would not have taken them away from it.
In the original story, having no other choice was one thing, but with a choice available, Old Uncle Jiang did not want to go against his forebear's wishes.
Moreover, Little Tingting had already taken a master and would certainly have to follow him in the future.
Under these circumstances, Old Uncle Jiang was unwilling to go far away.
Seeing Old Uncle Jiang's attitude, Jiang Yichen and the others silently frowned.
"He's just a mortal. How could he know how powerful the Jiang Family is? Why waste so many words on him?"
Jiang Yichen was somewhat impatient with Old Uncle Jiang's attitude. Transmitting his voice through divine sense, he wanted to simply take him back by force. "Just take him away by force, and our mission will be complete."
"Shut up."
Jiang Yifei frowned outright at his attitude. "The clan's orders were for us to invite him, not kidnap him."
"Let me try."
Jiang Caixuan spoke up as well.
Looking at Old Uncle Jiang, she considered for a moment, then decided to start with the child. She smiled and said, "Granduncle, don't you also have a granddaughter? Why not bring her out for us to meet?"
"She's just in the back."
At the mention of Little Tingting, a smile immediately appeared on Old Uncle Jiang's face.
A moment later, a small figure walked up to them.
"Are you Grandpa's clansmen?"
Little Tingting looked curiously at Jiang Yifei and the others before her.
At that moment, all three of them froze.
They could sense a rich presence of divine power emanating from Little Tingting. She was unmistakably a cultivator.
Her cultivation was even quite substantial.
Upon sensing this, they could no longer remain composed.
"Incredible, incredible."
Jiang Yichen stared at Little Tingting in astonishment. "She's only five, isn't she? And she's already opened her Bitter Sea!"
Opening the Bitter Sea at five was an extraordinary achievement even within a Desolate Ancient Family like the Jiang Family, enough to qualify someone as an immortal seedling. Only the most central geniuses could accomplish it.
Little Tingting lived here among mortals, with surroundings and resources nowhere near as abundant as those enjoyed by members of the Jiang Family, yet she had managed such a feat?
"She hasn't just opened her Bitter Sea!"
Jiang Caixuan drew Little Tingting to her side. After examining her carefully, she looked equally amazed. "This child has immense divine power within her. She's already formed her Life Spring!"
A five-year-old Life Spring cultivator?
The Jiang Family members present could not help clicking their tongues.
Even as members of the Jiang Family, who knew what they themselves had been doing at five? Perhaps they had still been laying their foundations for cultivation?
Yet Little Tingting, living in this wasteland for cultivators, had managed to form her Life Spring at five.
If she continued like this, how profound would her cultivation be by the time she reached adulthood?
Perhaps she might even have a chance of becoming a Mighty Figure?