Ying Xuanzi fell silent. Although Fang Yi had not said it outright, he was talking about Zhou Tong, the pain Ying Xuanzi would carry for the rest of his life.
Zhou Tong had been his most outstanding disciple, and even the one most likely to break through to the Reincarnation Stage.
He had been ruthless, but not so brainless as to storm the Yuan Sect alone.
There had to be a deeper reason behind it, one Ying Xuanzi had not discovered.
Zhou Tong had died at the Yuan Sect just like that, and Ying Xuanzi had gone to demand an explanation.
Yet the Heaven, Earth and Human Three Yuan Masters had forced him to retreat, turning the tables and asking why Zhou Tong had killed the Yuan Sect's three great elders.
A life for a life-did the Dao Sect still want to start a war?
Those words had sent Ying Xuanzi home. After returning, he had moved here and stopped sitting in the sect master's hall, feeling unworthy of being sect master.
If the same thing happened to Fang Yi again...
The thought of the consequences made Ying Xuanzi tremble with fear.
Fang Yi was not only his disciple, but also his adopted son.
He was deeply close to Ying Huanhuan and Ying Xiaoxiao. If he really did die in another Yuan Sect plot...
He feared even Ying Huanhuan and Ying Xiaoxiao would no longer acknowledge him as their father.
"I understand. Your father won't let this happen again." Ying Xuanzi took a deep breath.
This was not just a promise from a sect master, but also a promise from a father.
Their entire conversation had taken place through voice transmission, in no more than one or two breaths.
Ying Xuanzi then turned to Jiang Yinyin with a smile.
"From now on, I'll be your master."
Jiang Yinyin had still looked timid, because Ying Xuanzi's expression seemed to show that he did not know Fang Yi had taken her as a disciple.
What if he objected?
Would she, her older sister, and her father have to return to Great Desolation Commandery?
When she heard Ying Xuanzi's words, she dropped to her knees with a thud, startling everyone present.
Jiang Yinyin then knocked her head against the ground three times with a loud crack each time.
"D-disciple Jiang Yinyin greets Master! May Master's cultivation advance forever, uh..." Jiang Yinyin wanted to offer more auspicious wishes, but her little head could not come up with any.
Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she said brightly, "May you live forever and never die!"
"Hahahaha!"
Ying Xuanzi burst out laughing. Who had invented this little thing? How was she so amusing? Before, he had been considering her because of the Lord of Life and Death's reincarnation and the Immortal Sacred Whale Clan.
Now he genuinely liked the little thing. She made him feel as though he were seeing Ying Huanhuan again.
"Huanhuan, make arrangements for your junior sister. She'll stay in Heaven Hall from now on. We'll discuss her position as a personal disciple later. Her sister and father can be settled together."
Ying Huanhuan pouted. Fang Yi had returned, and she had not even spoken to him yet, but she was already being sent off to do something. Then she heard Fang Yi's voice transmission.
"I'll come find you later. I brought you a gift too."
A smile immediately appeared on Ying Huanhuan's face. She beckoned to Jiang Yinyin and said, "Come on. I'll take you to where you'll be staying first."
Jiang Yinyin's eyes widened. From the moment she had first seen Ying Huanhuan, she had felt exceptionally close to this older sister.
Even closer than she felt to her senior brother. Her senior brother merely had a presence that made her feel comfortable, but this Senior Sister Huanhuan...
It was as though they had known each other for a very, very long time and were meeting again.
All of a sudden,
a pattern flashed across both Ying Huanhuan's and Jiang Yinyin's foreheads at the same time. Only Ying Xuanzi and Fang Yi noticed it.
The two exchanged a silent glance. Only after Ying Huanhuan had led them away did Ying Xuanzi say, "Go on. What else did you do on this trip?"
He had raised Fang Yi from childhood. The boy was naturally intelligent and levelheaded, more like an adult than a child.
If Fang Yi had not gone without ever showing a Reincarnation Seal, he would truly have thought him a reincarnator. He could only believe that there really were people in the world who were born intelligent.
The phenomenon that had appeared after Fang Yi entered the Body Tempering Realm had only further confirmed that belief.
So the boy must have done more than just find Jiang Yinyin on this trip. Or rather, Jiang Yinyin had not been his original objective at all.
Fang Yi fell silent for a moment, then told him about receiving word that Ling Qingzhu had gone out.
At first, Ying Xuanzi merely frowned. But then he heard that, through a deal, Fang Yi had used the Nirvana Heart to leave some means on Ling Qingzhu.
He had stolen part of the Supreme Induction Art, leaving Ying Xuanzi stunned. Was that thing so easy to steal?
People like them all knew what the Supreme Induction Art was about, but when he thought of how unusual Fang Yi was,
he did not interrupt and continued listening.
Later, he heard how Fang Yi had gone to Great Desolation Commandery and inadvertently noticed that Jiang Yinyin was unusual. Using some means of his own, he had detected the power of life and death hidden deep within her, and, weighing everything together,
judged her very likely to be the Lord of Life and Death.
Ying Xuanzi did not doubt Fang Yi's judgment. The Reincarnation Seal that had just appeared was enough to show that Jiang Yinyin was special.
Even if she was not the Lord of Life and Death, her talent was surely exceptional, and having another disciple was no bad thing.
Then Fang Yi had entered the Great Desolate Ancient Tablet, met the previous master of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, and received his insights into it.
"Boy, don't tell me you know where the Devouring Ancestral Symbol is. Knowing you, you wouldn't say you were going to look for it without being confident."
Ying Xuanzi looked at Fang Yi suspiciously.
Fang Yi nodded. "I know where it is, but Senior Black Eyes was right. The Devouring Ancestral Symbol doesn't suit my path."
Ying Xuanzi nodded with satisfaction. Greed was one of the greatest pitfalls, especially when it concerned one's own path. If one could not even see one's own path clearly,
reaching the Samsara Stage would be an enormous hurdle. That was also why he had paid it no mind when he sensed that Zhou Tong was very likely carrying the Space Ancestral Talisman.
Everyone had their own opportunities.
Of course, even if the Space Ancestral Talisman had fallen into the Yuan Sect's hands, no one there had mastered it, or the Yuan Sect would have launched an attack long ago.
"Good. Wanting everything is instinct, but choosing what you want is your true heart."
He had not expected Fang Yi to have had such a rich range of experiences in such a short time away. Was this what it meant to be a person chosen by heaven?
"I'll keep an eye on Jiang Yinyin, and I'll also try to make contact with the Immortal Sacred Whale Clan. Leave these matters to me for now. The most important thing for you is to advance your realm."
"How long has it been? And you're still at three yuan nirvana!"
Ying Xuanzi felt helpless. Ever since Fang Yi had entered the Nirvana Realm, his progress through the realms had become extremely slow compared to before.
For people like them, the Nirvana Realm was originally when they should have begun to surge ahead, especially with no shortage of Nirvana Qi, the most important cultivation resource for the Nirvana Realm.
There were a full four Pill Rivers flowing endlessly within the sect, yet the boy's progress remained slow.
"Didn't I tell you I was cultivating a secret art? Speaking of which, have you worked out the Second Origin Art?"
"I have, but it's only suitable for Life Profound Realm elders to attempt. Opening up a second origin is still far too dangerous. One mistake could damage the foundation."
As he spoke, Ying Xuanzi took out a jade slip and handed it to Fang Yi.