Chapter 24

"You heartless... Ancient Sect, how much of a grudge do you hold?! Come out, you surname Yu... show yourself!"

The magic dragon Ao Xin felt that its life was far too difficult.

What is the most painful thing in this world?
Is it being suppressed, unable to escape for ten thousand years?
Not at all.
It is that, besides being suppressed, there is a cub that stares at it every day with bright, eager eyes, drooling while peeking through the entrance.

Because this little demon wanders outside the seal all day, even after checking that the barrier is secure time and again, Ao Xin hasn't dared to close its eyes for a long time. It worries that one day, if it falls asleep, it will wake up as a bald dragon. What if the little brat has some special method to bypass the seal and get in?

"You little... what exactly are you? What are you trying to do, hiding in the Ancient Sect? Let me warn you, if you dare to do anything against the Ancient Sect, I... Ao Qing will not forgive you!"

Having dominated the cultivation world and rarely been backed into a corner like this, the black dragon clenched its massive claws, staring at the little creature who looked so tiny and exceptionally harmless.

Yu Youyou did not understand these words. She looked down at her thin little primordial spirit, then tilted her head and looked at the black dragon in bewilderment. Its questions were so strange; it asked what she was.

What a stupid bad dragon.
She is Daddy's Youyou; how could it not see that?

"Sigh!" The cub shook her head.
No wonder the black dragon was captured and suppressed. Being bad was one thing, but being stupid was fatal. Being stupid meant it was destined to be suppressed. At this moment, the cub felt a sense of intellectual superiority.

"There is only you and me here, what are you still pretending for?" The black dragon, with its crazed, crimson vertical pupils, sneered at the little one who was floating outside the seal, rummaging through her pockets. Since she was a primordial spirit, she found nothing, and she lowered her head, pitifully hugging her little belly. "You're putting on quite a show."

She acted just like an ignorant child. But the dragon had seen her devour its demonic energy with its own eyes, as well as the greedy, hungry look she gave it—that was something no human cultivator's child could ever do.

Pausing, the black dragon stared gloomily at the cub and asked in a low voice, "Who are you targeting? Is it... is it Ao Qing?" In its eyes, likely only Ao Qing had any value worth devouring in the entire Ancient Sect.

This magic dragon is so noisy.
The cub realized how hard this job of guarding it was. Since it couldn't be eaten and its scales couldn't be plucked—it was completely worthless—Yu Youyou chose to act like a wooden statue. She often did this to the Scarlet Flame Demon Lord and the others. Sitting there blankly, she didn't care about the black dragon’s cursing. After waiting for a while and seeing that the black dragon had no intention of breaking free today, the cub hummed and turned around to return to her physical body.

As soon as her primordial spirit returned and she woke up, she saw a large bag of spiritual pills placed beside her soft little pillow.

Ruan Ling, who was watching over her attentively, saw her wake up and handed her a cup of spiritual liquid before saying, "These spiritual pills were just brought over by Senior Sister Zhu. You were still sleeping, so she left."

Nowadays, everyone in the Patriarch's Hall had a habit of paying close attention to Yu Youyou's aura whenever she slept. Ruan Ling didn't know why the Sect Master had given this order, but she was diligent and never slacked off; whenever Yu Youyou slept, she would keep a constant watch on her breath and complexion. No matter how many days she looked, the little junior sister was always just a little junior sister sleeping soundly. Yet, Ruan Ling still carried out the Sect Master's instructions.

Zhu Changshu had just arrived and studied her for a moment as well. While speaking, Ruan Ling performed a hand seal and retracted the set of apricot-yellow flags surrounding the small bed. This, too, was the Sect Master's order. This array of apricot-yellow flags was a supreme treasure in the Sect Master's possession; even low-level disciples could activate it to protect the cultivator within, making them immune to all methods and disturbances. It seemed unnecessary for a baby to use such a high-level magical artifact, but the Sect Master knew his daughter's primordial spirit often left her body during sleep. To prevent her body from being eroded by other daoist arts in her dreams, he had specifically found treasures to protect his daughter.

Ruan Ling carefully put away the flags, waiting to use them again tomorrow, when she saw the cub climb up, sit in her small bed, and happily eat the spiritual pills. The pills were swirling with spiritual light and did not look like ordinary items, but Ruan Ling didn't pay them much mind.

Yu Youyou was never a stingy cub. Ever since Ruan Ling came to the Patriarch's Hall to look after her, she had been exceptionally careful and earnest, never dismissing her just because she was a child. The spiritual pills Zhu Changshu had just brought were said to be for Golden Core cultivators, which Ruan Ling could not consume yet. So, the cub reached into her little ring, pulled out a handful of low-level spiritual pills her daddy had given her, and handed them to Ruan Ling.

The girl with apricot-shaped eyes looked at the tiny hand stretched out before her, meeting Yu Youyou's round, rolling eyes. Those eyes were clear and bright, filled not with pity or charity, but with the sincere emotion of a cub wanting to share food with a companion.

She was willing to share her food. That was true love. For a moment, Ruan Ling didn't know why, but her eyes grew moist. She shook her head vigorously. The little junior sister didn't say it out loud, but she knew she seemed to be constantly hungry. She was still hungry, yet willing to share her food with her—but, but... although she was an outer sect disciple, she still called her "Senior Sister."

"Little Junior Sister, you eat them; I have some too. Thanks to the Sect Master and you, I have this job now. The Hall of Affairs provides compensation, and the Sect Master also gives me various spiritual pills and medicines." She was an outer sect disciple from the mortal world, and her cultivation days had been difficult with limited resources, but she did not want to take advantage of a cub who called her "Sister."

Facing Yu Youyou's generous eyes, Ruan Ling thought for a moment, took a pill from her own storage bag identical to the ones Yu Youyou had given her, and placed it into the cub's hand, saying cheerfully, "I'll trade with you, Little Junior Sister; let's swap."

"Mm!" The cub nodded vigorously, hugging the spiritual pill and giggling at the girl.

After giggling for a while, she buried her head in eating the pills. Ruan Ling turned her head and saw an extremely handsome young man in magnificent robes standing at the door of the back hall with a smile. She was startled, not knowing how long Chu Xingyun had been there, and hurriedly stood up to salute.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Chu."

"No need for such formalities." Seeing the little one reach out for him to hold her as soon as she saw him enter, Chu Xingyun leaned over and picked her up. While feeling his little junior sister’s warm embrace today, he handed a palm-sized, crimson little shield to Ruan Ling and said gently, "Ruan, you have worked hard protecting my little junior sister. Take this Crimson Armor Shield for your own defense."

Ruan Ling often cared for Yu Youyou. Although the Ancient Sect was very safe, Ruan Ling's well-being ensured Yu Youyou's safety. Chu Xingyun would certainly not be stingy.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Chu." Ruan Ling did not refuse and accepted it. She understood that Chu Xingyun was mostly considering Yu Youyou, but she was also a beneficiary and did not feel that Chu Xingyun only cared about his little junior sister.

Seeing her happily share the shield with Yu Youyou, Chu Xingyun smiled, but at that moment, Zhu Changshu hurried in, her expression rather grave. Seeing that they had something to discuss, Ruan Ling quickly stepped aside.

Zhu Changshu said to Chu Xingyun, "The Grand Elder has returned. The Master has ordered us to go to the Grand Elder's dojo immediately."

The Grand Elder, Ao Qing, had gone to the west of the cultivation world to search for the former Sect Master. Some time ago, it was said he had crossed the Far West and was deep in the area near the ancient God and Demon Tomb mentioned by Sect Master Yu. By all accounts, he shouldn't have returned at this time.

But since he had suddenly returned, Chu Xingyun frowned and said, "Could it be..." Speculation was useless. He and Zhu Changshu carried the bewildered Yu Youyou to Ao Qing's dojo.

The scenery at the dojo was the same as when Yu Youyou had visited before. Now, all the high-level cultivators were present. Seeing the brother and sister arrive, many cultivators cast complex looks at Yu Youyou.

"We owe it all to this child," a Grand Elder of the Ancient Sect remarked with emotion to the Sect Master, who was walking out quickly. "It is fortunate that you brought this child back, allowing us to find news of the old Sect Master. Sigh, this child has performed a great service... Could she be the little lucky star of our Ancient Sect?"

Although he had guessed as much on the way, Chu Xingyun asked subconsciously upon hearing these words, "Has the Grandmaster been found?"

"Found, but the situation is not very good." The Elder paused, cursed, and said, "That Gong Miaohua... what a waste of effort to raise her! If it weren't for Youyou this time, your Grandmaster would have..." He could hardly bear to continue, waving his hand and saying, "Go and see for yourselves." His words confirmed that the old Sect Master had indeed been found in the west, and Yu Youyou had been right all along.

The cub widened her eyes and turned to look at her daddy. Seeing that although his brows were still tightly locked, his expression had gained a bit of stability, she couldn't help but hug her senior brother's neck and secretly feel happy.

"Let's go." Since she was going to see her Grandmaster, she pushed Chu Xingyun's arm.

She wanted to walk on her own. Although Chu Xingyun saw the faces of the elders and feared there might be more to the story, he set Yu Youyou on the ground.

The little one ran over and took hold of her daddy's large hand. With his rough, calloused hand gently holding his daughter's small hand, the father and daughter walked toward the infinitely magnificent main hall of Ao Qing's dojo.

As soon as she entered the hall, Yu Youyou smelled a faint scent of blood. She looked up and saw the handsome, majestic man in green robes at the head of the hall; his green robe was stained with blood on one side, and one of his arms was dripping with it. Sitting below him were two people, sitting upright but with dull eyes. One was an elderly man with white hair, and the other was a handsome young man.