Chapter 40

Yu Youyou's eyes lit up.

Since her birth in the Nine Nether Demonic City, she had been a person whom everyone despised and ignored. After returning to the Primordial Sect, she mostly stayed obediently inside the grandmaster's main hall, meaning she had rarely ever been out to play.

In truth, it was quite monotonous.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have sought out a black dragon she could bully just to amuse herself every single day.

Now seeing that she could go to the mortal realm to play everywhere, the little toddler hurriedly nodded her small head vigorously. Cuddling up to her very, very good eldest senior brother, she buttered him up with sweet words, saying, "For you."

It was for the sake of her eldest senior brother that she was willing to go out and relax together.

Just how deep of an affection was this? She and her eldest senior brother shared the deep bond of siblings.

Chu Xingyun wanted to laugh again.

Unable to help himself, he gently stroked the increasingly chubby little darling with his slender fingers and said softly, "I know our little junior sister's good intentions."

This little creature wanted to run out and play on her own, yet she still felt the need to sweet-talk him first; Chu Xingyun couldn't help but marvel at how she had figured this out all by herself.

What a stern and steady person the Sect Master Yu was.

To think he could produce such a mischievous and sweet-tongued toddler.

Perhaps it was simply innate talent.

The two senior siblings chatted and laughed as they walked.

Remembering that her eldest senior brother hailed from the imperial family—and the imperial families of the mortal realm were said to be extravagantly wealthy—Yu Youyou began to count on her slender little fingers with eager anticipation, burying her head as she mumbled, "Food."

Just how much delicious cuisine there must be! She had heard that delicacies from land and sea were piled as high as mountains.

However, she still patted her chest and promised Chu Xingyun, "Love pastry."

Even if there were countless delicacies and fine dishes outside to tempt her, in her heart they were merely for tasting something new. The sect's little milk pastries were definitely still the most important.

Tasting something new didn't count as being fickle...

Seeing how much she adored the little milk pastries, Chu Xingyun recalled what delicacies his family's imperial kitchen excelled at while gently saying, "It's fine to like other things as well. Although a single tree is fine, a forest holds even more beautiful scenery."

The little milk pastries were the proud creation of their second junior sister, Zhu Changshu, and Daoist Chu wasn't particularly skilled at making them.

Thus, he permitted the toddler to transfer her affection and love other tasty treats.

"Love all of them!" The toddler clenched her small fists and squeezed out those two words with force.

Chu Xingyun cupped his cheeks, feeling exceptionally cheerful.

This was a rare occurrence indeed.

Although there were troublesome matters at home as well, chatting with his little junior sister somehow made everything feel much more pleasant.

He had never known that he possessed a personality fond of toddlers. In the past, when traveling with close friends, he had seen many children belonging to friends or strangers, and mostly just offered polite praises out of courtesy.

Now, looking back, he felt none of them were as cute as his own little junior sister.

Smiling, he handed the newly refined Black Dragon Heart-Protecting Armor to Yu Youyou, saying gently, "This is a protective item. Little junior sister must never part with it from now on."

He had not immediately returned home these past few days while lingering at the outer sect's martial arena, and it wasn't merely to recuperate. Instead, he had used those few free days to combine the black dragon scale Ao Qing had given Yu Youyou with numerous other artifact-refining materials, forging a supreme protective treasure.

The primary material for this supreme treasure was precisely that scale of the Heavenly Demon-stage dragon, which was so sturdy that even flying swords could not shake it.

The other materials were also rare treasures he had collected during his travels over the years whenever he encountered fortuitous encounters.

Those collections were worth astronomical fortunes.

Naturally aware of this, Yu Youyou took the tiny piece of heart-protecting armor with treasured care. Cupping it in her small hands, she whispered softly, "Expensive." Her eldest senior brother had really spent a fortune on her this time.

"As long as it can protect our little junior sister, no matter how precious it is, it is worth it." Chu Xingyun had never cared for external objects. He clasped Yu Youyou's small hand, smiling as he lowered his head.

Seeing her huffing and rubbing her little head against him, he allowed her to act affectionately toward him and said warmly, "No matter how expensive other things are, they cannot compare to our little junior sister, right?"

During the heavenly thunder and the strange phenomenon at the Gong clan, the moment he first laid eyes on that child who unconsciously radiated a terrifying aura, believing that his little junior sister would never recognize or remember him again—he still felt lingering fear whenever he thought back to it.

He only hoped they would never experience such a thrilling ordeal again.

He raised his hand and ruffled the child's little head.

Yu Youyou... secretly rejoiced in her heart.

She didn't quite know how to evaluate her own feelings.

She only knew that she felt endlessly happy inside.

"Treasure." She hung this supreme protective treasure around her slender little neck with utmost care. For some reason, a faint sense of subtle disdain welled up in her heart; she felt as though this protective treasure was somewhat inferior to herself...

She shuddered subconsciously.

She felt her mood was somewhat strange for a fleeting moment. It was as if, when faced with a protective item, she felt a competitive impulse arise within her, even thinking that she herself was sturdier than this protective item.

Wasn't that very strange?

She was just a soft little toddler. Oh dear, even a fall would bruise her skin, so how could she harbor a competitive spirit against a supreme protective treasure and even feel like she had won?

"Let's go?" she asked, clutching Chu Xingyun's arm.

"I'll send another message to Master so he knows where we're going." The outer sect arena had a message-transmission array, making it convenient to send word to Sect Master Yu.

Chu Xingyun had an outer sect disciple send a jade slip to the Primordial Sect to inform them of where he and Yu Youyou were heading, and only then did he hold the joyful toddler and step aboard the flying boat.

Before preparing to leave this place, standing on the flying boat while supporting Yu Youyou, he cast a pensive glance toward the direction of the Gong clan's ancestral grounds.

He had stayed in this place for several days, and by now, news throughout the realm of cultivation was flying everywhere. Most of it spoke of how an offspring of the Azure Dragon clan had been born at the Gong clan, turning the clan upside down once more.

At present, the cultivation world was intensely discussing the five-clawed golden dragon.

Curiously, no one mentioned how a golden dragon could possibly be born from the Azure Dragon clan.

After all, most cultivators in the realm of cultivation were clever individuals.

A five-clawed golden dragon, whose birth summoned heavenly might and which could even scatter thunderclouds to escape alive—

Could this possibly be the bloodline of the Azure Dragon clan?

Probably not.

Atavism simply could not explain this matter.

No one would truly believe that this was the result of something done by either the Azure Dragon patriarch or his mate. What drew more interest now was what sort of fortuitous encounter this couple had experienced, and in what peerless secret realm they had managed to acquire the egg of a five-clawed golden dragon.

Since the descendant of a golden dragon could appear there, even more treasures might exist in that place.

Chu Xingyun investigated the latest news and, seeing that no one mentioned Yu Youyou, finally set his mind at ease.

As for the Gong clan, which had been struck by heavenly thunder and left in shambles and ruins, since there was no one coming to investigate or sightsee, he ceased paying much attention to the place.

The mortal dynasty where he resided wasn't all that far away either; the flying boat would reach it in a few hours.

Before returning to the dynasty, Chu Xingyun had already sent a message via flying sword. When his luxurious and magnificent flying boat appeared in the skies above the dynasty, it immediately drew numerous people out to welcome them.

Taking advantage of this time, the toddler conserved her energy, curling up in Chu Xingyun's arms for a brief nap, thinking that once she woke up, she would be able to eat lots of delicious food.

Upon arriving home, Chu Xingyun chose not to wake her, letting her continue sleeping. Seeing the multitude of people gathered to welcome him, he gently waved his hand to signal that they need not raise their voices, lest they startle the toddler.

He gracefully descended from the flying boat, landing on the steps of a magnificent and spacious palace.

Flanking the steps were members of the royal family dressed in opulent attire, alongside numerous welcoming palace maids and guards.

Their eyes carried a hint of awe. At the very front, a middle-aged man draped in a python-robe bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Grand-Uncle."

Though already middle-aged, he was merely of the generation of grandchildren when facing the young and handsome Chu Xingyun.

Chu Xingyun looked at the middle-aged man for a moment and sighed softly in his heart.

This was the difference between mortals and cultivators.

He had entered the Primordial Sect at a young age, and after over eighty years of Dao cultivation, he was still considered a young and brilliant talent in the cultivation world.

Yet to the mortal realm, he was already considered quite aged.

Silently waving his hand, he tightened his grip on his little junior sister—who was softly snoring in his arms with her little belly rising and falling in rhythm—and motioned for the others to dispense with formal greetings.

The python-robed man looked up and was astonished to see that this grand-uncle of his, who usually prized his composure above all else, was actually carrying a small child in his arms.

The child was dressed exquisitely and was so tiny, with her two little arms wrapped around Chu Xingyun's slender neck and her little head buried into the crook of his neck, sleeping with absolute familiarity—it was obvious she hadn't been sleeping like this for just a day or two.

This caused his heart to leap with a surge of pleasant surprise, and he asked hurriedly, "This is..."

Had the heavens shown pity and the ironwood finally bloomed?

Could this possibly be the little aunt they had longed for day and night?

Goodness knows how long they had been waiting for Chu Xingyun to leave behind a cultivator's descendant.

Chu Xingyun felt a headache coming on.

He silenced the python-robed man with a gesture, covered Yu Youyou's ears, and strode quickly into the palace.

Though the imperial palace was breathtakingly beautiful, Chu Xingyun had little mood to pay attention to it. He only felt that the younger generations following behind him did not dare to walk alongside him, instead trailing far behind. Some of the gazes cast toward him held awe, fear, and anticipation, but... they lacked a deeper intimacy.

Right.

Over eighty years.

Time that flashed by in the blink of an eye for a cultivator constituted a mortal's entire half-lifetime.

These descendants might have grown up listening to his legends and tales of prestige, feeling proud to possess such an elder.

Yet he was merely a figure of legends. Even when standing right before them, he lacked that genuine emotion and intimacy he had shared back when he was still a youth and merely a part of this family.

Lowering his gaze, he walked straight into the most magnificent hall, only to find that a banquet of delicious delicacies had already been set up inside.

Stretching across the long table like a flowing river were various kinds of rare delicacies, and seated at the very head was an elderly emperor clad in yellow robes.

It was at this moment that Yu Youyou woke up.

Even in her sleep, catching the rich aroma wafting through the air, the toddler sniffed her little nose and immediately opened her eyes.

Peeking outward, she saw a vast array of delicious food spread before her, many of which she had never even seen before, causing her cheeks to flush with excitement.

Turning his head, Chu Xingyun saw that the toddler had woken up and offered an indulgent smile. First, however, he nodded toward the elderly emperor at the head of the table and said, "Imperial Elder Brother."
This was his elder brother from times past, born of the same mother, sharing the deepest blood ties.

Back in those days, the two brothers had seen one ascend to crown prince and eventually throne—historically known as Emperor Zhao—while he himself became a revered, carefree imperial prince, living like a crane among clouds before ultimately stepping onto the path of cultivation and becoming the pillar supporting this dynasty from behind the scenes.

To this day, this imperial elder brother still occupied the throne precisely because of a longevity pill Chu Xingyun had gifted him back then.