"Da Huang, do you really have no shame at all?" Xiao Yao looked at Da Huang with disgust.
"You little brat, what do you know? This is called brotherly affection."
"Do you even understand brotherly affection?" Da Huang sneered.
"No, I don’t."
"Good, you wouldn’t. You’re not one of the brothers anyway."
"Big brother, are all these for me?"
Da Huang wagged his tail excitedly in front of Chen Chang'an, hopping left and right, barely able to contain his joy.
"I’ll give you the stuff, but how will you carry it?"
"Do you have a storage ring?"
"Or are you planning to lug it around every day?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smile.
Huh?
That was indeed a problem. What should he do?
"Xiao Yao, hold onto these for him first."
What the—?!
What’s going on?
Let this brat hold onto his things? Then wouldn’t he have to beg her in the future?
"Big brother, you can’t do this to me!"
"I’ll carry it myself! I’ll lug it around every day, how about that?"
"Or… you could get me a storage ring too."
"I can use it! I know how!"
"What if you put it on my paw?" Da Huang grumbled.
"Wealth shouldn’t be flaunted. You’re too flashy. I’d feel better if Xiao Yao held onto it."
"Xiao Yao, take it."
"Yes, Elder Supreme."
Xiao Yao nodded with a smile, not bothering to be polite, and swiftly stored the spirit stones in her own storage ring. Then she shot Da Huang a smug look.
"Hehehe, Xiao Yao, aren’t we the best?"
"Pfft, I don’t believe a word you say. You’d cozy up to anyone with money—no principles at all," Xiao Yao scoffed.
"Fine, you’re right. I have no principles. So… spare some change?"
"We’re like family, right?"
Xiao Yao was no stranger to Da Huang’s shameless antics, but even so, she still found it hard to stomach.
Disgusting!
"Xiao Yao, don’t leave yet!"
"Let’s chat a bit more."
"I’ll take you out for some good food, alright?"
"There’s tons of delicious stuff outside!"
"I don’t believe you. Last time you said that, you took me to a brothel."
"Trust me, this time it’s definitely good food."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"Fine, I’ll believe you one more time."
Watching Da Huang successfully sweet-talk Xiao Yao into leaving, Chen Chang'an could only shake his head helplessly.
Xiao Yao might be clever, but she was no match for Da Huang’s smooth-talking and shamelessness.
Not long after Da Huang and Xiao Yao left, Li Yuntian came rushing back, visibly thrilled. It seemed he’d gotten his hands on quite a few treasures from the Qin Family.
"Elder, I’ve brought everything from the Qin Family."
"Take a look—see if there’s anything you need," Li Yuntian said excitedly.
"No need. I’ve already found what I was looking for."
Found it?
Li Yuntian was stunned. He’d only been gone a short while—how had the item already been found?
Where? In the Li Family?
"Don’t worry. It was in your Li Family."
"In the hands of a child, actually."
"I was just about to ask you—when did your Li Family come into possession of that multicolored pentagonal fragment?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
A multicolored pentagonal fragment?
Since when did the Li Family have something like that? And in a child’s hands?
"This… Elder, please wait a moment. Let me ask around."
Li Yuntian hurried off to make inquiries before returning to Chen Chang'an.
"Elder, I’ve found out. This thing didn’t originally belong to our Li Family. The child picked it up while playing outside today."
"He doesn’t remember exactly what happened, just that he found it somewhere."
Hearing this, Chen Chang'an frowned. Was this also Chen Tian’s doing?
Hadn’t he already left the Ancient Immortal Realm? How could he still be manipulating events now? Or had he arranged this hundreds of thousands of years ago?
Whatever.
No point overthinking it.
Chen Chang'an decided to let it go. Regardless of the reason, he had what he needed now.
"Since the item was found in your Li Family, I owe you a favor."
"I’ll handle the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect. You don’t need to worry."
Hearing this, Li Yuntian finally relaxed. That young man from back then hadn’t lied—Chen Chang'an truly was the Li Family’s savior.
"Thank you, Elder."
"No need for thanks. It was fate."
Chen Chang'an didn’t like admitting it, but some things were simply predestined. He could’ve taken the item and left, but that wasn’t something he’d do.
Chen Chang'an wasn’t exactly a saint, but he had his principles. Otherwise, wouldn’t he be as shameless as Da Huang?
"By the way, how much time does the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect have left before their deadline for your Li Family?" Chen Chang'an asked.
"Seven days."
"I suspect their envoys are already on their way."
Seven days? No wonder Li Yuntian had been so anxious lately—time was running out.
"Good. I’ll deal with them first before heading to the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect," Chen Chang'an said calmly.
"Elder, there’s something I should warn you about."
"The reason the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect’s ancestor dares act so recklessly is because one of his descendants married into the Meng Family."
The Meng Family?
"And?"
"Elder… you’ve never heard of the Meng Family?"
"No."
"Ah… I see."
"The Five Great Immortal Sects are considered the strongest among sects, but they only represent the power of sects in the Profound Heaven Domain—not the entire domain itself."
"Beyond them, the true strongest force in the Profound Heaven Domain is the Meng Family."
"Unrivaled. The true rulers."
"Right now, the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect ancestor’s descendant is the current matriarch of the Meng Family."
"That’s why he acts without fear—few dare provoke the Five Great Immortal Sects, let alone one backed by the Meng Family."
"And the Meng Family’s strongest cultivator has reached the peak of the Celestial Immortal Realm. Rumor has it, they’re half a step into the Immortal King Realm."
"If anything happens to the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect, the Meng Family won’t stand by. Otherwise, they’d lose face."
The Li Family had dragged in the Blazing Heaven Immortal Sect, and now the sect had dragged in the Meng Family.
This was probably all within Chen Tian’s calculations. Did that mean… the Meng Family had something he needed?
"In that case, I should probably work on improving my cultivation."
"Seems like it’s been a while since I took it seriously."
As he spoke, Chen Chang'an casually tossed a handful of immortal pills into his mouth.
Watching this, Li Yuntian’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Were those… immortal pills? Third-grade Gathering Immortal Pills, no less?
Forget how valuable they were—who the hell ate them by the handful?!
This was beyond wasteful! And… could his body even handle that?!
"You… always cultivate like this?" Li Yuntian asked, stunned.
"Oh, first time trying this thing... it's just so-so."
"Let's go again!"