Seeing that the number had increased by another person, Lin Xiao was overjoyed.
The Yuan Family Head's promise was nice, but it couldn't compare to completing the task.
He hadn't originally expected the Yuan Family to give him any repayment or anything like that, since they had already used their ancestor as teaching material.
But unexpectedly, through this matter, he had successfully made an alliance with Yuan Bi, the Yuan Family Head.
That was a different matter for Lin Xiao.
If this task were completed, their Lingxian Sect would gain a floating island!
Now they were only one person short.
One person!
No matter what, Lin Xiao had to fill that final person count before returning to the mortal world!
Otherwise, he would lose out big time.
However, thinking it over, there didn't seem to be any convenient connections to make. So Lin Xiao said to Yuan Bi:
"Fellow Daoist Yuan is too kind. How is your ancestor doing? If not, how about I go again tomorrow?"
Although Lin Xiao knew that he had already removed quite a bit of the Ancestor's inner demon at the time, he wasn't sure of the specifics. For matters like this, the person himself would know best.
He set his sights on the Yuan Family Ancestor as his final target to connect with.
Seeing that Lin Xiao showed no worry about being targeted by their family and even volunteered to help his ancestor again, Yuan Bi was deeply moved.
Capable, courageous, and extremely benevolent.
Although it was possible that Lin Xiao's courage came from his confidence in being able to get away.
Regardless, Yuan Bi felt that this young man was truly trustworthy.
Little did he know that Lin Xiao was actually relying on the system. Since the system judged that he had successfully made an alliance with Yuan Bi, it meant that Yuan Bi had no ill intentions toward him.
But that didn't matter.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lin, for your concern. My ancestor's condition has improved greatly. He can now suppress the inner demon and have regained consciousness, but after years of depletion, he still needs to recuperate for some time."
Since Lin Xiao was the healer inquiring about the Ancestor's condition, Yuan Bi immediately gave a general account of his ancestor's situation.
"If Fellow Daoist Lin can offer his help once more, that would be wonderful, and I would be immensely grateful."
Although Yuan Bi was reluctant to trouble someone again, thinking of his ancestor, he still arranged a time with Lin Xiao.
After all, over the years, the Ancestor's inner demon had become a disease in the hearts of the Yuan family. Even though the Ancestor said he could suppress it now and slowly wear it down over time, what if something went wrong?
If there was even a single day's chance to eliminate it completely, Yuan Bi didn't want to let it slip by.
Lin Xiao was that opportunity.
With the main business settled, Lin Xiao and the others invited Yuan Bi to stay for a meal.
But Yuan Bi was in a hurry to return home and inform his ancestor that Lin Xiao would visit again the next day. He politely declined.
This was the first time he had been asked to stay for a meal since becoming the Family Head.
In the past, when he visited other family cultivators, it never coincided with their meal times...
However, not long after Yuan Bi left, once Lin Xiao and the others had eaten and drank their fill, Liu Chun received a message from Elder Zhang.
Earlier in Banxiang City, Liu Chun had given Elder Zhang several sound talismans imbued with his own spiritual power, to facilitate him contacting him.
After receiving the reply, Liu Chun said joyfully to Lin Xiao and the others:
"I'm going out tomorrow. I don't know exactly when I'll be back."
From this, Lin Xiao understood that there was news about his sister.
He nodded and said:
"Be careful when you go out, and if anything happens, send us a message quickly."
Liu Chun responded:
"Yes, I understand."
So the next morning, Liu Chun quickly set off.
Meanwhile, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu disguised themselves again and quietly went to the Yuan Estate.
Luckily, Yuan Bi had occasionally personally looked after his ancestor for a few days in the past, so the other members of the Yuan family were used to the Family Head spending consecutive days with the Ancestor in the meditation cave. They didn't notice anything unusual.
Lin Xiao and his companion arrived at the secluded meditation spot deep in the Yuan Estate and, following Yuan Bi, entered the Yuan Family Ancestor's cave once again.
Inside, they saw the Yuan Family Ancestor, who had been sitting in meditation with his eyes now open, looking at them.
Not expecting the two Daoists Yue would be so young, the Yuan Family Ancestor was mildly surprised. However, without showing it on his face, he smiled at them and said in a weak, slow voice:
"So these two Daoists are Fellow Daoist Lin and Daoist Jiang. Thank you both for being willing to lend a hand."
After going through the ordeal of the inner demon, the Yuan Family Ancestor's temperament had changed quite a bit, and he had come to see many things more openly.
Facing such an old man, Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu naturally took on the role of respectful juniors, stepping forward, cupping their fists, and bowing.
"We, the juniors, pay our respects to Senior Yuan."
Then Lin Xiao asked:
"Senior Yuan, how are you feeling now?"
Although Yuan Bi had spoken about it before, it wasn't very detailed, so it was better to ask the person himself.
The Yuan Family Ancestor replied, still somewhat laboriously:
"Thanks to your help, Fellow Daoist, my inner demon has been more than half removed. With your aid again today, I believe it can be completely eliminated. This old man must thank the two Daoists in advance."
Thinking that the inner demon that had plagued him for so many years might be completely uprooted today, the Yuan Family Ancestor was in a rather cheerful mood.
Lin Xiao didn't like empty pleasantries, so he said directly:
"Then let's start now."
As before, Jiang Youfu stayed in the cave with Lin Xiao while Yuan Bi and Yuan Qing withdrew to guard the entrance.
Seeing Lin Xiao sit cross-legged across from him, the Yuan Family Ancestor immediately closed his eyes and shut down his five senses.
He made himself completely unaware of whatever Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu were doing.
Earlier, Yuan Bi had told him that these two Daoists seemed unwilling to reveal their skills.
Although he would soon be fighting against the inner demon, and probably wouldn't have the chance to notice the outside world anyway, he still chose to do so for safety.
Some things, if you take the initiative to block them out, are better than accidentally finding out.
Using the Heart Purification Technique for the second time, Lin Xiao was much more skilled than during his first attempt.
Still, he took out The Doctrine of the Mean and had Jiang Youfu read it aloud nearby.
With the sound of someone reading, Lin Xiao found it more comfortable.
So outside the stone door, Yuan Bi and Yuan Qing once again heard the sound of recitation that had been running nonstop the night before.
But thankfully, Yuan Bi was prepared this time. He had already set up isolation enchantments around the area.
And so another night passed.
This time, Lin Xiao managed to control himself, avoiding the collapse of exhaustion like last time, but he was nearly drained of all the spiritual power in his body.
Once the purification was over, he stood up unsteadily. Seeing this, Jiang Youfu immediately put away the book, ran over, and supported him:
"Brother Xiao, are you okay?"
Lin Xiao nodded:
"I'm fine. I'll recover after a little while."
Saying this, he turned to look at the Yuan Family Ancestor across from him.
At that moment, on the Yuan Family Ancestor's face, the ugly black ulcers and scars were visibly disappearing.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
