Old Woman, Shameless

Ji Liang naturally knew what had happened between the two of them.

Ji Hongqi had explained it to him clearly before—during a mission in the inner realm, he had rescued a woman who had been poisoned by Spring Night Herb.

After killing the man who was about to assault her, the woman had completely lost her senses and lunged straight at Ji Hongqi.

Afterward, the two went their separate ways. If not for the child, An Linghui would never have come back.

One could say the two of them had no deep feelings for each other.

But women of the alien races, aside from a few particular tribes, were mostly quite traditional.

Upon learning she was pregnant, An Linghui resolutely married into the family.

Originally, Ji Liang thought this was a good thing—feelings needed time to develop.

Couples introduced through matchmaking had no feelings for each other at first, yet through years of accumulated compromise and companionship, they still ended up living happily together.

But things didn't go as hoped. Not long after the marriage, Ji Hongqi was sent to the inner realm again for another mission.

This time, he died there.

In truth, the two were strangers to each other, so it was only natural that An Linghui felt the way she did.

"Alright, I agree."

Ji Liang nodded gently.

An Linghui looked genuinely surprised. "I thought a senior like you would refuse out of pride. If you had said no, I wouldn't have dared to leave on my own."

"I'm not that kind of person. Everything depends on your own wishes. I don't like forcing people into things."

Ji Liang turned his gaze toward Ji Qingge, who was playing on her phone nearby. "Qingge, don't you have anything to say?"

"Nothing worth saying."

Ji Qingge said flatly, "Everyone has the right to pursue their own happiness."

"It's good that you can think that way. Who knows, maybe in the future, your mother will find another man to marry and give you a younger brother or sister."

Ji Liang said with a smile.

"None of that has anything to do with me. I carry the surname Ji—I am of the Ji family."

With that, Ji Qingge stood up and walked back toward her own house.

"It just takes getting used to. Her tongue may be sharp, but when I told her you were trapped for years, the worry on her face didn't lie."

Ji Liang said to An Linghui with a smile.

"After all, she is my daughter. I've never blamed her."

An Linghui let out a breath.

Find another man in the future?

She had never really thought about that, but...

An Linghui turned her head, glancing at Xu Mu who was refining pills in the distance.

Come to think of it, besides that one time with Ji Hongqi because of the Spring Night Herb, Xu Mu was only the second man who had ever had any contact with her.

...

"Done."

In the distance, Xu Mu opened the pill furnace and took out the final two pills.

After all, these were divine medicine, so Xu Mu didn't dare to just throw everything in one big pot and refine it all at once.

Instead, he refined them two pills at a time, producing a total of sixteen pills.

Ji Liang and An Linghui walked over and looked at the dozen or so pills in the stainless steel bowl.

The pills were like white jade orbs, each one radiating a faint glow around it.

"Senior, here are five for you. I further activated these pills with an eighth-grade heavenly treasure. You can keep one for Qingge. As long as she reaches the pinnacle of the Mortal Severance realm, a single pill will be enough to push her into the Realm-Breaking stage."

Xu Mu handed five pills to Ji Liang.

Ji Liang looked at the remaining pills in the bowl and let out a wry chuckle. "This is supposed to be a reward for you, yet you're giving me a third of the pills. Feels like I'm the one who asked you to refine them."

"Senior, no need to be polite. Me keeping ten-plus pills is more than enough."

While Xu Mu was speaking, Ji Qingge also walked over from the distance.

She looked at the pills beside Xu Mu and asked curiously, "Xu Mu, if I'm at the pinnacle of Mortal Severance, one pill will really let me break through to Realm-Breaking?"

"Trust me, absolutely. Even if you don't have a corresponding heavenly treasure, the sheer medicinal potency is enough to push you right over."

Xu Mu explained, "Even for stages four or five, it can boost you up a bracket."

"The spiritual energy on these pills is truly dense."

Ji Liang took out one pill and handed it to An Linghui. "Here, take it. Even though you're leaving our family, you will always be family to us. No matter what danger you face in the future, you can always come back."

Upon hearing this, An Linghui's eyes grew slightly reddened. "Father, you're so good to me. I suddenly feel like such a sinner."

"Don't say nonsense. Take it."

Ji Liang placed the pill into An Linghui's hand. "You're exactly at the realm where you need this."

An Linghui nodded softly.

The reason she had gone into that inner realm back then was because she had learned that Stage Two of Realm-Breaking was the strongest there.

And An Linghui happened to be at Realm-Breaking Stage Two. After all these years, she had long since reached the peak of Stage Two.

Taking the pill, she said in a soft voice, "After taking this, I should be only one step away from Stage Three. Then, once I find a heavenly treasure to enhance my fire attribute, I should be able to reach Stage Three for good."

As she spoke, she placed the pill in her mouth.

Before she could even chew, the pill dissolved directly into an overwhelming force that spread through her mouth.

The terrifying medicinal power made her face flush instantly, and streams of qi began to escape involuntarily from her pores.

Rumble!

The flames continued to erupt, and her long black hair transformed back into a fiery red.

“So strong! I haven’t even unleashed my full power yet!”

An Linghui couldn’t believe it as her mouth fell open. As her power kept climbing, she could feel herself surging against that barrier.

Boom!

Suddenly, the power she released surged even further, and the barrier inside her shattered under the force.

An Linghui stared at her hands in disbelief. “I’ve reached the Third Order? How is that possible?”

Ji Liang was equally stunned. Xu Mu’s alchemy skills were far stronger than he had imagined.

And this was only one-sixteenth of the divine pill’s potency.

“Xu Mu, thank you!”

An Linghui excitedly grabbed Xu Mu’s arm. “I can’t believe a single pill pushed me up a rank!”

[Affection +20]

Beside them, Ji Qingge shot a cold glare at An Linghui.

But An Linghui pretended not to notice and instead teased, “Didn’t someone just say that everyone has the right to pursue happiness?”

“Old woman, shameless!”

Ji Qingge cursed under her breath.

Hearing this, Xu Mu quickly pulled his arm free.

Damn it—Ji Liang was standing right there. He didn’t dare act rashly.

“Hahaha! Just kidding! Look at you getting all worked up.”

An Linghui smiled.

Ji Liang didn’t seem bothered. An Linghui had always been like this—more of an older sister than a mother, really.

“Alright! Senior, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get going. I still need to distribute these pills.”

Xu Mu prepared to leave this powder keg of a situation.

With these pills, Fu Jinyu should be able to smoothly break through to the Realm-Breaker level.

After all this time and effort, he had finally nurtured a Realm-Breaker expert.

This time, he was definitely going to get Sister Empress to reward him properly.

“I’ll walk you out!”

An Linghui and Ji Qingge spoke at the same time, then glanced at each other.

Xu Mu scratched his head. This was seriously getting awkward—especially while he was still at the Ji residence.

“I’ll just find my own way out. I know the path.”

“It’s fine. Let them escort you. You’re an honored guest this time.”

Ji Liang said with a smile.

An Linghui and Ji Qingge stood on either side of Xu Mu.

“Xu Mu, come with me. I have something to tell you.”

Ji Qingge looked at Xu Mu.

“Alright.”

Xu Mu nodded.

“Xu Mu, I have something to tell you too.”

An Linghui added with a smile.