Mother left on her own.

She did not trouble her son, nor did she require Lu Ran to explain much.

In fact, Lu Ran didn't know how to explain.

He had always thought that before the arrival of Lord Immortal Goat, he was a Worship God.

Yes, the timeline must be clearly defined!

Lord Immortal Goat considerably disdained the Divine Clan and, since his arrival, continuously instilled thoughts into Lu Ran that "all divine beings are mere stones."

Such actions indeed caused Lu Ran's attitude towards the divine beings to change.

But what about before the arrival of Lord Immortal Goat?

Lu Ran truly believed that he was worshiping God.

He thought so and acted so, worshipping with his father the Divine·Jade Talisman from a young age.

However, what occurred on the first day of the sixth lunar month at the God Worship Platform was stark reality!

Lu Ran had no room for sophistry.

Lord Immortal Goat had once sneered and told Lu Ran bluntly,

"Have you ever truly believed in gods?"

This inevitably plunged Lu Ran into deep self-doubt.

Was his understanding out of sync with the thoughts hidden deep inside? Or was it contrary to subconscious thoughts?

This state of "unawareness" continually troubled Lu Ran.

It was utterly baffling!

As if another soul lived within his body...

And as the Immortal Sheep Believers revealed their true colors, presenting a God Demon Sculpture Garden, Lu Ran embarked on a path to "overturn the heavens."

Lu Ran's true goal, of course, was to slaughter all Evil Demons and control the Evil Sculptures.

Unfortunately, the garden was still filled with Divine Sculptures, which inevitably pulled him into another vortex.

From this point on, whether Lu Ran worshiped or believed in gods seemed no longer important... No!

Important!

At least to Lu Ran, it was very important.

He had to figure out what exactly had caused his peculiar, contradictory situation.

As for how to solve this puzzle, Lu Ran had no good plan yet.

Perhaps, once his strength was strong enough, he should make a trip to Jiantianque City and directly question the Divine Jade Talisman!

Without a doubt, Lu Ran had grown up in front of the shrine of Jade Talisman.

Day and night, month after month, year after year.

Over the long years, if anything had truly happened, perhaps Jade Talisman knew.

After all, Lu Ran had worshipped alongside his father.

Even Jiang Ruyi, a newcomer to the sect, had caught the attention of the Divine Lord, so it made no sense for his devoted father, who dedicated his life to the Jade Talisman Sect, not to be noticed.

Indeed, the word "ask" was too gentle.

One day, when Lu Ran personally visited and faced the Divine·Jade Talisman...

He would certainly be there to confront!

Between a man and a god, there was much to discuss.

But if there were surprises, and if the situation was not as Lu Ran imagined;

If the exalted Divine Lord had never cared or paid attention to the humble human father and son...

That would be interesting!

Humans are complex beings.

Among the myriad gods, Lu Ran's feelings towards Jade Talisman were undoubtedly the most complex and special!

The ideas established from childhood by his father's teachings and influence were not something that could be changed overnight.

Thus, Lu Ran at the God Worship Platform, longed for the Divine Jade Talisman to appear, aspiring to follow in his father's footsteps.

But if Lu Ran were to step into Jiantianque City one day and the answer turned out to be the latter...

Then the special emotions remaining in Lu Ran's heart would truly be completely gone.

At that time, the boy whose life was once as cheap as grass would let the Divine Lord know:

Who his father was.

His own surname and name.

...

On New Year's Eve, a family of three had a rare and joyful time together.

Mother was truly very busy, and on the first day of the new month, she took Little Yuanxi out early in the morning to participate in a grand ceremony in Jiantianque City.

Even though Little Yuanxi tried repeatedly to invite him, Lu Ran still declined to go along, staying at home alone to dedicate himself to cultivation.

On the third day, Qiao Yuansi came back, excitedly sharing with Lu Ran what she had seen and experienced over the last few days.

Luран listened with a smile, feeling the celebratory atmosphere of Jiantianque City.

Mother had not returned; she had gone to Jinghong Peak instead.

Little Yuanxi relayed what her mother had said, mentioning that on the fourteenth day of the first month, Jinghong Peak would welcome a manifestation of the Divine Lord.

Hearing this, Lu Ran was quite surprised.

After all, when he climbed Jinghong Peak on the twenty-fifth of the twelfth month, the buildings there were still half-finished.

Only half a month had passed, and they were already to be completed?

It seems the disciples of Lord Jian Yi were picking rocks quite fast...

Unfortunately on the fourteenth, the city was under lockdown, and people were not allowed to attend the ceremony.

The siblings could only stay at home, waiting for their mother to return.

Both Lu Ran and Qiao Yuansi were aware of how much their mother had sacrificed.

After all, with the completion of Jinghong Peak, she should have stayed on the mountain with her fellow disciples to fend off the invasion of Evil Demons.

But she chose to return home on the fifteenth night to be with her children.

It was unclear whether this would影响 her career.

The fifteenth arrived quickly.

As twilight fell, Qiao Wanjun arrived as expected.

"Click~"

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Little Yuanxi immediately jumped off the couch: "Mom!"

The girl joyfully called out and hurriedly ran to welcome her mother, but...

Qiao Yuansi's smile froze as she stood at the entrance.

She looked up at Qiao Wanjun, seeing her mother's expressionless face and icy gaze.

Was she somewhat unhappy?

As a Believer of Lord Jian Yi, such an attitude was normal when facing outsiders.

But when facing her children, she was usually somewhat softer.

Qiao Yuansi knew her mother well and immediately sensed that something was unusual with her.

"Hmm." Qiao Wanjun responded softly and closed the door behind her.

Realizing the situation, Qiao Yuansi didn't dare to speak and dutifully knelt down to change her mother's shoes.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Lu Ran came over, curiously asking.

Seeing Lu Ran, Qiao Wanjun's face finally softened a bit.

Because she relaxed, Lu Ran faintly sensed her sorrow.

Qiao Yuansi cautiously said, "Mom, lift your foot."

As the birthday girl, Little Yuanxi should have had some privileges today.

Yet facing her mother in such a state, Little Yuanxi behaved even more obediently than usual...

"Is the cake ready?" Qiao Wanjun asked casually.

"In the fridge." Lu Ran thought for a moment, then still asked, "What happened?

Is the enlightenment of Spirit Mountain by Lord Jian Yi going smoothly?"

Qiao Wanjun walked silently into the house, heading towards the master bedroom.

The siblings exchanged glances, neither daring to speak.

Not only was Qiao Wanjun the parent, but she was also an unfathomably powerful individual.

If her mood was poor, the oppressive atmosphere she created could be quite terrifying.

Lu Ran watched his mother enter the room. After much thought, he whispered, "Let's eat dinner later.

Come on, I'll play a few rounds of Monopoly with you?"

Qiao Yuansi looked anxiously toward the direction of the master bedroom and quietly said, "Bro, these two days, we haven't seen any news about the completion of Spirit Mountain, have we?"

Lu Ran nodded silently; hence his earlier question.

He didn't know whether it was because the officials weren't reporting it or if there were problems with Spirit Mountain.

At 7:30 PM, Qiao Wanjun finally came out of the bedroom.

She had changed into a home sleeping gown, her cold demeanor entirely softened, becoming much gentler.

She looked at her children, who were playing Monopoly next to the couch, and spoke softly: "Hungry?"

Seeing their mother in such a mood, Qiao Yuansi immediately took advantage and pouted:

"Hungry!"

Qiao Wanjun smiled and nodded: "Let's go, let's celebrate your birthday."

"Yay~!" Qiao Yuansi jumped up and dashed to the dining room.

"What's really going on, Mom?" Lu Ran quickly gathered the Monopoly game, fearing that they might continue the game later.

After all, not many of his properties were left in the game.

"Let's eat." Qiao Wanjun said casually as she walked toward the dining room.

Lu Ran opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he could only respond: "Okay."

"Mom, bro, hurry up!" From the dining room, Little Yuanxi's urging voice came.

Seeing Little Yuanxi's eager look, Lu Ran quickly took a few steps and turned off the dining room lights.

As their mother sat down, Lu Ran also took out the pre-ordered cake from the fridge.

"17 years old?" Lu Ran tried to set aside his mixed thoughts and focused on celebrating Little Yuanxi's birthday, continually inserting candles into the cake.

"Add one more candle!" Qiao Yuansi said cheerfully, "You're 18 now!"

Lu Ran's birthday had been a few days ago.

However, according to their family tradition, the siblings celebrated their birthdays together on the fifteenth day of the first month each year.

Because on this dangerous night, their mother would come home.

"No need, no need." Lu Ran still inserted 17 candles, "I'll just pretend I'm seventeen."

"That won't do!" Qiao Yuansi's eyes gleamed playfully as she looked at her brother, "Missing a year, and you can't get a marriage certificate~"

Lu Ran: "..."

Qiao Wanjun also showed a slight smile on her face and looked at Lu Ran: "How's it going with that girl?"

"Quick, make a wish and blow out the candles, or the wax will drip onto the cake!" Lu Ran lit the candles while frantically changing the subject.

Qiao Wanjun's mood had indeed improved quite a bit.

She leaned her elbow on the table, resting her chin on the back of her hand, smiling as she watched the flustered Lu Ran.

"Let's make a wish together!" Qiao Yuansi pulled Lu Ran down to sit, "Come on, come on!

10 seconds, we'll blow out the candles together, no cheating."

Saying this, she already had her hands together and closed her eyes to make a wish.

Naturally, they skipped the birthday song; neither sibling dared to ask their mother to play along...

Lu Ran also put his hands together and closed his eyes.

His action was smoother than when he worshiped the gods.

A trace of tenderness flickered in the depths of Qiao Wanjun's eyes.

Under the candlelight, her son's face still looked somewhat young, yet indeed more heroic than last year.

Her daughter was still as charming and cute as ever.

If only she could be a bit more well-behaved...

Ten seconds, neither too long nor too short.

Qiao Wanjun quietly watched the two, her eyes brimming with memories.

Lu Ran and Qiao Yuansi simultaneously opened their eyes.

The siblings cooperatively blew out the candles together.

"Hoo~"

"Hoo..." The candle flames flickered and quietly went out.

Everything was so warm.

"Hiss!!"

Qiao Yuansi hadn't even started celebrating when she suddenly heard a low roar.

The three of them abruptly turned their heads, only to see a dark figure silently appearing outside the dining room window.

Clothed in black, veiled in black, standing in mid-air.

Evil Demon Clan·Night Charm?

Lu Ran's expression was odd, as he patted Little Yuanxi's shoulder: "What did you wish for?"

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me!" Qiao Yuansi shook her head repeatedly, her head bobbing like a drum.

Suddenly, Qiao Yuansi looked at Lu Ran.

She looked suspiciously directly into Lu Ran's eyes: "The guilty party files the suit first, was it you?"

Lu Ran: "..."

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