"Master..."

"Why don't you call me Chen Gou anymore?"

"Master..."

"Forget it, don't call me Master from now on. It sounds odd, just call me Young Master."

"Okay, Sword Spirit Qingzhi, greets Young Master Zhixing."

"Good."

"Young Master, there's a Sea Demon ahead. Should we kill it for its dan?"

"Haha, Qingzhi, with a Sword Spirit like you by my side, why worry about not becoming a Sword Immortal someday?"

"..."

Though Qingzhi felt that Chen Zhixing wasn't unhappy, she couldn't sense any other emotions either.

Qingzhi thought that Chen Zhixing was just hiding his emotions, not letting her see them.

Rather than not being sad.

...

Northern Domain, Stone Village.

Half a month passed without seeing it, and the surface of the large willow tree appeared even greener, with many branches sprouting signs of vigorous life.

Yes, the large willow tree is growing leaves.

It seemed to sense Chen Zhixing's arrival, and from afar, the large willow tree waved its branches as if to greet him.

Sword light fell beneath the large willow tree.

Without saying anything, he merely watched quietly as the canopy above gradually thickened.

Sensing Chen Zhixing's mood, Divine Liu spoke:

"Encountered...unpleasant...things...?"

"Yes."

"It's...common...for people..."

"I just find it amusing. It was with good intentions that I encountered a Dragon Turtle, wanting to drag the ancestor along to scavenge, and who would have thought it would turn out like this."

"Unfulfillment...nine out of...ten..."

"Not necessarily, perhaps after a few years, he'll become a Longevity True Monarch."

Chen Zhixing chuckled lightly.

Adult escapism is thinking about all the bad things in the best light.

"You're...right."

"By the way, I came this time to inquire about something."

"You...speak."

"Have you heard of a coffin, black with yellow mud adhered to its surface, and not only is it imperishable, but a drop of blood within can create an eerie environment like the Frozen Plateau?"

The trunk of the large willow tree trembled, and the branches at the treetop shook continuously.

Chen Zhixing could tell that his words had provoked the willow tree.

However, after waiting for a long time, Chen Zhixing did not receive the willow tree's response.

"Don't want to speak, or can't speak."

No response.

"Alright, I understand, sorry to disturb."

The willow tree still did not respond until Chen Zhixing once again soared by sword about to fly out of Stone Village when a faint female voice reached his ear.

"Remember your next transaction."

"I understand."

"As a repayment, I'll try to protect your family's ancestor's life...."

Chen Zhixing: "!!!"

...

Chen Zhixing had always been curious about what kind of life form the willow tree actually existed as.

At times, he felt it genuinely resembled a divine being!

It could converse across the Northern Domain, Central State, and the South Island where Little Stone resided.

It could, fifty thousand miles away from the North Sea, capture and subdue a Peak Realm Great Demon submerged three thousand leagues beneath the sea.

It could traverse the cosmos across unknown distances to the Profound Cyan Realm.

It could control celestial phenomena to a certain degree.

By common human understanding, such an existence is nothing short of divine, isn't it?

Leaving other things aside, speaking only of the above four aspects, even a Longevity True Monarch would likely be incapable of the same, as there's no known Longevity True Monarch who can traverse the void.

Moreover, the wondrousness of Divine Liu goes beyond this, considering its residence in Stone Village for countless years without being discovered by external Longevity True Monarchs, nor have the people of Stone Village ever disclosed its existence.

Its mysterious ability to remain unknown, does this capacity to affect even a Longevity Master really exist?

The people of Stone Village couldn't let out a single trace of news.

Chen Zhixing even suspected, if it weren't for the transaction he made with this willow tree, he would likely have forgotten about this willow tree and the village's existence.

"Therefore, to my ancestor, this willow tree is as dangerous as the Frozen Plateau itself. It seems that unless necessary, I should avoid coming here in person."

Chen Zhixing felt that his replacement, his fourth uncle, was quite suitable.

Kind-hearted, unlikely to incur the willow tree's displeasure, trustworthy, after all, being a direct uncle, holding many family secrets, there's nothing more to fear.

"It's just that his cultivation is a bit low. No, upon returning, I must urge Uncle to break through to the Nirvana Realm as soon as possible!"

...

In fact, Chen Tianchen had already been making great efforts in his cultivation.

Yet his talent for cultivation was truly lacking.

Chen Zhixing's father began cultivation a year and a half earlier than Chen Tianchen, their cultivation time differing by not much, yet when his father Chen Tianliang was injured, he had already attained the True Self Peak realm, while Chen Tianchen was just entering the Divinity Communication Realm at that time.

Later, Chen Tianliang's ailments caused his cultivation to regress for several years, and it was only then that Chen Tianchen barely caught up, reaching the True Self Third Realm with three others.

As of now, Chen Tianliang's illness was healed, and he returned to the True Self Seventh Layer, while Chen Tianchen was still at the True Self Third Layer.....

This is the situation of having no cultivation talent and being unsuitable for cultivation.

If he hadn't been born into the Chen Family with sufficient heavenly materials and earthly treasures to rely on, this fourth uncle of Chen Zhixing might have had no chance in his life to traverse the path of cultivation.

Chen Tianchen himself was also aware of this.

Thus, he had practically given up on advancing his own cultivation realm, wholly dedicating himself to strengthening the Chen Family.

It was due to this reason that after Chen Zhixing resigned from the position of patriarch, it fell upon Chen Tianchen's shoulders.

Ziwei Mountain, Longevity Hall.

Chen Tianchen sat in the main seat, a pile of paperwork resembling a small mountain awaited him.

"Brother is marrying a concubine and needs the family to allocate funds as dowry....Hmm? Only three thousand Spirit Stones?"

Looking at the dowry list reported by the eldest branch, Chen Tianchen's brows furrowed slightly.

"What's the meaning behind this from Brother? Even in our family's most destitute times, the dowry value for a direct lineage marriage was never less than ten thousand, but this mere three thousand..."

Upon seeing that the wife Chen Tianxiong was marrying was merely a mortal woman resembling the late sister-in-law, the furrows on his brows relaxed a bit.

"Someone, send the financials needed for the upper residence, and offer my congratulatory regards on my behalf."

"Yes." Li Shuang received the dowry list from Chen Tianchen and vanished from the spot.

Chen Tianchen had grown accustomed to the elusive nature of the Snow Demon Race and continued reviewing the letters before him.

It's uncertain how long passed.

"Nephew greets Fourth Uncle."

"Mmm."

"Nephew heard Father will have a new marriage and returned home specifically for it, but there are quite a few tasks, so I can't meet Father right now, would it trouble Fourth Uncle to deliver my wedding gift on my behalf?"

"Mmm...Zhaosheng?"

Preoccupied, Chen Tianchen finally realized something was amiss and quickly looked up.

In front of the grand hall, Chen Zhaosheng in a black robe, with a gentle smile.

"Fourth Uncle, it's been such a long time."

"Are you...really Zhaosheng?"

Not quite believing it, Chen Tianchen quickly stepped down and approached Chen Zhaosheng.

He grasped Chen Zhaosheng's sleeve with one hand.

"Zhaosheng, where have you been all these years, why didn't you inform the family? You know how much your father has missed you over the years, usually...."

"It truly concerned Fourth Uncle and Father."

Chen Zhaosheng looked at the concerned and excited Chen Tianchen before him, contemplated for a moment before slowly speaking:

"Nephew indeed went to a faraway place, but I am back now."

"What are you talking about? It's good that you're back... As for your father's marriage....Zhaosheng, you've grown up and should understand your father's these years..."

"Fourth Uncle, Nephew fully understands and shares Father's joy over his marriage, but having been away so long, there's some pressing matters I need to attend to."

Chen Zhaosheng smiled bitterly in explanation.

Chen Tianchen nodded in acceptance and continued, "You still haven't told me where you went after all."

"It's truly a long, long way, so far I thought I'd never return home in my lifetime."

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