Volume 1, Chapter 126 – The Disciple Returns Home

Within Yaochi Immortal Palace, the silence of the Myriad-Phenomena Tower stood in stark contrast to the clamor of the returning disciples.

But that clamor soon gave way to a different atmosphere.

For many disciples, the three months of home leave granted by the Palace Master offered their first chance to reunite with their families after a year away.

Their hearts held not only the ache of longing, but also the hope of returning home in glory.

Heading toward Qingyang City, two graceful figures traveled side by side on flying artifacts. They were Liu Ruyan and Zhao Ling’er.

They came from two of Qingyang City’s three great families: Liu Ruyan was the eldest daughter of the Liu family, while Zhao Ling’er was the youngest daughter of the Zhao family.

Liu Ruyan possessed a gentle, serene air. Though she kept her middle-stage Golden Core cultivation hidden, her natural poise inspired admiration.

Zhao Ling’er was much livelier. The hem of her moon-white dress fluttered in the air, mirroring her buoyant mood.

“Senior Sister Ruyan, do you think my parents will be shocked when they see me?”

Zhao Ling’er blinked as she toyed with a first-tier medicinal pill she had refined herself.

“When I left a year ago, I was only at the third layer of Qi Refinement. Now I’m already at late-stage Foundation Establishment!”

“And then there’s my alchemy… Hehe.”

Liu Ruyan watched her excited junior sister, a gentle smile in her eyes.

“Your family will naturally be proud of you.”

“But Ling’er, you must keep a low profile. Don’t draw too much attention to yourself, and never use your cultivation to bully others.”

“I know, Senior Sister. You’ve reminded me so many times already.”

Zhao Ling’er stuck out her tongue, then asked curiously,

“Senior Sister, you’re already at the middle stage of Golden Core. When you return home… I bet all of Qingyang City will be shaken!”

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At her words, Liu Ruyan’s gaze shifted. She looked toward Qingyang City, a trace of complicated emotion in her eyes.

In her previous two lives, she had endured countless hardships. Even in the life when she had reached Golden Core the fastest, she had already been over forty.

Yet now, at only twenty years old, she had already reached the middle stage of Golden Core. It was something she would never once have dared to imagine.

“Perhaps…”

Her voice held a note of wistfulness.

“Besides, I’m not going back to show off. I only want to see them and put my family at ease.”

In addition to the two yellow-rank low-grade spiritual artifacts she had seized in the secret realm, she had specially prepared several precious natural treasures suitable for Nascent Soul cultivators.

Though they were not especially high-grade, they were more than sufficient for her father.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhaojun traveled alone on an artifact toward a small town east of the Wanjue Mountain Range.

Every so often, she glanced down at the exquisite Storage Pouch at her waist, her face brimming with joy.

Inside the Storage Pouch were three Evergreen Pills.

After leaving the secret realm, she had asked her Master to refine the spiritual herbs she had gathered there into these precious fourth-grade medicinal pills.

The pills were not intended to aid cultivation. Instead, they could improve a mortal’s health, cure hidden ailments, and extend their lifespan.

She pictured her parents and younger brother glowing with health after taking the pills and imagined the wonderful prospect of them living long, healthy lives.

Elsewhere, Wang Teng sped along on his yellow-rank supreme-grade flying sword, eager to reach home as quickly as possible.

Tucked inside his robe were not only spirit stones, but also several bottles of medicinal pills suitable for cultivators in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages. He had deliberately saved them over time.

“Grandpa and my parents will be grinning from ear to ear when they see all this!”

“Hehe, let’s see who dares look down on me, Wang Teng, after this!”

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Pride surged within him, but he immediately remembered the Palace Master’s teachings and hurriedly reined in his smugness, doing his best to appear more composed.

The impetuous boy he had once been was now capable of shouldering his share of responsibility for his family.

On Snow Moon Peak, Li Zhiwei silently wiped down Silent Words, the sword in her hands.

She had no home to return to. She had wandered alone since childhood, and after coming to the Immortal Palace, Li Hanyi had taken her in as a disciple and given her both her name and surname.

In her heart, her Master was her closest family, and Yaochi Immortal Palace was her home.

She walked up behind Li Hanyi, who was meditating at the summit, and bowed respectfully.

“Master, I would like to go out and buy a few things.”

She remembered Senior Sister Murong Xue once mentioning that her Master seemed fond of sweets.

She planned to visit nearby Linyuan City and see whether she could find any delicious spiritual pastries.

Li Hanyi did not turn around. She merely gave a nearly imperceptible hum of acknowledgment.

A flicker of delight crossed Li Zhiwei’s eyes, and she quietly withdrew.

Murong Xue, meanwhile, returned to the unremarkable Murong family estate within the Great Yan Dynasty.

Her return sent the entire family into an uproar.

The aloof, taciturn family genius of old was now at late-stage Foundation Establishment and a personal disciple of the Grand Elder of Yaochi Immortal Palace!

The head of the Murong family, her father, was so overcome with emotion that tears streamed down his aged face. The family elders treated her like an honored guest, their every word brimming with pride and ingratiation.

Murong Xue remained a woman of few words, but she left some of the resources she had brought back with the family and briefly guided several promising younger clansmen and clanswomen in their cultivation.

As they looked upon her calm, unfathomable bearing, everyone in the Murong family understood.

Murong Xue’s future had long since soared beyond the reach of their second-rate cultivation clan. She belonged to a far broader world.

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The grandest homecoming of all belonged to Xiao Ya, the Ninth Princess of the Great Yan Dynasty.

The imperial palace was festooned with lanterns and decorations, and Retired Emperor Xiao Minghai personally emerged from seclusion.

As he looked upon the granddaughter who had once been mischievous and eccentric but now carried herself with a touch more composure, Xiao Minghai laughed heartily and repeatedly voiced his approval.

Xiao Ya did not speak of the bloody battles inside the secret realm. She merely demonstrated a few novel ideas she had developed regarding formations.

Yet that alone left the imperial family’s other Spirit Transformation cultivator astonished.

The emperor of Great Yan, Xiao Yunsheng, watched her calm, self-possessed demeanor with a heart full of emotion.

He knew full well that his daughter’s future held boundless promise. For the Great Yan Dynasty to become a vassal dynasty of Yaochi Immortal Palace was already an immeasurable blessing.

While the disciples immersed themselves in the warmth of family reunions, hidden currents surged throughout the Southern Region because of a single title, growing fiercer by the day.

“Yaochi Empress”!

The title, initially circulated in private across the Tianqiong Plains, spread like a spark igniting a prairie fire and swept through the entire Southern Region in an astonishingly short time.

The first places to erupt were the teahouses and taverns where news traveled fastest and cultivators came and went most frequently.

“Have you heard? On the Tianqiong Plains, the Palace Master of Yaochi Immortal Palace shattered the Laws Secret Realm with a single palm strike!”

“That’s not even the half of it! Venerable Tianqiong was a mighty Immortal Ascension expert from sixty thousand years ago. His remnant soul awakened with terrifying might, only to be suppressed on the spot!”

“Tsk, tsk, your information is already outdated. Word is spreading all across the Southern Region that the senior should be honored as the ‘Yaochi Empress’!”

“The Yaochi Empress? Good heavens! That… That’s quite a title!”

“Our Southern Region is finally going to have an empress of its own!”

“Exactly! Our Southern Region has been kept down for so many years. At long last, we can finally hold our heads high!”

“Hey, do you think the three great sacred lands… will acknowledge that title?”

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“Do you even need to ask? Considering the strength that senior displayed that day… I’d say they’ll have to acknowledge it whether they want to or not!”

Similar discussions spread like wildfire from the Tianqiong Plains to every corner of the Southern Region.

At first, perhaps they had been no more than private conversations between cultivators, filled with shock and pride.

But before long, certain perceptive factions sensed something unusual beneath the surface.

The first to act were the cultivation clans and sects occupying precarious positions in the Southern Region, all of which had long been suppressed by the three great sacred lands.

“Ancestor, the title ‘Yaochi Empress’ has now spread throughout the Southern Region, yet Yaochi Immortal Palace has made no response.”

“Even the three great sacred lands have not stepped forward to stop it. Their attitude… is rather intriguing.”

Within a secret hall of the ancient Su family, the current family head was reporting to an old man cultivating with his eyes closed.

The old man slowly opened his eyes, a keen light flashing within them.

“The Southern Region’s power structure has been stagnant for far too long. The three great sacred lands are like three insurmountable mountains.”

“Now a fourth mountain has appeared, and it towers higher than the first three.”

“Then what would you have us do…?”

“A timely favor is worth far more than joining the crowd later. Pass down my orders. Open the family treasury and select generous gifts.”

“Send them to Yaochi Immortal Palace in the name of congratulating the Yaochi Empress. Our manner must be respectful and our words sincere.”

“Yes!”

Similar scenes unfolded among numerous first-rate factions.

They might not genuinely support her, but they clearly understood which way the wind was blowing.