Chapter 2: Xuanyuan Nian

Chen Juenian died with a smile on his face.

He was so angry he laughed.

He could even guess he was going to cross over into the world from his dreams.

While it was true he had no attachments in this life—

The problem was, hadn’t he died just as thoroughly in the world from his dreams?

He was reborn.

Reborn inside a crystal coffin.

‘So, your meaning is, after I came here, I became an infant, and then was reborn inside the coffin that buried me?’

Through the crystal, Chen Juenian could see the soil outside.

And right now, he was purely, simply an infant, utterly incapable of lifting the coffin lid.

After giving up on struggling, he wriggled over and pulled his former clothes around himself, bundling up, then silently began waiting for death.

He actually didn’t care much about who exactly had put him in this coffin.

What he cared about more was how to turn this situation around right now.

This couldn’t even be called a disastrous starting point.

Those people born in toilets could still stage a desperate comeback.

Him?

He was born in a coffin buried who-knows-how-deep underground.

He didn’t even need to wait to starve; he could suffocate any moment now.

While waiting for death, he began pondering why, after coming here, he was an infant and not his original adult body.

The white robe covering him undoubtedly told him he was still Chen Juenian, just now a limited-edition, infant-state, power-depleted version of Chen Juenian.

“Immortal senior, thank you for your dwelling, food, and immortal herbs and pills. When this junior later rises to prominence, I will absolutely, absolutely! I will absolutely restore your mountain peak to magnificent splendor, fill the tomb with offerings, and even dispatch several Tribulation Transcending experts to guard it day and night…”

Suddenly, Chen Juenian seemed to hear a faint, subtle sound.

Where was that sound coming from?

Chen Juenian looked up at the top of the coffin and spotted an extremely difficult-to-see small hole near the center.

‘No wonder I haven’t suffocated yet. This is my chance!’

—

‘Waaah… Waaah…’

Where was that sound coming from?

Xuanyuan Jiong lowered her head to look below the tombstone of this immortal senior.

An infant’s cry?

Coming from down there?

Although the sound was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, she could still hear it clearly.

“There’s a baby down there?!”

Xuanyuan Jiong glanced at the senior’s tombstone, muttered an apology in her heart, and immediately began digging at the senior’s grave with her hands.

The so-called worship was just to seek a bit of peace of mind, but now this concerned a human life.

She couldn’t be blamed for this disrespectful act.

Xuanyuan Jiong had some cultivation, so she quickly saw the crystal coffin buried three meters underground.

Through the crystal, she could see an infant swaddled in cloth.

The infant had its eyes open, crying and wriggling as if trying to escape this crystal cage.

After lifting the coffin lid and rescuing Chen Juenian, Xuanyuan Jiong, covered in mud, slumped to the ground holding him.

“Exhausted… Hmm… So, are you Senior Chen Juenian?”

Xuanyuan Jiong looked at the infant in her arms, her face flushing slightly.

This was her first time seeing a male body… even though…

Chen Juenian, being stared at like this, noticed Xuanyuan Jiong’s strange gaze.

‘Oh no, should I admit my identity?’

Originally, he wanted to admit it, but—

For the sake of his reputation, he had no other choice.

“Waaah… Waaah…”

“Alright, alright! Don’t cry… don’t cry… So, how did you little one get into the coffin? Where is the senior who was in the coffin?”

Thinking of this, Xuanyuan Jiong thought of a possibility.

Senior Chen Juenian was very likely still alive.

When he returned home, he discovered her presence.

Out of kindness, the senior did not disturb her.

Just now, Senior Chen Juenian came, used some miraculous technique to place this infant in the coffin, and made sure she found it.

‘The senior wants me to adopt this child. If I adopt him, wouldn’t that mean I’ve repaid the immortal senior’s kindness?’

“Phew… Good! From now on, I’ll be your mother. I need to give you a name. From now on, you’ll be called Xuanyuan Nian, how about that?”

Xuanyuan Jiong’s already somewhat flushed face became even redder.

For a young maiden like her to suddenly become a child’s mother…

“Then it’s settled. Nian’er…”

—

Xuanyuan Jiong ultimately left that Immortal Mountain.

Back then, she had been at her wit’s end, covered in wounds, and stumbled into that Immortal Mountain by chance, managing to take shelter there.

In the end, relying on the immortal pills and herbs from the mountain, she managed to survive step by step until now.

She was originally the young lady of the Xuanyuan Clan.

This outing for training was originally just to seek some opportunities, but she never expected that, thanks to the opportunities on the Immortal Mountain, she would skyrocket directly from the late Foundation Establishment Stage all the way to the early Nascent Soul Stage.

However, as she and “Nian’er” freely consumed the resources, that Immortal Mountain, once seen by her as a heaven-sent opportunity, was gradually emptied.

With the opportunity exhausted, she took the hand of the now six-year-old Xuanyuan Nian and set off on the road back to the Xuanyuan Clan.

For her, the explosive growth in cultivation was an unexpected delight, but this small figure by her side was the greatest harvest of this training journey.

“…”

“Nian’er?”

Xuanyuan Jiong looked down, dotingly and gently ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Yes, Mother.”

Chen Juenian responded without changing his expression.

Chen Juenian didn’t have much psychological burden.

After being forced to call her that for two years, he could now address this woman who adopted him as ‘Mother’ without blushing or his heart racing.

“This is your grandfather. Come on, say ‘Grandfather.'”

Xuanyuan Jiong looked at Chen Juenian dotingly, then half-forced him to call the middle-aged man before them ‘Grandfather.’

Only Chen Juenian knew how much psychological pressure he was under.

This ‘Grandfather’s’ face had clearly darkened completely.

“Xuanyuan Jiong, your direct breakthrough of three major realms during this training journey naturally brings our clansmen great joy. However, where did you get this child?!”

“Nian’er is a child I found on an Immortal Mountain. To me, he is my own flesh and blood.”

If it were before, Xuanyuan Jiong definitely wouldn’t have dared to speak to her father like this.

But now, after having Xuanyuan Nian, her heart had grown stronger because of this child.

Unbeknownst to her, she had resolved to use everything she had to protect this child.

Looking at his daughter, overflowing with motherly love, Xuanyuan Lan felt his lungs were about to explode with anger.

Their Xuanyuan family had always passed down its legacy through bloodline.

Now his daughter had suddenly picked up a child from who-knows-where!

“If Father does not permit me to keep Nian’er, your daughter will turn and leave immediately. Without Nian’er, I have no desire to stay in this Xuanyuan Clan.”

“Hmph… Fine. You can keep him. However, I must make it clear to you: he does not have the qualification to inherit our Xuanyuan Clan.”

Xuanyuan Jiong patted Chen Juenian’s head, then took his hand and turned to leave the Xuanyuan Clan’s assembly hall.

“Nian’er might not even want it, right?”