“Nian’er! Nian’er—”
Xuanyuan Jiong rushed into the carriage at a speed invisible to ordinary people and tightly embraced Chen Juenian, who was sitting inside.
“Why didn’t you tell Mother? Where did you go? Were you hurt?”
Reaching out to wipe the teardrops from the corner of his mother’s eyes, Chen Juenian slowly spoke.
“Nian’er is fine. I just went out to buy a few things. Look.”
Chen Juenian took out a storage ring.
This ring was something he had entrusted the old man to purchase for him before leaving.
He hadn’t bought an excessively large one, but rather the largest he could afford within his previous means.
“I am truly sorry, Mother. I did do something wrong this time, but I really just wanted to give you a surprise.”
“As long as you are safe and happy, that is enough for me.”
Xuanyuan Jiong gently released Chen Juenian—her eyes, still shimmering with unshed tears, made Chen Juenian’s heart ache with guilt.
In the silence, Chen Juenian personally placed that storage ring on the middle finger of Xuanyuan Jiong’s right hand.
“Mother must also be safe and happy. From now on, Nian’er will never act on his own again.”
“Mhm.”
“…”
The coachman was sweating bullets.
He was just a mortal working for the Xuanyuan Clan; someone like Xuanyuan Jiong was his ultimate superior.
If she were to blame him, he would be in deep trouble.
‘By the way, Mother, Uncle Ma took Nian’er out because Nian’er half-forced him to do it. Please, Mother, absolutely do not blame him.’
‘Mhm, I’ll listen to Nian’er.’
That’s good.
The coachman settled his nerves and drove the mother and son back to the Xuanyuan Clan.
—
Chen Juenian had guessed that Xuanyuan Jiong would tighten her control over him in the future, so he had prepared a backup plan in advance.
If he did not go to Linlang Pavilion within three days, they would send someone to the Xuanyuan Clan to find ‘Xuanyuan Nian’ and deliver the remaining spirit stones to him.
People from Linlang Pavilion came to the Xuanyuan Clan almost every day, so when Chen Juenian went to the guest reception area to collect the spirit stones, it didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
“Senior, this is a small token of appreciation from our Linlang Pavilion. Please accept it.”
“Alright.”
Chen Juenian accepted the Gold Card handed over by the man who had come to make the exchange.
This was something only esteemed guests were qualified to receive.
Linlang Pavilion’s definition of an ‘esteemed guest’ had only two types:
One was a powerhouse at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm or above, and the other was a powerhouse whose Extraordinary Arts had been cultivated to the pinnacle.
Extraordinary Arts were nothing more than things like alchemy or artifact forging.
In short, only the strong were worthy of receiving this Gold Card.
With this Gold Card, Chen Juenian could enjoy supreme privileges like ‘use first, pay later’ and ‘seven-day no-reason returns’.
Legend had it that Linlang Pavilion actually had another card, a Violet Gold Card.
The holder of this card was equivalent to the master of Linlang Pavilion, able to command its people at will and take any item from the pavilion freely.
However, this was just a legend.
Even people within Linlang Pavilion only knew of such a thing from reciting the regulations during their induction.
After the man respectfully bid farewell to Chen Juenian, Chen Juenian put away the Gold Card and promptly left the room he was in.
It seemed there was a major event happening within the Xuanyuan Clan today, as Chen Juenian didn’t see many people until he returned to his residence.
“Nian’er. Where did you go just now?”
“I went for a stroll around the outer areas.”
“Really? That’s good then…”
Xuanyuan Jiong gently brushed the black hair hanging in front of Chen Juenian behind his back, then caressed his cheek, speaking softly.
“Nian’er has grown taller again, and his face has become even more handsome. If this continues, those girls who once rejected Nian’er will probably come to regret it.”
“…”
“If there’s a girl you fancy, tell Mother. Mother will support you with all her might. At Nian’er’s current age…”
As she spoke, Xuanyuan Jiong’s face uncharacteristically flushed slightly.
“Mother, Nian’er has no such intentions right now. At present, Nian’er wishes to focus on cultivating diligently—”
“…”
Watching Chen Juenian enter his room, Xuanyuan Jiong stood frozen at the doorway.
She herself was still a… well…
How could she think of teaching her own child about such things?
Such matters should be taught by Nian’er’s future partner.
No matter what, she shouldn’t interfere.
Nian’er’s… partner…
“Xiao Jiong.”
Xuanyuan Mingye quietly appeared behind Xuanyuan Jiong, interrupting her deep thoughts.
“Our Huangxue Heavenly Palace can accept one more female disciple this time. With your strength, Xiao Jiong, you could enter as my chief disciple and receive esteemed treatment… I will continue to help with Xiao Nian’s matters, and this opportunity is truly rare…”
“Thank you, Grandaunt, but please give this spot to another outstanding young woman of the Xuanyuan Clan. I simply cannot bring myself to leave Nian’er. If I were to go, Nian’er would surely be bullied within the clan—that is something I do not wish to see.”
Seeing Xuanyuan Jiong’s resolve, Xuanyuan Mingye didn’t press further.
“If it weren’t for the fact that Huangxue Heavenly Palace only accepts women, I might have seriously considered taking Xiao Nian with me and figuring something out… Xiao Jiong, this is another type of Aptitude-Improving Immortal Pill. Give it to him tomorrow and have him take it.”
“…”
Upon returning to his room, Chen Juenian did not diligently cultivate as he had claimed.
Instead, he stared intently at the millions of spirit stones sent over by Linlang Pavilion.
He wanted to rely on his own strength to break through the shackles set by the Heavenly Dao, not remain stagnant waiting for his mother or grandaunt to invest more in him.
After scouring through the various Extraordinary Arts in his memory, Chen Juenian finally settled on one pill formula.
‘Recreation Pill.’
This pill had no grade, and its effect was quite simple.
Recreation.
Although a cultivator could only take it once in their lifetime and its effects, whether good or bad, were uncertain, given Chen Juenian’s current situation, it probably couldn’t get much worse.
There was also one side effect:
Complete loss of cultivation.
But right now, Chen Juenian was only at the Qi Refining Late Stage.
What did it matter if he lost all his cultivation?
He would just need to properly comfort Xuanyuan Jiong afterward.
She would surely worry herself sleepless over his loss of cultivation…
Having made his decision, Chen Juenian took out a piece of white paper and listed the required medicinal ingredients.
After finishing the list, he found another Peerless Martial Skill from his memories.
Now that he had established a connection with Linlang Pavilion, doing such things naturally became much more convenient.
As long as his actions weren’t significant enough for the master of Linlang Pavilion to take notice and break their own rules, he would remain just Xuanyuan Nian, with absolutely no chance of his identity being exposed.
Fully aware of how twisted the psychology of those ‘children’ could be, the powerless Chen Juenian could not possibly comply with their wishes.
Therefore, with his current insufficient strength, he could only hide as much as possible, using the identity of Xuanyuan Nian to conceal the existence of ‘Chen Juenian.’
For his own sake, and for the sake of Xuanyuan Jiong, who cared for him so deeply.