On Juenian Mountain, Chen Juenian was forced to meet with Xiao Mu Qiuying.
She was the one who forced him, saying if he didn’t agree, she would keep cultivating until dark.
So he agreed, and in the end, he regretted it.
It would have been better to cultivate until dark.
“Qiuying. How about we do something else?”
Grabbing a handful of Chen Juenian’s flowing white hair, Xiao Mu Qiuying shouted angrily:
“Does Immortal Brother dislike me?”
“No, that’s not it. I mean, this kind of behavior might very well attract Heavenly Thunder…”
“This is my dream, so what I say goes. Immortal Brother, just relax and go with it.”
“Besides, it doesn’t really fit, does it?”
Xiao Mu Qiuying lowered her head and took a look.
It did seem a bit tricky.
The size of Chen Juenian’s spiritual consciousness and her own childhood form were both fixed.
“How about we take a walk around instead? You’ve never truly visited Juenian Mountain before. This is a good chance to take a proper look.”
“Alright then.”
Although very unwilling, Xiao Mu Qiuying ultimately had to agree.
They walked into the room Chen Juenian had prepared for his disciple on Juenian Mountain.
Looking at the bed, Xiao Mu Qiuying remembered something from before:
“Sister said Immortal Brother didn’t know there was a book of that kind under the bed, but… Immortal Brother seemed to know about it.”
“Actually, I didn’t know before that. Everything you saw afterwards was just my own guess.”
“A guess? Why would Immortal Brother guess in that direction?”
Why?
If she wanted to know why, Mu Qiuying shouldn’t be asking him, but rather the seven people who had slept in this bed.
“Perhaps because of your sister.”
“Then I understand—”
Xiao Mu Qiuying didn’t continue, because if she were to say it, she and her sister were essentially doing the same thing, just with different outcomes.
If that was the case, then it was fine.
There really weren’t many interesting things on Juenian Mountain.
For the girls who had lived on the mountain, the only interesting thing was Chen Juenian.
So Xiao Mu Qiuying quickly grew bored.
Sensing her boredom, and to stop her from thinking about that kind of thing again, Chen Juenian spoke up:
“Actually, that bow I got before is a divine weapon, did you know?”
Xiao Mu Qiuying shook her head.
She really didn’t know.
That bow started to become less effective around the Core Formation Stage, and yet it was actually a divine artifact…
“Back then, I obtained a root from the top of a giant tree in the Ninth Heaven, a root that had condensed the essence of heaven and earth, and made it into that ‘Sealed Dust Bow’. For it, I even specially created a peerless martial skill to match.”
“Is the Dust-Sealing Sword Sect related to you, Immortal Brother?”
“…”
Chen Juenian gently shook his head, then continued:
“The Sealed Dust Bow has existed for far longer than the Dust-Sealing Sword Sect.”
“Oh.”
It must just be a coincidence then.
“So, that Sealed Dust Bow was always meant to be yours. I’ve already passed on the matching cultivation technique to you. After we wake up, you should take the bow back. At the very least, it will be more useful in your hands than in my current ones.”
Hearing this, Xiao Mu Qiuying gently shook her head.
“Immortal Brother, you clearly need it more. With the Hundred Arms Art you gave me, even without that Sealed Dust Bow, I can unleash the full power of the ‘Sealed Dust Bow’ technique.”
In other words, for her, whether she had that physical Sealed Dust Bow or not didn’t make much difference.
The reason was simple:
The cultivation technique Chen Juenian gave her was just that overpowered.
The Hundred Arms Art combined with the ‘Sealed Dust Bow’ technique—even if the physical bow was just an ordinary longbow, it would be enough to flatten a mountain with a single arrow.
“Alright then.”
After saying this, the feeling of unease in Chen Juenian’s heart grew stronger and stronger.
He needed to find a new topic!
“Qiuying, do you want to know what I’ve experienced all these years?”
“Immortal Brother, can I really be your mother for once?”
That reminded Xiao Mu Qiuying.
A long, long time ago, the immortal back then, she guessed, was probably thousands of years old, while she was only six.
But now, the immortal was less than twenty, while she was over seven hundred.
This contrast made Mu Qiuying inexplicably yearn for it, especially after taking his ‘first feeding’ last time.
“No, Qiuying, you’re too small now to be a mother.”
Besides, Chen Juenian felt doing this would be very unfair to Xuanyuan Jiong.
“If you won’t let me, then I’ll risk having my spiritual consciousness torn apart and just—”
“…”
Looking at Xiao Mu Qiuying’s satisfied face, Chen Juenian silently apologized to his mother in his heart.
This was just a game, mother would definitely understand!
Speaking of which…
“Qiuying, can you promise me one thing?”
“Please speak, Immortal Brother! As long as it’s reasonable, Qiuying will agree.”
“Please don’t tell my mother about the relationship between us, okay?”
Xiao Mu Qiuying was stunned for a moment.
“So, Immortal Brother, after living for thousands of years, you really do see Xuanyuan Jiong, that child, as your mother?”
How to put it?
Chen Juenian didn’t really count as having lived for thousands of years.
For him, these thousands of years were equivalent to just seven nights.
He dreamed for seven days, and in the dream, he lived through a millennium.
Outside the dream, he was just a… helpless orphan drifting along, waiting to die.
The reason he chose to save those girls in the dream might also have something to do with that.
“Yes. It might be hard for you to believe, Qiuying.”
“Not at all, Qiuying understands Immortal Brother.”
Well, how she understood wasn’t that important; the key was that she did understand.
“I won’t tell that child Xuanyuan Jiong. By the way, Immortal Brother, have you met Xuanyuan Mingye?”
“Yes, I have. She’s my grandaunt. Please keep it a secret from her too…”
—
“Little Jiong…”
Xuanyuan Jiong was temporarily staying in the residence arranged by Xuanyuan Mingye, which was very close to the Huangxue Heavenly Palace.
During this time, Xuanyuan Mingye not only kept urging Xuanyuan Jiong to return to the clan but also kept trying to soothe her low spirits.
Why was she low?
Because of Chen Juenian.
In Xuanyuan Mingye’s understanding, Xuanyuan Jiong had always been diligent and hardworking.
At least before, she would never have neglected her Immortal Path for over a month like this.
“Aunt, I miss Nian’er.”
“Little Jiong, Nian’er can’t stay by your side forever. He needs to have his own life, his own privacy. Eventually, he’ll have to start a family and build a career, right? When he finds his own Dao Companion, you definitely won’t be able to keep clinging to him…”
“I understand, I know that day will come… but I really miss him.”
“There, there. Nian’er is definitely safe now. With Mu Qiuying there, he’s surely living well. Maybe he’s even found a senior sister at the Thousand Arms Sect that he likes?”
As an old friend of Mu Qiuying, Xuanyuan Mingye trusted both her character and her strength.
Things like mistreating Chen Juenian definitely wouldn’t happen.
On the contrary, she would teach him with all her heart and effort.
“Besides, didn’t you say before, Little Jiong, that in a few days you can go to the Thousand Arms Sect to pick him up?”