11: Goodbye to an old friend

One year later.

South of Ninghai Town, the Chen Family Courtyard had expanded again, almost occupying half of the open land in the southern part of the town.

With high walls and deep courtyards, shaded by green trees, from a distance, it was clearly the most prominent wealthy Family in the town.

A year ago, the Zhao Family's marriage proposal caused a huge stir in Ninghai Town.

It became a topic of eager discussion among townspeople for months after meals.

The final outcome was both unexpected and, in hindsight, reasonable.

Chen Xu accepted the generous gift and also took in Zhao Linger, the Zhao Family Young Miss who was only sixteen and possessed a Spiritual Root.

He did not hold a grand concubine-taking banquet; instead, in the presence of the Zhao Family steward, Zhao Haiya, he simply had Zhao Linger offer a cup of tea to Bu Yifan.

From then on, the Chen Family Courtyard had an additional Second Madam.

Chen Xu turned a deaf ear to the rumors and gossip from outside.

He invested all the substantial Spirit Stones into his Family, purchasing the best introductory Cultivation Techniques for his children and nourishing Spirit Medicine for Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger.

Bu Yifan did not spend her days in tears as outsiders imagined.

On the night Chen Xu made his decision, she merely held her husband and cried once.

When she woke up the next day, she personally tidied up one of the best side rooms, decorating it warmly and comfortably, to welcome the new Family member who was about to arrive.

She did not make things difficult for Zhao Linger or exclude her; instead, like an older sister, she taught her how to manage the spiritual plants in the courtyard and how to take care of Chen Xu's daily life.

Zhao Linger had married into the Chen Family with trepidation, but she never expected such a situation.

Her Heart-Nature was inherently gentle, and seeing Bu Yifan treat her this way, she felt even more grateful, showing great respect for Bu Yifan and prioritizing her in everything.

Watching all this, the guilt Chen Xu felt towards Bu Yifan for breaking his promise gradually transformed into deeper affection and respect.

He knew that Bu Yifan played a crucial role in the stability of this Family.

On this day, Chen Xu was in the courtyard guiding his children in Cultivation.

Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger, with bellies of almost the same size, sat on wicker chairs under the veranda, doing needlework and chatting softly.

Chen Xu looked back and saw this scene, feeling a sense of peace in his heart.

Just a few months ago, Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger had both been diagnosed with pregnancy, one after the other.

Within a year, he would have two more children.

His Dao was branching out and spreading at a speed beyond his imagination... Another half year passed.

One day in late autumn, Bu Yifan went into labor first.

She gave birth to the Chen Family's ninth child, a healthy baby girl.

Chen Xu waited outside the door, and when he heard the familiar cry, the System's notification sound in his mind arrived as scheduled.

Detected that the host has given birth to the ninth descendant, Bloodline rating: yellow grade High Grade!

Chen Xu's heart trembled.

After giving birth to her eighth child, Bu Yifan's body was already somewhat depleted.

He had thought that a yellow grade Medium Grade for this pregnancy would be the limit.

He didn't expect that with the nourishment of a large amount of Spirit Medicine, she would once again give birth to a yellow grade High Grade Bloodline!

Immortal Clan prosperity increased, rewards issued: One, host's lifespan increased by fifty years; Two, rewarded with Formation insight "Introduction to Formation Dao"; Three, host's Cultivation Aptitude improved!

A cool insight poured into his mind, and countless basic knowledge and arrangement methods of Formations instantly became clear.

At the same time, his body was once again transformed by that familiar warm current.

Just seven days later, Zhao Linger also smoothly gave birth to her first child.

The Chen Family's tenth child.

It was a boy.

When Chen Xu held this descendant, born of a young woman with a Spiritual Root, in his arms, his heart was filled with anticipation.

Detected that the host has given birth to the tenth descendant, Bloodline rating: Profound Grade Medium Grade!

Profound Grade Medium Grade!

Chen Xu's breathing suddenly hitched, and a wave of ecstatic joy surged in his heart.

This was even better than he had expected!

Zhao Linger's Spiritual Root was only Yellow Grade Low-Rank.

He thought that being able to produce a Profound Grade low-rank would be a stroke of luck, but he didn't expect it to directly cross a minor grade level!

Immortal Clan prosperity greatly increased, detected the birth of a leapfrog high-quality Bloodline, issuing super rewards!

One: Host's lifespan increased by one hundred and fifty years!

Two: Rewarded with one Low Grade Magical Artifact, the 'Profound Turtle Shield'!

Three: Host's Cultivation Aptitude greatly improved!

Boom!

An unprecedentedly vast warm current surged into his body.

His yellow grade High Grade Spiritual Root Aptitude, propelled by this power, broke through its shackles like a hot knife through butter.

Steadily stepping into the Profound Grade low-rank level!

Chen Xu clenched his fists tightly.

Feeling the surging power within his body and an unprecedented clarity of thought.

Profound Grade Spiritual Root!

In the Qingyun Sect, this was enough to be taken as a Personal Disciple by an Inner Sect Elder!

...Time flew by, years passed like shuttles.

The Chen Family Courtyard was already bustling with people.

Chen Xu now had twelve children, and the courtyard was filled with their joyful laughter all day long.

And this day was a special one for the Chen Family.

Chen Xu's second daughter, Chen Nianfan, was already thirteen years old this year.

Under her father's unsparing cultivation, her original Yellow Grade Low-Rank Spiritual Root had long since broken through to yellow grade Medium Grade, and her cultivation had reached Qi Refining Fourth Layer, with a solid Foundation.

She met all the requirements for the Qingyun Sect to recruit Disciples.

At the foot of Qingyun Mountain, there was a sea of people.

The Sect's Disciple recruitment, held every few years, was the biggest event for the nearby Mortal world and Cultivation Families.

Countless young men and women, harboring Xianxia dreams, gathered here.

Chen Xu held his daughter's hand, standing in the crowd.

Looking at the towering mountain gate, his heart was filled with emotion.

He remembered that back then, he was also one of these countless people, embarking on this path with trepidation and hope.

Now, he was sending his daughter on this path as a father.

"Father, there are so many people."

Chen Nianfan nervously clutched her father's hand.

"Don't be afraid."

Chen Xu smiled gently, adjusting her collar: "You are my Chen Xu's daughter, raised on spiritual food and medicine since childhood, cultivating better Cultivation Techniques than them, and with a more solid Foundation than them."

"As long as you perform normally, entering the Qingyun Sect will be as easy as turning your hand."

Her father's calm voice dispelled most of the tension in Chen Nianfan's heart, and she nodded heavily.

The entrance examination was divided into three stages.

The first stage: Spiritual Root testing.

The second stage: Heart-Nature examination.

The third stage: Comprehension Ability test.

Chen Nianfan, with her yellow grade Medium Grade Spiritual Root, passed the first stage without any suspense.

Attracting many envious gazes.

In the second stage, the Illusionary Heart Path, she firmly remembered her father's teachings, guarded her original Heart-Nature, and walked through it easily without any distractions.

In the third stage, the deacon responsible for the assessment passed down a segment of an incomplete incantation, asking everyone to comprehend it within one hour.

Chen Nianfan had been reciting various Cultivation Technique incantations under Chen Xu's guidance since childhood, and her Comprehension Ability far surpassed ordinary people's.

It only took her half an hour to fully comprehend that segment of the incantation and successfully induce a sense of Qi.

"Chen Nianfan, yellow grade Medium Grade Spiritual Root, passed all three stages, rated as excellent. Allowed into the Outer Sect!"

When the deacon loudly announced the result, Chen Nianfan jumped up excitedly.

She turned to search for her father's figure in the crowd.

Chen Xu stood in the distance, giving her a relieved smile.

The Chen Family finally had its first child.

Officially stepping into a true Cultivation Sect.

After settling his daughter, watching her receive her Disciple robes and follow a Senior Brother into the mountain gate, Chen Xu turned to leave.

However, he did not return directly to Ninghai Town, but instead steered his Flying Sword towards the back of Qingyun Sect mountain.

He was going to meet an old acquaintance.

He remembered that Sun Xiaoyue's Immortal Cave was nearby.

It had been many years since they last met, and he wondered how she was doing now.

Following his memory, Chen Xu found the familiar Immortal Cave.

The Restriction outside the Immortal Cave was still there, but many weeds had grown at the entrance, making it appear somewhat desolate.

He sent out a sound transmission talisman.

After a long while, the Restriction slowly opened.

A figure dressed in a gray Daoist robe appeared at the cave entrance.

"Brother Chen...?"

Sun Xiaoyue was stunned when she saw Chen Xu outside the door, her eyes filled with disbelief.

In the few years they hadn't seen each other, she had changed a lot.

The once lively and cheerful young woman now had a trace of lingering fatigue and loneliness on her face.

Her cultivation had stagnated at Qi Refining Great Perfection, without any further progress.

"I brought my daughter to participate in the entrance examination, and I stopped by to see you," Chen Xu smiled.

"Quick... Please come in."

Sun Xiaoyue regained her senses and quickly welcomed him inside.

The Immortal Cave was simply furnished, even somewhat crude.

A thin layer of dust covered the stone table and stone stools, and the air was filled with a strange smell of mixed herbs and dust.

"Please excuse the mess, I haven't tidied up in a long time."

Sun Xiaoyue awkwardly wiped a stone stool.

"It's quite nice, very peaceful."

Chen Xu sat down, observing her. "How have you been all these years?"

"Just so-so." Sun Xiaoyue forced a smile, pouring him a cup of water. "Every day, I meditate, Cultivate Qi, plant some herbs, and the days just pass by."

Her smile carried a familiar taste to Chen Xu.

It was the taste from when Bu Yifan failed her Foundation Establishment Breakthrough.

The taste of her Heart-Nature collapsing.

"You... also tried to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment?"

Chen Xu asked softly.

Sun Xiaoyue's body stiffened, and the hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

She lowered her head, not answering.

But silence itself was an answer.

"I failed."

After a long while, she said in an almost inaudible voice, "Last year, I used the foundation establishment pill given by the Sect to try once. I didn't make it, and I even injured my Foundation. I only recently recovered."

"It's quite good like this now." She looked up, forcing a smile onto her face: "I don't have to fight and kill anymore. Every day I plant flowers and herbs, like a Mortal old lady. It's quite peaceful."

Chen Xu looked at her feigned ease, sighing inwardly.

He knew how cruel it was for a Cultivator to have their path cut off.

Xu Qianqian had become a living dead person because of it.

Bu Yifan had only recovered with his and her Family's help.

As for Sun Xiaoyue, she had endured it all by herself.

"What about Chen Qingqing? Is she doing well?"

Chen Xu changed the topic.

At the mention of Chen Qingqing, Sun Xiaoyue's eyes brightened for a moment, then dimmed again: "She's doing very well. She reached Foundation Establishment Middle Stage the year before last and has been out hunting that demonic Cultivator. I heard she even performed a great service recently and was rewarded with a High Grade Magical Artifact by the Sect. She's the real Cultivator; she and I are no longer on the same path."

As the two chatted, the atmosphere grew somewhat heavy.

As night deepened, the chirping of insects came from outside the Immortal Cave.

Sun Xiaoyue got up and lit the moonstone on the stone wall, and the Immortal Cave immediately brightened.

She stood with her back to Chen Xu, looking at the dark night outside the Immortal Cave, silent for a long time.

"Brother Chen," she suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, with a slight tremor, "Do you know? These past few years, I haven't told anyone. Actually... I've always been waiting for you to come."

Chen Xu was startled.

"I always thought that maybe someday you would also pass by here, just like today, and come to see me."

She turned around, her eyes red, but with a relieved smile on her face: "After I failed, I didn't want to see anyone. Sister Qingqing came to see me a few times, but I yelled at her and made her leave."

"I've locked myself in here, like a turtle hiding in its shell."

"Sometimes I wonder if your choice back then was the right one after all."

"Guarding a Family, watching your children grow day by day, although it's mundane, every day you wake up knowing you're not alone."

"Unlike me, this Immortal Cave is cold and desolate. Sometimes I don't say a word for months on end, I've almost forgotten how to talk to people."

She looked at Chen Xu, her eyes filled with envy and loneliness.

And a hint of affection she had hidden for many years.

An affection she dared not speak.

"I've said everything I wanted to say in this lifetime today."

She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, "You should go, Brother Chen. From now on... don't come back either. Seeing you always makes me feel like I've lived as a joke all these years."

After she finished speaking, she turned away.

Leaving Chen Xu with a lonely and stubborn back.

Chen Xu looked at her slightly trembling shoulders.

He looked at this desolate Immortal Cave, devoid of any warmth.

He remembered the girl who used to follow Chen Qingqing in the outer Sect, chattering away, curious about everything.

He also thought of Bu Yifan.

He stood up and walked behind Sun Xiaoyue.

"Come with me."

He spoke calmly.

Sun Xiaoyue's body suddenly trembled, as if struck by lightning.

She froze in place, turning around incredulously, looking at Chen Xu's calm face.

"Come... come with you?"

Her voice was dry, as if these two words had exhausted all her strength.

"Yes."

Chen Xu nodded, his tone unwavering: "It's too desolate here, not suitable for healing. My home... is very lively."

Sun Xiaoyue looked at him, tears in her eyes, no longer able to hold them back, gushing out.

She wanted to refuse, wanted to say that she was a cripple, a failure, and would only cause trouble if she went.

But she looked into Chen Xu's eyes, which held no pity or sympathy, only an equal acceptance.

All words of refusal were stuck in her throat, eventually turning into a silent nod.

On the way back to Ninghai Town, Sun Xiaoyue remained silent.

She sat on Chen Xu's Flying Sword, watching the mountains rapidly receding beneath them, her heart a mix of emotions.

She felt both lost about the future and a sense of security she had never experienced before.

This man had extended his hand to her in her most desperate moment.

When the sprawling Chen Family Courtyard appeared before her eyes, Sun Xiaoyue was completely stunned.

High walls, deep courtyards, pavilions, and towers—it was no longer the dilapidated small courtyard of yesteryear.

It was then that she truly realized that the path Chen Xu had taken might indeed be extraordinary.

Chen Xu led her through the courtyard gate, and the children, seeing their father return, immediately gathered around him happily.

"Dad!"

"Dad, you're back!"

Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger also came out of the house upon hearing the commotion. When they saw Sun Xiaoyue behind Chen Xu, the smiles on their faces faltered slightly.

Sun Xiaoyue nervously clutched the corner of her clothes, not daring to look up at them.

She knew how awkward her current situation was.

"Little Sister Xiaoyue?"

Bu Yifan was the first to react. Her voice held a hint of surprise, but more of warmth.

She stepped forward, took Sun Xiaoyue's cold hand, and seeing her pale, haggard face and the lingering Death Qi on her, a trace of heartache flashed in her eyes.

"What happened? How did you end up like this?"

Bu Yifan's concern was genuine.

In Sun Xiaoyue, she saw a reflection of herself after she had failed her Foundation Establishment Breakthrough.

That despair, that self-negation—she felt it deeply.

Zhao Linger also followed Bu Yifan, timidly calling out to Sun Xiaoyue: "Sister Sun."

Chen Xu watched this scene, his heart feeling a little warmer.

He said to Bu Yifan: "Yifan, Xiaoyue will be living here from now on. Please help her prepare a room."

Bu Yifan didn't ask why, she just nodded heavily: "Don't worry, leave it to me."

That night, Chen Xu didn't make a big fuss; he simply added an extra set of bowls and chopsticks in their dining room.

At the dinner table, Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger continuously served Sun Xiaoyue dishes, and the children curiously observed the new "Auntie Xiaoyue."

After dinner, Bu Yifan called Sun Xiaoyue to the main hall.

Under the gaze of Chen Xu and Zhao Linger, Sun Xiaoyue awkwardly picked up a cup of hot tea and offered it to Bu Yifan, softly calling out, "Sister."

Bu Yifan took the tea, took a sip, then pulled her down to sit beside her, and gently said, "From now on, this is your home. Don't think too much; just focus on getting your body well first."

There were no elaborate ceremonies, no gossip from outsiders.

With a cup of tea and a single address of "Sister," Sun Xiaoyue became the third mistress of this household.

She looked at the warm and harmonious Family before her.

The frozen ice in her heart finally began to melt.

Days passed, and Sun Xiaoyue's life in the Chen Family was a thousand times better than she had imagined.

Bu Yifan treated her like a younger sister, and Zhao Linger, with her gentle nature, showed her great respect.

The children were innocent and carefree; their laughter was the best medicine.

Sun Xiaoyue gradually emerged from her past shadows; a smile returned to her face, and she became more talkative.

She began to help Bu Yifan manage the herb garden in the courtyard, and assisted Zhao Linger in mending clothes for the children, living a fulfilling and peaceful life.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Chen Xu was in the study, checking the household accounts, when Bu Yifan and Zhao Linger walked in together, a mysterious smile on their faces.

"Husband, guess what good news we have to tell you?"

Bu Yifan said with a smile.

Chen Xu put down the account book, and seeing their expressions, his heart stirred: "Could it be..."

"