84: Chapter 84 The Body of a Spiritual Being?

Ye Changge carefully put away the jade slip and leaped onto Xiao Jin's back.

The golden giant eagle let out a clear cry, spread its wings, and turned into a streak of light.

It sped away in the direction described by Zhao Yan before his death.

Astral Winds howled past his ears as the mountains and rivers below receded rapidly.

After flying for about an hour, the terrain below gradually flattened.

The concentration of Spiritual Qi also rose slightly, and one could see scattered small spiritual fields and courtyards where Loose Cultivators lived.

Not far ahead, a small market built against a low mountain came into view.

This market's scale could not compare to the White Bird Market; its walls were low, the buildings were simple, and the streets were sparsely populated.

Some courtyards were scattered around the outskirts of the market, most surrounded by simple fences.

They grew some low-grade Spiritual Plants, appearing as if they were barely scraping by.

Ye Changge controlled Xiao Jin to land in a secluded mountain forest a few miles outside the market to avoid being too conspicuous.

He put Xiao Jin away and entered the market on foot.

At the entrance of the market, only two elderly Cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining stood guard lazily.

They symbolically collected one Low-Grade Spirit Stone as an entry fee and asked no further questions.

Following the address left by Zhao Yan, Ye Changge passed through two somewhat deserted streets.

He arrived at an even more secluded corner on the edge of the market.

There was a row of slightly old courtyards, one of which was Zhao Yan's home.

The yard was not large, surrounded by a waist-high stone wall with green vines climbing over it, dotted with small white flowers.

The gate was an ordinary wooden door with peeling paint, but it was quite clean.

Ye Changge stepped forward and lightly knocked on the door knocker.

Before long, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind the door, and then the door was pulled open a crack, revealing the cautious face of a young boy.

The boy was about eleven or twelve years old, with delicate features, and his cultivation was only at the first level of Qi Refining.

"Who are you?"

The boy's voice was tense, and his gaze quickly swept over Ye Changge.

Especially the Spiritual Pressure faintly emanating from his waist made the boy even more nervous.

Ye Changge looked at the boy and was momentarily at a loss for words.

He had many children of his own.

Facing a cautious child who had just lost his father, informing him of the bad news directly seemed too cruel.

"I am... a friend of your father, Zhao Yan," Ye Changge said, trying to keep his tone as gentle as possible. "He asked me to deliver some things to you."

"Father's friend?"

The suspicion in the boy's eyes grew stronger as he scrutinized Ye Changge, seemingly searching his memory for an "uncle" with such a Bufan bearing and unfathomable cultivation.

"I have no recollection of my father having a friend like you..."

"Xiao Guang, who is it?"

A crisp, pleasant, and somewhat soft female voice came from inside the courtyard, approaching from a distance.

"Sister, this person says he's a friend of father's, but I've never seen him."

The boy turned back and replied, his voice lowered.

The voice inside seemed to tremble suddenly, then lowered and fell silent for a few breaths.

The next moment, the wooden door was pulled wide open.

A young girl appeared behind the door.

She looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

She wore a green dress that had faded slightly from washing.

The fabric was ordinary, but it was well-tailored, highlighting her budding slender figure.

Her jet-black long hair was simply tied behind her head with a wooden hairpin, revealing a smooth forehead and a slender neck.

Her features were extremely delicate, her skin fair, and her brows and eyes like a painting; especially her eyes, which were clear and bright, though currently clouded by a layer of deep sorrow.

She seemed to have sensed something from her brother's words and the appearance of the strange Cultivator at the door.

Her face turned slightly pale, and her lips were pressed together tightly.

Ye Changge instinctively scanned the girl.

[Ding! Sixth-grade Spiritual Root, Spirit Nurturing Body.]

The System's notification sounded in his mind.

"Spirit Nurturing Body?" Ye Changge's heart stirred.

"It sounds like... it's related to nurturing and vitality? Could it be a special talent for offspring and reproduction?" he speculated privately, though his expression remained unchanged.

"Senior, please come in."

The moment the girl saw Ye Changge, she was also slightly startled, as if she hadn't expected her father's "friend" to be such a young, handsome, and otherworldly Cultivator.

But she quickly suppressed the turmoil in her heart and lowered her head.

Her voice was low but polite as she stepped aside to make way.

Ye Changge sighed inwardly and stepped into the small courtyard.

What he saw confirmed his suspicions.

The courtyard was not large, about two or three zhang square, and was kept very tidy.

A few small spiritual fields were carved out in the corner, planted with some common first and second-grade Spiritual Plants, growing quite well—evidently the result of meticulous care.

Beside them was a low spiritual fruit tree, hanging with a few scattered, unripe fruits.

A few simple stone tables and chairs were placed under the eaves; though old, they were wiped clean.

Everything was poor but maintained with an effort to keep up appearances.

Ye Changge couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy.

He wasn't entirely unable to empathize with the hardships of a family of Loose Cultivators at the bottom of the Cultivation World.

This also strengthened his determination to continuously grow stronger and protect his large family.

"Xiao Guang, go back to your room and Cultivate first. I have some things to discuss with this Senior."

The girl turned and said to her brother, her tone gentle but firm.

The boy named Xiao Guang looked at his sister and then at Ye Changge. Although he was full of doubt,

having lost his mother at a young age and with his father often away, it was his sister who managed the household and supervised his cultivation; he felt both dependence and awe toward her.

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded obediently.

"Okay." He then walked into a small room on the east side, looking back with every step.

Once her brother closed the door, the girl took a deep breath and whispered to Ye Changge:

"Senior, my home is simple. If you don't mind, please come inside to talk..."

The main room was also small and simply furnished.

A wooden table, a few chairs, and an old cabinet with peeling paint were all the furniture there was.

Although old, it was also kept spotless, with clean windows and a bright interior.

The air was filled with a faint fragrance of herbs and the scent of sun-dried wood.

The girl invited Ye Changge to sit at the table and briskly took out a coarse ceramic tea canister from the cabinet to brew him a cup of tea.

The tea leaves were just the most ordinary mortal tea, but the water temperature was well-controlled. When she handed over the teacup with both hands, her posture was respectful.

"Senior, please have some tea."

Ye Changge took the teacup and set it on the table without drinking.

He fell silent for a moment, then took out the Storage Pouch, stained with a bit of dark red blood, that belonged to Zhao Yan and gently placed it in the center of the table.

The girl's gaze instantly froze on the Storage Pouch.

Although she had been mentally prepared, seeing the Storage Pouch her father always carried and never left behind appear in a stranger's hands in this manner,

a massive wave of grief still overwhelmed her like a tide.

She suddenly covered her mouth, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Her eyes turned red in an instant, and large tears rolled down.

Yet she bit her lip hard, not daring to let out a single sob, for fear of being heard by her brother in the next room.