177: Chapter 176 Tickets?

Ten days later, at the Great Qian Imperial Palace.

Xiao Ye was sitting in the Imperial Garden, eating milk-scented grapes.

News of the two children arrived—information brought by a merchant caravan returning from the Northern Territory.

The gist was that the merchant ship had encountered a pair of little children riding a sea monster out at sea—one boy and one girl, four or five years old, both with cultivation levels above the Nascent Soul stage.

When the people from the caravan spoke of this, their expressions were as complex as if they had swallowed a toad whole; they were both shocked and bewildered, repeatedly muttering words like "monster," "Prodigy," and "this is impossible."

After listening to Li Fu's report, the grape in Xiao Ye's hand "plop" dropped to the ground.

"Nascent Soul, Sixth Stage? Nascent Soul, Third Stage?" The corners of his mouth twitched, and the slight hope he held that "maybe they aren't my children" was completely extinguished.

In the entire East Sea Region, besides him, Xiao Ye, who else could give birth to such Prodigies?

Xiao Ye stood up abruptly, no longer eating the milk-scented grapes, grabbed the taihuang sword on the table, and strode outwards.

"A-Diao! Get out here!"

A-Diao flew down from the eaves and squatted in front of him, letting out a "chi" sound, still chewing on half a lamb leg, looking completely bewildered.

"Stop eating, get to work!" Xiao Ye flipped onto the bird and patted its head. "Go to the Northern Territory. Catch those two little brats and bring them back!"

A-Diao let out a "chi" sound, protesting—I haven't eaten enough yet. Xiao Ye slapped its head. "I'll roast a whole cow for you when we get back!"

A-Diao's eyes lit up, it spread its wings and shot into the sky, turning into a streak of crimson-gold light, speeding towards the Northern Territory.

aurora warship? Too slow. A-Diao's speed now was approaching the speed of sound.

As for the trip to the Central Plains—Xiao Ye looked back at the shrinking Imperial City, gnashing his teeth as he thought: Once I catch those two little brats, I'll make sure to tan their hides. A four or five-year-old kid daring to ride a sea monster out to sea, and the other one daring to follow along, forming a group to explore ruins, and doing it all behind their family's back?

"These two little brats, who do they take after?" Xiao Ye was so angry he kept patting A-Diao's head.

A-Diao let out a "chi" sound, the meaning was obvious: They take after you.

Xiao Ye fell silent.

It seemed... they really did take after him. Back then, wasn't he also an old man in his sixties who ran off to a Secret Realm to find golden beads for a Breakthrough without saying a word?

Genetics, indeed, cannot be deceived.

The sea breeze howled, A-Diao passed through the clouds, crossed the sea, and sped towards the Northern Territory.

Xiao Ye squatted on the bird's back, squinting his eyes, calculating in his heart: Once I catch those two little brats, should I spank them first, or scold them first? Forget it, I'll do both at the same time.

On the sea in the Northern Territory, a small boat was still wobbling as it drifted north.

On the deck, Xiao Yi was licking a lollipop, and Xiao Jian was sitting cross-legged on the fish head. The siblings were completely unaware that their father was already in hot pursuit, filled with Killing Intent.

"Sister, I keep feeling like someone is watching us," Xiao Jian whispered.

"Illusion," Xiao Yi sucked on her lollipop calmly. "Besides fish and birds, who would be watching us on this sea?"

Xiao Jian thought about it, felt it made sense, and closed his eyes to doze off again.

In the distant horizon, a streak of crimson-gold light was approaching rapidly.

As A-Diao's wings flapped, even the clouds were torn open in a long gash.

Xiao Ye squatted on the bird's back, clutching the taihuang sword, his face written with "I am very angry."

---

However, Xiao Ye was still a step late.

When he rode A-Diao to the Snow Maiden Ruins, the entrance had already opened, and the black, dense crowd was lined up like a long dragon, slowly wriggling forward.

Xiao Yi and her brother had already entered the ruins.

The entrance to the Snow Maiden Ruins was hidden within a crack in a thousand-foot-high ice cliff, located at the junction of the ocean and the land.

Looking from afar, the ice wall looked like a white curtain spanning heaven and earth, with a cold, ghostly blue light seeping from the crack, like the earth had opened an eye.

When Xiao Ye arrived, he was also slightly stunned by the scene before him.

People. People everywhere.

The local Snow Clan of the Northern Territory, the Yao Race from the Southern Frontier, Loose Cultivators from the East Sea, and countless large and small factions were all gathered here.

At a glance, it was a sea of black, bobbing heads, even livelier than the morning market in the Great Qian Imperial City.

There were Sect Disciples who came in groups, lone wolves who traveled alone, some riding Spirit Beasts, some flying on swords, and a few stepping on strange Magical Artifacts—like a chef stepping on a giant wok, tossing a ladle while waiting in line, which made the corners of Xiao Ye's mouth twitch.

"This is... too many people." Xiao Ye jumped off A-Diao's back and stood at the end of the line, tiptoeing to look ahead; the line was so long he couldn't see the end.

A-Diao squatted on his shoulder and let out a "chi" sound, spitting out a string of sparks, seemingly saying: Big Daddy, your two children have already gone in, and you're still waiting in line?

Xiao Ye glared at it. "What else can I do if I don't wait in line? Force my way in? Didn't you see those Void Refinement stage guards at the entrance?"

Those guards were dressed in Snow Clan attire, expressionless, their gazes like knives, and everyone entering the ruins had to undergo their inspection.

Forcing his way in wasn't impossible, but it wasn't necessary.

He sighed and honestly stood in line, shuffling forward bit by bit with the flow of people.

Since he was already here, he couldn't go back empty-handed, right? It just so happened he also wanted to see what the Snow Maiden Ruins were all about.

And by the way—drag those two daring little brats out.

The line moved slowly, and a commotion broke out ahead.

A few members of the Yao Race had argued with the Snow Clan guards over cutting in line and were slapped away, rolling back to the end of the line to queue up again.

Xiao Ye couldn't help but shake his head as he watched. "Cutting in line? What kind of character is that?"

He didn't stop to think that back when he was stealing golden beads and snatching Tokens in the Secret Realm, his own character wasn't much better.

While waiting in line, Xiao Ye had nothing to do, so he carefully sized up the surrounding crowd.

After looking around, he had a rough idea—most of the people who came here did not have high cultivation levels.

The Soul Transformation Stage made up the majority, there were a few dozen at the Void Refinement stage, and he only caught a glimpse of a few at the Body Integration stage, all of whom were at the Early Stage, and their aura wasn't too strong.

"It seems this ruin isn't that difficult after all." Xiao Ye rubbed his chin, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.

A-Diao, perched on his shoulder, let out a "chi" sound in agreement.

The line shuffled forward, and it was finally Xiao Ye's turn.

At the entrance, a burly Snow Clan Cultivator sat in front of a stone table, not even lifting his head, his tone as mechanical as a tape recorder: "To enter the ruins, ten thousand Spirit Stones per person. If you bring a pet, the pet counts as a person, also ten thousand."

The corners of Xiao Ye's mouth twitched. "Pets count too?"