226: Parents came

"Young Lord's painting skills are still..."

"Silence!"

"Zhou Yan is still inside. I don't have time for flattery."

The young man, startled, shrank his neck, momentarily speechless. He could only rub his nose to ease the awkwardness, while the young woman beside him couldn't help but curve her lips upward.

The young man said no more, his brush moving like a blur.

With each stroke of ink, the painting became more lifelike, until the final stroke was complete, and the scene was almost real.

And on that painting was a huge obelisk.

The young man then took out a drop of blood with golden patterns flowing through it from his In my arms and flicked it onto the painting.

The blood bloomed on the paper like a red plum.

At the same time, the young man and woman's gazes swept past the painting, looking towards the real obelisk directly opposite the scroll.

At this moment, the stele body had broken in two, the upper half still suspended in the air, but the middle section had shattered and scattered.

A blood-red light emanated from the fracture, enveloping the surroundings, preventing the fragments from reassembling, allowing them only to float in a circle.

"That direction is the weak point of the barrier. Take this and go shatter it to rendezvous with Zhou Yan."

The young man waved his hand, and an ink-colored symbol condensed in the air.

The young man took the symbol and turned to leave, but was pulled back by the young woman.

Ignoring the young man's confusion, the young woman bowed slightly and asked.

"Young Lord, aren't you going?"

The young man's eyes widened instantly.

Good heavens, still competing at a time like this?

Though he wanted to curse her for being disloyal, he honestly stood back in place, waiting for the young man to speak.

The young man gazed at the distant massive barrier, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Next time, there will always be a chance to truly meet."

"Yes." The young woman briefly replied, then pulled the young man and swiftly rushed towards the weak point of the barrier.

Watching the two depart, the young man's face showed confusion, and he muttered to himself.

"Young Lord, if you don't go now, won't you have even less of a chance once you leave this place?"

At this moment, a sound, whose origin was unknown, suddenly came.

"I can't go anymore. If I go, an elder will be displeased."

"Who dares..." The young man was about to retort when a voice from behind him interrupted.

"It doesn't dare to go, naturally, because this old man has arrived."

The young man's pupils constricted, his heart nearly stopped, because he hadn't felt anyone behind him at all. He turned around in disbelief.

Then he saw a female robot walking towards him from behind, holding a rectangular box.

She spoke, saying.

"What a strange hobby. You people from the Eastern Region are still so peculiar."

Before the young man could respond, a dreamlike light emerged from his body. Then, crystal-clear tentacles extended from his skin, then peeled off, condensed, and transformed into a glowing, transparent jellyfish.

The jellyfish's tentacles coiled and shaped, gradually forming a human silhouette.

"Greetings, True Monarch Thief of Spells and Lives."

Outside Kaifeng Kaifeng.

"Old Mu, I've missed you so much!"

Zhou Yan hugged the person in front of him, his face full of joy.

Putting everything else aside, Mu Qianqiu was truly reliable. Even at this moment, he could still come to his rescue.

Mu Qianqiu, however, waved his arms, his expression somewhat unpleasant as he said.

"Brother Zhou, I can barely breathe..."

Only then did Zhou Yan release him. His Divine Sense swept over, and he found that the other party's body was still mortal, and his cultivation was still at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

His own cultivation had increased too quickly, and for a moment he had forgotten that Mu Qianqiu was a mage not skilled in close combat.

Though he couldn't entirely blame him, after all, Xiao Sheng was already arranging for Core Formation, who knew his good brother was still stuck at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

However, mocking someone for their low cultivation right after they saved you was indeed impolite.

With this favor, he should at least wait until tomorrow to laugh.

But at this moment, Zhou Yan suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Upon closer inspection, he finally discovered the problem.

[Meng Ke]

[Realm: Foundation Establishment Late Stage]

[Vitality: 11500/11500]

[Mana: 4100/4100]

What's with this panel?

Who... exactly is this person?

Seeing Zhou Yan look at her, Meng Ke revealed a gentle smile, appearing entirely like a refined young lady.

"Zhou Yan, we meet again."

"You don't want to..."

"Stop." Zhou Yan raised his hand to halt her, "We... haven't met before, have we?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Mu Qianqiu first showed a surprised expression, his gaze moving back and forth between the two, especially lingering on Zhou Yan's golden eyes.

"Wow, a True God."

Zhou Yan ignored Mu Qianqiu's exclamation.

Seeing that the other party clearly knew this Six-Eared Meng Ke, it could basically be ruled out as an unknown enemy.

He turned to look back; the barrier was slowly healing, and the urgent matter was to leave this place first and find a safe spot to inquire further.

Just as he was about to pull Mu Qianqiu away, he suddenly caught sight of a figure that absolutely shouldn't be here.

"Strange, the person you trust looks like this?"

In Zhou Yan's eyes, an old man walked towards him, his temples frosted, his back slightly hunched but his waist straight, wearing a half-worn Zhongshan suit with softened but still neat cuffs.

But the rectangular wooden box he held in his arms was out of place with his attire.

Zhou Yan was startled, almost unable to tell if he was under an illusion. How could this standard old cadre's face appear here?

He subconsciously pushed Mu Qianqiu away, who rolled three times on the ground before stopping.

Zhou Yan vigilantly watched the three people in front of him, while quickly scanning his System panel and mini-map.

Damn it, is this a Spell or Divine Ability from Kun Gou?

Am I still trapped?

The panel refreshed several times, but still couldn't detect any information about the newcomers, as if there was nothing in front of him.

At this point, he also noticed that the pushed-away Mu Qianqiu remained motionless in a "goose landing on flat sand with butt in the air" pose, and the Six-Eared Meng Ke on the other side also froze in place, her expression fixed.

Just as expected.

Damn it! That Kun Gou has a problem with his brain, why does he always target me?!

I shouldn't have been greedy for that reward; this time, all the remaining bosses were released at once.

If he had kept Jiao Mu Jiao - Star Soul, Zhou Yan wouldn't be completely defenseless right now.

Looking at the floating image in the air, the jellyfish humanoid showed a trace of unbearable emotion.

"Senior, you are the Fifth Elder of Qingxu Grotto-Heaven after all. It's not appropriate to tease your junior like this, is it?"

The young man behind him, seeing his Young Lord speak so directly, was worried and wanted to speak, but was glared back by the robot with a cold look.

After learning the other party's identity and seeing their appearance, his face showed some anger and some shyness, but ultimately it was suppressed by fear, and he silently took a step back.

Seeing that person retreat, the Fifth Elder, holding the box, gave the jellyfish a meaningful glance.

"You Joyous Union Sect... have you been suppressed to this extent?"

"You, a Young Lord of the Joyous Union Sect, like older women preying on younger men? And your races aren't even compatible, are they?"

The jellyfish was about to argue, but the Fifth Elder had already shifted his gaze, looking back at the scene in the air.

"But you don't need to explain, I'm not interested in this kid's romantic history."

"Today, I just came by to test his Heart-Nature."

"He's almost at Nascent Soul less than a year after descending the mountain. This progress is much faster than expected."

"As for whether you feel bad for him, that's your business."

"I have my own sense of propriety in how I act."

At this point, his tone suddenly turned a few shades colder.

"At least for now, you are not qualified to point fingers at my methods."

"If it weren't for your considerable help this time, and the fact that you genuinely bear no ill will towards him, I would have already sent you rolling back to the Eastern Region."

The Fifth Elder's tone was light, yet every word carried a chilling coldness.

Although the jellyfish had no bones, it still felt a chill and dared not speak further, only looking at the screen, hoping that Zhou Yan could pass this test.

"Don't worry, I am your Junior Martial Uncle."

"In fact, when you become a Saint in the future, you and I will even be colleagues."

Saying this, he familiarly leaned forward and slapped Zhou Yan on the shoulder.

"Last time we didn't meet, and I didn't ask for a meeting gift."

"So this time we meet, I won't give you a meeting gift either. They cancel each other out, it's perfect."

Hearing such a self-address and tone of voice, a name immediately surfaced in Zhou Yan's mind.

Qingxu Grotto-Heaven's Fifth Elder, Lan Ruoyun!

And Zhou Yan now had only one thought left in his mind.

The elder is here, this is a sure win!