Woof~! Woof~!
At the same time, the Little Spirit Dog quickly darted out from its nest, growling cautiously, its eyes fixed on the door outside, looking fiercely cute.
Open the door.
Zhou Changwang's eyes narrowed, showing an incredulous expression on his face.
Standing at the doorway was a middle-aged person in tattered clothes, barely recognizable with full beard stubble and several scratches and dark marks on his face.
If it weren't for his sharp eyes and the long sword in his hand, along with a beast hide backpack on his back, others might have mistaken him for a beggar.
Growl...
The Little Spirit Dog growled, crouching down as if ready to pounce.
Zhou Changwang kicked the Little Spirit Dog, nudging it aside, then looked at the figure outside with surprise, "Dad? You've returned?"
He genuinely felt a mix of surprise and joy.
Standing at the door was his father, Zhou Qiankun, who had been missing for nearly a month and was presumed dead.
"Huh? You've broken through? Qi Refining Third Layer? And this Spirit Dog, it's raised by you?"
Zhou Qiankun looked at Zhou Changwang, equally surprised.
Initially hearing the dog's bark, he was puzzled, but upon seeing this scene, he suddenly had a guess.
He privately wondered how his son had changed so much in the short month he was gone.
Breaking through his cultivation and raising a Spirit Beast both cost quite a bit of money.
Seeing Zhou Changwang nod, he was surprised but still smiled and said, "Good, good, good... This way, I'm even more at ease."
Seeing Zhou Changwang's excitement, as if he had much to say, he quickly added, "Let's go inside the house first and talk there."
Zhou Changwang nodded, stepping aside, and seeing the other's disheveled state, he promptly cast a Cleaning Technique.
Instantly, specks of Spiritual Light showered down on Zhou Qiankun, making him look as if he'd been thoroughly washed, quickly appearing clean.
Despite his clothes still being tattered and hair unkempt, he regained some of his former composure.
Entering the living room, as Zhou Qiankun set down the long sword and backpack, Zhou Changwang couldn't hold back his question, "Dad, what happened during this mountain trip? I heard that you ventured into Liangyuan Mountain, and on the way back, you encountered the Ice and Fire Two-headed Wolf..."
"That's right.
This time, I went deeper into Liangyuan Mountain with Zhao Heng and the others to gather a Spiritual Medicine called Spirit Void Grass.
Everything went smoothly as we had prepared in advance.
It was only on the way back that we encountered the Ice and Fire Two-headed Wolf."
Hearing this, Zhou Qiankun nodded with relief, clearly pleased that his son had been concerned for his safety and made inquiries, and then he explained, "It seems that before me, some of our team already returned safely."
"Exactly.
Out of you all, four returned, three cultivators and an innate martial artist.
They returned ten days ago."
Zhou Changwang quickly replied.
"With Old Zhao's skills, without the Ice and Fire Two-headed Wolf blocking them, their safe return is normal."
At this point, Zhou Qiankun suddenly spoke startling words, "Actually, it was me who lured the Ice and Fire Two-headed Wolf."
"What?"
Zhou Changwang was taken aback, looking at him in surprise.
"At this point, you've grown up, Qi Refining Third Layer, if you master one or two spells, you won't be much weaker than me.
There's something I can tell you now."
Zhou Qiankun's eyes took on a complex look, "I should have mentioned to you before about your mother."
"Your mother, after being injured and having no hope of cultivating immortality, agreed to be with me."
As he spoke, his eyes showed a rare tenderness.
Marriage between an immortal and a mortal is rare in the Cultivation Realm.
Especially for someone like him, a mortal martial artist with no background, venturing in the Cultivation Realm, it was nearly impossible.
Achieving this feat once drew envious gazes from many.
He continued, "At that time, her talent wasn't bad; she had a Spiritual Root of Water, Fire, and Earth, and planned to go to the Shuiyun Immortal Sect for trials and was promised a recommendation if she passed the preliminary test.
Her future was bright, with hopes even of Foundation Establishment.
But one night, she was ambushed by a Tribulation Cultivator, her Dantian injured, destroying her cultivation hopes.
Coincidentally, the ambush happened close to my residence then, and because I had met her during a demon hunt, I rescued her bravely..."
"After you were born, her health declined, and within two years, she passed away.
While raising you, I've been carefully searching for information about that Tribulation Cultivator to avenge your mother.
Finally, three years ago, I accidentally found the Magical Artifact that injured your mother, being used by a loose cultivator.
And this loose cultivator was part of a Demon Hunting Squad."
"Over ten years ago, that loose cultivator was only Qi Refining Third Layer.
Now, he's Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
With my strength, there's no way I could be his match, let alone avenge her."
At this point, Zhou Qiankun's emotions clearly stirred up.
"So you secretly joined that Demon Hunting Squad, looking for a chance?"
Zhou Changwang, not being dim-witted, combined his father's words, realizing that the attacker was one of Zhao Heng's squad.
But he couldn't determine who exactly.
Zhao Heng's squad had three at Qi Refining Fifth Layer: Zhao Heng himself, with a top-grade magical artifact, extremely strong; Ma Zhen, a Beast Tamer with a Shadow Wolf, more troublesome than Zhao Heng; and Zhang Fenghua, skilled in demon hunting and Talisman Making, known as a capable Talisman Maker before joining the squad.
"That's right.
In three years, I've had several chances.
There are many demon beasts in the wild, and although there's a risk of failure, I've long been willing to relinquish my life.
But I couldn't abandon you.
So, I hesitated.
Until recently, when I heard he planned to leave Fengming Dock Marketplace, I truly decided to act.
This trip to Liangyuan Mountain was my last chance.
So, taking their assignment to scout ahead, I slipped into the lair of the Ice and Fire Two-headed Wolf, strangled its two cubs, and left Zhang Fenghua's belongings within..."
As Zhou Qiankun spoke, he displayed a relaxed expression.