"The jade slip contained a trace of blood essence from Min'er and Li Yan. We might misidentify Li Yan, but how could our own daughter's blood essence be fake? You're overthinking things."
"Perhaps they've been captured?"
"Don't let your imagination run wild all day. If they were captured and sent a letter, why didn't they ask for any treasures? What would be the purpose of sending a letter? For the villains to comfort us?"
Wei Zhongran couldn't help but gently rub the space between his eyebrows with two fingers.
He had said these things countless times, but it was as if Zhao Zhi had forgotten she had asked these questions over and over again.
"I just went to Gui Qu Lai Xi yesterday. Five years ago, I also entrusted them with finding out the location where Min'er and the others sent the message from on the Verdant Continent. I expect a reply soon."
"I've decided to wait one more year at most. Regardless of whether I receive news or not, I will go over then."
Five years ago, when Wei Zhongran failed to find out the location of the message from Zhao Min and Li Yan, he immediately spent a huge sum of spirit stones to have the other party find out the source of this news and have it sent back to him quickly.
But even so, the other party promised that it would take at least five years or so for this message to be delivered back.
The reason was simple: the Desolate Moon Continent was too remote, and the powerful cultivators from Gui Qu Lai Xi did not travel back and forth frequently.
Wei Zhongran had originally planned to ask his Master, Dacen, to take some time to look after the Wei Clan while he found an opportunity to go to the Verdant Continent.
Unfortunately, Dacen had also gone out long ago in search of an ascension node and had not been heard from for many years.
However, now that the Wei family's ancestor had not yet come out of seclusion, and the remaining Demon Clan members had been hunted to the point where they dared not show their faces, Wei Zhongran, after weighing his options, had decided to cross the realms himself.
Upon hearing this, a worried look appeared on Zhao Zhi's face again.
"How confident are you in tearing through the void and traversing the chaotic flow space?"
At this moment, she began to worry about her husband again. In her heart, she cursed why her cultivation couldn't break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Otherwise, she could accompany her husband across thousands of mountains and waters, looking after each other along the way.
Wei Zhongran took Zhao Zhi's soft hand with one of his and gently patted it with the other.
And just at this moment, a sharp glint flashed in Wei Zhongran's eyes. He immediately looked in a certain direction, as if his gaze could penetrate the house and pass through the layers of the bamboo sea.
He sensed two auras speeding towards Little Bamboo Peak. There were quite a few cultivators flying around Little Bamboo Peak, most of them disciples from other peaks coming to hand over missions.
However, these two auras were extremely strong, at least for the Golden Core stage. Most importantly, their speed was astonishingly fast, like lightning even within the sect, heading straight for them.
Wei Zhongran first felt a hint of familiarity from these two auras, but they were different from Li Wuyi and Wei Chituo, who were often by his side.
"What's wrong?"
Zhao Zhi saw Wei Zhongran suddenly raise his head to look in a certain direction. Before she could release her divine sense, she had already subconsciously asked.
The next moment, she saw Wei Zhongran abruptly let go of her hand, spring to his feet, and his entire body actually began to tremble.
"Husband..."
"It's Min'er and Li Yan! They're back!"
Zhao Zhi was startled by Wei Zhongran's actions and was just about to release her divine sense when Wei Zhongran's next words followed.
As the words entered her ears, all expression on Zhao Zhi's face froze. Her sea of consciousness instantly roared and shook violently. As a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator, she actually felt the world spinning...
Gazing at the endless sea of bamboo, the familiar place drew closer and closer. Zhao Min's jade hand gripped Li Yan's sleeve tightly. She could hear her own heart pounding violently.
Ever since parting ways with Sun Guoshu and his companion, Li Yan and Zhao Min had been flying rapidly toward Little Bamboo Peak. For a time, both had fallen into silence. Li Yan could hear Zhao Min's slightly ragged breathing.
The moonlight was like water. Two long rainbows streaked across the dark night sky, arriving together under the sprinkling of stars...
But just as they were approaching Little Bamboo Peak, the space in front of them suddenly distorted, and two figures abruptly appeared, blocking their path.
These two figures appeared silently. Even Li Yan's divine sense had failed to detect how they had appeared.
Under the night sky and the round moon, a slightly plump young man in a dark green robe held the hand of a young woman in a palace dress. The woman in the palace dress looked ill, leaning against the plump young man.
The moment they appeared, their two pairs of eyes fixed on Li Yan and his companion.
The plump young man had a gentle smile on his face, while the aura of the woman in the palace dress fluctuated, as if she couldn't control it at all.
The moment she saw their faces clearly, tears were already falling from Zhao Min's eyes. With a tap of her jade foot against the void, she flew towards them like a swallow returning to its nest.
"Mother, Father!"
Li Yan didn't move. He simply retracted his glow and floated quietly in place, silently reciting in his heart.
'Father, Mother, can you see me even in reincarnation?'
He had once desperately wished for the scene before him!
At this moment, Zhao Zhi suddenly found her strength and also flew out in an instant. The two of them met in mid-air in a flash.
"Min'er, you're finally back! Where... where have you been..."
She pulled Zhao Min into her arms, her vision instantly blurred by tears.
"Mother!"
At this moment, Zhao Min's voice was also choked with emotion. She could only utter one word before she buried her face in Zhao Zhi's shoulder, her body trembling slightly!
Wei Zhongran slowly flew to the side of the mother and daughter. He spread his arms and gently embraced them both, then immediately released his hands and looked at Li Yan.
His face still held a gentle expression, his voice deep and mellow.
"It's good that you're back!"
"Disciple pays his respects to Master! Congratulations on Master's great achievement in the Nascent Soul stage!"
Li Yan hurriedly bowed deeply in the air.
"Rise. You and Min'er have also reached such a level of cultivation. It's unexpectedly good!"
After cultivating "Tidefall," and spending so much time with Li Yan, both Li Yan and Zhao Min had long learned some of his insidious methods.
At this moment, Li Yan and Zhao Min were both displaying the cultivation of mid-stage Golden Core. Even Wei Zhongran couldn't see through this, especially Li Yan's true realm.
However, he could still feel that the aura fluctuations from his daughter's body were very strong. This was because Zhao Min's mind was in turmoil, making her magical power difficult to control. But at this moment, Wei Zhongran had no time to investigate carefully.
Just then, more streaks of light approached from all around, one after another. In an instant, a dozen or so figures flew toward them.
Li Yan had just stood up straight. He looked over and couldn't help but smile.
At the very front of the dozen or so figures was Li Wuyi in his white robes. He was as handsome as ever. Behind him were the burly Wei Chituo and the perennially cold-faced Yun Chunqu.
Further behind, more streaks of light broke through the air, among them several people Li Yan recognized.
Ouyang Ping, a disciple of Li Wuyi; Zhang Que, a disciple of Yun Chunqu; and a young woman, a disciple of Miao Wangqing, whose name Li Yan seemed to have never asked.
These few had already reached Foundation Establishment, and judging from their sect attire, they had all officially become inner sect disciples.
The remaining four young men and women were all unfamiliar to Li Yan, clearly new disciples who had joined Little Bamboo Peak in recent years.
"It really is Little Junior Brother and Min'er!"
Li Wuyi's gaze swept over, and his expression became excited.
Just now, Wei Zhongran's voice had suddenly echoed in each of their minds.
"Li Yan and Min'er are back. They are flying towards the mountain gate!"
A simple sentence, yet everyone was stunned. Even the disciples who had joined Little Bamboo Peak in the last hundred years were first bewildered, then finally reacted.
They were no strangers to these two names, because it involved their Martial Ancestor's taboo.
Therefore, Li Wuyi and the others had repeatedly warned them in private never to mention these two names in front of the Martial Ancestor and Martial Ancestress; otherwise, they would be severely punished.
After a brief daze, everyone, regardless of whether they were cultivating or busy with other matters, immediately flew towards the mountain gate halfway up Little Bamboo Peak.
Fortunately, most of the peak's disciples were present today, so it was considered a near-complete gathering.
Seeing Li Wuyi's look of pleasant surprise, a smile immediately appeared in Li Yan's eyes.
So, he was about to greet his Eldest Senior Brother when he saw Li Wuyi glance at him, then his figure flashed, and he immediately flew towards Zhao Min and Zhao Zhi, who had now separated.
"Min'er, your brother has missed you to death! Come, let me see if you've changed? Hmm, your height hasn't changed... your looks haven't changed, still as pretty as ever..."
Li Yan's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. After a moment, he could only retract it and scratch the back of his head.
'Eldest Senior Brother is as unreliable as ever!'
He grumbled in his heart.
"Hahaha, Little Junior Brother, Little Junior Brother..."
Wei Chituo charged over like a whirlwind and immediately hugged Li Yan. Li Yan didn't dodge, letting Wei Chituo give him a solid embrace.
"Second Senior Brother, you're as vigorous and powerful as ever! Your strength is profound!"
Wei Chituo released Li Yan, happily patting his shoulder, making loud "thump, thump, thump" sounds.
"Little Junior Brother is just so good at speaking the truth. So many years have passed, and you're still the most honest one among our generation of disciples..."
Yun Chunqu arrived almost at the same time as Wei Chituo, but he didn't step forward. Instead, he remained ten zhang away from Li Yan and the others until Li Yan looked over.
"It's good that you're not dead!"
He nodded at Li Yan and said this, his face still indifferent.
Li Yan could only call out.
"Greetings, Third Senior Brother!"
Li Yan knew his Third Senior Brother's personality. Just getting him to say a single sentence was extremely rare. Even the greeting he had just given Li Yan felt a bit awkward.
"We pay our respects to Little Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt Zhao! Congratulations to Martial Ancestor and Martial Ancestress!"
The group of disciples who arrived later had also quickly communicated via voice transmission.
Led by Ouyang Ping, several of them knelt on one knee in the air. Before Li Yan and Zhao Min could speak, Zhao Zhi's excited voice rang out.
"Good, good, good! Today is indeed a joyous day for our Little Bamboo Peak! Wuyi, take my token later and transfer five hundred sect contribution points to each of these disciples!"
When Ouyang Ping and the others heard this, their hearts were filled with joy, and they kowtowed to Zhao Zhi again.
"Thank you, Martial Ancestress!"
Li Yan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He thought back to how he had worked himself like a dog for a few mere contribution points, planting spirit plants and picking herbs in secret realms.
Today, his Martial Mother, in her happiness, had rewarded them with several thousand contribution points in one go.
'It's a good thing Little Bamboo Peak has so few people, otherwise even emptying the family coffers wouldn't be enough!'
Li Yan thought to himself, naturally starting to calculate the expenses.
"Alright, this is not the place to talk. Let's go to the main hall!"
Just as Li Yan's divine sense was sweeping further away, Wei Zhongran spoke with a smile on his face. Li Yan had no choice but to push down his questions and retract his divine sense.
As he followed Wei Zhongran towards the inner peak, Wei Chituo and Yun Chunqu, who had just scanned Li Yan and Zhao Min with their divine senses, also fell silent. They had now discovered Li Yan and Zhao Min's realms and were utterly horrified.
Only Li Wuyi was still by Zhao Min's side, constantly asking something in a low voice. Li Yan even saw Li Wuyi occasionally look up at him with an expression that seemed to be one of admiration.
Inside the main hall of Little Bamboo Peak, except for Ouyang Ping and a few others who stood with their hands clasped at the lower end or served tea, everyone else sat down.
As soon as he sat down, Li Yan was the first to speak.
"Master, where are Fifth Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother?"
Wei Zhongran picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip.
"It seems you already inquired about Little Bamboo Peak on your way back!"
Everyone here was intelligent. Li Yan's question clearly did not inquire about Gong Chenying's whereabouts, which naturally meant he already knew.