During this time, Ye Ping’an continued living in seclusion with Ning Yue and little Mengyao.
Fortunately, the thing he’d been most worried about—an accidental reappearance of the story’s “protagonist”—never happened.
That alone let him breathe a huge sigh of relief.
In this hidden sanctuary, the three of them settled into a quiet rhythm. Mengyao focused on her cultivation. Ning Yue took care of their meals.
Ye Ping’an handled foraging and finding supplies. The dynamic between them felt almost domestic—like a married couple retreating into the mountains to raise a child in peace.
In less than two months, little Mengyao went from the eleventh layer of Qi Refining to breaking through the twelfth.
That kind of leap in such a short time?
It was terrifyingly impressive. It was as if bottlenecks didn’t even exist for her.
This was exactly why the big sects were obsessed with talent—not just for a disciple’s ability to absorb spiritual energy, but because geniuses encountered far fewer obstacles during cultivation.
For someone like Mengyao, who advanced as if nothing could stop her, Ye Ping’an only grew more convinced: as long as he held tight to this “big white thigh” of a junior sister, he, the so-called cannon fodder, might actually survive to see a peaceful, ordinary life.
But now that she’d reached the twelfth layer, Ye Ping’an didn’t rush her into further cultivation.
Instead, he made preparations to return to Xuanxing Sect.
After all, they’d been gone nearly two months, and more importantly—the number 13 marked a threshold.
Even though Mengyao hadn’t hit any bottlenecks yet, the jump from the twelfth to the thirteenth layer was different.
That bottleneck wasn’t something talent could overcome—it was the Dao itself imposing a limit on all cultivators.
And precisely because of this restriction, only after breaking through to the thirteenth layer and building one’s Foundation would a cultivator awaken a powerful divine ability.
Sure, reaching the twelfth layer and then building the foundation also gave you a divine ability—but compared to the one awakened at the thirteenth layer?
It wasn’t even close. Some even failed to awaken anything if they didn’t meet the right conditions.
So, if Ye Ping’an wanted everything to go according to plan, Mengyao absolutely had to reach the thirteenth layer.
“Senior brother… Sister Ning Yue… do you think we’ll always stay together like this?” Mengyao asked softly as she glanced back at the hidden cave that had sheltered them for so long.
The past weeks had been so peaceful, so cozy—like a real family. Now, as they prepared to leave, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.
“If that’s what you want, then of course,” Ye Ping’an nodded, keeping his response brief. He didn’t want to break the illusion.
With her level of talent, it was only a matter of time before Mengyao realized that Xuanxing Sect was too small for her.
His role was only to help her cross the threshold into Foundation Building. One day, when she was older and wiser, she would make the kind of decisions adults were meant to make.
“Obviously,” Ning Yue smiled warmly, affirming Mengyao’s question without hesitation. After all, what harm was one more child in the family?
In her heart, Ning Yue had already decided—no matter what happened, she wasn’t leaving. The identity of “Ye Ningyue” was hers for life.
As for whether she would ever reclaim her original identity… she’d let fate decide.
“Mhm!” Mengyao of course had no idea what Ye Ping’an or Sister Ning Yue were thinking. But with both of them smiling so sincerely, she couldn’t help but beam with happiness.
On the way back, Ning Yue once again wrapped herself around Mengyao protectively as they rode behind Ye Ping’an.
But… something felt off.
It had only been two months, yet Ning Yue found herself struggling to hold Mengyao the same way she used to. Had the girl grown again?
Ye Ping’an, meanwhile, was focused on “steering” the little one—and the moment he felt that familiar, soft pressure from behind, his entire body trembled again.
It took him a moment of deep breathing before he could stop shaking.
Had she… grown even more?
He wondered silently, trying to keep his composure.
Thanks to Mengyao’s breakthrough, her spiritual energy had increased severalfold, making their journey back significantly faster.
Still, by the time they returned to Xuanxing Sect, more than two months had passed since they first left.
During those two months, Shen Mengting had been a nervous wreck.
Yes, Ye Ping’an had said something before leaving—but he’d never been gone this long before.
And more importantly, her useless son hadn’t just run off alone—he’d taken both of her “future daughters-in-law” with him.
Out there, the world was dangerous. What if her idiot son did something dumb and got the two girls killed—or worse, lost?
After all these years of watching Ning Yue grow up—seeing her personality, her cooking skills, her body maturing beautifully at such a young age—Shen Mengting had long since picked her as a top-tier daughter-in-law candidate.
She had the whole package, and no doubt would one day give her grandchildren.
As for little Mengyao?
She’d been locked in as a daughter-in-law the moment she first stepped into their home.
If her trash son messed things up and lost those two, where on earth would they ever find girls like that again?
So yes, Shen Mengting was deeply worried.
As for Ye Ping’an’s father, Ye Lingtian?
It’s not that he wasn’t concerned—but he hadn’t even been around. Shortly after Ping’an left, Ye Lingtian had been summoned away from the sect.
Why?
Because tensions between the two major sects downstream of Xuanxing Sect had reached a boiling point. War was imminent.
Under normal circumstances, those downstream sects would’ve summoned support from smaller sects like Xuanxing—but this time, they didn’t. They locked their borders instead.
The reason?
Too many times in history, reinforcements from weaker sects had proved unreliable—either due to lack of combat power, or worse, betrayal at critical moments.
After losing too many battles because of backstabbing allies, the big sects had learned their lesson.
So now, whenever two evenly matched factions prepared to fight, they’d seal off their downstream sects. It meant fewer troops—but more control and safety.