Junior Martial Aunt pinched the edge of her skirt, but soon her joy turned to sorrow.
She clutched her chest, as if she could empathize with the young man’s despair back then.
At Yun Liu’s most desperate moment, as his master and closest family, she was nowhere by his side.
Yan Bingling felt guilty and heartbroken.
When Yunliu was all alone, he must have endured so much suffering and loneliness.
“It’s all my fault. I should have been the first to appear by his side…”
“That’s not your fault. Look, now he has so many friends taking care of him; there’s no need for us to worry,” Yan Bingling said, twitching the corner of her mouth.
Friends?
With the tiger away, the monkeys claim kingship—a bunch of sneaky, thieving fox spirits!
She had long seen that the daughter of the Xiao clan was no ordinary person; her fortune soared straight to the Celestial Spirit.
Yun Liu’s marriage to Xiao Xinran was greatly beneficial, and his cultivation path had indeed gone smoothly.
But fortune and misfortune go hand in hand, until one day, trouble really came.
I should have slaughtered her already!
The snow-white sword immortal’s expression flickered uncertainly, as if blaming the two absentee elders somewhere far away, caught between hope and fear.
“What if Liu never comes back?”
“He will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s not alone. He has family with him. Sooner or later, he’ll come back to propose.”
Gelan said nothing, eyes darting away.
Clearly, it was the mother-in-law meeting the mother-in-law; the Qingxia Phenomenon was bringing them even closer.
Yet she simply couldn’t say it—she just couldn’t!
Luckily, Yan Bingling didn’t notice.
Like a resentful wife, she began to brood and sigh, breaking off a piece of Cold Jade Marrow and grinding it into powder at the slightest provocation.
“I was really stupid. I knew the world was unstable and still left him alone at home. Who would’ve thought something would happen at the foot of Fenglin Mountain? If I’d known, I’d have tied him up and dragged him along.”
“…….”
Elsewhere, the Outing Squad had achieved a great victory and was preparing to head back.
Yun Liu wielded Jianqin Cha, using such a fine weapon to skin and dismantle this thick-skinned beast without missing a single useful part.
He was as skilled as a butcher, his eyes shining with a rare brilliance, making Ao Tian and Qin Yao exchange strange glances.
You just don’t understand the joy of the Strategy Group. Even if you’re only passing through, you have to sweep the entire map clean!
Qin Xiang’s heart was with Yun Liu, eager to return quickly to the Sea of Clouds to refine the Reversion Pill. Every moment wasted was more cultivation lost for her junior brother.
Yun Liu wiped his bloodied hands, smiled, and shook his head. He wasn’t in a hurry; he wouldn’t leave until Qin Sister fully recovered.
Qin Xiang couldn’t argue with him. Feeling warmed in her heart, she took the Spirit Summoning Pill and sat in meditation to restore her Qi Sea.
This trip had been unusually smooth, and Ao Tian’s timely assistance was like snow in the cold—directly subduing the Baishui Black Serpent.
On the riverbank of Canglang Gorge, with the demonic aura dissipated, the sun rose after the night.
The once ferocious beast occupying the gorge was now reduced to a single crooked-mouthed serpent’s head, ready as a reward for Miss You.
Yun Liu held the Three-Leaf Dhura fruit, eyes fixed intently.
The bud pulsed like a heart, contracting and expanding, ready to bloom and bear spiritual fruit.
He carefully transplanted some immature dhura flowers as well, preparing to take them back to Happy Farm as reserves.
A green-clad girl sat nearby in meditation, drawing spiritual energy as it rippled in the air.
One person and one bird stayed awake all night, unwilling to slack off.
They weren’t just enduring the night; they were enduring loneliness, afraid the fruits of victory might fall from the branch in vain.
The yellow chicken, Crow Head, nodded off several times, shaking its feathers awake to stay alert.
“What now? What will you do next? If it’s healed, then what? If not, then what?”
“That’s none of your business, Lord Feng Wei,” Ao Tian said, scratching his nose as he stood atop the youth’s head.
As expected, all signs pointed to this kid wanting to extract himself from the storm and cut ties with the past.
Wise, but also shameless.
For a passerby with no great ambitions, any attempt to disrupt his plan to lie low would only trigger strong resistance, as before.
But would things really go so smoothly?
If the world is a chessboard, all beings are mere pawns.
Once you look back, you’re already caught in the game.
The more you resist, the worse it gets.
“Does no one want to help? Do you all just hate Shiyu and Xinran that much?”
“This isn’t about hate or like. You said it yourself—I have my path, they have theirs. Different paths don’t meet, that’s all.”
“So you don’t hate them that much?”
“…Interpret it however you want.”
Yun Liu didn’t argue.
Honestly, Ji Shiyu was sincere and guileless, while Xiao Xinran was pure, kind, lively, and cheerful—not without flaws, but still.
If the blonde had a cake and both were hungry, she wouldn’t hesitate to split it with Yun Liu.
And in the original story, the female lead treated him like a little sister, even as her cultivation far surpassed his later on. She still respected and loved him like a brother.
The engagement wasn’t her decision, but the unlucky one was definitely someone else.
But here, tragedy didn’t and couldn’t happen.
So Yun Liu wouldn’t play the victim or curse fate.
You walk your bright path, I’ll cross my single-log bridge.
Ao Tian wasn’t scheming, just muttering to himself: “I have a friend, trapped forever in a corner of time for some secret reasons. I’m trying to help her find the scattered missing puzzle pieces across the nine provinces. One piece is on you. We’re strangers, no ties. I’m not asking you to help her, just telling you—you’re far more important than you think.”
All this time, Ao Tian Mama had wracked her brain to find a stepfather, wanting to offload the task of raising the fallen Mystic Woman onto someone.
Yun Liu understood but feigned deafness, choosing to ignore.
Not every mission for a so-called task master was worth diving into.
Because this time, if he died, it might really be game over—no save, no restart.
The main quest was a hot potato.
Even if he completed every achievement trophy, he had never done a no-death run.
And the story wasn’t identical—no one could guarantee reaching the end.
One misstep, and he’d become the demon woman’s plaything, bleeding everything dry and dragging down his sect and family.
The bigger the mess, the bigger the hole you dig.
The butterfly effect was already spreading throughout the Shenhua Sect.
Forget about Yun Liu being crippled now.
Even if he wasn’t, just cultivating steadily to survive until the game’s end meant he’d only be a lowly Stage of Refining Void nobody.
Meanwhile, the enemy’s big boss was what kind of monster?
Just some mysterious supreme being popping out was enough to be a Tribulation Elder.
When the gods fought, a single finger could crush him!
If not escaping now, then when?
“You flatter me. I can’t accept it.”
“Maybe I’m wrong, maybe not. But what I want to say isn’t just about you. It’s not for me, or Shiyu and Xing Shu, or for the rivalry with Xinran. It’s something far more important. You don’t understand now, but you will soon. It concerns all living beings—you bear an unshirkable responsibility.”
“@#¥%…’”
Yun Liu’s head spun.
Protecting world peace?
The Phoenix Hatchling’s spiel was only good to fool three-year-olds and to spark the blonde’s sense of mission.
Please, spare me! If you want to save the Misty Realm and restore the nine provinces, find someone else.
I’m really just a background character having fun!
Since awakening, the Fortune Girl had been chasing after him.
The main quest hovered like a bright mark above his head.
Even the spirit pets, like overpowered mods, had abandoned their families and thrown themselves at him.
What the hell?
“Mr. Yun, I need you. The Misty Realm needs you! Don’t continue to fall further!”
No tests, no tricks, no bargains.
The Phoenix Hatchling returned to its master, no more antics.
At this point, the fat bird flew into the youth’s arms and bowed its proud Nine Heavens spirit head.
The Mystic Woman was trapped in childhood.
The current Ji Shiyu was her, but also not her, and perhaps never could be.
They urgently needed someone to break the stalemate.
“.?”
Yun Liu rolled his eyes.
Fall further?
What a joke.
Do you know how much fun lying flat is?
At the same time, a wave of worry came.
He could refuse or walk away, but the consequences might be severe.
Without Xiao Xinran’s help, could Ji Shiyu really stand against the great villain?
Would it fast-forward to the BE ending of the Prophecy of the End Era—the darkest hour of the cultivation world?
Some things, even if Ao Tian didn’t say them, he would still do.
Just not in the way the blonde servant-master imagined.
Junior Martial Aunt’s condition worsened on another timeline.
She had to depend on Ji Shiyu and Xiao Xinran’s extreme flame qi just to stay conscious and ease the cold poison madness.
The method of salvation lay within one of the fortunes.
With just these few misfits, it was impossible to defeat the Child of Fortune.
Junior Aunt had to be saved—no ifs, no buts!
Yun Liu pondered briefly, then formed a plan.
“I won’t promise you anything, nor will I agree to anything. Of course, don’t expect me to step forward,” Ao Tian said disappointedly, lowering his head and tucking into his fluffy feathers.
But then the white-clad youth added, “However, if you don’t understand something, you can ask me. Just remember to bring a consultation fee. In your case, extra charge applies.”
The Encyclopedia of Piaomiao Realm would await the honored guest at Shanhai Pavilion, not at Tianxiang Peak—just like a Kanban Girl.
He could be a shadow, everywhere yet nowhere at all.
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