Invincible Dad-Chapter 775 You’re Actually Amazing!_1

"..."

Xu Lai’s expression darkened as he looked at Bai Xue, wondering what had made a celestial treasure so cautious.

He was the mighty Xu Qingfeng.

His heart might not be as broad as the Four Immortal Domains, but surely he wasn’t the type to be generous beforehand only to demand a price afterward.

Bai Xue mumbled to herself, whispering, "In this aeon, I’ve seen far, far too much..."

Xu Lai was silent. That must be the case.

Before coming to Earth, Snowflower had been rooted in three forbidden lands within the Boundless Sea of the Southern Immortal Domain. Countless cultivators visited each year in search of fortune and opportunity, seeking that slim chance of survival in desperate situations. Most of them failed, but there were a rare few who succeeded.

In the face of immense personal gain, kinship, friendship, and love all became burdens. In his one hundred thousand years of cultivation, Xu Lai had witnessed innumerable instances of fathers turning against sons and siblings slaughtering one another, sometimes over nothing more than a few dozen Spirit Stones or a single herb.

To use a saying from Hua Country on Earth, "The world is in a constant flurry of activity, all for the sake of profit." So, Xu Lai didn’t blame Bai Xue for thinking this way.

Just as he was about to say something, the woman—who was older than the Human Race’s ancestral hall, which had been renovated dozens of times—blushed.

She drew circles on the ground with the tip of her foot, looking somewhat uneasy. "I’ve heard that you, Daoist Qingfeng, enjoy the company of women. Although I am but a flower, I can’t sell myself for some Seven Moon Grass..."

Heard???

Xu Lai gave a hollow laugh. "Who did you hear that from?"

Bai Xue pressed her lips tightly together, refusing to say a word.

Xu Lai suddenly asked, "You heard it from Ruan Lan, didn’t you?"

"No."

"Then it must have been Ruan Tang."

"How could it be Sister Ruan Tang? She’s gentle and kind! She’s always telling me to go to my room and rest, she chats with me, brings me snacks, and worries that I’m being mistreated here. It was Ruan—"

Bai Xue panicked, justifying herself nonstop, but she abruptly stopped and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"So, it really was Ruan Lan."

"..."

Bai Xue fell silent.

It had to be said, Snowflower was still somewhat naive. A slick old hand like Xu Lai could trick the truth out of her with just a few words.

Xu Lai rubbed his temples.

"Actually, she didn’t say much. We were just chatting, that’s all..." Bai Xue said cautiously. "Besides, there are all sorts of rumors about you, Daoist Qingfeng, in the Immortal Domain."

"Did you hear this from Yan Chunfeng?"

Snowflower had come to Earth under the protection of Yan Chunfeng, and the Fourth Divine General had also stood guard by her side when her three parts merged.

"No." Snowflower shook her head. "While I was in the forbidden lands, many cultivators would talk about you, Daoist Qingfeng, and... all sorts of your romantic escapades."

False. It’s all fake news!

Xu Lai held his forehead. The gossip culture in the Immortal Domain definitely needed to be reined in. Instead of diligently cultivating to serve their families, sects, and their associated Holy Lands, the young cultivators nowadays were all preoccupied with baseless rumors. Were they worthy of the immense cultivation resources the major powers spent on them?

He gave the Seven Moon Grass to Bai Xue, then turned and left the rear mountain, returning to Haitang Court to begin his study of the fourth Cloud Water Rust Character. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Time passed quickly. His sister-in-law and Yiyi didn’t return for an entire day and night.

「Early the next morning.」

Ruan Tang asked with some concern, "Xu Lai, are they really alright?"

"Don’t worry," Xu Lai reassured her. Although studying the Cloud Water Rust was taxing, he had still kept a trace of his consciousness monitoring them.

The battle was currently at a stalemate. Neither Chang’an City nor the Moon Clan had deployed their true elites, and the conflict remained a series of small-scale skirmishes. The true, life-and-death confrontation would likely require more time to brew, or perhaps a spark to ignite the powder keg.

Struggles between two stars or their respective star systems occurred daily in the Four Immortal Domains, with both victories and defeats. Under normal circumstances, Earth was bound to lose. However, the addition of Sikong Jiu—the ’fair and impartial Heavenly Dao’—added an element of uncertainty to the situation.

Sikong Jiu...

Xu Lai muttered the name softly. According to Sikong Jiu himself, he had forgotten most of his memories and had only awoken to find himself as the Heavenly Dao. But not a single word from that boy’s mouth was true. After all, Sikong Jiu knew some of the Immortal Domain’s secrets even better than he, an Emperor Realm expert, did.

Could Sikong Jiu be from The Other Shore? Although the Realm Gate from The Other Shore to the Immortal Domain had been closed since the last cycle, and only six Other Shore Cultivators had ever stepped into the Lower Realm, the possibility that Sikong Jiu was one of them could not be completely ruled out.

Xu Lai’s suspicions were not unreasonable; throughout history, there had never been an instance where the Heavenly Dao developed consciousness.

While he was pondering, Ruan Tang didn’t disturb him. Instead, she sat beside her husband, gazing at the Cloud Water Rust Characters on the table.

She blinked. "Xu Lai, there seems to be an elixir inside this."

"Where?" Xu Lai replied absentmindedly, his mind still on Sikong Jiu.

"Inside the Cloud Water Rust Character."

"Mm, I got it."

As the words left his mouth, Xu Lai suddenly froze and turned his head stiffly. "Honey, you’ve already seen through the character? I studied it for a whole day and night without making any progress!"

"Is it that difficult?" Ruan Tang was startled, then said apologetically, "Sorry, I didn’t consider your feelings. I’ll try to wait a little longer before saying anything next time."

After a pause, Ruan Tang offered gentle encouragement. "Darling, you’re actually amazing!"

"..."

Xu Lai’s mouth twitched.

He wasn’t upset because his pride was wounded or that his wife had so easily accomplished what he had failed to do in an entire day and night. Rather, he was astonished. How could Ruan Tang have possibly seen through the fourth Cloud Water Rust Character in just a minute? That speed was simply inconceivable.

Seemingly sensing Xu Lai’s bewilderment, Ruan Tang voiced her own confusion.

"I’m not sure why I can understand the characters... and I think I can take the elixir out."

Ruan Tang hesitated for a moment, then reached her delicate hand toward the fourth character. She made a light grasping motion, and her fingertips emerged pinching a white elixir.

Xu Lai’s brows furrowed deeply. It seemed the Cloud Water Rust Characters could not only record text and information but could also store items.

"Here." Ruan Tang handed it over.

Xu Lai closely inspected the elixir, which was only the size of a child’s pinky finger. It looked tiny, with an irregular surface dotted with small indentations. It had no medicinal fragrance or any other scent. If it hadn’t been retrieved from a Cloud Water Rust Character, he would have believed it was a little mud pellet Yiyi had made in the backyard.

"Besides the elixir, is there anything else inside?" Xu Lai asked.

"Nothing else." Ruan Tang shook her head. Her gaze fell on the fifth Cloud Water Rust Character, and her slender brows raised slightly. Her gaze then fell upon the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth characters, moving all the way to the eleventh before snapping back to the tenth.

"Darling, what did you discover?"

"The fourth through the tenth characters are spaces of the same size. Besides the one in your hand, there are two more elixirs inside the seventh and tenth characters."

Ruan Tang reached out and retrieved them one by one.

Looking at the three nearly identical elixirs of unknown effect in his palm, Xu Lai fell silent.