CH 26.2

Talking at the door wasn’t appropriate, so he invited Ning Runxin into the room and poured a cup of tea for him.

“I’m about to have a breakthrough,” Ning Runxin said.

Shen Liuxiang couldn’t believe his ears and widened his eyes in astonishment.

It was too terrifying. His breakthrough was as easy as playing, from the Golden Core stage to the mid-Nanscent Soul stage in just two days. If he continued, he would reach the late-Nascent Soul stage.

This was beyond reasonable, it was extremely abnormal.

Shen Liuxiang wanted to say something but stopped himself. He put the teacup on the table, and Ning Runxin grasped his wrist as if afraid that he would run away, “Don’t you remember me at all?”

Shen Liuxiang replied, “Why don’t you tell me?”

After a moment of silence, Ning Runxin said, “We met in the Eastern Wasteland. I was seriously injured at the time, and you saved me, leading away the pursuing demonic beasts.”

Shen Liuxiang understood now and comforted him, “It’s just a life-saving favor, nothing to worry about. I never expect anything in return when I do good deeds. You don’t need to worry about it after all these years.”

As he sighed in relief, he speculated that perhaps the original body was injured and saved by Ning Runxin.

Ning Runxin said, “That’s what I dislike about you.”

At that time, they were trapped in a cold cave, surrounded by countless demonic beasts, and the barrier they set up was about to collapse. Once it shattered, they would become food for the beasts.

Shen Liuxiang had vowed that when the barrier broke, he would throw Ning Runxin out to distract the beasts and take the opportunity to escape.

But when he woke up, the outside world was eerily silent.

The demonic beasts were gone.

The young man next to him was gone too.

After being saved, Ning Runxin desperately searched for him and was filled with a chilling thought: perhaps that young man was already dead.

The anxiety in his heart evolved into an almost insane obsession.

It was only two days ago that he finally found closure.

He said, “You said that if you die, the biggest regret would be not being able to travel the world and enjoy all the beautiful sights of the world. Come with me, and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

Shen Liuxiang blinked and chuckled dryly, “You might have been fooled. In fact, all I want is to be a salted fish lying on the bed.”

As Ning Runxin was still pondering the meaning of his words, his body shook.

“I’m about to have a breakthrough, I need to return to my abode,” he said, grasping Shen Liuxiang’s hand and disappearing from the spot.

Back outside, the disciples of the Sword Sect were overjoyed, but they were starting to get numb to the frequent breakthroughs.

Unable to contain the surging spiritual energy within him, Ning Runxin went to his inner chamber.

…

There were barriers all around the abode, and Shen Liuxiang couldn’t temporarily leave. As he wandered inside, he saw white mist swirling around and many spiritual herbs on the ground. Shen Liuxiang remembered the bite mark on Zhou Xuanlan’s neck and thought of picking some herbs to help treat his injury.

Inadvertently, he caught sight of a plant in the corner, emitting a faint purple glow with a moist white light.

Shen Liuxiang furrowed his eyebrows.

He had heard that the abode was personally built by Daoist Jianzhen for Ning Runxin, and every flower and herb inside was extraordinary.

He reached out and plucked the spiritual herb.

At this moment, Ning Runxin successfully broke through and was adjusting the spiritual energy within his body. The barrier loosened slightly, and Shen Liuxiang took the opportunity to slip out of the abode, putting the herb into his  Star Flower bag.

The Sword Sect disciples who were ordered to guard outside saw him and were about to greet him, but when they saw his face, their expressions froze.

“He’s still coming to bother Senior Uncle even with a new lover. It’s really annoying. I want to teach this person a lesson to relieve my anger.”

“We can’t. I heard his new lover has reached the Golden Core stage. We are no match for them.”

“Then let’s wait for Senior Brother Zhao to come back. We’ll ask him to take revenge for Senior Uncle and properly teach Shen Liuliu a lesson!”

The banquet was held in the main hall, and as Shen Liuxiang stepped in, all eyes turned to him, accompanied by whispers.

“Is he the one who has captivated Ning Runxin? I don’t see anything special about him.”

“Not only Ning Runxin, look at the person beside him, Zhou Xuanlan. He will be the future leader of Qingling Sect and seems to have an ambiguous relationship with him.”

“Even the Xiyang Sect’s Young Sect Master has some grievances with Shen Liuliu. Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhao is not here; otherwise, I’d be worried for him.”

“Haha, no need to worry. Senior Brother Zhao is the disciple of Master Lan and the personal disciple of Sword Jianzun. He doesn’t care about anything other than cultivation, and Shen Liuliu is not even worth his attention.”

Night fell, but the main hall was as bright as day.

Shen Liuxiang sat cross-legged, with a table in front of him, covered with rare and delicious dishes, such as North Ice Pepper Fish and Cloud Mountain Snow Rabbit, which were not only delicious but also helpful in increasing spiritual power.

Lan Xiaosheng was seated at the top of the main hall, raising his cup and inviting everyone to drink together.

Shen Liuxiang picked up his chopsticks and took a few bites impatiently, feeling so amazed that he couldn’t speak for a while, finishing the contents of the plate in no time.

It wasn’t that he ate a lot; the portions were just very small, with only two or three pieces of each dish.

After putting down his chopsticks, he looked up with a longing expression, sighing with a feeling of incompleteness.

Zhou Xuanlan, who was sitting next to him, noticed and used a small spell to switch the dishes on their table, saying, “Master, try mine.”

Shen Liuxiang pursed his lips and gratefully said, “You’re really kind.”

“Master, whenever you say that, I always feel like I’m in trouble.”

Shen Liuxiang raised his eyebrows and was about to say something when noise came from outside the hall.

“A gift from the Ginseng Mountain, greetings to the Old Ancestor!”

The hall erupted into a commotion.

The Ginseng Mountain was an ancient sacred place with countless precious treasures and saintly fruits. Any of the items from there could create waves in the cultivation world.

The guardians of Gingseng Mountain were a group of sentient Gingseng plants. The leader among them was the Ginseng Old Ancestor, who was said to have interacted with several ascending immortals and was a revered existence in the world.

Ginseng Mountain seldom interacted with other factions, so everyone was amazed to learn that they had connections with the Sword Sect, and their envy was apparent.

Being on good terms with them meant having access to endless resources for cultivation.

Shen Liuxiang’s face showed curiosity as he looked up towards the commotion outside the hall.

In front of the main hall’s entrance, a group of round and chubby children wearing festive red bellybands stepped inside, smiling and full of joy. As they entered, the air in the hall instantly felt fresher.

These Ginseng children had bald heads, with only a small twig growing, each with a different shape – some had long leaves, some had small fruits, and some had just forked branches.

The leader among them, with his white beard neatly arranged, cleared his throat and hushed the playful Panax youngsters, instructing them to be quieter.

Then, he huffed and brought forward a drowsy little chubby baby, saying, “You’ve been sleeping all the way! Wake up now, it’s your turn to present the gift!”

Everyone noticed that this Ginseng child was different; the branches on his head shimmered with a golden glow.

“Hmm?” The baby, Abu, frowned, rubbing his sleepy eyes. When he saw so many people looking at him, the branches on his head trembled slightly.

Feeling wronged, he pouted and said, “Don’t scold me.”

In an instant, everyone’s hearts melted.

Darn leader! Don’t scold the child!

The grandpa leader coldly snorted, not falling for it, and placed the precious gift into Ab’s hands. “Don’t forget the instructions from the Old Ancestor. Act quickly, and after we finish here, we need to rush back.”

Upon hearing the words “Old Ancestor,” Abu reluctantly reached out his arms like tender white lotus roots, clutching the gift box while his chubby belly trembled underneath the red bellyband.

After taking a couple of steps, he started panting.

He paused to catch his breath, plucked a golden leaf, shook it above the gift box, and sprinkled some shimmering golden powder. Then, he placed the leaf back on the twig on his head and continued walking with small steps.

At this moment, Ab suddenly sensed a familiar aura.

His bare white feet came to a halt.

Everyone’s attention turned to the Ginseng child with the golden branch on his head, who seemed to be stunned for a moment. He looked towards a corner, and his big, round, black eyes widened.

A joyful and cheerful voice echoed through the hall.

“Daddy!”

“It’s Daddy!”

…

T/N: Why do I have this sneaking suspicion that this runaway father is Immortal Shen haha