The Sect Leader Has Taken in a New Female Disciple

Inside the cave, Zhou Qing’s eyes snapped open, and even as the Token slipped from his palm, he didn’t notice at all.

In the cramped grotto he paced back and forth, his steps as chaotic as a drunkard’s.

Suddenly, he scooped up the old hen that was scratching at the dirt, loose soil pattering down.

"Hey, chicken!" He lifted the old hen and spun around, sending feathers flying in fright. "I might be a dad!"

The old hen’s little bean-like eyes instantly went round.

"Tell me, will it be a boy or a girl?" Zhou Qing hugged the chicken to his chest, face full of excitement. "Lu once asked me which I’d prefer, and I said I liked both..."

His voice suddenly choked. "But I never thought this day would come so soon."

This time, the old hen, for once, quietly nestled in the crook of his arm, listening to Zhou Qing’s incoherent rambling: "I have family now... I’m no longer... all alone..."

"To hell with the three flowers, to hell with the Desolate Forbidden, we’re heading to the Shen Family right now!"

Zhou Qing could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart and directly rushed out from underground, clutching the old hen.

With a wave of his hand he summoned the Flying Ship, a streak of flowing light tearing across the sky, heading straight for the tail end of Nanhuang State.

Almost at the same moment, Wu Sha also arrived at the border of the Desolate Forbidden.

Wearing a ferocious mask, he slipped furtively through the crowd, his gaze constantly sweeping over suspicious faces...

...

The fifth tail of Nanhuang State.

This vast region was comparable in size to five counties of the Holy Martial Dynasty. Besides the countless cities under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Fortune Dynasty, it was also dotted with innumerable sect forces.

And the overlord of this place was the Shen Family, ranked fifth among the Eight Great Families.

Here, anyone with the surname Shen, even if they had no blood ties to the Shen Family, would receive a certain degree of respect when traveling abroad.

The Shen Family’s influence permeated every street and every market, to the point that even imperial officials had to give them some face.

At the same time, in a secret chamber of a mountain estate within a certain city, Shen Hanyi slowly opened her eyes.

With a complicated expression, she gently caressed her abdomen, a trace of inner conflict flashing through her eyes.

After a long silence, she rose and dispelled the Four-Color Restriction around her. Those esoteric Array Patterns turned into streams of light and sank into her Storage Bag.

Pushing open the secret chamber door, she looked at the gradually sinking sunset on the horizon and let out a light sigh.

Her figure flickered, and she appeared before another door.

Just as she was about to knock, her brows beneath the veil knit slightly. With a light push of her fair hand, the door opened without a sound.

It was a warm and elegant boudoir, with pale-purple gauze curtains hanging softly and a pot of blooming Spiritual Orchid placed by the window.

Several cute cloth dolls were set by the bed, every detail steeped in a maiden’s aura.

Yet at this moment, what entered her sight was an Imaging Stone lying quietly on the table.

Shen Hanyi walked forward slowly and tapped it lightly with a jade-white finger.

The instant Spiritual Power surged in, Lu Yaoyao’s phantom projection emerged.

Her head of silver hair had long lost its former luster, and her haggard face would make anyone’s heart ache.

"Sister Shen..." The Lu Yaoyao in the image forced out a faint smile. "Thank you for taking care of me for these past hundred years."

"Thanks to you, Yaoyao has seen splendor I never even dreamed of and tasted all kinds of delicacies of the mortal world. Under your guidance, I even broke through to the Late Stage of Divinity Transformation..."

Her voice suddenly choked. "But my heart just can’t calm down."

"You once said the void is vast and boundless, and that for ordinary people who fall into it, the hope of survival is slim... but I believe that Zhou is definitely still alive."

"For some reasons I can’t say too much... but I’m going to find him. Especially those regions where the Demon Emperors are entrenched—I feel that’s where he has the greatest chance of escaping."

After that, Lu Yaoyao took a deep breath. "Yaoyao will remember your kindness in her heart. If there’s a chance, I’ll definitely repay it. We... will meet again if fate allows."

The image gradually faded, and Shen Hanyi held the Imaging Stone in her hand, remaining silent for a long time.

Then she closed her eyes, as if sensing something.

A moment later, she opened her eyes, lifted her jade hand, and drew a perfect arc in the void.

Space was torn apart as easily as silk, revealing a deep, dark fissure.

Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped into it, her figure vanishing in an instant.

...

Almost at the same time, on a bustling street, a silver-haired woman walked slowly along.

She wore a strange, special mask and carried a longsword on her back that radiated a bone-chilling cold.

Every step she took seemed to carry a certain rhythm, making the surrounding pedestrians unconsciously give way.

"Isn’t that the Ice Immortal from the Shen Family?"

"It should be. That kind of Cultivation Technique she practices is something others just can’t imitate."

"And look, isn’t that the Shen Family’s dung beetle behind her? All sneaky like that, not even daring to come closer."

"I heard Immortal Shen has already stepped into Spirit Slash Realm Perfection. Truly enviable."

...

Lu Yaoyao turned a deaf ear to these comments.

She took out from her bosom a Communication Jade Scroll that shimmered with three rotating colors—this was something her old man had personally refined for her back in the day.

Her fingertips lightly tracing the familiar lines on the Jade Scroll, she once again sent out the message she’d repeated countless times:

"Zhou, where are you? Yaoyao has come to find you!"

The Jade Scroll flickered faintly, then fell silent again.

She didn’t know how many times she had called like this over the past century, yet she had never received a response.

Behind the mask, her eyes dimmed slightly, but soon burned bright with resolve once more.

Ever since she accidentally arrived in this era, this was the longest she had been separated from her old man.

But she always believed that the man who could always create miracles was definitely still alive.

After waiting a while with no result, she put away the Jade Scroll and turned into a secluded alley.

As expected, familiar footsteps soon sounded behind her.

"Miss Lu!" Shen Yunzhou, with his signature yellow hair, poked his head around the mouth of the alley, grinning. "Where are you off to this time?"