NOVPUBSun Luyuan spoke incessantly, while Li Fan seemed still not to have recovered from the shock and grief of learning that his beloved wife had already perished.
"Time and fate. It’s no wonder I’ve been feeling restless lately."
"Being trapped here, I couldn’t see her for the last time," Li Fan said with a look of sorrow.
"My child, does he have a name?"
Sun Luyuan answered nonchalantly, "Sun Tianci, Ning Lu personally named our son before her death."
After a brief silence, Li Fan said with sadness and some solace, "Tianci... What a good name."
Having finished the topic about Sun Tianci, Sun Luyuan’s expression gradually turned serious and he began to discuss formal matters.
"Your great uncle, Sun Luchang, is leaving."
Sun Luyuan briefly recounted the incident about Sword Light appearing in the Sky Dome and bringing news of a Merchant Immortal Boat from beyond the Star Sea.
Li Fan was somewhat surprised: "It seems that traveling beyond the starry sky is hardly a good thing. Is there a way to refuse?"
Sun Luyuan shook his head: "Under the current circumstances, the high-ranking families of the Immortal Alliance who know the details are avoiding it at all costs, while the lower-ranking guardians of the Unity-Path are competing for the opportunity. To find more scapegoats, they certainly won’t tell them the truth. It’s quite ironic, actually."
"Although my great uncle is at the Harmonization Cultivation level, he has gotten used to a life of comfort over the years. I fear..."
"Were I not tied down to guarding this place and unable to leave, I would have taken his place and ventured to the outer reaches of the Star Sea," Li Fan said resolutely, a response very consistent with Sun Ang’s previous demeanor.
Sun Luyuan did not doubt him, but his eyes betrayed his discomfort: "Our Sun family has been too prominent, guarding the Yan Fajue, venturing to the outer starry sky... these arrangements probably aren’t without the Immortal Alliance’s intention to suppress us."
"Don’t overthink it. Just live peacefully here."
Without revealing to Li Fan that the Sun Family had already defected to the Sacred Dynasty Daqi, Sun Luyuan simply advised Li Fan to prioritize safety in everything.
"I’ve already spoken to Elder Xu on your behalf."
"You might not need to wait a full three hundred years to accomplish your goals and leave," Sun Luyuan said as he was about to depart.
"The family head has taken much trouble," Li Fan said with gratitude.
"By the way, having sat idly here for several years, I’ve summarized my life’s learning, gaining some insights."
"Consider passing on this ’Stately Righteous Method’ to Tianci for me."
As he spoke, a seemingly unremarkable piece of writing appeared in Sun Luyuan’s Spirit Consciousness.
A quick scan revealed no special features.
It was simply an average method for cultivating the heart and clarifying intent.
Sun Luyuan nodded and readily agreed.
Then he took his leave.
After Sun Luyuan’s figure disappeared from the place, Li Fan snorted coldly in his mind, "One hundred years more — it’s doubtful whether the Xuanhuang World will even survive that long."
But he knew there was covert monitoring by the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals here, so he didn’t dwell on it; his thoughts passed through his Spirit Consciousness fleetingly.
As for the ’Stately Righteous Method,’ it was a seed sown for the future rise of Sun Tianci.
Li Fan looked at the Yan Fajue who was becoming somewhat lax and pretending to be lazy and could not help but to earnestly urge and admonish him again.
...
Sacred Dynasty Daqi.
The secret military testing ground of the Holy Dynasty.
Li Ping was with the Artisan, watching Sun Erlang struggling to control the third Saint Punishment God Puppet.
The Saint Punishment God Puppet, a name Li Ping had given to the golden Puppet to distinguish it from the ordinary Sacred Army Puppets.
"Kid Sun really has extraordinary talent, frightening adaptability; he has already mastered the third God Puppet. He might well take control of all our reserved God Puppets," the Artisan couldn’t stop praising.
"In comparison, everyone in my Elemental Spirit Sect is worthless."
"Speaking of which, since you’ve been in the Holy Dynasty all the time, is there no trouble with the Elemental Spirit Sect in Jiushan Province?" Li Ping asked casually, but his gaze was fixed on Sun Erlang in the testing ground, whose forehead was constantly dripping with sweat.
The Artisan waved his hand dismissively: "Over in Jiushan Province, I’ve got a Puppet guarding the place. Those fools bow and scrape every time they see me, they wouldn’t dare to raise their heads, much less discern the truth."
Having said that, the Artisan paused: "But according to the time, the guy from the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals who comes to collect taxes is probably due to arrive. Maybe I’ll have to go back for a bit."
Li Ping was aware that the Artisan’s collection of a vast amount of source energy in Jiushan Province, through the use of the Vital Element Art of the Myriad Beings, was permitted by the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals. The cost was to pay a portion of it.
A significant portion.
"Why would the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals be especially concerned about your small share when they surely don’t lack resources?" Li Ping asked.
"Who knows?" The Artisan responded nonchalantly. "Perhaps such mean deeds, they can’t handle outright themselves."
"But..."
As if something had come to mind, the Artisan continued, "Now that you mention it, I recall that last time the Immortal Alliance Envoy was here, he inadvertently mentioned the internal deficit of the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals was so great that they had to start economizing."
"I even teased him about it, saying it looked like the Alliance of Thousands of Immortals was thriving, but they were actually broke."
Deep in thought after hearing this, Li Ping mused, "Source energy is nothing more than pure, ownerless cultivation base. Normal cultivators don’t need it..."
"Interesting."
"When the Immortal Alliance Envoy comes this time, I’ll go meet him in your place," Li Ping decided.
"Good, good, good." The Artisan, unable to get away himself, was only too glad.
He immediately shared with Li Ping everything about the previous few encounters in detail.
"By the way, how’s the Puppet Body I asked you to prepare?"
The Artisan showed a proud smile and clapped his hands.
