Chapter 103: Relatives Come to Visit

  Today's fifth update is here, and I'm calling out for monthly tickets again... Thank you to the book friends who voted for me with monthly tickets and rewards today. Thank you for your support and help for Coffee, it's really, really important to me.

  "The good news is that the Golden Command Flag has been suppressed by the Xianyu Treasure Pagoda, which means it's been thoroughly tamed by you. Look, I can even play with it now." In the Xianyu, Old Black grasped the command flag and swung it around casually a few times.

  He nodded in his heart: "It can be confirmed that this command flag is a sacred object of the ancient witch tribe. When the witch tribe moved to the immortal realm, they couldn't bring it with them. Moreover, based on the illusion produced in my mind, the function of this command flag is to command the witch tribe's warriors and cultivators to fight, and also to strip away the cultivator's primordial spirit... This means that it must have a very direct connection with the Mysterious Immortal Realm."

  "Yes, Master. This time entering the Small Mysterious Immortal Realm, we also have more guarantees in terms of safety." Lao Hei tucked the command flag under his arm, not fearing that he would desecrate this sacred object of the Witch clan.

  "It's hard to say." Su Che, however, was deep in thought: "Who knows, the more we bring this command flag, the more it might attract trouble. In any case, we can't just take it out casually until the critical moment arrives."

  After finishing the matter of Líng Qí, Sū Chè strongly endured his headache and began to carefully examine the black giant stone beneath him.

  "The banner has been retrieved, can this black boulder be taken away as well? It's always inconvenient to run back to the Windy Valley Gorge for closed-door cultivation..."

  In his mind, Su Che took out the golden Mianxian Command Flag from the Xian prison, grasping it in his right hand. Then, his left palm pressed against the black stone again, and he silently chanted in his heart: "Collect"

  Unfortunately, there was no response.

  "Take it back"

  Still no response.

  Su Che thought for a moment, waved the command flag a few times and shouted: "With the command flag in hand, listen to my orders, enter my domain!"

  With a whoosh, Su Che's feet suddenly left empty space, and he plummeted downwards.

  The black boulder had indeed vanished, and more than ten zhang below was the cave that Su Che had excavated. At this moment, the surrounding magma had not yet had time to close in, and Su Che quickly threw out the Red Flame, instantly igniting it, a hazy red glow enveloping his body.

  With a thud, he fell into the magma, but was completely unharmed. The Flame Emperor was a fire-attribute treasure to begin with, and it was especially suitable for use in an environment like the underground fire veins.

  Magma surged, Su Che stepped on the crimson flame and flew out again. He focused his attention and saw that there was indeed an additional huge black stone in the Xian prison.

  "It's in, it's in, and indeed it has been taken in." Old Black happily said: "Master, this is convenient now. With this stone, you can cultivate anywhere and anytime."

  "Yikes"

  A red shadow darted from afar, and it was the Red-tailed Fox that sensed the existence of the black giant stone, flying over with unparalleled joy. It had been lying on this giant stone for nearly a hundred years, and its spiritual sense could feel something, which was normal.

  "Get out of here"

  When it comes to the prisoners in Xianyu, Laohei has always been a devil with a demon face, regardless of whether they are human or demon, male or female, all are treated equally. At this moment, the black giant stone had completely returned to its master's possession, how could it be allowed for this dead fox to touch it?

  "It doesn't matter." Su Che was indeed kind and generous, smiling to himself: "The little fox won't absorb too much energy. From now on, as long as it can complete its tasks on time and help Luo Lianqiao refine the elixir with all its might, during its free time, I can allow it to lie down on the black stone, considering it a reward."

  "Alright, master."

  Lao Hei was fluent in the language of the demon beasts, and conveyed Su Che's meaning to the Red-tailed Fox. The little fox happily flipped over several times on the spot, then lay down on the ground, nodding its head repeatedly at Lao Hei.

  "You've taken everything you need, now you can leave."

  Su Che hurriedly urged the movement, quickly leaving the underground fire vein. After that, he rested for a day in the Yin Wind Gorge and received specialties worth 20,000 to 30,000 from the Yin Wind Mouse Army. The headache symptoms also slowly disappeared.

  Back at the Tianxuan Sect, Su Che resumed his carefree and leisurely life. Of course, during this period, he would still go to Wuhua Peak on time to sell the specialties of Yinfeng Gorge. Moreover, he also entrusted Lei Xiao's uncle to sell several stalks of 500-year-old middle-grade spiritual grass, only exchanging them for spirit stones and not wanting anything else.

  Why do we need so many spirit stones?

  This is because, having had the experience of suppressing 'Misenling Flag' last time, Su Che knew that Xianyin Pagoda was not only a prison, but also a method to rescue himself by devouring energy at certain critical moments. Therefore, in order to give himself an additional means of survival, Su Che planned to always keep at least 100,000 Ling Stones as a life-saving fund while he was in the Xianyin Pagoda. Whenever the Xianyin Pagoda wanted to devour Ling Stones, it could do so freely; after all, the Xianyin Pagoda was his greatest reliance, and its needs had to be met by any means necessary.

  Less than two months before the opening of the Little Fairy Realm, Su Che received a message from the Affairs Hall in Xuanji City, saying that his relatives had come to visit and wanted to see him.

  Loved one?

  "My real relatives have long since passed away, so the relatives who appear at this time must be the declining Su family of cultivators." Su Che thought to himself: "It's been over two years since I officially joined the sect, and during this time, I've never had any contact with the Su family. Today, they've finally come looking for me..."

  Lao Hei suggested: "Master, if you're too lazy to deal with them, just find an excuse like a closed door and push it away."

  "No, as a human being, how can one be so heartless? This body is after all connected to them by blood, and no matter what, it can be considered half-related. Su Che replied: "It's nothing to occasionally provide some assistance to them. After all, we can't bear the reputation of being ruthless and unrighteous, and forgetting our ancestors."

  Lao Hei nodded and said, "That's true. If your reputation is ruined, when competing for the position of True Disciple in the future, you will also be criticized by others and your opponents will use public opinion to deal with you."

  So Su Che flew with his imperial carriage and quickly arrived at the Nei Shi Hall in Xuan Ji City, where he saw two members of the Su family, an old man and a young one.

  The so-called "old man" is not actually old, he's only in his forties, and as a cultivator, he looks even younger, appearing to be only in his thirties.

  She was young, a little girl with a bone age of only twelve years old, looking delicate and lovely like a porcelain doll.

  "Thoroughly"

  Su Che's father, Su Qinglin, was waiting in the courtyard of Nei Zhai Tang with his niece. As soon as he saw Su Che walk through the gate, he came forward with great excitement.

  "Dad."

  According to his previous memories, the "Su Che" of the past always referred to his father in this way, which was also a local custom of the Su family. Moreover, in his memory, the relationship between father and son was very good, and Su Qinglin had no regrets about his son. In order to send his son to the Tianxuan Sect, he almost sold all his valuable possessions...

  Seeing Su Qinglin still at the Qi Refining Third Layer, four years had passed and he hadn't broken through to the middle stage of Qi Refining. In Su Che's heart, there was an inexplicable dull ache. Although this body had already changed to a new soul master, but the fact that they were connected by blood and shared a heavenly gifted kinship couldn't be changed. Su Che wasn't a cold-blooded and ruthless person either, he would definitely be affected to some extent.

  "Okay, okay, okay"

  Su Qinglin strode forward, grasping Su Che's shoulders with both hands, his face alight with excitement and a smile he couldn't contain, his voice trembling as he said: "Good son, you've made progress, you're really an inner disciple now, you're really an inner disciple now!"

  Su Che could only nod silently, his expression somewhat unnatural, after all, in his mind, he always felt that he was not his own 'biological father'.

  At this time, a servant disciple in his early twenties came out of the main hall of Nei Shi Tang. He was only an outer door disciple who had practiced Qi for six layers. He walked quickly and bowed deeply, saying to Su Che with great respect: "Greetings, senior brother of the inner sect. May I ask if you need me to arrange a place for your uncle to stay?"

  "Alright, trouble you to arrange it then." Su Che nodded lightly.

  Su Qinglin, who had stepped aside, saw the respected steward of the inner affairs hall in Xuanji City, and was surprisingly respectful to his own son. He suddenly felt a sense of pride in his heart, but still thought as a father: My son is indeed extraordinary, he has really made a name for himself.

  Following the steward disciple, the three of them arrived at a quiet and elegant small villa behind the main hall of the Nei Shi Tang. The steward disciple bowed again and took his leave.

  Su Che brought Su Qinglin and the little girl into the house, sat down, and asked: "Dad, with a journey of nearly ten thousand miles, why did you come here in person?"

  Su Qinglin's expression was solemn, and he clearly felt that Su Che's tone of voice carried a sense of unfamiliarity, which made his heart ache, but instantly turned into deep remorse and self-blame. Over the years, his son must have had an extremely difficult time, to stand out from among over a million self-taught disciples in Xuanji City, and become an inner disciple in just five years. During this period, he must have suffered countless hardships and endured untold grievances... Alas, it's all because of my own incompetence as a father.

  Su Che could see some of his mental activities, but because of the awkward force churning in his heart, it was hard to force himself to make those intimate moves and words. Forget it, he could only make up for it through other means.

  Su Qinglin adjusted his mentality and said in a warm tone, "Firstly, it's been over two years since I received any news from you, as your father, I was worried, so I had to come myself..."

  As he spoke, he pulled the little girl standing beside him into his arms: "Also, your cousin 'Nian Er' do you still remember? She has a good talent too and wants to come to Tian Xuan Sect to fight like you, so I brought her along."

  Su Che's gaze shifted to the little girl, and he used his "Eye of Law" technique to immediately discern that she had a triple attribute spiritual root of gold, water, and earth. Her innate talent was average, just like his own, but for a small-sized cultivation family, being able to give birth to such a talented disciple was already quite good.

  The little girl looked at Su Che timidly and said in a low voice: "Su Che brother, do you still remember Nian Er?"

  "Of course I remember." Su Che searched through his memories of a few blurry figures, smiling as he said: "The little pigtails from back then have already grown up to be so big."

  The little girl's expression froze for a moment, and then she showed a hint of disappointment. She corrected in a small voice: "Su Che brother, I'm not Xiao Biao, Xiao Biao is Seventh Sister, she doesn't have spiritual roots and can't cultivate immortality."

  "Oh..." Su Che's face turned red as he forced a smile and explained: "You two look too alike, I got you mixed up."

  "Uh-huh, okay." The little girl nodded slightly and responded softly, but in her heart she was thinking: "I'm nothing like Seventh Sister at all."

  "Alright," Su Zhe said to Su Qinglin, "With my status, I can take Nian'er directly under my wing and she won't have to start from the lowest level as a self-taught disciple."

  "This is good, this is good." Su Qinglin smiled and nodded, but in his heart, he felt that his son's temperament had changed a lot, perhaps it was because he had grown up and could spread his wings to fly, but the distance between him and his parents would also become farther and farther...

  PS: This chapter has written some affectionate scenes, mainly to trigger some subsequent plot developments. Also, I don't want the protagonist to become a selfish and ruthless person, whether it's cultivating immortality or demonism. As long as he is human, there should be some warmth in his relationships. Because I hope Su Che cultivates a path with emotions and righteousness, not just immortality. I wish I can successfully portray this character...