With Chu Mu's help, Yin Ming quickly prepared a table full of dishes.

After Lingyao served the last dish of chicken soup, the four of them took their seats and began to eat.

"Senior Sister Chu Mu, do you know anything about the previous sect leader, Senior Chu Ya?" Yin Ming asked casually, picking at the food in his bowl.

In fact, from the moment he started eating, he had been thinking about how to begin the conversation—

Chu Mu has been living in the Divine Realm for a long time, so he may have heard some gossip about the former sect leader.

Even if things don't go well, as the current sect leader's sister, she'll still have access to more secrets than other disciples.

Even if we don't get any information, we might still ask her to help us investigate for Long Cheng's sake.

Thinking of this, Yin Ming couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "It has to be Long Cheng, he always comes through at crucial moments."

I'll definitely give him an extra meal another day.

Well, that is, if he still needs it.

Chu Mu paused as she placed food into Long Cheng's bowl. Her beautiful eyes flickered, and she guessed some relevant information. "Junior Brother Yin received Aunt Chu Ya's inheritance?"

Yin Ming looked up at Chu Mu with some surprise. This girl is quite clever; she guessed it so quickly.

It would be perfect to be with someone as naive and simple-minded as Long Cheng, so you wouldn't have to worry about that silly boy being fooled.

But what she just said was, Aunt Chu Ya?

Yin Ming lowered his eyes in confusion and pondered for a few moments before remembering that the previous sect leader had not left any descendants, so the current sect leader was the most outstanding disciple selected from the orthodox bloodline of the same branch.

You ask what it means to have no descendants? What do you consider Lingyao to be?

To be honest, the Divine Realm might not even know of Lingyao's existence, and even if they did, they'd probably just treat him like he was invisible.

The Divine Realm also places great importance on bloodlines, but unlike the Demonic Sect, they emphasize the purity of the bloodline.

To them, someone like Lingyao, who possesses both divine and demonic bloodlines, is both filthy and shameful.

It seems they would rather pass the position to an outer disciple with mixed bloodlines than allow Lingyao to inherit the rightful lineage.

However, their resistance was futile. In the original story, Lingyao not only became the sect master of the Divine Realm, but also merged the Divine Realm with the Demonic Sect.

The more they despised Lingyao in the early stages, the more obsequious they became later. Thinking of the scenes described in the book where the elders of the two clans had no choice but to submit and vomit blood, Yin Ming couldn't help but laugh.

It really needs this kind of face-slapping plot to be exciting.

Wait a minute, Yin Ming suddenly realized... If Chu Yi calls Chu Ya "aunt," then wouldn't she be Ling Yao's cousin?

Does that mean Long Cheng will have to call Ling Yao his brother-in-law from now on?!

Goodness, that's a super seniority.

These two are truly the best buddies in the book; even though they've fallen out, they're still indirectly entangled together.

If Lingyao weren't already taken, he would definitely ship this couple.

Realizing that he was the one who truly belonged to Lingyao, Yin Ming finally stopped smiling.

Pretend you didn't see this before, but you're not allowed to ship them anymore.

"Senior Sister Chu Mu is indeed incredibly intelligent. I only learned that she was Senior Chu Ya after I received the inheritance."

"I heard that the previous sect leader suddenly disappeared during her tenure. The elders mobilized all the disciples to search for her, but they couldn't find her anywhere. I wonder why she would erect a monument in the Godfall Ruins? Could it be that she returned to the sect during her disappearance?"

Yin Ming fabricated a plausible reason to prevent Chu Mu from becoming suspicious of him, and Chu Mu believed it.

“I don’t know exactly what happened back then. Aunt Chu Ya passed away before I was born.”

Chu Ya put down her chopsticks. "But I once heard my sister mention that Aunt's belongings were brought back by a very close fellow disciple. That disciple later became a goddess and recently returned from the Qitian Temple."

Yin Ming frowned slightly. Qi Tian Divine Palace? He didn't know.

A goddess? Oh, I see.

"Chu Yi?"

They call it the Qitian Temple, but it's clearly a place abandoned by the gods. They almost got led astray.

However, Chu Mu cannot be blamed for this, since apart from the sect leader and the six elders, the other disciples were completely unaware of this matter.

Upon hearing Yin Ming's words, Chu Mu was surprised. "How does Junior Brother Yin know the Goddess's name?"

No wonder she was surprised; although Chu Yi had returned, she had not yet made a public appearance.

The disciples nowadays are not the same as those from back then. Few of them know Chu Yi, and even if they meet her in private, they can't recall her name.

There have been countless goddesses throughout history, all of whom possessed extraordinary cultivation and long lifespans. How did Yin Ming know that the goddess who returned this time was Chu Yi?

Yin Ming was speechless for a moment when she asked him the question. After realizing what she meant, he wished he could slap himself.

He was careless; he had forgotten that Chu Mu didn't know that Yin Ming was one of the three people the Grand Elder had thrown into the Land of Forsaken Gods.

How did he know? Could he say that the other goddesses had long since passed away, leaving only Chu Yi? Obviously not.

Explaining it from the beginning would be too troublesome, and the truth might make Chu Mu question his existence. After thinking about it, Yin Ming decided to just find an excuse to get by.

"I happened to overhear people discussing the goddesses of past dynasties a few days ago, and I happened to hear the name Chu Yi. Just now, when my senior sister mentioned goddesses, I just made a random guess. It was purely a lucky guess, and I hope my senior sister will forgive me."

Seeing that he didn't seem guilty, and considering that he had no chance to meet Chu Yi and had no reason to lie, Chu Mu believed his story.

"I see. The goddess who has returned this time is indeed Senior Chu Yi. My aunt used to be on good terms with her. If Junior Brother Yin wants to know about my aunt, you can ask her. She is currently living in Xianya Garden, not far from here."

Yin Ming nodded and secretly memorized Chu Yi's current address.

It's getting late, I'll go see her tomorrow.

After a hearty meal, the four cleaned up the table, and Long Cheng and Chu Mu left together.

Lingyao, on the other hand, shamelessly followed Yin Ming around like a little tail.

Whenever Yin Ming turned to send him back to the side room, he would look gloomy, which would remind Yin Ming of the news that he had just learned of his parents' death that day. Immediately, his heart would soften, and he would no longer be able to say the words to drive him away.

In the end, Lingyao successfully ended up in Yinming's bed again.

Yin Ming sighed silently, knowing full well that he was probably faking it, but he just couldn't bring himself to kick him off the bed.

What can we do? What else can we do but spoil them? What else can we do but leave them?

Fortunately, Lingyao simply held him in her arms, quietly embracing him, her breathing long and steady, clearly having fallen asleep.

Seeing this, Yin Ming closed his eyes with relief. Although high-level cultivators can use their true energy to drive away physical fatigue, they will also feel tired after a long period of sleeplessness.

Take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep and relax your body.

***

Lingyao only opened his eyes again when he felt the person in his arms fall asleep.

He lowered his eyes and stared intently at Yin Ming's peaceful and beautiful sleeping face, then gently placed a kiss on his forehead.

After completing this action, he closed his eyes with a complicated expression and let out a barely perceptible, whispered sigh.

"Heir, what is the Way in your heart?"

As he placed his palm on the stone tablet, a gentle female voice instantly rang in his mind.

The voice was both familiar and strange, as distant as a call from ancient times, yet also as a powerful resonance from the depths of memory.

It seemed that a long, long time ago, this voice had truly laughed and murmured in his ear.

The voice seemed to sense something as well, and asked in a puzzled tone, "You are..."

Upon hearing these words, Lingyao felt a sudden pang of sadness for no apparent reason.

In his panic, he didn't listen to the rest of the words or reply, and withdrew his hand as if fleeing.

But she couldn't help but shed a tear.

Perhaps they were afraid.

He was afraid she would remember him, yet also afraid she wouldn't—he had actually guessed long ago who was lying in the jade coffin.

Even though Yin Sha had already told him the reason for their departure, he still didn't know how to face these two people who had abandoned him when he was still an infant... his family.

What's even more ridiculous is that he didn't even have a chance to blame them before he received news of their deaths.

Lingyao couldn't quite figure out what he was feeling either.

Anger, disgust, pleasure, or... grief, joy, sorrow?

Whatever it is, it's all useless now.

There is nowhere in this world where he can vent these emotions.

Fortunately... Lingyao tightened her grip on Yin Ming's hands.

Fortunately, he still had Yin Ming.