Chapter 35

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The disciples of Liuyun Sect were in good condition. After falling all over the place, they immediately got up and wanted to cry out to their eldest senior brother. However, when they looked up, they saw Ning Chen holding the Chengfeng Sword in his hand and waving it in front of Xie Tingyun. They heard shocking words like "What's yours is mine" and were so scared that they didn't dare to go near him.

The other righteous disciples were shocked even more at the moment, their eyes almost popped out, and the beautiful Chengfeng Sword was still in Ning Chen's hand.

They were not mistaken, the Demon Lord really took Fellow Daoist Xie's natal sword, even in front of Xie Tingyun!

Shake in front of Xie Tingyun!

Fellow Daoist Xie didn't respond? ! ! !

Not only did their dear fellow Daoist Xie not try to snatch back his natal sword, he even glanced over and stared at the group of monks behind him who were unable to get up with a look that said, "Just try and tell others if you dare."

“…”

Xie Tingyun was really helpless.

It was not right for him to snatch it, nor was it right for him not to snatch it. From Ning Chen's look, he knew that he was waiting for him to take back his natal sword. Xie Tingyun didn't think that he would miss such a great opportunity to tease him. If Xie Tingyun tried to snatch it, he would definitely not let him get it back easily.

If he didn't rob, the Taoist friends behind him would look at him as if he were a ghost, as if Xie Tingyun had done something shocking.

Xie Tingyun struggled to make a final effort. He stretched out his hand to grab back his own natal sword, but as expected, Ning Chen dodged it.

The two of them fought countless times for the sword. Every time when Xie Tingyun was about to touch Chengfeng, Ning Chen would move away. When he saw that Xie Tingyun did not try to grab it, he would deliberately move closer. When Xie Tingyun wanted to launch a sneak attack by surprise, he would use the same trick again.

Xie Tingyun: "..."

Xie Tingyun was really annoyed by Ning Chen. He simply gave up on Ning Chen and turned to the monks who were watching the show and said coldly, "You saw it. He was the first to attack. It was not my fault."

The monks who were watching the show groaned when they heard this, and then said in unison: "Yes, yes, yes, you didn't give the natal sword to the Demon Lord on purpose, he insisted on taking it away."

This is too perfunctory, fellow Taoist Xie. If you want to give your natal sword to your partner to play with, just give it to him openly. We won’t laugh!

Ning Chen saw Xie Tingyun walking down the stairs without looking back, so he quickly stopped smiling and chased after him, saying, "Xie Tingyun...Xie Tingyun, why are you walking so fast?"

Ning Chen reached out to grab it, but Xie Tingyun even dodged it.

He held back his laughter and took a few steps forward to walk side by side with Xie Tingyun. He placed Chengfeng horizontally in front of Xie Tingyun, coughed lightly, and said, "Are you angry?"

Xie Tingyun lowered his eyes and wiped the vine blood from his fingers with a handkerchief, then cast a few cleansing spells on himself. Hearing this, he raised his eyes and looked at him coldly, really annoyed: "No matter what happens to me, what does it have to do with the demon clan master? Don't you love to see me angry the most?"

Ning Chen almost wanted to clap his hands and laugh.

Xie Tingyun really understood his bad taste, and Ning Chen also knew that he shouldn't really piss him off, so he said, "I was just teasing you, I'm giving it back to you, don't be angry."

Xie Tingyun glanced at Chengfeng, who was looking at him with the tassel of his sword, and was not fooled at all.

Ning Chen sighed, and pushed the Chengfeng Sword a little more towards Xie Tingyun, saying, "I'll give it back to you. I never lie to anyone, especially you."

Xie Tingyun glanced at him, raised his hand to take it, and said coldly: "I think Lord Demon has had enough fun."

The monks behind them saw that Ning Chen and Xie Tingyun had walked away, and they couldn't help but get up from the ground and followed them: "Wait for me, wait for me!"

After everyone left the first layer, the first layer behind them suddenly shrank and collapsed, and finally turned into a dark purple translucent silk ball, suspended in the air.

Seeing this, the fellow disciples of Liuyun Sect shouted, "Big Brother!!"

"What is this? A reward for completing a level?"

"Wait a minute, Senior Brother. Come over here and take a look."

Xie Tingyun stopped and turned to look over. When he saw the ball of dark purple silk thread clearly, his pupils shrank.

Ning Chen also followed Xie Tingyun's gaze and looked over there. After he saw that it was a floating ball of silk thread, he lost interest and raised his hand to call the ball of silk thread over.

Although Ning Chen had never seen this thing before, he knew that it was one of the treasures obtained by the male protagonist in the original novel and used to kill the Demon Lord.

Ning Chen didn't care and wanted to call him over. After all, Xie Tingyun had contributed so much, and no one would snatch this thing from him. However, as soon as Ning Chen stretched out his hand, Xie Tingyun suddenly held it down.

Ning Chen: “?”

Xie Tingyun stared at Ning Chen. He was silent for a while and said, "Tian Xiao..."

Before he finished speaking, Ning Chen's hand was held down, so he used his other hand to hook the Tianji Silk over and casually said, "What's wrong?"

However, the next moment, Ning Chen felt the demonic energy suddenly burning. Ning Chen let go instantly, and the remaining demonic energy took advantage of the last wisp of smoke-like demonic breath to hook the Tianji Silk in front of the two people.

Ning Chen sighed, and after realizing that this thing might cause harm to him, he stopped and said, "What are you doing? What do you want? If you want to take it, what a piece of junk."

“…”

A trace of astonishment and confusion flashed across Xie Tingyun's eyes.

He looked at Ning Shen for a while, then said slowly: "Tian Xiao, do you know what this is?"

Tianji Silk is usually in the form of ordinary silk threads. When it encounters demonic breath, it will become extremely tough and cause burning damage to the demon body. It is generally used to imprison and bind extremely evil demons.

Ning Chen, a demon, pushed the Tianjisi, which restrained the demon body, in front of Xie Tingyun.

"Do you want it or not? Don't let me destroy it. It's such a waste of time." Ning Chen said impatiently, "You don't really think this thing can hold me back, do you? You can try it. If it wasn't something that just fell from the first floor after fighting for so long, I would have set it on fire long ago and would never have allowed it to appear in front of me."

After all, it's a reward for passing a level. Even if you don't need it, you can sell it to him and exchange it for magic coins or spirit stones.

Xie Tingyun said slowly: "Why give it to me?"

Ning Chen said inexplicably: "I didn't tell you that I would give it to you. I just said that if you want it, you can take it. After all, if the Tianji Silk could hurt me, I would not have to live in this world. Do you understand the magic words now, thank you, Saint?"

“…”

Xie Tingyun stared into those sharp dark red eyes.

But after a long time, Xie Tingyun didn't see anything from Ning Chen's eyes.

Tianji Silk is not a common thing. Those who can be bound by Tianji Silk are basically great demons above the Mahayana stage.

And Tianji Silk happens to be a part of the master's demon-hunting plan.

I am too suspicious.

Xie Tingyun secretly laughed at himself.

Maybe it was just like Ning Chen said, he was powerful enough, and therefore arrogant enough, and he was not afraid of a mere Tianji Silk, so it would be fine to give it to Xie Tingyun.

After the monks around recognized Tianjisi, their eyes changed.

The strange atmosphere between Ning Chen and Xie Tingyun didn't last long before it was broken by the group of conspicuous people from Liuyun Sect: "Big Brother! What kind of treasure is this? Are you two using it...?"

Ning Chen: “?”

Xie Tingyun: “?”

The junior brother who was speaking was obviously very knowledgeable about this. As soon as he saw the appearance of Tianji Silk, he knew that this treasure was very suitable for the Taoist couple to play some new and unknown games. However, seeing that the expression of the senior brother was not right, he gradually stopped talking and whispered in fear under the death gaze of Ning Chen and Xie Tingyun: "...Senior brother? Demon Lord? Why are you two looking at me like this? Is it because of this thing...you don't like to play?"

The junior brother whispered, "If you want to try something else, I can give you some ideas, really."

Xie Tingyun: "..."

Xie Tingyun has always felt that the way these little brats look at him and Ning Chen has become very subtle recently. In fact, he has always been able to understand it. After all, he and Ning Chen are so close now and they don’t fight. In the past, Xie Tingyun would also feel subtle.

However, will these little bastards ever stop? They always say weird things. Xie Tingyun looked at the extremely resilient ball of thread and listened to what his junior brother said. For a moment, he even automatically added to his mind what he said next.

Before Xie Tingyun could even think about it deeply, his mind froze for a moment, and he couldn't help but feel that his brain was incredible.

Junior brother may not mean this, I actually...

It's so weird.

Xie Tingyun shook his head, shaking off the extremely absurd images and thoughts in his mind.

But Ning Chen didn't have so many thoughts.

He might be born with a little bit of stupidity, or he just cares about his own happiness and often doesn't care about other people's lives. Therefore, Ning Shen always dislikes people who only say half of what they want to say, and he has to guess what they are going to say, but he always guesses incorrectly, which is very annoying.

So when Ning Chen stared at Junior Brother Xie Tingyun for a long time and didn't hear what he was going to say, he finally said impatiently: "What's the point of just saying it? What other uses can this thing have?"

Being stared at by two people like this, how could the junior brother dare to say anything? He was so scared that he trembled for a moment and said repeatedly: "No, no, no, no, I didn't say anything."

Ning Chen: “…”

Ning Chen said grimly, "You'd better not go beyond your senior brother's sight. If I catch you, haha."

Junior: “!!!”

Seeing his junior fellow apprentice trying to hide behind him out of fear, but not daring to come over because of Ning Shen's appearance next to him, Xie Tingyun could not help but rub his forehead and said, "... Stop it, don't scare him, Tianxiao."

Ning Chen said, "Thank you for being so kind, Saint Son. Great Saint, from now on, I will only speak half of what I say to you, and you are not allowed to get angry."

Xie Tingyun: "..."

Is it childish?!

Xie Tingyun really didn't want to communicate with some three-year-olds.

He raised his hand to put the Tianji Silk into the storage ring, but the next moment, Xie Tingyun's expression changed suddenly and he threw the Tianji Silk out at the fastest speed.

Ning Chen also felt something was wrong, and his devilish aura suddenly surged out, trying to swallow the Tianji Silk in one gulp. However, it was too late to do anything at this point.

Ning Chen only felt dizzy and all his senses were instantly obscured. When he opened his eyes the next moment, his surroundings had completely changed.

This is still the junction after passing through the first layer, but everyone has disappeared beside Ning Shen, and there is only emptiness and darkness around.

Ning Chen sighed.

Xie Tingyun touched Tianjisi, and then this happened.

If I had known this earlier, I would have destroyed it to avoid all the trouble now.

Someone behind him seemed to suddenly lean close to Ning Shen's ear and whispered softly, "Tian Xiao."

"Tian Xiao..."

"Tian Xiao."

Along with the bell-like laughter of the pretty girl, the surroundings around Ning Chen suddenly darkened and Ning Chen's eyes were completely black.

The person who made the sound did not touch any part of Ning Chen, but the sound circled around Ning Chen countless times in the darkness, making Ning Chen's scalp slightly tingle.

Ning Chen's patience only allowed him to wait for two seconds before it was completely exhausted. Ning Chen simply sent out magic breath in all directions, sweeping everything around him from all directions.

Unfortunately, the surging demonic energy did not hit any existence. Only an area in front of Ning Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, just enough for Ning Chen to see the face clearly.

The pretty girl has a perfect appearance, with charming eyes and brows. When her eyes move, it seems as if she is saying nothing, and yet it seems as if she is saying everything. All the silent emotions are contained in her eyes and brows.

Ning Chen looked at it carefully for a long time, but couldn't help but said, "Would you like to hear the truth, friend?"

Girl: “?”

Ning Chen looked at him for a few more times and said, "If you change into Xie Tingyun's appearance, I might be able to show some mercy."

Girl: “…”

Ning Chen even knew how to apologize: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to belittle you, it's just that everyone has their own preferences, so can you let me go?"

Girl: “…”

The girl looked at Ning Chen resentfully, and the next moment her face really turned into Xie Tingyun's.

Ning Chen: “…”

No way, my friend, are you serious?

"Xie Tingyun" still had cold and calm features, and the details of his facial features were no different from the real ones. Even Ning Chen would have mistaken him for the real one at first glance.

Xie Tingyun sighed softly and said, "Are you satisfied with this, Tianxiao?"

Ning Chen frowned and said, "No, the last tone is wrong. He doesn't pronounce my name like this at all. You're a fake, but why can't you imitate him like that?"

Ning Chen said with regret: "I was looking forward to seeing what his face would look like when he cried. Now think about it, I have never seen it before, so it is even more impossible for you to act well."

Xie Tingyun said: "..."

After becoming a girl, Ning Chen was at least polite to others. But this time, when she entered her comfort zone, she started to go crazy.

"Xie Tingyun" turned back into the cute girl she was at the beginning, wondering: "Have your tastes changed? The person you have liked for so many years doesn't like him anymore?"

Ning Chen was really worried about this guy.

The girl in front of him was probably the one the original owner had always liked, but now the one inside this shell was Ning Shen. These unknown things were still using stereotypes to deal with demons?

It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t learned how to read people’s minds, but how did he have the courage to ambush them without even updating his information?

It can't be that the level of the secret realm is not high enough, so the methods of these things are not so powerful.

Ning Chen didn't have the patience to waste time with it, so he said, "You either let me out, or I kill you and then I go out myself. Choose."

"..." The pretty girl glared at Ning Chen angrily and said, "Your realm is too high, I can't trap you."

Having said that, all the darkness before Ning Chen's eyes retreated like the tide.

It turns out that cultivation can overcome everything.

Quiet sigh.

It is good to be strong, so that you don't have to be fooled by others.

Ning Chen opened and closed his eyes, and the next moment he found that he was still standing in the same place, with Xie Tingyun standing quietly with his eyes closed on his right.

The other monks were lying on the ground, staggering here and there, most of them unconscious. Some had expressions of agony and suffering, while others were filled with happiness. It was hard to tell what kind of illusion they had been dragged into.

Xie Tingyun was the only person standing here besides Ning Chen.

Xie Tingyun looked calm and peaceful, with his brows relaxed, as if he had not dreamed of anything. However, Ning Chen glanced at him inadvertently and saw a purple mark appearing behind Xie Tingyun's ear.

Ning Shen's eyes paused, and then he took three or two steps to the other monks who were paralyzed on the ground. He turned over one or two people and saw the same mark behind their ears as expected.

Ning Chen clicked his tongue and pinched his eyebrows.

What should he do? Except for him, no one survived.

What level of cultivation does the male protagonist have? How could he fall for this?

The pretty girl who had just appeared in front of Ning Chen suddenly appeared at this moment, smiled at Ning Chen from a distance, and said: "You are just heartless - do you want to see the dream of your sweetheart?"

Ning Chen: “?”

Ning Chen said coldly, "What sweetheart? If you keep saying that, I will cut off your tongue. And, to be honest, it's not that I'm heartless, it's that you're just too incompetent. Not only can you not figure out my preferences, but you can't even pretend well."

Girl: “…”

Before the girl could say anything, her expression suddenly changed and she disappeared in an instant. When she reappeared, she was already dozens of miles away.

She brushed off the little bit of demonic energy that accidentally stained her body, and said angrily: "Why do you fight over a disagreement? Don't you care about the life or death of your lover? And there are so many little brats..."

However, the girl did not finish her words this time and disappeared again.

Only this time, half of the girl's face was almost burned into a wriggling blood red by the devil's breath. Ning Chen raised his eyebrows and said, "I said, if you change your face to his, I might be able to show mercy and not touch your face."

The body of the phantom demon was almost half destroyed. It gritted its teeth and said, "If you kill me, their minds will be completely lost in the illusion. You can try it!"

Ning Chen tilted his head, staring at Huan Yao with a pair of dark red eyes, with an innocent look: "Who said that I want to kill you? I will keep you alive and torture you slowly, until you can only let them go and beg me to let you go, isn't that good?"

“…”

The devil's breath suddenly rushed up from the darkness. The phantom demon's face changed, and several balls of dark blue consciousness floated in his hands: "If you dare to come over, we will die together!"

The evil aura dissipated on the spot, and before the phantom demon had time to rejoice, its eyes suddenly blurred. The next moment, its entire body was thrown heavily to the ground, its head smashed a hole in the ground, and its blood gushed out.

Ning Chen's slender fingers kept tightening around its neck, and he said expressionlessly, "No one has ever been able to threaten me. You can try. You know my identity. If you kill these righteous people, I will only applaud."

Ning Chen smiled, but his eyes were deep and dark, without any smile: "You came at the right time, before I was in a bad mood, so I was willing to talk to you for a few more words - are you sure you want to anger me because of this group of righteous people?"

Having said this, Ning Chen suddenly let go of Huan Yao.

The phantom demon tightly grasped the several consciousnesses in its hand, and was about to explode, but the next moment it suddenly gained freedom. It was unusually dazed, and then heard Ning Chen calmly say: "Which one is Xie Tingyun's consciousness dream?"

The blood on the top of the phantom demon's head flowed to its eyes. It couldn't help but raise its hand to wipe off the blood, and was somewhat suspicious of its ears and eyes: "Ah?"

Ning Chen circled around Xie Tingyun a few times, and took out a clean handkerchief from his arms. He used the remaining clean surface to wipe off the demon blood on his fingers, and imitated Xie Tingyun to cast a few cleansing spells. After feeling that the blood on his fingers was completely dry, he said with satisfaction: "I will let you live. Wait until I finish watching Xie Tingyun's illusion before killing him."

Ning Chen said calmly, "Who can refuse a secret realm that can make Saint Xie addicted? If he misses this, he will have nothing to laugh at when he comes out."

Phantom demon: “???”

Huan Yao was alert and asked, "You don't really think I'm easy to deceive, do you? How can you look like you don't care about their lives?"

"Whether you believe it or not," Ning Chen said leisurely, "They believe more than you do that I will kill them at any time."

Phantom demon: “…”

Ning Chen had been forced to that point just now, but the illusion monster hadn't made a move yet. Considering what it had said before, that killing it would only cause the people in the illusion to lose their minds, Ning Chen guessed that the creatures in these secret realms should only kill people under certain conditions and rules.

The first layer of vines will only appear in fixed areas. If you do not step into the area, you will not be attacked by the vines. Previously, a monk tried to protect the sword and accidentally fell, but he was not attacked.

This phantom monster appeared when Xie Tingyun actually touched the Tianji Silk. Regardless of whether it is from the first or second layer, since it chose to release the illusion as soon as it came up, it should only be able to kill people within the illusion. Outside the illusion, no matter how Ning Chen forces it, this stupid phantom monster can only threaten Ning Chen with other people's lives.

Before these bastards come out, it is unlikely that this phantom monster can be killed.

The illusion that Ning Chen encountered was terrible. It was simply unbearable to look at. It would be better to go to Xie Tingyun's illusion to play around. It would be more fun.

The illusion created by Huan Yao for Ning Chen was not enough to trap this great demon. However, when he entered someone else's illusion, it was different.

Other people's illusions will only be dominated by their consciousness. No matter how high Ning Chen's realm is, he cannot use brute force to break the illusion. Doing so will only cause the protagonist of the illusion to lose his consciousness completely.

In other words, if Ning Chen entered someone else's secret realm, he could only be a bystander, and could not get out until the protagonist of the illusion broke the illusion himself. Even after Ning Chen took the initiative to enter the illusion, the illusion monster could still re-enter the rules and have the power to attack Ning Chen.

There is no way Huan Yao would refuse this condition.

The phantom demon glanced at Ning Chen cautiously, and while slowly retreating, he sent out a trace of spiritual consciousness and slapped it towards Ning Chen.

Ning Chen felt his eyes blurred again, and then he suddenly found himself in a busy market. People were coming and going around him, most of them were people wearing coarse clothes and carrying bamboo baskets to the farmers' market.

Ning Chen's gilded black robe looked particularly out of place here, but the people around him seemed unable to see Ning Chen, so Ning Chen did not seem out of place.

He looked around, and followed the crowd for a few steps, but still didn't see Xie Tingyun, and couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.

Ning Chen had entered someone else's illusion, but he didn't even see Xie Tingyun's figure.

Just when he was thinking about looking for it again, Ning Chen heard a familiar but slightly childish voice softly saying, "Mom, you should go back. You are not in good health. I can do these things."

Ning calmly looked back.

Ning Chen would never mistake this voice for Xie Tingyun's. However, when Ning Chen looked over, he found that Xie Tingyun seemed to have shrunk a lot. His height was only up to Ning Chen's waist. He was wearing old but clean coarse cloth clothes. His facial features were a little childish. He did not have the coldness and alienation of an adult. Judging from his appearance, he was only eight or nine years old, even younger than that little brat Achao.

However, even though his face looked young, Xie Tingyun acted like a little adult at this moment. He held his mother's hand and gently persuaded her who insisted on going out to work.

Ning Chen saw for the first time what Xie Tingyun's mother looked like.

The mother and son are indeed cut from the same cloth. Xie Wan's eyebrows and eyes seem to be covered with winter snow, and when she raises her eyes and then lowers them, it seems as if the frost and snow melt away. All her emotions are properly restrained, leaving only a trace of vague sadness in her eyes, which are cold and holy, and make people can't help but feel pity for her.

The only difference is that Xie Tingyun has become less gentle and more cold after he became an adult. Although he is always gentle to others, his eyes are always cold and emotionless, which makes him look difficult to get along with. The only advantage is that it would be very nice to meet such a person as an opponent.

Ning Chen said.

However... Ning Chen looked at Xie Tingyun playing the trumpet across the crowd, and his hands inexplicably itched.

I don't know if I'll have the chance to rub the little Xie Tingyun. He looked really easy to bully, unlike the grown-up Xie Tingyun who is not easy to fool at all.

The scene changed, and the scene in front of Ning Chen changed again.

This time he was on top of a pavilion, and saw a beautiful courtesan with a gauze mask coming out from the brothel below.

At that time, the wet nurses around Xie Tingyun all said that it was a good thing that he did not take after his treacherous father, and that he should have been a gentleman in both temperament and appearance.

Xie Wan was born in a brothel. She was a beauty who moved the capital with her song and was the undisputed number one courtesan. She was spotted at first sight by Xie's father, who still had power. After a few exchanges of sweet words and coaxing, Xie Wan was redeemed and married home by Xie's father in great glory.

Although she was married as a concubine, she could not help but please her father Xie, so she ignored all the objections in the family and even visited her wife less often.

It's just that some people tend to get tired of old habits and love new things. When Xie Wan was happy, she received so many jewelry that she couldn't even put them all in her dressing room. But after getting tired of it, he gradually became indifferent to her. No matter how others made things difficult for her, she remained indifferent. In the end, there was no news from him for several months or half a year. After a long time, he heard that he had married someone new.

Since being neglected, the monthly salary paid by the mansion became less and less, and finally there was not a penny left, as it was all deducted by the servants.

Fortunately, Xie Wan collected all the jewelry and, after selling and pawning them, she was able to make a living.

However, Xie Wan had been severely weakened since giving birth, and her body was extremely weak. In addition, she had a young son to take care of. Even if Xie's father had given her a lot of gold, silver, and jewelry, the day would come when they would all be used up.

As the top courtesan, Xie Wan was skilled in playing the piano, embroidery, etc., so she often went out to do odd jobs such as embroidery and playing the piano for others to earn some pocket money to support her life.

Xie Tingyun wanted to learn his mother's craft and do chores for her, but Xie Wan refused.

Xie Wan had always been gentle and kind to others, but she would never give in on this matter. She taught Xie Tingyun how to write poems and songs, how to be a gentleman, how there were more things worth learning in this world, and how to be a free bird in the future, not to be trapped in any cage, and to see the higher and farther sky.

Then Ning Chen heard Xie Tingyun say softly in his still tender and soft voice: "Mom, I don't want to learn those things. I just want you to be alive."

Xie Wan froze for a while, then with trembling hands she held Xie Tingyun in her arms, her tears falling on the child's thin back, like the marks left after someone's heart was broken.

Xie Tingyun, however, was very open-minded. He struggled out of his mother's arms, wiped the tears from Xie Wan's face bit by bit, looked at Xie Wan seriously, and said, "Mom, I'm already doing well. You can't just watch me watch you struggling for my life despite your illness. That's too cruel."

After Xie Tingyun had a mother, he realized that if he fell and got hurt he would no longer be met with cold eyes and ridicule from bystanders, but his mother would quickly come over and hug him and comfort him.

If he accidentally breaks something, he will not be scolded, but will be asked and comforted by people who are concerned about whether he is injured.

If there was something delicious, he would never hide it away for fear that his son would have a share. Instead, he would always feed the first bite to Xie Tingyun, and then the two of them would finish it together bite by bite.

Seeing that he is happy, she will not just laugh at the punches, kicks, and scoldings, but will pinch his face, come close to him and laugh with him, and ask him if he has encountered any happy things today and if he can share them with mother.

Then Xie Tingyun noticed that the more he wiped away his mother's tears, the more they shed.

Xie Tingyun inadvertently and skillfully leaned over and put his face against Xie Wan's, whispering, "Mom."

This was what Xie Wan taught him. Whenever he was happy or sad, he just had to find someone to hug his face and he could share half of his happiness with them.

Xie Wan's trembling eyelashes were stained with tears, but she couldn't help laughing out loud. Her gentle voice was a little nasal: "Well... Mom is fine. Mom is trying hard to live."

Ning Chen looked at the figures of the mother and son, his eyes filled with gloomy emotions.

He seemed to...kind of understand why Xie Tingyun was addicted to it.

The picture rotates, collapses and expands like a kaleidoscope.

Xie Wan's condition gradually worsened.

Later, Xie's mother could only stay in bed. Even getting up and walking was a difficult task. Her beautiful face could not hide her haggard body.

At that time, Xie Tingyun had already awakened his heavenly spiritual roots, but Xie Wan still refused to teach him embroidery, which he used to make a living. But it didn't matter, Xie Tingyun would learn it on his own.

The qualifications of heavenly spiritual roots are extremely rare, and Xie Tingyun is extremely intelligent. While his mother was doing embroidery, he stuck to Xie Wan and learned secretly. Xie Wan was reluctant to chase him away.

Xie Wan had very deft hands, and the rusty handkerchiefs and veils she made were made with delicate and flexible materials. Many people were eager to buy them. After Xie Tingyun used up a few pieces of cloth, he was able to imitate the embroidery she had made and it looked quite good.

As for the art of playing the zither, Xie Wan was unable to perform due to poor health in the later period, and Xie Tingyun did not have the opportunity to learn much.

Most shops would not hire someone as young as Xie Tingyun, so after producing embroidery, Xie Tingyun could only run errands for others, look after the stalls, and do the accounting. The money he earned was barely enough to pay for Xie Wan's medicine.

One day, when Xie Tingyun came back, he had a rare smile on his face.

He put his hands behind his back, approached Xie Wan mysteriously, and said, "Mom, guess what today's event is."

Since Xie Wan was unable to get out of bed, Xie Tingyun began to find small things for her to entertain her every day. Sometimes it was a gorgeous flower found on the roadside, sometimes it was some small animal handkerchiefs that Xie Tingyun had embroidered himself, and sometimes it was cakes that other sisters in the brothel secretly gave to him and asked him to eat with his mother.

Xie Wan smiled softly, hugged Xie Tingyun gently, and said, "Your mother has never guessed it right. She can't wait any longer. What should we do?"

Xie Tingyun blinked, held Xie Wan's hand, and put the thing in his hand on his mother's wrist.

Feeling the cool jade-like touch, Xie Wan slightly widened her eyes: "...Bracelet? Jade?"

Xie Tingyun said somewhat embarrassedly: "...No."

The bracelet is a warm, white color and feels very smooth to the touch, but its shape is slightly different from a perfect circle, which can be ignored.

Xie Wan couldn't let go and touched it several times, obviously very surprised. However, the next moment, Xie Wan seemed to have thought of something and said worriedly: "Tingyun, where did you get this from? Have you not eaten for a few days? If you continue to do this, your mother will be unhappy."

Xie Tingyun smiled and said, "No, don't worry, mother. I saved up money for a long time and bought the raw materials to carve it myself. I didn't steal or rob it. You can wear it with confidence."

He couldn't afford jade, so he could only buy Lingxi jade, which is imitation jade. It is very cheap and can be found everywhere on the streets. Most of the cheap jewelry sold by the public is made of this Lingxi jade.

After buying the Lingxi jade, Xie Tingyun imitated it and polished one himself. Fortunately, although there were some errors, it at least looked like something similar.

In Xie Tingyun's memory, his mother rarely wore jewelry, and he could only see her valuable gold and silver jewelry when she took them out for pawning.

If life had not forced her to do so, her mother would have been a stunning beauty.

Xie Wan stared at the jade bracelet on her hand in a daze, tears flashing in her eyes. The next moment, Xie Wan kissed Xie Tingyun tenderly with a sigh and said with a smile: "Tingyun, thank you. Mother really likes it."

Xie Wan was never stingy with her praise and expressions of love. Xie Tingyun was at a loss at first, but later on he became more relaxed and gradually got used to accepting and expressing his emotions.

Xie Tingyun went over and kissed his mother's cheek, saying, "That's good."

Xie Wan touched Xie Tingyun's head and said, "Are there any remaining materials?"

Xie Tingyun nodded, took out the few scraps he had left, and said, "Yes, but there are only a few scraps left."

"That's enough," Xie Wan said, "Can you teach me how to polish it?"

Xie Tingyun naturally agreed.

Finally, according to Xie Wan's request, Xie Tingyun taught her step by step how to grind out a smooth ring.

Xie Wan is very skillful, and although it was her first time making this, the final product was still very good.

Xie Wan ordered Xie Tingyun to find a red rope in the wooden cabinet, threaded the Yingrun ring on it, and finally put it around Xie Tingyun's neck.

Xie Wan smiled and said, "Mother is taking advantage of you and using your materials to make a ring for you. Does Tingyun mind?"

Xie Tingyun carefully put the ring close to his body. Hearing this, he moved over and nuzzled his mother a little, saying, "Mind it. Mother will have to pay me a lot of life for this ring. I will have to live a very long time to pay off this debt."

Xie Wan gave Xiao Tingyun a light tap with a reproachful look.

It was a difficult time.

Xie Wan's illness could not be cured. She wanted to speak several times and ask Xie Tingyun to give up on her in a tactful way. But every time she just made a tactful start, Xie Tingyun would come up to her silently, carefully touch Xie Wan's face with his cheek, and then curl up in her arms like a little animal.

Xie Wan sometimes felt that her son was too smart to be like a child of seven or eight years old.

Xie Tingyun was so sensible that he never thought there was anything wrong for a young child like him to go out and earn a living for his seriously ill mother. He would never complain to Xie Wan when he suffered pain or grievances.

Xie Tingyun has never cried since he was born. He doesn't act like a spoiled brat or cry out in pain when he falls, but can handle things calmly on his own.

He clearly said nothing, yet he knew everything.

He didn't pray for anything, but he tried his best to keep her.

How could Xie Wan bear to continue talking?

Fortunately, there is always a way out. Later, Xie Tingyun had a high fever and accidentally awakened his heavenly spiritual roots. From then on, Xie Tingyun finally stepped into another world.

He was born with broad and thick meridians, and his natural constitution was good, so he could draw Qi into his body naturally.

Taoist Master Dao Ling came to Xie Tingyun after he discovered the strange phenomenon after the birth of Tianji spiritual root. After Xie Tingyun rejected his invitation to be his disciple, he took a step back and taught him how to infuse the spiritual power gained from cultivation into spirit balls and sell them to some beginner cultivators for them to absorb and refine, so as to make a living.

This kind of concentrated spiritual power will no longer have offensive and special properties after its personal imprint has been erased. The only difference between it and the untransformed spiritual energy of heaven and earth is that its concentration is much more refined and it can be absorbed into the meridians without much effort.

This type of spiritual power ball has a wide range of uses, including but not limited to temporarily replenishing depleted spiritual power. Therefore, there is a lot of demand for it, and Xie Tingyun produces a lot of it, thus solving a very urgent need.

It was a pity that Xie Wan had already been seriously ill. She had lost a lot since giving birth, and after years of hard work, her body had been hollowed out.

When Xie Tingyun found Taoist Master Daoling, Taoist Master Daoling knew what he wanted to say and spoke first, "If you want to change the medicine for your mother by agreeing to my conditions, forget it."

Taoist Priest Daoling shook his head and said, "Even if it were me, I would not be able to snatch someone from Prince Yan."

Even if Taoist Master Daoling could get more elixirs for Xie Tingyun, Xie Wan still wouldn't have much time left.

Xie Wan was very happy.

She embraced Xie Tingyun and came over. For the first time, her eyes, which had been dull due to illness, showed joy. She gently touched Xie Tingyun's forehead and could not hide the relief in her words: "Tingyun, don't be unhappy. Although I don't know much about spiritual roots, I heard from that immortal that you will become a very powerful person in the future and will achieve great things."

Xie Tingyun said softly: "Mom, do you want me to do something great?"

Xie Wan said helplessly: "As long as Tingyun is powerful enough in the future that he won't be bullied, he can do whatever he wants. That's enough. As long as he is happy, it doesn't matter whether he achieves great things or not, right?"

Xie Tingyun's throat rolled over, and he was silent for a while, and could only force a smile: "Well, okay."

In the end, Xie Tingyun agreed to become Daoling Zhenren's apprentice and take on the responsibility of being the next in line for him, in exchange for Daoling Zhenren helping to arrange Xie Wan's remaining life.

At least there will be no problem in letting Xie Wan enjoy the rest of her life peacefully and without pain.

This is all Xie Tingyun wants now.

Taoist Master Daoling felt guilty and was afraid that he had taken advantage of the child, so he confirmed with Xie Tingyun again and again: "Tingyun, think it over before you take on this responsibility. This is not something that anyone can accomplish casually. In the unknown future, you may have to gamble all your talents to complete it. Even if you are born with a heavenly spiritual root, there are many predecessors who are more qualified than you, but without exception, they all failed."

Taoist Master Daoling said, "It is not a loss for me to exchange a talented disciple for a price that is not painful or itchy. You don't have to impose a burden on yourself. It is too early for you to shoulder these heavy responsibilities."

"..." Xie Tingyun shook his head and said, "It's okay. This is the only bit of talent I have left. Don't waste it."

Somehow, Xie Tingyun had a premonition.

Perhaps this is the reason why he came into this world.

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The author has something to say:

Ning Mao Mao: Let me make it clear first, I won’t work for nothing. When the time comes, let Xie Shengzi cry for me, and then send a miniature version of Xie Shengzi over for me to rub (stare)

Ning Mao Mao: (circles around Xiao Xie a few times) (hooks with tail) (rubs on head) (hangs on shoulders) (rubs Xiao Xie's face) (holds down and kisses) (struggles to get up and asks Xiao Xie to pay) (holds paws and kisses)