It was around eight or nine in the morning, and an elder was giving an open lecture in the square.
The elder's cultivation was at the peak of the Void Return stage. He spoke eloquently, occasionally displaying his techniques to illustrate his points. For a time, laws permeated the square, and the audience listened with rapt attention.
However, when the fox maiden from Qingqiu Kingdom appeared, the atmosphere in the square was instantly broken, becoming boisterous.
Upon hearing the fox maiden's purpose, many people involuntarily turned their gaze towards the figure sitting upright on a cushion in the first row.
This person was none other than Wang Shouyi.
Wang Shouyi was currently a celebrity in the Liberation Sect.
In less than three days of ascending to the upper realm, he had broken through to the Divine Transformation stage. Within half a month, he had rapidly advanced to the peak of the Divine Transformation stage, his twin pupils becoming even more unfathomably powerful, inspiring awe and fear.
Everyone knew that Wang Shouyi was destined to become a pillar of the sect in the future, and it was not impossible for him to become a generation's immortal dao magnate.
Not to mention that he had a daughter who was a Golden Immortal; his future was as bright as could be.
Therefore, many native disciples, even those with stronger cultivation, looked at him with respect, daring not to underestimate him in the slightest.
In contrast, the Earth's ability users who had ascended to the upper realm with Wang Shouyi did not show much change in their attitude towards him. Especially his former comrades who had fought alongside him, they could still joke behind his back.
As the fox maiden finished speaking, a phantom figure in a daoist robe soon appeared above the great hall behind the square. This was the Sect Master of the Liberation Sect, Li Er, the true form of Wang Taixu.
Unlike his will-avatar Wang Taixu, Li Er appeared to be a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, a generation younger than his avatar, with even deeper eyes that contained infinite wisdom.
After his gaze lingered on the fox maiden from Qingqiu Kingdom for a moment, Li Er lowered his eyes slightly and said, "This humble one is currently comprehending the Heavenly Dao, and my main body cannot be easily withdrawn. I apologize for not being able to welcome you properly, I hope the daoist friend will forgive me!"
The fox maiden was beautiful, yet not vulgar. Looking at the phantom image manifested by Li Er, she felt that an endless stream of dao principles intertwined behind him. Although she could only sense a Great Ascension stage aura, she felt no weaker than her True Immortal level self.
Her expression immediately became solemn: she hadn't expected such a peculiar cultivator in this corner of the Southern Domain.
She said with a grave expression, "Sect Master Li, you are too kind. Recently, my lord sensed demonic energy emerging in the Southern Domain, and it is feared that the Void Demonic Abyss will appear soon. Although the Liberation Sect is located in a remote area, a nest overturned means no egg remains intact. I fear it will also be affected."
"Therefore, my lord has sent me to request that the Liberation Sect relocate its entire sect to avoid this calamity. At that time, our Qingqiu Kingdom will allocate a prime immortal spiritual treasure land for your sect to settle."
Qingqiu Kingdom was located in the demon race's territory in the Eastern Domain, where the immortal spiritual energy was extremely dense, far superior to this place.
Moreover, although demon cultivators and immortal cultivators often had minor conflicts, they generally coexisted peacefully, and settling in the demon race's territory was not uncommon.
Many disciples showed signs of interest, but they were only disciples and could not influence such a major decision as relocating the sect.
Li Er shook his head and said, "When the Jade Fox Heavenly Venerable personally visited last time, I already stated that the Liberation Sect has reasons to guard this place. I'm afraid you will be disappointed."
"It was presumptuous of Yanmei!" The fox maiden, Xi Yanmei, was not surprised by Li Er's answer. After all, even the Jade Fox Heavenly Venerable's main body had failed to persuade him to relocate last time.
After giving a slight bow, she said, "Regardless, our Qingqiu Kingdom will always welcome the Liberation Sect's joining. Actually, Yanmei has another request this time."
Li Er stroked his beard and smiled, "Is it about the Shouyi family?"
Xi Yanmei nodded, "My lord has been separated from his family for ten thousand years, yearning day and night to reunite with them. When I came, I was instructed by Yanmei to be sure to bring the Holy Father, Holy Mother, Third Master, and the three young masters and young ladies of the Yu family back to Qingqiu Kingdom. I ask Sect Master Li for your cooperation!"
As the parents of the Jade Fox Heavenly Venerable, Bai Yinchen had ordered the entire Qingqiu Kingdom to respectfully address them as Holy Father and Holy Mother, meaning they were to be revered like saints. The native inhabitants did not find this title strange, but Wang Shouyi felt a bit awkward, as "Holy Mother" was not a good term on Earth.
He also wanted to go to Qingqiu Kingdom to reunite with his family, but the Liberation Sect had all the fellow villagers who had ascended, making him somewhat conflicted. He also didn't want to force the Sect Master to go against the sect's mission and relocate the entire sect.
In contrast, the three Yu siblings, sitting behind Wang Shouyi, looked on with anticipation, as they had heard that their father and mother had settled directly in Qingqiu Kingdom after ascending.
Bai Xinyi, on the other hand, had a calm expression. It didn't matter to him where he went, as long as his parents were by his side.
Li Er seemed to have anticipated this and smiled, "You are too kind, Daoist friend. I have no objections to this matter, as long as Shouyi and the others agree."
"Sect Master..." The elder who was lecturing looked anxious. Wang Shouyi was a dual-pupil physique with outstanding talent and was the future of the sect. He was very reluctant to let him go.
But upon thinking of the scale of Qingqiu Kingdom and Li Er's faint gaze sweeping over him, he immediately fell silent.
Seeing Li Er agree so readily, Xi Yanmei showed a smile, but she knew she still had to persuade Wang Shouyi and the others.
So, after Li Er's phantom image dissipated, she said to Wang Shouyi and Bai Yinchen, "Holy Father, Holy Mother, may we speak privately?"
Wang Shouyi stood up and gave Xi Yanmei a wry smile, "Please do not call me Holy Father."
Xi Yanmei's cultivation had reached the True Immortal stage, and her cultivation years were unknown. According to the rules, they should be the ones addressing her as senior.
However, thinking that she was her daughter's subordinate, Wang Shouyi pondered for a moment before saying, "Miss, please speak!"
Xi Yanmei examined Wang Shouyi's appearance, secretly praising him as worthy of being the Heavenly Venerable's father, and with the Heaven-Opening Twin Pupils, his demeanor was indeed extraordinary.
She then looked at Bai Lanzhi, whose appearance was about eighty percent similar to her master, and felt a sense of closeness.
Looking at the three Yu siblings and Bai Xinyi, they were all exceptional individuals. Especially the three Yu siblings, whose pillars of destiny were shrouded in chaos, their fates inscrutable, making them extremely remarkable.
She nodded and said, "In that case, please excuse my intrusion!"
With a wave of her sleeve, Wang Shouyi and the other six were instantly transported into a void-like space.
With a wave of Xi Yanmei's sleeve, a delicate small table appeared before them, laden with steaming tea and various delicious-looking pastries.
After completing these arrangements, Xi Yanmei said with a solemn expression, "My son-in-law (Yu Zhibo) had an accident during his ascension."
"What?" Wang Shouyi's expression changed drastically, and he said in a deep voice, "What happened?"
Bai Lanzhi's face also turned pale. Yu Zhibo had not ascended on his own. Since she had not mentioned their second daughter's accident, it was clear she was fine. However, their youngest daughter, Bai Chanyi, had ascended together with Yu Zhibo in his spatial artifact!
"Who is the son-in-law..." Yu Shuya looked confused. Mid-sentence, she suddenly realized and even forgot to breathe, "What happened to my dad?"
The two Yu brothers and Bai Xinyi also looked at Xi Yanmei with nervous expressions.
"Only my son-in-law..." Xi Yanmei pursed her red lips. "Seventh Miss is fine; she successfully ascended to Qingqiu Kingdom with the master's past self. However, my son-in-law has gone missing."
"My master suspects it is related to the Heavenly Dao. Although we don't know where my son-in-law is now, he is likely still alive. That's why she sent me to pick you up. The Southern Domain is about to fall into tribulation, and she doesn't want you to be in danger because of it."
"That brat is a menace that lives a thousand years; he won't die!" Wang Shouyi pretended to be relaxed, and at the same time, a golden, radiant body appeared before everyone with a flash of light from his twin pupils. This was Yu Zhibo's Heavenly Immortal avatar.
The Heavenly Immortal avatar was a contingency plan Wang Shouyi had prepared for Yu Zhibo. It contained a small fragment of Yu Zhibo's residual soul. If his main body died, he would directly reincarnate through this body and start a new life.
But soon, his expression turned grim, because as the vessel for Yu Zhibo's resurrection, the Heavenly Immortal avatar should have been identical to Yu Zhibo. However, this body before them—had no face.
"How can this be?!"
Yu Chengsong's pupils also widened. Using his Mangekyo Sharingan's mirror clone ability, he could summon a weakened version of Yu Zhibo for combat. However, at this moment, the mirror clone before him also had no face.
For a moment, everyone's expression turned grim, except for Xi Yanmei.