Seeing that neither of them spoke, Ling Huayu smoothed things over, saying, "How could that be? Luo'er, it wasn't easy for your master to come this time. You should be a good host and show your master around."
"Don't let her do it. If this girl takes me around, I'll probably be angered to death," Wen Zonglin said proudly. "Patriarch Ling, I see we are of similar age, and I believe we can find common ground. How about you show me around? That way, I can also see the beautiful scenery of Yun Yuan City."
Similar age?
Upon hearing these four words, Ling Luo Yi looked at Wen Zonglin with a strange expression, as if to say, 'Do you know what you just said?'
Seeing her peculiar expression, Wen Zonglin's face darkened. He looked at Ling Luo Yi menacingly, with an expression that clearly conveyed, 'If you dare call me old, I'll beat you.'
Ling Luo Yi helplessly touched her forehead. "Fine, fine. As long as you're happy. One is over eighty, and the other is not yet seventy. How can you say you're of similar age? There's almost a twenty-year difference!"
Qiu Yuan Xi could see the bone age of these two people, but she didn't think Wen Zonglin's statement was problematic. After all, on the Cang Lan Continent, even siblings born of the same mother could be a hundred years apart. What was wrong with a twenty-year difference between peers?
Ling Huayu had something he wanted to ask Wen Zonglin, so he readily agreed and left with Wen Zonglin.
Watching their retreating figures, Qiu Yuan Xi suddenly said, "Little Luo'er, I think your grandfather and your master are going to talk about you. Aren't you going to stop them?"
"No need. Let them be," Ling Luo Yi said very seriously to Qiu Yuan Xi. "A Yuan, I've already given the cultivation resources to my master. If it's not enough, please help me supplement them. I don't know when I'll come out of seclusion this time. If I don't come out, in a year and a half, ask Guan Yue to call me. Guan Yue is upstairs. I won't put it into my contract space during this seclusion."
"You're going into seclusion now? So soon?!" Qiu Yuan Xi was a little surprised. She hadn't expected her to be in such a hurry.
"I was waiting for my master to come. Otherwise, I would have gone into seclusion after handling the remaining matters," Ling Luo Yi sighed and said, "Something happened on the demon race battlefield. A Su has already gone there, and I don't know when he'll be back. The situation is probably quite serious. I'm afraid something might happen on the human side as well. If I can't handle this matter, I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the battlefield."
"That's true," Qiu Yuan Xi also sighed. "Little Luo'er, I just sensed spiritual energy fluctuations from the use of a teleportation array here. Have you been somewhere?"
"I just went somewhere else and discovered a spatial channel that is about to open. I detected their aura on the spatial channel."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yuan Xi was startled and said, "That means our time is running out. Little Luo'er, can you detect how much time we have left?"
"Perhaps more than a year, perhaps a year, perhaps even less."
After listening to Ling Luo Yi's words, Qiu Yuan Xi fell silent. After a long while, she said, "Little Luo'er, you should go into seclusion. Leave the matters here to me. Don't worry."
"Mm."
On the other side, Ling Huayu was resting with Wen Zonglin in the Ling family's garden. After a moment of thought, Ling Huayu asked, "Dean Wen, although Luo'er said there's no point in bringing up the past, as her grandfather, I still want to know what happened to her. If you don't mind, could you tell me a little?"
Seeing Ling Huayu's sincere expression, Wen Zonglin felt that he was right. He then told Ling Huayu everything about how he met Ling Luo Yi and how they got along, of course omitting how he tricked Ling Luo Yi into becoming his disciple.
After listening, Ling Huayu had mixed feelings. He felt sorry for Ling Luo Yi having to survive in the Falling Sunset Forest at such a young age, but he was also fortunate for her good luck in obtaining a legacy, which propelled her from a sixth-star Houtian realm to a ninth-tier Spirit Master. However, he also felt sorry for the hardships she had endured.
"That's all I know. Although she became my disciple, we only spent a little over ten months together. We left the Falling Sunset Forest together, but we separated after leaving. I don't know where she went afterward. Although we didn't completely lose contact, she only sent me things unilaterally. Seeing those things that didn't belong to this continent, I don't know what she went through, but I know she must not have had an easy time."
Listening to this, Ling Huayu was already in tears. He couldn't imagine what a child had to go through to achieve her current accomplishments. A single legacy allowed her to reach the ninth-tier Spirit Master realm. He dared not think about the pain involved.
Seeing Ling Huayu like this, Wen Zonglin also felt bad. He didn't know what Ling Luo Yi had experienced afterward, but he had personally witnessed Ling Luo Yi obtaining her legacy. The bloody scene, her weakening breath, her agonizing state as if being flayed alive – Wen Zonglin would never forget it. With this impression, Wen Zonglin had a general guess about Ling Luo Yi's subsequent experiences, which he presumed were similar.
Wen Zonglin dared not think further. Even if that scene flashed through his mind for just a moment, it was enough to break his heart for a while.
"Alright, didn't Qiu girl say that what's past is past? The important thing is the present and the future. I heard from the girl that she wants to establish a teleportation network and register it under the Ling family's name. She needs my help. Who is responsible for this matter in the Ling family?"
Ling Huayu adjusted his emotions and said, "It's my third, fourth, and fifth sons who are responsible. They said that everything is ready in the Tian Wu Kingdom. I'll have them tell you the details later."
"No need to wait. Let's do it now." After learning that a powerful enemy was about to invade this continent, Wen Zonglin was very anxious. If it weren't for standing up for Ling Luo Yi, he wouldn't have said those things to Ling Huayu. Seeing Ling Huayu so distressed upon hearing about Ling Luo Yi's past experiences, he couldn't say anything more.
Upon hearing this, Ling Huayu was stunned. He didn't understand why Wen Zonglin was in such a hurry, but he didn't say anything. He used a sound transmission jade slip to inform Ling Xuan and his two brothers to come to the garden.
The three brothers arrived soon. They had also been in the main hall earlier, so they knew Wen Zonglin's identity. Connecting him with Ling Luo Yi, they guessed how the Ling family obtained the five enrollment slots for the Ancient Spirit Academy, and thus they were all very grateful to Wen Zonglin. Knowing the reason they were called, the three told Wen Zonglin the details and showed him the blueprints. Wen Zonglin had a general idea of what to do.
Dinner was served at the Ling residence. According to Ling Luo Yi's instructions, it was best not to tell anyone about the existence of the small world. The more people knew, the more dangerous it would be for the Ling family.
Ling Luo Yi also informed them about her impending seclusion. Although they were all surprised, they did not object. They all urged Ling Luo Yi to focus on her seclusion, assuring her that the Ling family had them and that their current cultivation levels were far beyond what they were before. It was precisely because Ling Luo Yi saw that the Ling family's current strength far surpassed that of the Tian Wu Kingdom that she could enter seclusion with peace of mind.
Ling Luo Yi gave Wen Zonglin a meaningful glance. Wen Zonglin understood and therefore did not reveal the matter of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons to the Ling family.
After dinner, Ling Luo Yi went into the small world. The advancement light pillar was still there. Ling Luo Yi sighed in disappointment. It seemed she wouldn't be able to see her elder brother before going into seclusion.
Ling Luo Yi emerged from the small world and looked at Guan Yue, who was watching her. Ling Luo Yi said, "Guan Yue, you heard everything that happened this afternoon. If I'm not out when the time comes, you must remember to call me."
"Don't worry, Master. I've remembered everything."
"Mm."