Dual Cultivation

After Su Yang left the place, Lord Xie also returned to the city. However, upon reaching the gates, he was greeted by many curious people who were ordered to stay within the city by the guards.

\"Y-Your Majesty! Is everything okay?! Are you hurt?\" The guards immediately asked him.

\"I am fine. The cause of the phenomenon just now has already concluded. It’s nothing to be worried about,\" said Lord Xie.

\"Your Majesty, if I may ask, what caused the phenomenon?\"

The curious people asked him.

\"It was just a little quarrel between two experts; it’s nothing worth mentioning.\"

\"Just a little quarrel?\"

The people were dumbfounded by the unexpected answer. How could a little quarrel lead to something this chaotic? They thought it was a war between two powerful factions!

\"I will apologize in place of those troublemakers if their quarrel had caused any inconveniences,\" said Lord Xie.

However, nobody said anything. After all, who would dare make the king himself apologize? Even if Lord Xie was the one who caused the commotion, nobody would dare to complain.

Sometime later, when Lord Xie returned home, another figure with a curious face appeared before him.

\"Father, what happened outside? Was it Brother Su Yang?\" Xie Xingfang asked him the moment he walked through the doors.

\"...Don’t mention his name!\" Lord Xie could feel his repressed anger resurfacing after hearing his name.

Xie Xingfang frowned and continued, \"So it was him... Did something happen between the two of you?\"

\"That bastard is the only person in this world who dares to blatantly disrespects me! He has no respect for authority or my status! If not for your condition, I would have killed him there and then!\"

\"Father!\" Xie Xingfang suddenly shouted, her face filled with anger. \"No matter what happened between you and Brother Su Yang, I will not allow you to harm him!\"

\"Hmph!\"

Lord Xie merely snorted at her words and walked away.

\"Father!!! I am warning you! If you hurt him, I will not forgive you, even if you are my father!\" she shouted at him again.

However, Lord Xie completely ignored her and disappeared.

\"...\"

A few moments later, another figure appeared before Xie Xingfang.

\"Xing’er, you really like that young man, huh.\"

\"G-Grandfather! What are you doing here?!\" Xie Xingfang showed a surprised expression after seeing the old man.

\"If I didn’t come out, your father would’ve fought to death with that friend of yours,\" he said with a smile.

\"My father was going to fight to death with Su Yang?! Why would something like that happen?!\" Xie Xingfang was truly shocked now.

\"Well... you see...\"

Since it wouldn’t do any harm letting her know, the old man explained the situation to her.

After learning the truth, Xie Xingfang gritted her teeth in anger and spoke coldly, \"The Million Snakes Sect has gone overboard this time! To think they would send an assassin to attack the Profound Blossom Sect! They deserve to be stripped of their status as an Elite Sect, as their behavior is no different than bandits!\"

\"Hoh. It’s rare to see you getting angry for others like this, Xing’er.\" The old man looked at her with an entertained expression.

Xie Xingfang blushed and said, \"Well... Brother Su Yang is my benefactor and going to be my savior. Of course, I will be mad if he’s being bullied by one of our people.\"

\"You seem confident that he’ll cure your body’s condition. Why is that so?\" he asked her.

\"I can’t really explain it properly myself, but there’s this aura around him that makes me feel confident just by being around him.\"

The old man smiled and said, \"That kind of aura is something only people who are absolutely confident in their abilities can emit. Whether it’s arrogance or confidence, as long as the individual is strong, he’ll affect others with just his aura alone. It’s something similar to what a king emits when before his people.\"

\"I see...\" Xie Xingfang nodded.

\"By the way, how’s the gathering going? How many items do we still need that’s on the list?\" The old man suddenly asked her.

\"Father returned with the Three Seasons Snake’s Blood today, which makes half of the list completed. We should be getting two more items next week. However, the remaining three items are all extremely rare items that we haven’t seen in the last ten years, especially the Devil Blood Ginseng. With that being said, since Brother Su Yang said he’ll handle the Devil Blood Ginseng, we only have to worry about the remaining two items,\" said Xie Xingfang.

\"What are the names of the two items?\" The old man asked.

\"I believe it is a poisonous herb named Demon Roots and the blood from the unique beast Purple Qilin.\"

\"Purple Qilin, huh... This is going to be problematic...\" The old man frowned.

\"Why is that, Grandfather?\" Xie Xingfang asked with a worried face.

\"The Purple Qilin can only be found near the Purple Swamp that is within the Abandoned Forest. However, the problem is not the Qilin itself but the deadly environment of the Abandoned Forest instead. That place is filled with poisonous air that is so deadly that even I cannot enter deeply without damaging my Cultivation.\"

\"It’s that dangerous? Then how are we going to obtain the Purple Qilin’s blood?\"

\"Although I cannot go into that forest, it’s a different story for you, who has a body that is completely immune to poison.\"

\"M-Me...?\" Xie Xingfang swallowed nervously.

\"Yes. Only you can enter the Abandoned Forest safely. However, I do not recommend it, since you are not a match for the Purple Qilin that is around the 6th level of the Heavenly Spirit Realm.\"

\"Even if it’s going to be dangerous, in order to obtain the Purple Qilin’s blood, I must go.\" Xie Xingfang said.

\"Calm down, Xing’er. We can talk about that once we gather the other things. As for the Demon Roots, you can also find it within the Abandoned Forest. But since it can be found around the outskirts of the forest, we don’t need to worry about not being able to reach it.\"

Xie Xingfang nodded.

\"It’s late, you should get some rest.\"

\"What about you, Grandfather?\"

\"I will stay here for a little bit longer. I still have to speak to your father about a few things.\"

\"Okay. Goodnight, Grandfather.\" Xie Xingfang said to him before returning to her room.