Chong Yuan felt as though his sect’s Divine Tree was being disdained.
He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Ancestor Lang Xuan, I am the Sect Master of the Wan Yan Sect. For a long time, the Wan Yan Sect did not know you were capable of transformation and failed to care for you properly. It is our fault. If you have any needs in the future, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Even though the Divine Tree’s transformation was only a three-year-old child, he had existed since before the founding of the sect. Calling him “Ancestor” was not an exaggeration; even “Little Ancestor” would work.
Lang Xuan seemed not to understand what the Sect Master was saying. He pulled Suisui under his original tree body to continue playing.
He had been in a deep sleep all along. The last time, he only woke up because someone disturbed his long slumber and whipped those things away. Now, he had awakened because he sensed the presence of a companion.
Ye Wan had no idea that the Divine Tree regarded Suisui as a companion. She watched as the two children used the Divine Tree’s aerial roots as ropes, swinging back and forth like monkeys. If they slipped, other roots would catch them. It seemed she didn’t have to worry about Suisui lacking playmates in the future.
The Supreme Elder stroked his long beard, watching Suisui play happily under the tree. “This child is truly a treasure.”
Ye Wan’s heart suddenly tightened. The word “treasure” felt a bit spiritual; could he have truly seen through Suisui’s divine ability and constitution?
Fortunately, the Supreme Elder said nothing more. When he left, he cast a meaningful glance at Bian Yun, feeling that she didn’t seem to have only a Void Refinement cultivation.
As soon as the Supreme Elder left, the onlookers gradually dispersed.
News that #The Divine Tree has awakened#, #The Divine Tree snatched a small cub#, and #The Divine Tree transformed for a small cub# quickly spread throughout the entire sect and swept across the entire Qianyuan Realm cultivation continent.
Ye Wan had originally wanted to develop low-key, but with the Divine Tree making such a scene, being low-key was no longer possible. Fortunately, Bian Yun had publicly shown her strength; in the future, there shouldn’t be anyone blind enough to try and bully Suisui just because she was young.
Chong Yuan personally carried Suisui to lead Ye Wan to the Treasure Pavilion to fulfill his promise. This was, after all, the small cub who could make the Divine Tree transform.
Truth be told, although the child’s mother had her brain clouded by the threads of romance, the child was truly carved from jade and powdered with pearl. Aside from her eyes resembling her mother’s, her other features likely took after her father. Even her chubby face couldn’t hide that she was a little beauty in the making; one could imagine what kind of elegant and refined demeanor her father possessed.
As they walked, Chong Yuan suddenly noticed that the Little Ancestor Divine Tree was following them.
He immediately brightened his smile and stepped forward. “Little Ancestor, do you have any needs?”
Lang Xuan reached out to grab Suisui’s hand. “Together.”
Chong Yuan: …
How did he get so clingy with this little girl? Could it be that the Little Ancestor had been unwilling to manifest before people simply because he lacked a playmate?
He looked at the similarly three-head-tall Little Ancestor Divine Tree, then at Suisui in his arms, and asked hesitantly, “Do you want to be carried?”
Lang Xuan shook his head, his hand never letting go of Suisui.
“Uncle Sect Master, you should put me down. Mother says I’m a little lead weight, very heavy.” Suisui patted the Sect Master’s arm, fearing she would tire him out.
Chong Yuan was a bit reluctant to let go. A lively and charming little girl could heal anything. More importantly, with the dumpling in hand, having the Little Ancestor Divine Tree following beside him gave him quite a lot of “face.”
“Alright then, you two walk slowly. Uncle Sect Master will follow behind and watch over you.”
Chong Yuan put Suisui down. If Qin Zixun were here, he would definitely be startled by his father’s overly gentle and coddling voice.
Behind them, Bian Yun watched Suisui walking ahead while holding hands with the little Divine Tree, then glanced at Ye Wan, who was strolling along with her hands behind her back.
She seemed to be paving the way for Suisui.
If she really wanted to trade the Stop-Life Grass for heavenly materials and earthly treasures beneficial to Suisui, it would have been better to trade at the Guangjiao Pavilion. There would be plenty of people bringing out even better things to trade, and no one would know that she was the one who obtained the Stop-Life Grass.
The reason she waited until returning to the sect to trade was to do a favor—specifically so that if Suisui ever got into trouble, those who benefited from the Stop-Life Grass would protect her for the sake of that favor.
Only the high-cultivation members of the sect would be able to use the Stop-Life Grass. They would owe her this sentiment. If Suisui truly fell into hardship one day, they wouldn’t just stand by with cold eyes.
As for why she still demanded treasures of equal value, that was her cleverness. There is a difference between being forced to owe a favor and taking one on voluntarily.
If she had demanded a Heart Demon Oath or a specific promise, it would have been somewhat aggressive. An equal exchange was different; the other party wouldn’t feel they were being squeezed for a favor, yet they would remember her kindness in choosing to trade with the sect instead of the Guangjiao Pavilion.
Watching Ye Wan make plans for herself in case she ever ran into trouble, Bian Yun really wanted to ask if Ye Wan actually knew who Suisui’s father was. But she didn’t ask, just as Ye Wan had never asked about her origins from beginning to end.
The Treasure Pavilion was located in the core strategic area of the sect, near the restricted area of the back mountain. Once the protective array was triggered, the ancestors in the restricted area could reach the battlefield in the blink of an eye.
The Treasure Pavilion was specifically used to store the sect’s rare resources. Disciples exchanged contribution points for treasures, or traded treasure for treasure, and sect awards for disciples also came from here.
After Chong Yuan sent a message to inform the Supreme Elder, he opened multiple protective arrays and tactfully refused to let Bian Yun enter with them.
With such a profound cultivation, she would surely pick the best treasures at a glance. Even if it was “pick any one,” we shouldn’t encourage bringing outside help to appraise things.
Bian Yun: Heh! You know nothing of that cub’s luck. As someone who has been pitfully tricked, she wasn’t going to say anything.
Ye Wan walked into the Treasure Pavilion carrying her “cheat code” (Suisui), and the Langxuan Divine Tree followed closely behind.
Chong Yuan reached out his hand but ultimately didn’t open his mouth to stop the Little Ancestor.
The Little Ancestor Divine Tree had been in a deep sleep for a long time and looked ignorant upon transformation. He probably didn’t recognize many treasures of the mortal world, right?
The inside and outside of the Treasure Pavilion perfectly exemplified what it meant for appearances to be deceiving. From the outside, it looked like an ancient pavilion, even somewhat weathered by time. Inside, however, all sorts of spiritual lights flickered.
The treasures inside were varied and displayed by category on curio shelves. None were lower than Grade 6. Even for Grade 6, only items that were rare and hard to obtain were stored in the Treasure Pavilion.
In addition, there were Grade 7 and above pills, magical tools, formation plates, talismans, and priceless heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Every treasure had a transparent protective barrier.
Ye Wan even saw the sword intent orbs of the Mahayana ancestor, and the private “dry goods” recording stones of the heads of the pill, formation, talisman, and tool peaks.
Ye Wan: …
She felt like some of these were just there to make up the numbers, but for those who studied pills, formations, talismans, or tools, these were priceless treasures. The Mahayana ancestor’s sword intent orb would be a favorite for sword cultivators. However, it seemed the sect hadn’t produced a sword cultivator for many years.
“Mother, so many shiny things! Mm…”
Ye Wan gently covered Suisui’s mouth and whispered in her ear to quietly tell her which one smelled the “fragrant-est” and made her want to eat it the most.
Children loved playing this kind of mystery game.
Suisui covered her small mouth and also pressed against her mother’s ear, whispering, “I know.”
After speaking, her dark, beady eyes began to scan the surroundings. Her small nose twitched slightly, and she muttered under her breath.
“This smells good but can’t be eaten… this is very pretty… this smells a bit good and can be eaten…”
After a round, Ye Wan roughly knew what level of heavenly materials and earthly treasures Suisui could eat to replenish her energy.
At minimum, Grade 7 or above heavenly materials and earthly treasures that could be consumed directly. As for those that couldn’t be eaten directly, she hoped Suisui could absorb them directly when she started cultivating.
This was a literal gold-swallowing beast; Ye Wan felt as though several huge mountains were crashing down on her.
Finally, guided by Suisui’s hints, Ye Wan stopped in front of a shelf while carrying her.
“Suisui, is it this one? Compared to that red fruit you ate, which one tastes better?” Ye Wan pointed to the treasure box on the shelf and asked.
Suisui poked the barrier cover with her hand. “Red fruit-fruit is yummy; there aren’t any here. This is the fragrant-est and best-tasting one here.”
Understood. It was the “most delicious” thing in this place, but it couldn’t compare to the red fruit.
It didn’t matter if it couldn’t compare. As long as there was a way to replenish Suisui’s energy when she needed it, it was enough. She never wanted to experience that feeling of helplessness again—watching Suisui collapse, pale-faced, and being unable to do anything.
If she didn’t have other heavenly materials on hand to prepare for Suisui’s emergencies, Ye Wan wouldn’t have chosen this. Making the Divine Tree transform as soon as she returned to the sect was already eye-catching enough; picking a treasure and getting it right on the first try would make it hard for people not to be suspicious.
But since this was a life-saving item for Suisui just in case, she naturally had to pick the best possible one.
Ye Wan took the token given by the Sect Master and pressed it against the barrier. The protective cover vanished. She reached out, took that jade box, and gave it to Suisui to hold. Carrying Suisui, she walked out, not forgetting to call out to the Divine Tree cub who was sniffing here and there.
Lang Xuan still hadn’t smelled what kind of “fragrant” scent Suisui was talking about. Seeing Suisui being carried away, he hurriedly followed.
Outside, Chong Yuan invited Bian Yun to sit aside and have tea, but he was refused. The other party stood there with her hands behind her back, dutifully waiting for people.
Chong Yuan cleared his throat and looked at the sky and the ground, pretending he wasn’t embarrassed.
For some reason, even though they had the same cultivation, he felt this woman was even more difficult to handle than his own brat. He couldn’t make small talk at all.
Just as the scene became so awkward that only falling leaves spiraling past remained, the doors of the Treasure Pavilion opened. Ye Wan came out carrying Suisui, with the Little Ancestor Divine Tree in tow.
Chong Yuan’s gaze fell on the jade box Suisui was holding in her arms.
In truth, over the past few thousand years, in order to rapidly increase the sect’s strength, the items in the Treasure Pavilion that could be used had mostly been used up. The disciples recruited by the sect were also getting worse with each generation, and the rare treasures that could be obtained were limited. There really wasn’t much in the Treasure Pavilion that could match the value of the Stop-Life Grass.
“Come, let Uncle Sect Master see what treasure Suisui has picked.”
Suisui wasn’t one to hog food. She leaned toward Uncle Sect Master and handed over the jade box.
Chong Yuan undid the restriction on the jade box and opened it. When he saw the contents inside, his eyes gradually widened.