Only after seeing her mother did Li Yao go to the study to find Lin An.
“Master.”
Li Yao had originally intended to kneel and pay her respects, but the middle-aged man gave a soft cough, stopping her.
Li Yao was now the sect master’s direct disciple and represented the face of the Azure Profound Sect.
Kneeling before one’s parents was understandable, but kneeling before a mortal would be going too far.
The middle-aged man had been assigned to her by the sect master as her guardian. He was at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Even though she was the sect master’s direct disciple, she still had to show him the proper respect.
“Senior Sister Li, he’s just a mortal. Why are you calling him ‘Master’?”
Chu Xiao stepped forward again, looking at Lin An with hostility.
“Chu Xiao, I told you. My affairs are none of your concern.”
“I don’t want to say that a third time.”
Li Yao’s expression darkened, and she warned him with a sharp glare.
Chu Xiao had not expected Li Yao to become so angry. Feeling her hostility, he no longer dared to say another word, but a surge of resentment rose in his heart.
What had he said wrong? He was just a mortal. What right did he have to make Senior Sister Li call him Master?
Lin An acted as though he had not heard their exchange. Looking at Li Yao, he smiled faintly.
“I heard you’ve reached the peak of the Qi Refinement stage. That’s quite good. You’re even more talented than Zhang Fan. Back then, it took him more than ten years to reach the peak of Qi Refinement.”
“Silence! Elder Zhang Fan’s name isn’t something a mortal like you can casually utter.”
Hearing Lin An address Zhang Fan directly by name, Chu Xiao could not help but rebuke him.
But the instant his words left his mouth, Li Yao struck him with her palm.
Chu Xiao was sent flying out of the study and rolled several times across the ground.
“Senior Sister Li, why did you hit me? Was I wrong?”
“He’s only a mortal. What right does he have to comment on an elder at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment?”
Chu Xiao was utterly unconvinced. He felt that he had done nothing wrong by defending a sect elder.
“Elder Zhang Fan is Master’s sworn brother. Is that relationship enough?”
Li Yao looked at him coldly.
If Chu Xiao had not been the grandson of a sect elder and shamelessly followed her everywhere, she would never have wanted to bring this annoying fellow along.
Chu Xiao froze, then looked at Lin An in disbelief.
“You said he’s Elder Zhang Fan’s sworn brother? But he looks so young. How could he possibly be Elder Zhang Fan’s brother?”
Lin An smiled faintly.
“I was lucky enough to obtain a youth-preserving pill. In truth, I’m already several decades old.”
“Zhang Fan is indeed my brother. I’m a few years older than him. Back then, when Li Yao joined the Azure Profound Sect, I was the one who recommended her to Zhang Fan.”
“By strict reckoning, I should be your senior.”
He could tell that Chu Xiao was in love with Li Yao.
That was precisely why he had to make things clear, lest he bring trouble upon himself for no reason.
He was only a mortal now. He had no desire to be targeted by a cultivator.
After hearing this, Chu Xiao realized that he had misunderstood the situation.
Seeing that Lin An was young, he had instinctively regarded him as a potential rival and felt hostile toward him.
But after Lin An explained everything, Chu Xiao quickly thought it through.
Lin An was a mortal who had already lived for decades. He probably did not have many years left to live, so there was no way he could become a rival.
Moreover, with his connection to Zhang Fan, Chu Xiao could no longer use his identity as a cultivator to pressure him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t understand the situation.”
After thinking it over, Chu Xiao decisively apologized.
It was not worth continuing to anger Li Yao over a dying mortal.
“No harm done. You were only trying to protect the sect’s reputation.”
Lin An waved his hand indifferently.
Ultimately, he was simply too weak. If he had possessed enough strength, today’s matter would have been handled very differently.
“Master, thank you for saving my mother and me back then, and for helping me embark on the path of cultivation.”
“This is a life-extending pill. Taking it can extend one’s lifespan by ten years.”
“These are healing pills, detoxification pills, and disease-curing pills. They may come in handy.”
Li Yao took out a large number of pills in one breath.
The most precious among them was the life-extending pill. She had chosen it as her prize from the sect’s treasure vault after participating in the sect’s grand competition.
She had originally had better options. Any magic treasure or cultivation manual would have been more useful than a life-extending pill.
Yet she had still chosen this pill.
“You’ve been thoughtful.”
Lin An did not refuse. These items could be useful to him. Even if he had no use for them, he could invest them in future targets.
“If you’re not in a hurry to leave, stay here for the next few days and spend more time with your mother.”
“Once you step into the cultivation world, opportunities like this may not come often.”
After Zhang Fan had joined the Azure Profound Sect, he had only hurriedly gone back to see his parents once. That meeting had been their last farewell.
Although the pain had helped Zhang Fan break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, it had also become a lifelong regret.
“All right.”
Li Yao nodded and agreed.
Over the next few days, Li Yao and the others stayed at the residence.
Lin An made no deliberate attempt to grow closer to Li Yao, always maintaining a certain distance. In the end, even Chu Xiao’s last trace of concern disappeared, and he became more respectful whenever he faced Lin An.
After all, Lin An was Zhang Fan’s sworn brother. Even if Chu Xiao did not care about Li Yao, he still had to give Zhang Fan due respect.
During those few days, Li Yao deliberately made a fair amount of noise, letting the major families in the city know that Lin An had many cultivators backing him.
The major families promptly sent him invitations. Lin An took the opportunity to host them at a banquet, allowing them to see the situation for themselves.
Several days later, Li Yao left with Chu Xiao and the other two. The Lin residence returned to its former tranquility.
The sun and moon continued their cycle. Winter passed and spring arrived. In the blink of an eye, another three years had gone by.
Lin An had thought that his peaceful life would continue indefinitely.
But recently, Yan’an City had suddenly become unsettled.
At first, large numbers of people began disappearing. Soon afterward, all kinds of strange incidents started occurring throughout the city.
Some claimed to have encountered ghosts in the middle of the night. Others said they had heard the miserable cries of a baby.
The moment Lin An received this news, his first thought was to flee.
This world had cultivators, and these incidents were very likely the work of cultivators.
Most likely, they were the methods of demonic cultivators.
But just as he was about to act, he suddenly saw the entire city of Yan’an shrouded in a strange black mist.
Immediately afterward, countless sinister souls flew out of the black mist and began slaughtering the civilians in the city.
Lin An immediately ordered everyone in the residence to enter the underground secret chamber.
Since he knew how dangerous this world was, Lin An had naturally made preparations to preserve his life.
Once everyone had entered the underground chamber, he decisively tore open a voice-transmission talisman and sent a message to Zhang Fan.
The message was simple—only six words:
“Demonic cultivators are slaughtering the city. Come at once.”
Lin An had no idea when Zhang Fan would arrive. For now, all he could do was wait.
The screams from the city continued without end. Even while hiding in the underground chamber, they could hear them clearly.
It was enough to imagine how horrific the situation outside was.
Lin An could do nothing to help. He did not have the ability.
Time passed second by second.
The servants in the residence were all pale with fear and tension. The only thing they could do was cover their mouths and keep themselves from crying out.
But the underground chamber was eventually discovered.
The first to find it was a wandering sinister soul.
The instant the sinister soul poked its head inside, Lin An threw out a lightning talisman and killed it.
However, the disturbance still attracted the attention of the demonic cultivator.
“It actually killed one of my second-level Qi Refinement sinister souls in an instant.”
“Weren’t there supposed to be only two early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators in the city?”
“Looks like the intelligence was wrong. There are other cultivators hiding in the city.”
“But it makes no difference. In the end, every one of you will become nourishment for my Myriad Souls Banner.”
The demonic cultivator hidden within the black mist revealed a sinister smile.