The enormous figure in the sky swooped down instantly, its body crackling with terrifying lightning.
Its primary target was Gu Mu.
"Disciple, run! I'll hold him off!" Xu Ning cried out in alarm, shoving Gu Mu aside with all his strength.
Gu Mu screamed in terror, "No—Master—"
But it was too late. The giant jaws snapped shut, snatching Xu Ning up and carrying him into the air.
Thump.
A leg landed in front of Gu Mu, instantly disorienting him, leaving him frozen in place, staring in horror.
The figure then swooped down again, carrying the donkey away as well. Another leg landed in front of Gu Mu with another sickening thump.
The terrifying figure in the sky didn't reappear, leaving Gu Mu standing there, motionless for a long, long time.
After what felt like an eternity, Gu Mu finally regained his senses. He walked step by step to the severed leg and knelt down with a heavy thud.
Boom—
A sudden clap of thunder echoed in the sky, and rain poured down in sheets.
Gu Mu roared to the sky, his voice raw with grief and rage, "Master—"
"Kunpeng clan, you killed my master! I, Gu Mu, will never forgive you—"
A few days later, in Bian Dong Village.
Xu Ning, dressed as a beggar, entered the village carrying a chipped bowl. He shook the bowl at everyone he met, his voice pitiful, "Please have mercy! Give me something!"
But no one paid any attention to Xu Ning. They avoided him like the plague.
That day, an old woman passed by and, seeing his sorry state, stopped to help him up. "Child, where are your family members?"
Xu Ning sniffled, his voice trembling, "My family members were beaten to death."
As he said this, tears involuntarily streamed down Xu Ning's face.
It seemed his plan was going slightly off track, he thought. He had only intended to pretend to be a beggar for a while, waiting for some cultivators to pass through so he could legitimately attach himself to them and enter the Gu Chen Mountains.
If they didn't arrive after a while, he would simply move to another village and continue waiting.
He wasn't afraid of his cultivation collapsing. After all, he had a large amount of spiritual energy stored in his thatched hut, plus a huge pile of spirit stones.
If all else failed, he could activate the teleportation array and have Luo Xiu send more resources.
But who could have imagined that he would encounter such a genuinely kind person right away?
"Poor child. Come on, I'll take you home. From now on, my home is your home," the woman said, seeing how pitiful Xu Ning was, and led him away.
And so, Xu Ning was taken in, given the alias Ye Yunhao.
Later, Xu Ning learned about the family's situation.
The woman's name was Liu Aorou. Besides her husband, Wang Dazhen, they had an eight-year-old daughter, Wang Mengfei.
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Wang Dazhen and Wang Mengfei were very happy to see Xu Ning and treated him extremely well from the start.
After much thought, Xu Ning decided it wouldn't be bad to stay. He had felt a genuine warmth of home here, and staying to experience it for a while wouldn't hurt.
That night, after returning to his room, Xu Ning asked the thatched hut, "Can I replace you with a regular hut for now? To avoid suspicion."
The thatched hut replied, "You can put me in your spatial storage first. When you need me, you can retrieve me and then release me elsewhere. It won't arouse suspicion."
Xu Ning thought it was feasible and made the switch.
After the replacement, Xu Ning could still cultivate at night inside the stored thatched hut without any delay.
However, after living there for a while, Xu Ning discovered that Wang Dazhen's family was actually quite ostracized in the village. The reason? They didn't have a son.
This reminded Xu Ning of his own past with Zhao Datou, and he felt a pang of sadness.
Xu Ning hadn't really taken the villagers' attitude to heart. As long as his new family treated him well, it wasn't a big deal.
However, because of the village's ostracism, Wang Dazhen and Liu Aorou specifically comforted Xu Ning during dinner one night, telling him not to worry about what others said and to just focus on their own family and life together.
Xu Ning was genuinely touched. He hadn't experienced this kind of unconditional warmth in a very long time.
Having transmigrated for over two hundred years, Xu Ning's heart had become almost numb to such things. This time, that long-lost feeling of familial affection was awakened once more.
This wasn't a bad thing for Xu Ning. It would help purify his once cold and ruthless heart, honed by centuries of survival.
So, in the following days, Xu Ning diligently helped with the farm work, and the family's life improved steadily.
A year later, Xu Ning brought home a calf—of course, it was Tie Dan in disguise! He lied and said he had bought it from a passing trader.
The whole family was overjoyed to see the calf, gathering around to look at it, touching it repeatedly, completely enamored with their new addition.
Seeing the genuine smiles on his family's faces, Xu Ning couldn't help but smile too.
It had been a long time since he'd smiled so genuinely, without any calculation behind it.
Later, Xu Ning learned carpentry, adding another source of income to the family. Life got better and better.
Sometimes Xu Ning thought, Maybe I shouldn't go back to the cultivation world. Staying here, living a simple life and growing old with them, would be fine too.
That night, Xu Ning suddenly sensed fluctuations of spiritual energy outside.
Alert, Xu Ning got out of bed and stood by the window, carefully extending his senses.
Having cultivated the Nine Forms of Divine Inquiry for so long, Xu Ning's divine sense had become terrifyingly powerful, comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Sensing carefully, Xu Ning discovered two waves of spiritual energy approaching from a great distance, moving very fast.
One was a Qi Refining cultivator at the tenth level, and the other was a Blood Refining eleventh level demonic cultivator.
If they were just passing through, Xu Ning wouldn't interfere. But if they lingered and threatened his family, Xu Ning wouldn't hesitate to take action.
Knock knock—
Just as Xu Ning was focusing on that area, there was a sudden knock on his door.
While keeping an eye on the situation with his divine sense, Xu Ning walked over and opened the door.
There stood little Wang Mengfei, holding a bowl. "Brother, Mom said you worked hard today, so she made some porridge and asked me to bring it over."
Xu Ning smiled gently. "Little sister, I'm not hungry. You eat it."
Wang Mengfei stubbornly shook her head. "Brother, you have to eat it!"
Xu Ning had no choice but to take it, drink it in a few gulps, and then reached out to pat Wang Mengfei's head. "Alright, little Wang Mengfei, it's time to go to sleep now."
Wang Mengfei's face was full of enjoyment at the affectionate gesture. "Okay, brother!"
After saying that, she turned around and skipped happily away.
After Xu Ning closed the door, his expression grew serious. The two cultivators had already arrived nearby.
Moreover, with his enhanced senses, Xu Ning could hear their conversation clearly.
"Qi Tianyi, are you stupid? Why do you keep chasing me? Did I kill your whole family?" This voice was clearly that of the demonic cultivator.
Then, Xu Ning heard the other voice, filled with righteous fury. "Shi Xiujie, you killed more than a dozen people from my sect. Today, you must die!"
"Hahahaha, what business is it of yours if I kill them? Is it worth chasing me all the way to the mortal realm for them?" The demonic cultivator's voice was very arrogant.
At this moment, Qi Tianyi spoke again, his voice cold. "Those were my fellow disciples. Prepare to die."
Shi Xiujie sneered. "I, Shi Xiujie, have dominated the cultivation world for fifty years. Do you really think I'm afraid of you? Today I'll show you my true skills!"
Then, the two seemed to engage in combat. Xu Ning could feel the frantically fluctuating spiritual energy emanating from them and hear various sounds of collisions in the distance.
Inside the house, Xu Ning was speechless. Sure enough, this Ancient Chen Mountain Range is truly barren!
Someone at the eleventh level of Qi Refining could actually be called an "old demon" and claim to have "dominated the cultivation world" for fifty years.
Not to mention Xu Ning himself, even if that kid Gu Mu came here, he'd probably go berserk at such boasting.