## Chapter 24: Third Update
Is it her?
Feng Yunqing knew deep down that the possibility of Xianzun Yuan Lian being related to Yun Lian was extremely slim. However, some vague clues made him hold onto a “what if” fantasy.
Feng Yunqing couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous and embarrassed because he couldn’t imagine how Yun Lian would view that incident if she were still alive, and how she would feel about him.
Could he bear the endless resentment from his beloved?
Feng Yunqing pressed his lips tightly together, staring intently at Yuan Lian, almost stepping forward when she beckoned.
But at that moment, Chang Songzhu, not far from him, looked around and pointed at herself with her index finger, “Me?”
Feng Yunqing was taken aback and immediately stopped in his tracks.
He watched as Yuan Lian nodded in this direction, and Chang Songzhu’s body seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, suddenly appearing beside Yuan Lian, bypassing Feng Yunqing and many fellow disciples and sect elders.
She stood there dumbfounded in front of Yuan Lian, becoming the center of everyone’s attention.
So Yuan Lian hadn’t noticed Feng Yunqing at all. She looked Chang Songzhu up and down, asking in a calm tone, “Are you hurt?”
Chang Songzhu felt as if she was being pierced by a thousand scorching gazes. She awkwardly moved her arm, nodding and shaking her head, “It’s… just minor injuries, nothing serious…”
At this moment, she recalled the thrilling scene earlier and eagerly wanted to ask Yuan Lian about the sword, so she said urgently, “Right! The Changqing Sword…”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Yuan Lian didn’t think it was important. The defensive formation of the Changqing Sword was indeed her doing, just in case, and it saved her life.
However, this kind of defense would only be triggered in life-and-death situations, so Chang Songzhu still suffered injuries in the secret realm.
Yuan Lian asked, “That person earlier…” She looked at Yan Hang, “Was it Zuo Xihuang?”
Yan Hang quickly replied, “Yes, it was.”
“Did Zuo Xihuang’s move earlier injure you?”
Chang Songzhu initially thought she wasn’t hurt, but in reality, no matter how powerful the Changqing Sword was, it could only minimize the damage. Completely nullifying a full-force attack from a Jade Immortal wasn’t something a hastily made magical artifact could do—it would take at least a divine artifact to guarantee that.
Chang Songzhu didn’t understand this principle, but she obediently checked herself and was surprised to find some hidden injuries lurking within her, which were very subtle and hard to detect.
She never hid her condition, so she honestly told Yuan Lian.
Yuan Lian thought that since Chang Songzhu, who was closest to the Changqing Sword, was injured, others would likely be even more severely hurt.
Originally, Yuan Lian never cared about these matters, but now, feeling the excited and admiring gazes of these young cultivators on her, she felt a bit of compassion.
After pondering for a moment, Yuan Lian took out a jade bottle and tossed it to Yan Hang.
Yan Hang was surprised, “This is…”
She patted Chang Songzhu’s back, “This child is injured, and others might be too. Inside is…”
Over time, she had forgotten the specific name of the medicine inside, so to prove its usefulness, she added, “It’s from my father.”
Yan Hang’s hand trembled, almost dropping the jade bottle, then he instinctively held it tightly. He forced a smile at Yuan Lian, “Then I thank Master on behalf of these children.”
“Mm,” Yuan Lian disliked unnecessary pleasantries, so she patted Chang Songzhu’s back again for comfort and then turned and disappeared.
Yan Hang had been calm and composed earlier, but after Yuan Lian left, he couldn’t hold it together. He didn’t even care about Zuo Xihuang, who was lying on the ground like a dead dog. First, he looked at the precious bottle in his hand, then glanced at Chang Songzhu.
Seeing the young girl looking awkward in front of him, Yan Hang felt it was inappropriate to ask anything.
If Master didn’t want others to know, wouldn’t asking be asking for trouble?
Thinking this, Yan Hang still felt a bit sour inside—he had known Yuan Lian for so long and was nominally her only disciple, yet he had never seen her have any physical contact with anyone other than the two God Kings, let alone naturally patting this child’s back…
The more he thought about it, the more sour he felt.
Ling Yao came over, seeing him like this, and couldn’t help but look down on him—what’s the point of being sour over a little girl?
She approached Chang Songzhu and said, “Good child, you know what’s in your heart, so we won’t say much. Go back and rest for a few days, prepare more…”
Chang Songzhu was relieved that the elders didn’t press further—mainly because she didn’t know what to say. After all, she had just learned that Xiao Lian was actually Xianzun Yuan Lian, and her mind was still in chaos.
She sighed inwardly, cursing herself for being a fool. Xiao Lian had never hidden anything from her, yet she never thought of it and foolishly tried to befriend her…
Thinking of the silly things she did in front of Yuan Lian—like spending seventy spirit pearls to ask the dignified Xianzun to pull her up, or praising her beauty and saying she looked energetic while walking—Chang Songzhu wished she could howl at the sky or dig a hole to bury herself, having no interest in explaining the backstory to others.
Although the trial in the Xiao Canglou Secret Realm wasn’t completed, everyone knew who would participate in the competition.
This matter was temporarily settled.
Yuan Lian felt she had never been away from Buzhou Mountain for so long and surprisingly felt a bit homesick—even though the distance from Wanyi Sect to Buzhou Immortal Mansion wasn’t far in others’ eyes, for Yuan Lian, it was just a blink away.
As soon as she used the shrink earth to inch technique to reach the main hall of the Immortal Mansion, Dong Dong led a group of little celestial children swarming over, massaging her legs, shoulders, offering tea, and feeding celestial fruits. In the blink of an eye, Yuan Lian was surrounded by little celestial children.
The little celestial children were full of spiritual energy and could sense their master’s emotions. If it were before, they wouldn’t dare move much in front of Yuan Lian, but now, they dared to show their lively and cute nature.
Yuan Lian patted each of their faces, asking, “What’s going on?”
Several little celestial children chattered about missing Lian Zun, and the leader, Dong Dong, pouted, “You’ve never been away from home for so long… Where did you go that kept you away?”
Yuan Lian couldn’t say she was just at the nearby Wanyi Sect and hadn’t returned because she forgot…
After finally coaxing these children away, Yuan Lian sighed in relief, not wanting to cultivate, and leaned on a pillow to daydream.
Perhaps being in a familiar place made her relax, Yuan Lian closed her eyes to rest, continuing to nurture her soul platform, and unknowingly almost fell asleep.
In a half-dream, half-awake state, she vaguely felt a flash before her eyes, as if she saw an upside-down sky, falling stars, and other bizarre scenes passing by.
Yuan Lian gently opened her eyes, instinctively saying, “Senior Brother?”
The leaf with Cang Hai Shenwang’s primordial spirit attached to it slipped from her hair.
Yuan Lian caught it.
Cang Hai’s primordial spirit, just like before when Yuan Lian hadn’t exposed it, quietly stayed by her side without making a sound to disturb her, so quiet that it had no presence. Sometimes Yuan Lian would forget her senior brother had a wisp of primordial spirit on her.
The little leaf jumped and lay in Yuan Lian’s palm, and Cang Hai’s voice came, “What’s wrong?”
Yuan Lian initially thought that scene was an illusion created by Cang Hai to amuse her, as he had done many times before. But now, Cang Hai’s tone was gentle, with a hint of inquiry, clearly not joking.
Was it a dream then?
Strictly speaking, immortals don’t need sleep; they can replace rest with cultivation during meditation.
Yuan Lian was born a Jade Immortal, and apart from a few times as a child when she fell asleep on her father’s lap, she rarely truly slept as she grew older, so she hadn’t had many dreams. She didn’t expect that when she finally had a dream, she thought she was under an illusion, which was quite amusing.
The leaf, not getting a response, curled up in Yuan Lian’s palm.
Yuan Lian came back to her senses, “It’s nothing, just had a dream.”
“A dream?” Cang Hai, having been a mortal for a brief period, found that time insignificant compared to the rest of his life, but the psychological and mental impact of that time was greater than the thousands of years that followed. Unlike Yuan Lian, he didn’t find dreaming strange.
“What did you dream about?”
Yuan Lian thought for a moment, “Just some strange and bizarre images, no storyline.”
“Maybe it’s what you thought about during the day,” Cang Hai, sounding experienced, analyzed for her, “You just saw Xianzun Yu Qi’s whimsical ideas in the secret realm, maybe they entered your dream.”
“Hmm…” Yuan Lian thought for a moment, then denied, “Probably not, I wasn’t paying attention to any ‘whimsical ideas’ at the time.”
“Is that so…” The little leaf lay in Yuan Lian’s palm, trembling slightly with Cang Hai’s voice, which seemed to carry a smile, “You were just watching people… You treat that child really well.”
“Huh?”