Chapter 519: Fatherly Love is Like a Mountain

Above the outer perimeter of Langya Heavenly Palace, not long after Xiao Han returned to the Great Thousand World, excited shouts came from afar.

"Palace Master!"

Subconsciously looking back, he saw Yang Ling hurrying over, his expression full of excitement.

"Elder Yang, this is..."

"Palace Master, you have finally returned! With you not here to hold down the fort in the sect, we haven't been able to eat or drink in peace!"

Yang Ling said these words with genuine sincerity; it would not be an exaggeration to say he was speaking through tears.

But Xiao Han did not think so. The other party's tone was quite exaggerated, making the corners of Xiao Han's eyes twitch uncontrollably; he had not expected this fellow to have a talent for acting.

"You, this Elder, seem to be quite a character!"

The interaction between the two made Yi Huang, who was behind Xiao Han, feel quite amused; she lightly covered her thin lips with one hand and laughed.

"This person... and who are these..."

Yang Ling finally noticed the group following behind Xiao Han. With his powerful spiritual sense, he easily perceived their identity as visitors from a lower plane, and then he was suddenly overjoyed.

"Could these be friends from the lower plane where you originated, Palace Master?"

He could tell that, apart from that strange tiger with wings on its back carrying a baby, the people his Palace Master had brought were all dragons and phoenixes among men! Each one had a vigorous aura, and there were a few that even made him feel apprehensive, still retaining killing intent that had not yet dissipated—they were exactly the kind of talent their sect needed!

"Elder Yang, let me tell you..."

Xiao Han pulled Yang Ling to the side to whisper.

"Help me arrange these fellow countrymen of mine. The consumption for their Spirit Power conversion and the subsequent recovery of their cultivation will be provided by us for the time being."

"If anyone wants to leave, there is no need to stop them."

"But these few people must be kept here by me, your Palace Master, by any means necessary..."

After a full quarter of an hour of earnest instruction, the two returned.

"No problem."

After leaving behind a portion of the experts who were closer to him, Xiao Han said to the group:

"From here on, you all just need to follow Elder Yang; he will arrange everything."

When the others left under Yang Ling's guidance, only about a dozen people remained, including Yi Huang and the others. Under Xiao Han's guidance, they headed toward the depths of Langya Heavenly Palace.

"Looking at you, the arrangements for Spirit Power conversion are a bit different?"

Since those left behind were basically acquaintances—comrades who had once been in the same trenches—Yi Huang did not intend to hide anything and asked directly.

"The methods for Spirit Power conversion are basically the same throughout the Great Thousand World, but if one can conduct it in a place with abundant spiritual energy, the speed of conversion and the subsequent recovery of cultivation will naturally be a bit faster."

Everyone perked up when it came to this topic.

"How much faster?"

Ye Jianxin also stepped forward and poked Xiao Han's arm with his sword hilt.

"About several dozen times, I suppose."

Xiao Han gave an answer that shocked everyone as if it were nothing.

"Several dozen times!"

Ye Jianxin exclaimed, and only after coming to his senses did he tease:

"You kid, this differential treatment is quite significant!"

"There's nothing to be done about that."

Xiao Han also revealed a helpless expression.

"What I am going to use for you is a Grandmaster-level Spirit Array. There are not many people in the entire Great Thousand World who have the qualifications and strength to set up a Spirit Array of this level, and Langya Heavenly Palace only has four."

"Two of them are provided to Elders and Disciples who enter based on merit, and one belongs to that fellow, the Ice Emperor."

"The last one is my place of cultivation, and it is also the place I am taking you to."

"Your cultivation levels are too high, and only this Spirit Array can meet the requirements. You can complete the Spirit Power conversion in at most one month."

"If we occupy your cultivation place, what will you do?" Ye Jianxin frowned; he did not want Xiao Han to delay his cultivation because of them.

"Do you think I can be idle this month?"

Xiao Han shook his head bitterly.

"Now that the number of Heavenly Sovereigns in the sect is growing, the number of Grandmaster-level Spirit Arrays naturally needs to increase. These all require me to set them up, and the Sect Protecting Array needs to be perfected; the vast majority of these must be handled by me."

"A life of toil!"

"Pavilion Master Xiao, may I ask what the cost of this Spirit Array is?"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd asked a question that was like a thunderclap. Xiao Han looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Puppet Saint Jiang Yu, who still looked malnourished after several decades, looking at him seriously.

This question was also something many people wanted to know. Among those present, apart from those who were extremely close to Xiao Han, the remaining half were merely acquaintances, and these experts naturally did not intend to eat for free.

Some debts of gratitude had to be owed, but one could not let those debts of gratitude snowball.

Xiao Han, well-versed in the psychology of many experts, smiled and said:

"If you all have the heart, when your cultivation is restored and you go out to roam the Great Thousand World, you can inquire about it then; it won't be too late to compensate me at that time. Your credit is still trustworthy."

"Then many thanks, Pavilion Master Xiao."

Once the matter was brought into the open, the group only thought about it for a moment before they stopped worrying about the issue and followed Xiao Han to the Spirit Array with full anticipation.

After leaving the Spirit Array, Xiao Han's face fell as he looked down at the large tiger, which was nearly waist-high and happily teasing its own daughter.

Before leaving, Yi Huang had emphasized that he should settle the little tiger and her daughter. This put him in a difficult position; a Sixth-Tier tiger and an infant who had only recently awakened were practically at the bottom of the strength hierarchy in the current Langya Heavenly Palace. He himself could not spare the time to take care of them, and he was even less at ease leaving them to that group of rough men under his command...

After thinking it over, a certain department appeared in his mind. He acted immediately, waving his sleeve to sweep up the bewildered large tiger, and before long, he appeared at the entrance of Apricot Grove Hall.

"Palace Master!"

"Palace Master!"

"..."

Greeting the Disciples and Elders inside Apricot Grove Hall all the way, he finally stopped in front of the Hall Master's exclusive cultivation room, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Palace Master?!"

The room door opened, revealing Mo Wenxin's slightly sleepy face.

"Is Hall Master Mo exhausted? Are the sect's tasks too heavy? Should we reduce some of them?"

Seeing Mo Wenxin's weary face, Xiao Han was startled; this person must not have anything go wrong!

"Palace Master, do not worry; I have just been studying medicine during this time and forgot to rest."

Welcoming Xiao Han into the room and taking a seat, Mo Wenxin poured tea for Xiao Han.

"I wonder what instructions the Palace Master has for coming here?"

"It is like this."

Xiao Han coughed lightly, his tone appearing slightly awkward.

"I have come here to ask Apricot Grove Hall to help look after two little ones."

"Hm?"

"This tiger is quite interesting?"

Mo Wenxin had just noticed Little Tiger and was immediately attracted by its appearance; her eyes brimmed with joy as she reached out to rub the tiger's head, and the latter obediently accepted the "torment."

After finishing petting the tiger's head, Mo Wenxin picked up the child in the swaddling clothes and, as if by instinct, gently rocked them.

"I wonder where the Palace Master found this child?"

"Mine."

"Oh, so it is..."

"Hm?"

"The Palace Master's?"

After responding subconsciously, Mo Wenxin suddenly reacted, and emotions of confusion and shock surged in her heart.

She had joined Langya Heavenly Palace for quite some time; wasn't this Palace Master an older bachelor? He actually had a baby?

Xiao Han provided a simple explanation.

"I have been tied up with matters recently and have no time to take care of these two little ones. I wonder if it would be too much trouble for Apricot Grove Hall to look after them?"

"Since the Palace Master has ordered it, there is naturally no problem."

Mo Wenxin agreed extremely readily.

"I wonder what requirements the Palace Master has?"

After all, this was the Palace Master's own daughter, so Mo Wenxin felt she could not be negligent and cautiously asked for the basic requirements, only to be stunned by Xiao Han's answer.

"As long as they are alive."

Listen to that; if she were not fully confident in her own health, Mo Wenxin would have suspected that something was wrong with her hearing. This was something a father could say?

Could this be the legendary "fatherly love is like a mountain"?

Xiao Han's answer was not because he did not care—though perhaps, possibly, maybe there was a little bit of that—but getting to the root of it, it was because he had absolute trust in Apricot Grove Hall.

It could be said without false modesty that throughout the Great Thousand World, the average moral standard of Apricot Grove Hall was definitely among the best, or even ranked at the very top. Letting this group of Da Qian good people raise the children, Xiao Han could set his heart at ease.

And so, under Mo Wenxin's complex gaze, Xiao Han dumped the two burdens and began to engage in major construction at Langya Heavenly Palace.