Chapter 163: Third Mama—Is It Really You? (6k)

I heard that recently, Lu Yaoyao has begun secluding herself, attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

After all, she is a Heaven-Path Foundation Establishment, has followed Zhou Qing on several expeditions, and is now merely one step away from the Nascent Soul realm.

If she can cross over, she'll at least have some self-preservation ability on missions and won't become a burden to others.

…

"I heard Du Shi-xiong has stabilized a bit lately—why don't we go visit him together?"

This morning, Yan Xiaohu came to Zhou Qing holding the memory stone recording the execution of Sima Yaoji.

Zhou Qing fed the old hen some powdered spirit stones, then agreed.

The matter of Sima Yaoji has been fully settled.

Besides, the last time Luo Xue's corpse was brought back, it was buried in the flower sea behind the mountain—we haven't paid our respects yet.

"Greetings, Shi-bo!"

Not long after ascending the mountain, they encountered Gao Xuan.

Gao Xuan nodded slightly, his gaze inevitably lingering on Zhou Qing, filled with admiration.

"Of the five prodigies of Cangyan Dao Palace, only two remain—they've already begun to comprehend certain realms of intent, their combat power far beyond ordinary Nascent Soul peak cultivators. You must be cautious!" Gao Xuan warned.

Zhou Qing nodded.

Li Hanshan and Yu Ziqi have been shouting that they'll tear him into a thousand pieces!

After bidding farewell to Gao Xuan, they arrived at the back mountain and soon found Du Kui, drunk and sprawled against Luo Xue's tombstone.

Seeing this, both felt a pang of sorrow and pain.

They gently placed the fruit they'd brought before the tombstone and lit incense, bowing in reverence.

Hearing the noise, Du Kui slowly opened his eyes, staggered to his feet, and Yan Xiaohu quickly supported him, saying: "Du Shi-xiong, Sima Yaoji is truly dead—Luo Shi-jie's vengeance has been avenged!"

Yan Xiaohu solemnly pulled out the memory stone and handed it to him.

It was said that Du Kui had already chopped Sima Yaoji's body into mincemeat to vent his rage.

Upon hearing this, Du Kui froze, as if suddenly sobering, and quickly snatched the memory stone to examine it.

"Dead—truly dead!" Du Kui burst into tears of overwhelming joy, then tightly embraced Luo Xue's tombstone, crying: "Xue'er, did you see? That vile woman couldn't escape—she's dead!"

Zhou Qing's expression grew complex as he stepped forward: "Du Shi-xiong, please control your grief. Now that your vengeance is complete, you must rise again. If Luo Shi-jie's spirit lingers, she wouldn't wish to see you like this."

Du Kui wiped his cloudy eyes and looked at Zhou Qing with deep gratitude.

"Zhou Shi-di, thank you—truly, thank you. I'm… a waste of space…" Du Kui's lips trembled, his eyes red, utterly unable to find words to describe his emotions.

Zhou Qing forced a faint smile to comfort him.

Yan Xiaohu stepped forward and added: "Du Shi-xiong, the dead are gone. You're the top disciple of Jin Yang Peak—many are watching, waiting for you. Shi-bo Gao is deeply worried about you."

Du Kui slowly turned, staring at the tombstones of Luo Xue and Tan Qiang, silent for a long while.

Then, in the next instant, a glimmer of light slowly appeared in his eyes, his robes stirred without wind, and in an instant, as if he'd finally understood, a sharp, blade-like aura pierced straight through the clouds.

"Yes—I can't keep sinking like this!" he muttered softly, voice low.

Seeing this, both men's expressions brightened.

…………

Three days later, a neatly dressed Du Kui appeared on Xiao Ling Peak, his beard shaved clean, radiating renewed vigor.

After expressing his gratitude once more, he stepped out of the mountain gate for the first time in two years, seeking the self he had lost.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qing seized this free time to study arrays again.

During the siege of Sima Yaoji, the Fotu Array had been immensely helpful—he wanted to forge the array flags of the previous "Lei Yan Shi Ling Array," so he could respond quickly if danger arose.

But unexpectedly, today Taiqingmen received a distinguished guest.

No—more accurately, a wildly arrogant man, who, of course, had every right to be arrogant. He appeared young, yet his entire being radiated an aura of profound intent.

Ke Shu, son of the Haomiao Mansion's lord, Nascent Soul peak, flanked by two terrifying Soul Transformation experts.

"Haomiao Mansion? They want us to go answer questions?" Zhou Qing, upon hearing the news, was puzzled.

Upon reflection, wasn't Haomiao Mansion the place where, as Master had mentioned, a year-long civil war in the Western Region was brutally suppressed by Hunyuan Sect?

Less than half a year later, the southwestern realms went to war, millions deployed, sixteen Soul Transformation experts already slain?

That's also why, in Lingyun Mansion's Eastern Region, no Soul Transformation cultivators have intervened—this Five Sect War ended early.

A lesson from history!

But wait—Haomiao Mansion is nowhere near Lingyun Mansion. Why are they here?

"I'm not entirely sure," Yan Xiaohu scratched his head. "They just said they wanted to ask a few questions—besides you and me, they also want Niu Guangmo and the others!"

Soon after, the group headed straight for Shen Yue Peak.

When they reached the Reception Hall, they discovered not only the Sect Master, but also their Master present.

Seated to one side, the man named Ke Shu lounged with one leg crossed, sipping tea leisurely.

He looked somewhat like Senior Brother.

Behind him, the two Soul Transformation experts suddenly turned their gazes toward the newcomers—sharp, piercing, accompanied by the crushing pressure of Soul Transformation, making their hearts sink.

Cao Zhengyang frowned, lifted a finger slightly, and the oppressive pressure vanished instantly.

Only then did the group approach and bow to the Sect Master.

Cao Zhengyang smiled warmly: "This is Ke Shu, the only son of the Haomiao Mansion's lord. He's come to ask you a few questions."

The earlier display of dominance had already annoyed Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu.

We've never met before—we owe you nothing. What's so impressive?

Xiao Cancan is the only daughter of the Lingyun Mansion's lord, yet she still warmly called them "big brothers."

Now Ke Shu set down his teacup, glanced coldly at the ten people in the hall—including Niu Guangmo—and suddenly smiled.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "I've come simply to ask one thing: five years ago, did any of you go to Qingmu City?"

Hearing this, Zhou Qing's heart stirred.

Yan Xiaohu, as the senior, looked directly at him and asked: "We did. So what?"

Qingmu City had a spirit rice partnership with Taiqingmen; last time, they were sent there to handle the Blood Tai Sui incident.

Master had even disguised himself as Niu Guangmo to secretly protect them.

Seeing Yan Xiaohu confirm, Ke Shu's eyes lit up with anticipation: "I've also inquired with the Qingmu City lord—I know what happened there, especially regarding that ghost city, which still bears traces of your battle."

Seeing Yan Xiao admit it, Ke Shu's eyes lit up, and he said with anticipation, "I've also inquired with the mayor of Qingmu City and am familiar with what happened there, especially how the traces of your battle still linger in that ghost city."

Ke Shu immediately pulled out a portrait, eyes gleaming with expectation: "Did any of you see this object in the ghost city?"

As Ke Shu spoke, even the two Soul Transformation experts fixed their intense gazes on the group, trying to detect something.

Everyone leaned forward—and saw, clearly drawn, a red token.

"What the hell is this?" Everyone exchanged confused glances and shook their heads.

Zhou Qing, who had already suspected this outcome, showed no sign of disturbance.

Seeing their expressions, Ke Shu grew disappointed, then immediately turned to his two bodyguards.

They looked at their master and shook their heads slightly.

From their expressions and eyes, they detected nothing—only soul-searching could reveal the truth.

But clearly, they dared not—and couldn't.

Even the Mansion Lord—or anyone from the Imperial Capital—had no right to do so.

The Shengwu Empire, as the core of fourth-tier cultivation, was, in another sense, merely a vastly larger "sect."

"Ke Young Master, may I ask—what exactly is this object? Did your Haomiao Mansion lose it there?"

Cao Zhengyang couldn't help asking.

Ke Shu's face lit up, then turned annoyed: "Sort of."

In truth, he'd obtained this information from an ancient manuscript—a dying elder's final, bitter record.

That token was tied to something from a long-vanished seventh-tier cultivation nation—its value incalculable.

"I knew it!" Ke Shu sighed helplessly.

Not only was the manuscript ancient, but the elder had failed to find the person, so he slaughtered the entire city in rage.

Perhaps the one who obtained the token had already escaped—or even if he died there, over so many years, countless explorers have come and gone.

Recently, he and his bodyguards had even entered to search—found nothing. This trip was merely a shot in the dark.

Mo Xingjian waved his hand to the group; Yan Xiaohu and the others bowed and withdrew.

Outside the hall, Zhou Qing's suppressed heart began pounding wildly.

How did they know about the Shen Xu Tian Gong token?

Could the one who acted back then have been a senior from Haomiao Mansion?

That couldn't be—it was clear from the remains that the perpetrator was likely a Zhan Ling expert, or even stronger.

Not even a Mansion Lord, let alone a Prefect, possessed such power.

"Perhaps it was sheer coincidence—they stumbled upon some clue," Zhou Qing thought silently.

Fortunately, that space was unusual; he'd erased all traces of himself before leaving—no suspicion would fall on him.

"What a weirdo!" Yan Xiaohu cursed as soon as they stepped outside.

Zhou Qing merely smiled faintly: "Let's go. It has nothing to do with us."

Niu Guangmo leaned in: "That token looked extraordinary—maybe it's a key to some treasure vault. Shouldn't we go back and search? We might strike it rich."

"Strike rich? You'll get your head chopped off first by Cangyan Dao Palace or Tianji Men! Stay inside the mountain for now!" Yan Xiaohu warned.

The eight of them chuckled in unison: "Yes, Boss!"

The eight of them immediately chuckled, all saying together: "Yes, boss!"

And the son of the HaoMiao Mansion's master left after spending not even a day at Taiqingmen.

Zhou Qing treated it as a minor incident and continued studying the art of arrays.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yaoyao arrived in the afternoon.

"What's wrong? You look so down," Zhou Qing teased with a smile.

Lu Yaoyao asked curiously, "Senior Brother Zhou, how did you break through to the Nascent Soul realm?"

"Hit a bottleneck?" Zhou Qing studied her expression and seemed to understand.

Lu Yaoyao nodded, then added, "I'm also confused—human-path Foundation Establishment's future is limited to the Nascent Soul realm. Even if you gain more opportunities later, you won't go far, because your foundation is fixed."

"Like building a house—if the foundation is shallow, no matter how much high-quality material you get, you can't construct eight or nine stories; it'll collapse."

Zhou Qing looked at her, his spirit subtly stirred, and asked, "What are you really getting at?"

Lu Yaoyao suddenly chuckled, glanced around, then lowered her voice: "I had a dream—I saw you unleashing divine power, even the Demon Emperor crushed beneath your fingertips."

Zhou Qing reached out and touched her forehead, puzzled. "Have you been closing off too long and developed a fever?"

"Don't change the subject. That dream felt real. So when did you break through to Nascent Soul? Are you truly human-path Foundation Establishment?"

Lu Yaoyao asked with serious intent.

Lately, she had tried closing off to touch the threshold of Nascent Soul, feeling it was within reach, yet somehow lacking the strength to cross it.

She knew she was missing a crucial opportunity to leap that final step.

And as a Heaven-path Foundation Establishment, she understood just how difficult breaking into Nascent Soul truly was.

After calming down and reflecting on recent events, she finally realized some things she had previously overlooked.

Her father's journey—from his Golden Core shattered, to silently breaking through to Nascent Soul, to now slaying the Three Prodigies of Cangyan Dao Palace—felt effortless.

That was impossible for a mere human-path Foundation Establishment.

Coupled with certain other things she knew, her suspicions grew stronger.

The more she thought, the more it felt wrong—she immediately broke her seclusion and came running over.

Facing Lu Yaoyao's questions now, Zhou Qing merely smiled.

"I'm genuinely human-path Foundation Establishment. As for my breakthrough, everyone knows—I accidentally stumbled into an ancient ruin with my Master, swallowed a spirit pill, and got lucky!" Zhou Qing said.

Lu Yaoyao shook her head. "The Demon Emperor is a Cut-Spirit realm cultivator. Do you really think a human-path Foundation Establishment could casually crush him?"

Zhou Qing shook his head. "Of course not—but you were dreaming."

Lu Yaoyao grew anxious, opened her mouth, then fell silent, unsure what to say.

Watching her expression, Zhou Qing's face remained smiling, but he had to admit—this girl had just given him a warning.

Most human-path Foundation Establishment cultivators can barely reach Golden Core; a few lucky ones might use a Nascent Soul Pill to advance further—but that's the end of the line.

Like Third Senior Brother Yan Xiaohu—he's Earth-vein Foundation Establishment, took a Nascent Soul Pill, and still only formed the 14th-ranked Wild Nascent Soul among Earth-grade ones.

Nascent Soul enhancement allows a short-term boost of one minor realm during combat, with zero side effects.

Because the Nascent Soul awakens its infant pattern, there's even a 30% chance of touching Soul Transformation later.

My own combat prowess as a human-path Foundation Establishment has been hard to explain lately—people are starting to suspect.

I'll have to be more careful from now on.

After thinking it through, Zhou Qing smiled. "It's all about opportunity. Like last time inside Linggu Mountain—who'd have thought it held natural thunder fluid and a Suoni?"

As Zhou Qing spoke these words, his expression changed abruptly—he stepped out of the courtyard at once.

Outside, atop a tall tree, a woman stood silently.

Her figure was graceful, robes fluttering, radiating an icy aura that repelled all who drew near.

Her silver hair fell like frost and snow, shimmering with a cold luster in the twilight; strands drifted gently in the wind, adding an ethereal quality.

A veil obscured her face, leaving only her eyes visible—clear, ice-blue pools, deep and unfathomable.

Beneath her feet, ice crystals spread, rapidly extending outward from her toes.

In the blink of an eye, the entire tree was encased in ice; both Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao involuntarily shivered.

Who is this woman?

How did she get in?

Why didn't Taiqingmen raise any alarm?

Zhou Qing subtly pulled Lu Yaoyao behind him, frowning slightly.

"You two… have been here before?" The woman glanced at them coolly, her lips parting with a voice like ice from the deepest abyss.

Simultaneously, an image materialized in midair.

The place was none other than Ghost City.

"Senior Brother Zhou, look at her hair—" Lu Yaoyao's eyes lit up with excitement as she whispered.

Zhou Qing was speechless—now's not the time for hair!

Her aura was restrained yet terrifying—she might be a legendary Cut-Spirit cultivator. We might not even survive this.

He stepped forward and bowed. "Greetings, Immortal Miss. We have been there."

The woman seemed to have heard Lu Yaoyao's remark; she glanced unconsciously at her own hair, then said coolly, "Have you seen who took this?"

The image in the air shifted again—now showing a red token.

Zhou Qing's heart leapt. The woman's eyes narrowed, and she stepped down, each step landing on an ice lotus.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing cursed inwardly and quickly said, "I haven't seen who took it—but yesterday, someone else came to us with a similar picture. That's why it looked familiar. Is this token a treasure?"

The woman immediately asked, "Who came to you?"

Zhou Qing recounted the incident involving Ke Shu and the others.

"Interesting!" The woman turned on her heel, tapped the air before her, and stepped through, vanishing instantly.

Zhou Qing frowned tightly.

Lu Yaoyao, however, looked thrilled—she pulled out a mirror and compared her own features.

The resemblance grew clearer with each glance—especially that silver hair, nearly identical to hers.

"Could it really be her?"

Lu Yaoyao asked eagerly, "Senior Brother Zhou, who is she? I think I can totally accept it."

"Where would I know who she is? And why would you 'totally accept' her?" Zhou Qing eyed Lu Yaoyao suspiciously.

Are you having another shift in your preferences?

Yet even as he thought this, Zhou Qing felt a strong intuition—this woman was Number Six, the blue sphere from the Divine Ruin Tiangong.

Unlike Ke Shu, who asked if they'd seen the token, she asked directly: who took it?

That means she knew the red token of Number One already had an owner—she just didn't know who.

And Number Six is female, and knows about the Four Flowers at the Crown—she must be from the Shengwu Empire or another fourth-tier cultivation country.

"It really is her!" Zhou Qing swallowed hard.

He'd never imagined someone from the Divine Ruin Tiangong would come knocking on his door.

And she was so cold and aloof.

Yet inside the Divine Ruin Tiangong, she'd been talkative, even volunteering information to him.

She seemed outwardly cold but inwardly warm.

Then why had she come to Taiqingmen to ask?

Like Ke Shu, had she heard rumors that the final battle in Ghost City was carried out by them against the evil entity and Xue Taishui?

"I must be more cautious from now on!" Zhou Qing's face darkened with worry.

The combat prowess and cultivation base of a human-path Foundation Establishment, the Four Flowers at the Crown, and the Divine Ruin Tiangong's Number One identity—

Any one of these exposed would mean certain death.

"You two just sitting outside watching the sunset? It's freezing! What the hell, Fourth Brother—when did you learn ice techniques? That tree's my private toilet!"

At that moment, Yan Xiaohu landed, staring at the ice-covered tree.

Zhou Qing rolled his eyes, flicked his finger, and a flame erupted, beginning to slowly melt the ice.

Yan Xiaohu eyed Lu Yaoyao's excited expression with suspicion.

"I came to tell you—Sister Pei Yan has fully recovered. She's hosting dinner tonight at Yushantang!" Yan Xiaohu said quickly.

Zhou Qing had no appetite now.

But Yan Xiaohu said Master Tong Min, Senior Uncle Gao Xuan, and even their Master would attend—he had no choice but to go.

"Come with us," Zhou Qing said to Lu Yaoyao.

Lu Yaoyao shook her head. "No, I have other matters. You two go ahead."

Saying this, she hurried off.

"What's with her?" Yan Xiaohu stared after her.

Zhou Qing sighed. "She had a dream—I tore apart a Demon Emperor. She seriously doubts I'm human-path Foundation Establishment."

"Seriously? Women's intuition is terrifying. You should tone it down—maybe just claim you're Earth-vein Foundation Establishment?" Yan Xiaohu suggested.

Zhou Qing fell silent. Perhaps that was the only option—no one had ever verified his Foundation Establishment type anyway.

…………

Back at Shenyue Peak, Lu Yaoyao instinctively glanced toward the hidden tunnel beneath the outhouse, then hurried into her courtyard and pulled out a notebook.

On the first page, clearly written: "Xuanyou Immortal Miss," along with a portrait.

An arrow specifically marked "silver hair beneath black hair," with elegant script beside it: "Auntie."

On the second page: Princess Xuan Yuan Mokian's name and portrait.

The original "orange hair" had been erased, replaced with "black with silver streaks."

It is also noted that the Ninth Princess's mother has silver hair and is not human, possibly an inherited trait from her grandmother.

Below it was written the characters "Second Mom."

This was a manual meticulously prepared by Lu Yaoyao, documenting every woman who had interacted with Zhou Qing and matched certain of her own traits.

That mysterious woman who appeared suddenly this evening, though they had only met once, made Lu Yaoyao feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

She might have many more chances to interact with her father in the future.

She needed to sketch her quickly while the memory was still fresh, for who could say what might happen?

After finishing the drawing, she wrote with great excitement the two characters "Third Mom."

(End of Chapter)