Chapter 3: Undercurrents Surging

Lu Jiuyuan's Spiritual Energy palm stopped an inch from Li Yuanhao's chest, slowly dissipating.

Yet he still slapped Li Yuanhao across the face, sending him flying: "Get lost!"

He ignored Li Yuanhao, looked at Lu Tianyu, his fierce gaze instantly softening, and said calmly: "You've returned."

Given Lu Jiuyuan's usual temperament, he would have scolded Lu Tianyu, but he did not do so now.

A hundred days of torment and waiting had made him repent countless times for having scolded his son.

His son's competitive nature had led to dire consequences, nearly leaving him with lifelong regret; he felt it had all been forced out by him.

Now that his son had returned safely, he prepared to abandon his previous high-pressure educational methods in favor of peaceful conversation.

Lu Tianyu nodded slightly: "I have returned."

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

Their eyes met, and everything was understood without words.

Lu Tianyu observed that his father's temples had turned white and his eye sockets were dark and sunken, his heart aching faintly.

His father's fierce killing intent just moments ago had shocked him, yet he felt incomparably warm in his heart.

His father's temper was usually explosive, but he was always steady when facing major events, careful to maintain a sense of proportion.

If he had killed Li Yuanhao, the Nanhuang Clan would surely have come to demand an explanation upon discovering the cause, making a war between Donghuang Star and Nanhuang Star inevitable.

His father would normally have exercised restraint, but today he had acted impulsively for his sake, without considering the consequences.

Luo Yunshang hugged Lu Tianyu, sobbing uncontrollably: "Yu'er, if you hadn't come back, Mother wouldn't know how to go on."

As Lu Tianyu's mother, she regarded her son as her entire life, pouring all her heart and soul into him.

The moment she heard the bad news about her son, she felt as if the sky had collapsed.

Now that she saw her son safe and sound, she wept with joy.

Lu Tianyu patted his mother's shoulder gently, his eyes slightly red: "Mother, I'm sorry!"

"I swear, I will never make you worry again."

In the past, he had been dissatisfied with his parents from the bottom of his heart, feeling they had expectations that were too high, always criticizing and blaming him for everything, never seeing his strengths.

Having experienced one hundred thousand years of soul sedimentation, he finally understood his parents' painstaking efforts.

His parents wanted him to succeed, hoping he would walk out of this resource-poor Bahuang Star Domain, forge a unique path, and have a better future.

He was very fortunate to have such parents, and he secretly swore to work tirelessly and not let them down.

"Alright, it's dangerous here; let's return to the clan to talk."

Lu Jiuyuan said calmly.

Luo Yunshang took Lu Tianyu's hand: "Let's go, let's go home."

Lu Tianyu nodded, and led by Luo Yunshang, he boarded the flying boat and ascended into the sky.

He looked back at the pitch-black Abyss, the pink figure appearing in his mind once more, the scene of their Soul Dual Cultivation replaying...

Not far away.

Li Yuanhao swayed as he stood up, spitting a mouthful of blood at the backs of the three.

His face was covered in blood, his expression ferocious and terrifying: "Lu Tianyu, I will never rest until you are dead!"

"I have already made contact with your woman; she will soon come to you to break off the engagement, hmph!"

"Lu Jiuyuan, everything your Lu family has will be mine in the future; I will devour you bit by bit!"

Li Yuanhao's eyes blazed with fire, his teeth gritted!

Whoosh!

An old woman in red robes with blood-red hair flashed before Li Yuanhao, shouting angrily: "Young Master, what happened to you?"

"Who was it!"

Li Yuanhao narrowed his eyes slightly: "It was Lu Tianyu!"

"He never went missing at all; Lu Jiuyuan created the illusion of Lu Tianyu's disappearance to make us lower our guard."

"Lu Tianyu was lying in ambush here with people just now; he wanted to kill me!"

He pointed at Li Shu's corpse: "Li Shu died to save me, along with my three personal guards!"

"Ying Gu, you must stand up for me, avenge Li Shu, and kill that brat!"

Li Yuanhao knelt on both knees, tears streaming down his face: "Lu Tianyu, even if I have to throw my life away, I will kill you!"

He roared hysterically.

He concealed the fact that his spirit pet had been killed and that he had struck first, ordering Li Shu to kill Lu Tianyu.

He twisted the truth into Lu Tianyu being insidious and cunning, trying to ambush and kill him, in order to incite Ying Gu's rage.

"Ah! Brother Li!"

Ying Gu knelt on one knee, filled with immense grief: "Brother Li!"

"I'm sorry, I arrived too late!"

"Lu Tianyu! I will kill you with my own hands!"

"I will grind your bones to dust to pay tribute to Brother Li's spirit in heaven!"

Swish!

Ying Gu closed Li Shu's eyes, took an ice coffin from her Storage Bag, and placed her inside.

Seeing his treacherous scheme had succeeded, a cold glint appeared in the corner of Li Yuanhao's eyes.

If he told Ying Gu and his father the truth, they would surely go to Lu Jiuyuan to reason with him.

Pressured by the other families of Bahuang, the final result would inevitably be Lu Jiuyuan providing some compensation to end the matter.

But telling Ying Gu and his father this way would, on one hand, put immense pressure on Lu Jiuyuan, causing him to suffer joint suppression from the other seven Huang Clans.

On the other hand, Ying Gu would surely assassinate Lu Tianyu in secret, and the Lu family would fall into chaos once again.

Killing two birds with one stone!

The council hall of the Donghuang Clan was packed with people.

Everyone's gaze was filled with suspicion, fixed on Lu Tianyu, their faces showing deep confusion.

The Great Elder stepped forward and said politely, "Young Master, forgive us; it is not that we are overthinking, but the Ancestor asked us to verify your identity."

"The Clan Head and the Clan Head's wife are currently with the Ancestor, and they asked me to pass a message to you: do not worry."

Lu Tianyu smiled slightly and cupped his hands toward the elders: "Seniors, please feel free to check; there is no need for any hesitation."

He was the only person in existence to have walked out of the Bahuang Forbidden Area, so it was impossible for people not to be suspicious.

These people all suspected that he had been possessed, or that he had experienced something inconceivable.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to come out of the forbidden land alive, and to have fallen from the number one genius of Bahuang to a useless person.

Just now on the way, his parents had carefully examined his condition and confirmed it beyond doubt.

He had come here just to go through the motions, to dispel the doubts of the elders so they could give an account to the other members of the Bahuang Clan.

"Good!"

"Young Master, apologies for the offense!"

The elders took action one after another, beginning to use various profound arts and divine abilities to inspect him.

There was never the slightest ripple on Lu Tianyu's face.

When his parents were checking him, he had used the Bahuang Heaven-Swallowing Cauldron to conceal the aura of his divine bones, divine blood, and dantian, leaving them unable to find any traces of modification.

He had also fabricated a story to explain his experiences in the Abyss.

It was not that he was intentionally hiding things from his parents.

The fact that Lu Tianyu had engaged in Soul Dual Cultivation with the Qian Gu Nu Di and obtained the Heaven-Swallowing Cauldron was simply too bizarre; if it spread, it would cause unnecessary trouble for the Donghuang Clan.

A moment later, the inspection was finished; the elders found nothing unusual and all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hahaha!"

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from outside: "Yu'er, that you could emerge from the Forbidden Abyss is simply a miracle."

"Do you dare to make a wager with me? If you win, this Profound Void Mirror is yours!"

An aged, resonant voice drifted in from the doorway.