"The daughter of a City Lord?"
This was something Ye Xuan truly hadn’t expected.
"Yes," Ye Yizhou replied. "My meeting with your mother was purely by chance. It was just like the romance tales told by storytellers. The daughter of a prominent family fled an arranged marriage, hid in a remote village, and found the one she loved.
"Unfortunately, our story was a tragedy. After your mother and I were together for five years, she had to leave. Her family had tracked her down near Hongtu Town, leaving her with no choice but to return.
"When she left, she repeatedly warned me not to look for her. Otherwise, it would get you and Ling’Er killed. She said her clan would never allow us to sully their bloodline. She told me to forget her from then on. But how could I? I can only blame myself for being too weak—so weak that I didn’t even have the right to seek her out."
By this point, Ye Yizhou’s eyes had already turned red.
Ye Xuan exhaled heavily. "Dad, is your expectation for me to go to a city and find my mother?"
"Yes. I desperately want to know how she has been doing these past twenty years. Has she forgotten me? I know it’s a bit early to tell you all this. Compared to a city, the Ye Family is still nothing. But I felt it was time you knew."
Ye Xuan fell silent for a long time before saying, "Dad, how do you know what she told you when she left was the truth? What if she simply grew tired of you, wanted to leave, and just made up an excuse?"
"This..."
Ye Xuan’s words left Ye Yizhou stunned. He had never once considered that possibility. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Impossible. Your mother isn’t that kind of person."
Ye Xuan simply replied nonchalantly, "I hope I’m just overthinking it. Did she ever tell you where her city is? What is it called?"
"That... I don’t know. She never said."
"If we don’t know, it’s going to be rather difficult for me to find her. But don’t worry, I will search for her. It’s just... Dad, aren’t you afraid?"
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"
"Aren’t you afraid that if I do find her, she might have already married someone else and had other children, living happily with her new family? Twenty years sounds short, but it’s actually a very, very long time—long enough for any emotion to grow cold."
These words did not sound like something a young man would say. Ye Yizhou blanked for a moment, then smiled. "If it really is as you say, then don’t disturb her. As long as she is happy, that’s enough. I just want to know if she’s doing well. It’s that simple."
"I understand, Dad. I’ll do my best to find her. By the way, her name is Gongsun Yanran, right? I don’t think I remembered it wrong. My memories of her blurred a long time ago, and this name is the only thing I can recall." Ye Xuan let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Yes, Gongsun Yanran. That is your mother’s name."
"Rest assured, Dad. Once I have the strength to enter a city, finding her won’t be difficult. After all, she is a City Lord’s daughter. Oh, right, Dad, have you ever told Ling’Er about her?"
"No."
"That’s for the best. Don’t tell Ling’Er. We shouldn’t stir up waves in her peaceful heart. Let’s wait until we actually find her. We still don’t know if finding her will bring closure or inflict even greater pain. She might not have any feelings left for us at all."
Having been betrayed by a woman before, Ye Xuan genuinely did not trust his own mother. Even if his mother had secretly given birth and feared being discovered by her maiden family, could she really not find a single opportunity over the past twenty years to sneak out and see her son and daughter? Ye Xuan knew that women’s hearts were fickle. Her twenty-year absence most likely meant she no longer held any affection for them. It might even be just as he suspected: his mother didn’t leave Hongtu Town because her clan found her. It was simply because, as a privileged young lady, she no longer wanted to live such a rustic life with Ye Yizhou. To put it simply: she didn’t love him anymore. She had had enough of playing house.
"Dad, let me walk you back to your room. I’ll keep her matter in mind."
Ye Xuan escorted Ye Yizhou back to his room. Afterward, he headed to the training room. However, he didn’t cultivate, nor did he perform Alchemy. He merely stood there, clenching his fists tightly. Despite his nonchalant display earlier, his heart was anything but calm.
His mother wasn’t dead. His mother was still alive.
He wanted to laugh, yet he also wanted to cry. He wanted to laugh because he still had a mother, but he wanted to cry because, what difference was there between having a mother and not having one? It took him quite a while to finally calm his mind. Currently, he was still unqualified to investigate a city.
For now, Ye Xuan brought out his Pill Furnace. Several stalks of Spirit Medicine appeared in his hands. One of the Spirit Medicines emitted a faint glow, clearly showing it was no ordinary item. It was a peculiar flower with blooming petals that resembled a human’s smiling face. This was a Grade Four Inferior Spirit Medicine—the Smiling Flower. The Smiling Flower could elevate the cultivation of a Cultivator below the 3rd Layer of the Super Spirit Realm by one entire layer. He had obtained this Smiling Flower from Zhang Wuzong’s Qiankun Bag.
Ye Xuan could directly consume the Smiling Flower to push his cultivation to the 3rd Layer. However, he chose not to do so. He wanted to refine the Super Spirit Pill. The Smiling Flower contained significant energy and could barely be divided into two portions. Refining it into Elixirs would undoubtedly be much more cost-effective than eating it raw.
But before refining the Super Spirit Pill, Ye Xuan first needed to concoct some Grade Three auxiliary Elixirs. For example, the Grade Three Spirit Revitalizing Pill. Although Ye Xuan was confident in himself, he still felt that Alchemy should be approached slowly, level by level. Moreover, he didn’t even know if he had the ability to refine Grade Three or even Grade Four Elixirs. The higher the grade of the Elixir, the more complex the refinement process. Therefore, he needed to practice first. Otherwise, if a mistake occurred and ruined a precious material like the Smiling Flower, it would be a complete waste of heavenly treasures.
Three days later.
"Condense!" Ye Xuan formed the Pill Condensation Technique hand seals, and the Pill Furnace released a muffled BOOM. The final batch of ingredients for refining the Super Spirit Pill successfully achieved Nascent Soul Formation. Fifteen Elixirs rolled out from within.
In just three days, Ye Xuan was already capable of refining Grade Four Elixirs. If word of this talent got out, probably no one would believe it. An ordinary Pill Master would need at least ten years just to start refining Grade Four Elixirs. Even those with peerless talent would need three to five years. Yet Ye Xuan hadn’t even been studying Alchemy for a month.
The transformation the Dragon Blood brought to his body was truly incredible. If Ye Xuan’s guess was correct, during ancient times, the Divine Dragon was the true ruler of the continent. Humanity had been protected by the Divine Dragon. He just didn’t know why the Divine Dragon had disappeared.
Shaking his head, Ye Xuan picked up the Elixirs. "From two refinements, I obtained a total of thirty-one Super Spirit Pills. I wonder how many layers they can raise my cultivation by. I should consolidate my cultivation base first before taking them."
Ye Xuan sat cross-legged and began to consolidate his cultivation. Once his foundation was stable, he would consume the Super Spirit Pills and break through to his third Great River Vein.
A day later.
Suddenly, Ye Ling’Er’s voice came from the door of the training room. "Brother, I need to talk to you about something."