Chapter 296: Farewell Cai Lin and Cai Die
As evening approached, Yao Yan finally saw Cai Lin and Cai Die return. Along with them was a chubby second-grade Qingmu Fox, lazily curled up in Cai Die's arms, its big, furry ears drooping as though it could never fully wake up. But as soon as it sensed a familiar aura, its ears shot straight up.
The fox's bright green eyes opened, and it quickly spotted a familiar figure, immediately squeaking in excitement. It waved its little pink paws, clearly recognizing its "original owner"—Yao Yan!
When Cai Die opened her arms, the little white-eyed fox dashed toward Yao Yan like a bolt of lightning.
Yao Yan watched this scene with a tender smile. He reached out to catch the leaping Ling Er and let her climb up to his shoulder. He felt her furry fur rub against his cheek as her bright green eyes looked at him and let out a crisp "yi yi" sound.
Just like back in the day.
Nearly ten years had passed, but Ling Er had not forgotten Yao Yan. After all, for Ling Er, ten years was but a fleeting moment. And in her long fox life, Yao Yan was undoubtedly the most special human being, someone she could never forget.
"Little glutton~" Yao Yan skillfully pulled out a bottle of pill essence from his storage ring and handed it over. His gaze shifted toward the two sisters.
Time hadn't added a single trace of age to their faces. They were still as stunningly beautiful and seductive as ever. Their beauty could make everything in the room lose its color.
Cai Lin, with one hand resting on her slim waist, scrutinized Yao Yan with a sharp gaze. Her cold, piercing eyes were full of aggression. The queen-like demeanor she exuded, paired with her striking red high heels, added an air of arrogance, making it seem as if she had never missed Yao Yan even a bit in these ten years.
And a woman like her seemed as though she shouldn't need a man!
In contrast, Cai Die's eyes appeared more natural. She gently covered her lips with her long, jade fingers, gazing at him with tears in her eyes. There was longing and affection in her eyes, and if it weren't for her restraint, she might have already rushed into his arms.
Same appearance, yet completely different temperaments and reactions.
"Uh… I'm back," Yao Yan said with an awkward smile, breaking the silence.
"So you're still alive? I thought you died somewhere in a corner," Cai Lin scoffed, her narrow eyes filled with resentment. She shot Yao Yan a fierce look, as if she wanted to bite him.
"Sister~" Cai Die, seeing Cai Lin immediately start scolding Yao Yan, looked at her with pleading eyes, her gentle peach blossom gaze filled with a hint of sadness.
Cai Lin, seeing her sister's expression, suppressed her anger and frowned slightly, speaking coldly, "Alright, he just returned today, I won't say anything else... You two talk, I'll go meet with the elders."
With that, she disappeared from the spot, seemingly unwilling to be involved.
Four-Star Dou Zun peak... Yao Yan could tell Cai Lin's strength. Compared to Cai Lin's strength, Cai Die was considerably weaker, at only the early stages of Two-Star Dou Zun. She seemed to have just broken through, but her current demeanor didn't seem like that of a Dou Zun expert. She cautiously approached Yao Yan, as though afraid he might disappear if she got too close.
"Stop staring. It's really me, I'm back," Yao Yan gently pinched this silly girl's cheek and said softly.
"Wuwu~" Cai Die, unable to hold back any longer, threw herself into Yao Yan's arms, tightly hugging him. Her tear-filled eyes trembled as she choked out, "Young Master, I really missed you! I dreamed so many times that you were back, but when I woke up, you were gone..."
"This time, it's real!" Yao Yan held Cai Die, his eyes filled with apology.
Cai Die didn't say anything but continued to hold him tightly, feeling the reality and warmth of his embrace. As time passed, her emotions slowly calmed. She blinked her clear, peach blossom eyes, her face glistening with tears. Looking at Yao Yan, she tightly grasped his clothes, saying, "Wherever you go, I will go!"
Only after losing, does one realize what's truly precious... Ten years had been far too long for her. She was afraid Yao Yan might disappear again without a word.
Yao Yan gently wiped the tear from the corner of her eye and placed his forehead on hers, speaking softly, "This time, I'm back to take you both with me."
Cai Die's eyes shimmered, but the next moment, hesitation filled her gaze. If she left with Yao Yan, what would happen to her sister? As for taking her sister with them... she knew how much effort Cai Lin had put into the current situation. How could she abandon everything she had built?
"Your sister will naturally come with us. As for the situation in the Northwestern Continent, I have my plans," Yao Yan smiled and said as he saw through Cai Die's thoughts.
The Northwestern Continent couldn't be unified. Even if it was unified now, it would still require chaos in the future because the Hun Clan needed living beings for their blood sacrifices, and the larger the number, the better. If necessary, they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice the entire Central Continent.
The key point was that the Hun Clan had already been doing this, and they were nearing the final stages.
Even though Yao Yan was the Young Clan Leader of the Hun Clan, he couldn't change this situation. In fact, he didn't want to change it because blood sacrifices were essential for creating the final imperial-grade pills. As for crafting the imperial pills with his own strength... did people think the Tuo She Gu Emperor left behind an imperial pill embryo for nothing?
The Dou Qi Continent had been sealed for so long and had lost contact with the Great Thousand World. The resources and origins it once held had been exhausted over the years, and it had already started to decline. Relying solely on the energy of heaven and earth was not enough to give birth to a true imperial-grade pill.
This was a sealed world!
Only by reaching the Dou Emperor level would one have the qualification to glimpse the scenery of the Great Thousand World... and even then, it was just a qualification.
Cai Die smiled as she heard his words, and replied, "I'll listen to the Young Master!"
"What if your sister doesn't want to come?" Yao Yan feigned worry and asked.
"I'll help the Young Master deal with my sister!"
"Yi yi~"
...
In a hidden corner outside the temple, a seductive figure trembled slightly. Then, she lightly bit her lip, her eyes flashing with coldness. She wasn't Cai Die; how could she be fooled by Yao Yan's words so easily? If Yao Yan didn't give a reasonable explanation, she wouldn't leave with him.
"Does the Queen like to eavesdrop so much?" A familiar voice rang in Cai Lin's ears, and then the space around her rippled. Yao Yan's face appeared before her, followed by his entire figure. It looked identical to the one in the room.
"?!" Cai Lin's cold eyes widened in surprise, but then they turned icy. Her voice turned cold, "Who exactly are you?!"
She actually sensed the aura of the person before her!
"I'm a condensed Hun force. Once the Hun force reaches the Heavenly Realm, it can become indistinguishable from a real person," Yao Yan explained with a smile. With his current Hun cultivation, multitasking was no longer difficult. His body stayed with Cai Die, while a thread of Hun power accompanied Cai Lin, not hindering either.
"...What's your current strength?" Cai Lin frowned slightly and asked a crucial question after a moment of silence.
"About to break through to Dou Sheng," Yao Yan said slowly, looking at Cai Lin.
Cai Lin was silenced by his words. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She had thought that her progress over the past ten years was already impressive, but compared to Yao Yan's progress, it seemed insignificant.
"How's that? Are you afraid?" Yao Yan approached her with a smile.
"I'll catch up to you eventually!" Cai Lin's mouth was firm, and her cold, beautiful eyes locked onto Yao Yan as she spoke in a low voice.
Yao Yan smiled and softened his gaze. He didn't tease Cai Lin further, standing beside her and saying gently, "You've worked hard these years. I didn't expect the Celestial Hall I founded in the Black Corner Domain to bring you so much trouble."
She could have ignored it, but because it was something he created, she had kept it going all these years.
Cai Lin's lips moved slightly, but in the end, she didn't say anything. She turned her gaze aside, and the coldness in her eyes gradually receded. It seemed that countless grievances were resolved with that sentence. After a long while, she spoke, "How have you been these years?"
"It's been alright. Now I've become the Young Clan Leader of my family... I guess I've got some power and influence now~" Yao Yan looked at the bright sunset in the distance, speaking casually.
Young Clan Leader...
Cai Lin understood that this sentence was filled with much blood and conflict. Yao Yan had once told her that he had been exiled by his family, and now, in just ten years, not only had his strength reached the brink of Dou Sheng, but he had also become the Young Clan Leader of his family!
"Would you like to return with me and become my Young Clan Leader's wife?" Yao Yan smiled at Cai Lin, teasing her.
"I'm not interested," Cai Lin immediately rejected without hesitation. She didn't want to compete with Cai Die for anything. To her, that position should belong to her younger sister. She thought that her past with Yao Yan was merely a misunderstanding.
"Such a pity." Yao Yan sighed in resignation, but felt a sense of relief. If Cai Lin had agreed, he wouldn't have known what to say next.
"Has the situation within your clan stabilized?" Cai Lin thought for a moment before continuing to ask.
"This is a long story. I've now changed my name to Hun Yan, following my father's surname, and returned to my father's family. This family might be unfamiliar to you, but you should have heard of its other name... Hun Hall."
Yao Yan hesitated for a moment but still revealed the matters of the Hun Clan. After all, Cai Lin would eventually come into contact with these things.
"Hun Hall?!" Cai Lin was truly shocked. Her cold eyes flashed with surprise as she stared blankly at Yao Yan. She hadn't expected her man to be associated with Hun Hall. Didn't they have a grudge with Yao Lao?
Countless questions flooded her mind. She didn't know what was real and what wasn't.
Yao Yan had become Hun Yan.
Hun Hall had gone from being an enemy to an ally?!
"Hun Hall is essentially a group of executioners raised by the Hun Clan, handling the dirty work," Yao Yan nodded slightly, explaining softly. Although he despised Hun Hall's work culture and efficiency, their professional ethics were worth praising!
"I'm not interested in this... So you've changed your name to Hun Yan now?" Cai Lin frowned, staring at Yao Yan.
"You can still call me Yao Yan," Yao Yan responded flexibly.
"I remember, Hun Hall was the enemy of Yao Lao. You and them..." Cai Lin stared at Yao Yan in confusion. She felt that Yao Yan had changed. The person in front of her was still the same as the young man she first met in the Tagor Desert, but the difference was striking!
"I went with him to Xing Yun Pavilion, met his old friend, and later went to the Pill Tower to help him revive. After that, to get the Three Thousand Flames, I completely split from him. The next time we meet, we might be enemies," Yao Yan said slowly, with no bitterness or deep grievances, speaking in an extraordinarily calm tone.
"..." Cai Lin stared at the person in front of her, finally realizing where Yao Yan had changed. His heart had become colder and more closed off.
Perhaps joining the Hun Clan wasn't his choice.
Thinking back to the young man who had relentlessly trained for strength, and now seeing the young man before her, who had reached Dou Sheng but seemed unhappy, Cai Lin's eyes softened slightly. She whispered, "Cai Die and I will stand by your side, no matter who your enemies are."
"If one day I do something absurd, like making an enemy of the entire Central Continent, will you still stand by me?" Yao Yan asked with a slight smile.
Without any hesitation, Cai Lin's answer was firm, "I will!"
"You and Cai Die are indeed sisters, both quite foolish... Sometimes it's better to live selfishly," Yao Yan said, not surprised by her answer. He looked at the fading sunset and quietly spoke, "It seems the final battle is coming."
"Aren't you foolish too? Knowing it's impossible, yet still doing it... Back then, with your strength, you dared to provoke the Heavenly Lotus Earth Heart Fire," Cai Lin's eyes flashed with displeasure as she retorted.
I wasn't weak back then~ Yao Yan thought to himself, but now that he thought about it, those years were probably the happiest years of his life. Now that his strength had increased, the urgency in his heart hadn't diminished. On the contrary, it had grown stronger, as if he could feel that executioner's blade hanging over him!
After a moment of silence, he slowly said, "What I told Cai Die earlier, you must have heard. I will help you stabilize the situation in the Northwestern Continent, and then you and Cai Die will come with me to the Hun Clan... I'll find a way to help you break through to Dou Sheng!"
He remembered the opportunities in several places within the Central Continent clearly. He would help Cai Lin advance quickly, though Cai Die's Gu Sky Serpent had some problems. In the original story, there was only one mutated Gu Sky Serpent, but with the resources of the Hun Clan, it could be compensated.
If all else fails, they could cultivate the Yin Yang Combined Record!
At worst, he'd have to work harder.
"...With your current strength, do heavenly flames still have a use for you?" Cai Lin asked, her red lips parting, her voice tinged with a cool, domineering tone.
"Of course, they still do!" Yao Yan nodded, his eyes softening. He hadn't expected Cai Die to search for the heavenly flames for him, scouring the entire Northwestern Continent, risking various dangerous areas. This deep affection—he truly didn't know how to repay it.
(END CHAPTER)
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