Since the disaster was caused by Li Ao’s complacency, after he restored the spirit stones the Li Family didn’t do anything to block the rest of the mist from spreading out.

Sending a few people to keep guarding those cultivating on the streets, his grandpa cast a complicated gaze at Li Ao.

‘’...what kind of dogshit opportunity is this?’’

Smiling through pain, Li Ao sat on his knees with a lowered head. There were two bumps on his head that refused to go away, even with his improved Physique.

‘’Be more prudent.’’ Aunt Shu said. ‘’If you did this in any other place, do you not believe you would be robbed?’’

‘’I’m not that stupid.’

His grandpa nodded. ‘’Of course, of course, Ao’er isn’t that stupid yet.’’

Li Ao choked on his praise. ‘’Yet?’’

‘’Anyway, is that why you are unwilling to go?’’

Returning to the main topic, Li Ao nodded.

‘’Still, you should go.’’ his grandpa said. ‘’Don’t misunderstand, Ao’er. I am not looking down on you or your efforts.’’

‘’But you need to realize that safe environments aren’t easy to find. Say, if you wanted to learn more about forging, could you learn it easily?’’

‘’...not so easily, but I can.’’

‘’Can you obtain them safely, then?’’

‘’Safely?’’

Li Ao thought for a moment.

To get Universal Coins, he needed to do missions.

For now, he didn’t see any missions that were ‘safe’ in the traditional sense.

Seeing him thinking, Aunt Shu sighed.

‘’Li Ao, a safe environment is a blessing. When you are young and you need to learn how to rebound from a mistake, it is vital to have someplace to fall back onto.’’

‘’But I have my family.’’

A strange glint passed the duo’s eyes. ‘’Sometimes, family isn’t enough.’’

Li Ao respected the two of them more than enough, and even after a decade of living away he still trusted his grandpa the most in the world.

Hence, instead of his usual rashness in deciding, he chose to sit still and listen to them.

‘’If you can obtain the same thing without your opportunity, why should you put yourself in danger?’’ Aunt Shu spoke.

She seemed to know more than what she showed about his endeavors. ‘’Great opportunities carry great risks, Li Ao. Sometimes, an opportunity is not a boon, but a curse.’’

Saying so, she pointed at her eyes.

‘’Do you know what my eyes are?’’

Li Ao shook his head.

‘’They are called Gazes Of Fate. With them, I can see the past and future of everything around me.’’

‘’That...isn’t that amazing?’’

‘’Is it?’’ She showed a bitter smile. ‘’What is great about it?’’

‘’If you saw everything of a person at a glance, and saw their demise at another, what joy is there in knowing them?’’

It was indeed a great opportunity, Li Ao thought.

But her spite at this ability, her obvious bitterness made him reconsider her words.

When he repeated her sentence three times, he glimpsed at her pain.

‘’Is fate...predetermined?’’

‘’No.’’ She instantly refused. ‘’If that were the case, neither me, nor your grandpa would be here.’’

Li Ao nodded, and he thought so as well.

For a moment, he thought how he would react to that—that if he could see an inevitable future, an inevitable suffering, he would rather kill him—

The thought stopped there.

‘’A curse.’’ He repeated.

He thought of Klein’s tired voice.

‘How does he consider it?’ Li Ao wondered.

In the future, how many people would he get to know?

How many would he have to leave behind?

Was what he had a true opportunity, or another trap guised as a reward?

‘’The heart of the matter is that you should grow up safely.’’ His grandpa continued after the silence.

‘’This is a perfect opportunity for you to grow and learn. I have no doubt you can find like-minded friends there—it is where all talents of the Four Mountains Realm will gather, after all.’’

‘’They have masters and grandmasters of all occupations within the sect, and they have many Soul Formation elders within their ranks. Be it in forging or cultivation, you will lack nothing.’’

‘’And if you wish to test yourself, they have Secret Realms and Illusory Realms for you to temper yourself without true danger.’’

‘’There is a difference between using your opportunity and being reliant on your opportunity. If you can grow without its aid, you can better deal with the consequences coming with it, whatever they might be.’’

Li Ao listened very intently and found his grandpa’s words very reasonable.

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His last sentence especially grew over him in a manner he didn’t expect.

‘Using an opportunity, or relying on an opportunity.’

Thinking of Klein’s words, Li Ao nodded to himself.

‘Let’s not be hasty.’

For now, Li Ao decided that he wouldn’t rush a second-rank mission.

Instead, he wanted to take a short break, solidify his gains, and if possible break through to Foundation Establishment!

‘’...why does that sound like an advertisement?’’ Aunt Shu asked with raised brows.

Li Ao’s grandpa took out a parchment. ‘’I read it on their pamphlet.’’

‘’...’’

‘’...’’

‘’Why are you two silent?’’

After a few breaths, Li Ao spoke again.

‘’When will they recruit disciples?’’

‘’In two years. I can send your information to them right now if you want.’’

Li Ao shook his head.

‘’I want to break through to Foundation Establishment first.’’

Hearing him say so, the duo cast a glance at each other, then smiled.

‘’Alright. Is there anything you need?’’

Li Ao patted the pouch Zhu Qiu gave to him. ‘’Nothing for now. Ah—’’

Without a thought, Li Ao sent another spatial pouch to his grandpa.

‘’Ao’er, this is yours.’’ The old man immediately flung it back.

‘’It can help the family.’’

‘’I know.’’

‘’Then take it.’’

Li Ao threw it again, and this time the old man didn’t refuse. Instead, he put the pouch on the table and gave him a big hug.

‘’I didn’t believe you would grow up to be so responsible...’’

‘’...what am I in your eyes, a monkey?’’

‘’You stole the words from my mouth!’’

Face dark, Li Ao snorted and pushed the old man away.

‘’Where is Sister Nan?’’

‘’She should be downstairs with others...’’

Sensing the weirdness in his gaze, Li Ao turned to his grandpa.

‘’What’s wrong?’’

‘’...it is fortunate your face didn’t change much.’’

‘’...right!’’

Li Ao walked to the side of a body mirror to look at his face.

Indeed, other than losing even more weight, he was more or less the same. His cheekbones had sunken a little, making him look exhausted, or even starved to some extent. Traces of a stubble could be seen under his chin, which he cut away with a hand.

‘’Don’t spill hair in my study!’’

‘’Okay, I’m gone!’’

With a shout, he left the sighing duo alone in the room.

Descending the stairs at supersonic speeds, taking several turns, Li Ao leaped out of a courtyard gate into a garden.

It was still the same old place.

Two ponds laid inside, each a few hundred meters in width. Lotus-shaped platforms floated on them, where a dozen youths drank wine and ate snacks in a merry mood.

They all wore yellow and white robes, the signature color of the Li family, and had red-tinted weapons by their sides.

‘’Sis Nan!’’

With a shout, Li Ao gathered the attention of these youngsters.

Watching him walk towards them, some turned pale and, securing their wine, leaped into the pond. Bubbles rose from the depths.

Li Ao ignored the drama queens and approached a worried-looking woman.

She seemed young as well, and was only twelve years older than Li Ao. Considering his time spent in Six-Fold Immortal Domain, she was still his elder cousin by three or four years.

She had short, curly black hair, big brown eyes, and good features anyone of both genders would regard as comely.

When she frowned, Li Ao felt his heart ache for a moment.

Meeting mid-way on the bridge to the lotus platform, Li Ao made to bow.

Suddenly, she lunged forward and clutched his head.

‘’Oh my! Ao’er, what happened to you!? Why are you so terrible?’’

Shaking his head left and right, pressing on his cheek and forehead, Li Nan’s face contorted in anger.

Flames appeared behind her with her shout. ‘’Did that old geezer try to starve you to death!? When will he learn that iron fists can't solve everything! Oh, poor Li Ao, my little cousin!’’

‘’Ah, hold on, Sis Nan, hold on! No, no!’’

Li Ao wasn’t afraid of starvation, but he was very much afraid of being beaten by his grandpa.

‘’Sis Nan, I just overexerted myself when cultivating! Grandpa didn’t do anything wrong!’’

‘’Oh?’’

The flames around her dimmed. With a wave of her Divine Sense, her eyes popped.

Then, however, she began to laugh.

‘’Ao’er, so you decided to cultivate again! Oh my! Oh my! This is such a happy day! Come on, let’s celebrate!’’

As they walked back, she pointed a hand at the pond. A giant hand of flames materialized out of thin air and plucked those hiding within the pond.

‘’If you don’t want to die, stop hiding like retards!’’

One by one his cousins leaped out of the pond and cupped their hands at him.

Li Ao could only watch everything with a wry smile.

Sitting down among the dozen youths, Li Nan forced Li Ao to drink seven cups of wine straight. Only then she was satisfied enough.

‘’Li Ao, are you really alright? You look like a zombie.’’

The one who spoke was Li Yun, one of his younger cousins. The boy was only fifteen years old, originally one year younger than Li Ao. he had short black hair and small brown eyes, as most of their family did.

‘’Right...still, isn’t it fine. Look at him, twelfth level of Qi condensation!’’

The other one, or two, were actually twin siblings. Both were named Li Huan...

The duo looked quite similar, except boy Li Huan stood taller than his sister by a few centimeters. They both had bright dimples and big eyes, making them the favorite of the elders to dote on.

There were also Li Ru and Li Shi, two of his older cousins, though they were the silent type. The duo only congratulated him and returned to brooding in silence.

Facing all these familiar, yet distant faces, Li Ao only realized then how much he had missed this scenery.

With no care about anything, he and his cousins made merry late into the night. Through Li Nan’s constant requests(coercion), most of them drank ludicrous amounts of wine and ended up wasted. Everyone slumped here and there around the platform.

Among them, Li Ru had thrown away his scholarly hat to the pond and leaned dangerously close to the edge.

Li Ao, his face flushed, pulled him back and settled him near the snoring Huan twins. With a pat on his chest, the flush dimmed, and his eyes lit up with clarity.

Through his fleshly power, it was easy for him to filter out alcohol or weak poison from his system.

After making sure everyone was safe, he tiptoed around sleeping Li Nan and left through the bridge. He observed the single moon, a full moon, and watched the lotus platforms float under its beautiful light.

He walked into the estate, passed three halls that housed pictures of the ancestors, then descended a wide staircase into the ground floor.

He walked straight to a set of wide gates, picked a pair of incense from the box to its side, and entered.

Within the room was a grand mausoleum lit by dim, orange candle light. There were plain, stone tombs separated from each other by rusty metallic fences.

Air of death was thick, and the purifying Qi of the candles barely suppressed it.

Walking alongside the thousand year old ancestors, Li Ao came to stand beside a pair of joined tombs. It was tradition to join couples together in death.

The left one read Li Cai, the right one Li Jia.

Lighting the incense with the candle, Li Ao placed it in the brazier and kneeled in front of the tomb. He kept murmuring to himself for the entire night.

When the incense died, he lit another one, kowtowed, then left.