In a flash, the colors changed. The two of them burst out into the mortal realm.

Qian Liqiu frowned. She shivered, her body trembling like open flames.

Hui offered her his hand. “Do you want to rest? You can join the others in my dantian.”

She turned. After a moment, she lifted her hand and put it gently in his. The heat of an open flame touched Hui’s palm for a moment, and then she vanished into him.

Hui closed his hand, rubbing his fingers together. A fine soot fell to the ground.

Looking around, he took a moment to catch his bearings. I’m… where is this? Somewhere in the Southern Sect Conference, at a guess. It isn’t cold, it isn’t storming, and it isn’t desert, after all. Lots of trees… hmm. Kicking off the ground, he flew up into the air.

From on high, he made out the distant shape of All-Heavens Sect’s floating peaks. Nodding to himself, he rotated. If All-Heavens is over there, then Starbound Sect is… He burst off, flying at top speed.

After a few moments, Hui frowned. This should be my top speed, but I feel like I can go faster.

Wait, no. I should be able to go faster! I just ascended two realms! Hui sped up. The world blurred by. Trees became a smear of dark green, grasslands a lighter green. Mountains hurtled past, barely visible as he flew.

After a few seconds, Hui hit the brakes. He rubbed his eyes. That was disorienting. Even if my eyes can perceive it and my brain can handle the data, it’s still—it’s a lot!

It’ll take a while for me to get used to flying at this speed.

Hui set off again, hurtling into that blurred world, only to stop a few minutes later as he hit another set of mountains. He peered at the mountains, arrayed nicely in a array, with the largest mountain in the center. Starbound Sect! Here I come. Wait for me, children, Li Xiang, Bai Xue!

He let out a small amount of his pressure as he flew toward the sect. Not enough to alarm anyone… just enough to call attention to myself. Bai Xue should recognize my cultivation and come running if they’re nearby.

Nearly the exact second he released his pressure, a small squadron of cultivators lifted up from the sect and flew toward him. Confused, Hui flew to the side. The cultivators turned to meet him. He glanced over his shoulder, but found no one. Er… what? You’re not Bai Xue, and it’s not like I have lots of friends in the sect…

The squad of cultivators stopped in front of him, blocking his way. None of them drew their weapons, but a few of them exerted their own pressure and shot killing intent toward him.

Hui drew to a reluctant halt. “Please excuse me, Elder Brothers, Elder Sisters. Small cultivator is a member of Starbound Sect, and I’m in a bit of a hurry. Whatever you want, can I please handle it later?”

In the same breath, the squad’s leader shouted over him, “Stop right there, fiend! If you take another step toward the sect, we’ll consider it an act of war… huh?”

“Er, my apologies, Elder Brother, but I’m just trying to reach my children,” Hui said, bowing.

“A seventh-stage eccentric’s children are in our sect? I… we had no idea,” the man said. He shot a glance at the rest of the squad.

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The squad stared back. One of the female cultivators gestured wildly at him, indicating for him to kowtow.

Another one leaned in and whispered, “Do whatever it takes! We can’t afford to offend him! And if we don’t, he might become a supporter! Another seventh-stage in our sect…?”

The squad leader bowed to Hui, though much more stiffly and formally. “Please forgive me, Elder. If you wouldn’t mind, could you tell me which children belong to Eminent One? I will personally escort you to their side.”

Hui cleared his throat. Ah… they didn’t recognize me, did they? He bowed in return. “There’s no need for all this. I’m Xiao Hui, that is, Weiheng Hui. All I want is for you to step aside.”

The man squinted at him. “Weiheng Hui is dead.”

“Ah, well, that is, I was,” Hui said. He nodded. “I’ve just come back from the Underworld. I understand it’s a bit of a surprise, but I assure Senior that it is me, and I’ve done exactly that. Ah… I don’t have any sort of identity token, but…”

The female cultivator kicked the squad leader subtly in the leg. She stepped forward and gestured for Hui to pass. “Eminent One, please proceed. We didn’t mean to block your way or challenge your identity.” Leaning in toward the squad leader, she hissed, “Are you insane? If he wants to be Weiheng Hui, he’s Weiheng Hui! If he wants to be the Sect Master, he’s the Sect Master! Hell, if he claimed he was the Emperor, I’d bow and call him Emperor! Are you seeking death? A seventh-stage cultivator! Even our Sect Master would be hard-pressed to fight him off.”

Hui scratched the back of his head, grinning awkwardly. It is me, though…

Oh well. I can’t force them to believe the truth. It’s not as if they’re Li Xiang.

Speaking of… where on earth is Li Xiang? Is she not worried about… whatever Bai Xue’s worried about?

Saluting to the cultivators, Hui flew off into the sect. He choked back on the amount of pressure he released and carefully adjusted his cultivation to fifth realm, to avoid startling anyone else. Getting stopped by one guard squad is bad enough. I don’t want to draw too much attention, just Bai Xue’s! Mmm, I spent so long in the Underworld away from ordinary cultivators that I forgot just how powerful a seventh-realm cultivator is in the Southern Sect Conference. Aside from a few patriarchs, Sect Elders, and Sect Masters, I’m currently one of the strongest cultivators in the area!

Ah, how uncomfortable, how uncomfortable. I don’t like it! I’m going to be the one responsible for things! Worse, not only will I be responsible, but people will expect me to defend them! I don’t want to defend people. I’m the kind of person who needs to be defended, not the person who does the defending! This small cultivator isn’t prepared, isn’t prepared at all! Ahh, I shouldn’t have ascended! I don’t want to be a strong cultivator! I’m just a small cultivator. A small cultivator!

I never thought I’d reach the day when I was a big fish in a small pond. It’s uncomfortable, incredibly uncomfortable. I need to be a small fish in a big pond! A tiny fish in the ocean! Those roles suit small cultivator far better.

He flew a lap around the sect, but noticed nothing out of order. His brows furrowed. For Bai Xue to be looking for me so desperately that Fang Hua noticed… I thought the sect would be in uproar. But instead…

A bolt of white light flew toward him. Bai Xue appeared, face twisted in concern, white robes and white hair thrashing around her. Hui turned to her, nodding. “Bai Xue! I’m back.”

“The children. They’ve gone missing,” Bai Xue said breathlessly.

Hui frowned at her. “Why isn’t anyone searching for them?”

“That’s the problem. No one remembers them except for me!” Bai Xue said.

“What?” Hui asked.

Bai Xue shook her head. “Even I… even I nearly forgot. If not for the charm on my hip…” she touched the charm that matched the one she’d given to Bai Xingxue. “It lit up just as I was about to forget. Even now, my memories are blurry. I only remember them vaguely. My child, and… a son…?”

“Li Weiqi, Li Xiang’s son,” Hui said, nodding.

“Li Xiang?” Bai Xue asked, frowning.

“Eh?” Hui said.

“Did I meet her…?” Bai Xue asked.

Hui took a deep breath. He looked up at the squad overhead. Have people forgotten me, as well? Is that why they didn’t recognize me?

Hui nodded gravely. “Something has gone very wrong.” A magical technique that deep, cast as wide as the entire Southern Sect Conference… even if it’s only cast over all of Starbound Sect, that still qualifies as a Grand Barrier-level technique. The kind of technique that requires hundreds of fifth-stage cultivators to cast, or cultivators at the eighth or ninth realm, likely with some comprehension of the world’s laws!

“Can anything be done?” Bai Xue asked.

Hui put a hand to his dantian. “I have an idea.”