From the fake emperor to the concubine

The story was over. Xiaoyue wiped away her tears and whispered, "Big brother, you're just like that scholar; you're so kind to me."

Zheng Yi patted her head: "Because you, like that little fox, deserve to be protected."

Xiaoyue smiled, a very sweet smile.

Zheng Bowen watched from the sidelines, inwardly admiring him. Although the patriarch was powerful and decisive, he possessed a compassionate heart towards the weak. This was the true demeanor of a strong person.

"Is Xiaoyue sleepy?" Liu Ruyan asked.

Xiaoyue rubbed her eyes and nodded: "I'm a little sleepy."

"Then go to sleep." Liu Ruyan took a soft mat from her storage bag and spread it on the ground. "Come on, sleep here."

Xiaoyue obediently lay down, wrapped herself in her cloak, and closed her eyes. But after a short while, she opened her eyes again and whispered, "Big brother, will you always be by my side?"

“Yes,” Zheng Yi said. “I’ll stay here and not go anywhere.”

"That's good." Xiaoyue then closed her eyes in relief.

She fell asleep soon after, making soft breathing sounds.

Zheng Yi sat by the fire, looking at the sleeping Xiaoyue, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

Liu Ruyan walked to his side and whispered, "Fellow Daoist Zheng, do you really believe this little girl?"

“I don’t completely believe it,” Zheng Yi said frankly. “Her appearance is too suspicious. But at least for now, she doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions. And she’s just a child; even if she has some ulterior motive, I can handle it.”

"You're quite carefree," Liu Ruyan said with a smile.

“It’s not that I’m arrogant, it’s that I’m confident,” Zheng Yi said. “In the face of absolute strength, any schemes and tricks are futile.”

Liu Ruyan nodded and said nothing more. She trusted Zheng Yi's judgment and his abilities.

As night deepened, the roars of beasts echoed across the wilderness, and fluctuations of spiritual energy could be heard from afar, clearly indicating a battle between cultivators. However, thanks to the protective array set up by Zheng Hongzhi, these sounds were kept out, undisturbed by the sleeping Xiaoyue.

Zheng Yi didn't sleep all night, just sat quietly. His divine sense covered the surrounding area for miles, and no movement could escape his perception.

He genuinely wanted to protect the little girl, but at the same time, he was observing her and trying to find out her true identity.

The next morning, Xiaoyue woke up. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, and was stunned to see Zheng Yi still sitting in the same spot.

"Big brother, didn't you sleep all night?"

“Cultivators don’t need much sleep,” Zheng Yi said with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

"Yes, that's good." Xiaoyue nodded. "I haven't slept this soundly in a long time."

Zheng Yi took out some pastries and spiritual fruits from his storage bag and handed them to Xiaoyue: "Have breakfast first."

Xiaoyue took the food and ate obediently. Although she ate very quietly, Zheng Yi could tell that she had actually been hungry for a long time.

After breakfast, the group continued their journey.

This day's journey was even more perilous than yesterday's. They encountered several waves of demonic beasts, all of them at the Nascent Soul stage. Fortunately, with Zheng Yi present, these demonic beasts were easily defeated.

Before each battle, Zheng Yi would first take Xiao Yue to a safe place and tell her not to wander off. Xiao Yue always obeyed, hiding inside the protective shield that Zheng Yi had set up, watching the battle outside with wide eyes.

Once, a giant wolf broke through the others' defenses and pounced directly on Xiaoyue's location. Xiaoyue closed her eyes in fright, thinking she was doomed.

But the next moment, a figure appeared in front of her.

It's Zheng Yi.

With a single, dazzling strike, he cleaved the demonic wolf in two. The wolf's corpse fell from mid-air, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

Zheng Yi turned around and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Xiaoyue opened her eyes and saw Zheng Yi standing in front of her, his tall figure giving her a great sense of security. She shook her head: "No, it's nothing, thank you, big brother."

"Don't be afraid." Zheng Yi patted her head. "With me here, no one can hurt you."

Xiaoyue nodded vigorously, a strange light flashing in her eyes, but she quickly returned to normal.

After defeating the demonic wolf, the group continued onward. Xiaoyue tugged at Zheng Yi's sleeve, following closely behind. She was no longer as afraid as before, because she knew that as long as this older brother was there, she was safe.

During his lunch break, Xiao Tianxing took out some ingredients from his storage bag to prepare lunch.

Xiaoyue curiously leaned closer to see: "What are you doing?"

"Cooking, huh?" Xiao Tianxing said with a smile. "What do you want to eat?"

"Xiaoyue isn't a picky eater," Xiaoyue said obediently. "As long as I'm full, that's fine."

“That won’t do,” Xiao Tianxing said. “Children are growing and need to eat well. Here, I’ll make you something delicious.”

He took out various ingredients from his storage bag, controlled the fire with his spiritual power, and quickly prepared a sumptuous meal. Although they were in the wilderness, cooking became very simple thanks to the skills of a cultivator.

Xiaoyue's eyes widened as she looked at the table full of delicious food. She carefully picked up her chopsticks, took a bite, and her eyes lit up immediately.

"Delicious!" she exclaimed in delight.

"Eat more." Zheng Yi placed a piece of meat on her plate. "You need to grow tall and strong."

Xiaoyue buried her head in her food, enjoying it immensely. Seeing her satisfied expression, everyone couldn't help but smile.

After the meal, Xiaoyue offered to help clear the dishes. Although Xiao Tianxing refused, her thoughtfulness made everyone like her.

"Big brother," Xiaoyue suddenly asked, "Are you looking for something very important?"

"I suppose so," Zheng Yi said. "We're searching for treasures and legacies within the ruins."

Is that dangerous?

“It’s a bit dangerous, but we can handle it,” Zheng Yi said. “You don’t need to worry.”

Xiaoyue was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Big brother, Xiaoyue will be good and won't cause you any trouble. Once we find Daddy, Xiaoyue will leave and won't be a burden to you." Zheng Yi's heart softened upon hearing this. He squatted down and looked earnestly into Xiaoyue's eyes: "Xiaoyue, you must remember, you are not a burden, nor are you a nuisance. It is my honor to protect you."

Xiaoyue's tears streamed down her face instantly. She threw herself into Zheng Yi's arms, her small body sobbing, "Thank you... thank you, big brother."

Zheng Yi gently patted her back and said softly, "Silly child, you're welcome."

Watching this scene unfold, Liu Ruyan thought to herself: This Fellow Daoist Zheng appears calm and rational on the surface, but he actually has a gentle heart. It's truly Xiaoyue's good fortune to have met someone like him.

In the afternoon, they encountered another battle. This time, their opponents were not demonic beasts, but other cultivators.

They were a group of independent cultivators, about seven or eight people. When they saw that Zheng Yi's group was small and had a child with them, they immediately had evil intentions.

"Leave your storage bags, and I'll spare your lives," the leader of the rogue cultivators said with a sinister grin.

Zheng Bowen roared in fury: "You're all courting death!"

"Is that so?" The rogue cultivator scoffed. "We outnumber you; it's not certain who'll seek death."

Zheng Yi didn't bother with words. He raised his hand and waved it, unleashing a powerful pressure. The faces of the rogue cultivators changed drastically, and they involuntarily knelt on the ground.

"Get out." Zheng Yi coldly uttered a single word.

Those rogue cultivators, as if granted a pardon, fled in a panic.

Xiaoyue hid behind Zheng Yi, watching the scene timidly. Although Zheng Yi hadn't killed anyone, his powerful aura still frightened her.

Zheng Yi turned around, his expression softening again: "Did I scare you?"

Xiaoyue shook her head: "No. Big brother is protecting us, it's not scary."

Zheng Yi smiled, took her small hand, and continued forward.

As evening fell, they arrived at a canyon. The canyon was deep and dark, with steep cliffs on both sides, the bottom of which could not be seen.

Zheng Hongzhi stepped forward to investigate, his expression turning grave: "Patriarch, there are strong fluctuations of restrictive energy within this canyon. Moreover, I sense a large amount of demonic beast aura inside."

"Can we go around it?" Zheng Yi asked.

“It’s difficult,” Zheng Hongzhi shook his head. “This canyon stretches for dozens of miles, and going around it will add several days to our journey. Moreover, according to my calculations, the core area of ​​the ruins is on the other side of the canyon. If we want to find the most important inheritance, we must cross this place.”

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment and looked at Xiaoyue. The little girl was sitting on a rock, playing with a small toy that Liu Ruyan had given her, looking carefree.

“Ruyan,” Zheng Yi said, “you stay here with Xiaoyue and wait for us. Bowen, Hongzhi, and I will go in first to scout ahead.”

“No,” Liu Ruyan shook her head firmly. “This wilderness is dangerous at every turn; leaving us outside would be even more dangerous. It’s better to go in together; at least we can look out for each other.”

Zheng Yi thought about it and agreed. He walked over to Xiaoyue, squatted down, and said, "Xiaoyue, the road ahead might be dangerous. You must stay close to me, and no matter what happens, don't leave my sight, understand?"

Xiaoyue nodded earnestly: "Yes, Xiaoyue will be obedient."

"Good girl." Zheng Yi patted her head, then stood up. "Let's go."

The group entered the canyon. The canyon was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a damp, decaying smell. Strange vines grew on the cliff faces on both sides, and occasionally, the eyes of unidentified creatures would gleam in the darkness.

Zheng Yi held Xiaoyue's hand with one hand and gripped his sword with the other, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Suddenly, a sharp shriek rang out, and dozens of demonic beasts pounced down from the cliff!
These monstrous beasts resembled bats, but were enormous, each about half the height of a human. Their bodies were covered in jet-black scales, and their wingspans were over ten feet, their wing membranes covered with grotesque blood vessels. Most terrifying of all were their mouths, which, when opened, revealed three rows of densely packed sharp teeth, constantly dripping foul-smelling saliva.

"It's a Bloodwing Demon Bat!" Xiao Tianxing exclaimed. "These demonic beasts like to live in groups and are extremely ferocious, specializing in sucking the life essence of cultivators!"

Before the words were even finished, dozens of bloodwing demon bats had already swarmed above the group. They let out piercing screams, the sound waves like knives, stabbing straight into their souls.

"Form ranks!" Zheng Yi commanded.

Zheng Bowen and Zheng Hongzhi reacted immediately, and the three of them stood in a triangular formation, protecting Liu Ruyan, Xiao Tianxing, and Xiaoyue in the middle. Liu Ruyan's Xuanbing Sword was already unsheathed, its blade gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light.

Zheng Yi held Xiaoyue's hand with one hand and wielded his sword with the other. The sword flashed, and three sword energies shot out, precisely striking the three demonic bats.

clang clang clang——

An unexpected thing happened. The three sword energies, which were enough to kill early-stage Nascent Soul demonic beasts, only sparked some fire on the Bloodwing Demon Bats' scales and left shallow marks when they struck them, failing to seriously injure them at all.

"Are these demon bats so strong?" Zheng Bowen asked in surprise.

“It’s not just their defense that’s strong,” Zheng Hongzhi said gravely, “their scales are coated with a special demonic energy that can neutralize most spiritual attacks. We need even greater power to break through them!”

As soon as he finished speaking, several demonic bats swooped down, their sharp claws reaching for the group. Zheng Bowen drew his flaming longsword and slashed out, creating a wall of intense flames that temporarily forced back some of the demonic bats.

But even more demonic bats swarmed in from all directions. There were so many of them that they densely covered the entire sky, almost blocking out all the light that was available in the canyon.

Liu Ruyan let out a cold shout, and the Xuanbing Sword flew out, transforming into dozens of sword shadows in the air. Each sword shadow carried a bone-chilling cold, freezing the air wherever it passed. Several demonic bats were struck by the sword shadows, their wings covered in frost, and their speed immediately slowed down.

"A good opportunity!" Zheng Bowen seized the chance to strike, his flaming longsword slashing repeatedly, cutting the frozen demon bats in half.

But this was a drop in the ocean compared to the massive swarm of demonic bats. More demonic bats let out angry screams and swooped down in a frenzy.

Zheng Yi frowned deeply. Although these Bloodwing Demon Bats weren't particularly strong individually, roughly equivalent to the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm, their numbers were simply too great. Moreover, they were extremely agile and knew how to coordinate, with one group attacking while another feinted and the third searched for weaknesses—their tactics were quite sophisticated.

The most troublesome thing is that he now also has to protect Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue clung tightly to Zheng Yi's clothes, her face pale and her body trembling slightly. Although she was terrified, she forced herself not to cry, not wanting to cause Zheng Yi any trouble.

"Xiaoyue, don't be afraid," Zheng Yi whispered to comfort her, while simultaneously creating an even stronger protective shield around her. "Hold on tight to me, and don't let go no matter what happens."

"Mmm." Xiaoyue nodded vigorously, her little hands gripping even tighter.

Zheng Yi took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening. Since ordinary attacks weren't effective, he would use even greater power!
"The Blade of Time and Space!"

He swept his longsword horizontally, unleashing a transparent sword aura. This sword aura contained the power of space and time; wherever it passed, space itself was torn open with a fine crack. A dozen demonic bats, unable to dodge in time, were directly cleaved in two by the sword aura, their blood splattering everywhere.

But this attack also attracted the attention of the swarm of demonic bats. They seemed to recognize Zheng Yi as the biggest threat, and more demonic bats began to swarm towards him.

"Damn it!" Zheng Bowen wanted to share some of the pressure, but he was also entangled by more than a dozen demonic bats and had no time to spare. (End of Chapter)