Sect Leader! Please strengthen our Dao Sect!

Before you were born, your father was just an ordinary merchant.

"Your mother suffered a difficult childbirth and passed away early. At that time, I thought that raising you to adulthood would be a way to repay the suffering your mother endured."

Tang Xiao wore a sad smile.

"When you were three years old, you fell seriously ill and were unconscious with a strangely high fever all over your body. Your father tried everything and spent all our money, but it was all in vain."

"Until a man found me."

"wrong!"

Just as Tang Xiao was immersed in his memories, Tang Yan suddenly interrupted his father.

"No, Dad! This isn't right!"

"Is it possible it's a woman? You're mistaken!"

Tang Yan's expression was strange and anxious. It wasn't that he couldn't accept the fact that he had gone from a genius to a useless person. Rather... his primordial yang essence shouldn't, and couldn't, be taken away by a man.

"It concerns you, and it's so serious, how could your father possibly misremember?"

"Don't interrupt!"

Tang Xiao rebuked him with dissatisfaction, and continued, "I don't remember what that person looked like, I don't even have a slight impression of him."

It's strange, actually; I suddenly remembered this just now...

"Is it to conceal the secrets of heaven?"

Shen Shanshui frowned slightly. He felt that Tang Xiao hadn't forgotten, but that person had done it on purpose.

"That man said he had come to collect something. It could not only cure you, but also bring our family twenty years of good fortune."

"Now that I think about it, I used your talent to exchange for the wealth and status of my Tang family."

The room was completely silent.

Tang Xiao wore a bitter smile, while Tang Yan was questioning his life. His first time had been taken by a man.

"How could someone be so cruel as to attack a three-year-old child?"

Tang Yan felt disgusted; he was indeed a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) in his daily life. But he wasn't stupid; after a little thought, he could roughly guess that the serious illness he had suffered from might not be so simple.

"It is indeed vicious."

"Even with a pure Yang Dao body and extraordinary talent, how much primordial Yang can one cultivate at such a young age? It's likely not only damaging your foundation but also jeopardizing your destiny!"

Shen Shanshui reached out her other hand and placed it on Tang Yan's arm to feel his pulse.

A wisp of spiritual energy probed into Tang Yan's body, examining him carefully.

"As expected. I hadn't noticed before. You look strong and there's nothing wrong with you. But in reality, your body is like an old tree that has been rejuvenated. It seems to be reborn, but there's a lifeless core beneath."

The tree is dead; how long can a rootless new shoot survive?

"In a few years, he'll die suddenly at most in his twenties!"

"What?!"

Tang Xiao was furious, but he couldn't speak for a long time and almost fainted from anger.

He originally thought that the person was only preventing his son from cultivating, but he never expected that the person was actually shortening his son's lifespan.

What utter bullshit about a twenty-year period of great fortune? That beast already knew that!

"Father, don't be angry. I've met my master, so I'm sure I'll live past twenty."

Tang Yan gently comforted his father, and Shen Shanshui was very pleased with this, keeping his divine sense constantly focused on Tang Yan.

"You're quite open-minded."

"Master, I am not exactly magnanimous either. I will settle the score with you personally in the future."

Tang Yan shook his head and chuckled, "Since fate has allowed me to meet you, then all of this... is just a little hardship."

"Um!"

Shen Shanshui's expression suddenly became much more serious.

"Odd changes, even remains the same."

Tang Yan: "?"

"Amaterasu!"

"Master, is this... a spell?"

Tang Yan looked puzzled, not understanding why Shen Shanshui suddenly started talking nonsense.

Shen Shanshui's face darkened, and he stared at Tang Yan with an unfriendly expression: "Don't say things like that in front of me again."

"Master, I spoke entirely from the bottom of my heart!"

……

……

The next day.

Some residents of Qingyang County discovered that the Tang Mansion, which used to have its gates wide open, was now tightly closed.

If a cultivator with higher cultivation than Shen Shanshui were to use their divine sense to investigate carefully, they would find that the entire Tang residence was enveloped by an invisible barrier.

Inside the Tang residence, Shen Lingxi was happily enjoying breakfast. The thought of waking up to hot food was truly making the little girl quite enamored.

Most importantly, the food at Tang Mansion was so delicious that it made your toes split.

Shen Shanshui sat to the side with his eyes closed, resting and circulating his internal energy.

Although he was very talented, he never slacked off in his daily cultivation.

As for Tang Xiao, he paced back and forth outside Tang Yan's room.

Originally, Shen Shanshui wanted the father and son to choose whether Tang Yan should cultivate or settle down, get married, have children, and live out his life.

But now Tang Yan is nearing the end of his life, and the only way for him to replenish his vital energy is to take elixirs.

As for the matter of letting Tang Yan leave a seed for the Tang family, neither Shen Shanshui nor Tang Xiao dared to gamble.

Who knows what might happen if Tang Yan loses his virginity again?

Fortunately, this kid isn't a craftsman by nature, otherwise he might not have survived until Shen Shanshui appeared.

"Senior brother, why don't you appoint me as a vice sect leader or elder or something? I'll be a senior uncle in the future."

With her belly bulging, Shen Lingxi ran happily to her senior brother.

Slowly opening his eyes, Shen Shanshui smiled.

"How about I hand over the position of sect leader to you, brother?"

"Uh...isn't that a bad idea? I don't have that much ambition." Shen Lingxi scratched her head sheepishly.

"snort!"

Boom!

A crisp sound.

Shen Lingxi clutched her head in pain.

"Senior brother, why did you hit me on the head?"

"You stop cultivating after breaking through the fifth level of Qi Refining? Do you know how fierce the competition is outside? A higher cultivation level means you're ahead of more than a thousand people."

Others who can't cultivate are desperate to do so, yet you don't appreciate it.

"Once Tang Yan refines the elixir and repairs the deficiencies in his Dao body, his cultivation speed will inevitably advance by leaps and bounds. If he is easily surpassed by others, do you still want to be their senior uncle?"

Shen Shanshui had long wanted to give Shen Lingxi a warning for her laziness in cultivation.

This girl is really too irresponsible. Relying on her extraordinary talent, she never cultivates properly. She has no idea how many people envy her talent so much, yet it is being wasted like this.

"I……"

Shen Lingxi pouted, looking aggrieved. Her senior brother rarely got angry with her, and he was about to start shedding tears.

"Ugh!"

"Master is gone. Do you really want me to watch you grow old before my eyes?"

Shen Shanshui's gaze softened slightly. He knew that Lingxi was at the age where she was most lively.

But as the eldest brother, he is like a father to his children, and he can't really ignore their upbringing.

The little girl sobbed, wiped away her tears, and silently walked to the side.

Shen Shanshui originally wanted to go forward and comfort her, but she held back.

In the cultivation world, both he and Shen Lingxi were complete beginners with no experience whatsoever.

Even if Shen Shanshui lived two lives, it would only mean living a few more years. In the cultivation world, there are quite a few who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years, and there might even be some ancient monsters who have lived for ten thousand years.

Human nature is treacherous; more strength means more security!

Tang Yan's incident served as a wake-up call for Shen Shanshui. At least the person who took Tang Yan's vital essence granted him twenty years of life.

What if one day you really encounter a demonic cultivator who will stop at nothing to improve his cultivation level?

……