When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Chu Xianlan stared at the wounds, then snapped out of her daze and blurted out the question.

This question had been buried in his heart for a long time, but he had never asked it, because he always felt that his master would not answer it.

Yi Chen paused in his book-turning motion, glanced at the marks of varying depths, and remained silent for a long while.

This happened before he was taken back to the Taiyi Sect by the True Man of Pointing at the Moon.

Yi Chen had experienced a period of hardship and being hunted down. At that time, the hatred of half-demons in the cultivation world reached its peak. He could not remember exactly who attacked him, but he vaguely remembered that what hurt him was some kind of weapon specially made for half-demons.

Yi Chen shouldn't have brought up these topics that touched on his identity.

But now, he is unwilling to lie to his disciples.

"It was an injury I sustained when I was young," Yi Chen finally said.

Chu Xianlan frowned. After all, he also had a difficult childhood. He then realized that he might have touched on the past that the other person did not want to talk about, and felt a little regretful. He lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Master, I was too talkative."

"no."

Seeing his downcast expression, Yi Chen gently shook his head, subtly changing the subject, "You still can't remember anything from before you were five years old?"

When it comes to her own affairs, Chu Xianlan doesn't seem to have any psychological barriers.

He rested his chin on his hand, pondering as he replied, "I have no clue. No matter how hard I try to recall, I have no recollection. Master, you said that most people with no memory have even forgotten their own names, so why do I remember?"

Not only do they remember Chu Xianlan, but they also remember Chu Li, yet they can't recall where they came from.

"Do you... want to go find your family?" Yi Chen's eyes flickered, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

Chu Xianlan shook her head almost without hesitation.

"No, let alone whether they are still alive or not, even if they are, so many years have passed, and our connection has probably faded. Besides, Yujing Pavilion is my home, so there is no need to look for any other family members."

He wasn't so sentimental. In the cultivation world, orphans were everywhere, and death and separation were common. It was rare to have both parents alive.

As Yi Chen listened, his tense fingertips relaxed, and his gaze towards the boy softened with a gentle tenderness.

"Yes," he replied, "Yujing Pavilion will always be your home."

He thought that if he had brought Chu Xianlan back to Yujing Pavilion when he was five years old, or even earlier, and raised him properly by his side, he would have suffered much less unnecessary hardship.

"—Boom!"

At that moment, the entire spirit boat suddenly shook.

"What...what's wrong?!" Hua Ling woke up from her dream in fright and jumped three feet high off the table.

Xue Ling rubbed her eyes, still half asleep, and floated onto Chu Xianlan's shoulder.

"I'll go outside and check the situation."

Chu Xianlan had a bad feeling and got up to walk outside.

Hua Ling flew over, "I want to join in the fun too~"

Since the spirits of heaven and earth could conceal their forms on their own, and could not be seen by outsiders, Chu Xianlan let them do as they pleased.

The deck of the spirit boat was already in a state of chaos.

Many disciples gathered at the ship's side, discussing something, their faces filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Chu Xianlan walked quickly to the railing and looked in the direction everyone was looking.

The previously empty right-hand airspace now has a huge black demon ship hovering there.

The ship's hull was covered with the remains of a giant beast, and array totems with a dark golden glow flowed faintly around it, exuding a majestic and imposing aura.

"Dragonbone Demon Ship? What happened?"

Chu Xianlan immediately spotted Xiao Huandu on the deck.

Xiao Huandu scratched his head, looking bewildered. "I don't know, I just came out too."

A disciple who knew the truth rushed over, angrily saying, "Senior Brother Chu! That demonic ship deliberately rammed into us just now!!"

"What??" Xiao Huandu raised an eyebrow.

Before the words were even finished, the giant dragon-bone demon ship moved again.

Without warning, it swooped forward and, right before everyone's eyes, crashed hard into the spirit boat of the Heavenly Sword Sect in front of it!

"boom--!!"

Holy crap!!

The immense impact caused He Jingxuan, who was playing cards on the boat, to stumble and nearly vomit.

"Who's so rude! Playing with your damn bumper boats!" He Jingxuan cursed as he soared into the air on his sword.

He was stunned when he saw the ship.

Demon race?

"Where did you demons come from! What are you doing wandering around here instead of queuing up properly!"

Pah! I don't care what race you are, if you hit someone you have to apologize.

The demon ship remained completely still.

At the bow of the ship, a figure draped in a silver-white cloak slowly walked to the railing, glanced at the furious He Jingxuan below, then swept his gaze over the several spirit boats that had been affected by the commotion, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"I'm really sorry," the man said, his voice lazy and insincere, "it's a new boat, I'm not very good at sailing it yet."

Hearing his condescending tone, He Jingxuan immediately became furious.

He Jingxuan ascended a few more centimeters on his flying sword and finally saw the appearance of the demon race member clearly.

Its hair is jet black with white ends, its features are sharp and deep, and it has golden vertical pupils. A long, fluffy tail hangs casually behind it, covered with jet black stripes. Its animal ears are pointed and adorned with a few tufts of striking black hair.

"You... you're actually..." He Jingxuan muttered to himself, utterly bewildered, "So who exactly are you!?"

With such a grand display, I thought the Demon King himself had arrived.

He Jingxuan didn't know much about the demon race, but he did know that the current demon king's original form was a giant black python, definitely not the one in front of him...

"Are you a cat demon?" he asked again.

The demon's face instantly darkened. He gritted his teeth and said, enunciating each word clearly, "You... said... who... is... a... cat... demon?"

A cat demon? He hates it most when people mistake him for a cat demon!

Suddenly, a lithe figure leaped forward from the back of the demon ship, crossed his arms, stood on the deck, and called out loudly, "Humans, how dare you be so insolent! This is Zong Lan, the young master of my Mountain Lynx tribe."

Immediately afterwards, dozens more demons surged out from nowhere, all kneeling on one knee, their voices deafening:

"Greetings, Young Master!"

"Young Master is mighty!!"

Before the roar subsided, another group of demons carried forward a magnificent chair carved with animal patterns and placed it behind Zong Lan.

"Please take a seat, young master."

Zong Lan snorted coldly and sat down with a flick of her sleeve.

"Long live the young master—!!"

"Shanlin Yongchang——!!!"

Hua Ling's lips twitched. "What on earth is going on here?"

After watching for a while, Chu Xianlan finally understood that this so-called young master of the mountain lynx was clearly bored and deliberately rampaging through the mooring area, obviously trying to provoke trouble.

They're really not afraid of getting beaten up.

The demon race's power structure differs from that of human clans; they are mostly divided into tribes.

One type is the scattered tribes that live together on their own, like wanderers; the other type is the clans that are divided according to bloodline. Among the latter, the five clans of mountain lynx, blue phoenix, singing fox, heart rabbit, and blue deer are the most respected, second only to the demon king.

Because the Tianyuan Society is located on human territory, all sects, large and small, try to maintain a facade of harmony and treat the demon race with relative friendliness in order to protect the overall situation. When dealing with a strange guy like Zong Lan, the best way is to follow the first rule of the demon race guide—avoid making eye contact with him.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Sword Sect clearly did not prepare this guide to the demon race.

He Jingxuan hovered on his sword, staring at Zong Lan across the distance for a full three breaths.

Then, expressionless, he said, "Meow meow meow."