Tianci caught a cold flash in Tianpi’s eyes and pouted unhappily as he said, “Mom, I don’t think he likes me.”

“How could he not like you? Follow me; I’ll bring you over to greet him. You should call him grandmaster,” she said.

Tianci’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t say anything else. He obediently followed Hua Qiyue and headed toward Tianpi who had resumed smiling in his usual roguish manner as he looked at Tianci.

“Is he your adopted son?” he asked.

“Yes, he’s my son. Tianci, call him ‘grandmaster’!” Hua Qiyue said as she patted Tianci’s head. She wondered why he was looking at Tianpi so contemptuously and in such an aloof manner when he was usually such a bright child.

Anyway, Tianpi was still an evil demon who had once tortured tens of thousands of lives.

Frankly, she was indeed a little frightened of what he would do if he were provoked into anger.

“Hello, grandmaster! Grandmaster, why must I call you ‘grandmaster’? Are you old enough to be my grandfather?” Tianci asked mischievously as he blinked up at Tianpi.

Tianpi was not angered by Tianci’s words. Instead, he scoffed softly and said, “What’s wrong with becoming your grandfather? I’d make a far better grandfather than your current lousy grandfather.”

His words immediately upset Tianci.

Although Yun Xuan hardly emerged from seclusion, he doted on Tianci very much. Thus, Tianci was angered when he heard the slight against his grandfather.

“Grandmaster, I shall not argue any further since you’re much older than me, but please watch your words. No one will be able to replace my grandfather in my heart!” Tianci said as he cast a sidelong glance at Tianpi like a proud phoenix.

Hua Qiyue felt a headache creeping up on her when she saw that these two were already at loggerheads the moment they met and said, “That’s enough. Master, Tianci is still young, so please don’t argue with him. Let’s go cultivate.”

Tianpi scoffed unhappily, and Hua Qiyue immediately said meaningfully, “Please don’t be angry. I’ll bring you good wine and roasted meat when I visit tonight.”

Tianpi finally smiled at the thought of good wine and roasted meat. He looked at Tianci’s flushed face and said, “Since your mother knows the way to my heart, I shall put a stop to this argument as well.”

Hua Qiyue heaved a secret sigh of relief, and Tianpi stretched out his hand and prodded her head. “Do you really think I’m a child? Why would I let myself be provoked by a six-year-old? Does it make sense to me?”

Hua Qiyue laughed awkwardly and didn’t know what to say.

She felt that she might have been treading so carefully around him because of all the stories Yun Shimo and the hare fed her about Tianpi’s evilness.

After all, she already knew that Tianpi could be a demon or a saint in the blink of an eye.

Hua Qiyue led Tianci to an ancient pine tree and sat cross-legged under the tree as she began her practice.

Tianci followed her lead and quietly absorbed the surrounding anima energy.

Most children who were innately talented would have already started their cultivation journey at a young age, so it made sense for him to start cultivating as well. However, he was far more talented than the average child.

The moment he sat down, large amounts of the surrounding anima energy surged into his body, which led to his anima energy levels skyrocketing. His energy center seemed completely unquenchable and could absorb endless amounts of anima energy.

Hua Qiyue observed him for a while and only relaxed when she saw how adept at cultivating he was.

After they cultivated for an hour, Hua Qiyue’s eyes fluttered open when she heard a sudden sound. She immediately saw Tianci clutching his stomach in pain as he moaned, “Mom… my stomach hurts!”

His ailment was acting up again!

Hua Qiyue’s heart dropped, and she instantly stopped cultivating as she helped Tianci up. “Tianci, is your father’s purple liquid medication the only thing that will alleviate your pain?”

Tianci shook his head and said feebly, “I’m not sure. All I know is that… it hurts so much each time. Mom, what should I do… if the pain gets worse?”

Tianpi strode over when he noticed what had happened. He took Tianci’s wrist, and his face turned pale after he sensed his pulse.

“Qiyue, quick, go pull up two supernatural herbs and a Ginseng with Nine Souls and bring them over to me right now!” Tianpi immediately said.

Hua Qiyue let go of Tianci and rushed over to the herb garden to pull out the three herbs that Tianpi requested.

“Feed them to him!” Tianpi said coldly and injected anima energy into Tianci’s body.

…

Hua Qiyue quickly washed the herbs and used her anima energy to crush them into liquid before she poured them down Tianci’s mouth.

Tianci’s pale face twisted in pain, but after he consumed her concoction, he realized that the pain wasn’t as intense as before.

“This will only be able to alleviate the pain for a while,” Tianpi said with a frown and stopped sending his anima energy into Tianci.

“My ultimate-Yin anima energy will only be able to calm the thing inside Tianci for a while. However, I think he’s going to be painful in two hours,” Tianpi said solemnly as he looked meaningfully at Tianci before he looked at Hua Qiyue.

“Qiyue, has anyone told you that you have a Purple Sky Spiritual Constitution?” he asked.

Hua Qiyue didn’t know what that meant and asked, “What is that?”

“Wait a minute… I can’t sense the Purple Sky Spiritual Constitution from you. Is your spirit… hmm?” Tianpi looked at Hua Qiyue doubtfully and shook his head. Then, he froze in stunned silence as he was struck by a thought.

…

“Master, what is a Purple Sky Spiritual Constitution? What do I have to do to make Tianci better?” she asked anxiously as she clutched his sleeves.

…

“Haven’t you heard of the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead? Those who have birthed the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead within them, or whose bodies have been planted with this bead, or who have swallowed this bead are known as those who have a Purple Sky Spiritual Constitution. They would be much stronger than average humans, and once they unleash their strength, they seem superhuman…” Tianpi said softly.

Tianci was panting breathlessly in pain on the ground as he clutched his stomach. Although the pain had alleviated, there was still a dull ache that hurt so badly that he couldn’t sit upright.

“There’s half a Purple Primordial Chaos Bead within Tianci’s body!” Tianpi’s voice rang out in Hua Qiyue’s ear. This news was so shocking that she stiffened in shock.

The Purple Primordial Chaos Bead!

Didn’t this bead belong to the Yun Family?

What was it doing inside Tianci’s body? She remembered that Tianci had not acknowledged any outstanding person as his master since she gave birth to him; neither did he have any miraculous encounters.

What was the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead doing within him?

Did Yun Shimo plant the bead within him?

“With this information, I can safely say that Yun Shimo took him away because of the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead. Girl, didn’t I warn you to be on your guard around him? You must be even more careful around him in the future,” Tianpi said.

She remained silent. Tianpi was telling her to be wary of Yun Shimo while Yun Shimo had told her to be wary of Tianpi.

…

Whose words should she believe?

Hua Qiyue tenderly pulled the shivering Tianci into her arms and asked, “Master, why does the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead cause him so much pain?”

“A Purple Primordial Chaos Bead will have an innate need to perfect itself no matter how small it is. Therefore, each time it awakens every two days, it will frantically try to absorb the essence energy, anima energy, and blood energy to stabilize itself. It might only be a half a bead right now, but it will slowly grow to become a full bead. Then, it will become one with the human body, and no one will be able to separate it from its human host thereafter. However…” Tianpi said.

“What is it? Master, all I want to know is if there is any way to stop this from happening. Will Tianci die from pain if this carries on? I don’t wish to rely on Yun Shimo for help again,” she said coldly as she gently wiped Tianci’s cold sweat from his face.

…

“I don’t know since I’ve only heard of the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead, but I’ve not actually seen it for myself. However, I know someone who used to be of a Purple Sky Spiritual Constitution, so I guess I can sense the same aura from Tianci because the Purple Primordial Chaos Bead is growing within him. As for yourself… you carry the same aura as well,” Tianpi said. This was the first time he had encountered such a difficult situation, and his frown grew deeper.

Hua Qiyue was extremely anxious and asked Tianci tenderly, “Tianci, how do you feel right now?”

“It doesn’t hurt as much, but it still hurts…” Tianci said softly, his eyes brimming with tears.

He felt as though he was about to die for he felt so weak that even speaking took a huge toll on him.

Hua Qiyue suddenly rose to her feet when she saw Tianci’s pale face. “I guess I’ll have no choice but to seek him for help. I’ll take my leave first, master!” she said. Then, she picked Tianci up and left.

…

Tianpi stood quietly and stared in the direction where she had disappeared. He pursed his lips, and there was a complicated and resentful look in his eyes.

——————————

“Yun Shimo, come here!” Hua Qiyue shouted the moment she emerged from the jade gourd.

Yun Shimo had just finished his cultivation when he heard Hua Qiyue yelling for him, so he hurriedly jumped off the mountain and headed to where Hua Qiyue was.

Hua Qiyue carried Tianci in her arms under the withered tree, and her worry was written all over her face.

“Is Tianci acting up again?” Yun Shimo instantly moved to where Hua Qiyue was and quickly dug out the white bottle from his robes. He forced Tianci’s mouth open and dripped four drops of purple liquid into his mouth.

…

Tianci felt a cooling sensation that traveled all the way from his throat to his heart, and the pain he had been feeling suddenly disappeared.

Hua Qiyue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Tianci had finally stopped trembling. She was overcome with a sudden urge to cry.

Tianci was only seven years old, so why did he have to go through such intense suffering?

She had failed to protect Tianci in her past life, which resulted in his body being covered in horrific injuries despite his young age.

Hua Qiyue had become stronger in this lifetime, but she was still unable to stop Tianci from getting hurt. Where did this pain come from?

She carried him and gently comforted him as she said, “Tianci, be good. Don’t be afraid, it doesn’t hurt now, it doesn’t hurt…”

Princess Qianyang, Xuan Ji, Ji Feng, and the others had also arrived because Hua Qiyue’s frantic yells earlier had attracted their attention.

After all, the Yun Family had stepped on the toes of the Xuanyuan Family, so they didn’t dare to immerse themselves in their cultivation even as they cultivated.

“Tianci’s illness has acted up again. What kind of illness is it?” Ji Feng said worriedly and felt terrible when he saw how much pain Tianci was in.

Yun Shimo shook his head and remained silent.

Hua Qiyue glanced at Yun Shimo, and she suddenly noticed that his complexion was unusually pale. She wondered if this was because he had sustained an internal injury.

Hua Qiyue looked at Xuanji and noticed that Xuanji was not in such bad shape. He looked listless but otherwise healthy.

“Dear, are you alright?” Princess Qianyang couldn’t help but wrap her fair arms around Yun Shimo’s when she noticed how pale his face was.

Princess Qianyang’s beautiful face looked as pale as Yun Shimo’s.

Yun Shimo shook his head and said, “Qianyang, you don’t look too well. Why don’t you head inside to rest?”

Princess Qianyang swayed before Yun Shimo could finish his words. Then, she lost consciousness and fell into his arms.