CHAPTER 279: CAVE!

"Then now, tell me your name, my dear nephew."

"It’s Fang Ashen!" Ashen spoke confidently, matching Shang Wu’s gaze. He wasn’t afraid of Shang Wu, just afraid of his cheek-pulling shenanigans.

He was confident he could escape anytime with the cards he had in the system, which he obtained after killing protagonists in the south.

He could at least teleport to a different location and then ask his grandfather for help.

"Ashen..." Shang Wu muttered in a low voice before nodding in approval. "I like it."

"Then Ashen, why don’t you come with me?" He asked politely, pointing to his cave. "Let us talk inside."

Ashen glanced at him and commented internally,

Why even ask when my answer doesn’t even matter to you?

Ashen had understood that Shang Wu would simply say that he doesn’t need to ask for permission to take his nephew to his cave.

Even if Ashen refused, he would be taken by force.

To save himself the humiliation of being taken against his will, he nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Uncle Shang Wu." He spoke respectfully as he cupped his hands and bowed. "Please guide me."

Shang Wu was pleased upon seeing him agree to his proposal.

He enthusiastically spoke in his deep voice: "Then come with me— Wait!" He glanced at Ashen with a puzzled expression. "Ashen, a-are you really at the 9th stage of the core-formation realm??"

It was the first time he stuttered or even appeared surprised.

Although Shang Jiao wanted to answer, knowing he would be berated again, he kept quiet, allowing Ashen to answer.

"Yes." Ashen gave a nod of affirmation.

"B-But weren’t you born twenty years ago? How can your cultivation advance this fast??"

Shang Wu couldn’t help but express his shock. This was unheard of even from his standard.

"A lot happened in your absence, Uncle Shang Wu." Ashen spoke politely.

He then pointed at Shang Jiao and suggested, "Uncle, why don’t we take Uncle Shang Jiao with us? He can fill you in on how I advanced in cultivation this fast and what happened in your absence."

Ashen didn’t want to sing his praises with his own mouth; he left it to Shang Jiao. Moreover, it would be more believable from Shang Jiao’s mouth.

"Hmm..." Shang Wu pondered as he glanced at Shang Jiao before nodding in agreement. "Alright, I’ll let him accompany me."

Turning to Shang Jiao, he spoke authoritatively, as if he was ordering him, his voice echoing in the mountain range.

"Shang Jiao, You will accompany us to the cave. Leave this ship here and follow me."

He then smiled at Ashen and spoke gently: "You too, Ashen. Follow me."

Next, he flew into the air, with Ashen and Shang Jiao following him closely.

Shang Wu held back on his speed to let Shang Jiao and Ashen follow him.

On their way, Ashen could see multiple caves in other mountains as well; however, in them lived king realm and emperor realm spirit beasts. There were only 2 emperor realm spirit beasts, and the rest were all king realm beasts.

They were bowing their heads whenever their gaze fell on Shang Wu.

It appeared as if he was their king and they were staying in his territory.

From behind, Ashen saw Shang Wu’s majestic back, his long maroon hair flying with the gusts of wind, his robe fluttering around his body, his head raised high, and a fearless aura emanating out of him. This aura wasn’t because of his cultivation; it was because of his personality and principles.

Soon, they arrived at Shang Wu’s cave.

Shang Wu glanced back at Ashen and smiled, welcoming him inside. "Come, my dear nephew."

Ashen silently walked inside as he was welcomed by an unexpected sight.

The cave was enormous, totally opposite of the expectations of Ashen.

That wasn’t all; there were even floors with stairs carved to go to the down floor, almost like a basement.

There were multiple Bottle Liquor Gourds stacked in a row against the wall. It was obvious they all contained liquor.

For lighting, Shang Wu had made custom lights by trapping lightning qi in a transparent glass sphere. The lightning crackled in the glass sphere, illuminating the cave. These spheres were hung with a string from the ceiling.

Other than that, there was a luxurious couch made of a spirit beast’s hide, similar to the one in Shang Jiao’s study; however, this one was smaller.

Well, it was to be expected, as not many would visit Shang Wu.

Behind the couch, a large bed was placed against the wall of the cave.

As Ashen swept his gaze around the cave, Shang Wu’s voice jolted him awake.

"Ashen, my nephew, come and sit."

Ashen’s gaze turned to him, noticing that Shang Wu had already sat on one of the sofas comfortably. He had an open posture of sitting, his hands occupying any space that might have been left on the sofa.

Ashen went and sat on the sofa in front of the one on which Shang Wu sat.

Shang Jiao also approached Ashen’s couch to sit beside him; however, even before he had reached the couch, Shang Wu glanced at him and ordered, "You sit there." He pointed to the right side, where a stone seat was carved in the hourglass shape, covered only by a comfy cushion made of fur and cotton.

Though Ashen expected Shang Jiao to protest against this, nothing of sort happened as Shang Jiao calmly obeyed Shang Wu’s order.

"So where were we?" Shang Wu asked before remembering it himself. "Yes, tell me. How did Ashen advance to the 9th stage of the Core-formation realm so fast?" He asked, glancing at Shang Jiao.

Shang Jiao understood his task as he hurriedly explained everything in detail from the beginning.

Shang Jiao began the story from the birth of Ashen to now, detailing everything clearly about how their sister Shang Celine stopped cultivation when Ashen was born to give all her time to him.

From how Ashen was ridiculed for awakening a low-level spirit and how he hid it from everyone that he had actually awakened a legendary spirit.

Shang Jiao even included the events of the Emperor’s Birthday.

At last, he ended the story with the order from the patriarch to allot Ashen guards and how Ashen asked about the second strongest person in the Shang Clan and how they came to visit him.

Shang Wu was quiet throughout, listening intently while expressing his reactions through silent expressions.

It was only after Shang Jiao finished that he opened his mouth.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)