Yuan Ming first settled his parents in a Mortal Town on a Second-level Island near Fusang Island. Since he had lost the ability to descend as a deity through the Stealing Heaven Tripod, and for the sake of his parents' safety, after much consideration, he decided to leave Hua Zhi behind.

Fortunately, Hua Zhi had absorbed a substantial amount of Spiritual Power from the Fusang Tree and was about to break through to Level 4 Upper Stage and needed time to seclude herself for this breakthrough, so she gladly agreed.

To ensure absolute safety, Yuan Ming also specifically left the Palm Leaf Fan and Jia Sifang's Tide Rising Misty Sea Ring with Hua Zhi to enhance her strength.

Afterward, Yuan Ming specifically sought out Wan Tianren to inform him that he would need to leave for a while. Furthermore, as Lord Nether Moon God was preparing for the great battle with the Wu Yue God, he would also enter a prolonged period of seclusion, during which time he would not be able to respond to the believers' prayers.

"Another thing, please remember this, Alliance Leader Wan," Yuan Ming admonished meaningfully just before leaving, "Lord Nether Moon God is a free deity. He is not the Wu Yue God, nor does he wish to be. The East Sea has always belonged to the Eastern Sea people. Its future should always be controlled and steered by you. However, Lord Nether Moon God hopes that the East Sea Alliance he has helped will not turn into another Wu Yue Sect."

"Rest assured, Divine Envoy Yuan, as long as I am here, the East Sea Alliance will always remain the East Sea Alliance," Wan Tianren replied with exceptional candor, feeling unexpectedly relieved.

"That is good to hear."

Having said this, Yuan Ming bid farewell to Wan Tianren, lingered a few more days on Fusang Island, and then secretly left the Eastern Sea and headed straight for the Southern Border.

...

Southern Border, Northern Territory.

Miles away from Biluo Cave, a thinly populated narrow valley.

In the valley, a stream meandered out from the deep mountains, gathering in a relatively flat and open area of the valley into a small pond that was no more than thirty feet in diameter.

Not far from the pond, under a sturdy old locust tree, stood a somewhat crude thatched cottage.

A child's playful laughter emanated from the yard, followed by a two or three-year-old girl, wearing red shorts and her hair tied in pigtail braids, who hopped and ran out the gate. Th@i&s ve+r*sion. is so!u*r%ced^ f!ro+m^ M@V3!L3&M&PY+R.@

Chasing behind her was a bright red Fire Mink, dragging its fluffy tail, carefully controlling its pace for fear of chasing too quickly and causing the little girl to fall.

"Giggle...,"

The laughter of the little girl echoed in the valley like tinkling spring water.

Squinting her crescent-moon-like eyes, she ran to the edge of the pond and jumped into the arms of an old man who was fishing by the river.

The old man wore a large hat and had white hair and beard, appearing to be of a very old age; however, the little girl continuously called out, "Daddy, Daddy, Huo Chan'er is chasing me!"

The old man was none other than Li Zhui, the former Cave Master of Biluo Cave and a close friend of Yuan Ming in his youth, while the little girl was his only daughter with the Third Cave Master, Ling Songhua, named Li Yu.

"Haha, let me see if Huo Chan'er has bitten my little carp's little feet?" Li Zhui threw aside his fishing rod and joyfully held up the little girl's feet, pretending to inspect them thoroughly.

By then, Huo Chan'er had also run over, rubbing against Li Zhui's feet.

Compared to when Yuan Ming had left, this little creature had grown a bit bigger, its rotund appearance exceedingly endearing.

"No bites, no bites..." the little girl struggled and jumped down.

Huo Chan'er immediately rubbed against her, but she pushed him away with annoyance.

"Daddy, did you catch any fish? I'm hungry," the little girl asked, looking at the nearby fish basket.

Li Zhui picked up the fish basket and showed it to her, "When has Dad ever come up empty-handed?"

The little girl was not much taller than the fish basket. Peering inside, she indeed saw two iridescent fish and one golden-red fish.

"Daddy, I want to drink fish soup," the little girl said, swallowing her saliva.

"Alright, Daddy will go cook it for you right now," Li Zhui laughed and stood up, picking up the fish basket with one hand and his daughter with the other, heading back to the cottage.

Back in the yard, Li Zhui put down his daughter and let her play with Huo Chan'er.

He then went to the makeshift kitchen, set up two small stoves, and began to stew the two different types of fish separately.

He then filled the stove with firewood and washed and chopped several vegetables, frying two plates of exquisite side dishes.

Soon, a rich aroma wafted through the yard.

When Li Zhui was setting the tableware, the little girl was already sitting nicely beside it, her eyes fixed on the dishes and fish soup on the table, shining brightly without even realizing a thread of saliva had dripped from her mouth.

"Little Carp, just wait a bit longer, your mother should be out soon," Li Zhui said with a smile as he glanced at a side of the thatched courtyard abutting a stone wall.

As soon as he finished speaking, a stone door on that wall slowly opened, and out walked a beautiful woman in red, wearing a high bun, voluptuous and with graceful features, none other than Ling Songhua, the former Third Cave Master of Biluo Cave.

The beautiful woman looked somewhat tired, but the moment her gaze met her husband's and daughter's, a gentle smile appeared on her face, revealing a unique charm that swept away all signs of fatigue.

Approaching the small square table, just as Ling Songhua was about to sit down, she saw Li Zhui serving a bowl of golden-red fish soup to their daughter and her brows unconsciously furrowed.

"I obtained that Earth Lung Fire Fish with great difficulty for your healing; why did you give it to our daughter?" she asked somewhat indignantly.

"Haha, whatever I consume seems useless for my condition now," Li Zhui laughed, "You see, my cultivation has been falling, and I've already returned to the Foundation Establishment stage. Using good things on me is a waste. Our Little Carp is different; she is a rare Thunder and Fire Dual Spirit Roots. Eating more good things now will make her cultivation smoother in the future," Li Zhui explained with a chuckle.

Li Yu was clearly frightened by his mother, holding a bowl of fish soup in his hands and blinking his big eyes, yet he dared not drink it.

"Drink it," Ling Songhua said with a helpless shake of her head, her expression softening.

"Yes, Mother!" The little girl instantly beamed with joy, not caring if it was hot or not, and began to drink heartily.

"How is it going, all smooth?" Li Zhui, seeing his wife's expression still somewhat downcast, changed the subject.

"It's just a mid-grade magical artifact, no problem there. The quality is quite good this time; we should be able to exchange it for more spirit stones," Ling Songhua replied, taking the bowl and chopsticks that Li Zhui handed her.

"That's good, these past days have been hard on you," Li Zhui said, serving her a bite of food with a slight guilt.

"We've been married for so many years, why say such things?" Ling Songhua chided, glancing at him.

"Ah, I..."

Before Li Zhui could finish, Ling Songhua cut him off.

"The decision to retire was made together by us, and I've never regretted it over these years. Since Little Carp came, I've regretted it even less. In fact, I'm very happy," she said earnestly.

While the couple spoke, the little girl couldn't understand half of it and just focused on eating her meal.

By the time the dishes on the table were finished and the soup was at the bottom of the bowl, the little girl, full and sleepy, had already fallen asleep with her head on the table, hands grabbing the bowl, and a sweet smile on her lips.

Ling Songhua smiled as she held her daughter in her arms, her expression gentle as water.

However, her gaze falling on Huo Chan'er gnawing on a fish bone beside her, she suddenly seemed to remember something, a shadow flickering across her eyes.

"Those people still won't give up, will they?" Li Zhui sighed and asked.

"They have their sights set on Huo Chan'er's awakened spiritual fire lineage; of course, they won't let go," Ling Songhua shook her head.

"Don't worry, Wangyou Valley is rarely visited and well-hidden; we haven't been out and about for over a year, they definitely won't find us," Li Zhui consoled.

"Hiding all the time is not a solution, if it really comes to it, should we contact some old friends to see if anyone can help?" Ling Songhua asked.

"With the turmoil in the Southern Border and Northern Territory these many years, there aren't many of our old friends left alive. Even if some really would help us, how could we burden them?" Li Zhui said with a bitter smile.

At her husband's words, Ling Songhua fell silent again.

Both of them thought of the same name simultaneously. If that young man were still around, he surely wouldn't stand by and watch them perish.

Yet, thinking this, they both couldn't help but show a bitter smile.

Let alone that they had lost contact for too long, even if they could find that person, how could he possibly stand against those people with his power alone?

"If worst comes to worst, just hand over Huo Chan'er. It might be better off with them than with us... How long has it been since it last ate a fire crystal stone?" Ling Songhua sighed and said.

Huo Chan'er, which had been lying at her feet, seemed to understand her words and immediately raised its head, eyes showing a look of panic.

"This little fellow has always regarded us as family. How could we possibly hand it over? If it really comes to it... well, we'll just have to see how things go," Li Zhui's harsh words hadn't even come out before his gaze fell on his daughter, and his tone involuntarily softened.

...

Meanwhile, a group of people was making their way up the stream in the valley.

Leading them was a man as tall as a horse, a bald man with a fierce face covered in scars.

"Hurry up, that couple is very cautious; at the slightest sign of trouble, they'll run. We've finally gotten a lead on them this time; we can't let them slip away again," the bald man barked.

He was a cultivator in the early stage of core formation; the seven or eight people following him appeared to be in the mid-to-late stage of foundation establishment. This group was quite a force in the entire region of the Southern Border and Northern Territory.

"Boss, why don't we just buy that fire mink, why resort to force?" At that moment, a green-robed youth spoke up.

"You must be new here, right? Don't you know what the boss is after?" Before the bald man could speak, a thin man with a pointy chin interjected.

"Actually, I am quite new," the youth said, smiling wryly.

The young man was none other than Yuan Ming, who had returned to the Southern Border not long ago.

He had intended to see how Li Zhui and the Three Cave Masters were faring in the Northern Territory, but upon reaching their former dwelling place, he found it long abandoned with no signs of habitation.

Later, he and Xi Ying rushed to Biluo Cave, only to find it changed beyond recognition, void of any familiar faces.

Having no other choice, Yuan Ming used Black Incense for possession and located this Wangyou Valley through occupying the body of Fisherman Li Zhui.

No sooner had they halfway approached the valley than they encountered this group.

Yuan Ming then cast an illusion spell, deceiving these people into thinking he was one of them and followed them along.