13 We Refuse!

As a god, Si Wang She was free from the suppression of the starry sky and therefore it would take him only half an hour to go from the middle heaven layer to the lower heaven layer and merely another minute to descend onto the Ancient Sea World.

Immediately upon reaching its atmosphere, he disdainfully scoffed.

"Mortal worlds are truly unbearable. What kind of expert could such a barren land ever produce?"

Immediately afterward, he spread his divine sense across the entirety of the Ancient Sea World.

"There isn't a single immortal cultivator within this world. How then was this god's son murdered? It is impossible for them to have already left, this god would have either felt them or spotted their traces. What then?"

His jade eyes then locked on the Ancient Sea and his face contorted into a deep frown.

"There is only one explanation. They are hiding beneath the Ancient Sea!"

Si Wang She's form vanished and instantly appeared above the Ancient Sea.

"The ancestors warned that a god repelling seal would prevent all deities from diving into the Ancient Sea. But how many eons have passed since the last time a god attempted to break it? Today, this god does not believe that his path can be blocked!"

Extraordinary death laws condensed around Si Wang She and formed gigantic black fog that bloated the entire sky of the Ancient Sea World! Si Wang She's body merged with the black fog and it was as if it had become his true body, with the outline of his now tens of thousands of meters long face being the only thing discernable.

And with this one move, the entire Ancient Sea World trembled.

"Ancient Sea, make way!"

Si Wang She roared and in his black fog head form, came crashing onto the ancient sea. But before he could reach it, an ancient, terrifying voice rose from it.

"Putrid vermin. And here I was wondering how I would calculate this blood debt with your ba serpent clan. Thank you for bringing yourself to certain death!"

As the voice boomed, an enormous black ray soared from the Ancient Sea and unhindered by the death laws, violently slammed into Si Wang She.

"No…extermination…this is…the power of extermination…you…you are not…you are…this god was deceived…"

But Si Wang She could never finish his words as the black ray tore a hole within his figure and erased the black fog covering the Ancient Sea World's sky. The fog recomposed into the massive body of Si Wang She which instinctively assumed its true form of a hundred-kilometer-long ba serpent. Unfortunately for him, the power of extermination was too strong and quickly, even his massive body vanished under the corrosion of the black ray. Leaving absolutely no trace of his divinity or existence.

..................

Meanwhile, Hou Hui was leisurely strolling within the Azure Cloud imperial city when the seismic vibrations shook the land.

"Hey, nowadays people really think with their buttocks. Thankfully I wasn't too unruly and quickly found out that senior's true identity. Si Wang She, Si Wang She. Who could think you would ultimately die under the blow of a strand of divine sense? Absolutely no godly class."

From the moment he wrestled the connection between Ba Zu and Si Wang She, Hou Hui had already inferred the ending of those events. And with the death of both Ba Zu and Si Wang She, the decline of the ba serpent clan was inevitable.

"Now that I think of it, if those siblings had managed to lure Ba Zu toward the Ancient Sea, it could have saved me a lot of trouble. If we meet again, I must give them a lecture on efficiency!"

Now that Si Wang She had been dealt with. It was time to return to the Ancient Sea, grab the remaining stones, and leave for the Heavenly World. However, there was still one thing Hou Hui wished to settle. The boy Qing Yun!

He had not been completely honest with Qing Xuan Li. While it was true that Qing Yun's style had truly captivated him and was perfectly to his liking, it wasn't the only thing that grabbed his attention. With only a glance, he could see Qing Yun's innate constitution which endowed him with even greater talent than Qing Xuan Li: The Innate Immortal Root!

While lineage and physique usually didn't play a capital role in immortal cultivation, there were a few exceptions. And Qing Yun's Innate Immortal Root was one of those. It was a very special constitution that guaranteed immortality within a hundred years to its owner. If no adequate preparations were made, however, the owners of that constitution could never go past the peak of the Life Immortal Realm.

Hou Hui was absolutely unwilling to see such a talent waste his future in a world that definitely couldn't provide him with adequate training. Therefore, he had decided to bring him back to his uncle in hope of making him his disciple. It wasn't that he didn't want to personally train him, but with the empress constantly on his trails, it was too risky for the boy.

Finding Qing Yun was simplicity itself. Hou Hui's divine sense quickly locked onto him and instantaneously, he appeared in front of him. Qing Yun and his siblings were currently kneeling in front of the ruins of their house with tears streaming down their cheeks.

"Mom, dad, I'm sorry! Sorry that I could not be of more help when you needed me to be. Sorry for always causing you trouble. Sorry for not being able to prevent your deaths, and sorry for being too weak to personally avenge you. But I swear that starting with today, I will take care of and protect my siblings until my dying breath!"

Qing Yun pledged. But then, the form of a white-robed man appeared in front of him.

"Immortal brother!"

The three siblings exclaimed.

"I do not want to stop your filial heart but remember that your parents didn't sacrifice themselves so that you could stay trapped in the past. They did so to give you a future. I hope you will not disappoint their expectations."

He gently said while his gaze went from a sibling to another.

"We won't!"

They replied with great determination.

"Good. We still haven't properly introduced ourselves."

"I'm Qing Yun. Twelve years old. The eldest!"

Qing Yun proudly said while slapping his chest.

"My name is Qing Yue! Nine years old!"

"Mine is Qing Ya! Nine years old!"

"We are twins!"

Although the two younger siblings didn't have any particular physique or innate attribute, Hou Hui could feel powerful determination hidden within their bones and waiting for an awakening. With good training, their future achievements certainly wouldn't be low. Looking at them, he couldn't help but smile.

"Good. My name is Hou Hui."

"Heh? Hou Hui?"

"Immortal brother, why does your name sound like "regret?""

"Qing Yue shut up! What do you know? There must be a deeper meaning to it! Right immortal brother?"

Hearing those words, while usually Hou Hui wouldn't necessarily find comments on his name pleasing to the ears, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Well, my name is indeed "regret." There are even some rumors that it should have been "regretful night" but I guess my parents didn't want to go too far."

"Heh?"

The three siblings were immediately stupefied. Especially Qing Yue and Qing Ya who couldn't understand why someone could so jovially explain the nature of such an inauspicious, harmful name.

"Well, Immortal brother we definitely don't regret meeting you! In fact, we wished we did so sooner!"

"Qing Yun is right, we are so happy to have met you!"

"I'm also glad to have met you."

Hou Hui declared then regained his seriousness.

"Today I came here for two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to see how you were doing. Secondly, I wanted to give you all the opportunity to become the disciples of my uncle, a god."

Although he originally only wanted to give that opportunity to Qing Yun, he quickly realized that he was being excessively inconsiderate. Qing Yun would never abandon his siblings regardless of the marvelous conditions they were given to become the disciple of a god. Only by taking them all in would he accept.

Hearing his words, the three siblings were astonished. Although they didn't clearly understand the difference between immortals and gods, they knew gods still ranked above immortals. That alone was enough to realize how marvelous of an offer it was. Quickly, they stepped away from Hou Hui and gathered in a small circle to seriously discuss the situation!

*Pshh, Pshh, Pshh, Pshh…"

Whispering noises were the only thing the bystander could hear. However, although Hou Hui could have easily spied on their childish conversation, he gave them the privacy they wanted.

Swiftly, they returned and surprisingly, each bore a firm intransigent look in their eyes.

"We refuse!"

It was now Hou Hui's turn to be astonished and he stared at them with flabbergasted, blinking eyes for an instant, not knowing what to say.

A moment after his initial shock had passed, he asked.

"Why? Do you not understand the concept of being the disciples of a god? Even if you do not understand, let me tell you. My uncle is not the usual god. He is the second most powerful god in the three realms. An incomparable existence revered by countless immortals and deities. The people wishing to be his disciples could line up from the lower heaven layer to the superior heaven layer! Why would you refuse?"

He asked with consternation. Even in the dragon clan, the people wishing to become the disciples of his uncle were simply innumerable, and the only reason why he was so certain he could get him to accept them was that on one hand, his uncle was fond of true talents. People with the right constitutions and the right mindset to pursue the immortal paths. On the other hand, he couldn't bear destroying families. So Hou Hui was certain he could bully him into accepting.

Still, despite hearing that they could become the disciples of one of the most powerful beings in the universe, they didn't waver. And headed by Qing Yun, they replied.

"Because we want to be your sworn siblings!"

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

Violently assailed by their words, Hou Hui took three steps backward and stared at them with great consternation.

"Do you even understand what you're asking? Do you know how old I am? Let me tell you that although I look like a twenty years old man, I'm more than three thousand years old! Why would you want to be my sworn siblings? How would that even work? I'm older than your great grandparents!"

But still, they wouldn't relent.

"We don't care! We don't care! We only want to be your siblings and call you big brother! Since you saved us, you must take responsibility for us and become our big bro!"

"What kind of logic is this? You haven't even known me for a week. Why would you want to become my sworn siblings?"

"Because we like you!"

Hearing that shameless reply, Hou Hui knew the game was lost and to avoid further oppression, he chose a tactical retreat.

"Aaargh! He vanished!"

"Quick, quick, let's chase him!"

"But where?"

"Let's just shout his name throughout the inner city. I refuse to believe he will not come back!"

"Let's go!"

And so they darted toward the inner city.

Meanwhile, Hou Hui had reappeared within the marketplace.

"Damnable brats."

But even though he said such words, a resplendent smile painted his face.