The Chen Family of Guanyu City!

"Sir, our stewards are asking for help. We need to leave the Heavenly Domain!"

When they arrived at the exit of the Heavenly Domain, Su'en bowed to the white-haired old man sitting on the stone block in front of him.

The Heavenly Domain was a paradise, complete with an advanced array formation that sealed off the entrances and exits. When entering or leaving, one needed the approval of the elder in charge of the formation.

Of course, there was another way: If one's cultivation level was high enough, one could simply break through using sheer power. The array formation was to prevent people from the outside world from forcing their way in. But the people in the Heavenly Domain didn't suffer fools; killing indiscriminately would only stain one's own reputation. And even if they successfully broke in, there would be a large number of rival sects to contend with.

Essentially, the Heavenly Domain had ensured that all options for breaking in or out were undesirable ones. Their array formation was a form of protection against the outside world–not that Su'en knew where they had obtained it from.

"You're from the Dao Sect, aren't you?" The white-haired old man opened his eyes and glanced at Su'en and Ye Lingyun. There were only roughly twenty sects in the Heavenly Domain now, all of which had their own distinct uniforms, making them easily identifiable.

A simple hand seal from the elderly man caused a fluctuation to appear behind him, followed by a crack.

"On your way, then." When he was done, the white-haired old man closed his eyes.

"Thank you, Sir!"

Su'en nodded respectfully. Then, he brought Ye Lingyun through the crack and flew away.

"What powerful Sword Qi!"

After Su'en had left, the white-haired old man opened his eyes again, revealing a flicker of doubt in his gaze.

"I don't remember the Dao Sect's Black Lightning Sword Technique being quite so formidable."

...

After passing through the crack, the vast plain appeared in front of them, flanked by towering mountains in the distance. A breeze from the outside world greeted them, a sensation which Su'en savored.

"The outside world is more liberating and enjoyable after all."

Next to Su'en, Ye Lingyun closed her eyes, the breeze fanning her cheeks, and inhaled deeply.

Smiling, Su'en continued, "Freedom is nice and all, but the spiritual energy here is too scarce and not suitable for cultivation. This is a place for ordinary people."

"You're right, Senior," Ye Lingyun agreed. The scarcity of spiritual energy that Su'en was referring to was comparing the spiritual energy in the Heavenly Domain to the outside world. After being so accustomed to the concentration of spiritual energy in the Heavenly Domain, it was no wonder they thought the spiritual energy here was scant and lacking.

It was also why all the sects in the outside world wanted to join the Heavenly Domain. However, other than the sects established by the Heavenly Domain, almost no other aristocratic families or sects from the outside world were allowed in.

"Let's go!"

Su'en flew across the starry sky, Ye Lingyun in tow, towards the Chen ancestral home. The Chen family stayed quite a distance from the Heavenly Domain. If Su'en was alone, he could reach their home in a day's time. But with Ye Lingyun by his side, it would take longer.

Three days later, they finally arrived at Guanyu City.

There were many people waiting at the city gate. Standing at the head of the crowd was a middle-aged man with thin, white hair and an air of refinement to his stately gaze.

The head of the Chen family, Chen Wu.

He had been waiting here every day, since sending his message to the Heavenly Domain a few days ago. It was a rule of the steward families: As long as there was no response from the sect from the Heavenly Domain, the stewards would have to wait at the city gate. Otherwise, if the high-level sects arrived and were kept waiting, the family might be stripped of its stewardship status.

"Father, the high-level sects still haven't responded. Will they come to our aid or not?" asked a delicate-looking young girl. Her black hair cascaded to her waist, and her skin was pale as jade. She was Chen Wu's daughter, Chen Ziling. "The Wang family serves the Nether Saber Sect, who are stronger than the Dao Sect," she pointed out.

Hearing his daughter's words, Chen Wu fell silent–there was some truth to what she was saying. It wouldn't be unheard of. Some of the weaker sects didn't directly reject or accept a request for aid; they simply chose not to respond.

"What choice do we have? We must keep waiting."

Chen Wu sighed. The spirit stone mine they had discovered was rich in resources. From the looks of it, the mine was probably 30,000 feet. If all the spirit stones were mined–likely tens of millions of them–even if they were low-grade stones, it would mean an unimaginable amount of cultivation resources and wealth. In his message, he had deliberately explained the production process involving the spirit stones to grab the attention of the higher-ups in the sect.

"Are you from the Chen family?"

Suddenly, a voice boomed from the sky: monotone, seemingly belonging to no one.

Panicked, Chen Wu's head shot up just in time to see two figures descend to the ground.

There was nothing ordinary about them–from their demeanors alone, it was obvious they were from the Heavenly Domain!

"I am the patriarch of the Chen family, Chen Wu. Welcome, Exalted One!" Chen Wu hurriedly cupped his fists and bowed respectfully, not daring to raise his head. Everyone behind him followed suit, except for Chen Ziling, who stole a glance at Su'en. Their gazes met, and her eyes promptly dropped.

"There's no need for so much formality!" Su'en nodded, glancing casually at the Chens. Chen Wu was already at the early-stage Foundation Establishment Realm, while the others were all at the Qi Refinement Realm. As could be expected–the outside world was nothing like the Heavenly Domain. The scarcity of spiritual energy here made cultivation more taxing. Many talented cultivators here had difficulty even entering the Foundation Establishment Realm.

"Let's go in so we can talk business," Su'en said.

"Of course. This way, please!" Chen Wu hurriedly led the way.

"Is he from a sect in the Heavenly Domain? His manner is so refined–nothing like a mere mortal."

"Are people from the sects up there all so attractive? Is it normal among them?"

The Chen family exchanged whispers back and forth.

"It's true, they're all very good-looking. It's said that the environment in the Heavenly Domain is beautiful and rich in spiritual energy. If only I could enter it to practice my cultivation!"

"Stop dreaming. The Heavenly Domain isn't a place ordinary people like us can enter as we please. We'll need to join one of their sects for that."

Chen Wu walked in the direction of the Chen ancestral home, followed by Su'en and Ye Lingyun in the center of the entourage, then the rest of the Chen family.

As they made their way down the road, Su'en and Ye Lingyun's extraordinary auras attracted plenty of attention. Mainly because many people in Gungyu City had never seen visitors from the Heavenly Domain before.