135. Still Not Quite

*Crack*

*Crash*

*CRASH*

Wen Jiayi took a deep breath.

'Maybe I should butcher Yu Xian with a dull knife.'

She took another deep breath.

After talking with the Xin family women, Han De and Han Shan took their leave, and Wen Jiayi ended up at the guest palace, to relax, and read the graphic novel.

In the 1901st chapter of the "I Got Betrayed by Celestials, Was Cast out From Heavens, but by Using My Peerless Blacksmith Skills I Will Get Everything Back. Celestials, Feel My Wrath! Heavens, Bow Before Me! I Am the Peerless Divine Blacksmith God!", Yu Xian met another mysterious beauty four days after getting engaged for the 14th time.

'If I castrate then infuse him with enough Yin energy, I might be able to rid him of his manhood completely.'

She knew Han De had disciples, and she knew they were talented, but she didn't know anything else about them. The graphic novel only focused on Yu Xian. Liang Cuifen, or other disciples weren't there, neither were they ever mentioned.

Wen Jiayi regretted not using her own resources to gather intel. Who would've thought she was going to accept the Long family offer? Contacting her intelligence network while she was on board the Han family celestial ship wasn't possible either. It was already too late.

'Then I'll visit the disciples right now.'

The intuition of a cultivator should never be underestimated. And Wen Jiayi's was warning her right now. Not knowing anything was dangerous!

* * *

Han Shan brought his grandson to his cultivation chambers. Truthfully, he didn't know what to make of Han De's condition.

"Well, I'm waiting." Han De casually sat down and started staring at his grandfather.

|Mmm. This will take some time to explain…|

Han De raised his hand to stop him.

"Then summarize it. I'm sure you can explain the reasons of why you kept crucial information from me to 4 sentences or less."

|Impudent!|

"I'll ignore that for now. Go ahead, explain it. I am dying to know."

Han Shan sighed. It didn't look like Han De was going to budge.

|Your parents used a secret art to conceive you, so that you would be born with both Light and Dark elements, but without a constitution to support them. You would be a blank slate, filled with possibilities. I acquiesced, since this was a decision for your parents to make… Both of them suffered many hardships over many years. Conceiving you was nothing short of a miracle.|

'… Wait, that… sounds like… Am I going to get refined after all?!'

|You could not be born in a normal world, the heavens wouldn't allow it. So we stayed, on the same world we arrived at, a world where fate had intersected with itself. We became polluted with its karma. Once you were born, we had to take extreme measures so that you would remain unbound.|

Han Shan shook his head.

|Starfall Scripture is a simplified version of the Divine Spark Pendulum Scripture that I created specifically for you. With it, you could nurture the Yang energies while keeping the Yin energies dormant. If it wasn't for those wretched Zhou family…|

Han Shan couldn't hide his hatred when he mentioned the name.

That name was very familiar to Han De, they were one of the major families within the Starfall Mountain sect, before their rebellion attempt. He didn't know their current whereabouts, but if they were alive, they surely would be wishing they weren't.

|Your soul appeared fine, but the delicate balance within was disturbed. In the end, all of our preparations were for naught, and we had to leave. The rest, you're also familiar with.|

Han Shan displayed a self-deprecating smile. If the cultivation idiot were here, he would've called it a sight rarer than Phoenix feathers and Qilin horns.

|Senior Long Ai sealed the Yin energies in your soul. Once you reach Immortal Realm, the seal will break and you will be able to achieve balance with senior's help.

Receiving the Long name was a display of their sincerity. Not only you became their 5th heir, but also became the first male heir. This isn't calculation, but treating you as one of their own. Don't get confused.|

There was a lot to digest, but Han De realized a crucial fact. Knowing the background story changed nothing.

|That Wen girl, she is also a part of this. Your mother was on cloud nine after hearing she became your fiancé.|

Han De instinctively frowned.

"That won't last long, so don't get your hopes up."

He continued after seeing the surprised expression of his grandfather.

"I'm not interested in an arranged marriage."

Han Shan couldn't understand. Didn't he like her? Didn't he get excited when he got close to her? Could that it be that Han Shan's own interpretation was wrong?

Han De thought of a way to explain this to his grandfather.

"What benefits do I get from marrying Wen Jiayi?"

|… You… don't find her beautiful?|

'…'

Han De couldn't determine if his grandfather was an amazing expert at playing stupid, or if he was really a simpleton when it came to women. A sigh came out on its own.

"Old man. How long would it take for you to find an ugly female cultivator on this ship?"

|…|

Han De knew for a fact that such a feat was impossible. Even the most unattractive person on the sect would still end up being above-average. There were no below average, or even average-looking people among the millions that were inhabiting the celestial ship.

"She isn't willing to marry me because I'm handsome, why should I be willing to marry her because she is beautiful?"

Han Shan felt embarrassed. Because of their contract with the Long family, they had to let Han De marry someone of Long's choosing. Though he became a Long and was eventually freed from the contract, he still had to follow Long's arrangements. That was the duty of a Long.

It looked like his grandson had already understood this, so adding more words would achieve nothing.

Han De didn't want to keep complaining about something that his grandfather had no power over. It was obvious from the behavior of Han Shan that the fault for the engagement was solely on the Long family.

"Changing the subject. How long do I have to wait before I start cultivating?"

|Let me take a look at your cultivation…|

Han De nodded, and decided to tease his grandfather a little to lighten up the mood.

"Hmm. I sense confidence in you, that's not bad for a higher being, I suppose…"

|Hmph. What could a brat like you know anything about elevating one's existence?|

Han De answered with a smirk.

"You advanced one major realm, right?"

|… You!|

Han Shan looked upset, but the corners of his mouth had a slight twitch to them. He cleared his throat and started speaking seriously.

|Since you have no eyes, I will explain it to you. The difference between higher and lower beings, is like the difference between heaven and earth! The very way you see reality changes! It is something a lower being like you could never understand.|

Han De nodded at Han Shan's smirk, and spoke as if he was reminiscing a fond memory.

"Looks like I really am your grandson. I remember making a similar speech after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm. Advancing a major realm was such an exciting event back then…"

Seeing Han Shan openly speechless was a first, both for Han De, and for the cultivation idiot.

"Of course, all of that seems mundane after advancing 3 major realms in one sitting."

|… You did what?! Are you tired of living?!?|

Han De's face suddenly became serious, but that was soon replaced by an Arrogant Young Master sneer.

"Such is the difference between heaven and earth..."

Han Shan sighed once more and started examining Han De. Sometimes he frowned, sometimes he looked bewildered. Han De patiently waited for the diagnosis.

|Hmmm… Your core and Nascent Soul aren't ordinary.|

'… Yes, I know, unfortunately…'

|Describe your cultivation art.|

'That… would take way too long.'

"… I still have some spiritual energy left."

Han De embedded his master-level understanding of the Light of Creation Scripture into a crude mental illusion. Han Shan instantly recognized the vibrations of the Twilight Phantasm Scripture.

|… Your grandmother would've been proud…|

Han De almost stopped condensing his Qi and wasted his effort! The cultivation idiot never heard about his paternal grandmother.

|The Twilight Phantasm Scripture in the sect archives is a simplified version. It used to be so complex that no one besides your grandmother could use it...|

Han Shan recognized how Han De completed the scripture on his own, and even made improvements on top of that. As the sole survivor of the Han dynasty, Han Shan had a lot of responsibilities over his shoulders, and his emotions became more and more muted over the years. The familiar ripples of his late wife's art woke up indescribable memories in his heart.

Han Shan let the emotions stay only for a moment. Then, he regained his composure. Once again, he was back to his usual self. He nodded at Han De and received the memory of his cultivation art.

|Hmm.|

Han Shan fell into deep thought with a frown.

|This art… fits the mutation of your roots perfectly, there is no need for me to create a new scripture for you. As long as you keep cultivating the Endless Slumber Scripture, there should be no hidden dangers.

Let your soul recover more before cultivation. If it is only for recovering your spiritual energy, then aim for one forth at the highest, then there shouldn't be problems. Attempting to absorb more than that through Qi restoring pills may cause an imbalance.

… At this rate you can start cultivating normally in a few weeks. But it would be better if you waited a month.|

The Endless Slumber Scripture was too… profound… for Han Shan to give a better estimate. It was also a perfect fit for Han De's mutated roots. Since Long Ai could predict even this, Han Shan had no doubts that few could match her ability to calculate.

'Where could she have found that weird scripture…' thought Han Shan. The entire legacy of the Han dynasty was embedded in his soul, and there was nothing even close to the Endless Slumber scripture! But that was a thought for another time…

|Senior Long Ai mentioned that she will give you a Dark Qi cultivation method when you are close to ascending. Listen to everything senior says, she isn't an ordinary higher being, or an ordinary monarch. She knows of our origins.|

'…'

Han De's Xianxia senses detected a few pages worth of exposition behind Han Shan's words.

'Lately, there have been too many MC-like developments. I should probably straight up ask just to be safe…'

Regardless of the potential developments, Han De was curious about the Han family's origins himself.

Han Shan recognized this, and started explaining without waiting for his grandson to ask the question. Which was convenient for Han De.

|The origins of the Han family aren't as simple as you think. In my great-grandfather's time, we used to rule absolute. A scoff from him was enough to end countless worlds. Even Long Ai of now would've had no choice but to bow to your great-great-grandfather. We were unrivaled!|

'… Oh no…'

|But, nothing lasts forever. I was young back then, and didn't understand many things. When the end came, my father, his father, and his father before, burnt their life essence so that we could survive. Me and little Wei, along with a handful of servants, fell into the world that you knew as our home. At the last second, your grandmother gave her life to save little Wei, who was only a baby at the time.|

Han Shan fell silent, and his gaze became deep. It was as if he wasn't a cultivator anymore, just a grandpa that went through a world of pain. It would be a lie to say that Han De wasn't affected by this sight. He treated the Han family as his own family for months, and his emotional investment was only increasing.

However, it was impossible for him to not notice the extremely dangerous development. The story had a beginning, and an end, but Han Shan had conveniently skipped over the middle. The most crucial parts.

"Old man, are you saying we have an ancient enemy that will someday find us in order to erase the name of Han?"

|Hmm?|

Han Shan was surprised for a second, but chucked in the next.

|No, we had no enemies. No one could dare to oppose the name of Han. If we did have an enemy, that would be the Time itself.|

'Huh?'

Was he talking literally? Han De couldn't tell.

|Don't think in trifling terms when I say we are not from this world. The Han dynasty isn't from this world, isn't from this realm, and isn't from this reality. There is more to existence behind the veil. Our reality collapsed, because it was its time.|

'Um…'

This had the potential of becoming the tragic backstory of an MC. This wasn't the first time either, the stakes were continuously increasing. Destroyed home? How about a destroyed homeWORLD? That wasn't enough? How about a destroyed UNIVERSE?!

"So the Light element…"

|Doesn't exist for the inhabitants of this reality. They do have their own variations of Yang elements, but the Light element itself, came from our reality. Over time some of the servants coupled with the aboriginals and spread the Light element, but eventually, those will disappear within a few generations. Heavens will not allow foreign elements to thrive.

The Long family's Dark element is the same. Years ago, before the wedding of your parents, senior Long Ai revealed that she was aware of the Han dynasty. The Long family may never admit it, but they too, are outsiders.|

'So there are no blood enemies? No irreconcilable enmities?'

It almost felt like an MC story, but it just wasn't quite there.

"What about the Starfall Mountain Sect?"

|When we fell, I sent some of the servants to survey the surroundings, and they found an aboriginal sect. Their name wasn't bad. Starfall Mountain. Though we didn't fall onto a mountain, I thought it was fitting, and took over the sect.|

Han Shan spoke as if it wasn't a big deal, or as if he were used to such acts.

|I purged everyone except the servant family, and raised them as stewards. Hmph. To think they would repay our kindness like that, but enough of that!

In truth, all of your uncles, aunts, and cousins used to be servants of the Han dynasty. They really are your relatives, but they are the lesser blood of the dynasty.|

Han De now understood why Han Shan was so obsessed with face, especially when it came to the Han family. The prejudices of his past were fully carried over to the present. It also explained some of the past behavior of the Han family.

'He thinks they are 'lesser' blood, but still blood nonetheless, and couldn't bring himself to kill them. And the relatives themselves feel indignant over their treatment, since the Han dynasty itself has vanished long ago. It would be surprising if they didn't have some hidden resentment.'

Han De thought the story would be useless, but this was good and relevant info. Now he had a better idea of how to approach his paternal relatives.

'This is fine and all, but wasn't what I wanted to know originally…'

"What about the constitution you've mentioned. Why does the Long family want it? What is its name, what does it do?"

|Why does anyone want their descendent to be powerful?|

Han Shan smiled thoughtfully.

|But you are right, there is a design behind their efforts, but they will not mention anything until it is complete. I doubt even your mother knows anything.

As for the constitution, it isn't a matter of having Yin-Yang harmony, but merging them. If I speak of my speculations there might be heavenly punishment involved. According to senior Long Ai, even the name is taboo.

But don't worry, your current constitution won't complicate the development. It took me a while to recognize, but your Innate Light Body is one of the highest-tier ones. If your great-great-grandfather saw you, he would've put you at the center of our prime star for a million years. Hahaha.|

What was a prime star? Han De assumed it was some sort of Light element themed cultivation realm.

'F#$% me, I'm glad I wasn't born in that era…'

Technically, he wasn't born in this era too, but Han De didn't notice that slip-up. The thought of spending a million years in cultivation was too horrifying.

'… Is he purposefully trying to avoid something? Something feels off…"

From Han De's perspective, Han Shan was steering the conversation away from something.

"Old man, is there anything else that I should know?"

|…|

"Are you sure you're not 'forgetting' something?"

|…|

"You won't play dumb in the future, right? I'm sure you won't give excuses like 'You didn't ask, so I didn't think it was necessary to explain this crucial piece of information' or anything like that."

Han De even imitated the tone of his grandfather. Han Shan's silence only served to fuel Han De's determination. There was no way he was going to leave without getting proper answers.

Han Shan sighed and seemed to have resigned to his fate. Han De kept watching him closely and did not believe the expressions of Han Shan.

<|When the elders of our family pierced a hole, they didn't succeed. They ended up contacting someone, and that someone was the one that threw us here.|>

Though Han De didn't know, Han Shan had spent great effort on that voice transmission so that no one could listen in.

<|Maybe I am getting old, but my intuition says you might meet that person, sometime in the future. Whether that is good or bad, I cannot say.|>

'… Could you stop planting flags for a second? Seriously?'