Gaining a Great Father

　　"Because you're handsome."　　When Wang Yangzi said this,　　Chen Xia knew it was indeed a hard-to-refuse reason, but he still shook his head in refusal.　　Wang Yangzi lowered his eyes, pondering what other reasons he could give. Glancing at Chen Xia, he suggested,　　"If you agree to go, I can teach you the art of alchemy."　　"No thanks," Chen Xia replied without hesitation.　　Wang Yangzi placed his hand on his sword, growing puzzled. He asked,　　"Aren't you an alchemist? Why wouldn't you want to learn alchemy?"　　"Not necessary," Chen Xia answered truthfully. His method of refining medicines relied on fate and rarely required specific alchemy techniques. Learning them would be disrespectful to his luck.　　Wang Yangzi's frown deepened. He tapped the hilt of his sword lightly and asked tentatively,　　"I've heard you're also quite a skilled sword cultivator. I have some accomplishments in swordsmanship. If you agree to go, I can teach you how to practice with swords."　　Chen Xia glanced at Wang Yangzi. "I don't need your teaching, nor do I wish to go. Besides, I've never learned any sword techniques."　　"Then the rumors about you being a good sword cultivator?" Wang Yangzi raised an eyebrow, feeling puzzled.　　"Maybe it's because I have more flying swords than most," Chen Xia nodded, giving his answer.　　"Do you have two or three life-bound flying swords?" Wang Yangzi asked curiously, not having heard much about Chen Xia's reputation and thus unaware of Chen Xia's tower of flying swords.　　Chen Xia nodded again, not bothering to explain further. "Something like that."　　"Ha ha." Wang Yangzi chuckled, a slightly confident smile curling the corners of his mouth as he continued.　　"My accomplishments with multiple flying swords are not low either. In this realm, the sword cultivator with the most flying swords might be me. Not just two or three, but a total of eight."　　This was his pride, arguably the best in the realm. With eight life-bound flying swords working together, he was nearly invincible at his level.　　Moreover, each flying sword had its own innate abilities, making them even more formidable when combined.　　"Hmm, that is quite a lot," Chen Xia acknowledged calmly, offering praise to Wang Yangzi.　　But somehow,　　Wang Yangzi felt something odd. Chen Xia's tone was like a billionaire complimenting a beggar.　　Furrowing his brows, sensing something amiss, Wang Yangzi confirmed with Chen Xia,　　"Do you know who I am?"　　Recalling for a moment, Chen Xia replied, "Wang Yangzi."　　Wang Yangzi nodded, placing his hand on the first flying sword at his waist, then asked, "Do you know my status?"　　"If you keep nagging, I'll close the door," Chen Xia said, slightly impatient.　　"Don't, I'm a high-ranking alchemist and a Quasi-Sage sword cultivator," Wang Yangzi hurriedly explained, then persuaded Chen Xia.　　"You shouldn't feel pressured. Inviting you to participate in the Great Dead Domain is purely voluntary. I'm just laying out my terms."　　Chen Xia put down his hoe. "Tell me about the Great Dead Domain first."　　Wang Yangzi began explaining, "The Great Dead Domain is a completely dead star domain, so vast it's almost equivalent to ten realms, filled with numerous emperor skeletons."　　"The reason for the Great Dead Domain battles is that every five thousand years, it releases dead spirit energy outward. During this time, cultivators can take advantage of the weakened defenses."　　"And within the Great Dead Domain, there are many great opportunities. As far as I know, someone from the Immortal Realm returned from the Great Dead Domain and advanced straight to the Quasi-Emperor realm, becoming nearly invincible at their level."　　Chen Xia frowned, noticing the mention of the Immortal Realm, and directly asked,　　"Is this the Immortal Realm where the Fuyao Immortal Sect is located?"　　Seeing his reaction, Wang Yangzi was puzzled but quickly responded,　　"Fuyao Immortal Sect has some impression on me. They came during the last three Great Dead Domain battles but didn't gain much and lost a few top talents. After that, they stopped coming."　　Chen Xia nodded and asked, "What about the Ninth Mountain of the Immortal Realm?"　　That was Huang Qingyue's sect.　　Wang Yangzi nodded and laughed, "Regarding the nine mountains of the Immortal Realm, I'm very familiar. They are old rivals of our realm."　　"The Ninth Mountain came during the last Great Dead Domain battle, with many top talents and good harvests. They are likely to come again this time."　　He glanced at Chen Xia and lightly laughed, asking, "So, do you know anyone from the Ninth Mountain?"　　"Sort of," Chen Xia nodded, his brows slightly furrowed. If what Wang Yangzi said was true, he really should consider going to the Great Dead Domain.　　But he felt a bit uneasy. After thousands of years, it was hard to ensure Xu Zhen and Huang Qingyue were still the same.　　People change, sometimes drastically.　　If they did change, what would he do?　　Say hello and then part ways?　　That seemed possible too.　　Though Chen Xia had nostalgia, he didn't force things. Thousands of years had passed; if they couldn't get along, it wasn't a big deal.　　He wished them well in their respective lives.　　Another issue arose: if he ended up fighting against Xu Zhen and Huang Qingyue in the Great Dead Domain, what would he do?　　Really fight?　　Looking back at Wang Yangzi, he asked, "Can I retreat if I can't win?"　　"Feel free to run," Wang Yangzi smiled. "Preserving your life is most important. Don't hesitate; if you're in danger, just escape. As long as you don't endanger others, I won't criticize you."　　"When do we leave?" Chen Xia asked again.　　"Still early, in three hundred years. The selection for participants in the Great Dead Domain battles is ongoing. You, as a master alchemist, are a prime candidate. Other Heaven-Filling realm cultivators will be chosen carefully, likely focusing on top talents."　　Wang Yangzi replied, tapping the hilt of his sword lightly, adding with a smile,　　"If you really go to the Great Dead Domain, battles will be inevitable. It's all about bringing glory to our realm and indirectly establishing our position among various dimensions."　　"You don't need to engage much in battles since you're a master alchemist. Just focus on refining medicines. But avoiding battles entirely isn't possible, so you should prepare for that."　　Chen Xia nodded, already well-versed in combat, finding no issues.　　Wang Yangzi had nothing else to add. Looking around the small hut, he suddenly said,　　"As for Victory Mountain, you should visit sometime. Although it's only in the middle tier of the realm, it's not simple. It seems related to an ancient relic from the ancient times."　　"Currently, Victory Mountain doesn't seem to have harmful intentions toward you. A visit might help you understand what the ancient relic is thinking."　　Chen Xia frowned, "If there's real danger, wouldn't going be like a lamb entering the tiger's den?"　　"No worries," Wang Yangzi grinned widely, his eyebrows arching like dragons, tapping the sword hilt confidently.　　"I'll protect you!"　　Chen Xia frowned, wondering what this meant.　　Getting a new father figure?