Shen Yuan hugged her back as her familiar fragrance filled his senses, “I missed you too.”
They stayed still for some time, forgetting that the world even existed as they silently enjoyed the moment.
Shen Yuan forgot all about his plan and what he thought of doing after returning, as all he wanted to do now was to spend some time with her.
After what felt like an eternity, Shen Yuan and Bing Rong separated as she looked at him intently, “You have grown much stronger than the last time I saw you. And something… seems to have changed?”
She paused as she took a careful look at him, “Something seems different in you as well.”
Shen Yuan smiled, knowing she was talking about his new Physique, but he brushed it off and instead asked, “How was your seclusion? Any improvements or problems you encountered?”
He took her hand as they began walking toward Sacred Lotus City. Bing Rong seemed to be in an exceptional mood as she happily answered, “It went well. I feel much stronger than before. All the imperfections that remained in my foundation have been fixed with that pill, and I safely changed my cultivation method as well.”
Shen Yuan nodded, as he had expected these results, “What about Mom? How long will she take to exit her seclusion as well?”
Bing Rong smiled lightly, “Master will be out soon too; she’s nearly finished with her seclusion.”
Shen Yuan’s eyes lit up as he laughed in excitement, “Hahaha, good, good! After such a long time, my family will be reunited.”
Bing Rong smiled sweetly, seeing him so excited for them. “Shall we explore the city a bit?” she asked softly.
Shen Yuan calmed down, nodding his head in agreement as he extended his hand, “Let’s go. You can show me around since I couldn’t see much the last time I was here.”
Bing Rong asked curiously while gently holding his hand as they started walking forward, “So, have you already joined the sect? Or will you go through the Ancestral Pagoda now?”
Shen Yuan tightened his hold on her hand, “Haha, you underestimate me too much. I finished the Ancestral Pagoda’s trial already and even became the owner of that tower.”
Bing Rong paused slightly, her eyes widening in surprise, “Wha— you really completed that impossible trial?”
“Heh, don’t you have even a little confidence in me?” Shen Yuan smirked at her.
Bing Rong calmed down slightly as she shook her head, “It’s not that I don’t have any confidence in you, but it’s truly an impossible task. No one has been able to finish it since the foundation of the Sect.”
Shen Yuan nodded, “It’s understandable that you think that way. The test was really not something that can be passed by just anyone. Even I nearly succumbed at the last trial.”
“Hmm?” Bing Rong tilted her head, asking, “What was on the last level that made it so tough?”
Shen Yuan answered her while walking slowly, “It was a test of the Dao Heart.”
That was all he said, as he didn’t want to divulge further than that about how much he went through. But Bing Rong understood the implications, as the Dao Heart was no joke.
It was one of the most mysterious things in the world of cultivators. Low-level cultivators didn’t concern themselves with this, but the higher one walked the path of Dao, the more the importance of the Dao Heart became clear to them.
She looked at Shen Yuan for a moment longer, “It’s good to have you back, Yuan’er,” she softly whispered, looking at him.
Shen Yuan smiled and didn’t bother to respond. He soon saw the outline of the city, “Well, what will you show me? Big Sis Huo Rong already showed me around the city before.”
Bing Rong’s face turned a little red in embarrassment, “Cough, the thing is…” she paused, as if she couldn’t continue from there, but when she looked at Shen Yuan’s curious gaze, she gathered her courage and spoke, “Most of the time, Huo Rong is the one who takes me around. I’m quite bad at interacting with other people.”
Shen Yuan’s eyes widened at her, “Hahaha,” He let go of her hand as he laughed out loud, “Hahaha, this is too funny, one of the Inner Elders of the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect is bad at socializing, hahaha.”
Bing Rong’s face turned red to her ears as she turned her head to the side. Shen Yuan stopped after a while and held her hand again.
“Let’s go to the sect then. The sect leader should be waiting to meet up with me as well. We’ll visit the city some other time.” Shen Yuan said with a light chuckle, unable to stop himself from laughing.
Bing Rong didn’t turn her head back but still nodded. Soon, they entered the city after paying the fees and headed toward the sect.
“Have you made any new friends inside the sect, Yuan’er?” After a while, Bing Rong turned her head back to him and asked,
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about them, huh.” Shen Yuan said with a smile.
“I made two friends after entering the Outer Sect—” Shen Yuan was about to continue when Bing Rong interrupted him.
“Wait, Outer Sect? Shouldn’t you be a Core Disciple after passing that trial?” she asked in a questioning tone while staring at him, “Did those elders in the sect not give you your deserved position?”
A chilling aura arose from her body as the surroundings started to freeze due to her sheer aura. Shen Yuan felt his eyebrow twitch as he saw her flaring up.
He softly patted her shoulder, “It’s not like that; it was my own decision.”
Bing Rong’s spreading aura paused as she looked at him, “Huh?”
Shen Yuan shook his head, “I decided to start from the bottom to experience the sect for myself, to see whether it is worth my time or not, and I will enter the Inner Sect by taking the test this time after returning.”
Bing Rong calmed down, thinking for a second before shaking her head, “You had me worried for a second there. I really thought those old ghosts in the sect didn’t give you your rightful position because you’re male.”
Shen Yuan chuckled softly, “Anyways, I made two friends in the Outer Sect after that. One is named Wan Ling, and the other is Ling Yue, who is an Inner Sect disciple, but I met her after breaking the records in the Pagoda.”
Bing Rong nodded, “Those Pagoda trials should be quite easy for you after clearing that Ancestral Pagoda. Anything else interesting happen?”
Shen Yuan nodded, “The sect found a Mystique Realm outside as well, where the upper limit was Inner Sea Realm. So a lot of Outer Sect disciples and two Inner Sect disciples went inside to explore, and I was among them.”
“Hmm? How were your gains in the Mystique Realm then?” Bing Rong followed up with another question.
“I got another cultivation technique, and it seems to be quite a high-tiered one as well.” Shen Yuan replied while thinking of something.
“Cultivation Technique? What will you do with that?” Bing Rong asked as she couldn’t understand what he would do with that since he already had one and a higher tier one at that.
“I can gift it to someone who I deem worthy of it, and it’s not only a cultivation technique but also a blacksmithing manual. I can give it a try later when I have some time,” Shen Yuan casually glossed over the details of his new physique, as they were matters that neither affected his partners directly nor could they assist him with.
Therefore, he considered it unnecessary to share those details at the moment.
Bing Rong nodded and didn’t pursue this matter. Instead, she inquired, “Anything else you found out there? Or some interesting event that I’m not aware of?”
Shen Yuan thought of the Abyssal Monster, his hand twitched as he remembered how that Abyssal Being beat him up. “Yes, but I will talk about this matter when Mom comes out of seclusion. Might as well discuss it together since there is no point in doing it now when it has already passed.”
Bing Rong’s expression turned notably serious, and she halted in her tracks, asking with genuine concern, “Is the matter truly serious enough to involve Master?”
Shen Yuan gently pulled her closer as he breathed in her fragrance. “The problem is already solved; all we can do now is to wait for Mom to come out of seclusion and discuss it at that time. I don’t want to make you guys anxious for no reason, but the matter is truly solved.”
Bing Rong listened intently, eventually calming down as she nodded her head. The two stood in silence for some time.
“Oh, I nearly forgot to tell you, but Elder Xiang Mei also killed a few elders from the Ironwood Mountain Clan,” Shen Yuan suddenly remembered and mentioned.
