There is a small town at the foot of Shenxian Mountain with a nice name, Xunxian Town.
There are two main roads, and most of the villagers' houses are built along both sides of the roads. Over time, two streets were formed.
Yuanxiao's home is not on the two main roads, but in the last row of the town, near the foot of the mountain. There are fewer residents in this row, and Xiaoying's home is not far away diagonally opposite.
The relationship between the two adults is also very good. Yuanxiao's father Yuanlai and Xiaoying's father Xu Kai have been old neighbors for many years. They often send each other game, help each other with small favors, etc., so the two adults are very close, and Yuanxiao and Xu Ying are also very close, and often play together.
If Xiaoying hadn't been caught kissing secretly by Uncle Xu when they were playing house, and hadn't been restricted from playing alone with Yuanxiao, how happy Yuanxiao would have been!
Yuanxiao went down the mountain with Sikong Zhaiyue.
There was no other way. Sikong Zhaiyue's magical powers were sealed, and he couldn't absorb immortal energy in the mortal world. Compared to ordinary people, although he was stronger now, his strength was limited, and he would also suffer from hunger and injury. The old man Zhaiyue suddenly returned to the mortal state he had been in countless years ago, before he embarked on the path of immortal cultivation.
Old Man Zhaiyue wasn't afraid. So what if I couldn't use my magic power? So what if I became a mortal? My storage ring was filled with treasures, the fruits of countless years of great thieving. I was confident that even if I took out just one or two of them, I would be invincible.
There are piles of treasures in the ring, including those that do not require mana to activate, and even quite a few that have passive effects. What's more, I am so smart and knowledgeable, and I can cheat people with my mouth... no, I am eloquent, so even if I set up a stall to tell people's fortunes, I can still make a living.
Thinking of this, the old man became proud again.
Yuan Xiao felt that although the old man's appearance was worrying, he didn't seem to be a bad person. At least after learning that the Tianqi Pearl had special effects and was beneficial to spiritual practice, although he grimaced and felt pain in his heart, he didn't regret asking for the Tianqi Pearl back.
Just for this reason, this old man is also a chivalrous thief with a sense of bottom line and a sense of justice. Moreover, in the fairy world, he only steals from the big families and never harms the common people. He still has a bit of integrity.
"Dad, Mom, I'm back." Yuanxiao asked the old man to wait at the gate of the fenced yard and walked into the yard first.
Yuanlai was a middle-aged man in his forties, at the age of being strong and healthy. He was good at farming and hunting, and was currently repairing hunting tools.
Autumn and winter are good seasons for hunting, and with good tools you can get twice the result with half the effort.
"Your mother is in the inner room." Yuanlai said casually.
Then a middle-aged woman came out of the house. She was not particularly pretty, but she was friendly and natural. She took the game from Yuanxiao's shoulder and asked, "Did you get hurt this time in the mountains?"
Yuanxiao subconsciously looked at his calves. He did have two cuts on them from the rocks and branches on the mountain while hunting today. He was about to say that he was not injured to prevent his mother from worrying.
A'niang had already noticed Yuanxiao's gaze. She bent down and saw a few bloodstains on Yuanxiao's calf, but they had already dried. She quickly lifted the calf to check, but did not see any wound.
A Niang asked, "There really isn't a wound, so where did the blood stain on your calf come from?"
Yuanxiao was also confused, how could there really be no wounds. He looked down and saw that the two cuts that had been made that morning were as smooth as before, without any wounds at all.
Looking closely with wide eyes, there were only two shallow marks where the wound had originally been, but they were already very blurry. If you didn't look closely, you would hardly notice anything unusual.
Yuan Xiao was shocked by himself. What happened? How could the wound heal and recover so quickly?
A light bulb went off in my head. Could it be?
Today I met two immortal guards, met the master thief Sikong Zhaiyue, and was "given" a treasure, the Apocalypse Pearl, by my elder brother. I still have it in my hands.
Could this be one of the magical effects of the Apocalypse Pearl that the Purple Leaf Immortal Guard mentioned? The Apocalypse Pearl has the ability to repair and heal injuries?
Be sure to study it when you have time.
At this time, a cough was heard at the gate of the yard. It turned out that Brother Zhaiyue was afraid that I would forget him, so he reminded me.
Yuan Xiao immediately said, "Father, Mother, this is the old immortal I met today. We hit it off, so I recognized him as my brother. Brother, come in quickly!"
Old man Zhaiyue walked in, bowed, and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, don't be surprised, let's talk about our own things. Brother Yuanxiao and I hit it off right away. I really like this little brother."
Although Old Man Zhaiyue felt a little sorry for the Apocalypse Pearl before, he was still very grateful to Yuanxiao because his little brother had helped him escape disasters twice in a row. However, he was an old immortal with many years of experience, so he might not say some things directly.
Yuanxiao's parents were both down-to-earth and warm-hearted people. They were not affected by the Taoist priest's wretched image, but enthusiastically prepared wine, food and game to entertain their son's "brother", who was also their own "brother".
After drinking three bowls of wine, Old Man Zhaiyue's tongue became bigger and began to reveal his true form.
After all, he is now a mortal and gets drunk if he drinks too much. For many years, he has been a heavy drinker with a low alcohol tolerance and his drinking habits are questionable.
Old Man Zhaiyue patted Yuanlai's shoulder and said, "Brother, I've been to so many places. I've been to the five continents of the human world and the nine heavens of the immortal world. I can come and go freely in the top immortal sects in the human world and the mansions of the noble families in the immortal world. But every time I want to leave after a visit, they will send people to ask me to go back, or even force me to stay, but I don't pay any attention to them!"
Then the old man began to brag about his great achievements, one after another.
Yuanxiao's father thought it was just a drunken boast from an old man and didn't take it seriously. How could they, ordinary people, possibly encounter a god in their home?!
Yuanlai felt that the night was getting colder, so he took a piece of clothing and put it on the old man. Yuanxiao's mother saw that the food was cold, so she took it away again, heated it up in the pot, and brought it back.
Yuanxiao was listening carefully to the story told by the old man Zhaiyue. Only Yuanxiao knew that even though the old man exaggerated a little, most of what he said should be true. After all, they had just escaped from Ziye and Heishan during the day, and the Apocalypse Pearl was still in his hand. These things could not be false.
The old man Zhai Yue was silent for a moment, then said, "Brother, I feel like I've lacked everything in my life. I have money, treasures, fame, and fortune, but I just lack a warm home and your care. Today, here with you, I feel the warmth of home and your care. I haven't felt this way for thousands of years... I miss it so much, I'm so happy."
The old man looked at Yuan Xiao again and said drunkenly, "Little brother, it's rare that you are interested in my story. I have been taking things from everywhere for so many years, isn't it just in case he can know my movements, isn't it just in case there is a chance for him to hear my story? ... Little brother, thank you."
The old man suddenly stood up, walked unsteadily to the door, pointed at it and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, little brother, there's nothing wrong with the orientation of your house. It's just that it's close to the foot of the mountain, so the yin energy is too strong. With this warm jade talisman, you can remove the yin and absorb the yang, prolong your life, and prevent all diseases."
As he spoke, the old man touched his storage ring, and a jade talisman flew out and drilled into the ground and disappeared. Everyone suddenly felt a warmth around them, and a gentle breeze blew on their faces, which made them feel refreshed.
"A mortal man will inevitably encounter storms and waves in a hundred years. Even if you, my brother, sister-in-law, and younger brother, are kind-hearted, you may not be immune to fatal danger. Leave this passively activated Heaven and Earth Defense Formation here. It can withstand at least three fatal attacks from those above the Nascent Soul Stage and below the Great Perfection Stage. I hope you will never need to use it."
As he spoke, another set of formation flags flew out of the storage ring, landed around the house and disappeared. Then the ground shook slightly, and then returned to silence.
After doing all this, Brother Zhaiyue looked at the stunned Yuanlai couple and was also very proud. See, this is a god, this is a treasure, no one has more treasures than me.
Yuanxiao was stunned. It seemed that this guy became generous when he was drunk, and turned into a boy who gave away money when he was drunk!
If I had known this, why would I have gone to such great lengths to grab that bead during the day?!
"Brother, come in and sit down, have a few more bowls!" Yuanxiao took the old man's hand and sat down again, pouring two more bowls of wine in front of the old man.
The old man was greatly pleased and drank the wine in one gulp.
"Kid, your brother has already drunk a lot, don't add more. It will be very uncomfortable if he gets drunk!" Yuanxiao's mother scolded Yuanxiao.
"How can that be! Brother, you are a god, what's there to be afraid of with just a little wine!" Yuanxiao continued to pour wine, fearing that his brother would not drink enough!