"So, young man... how’s the family doing these days?"
His voice was raspy, worn by ti.
"Well, Elder. I wanted to speak with you about—"
"Ah... you can believe it, kid..."
I froze.
" ...? "
"I never really wanted to beco Patriarch. Even though I was the heir, all I cared about was cultivation... and smoking the best herbs. Spending eternity inhaling the smoke of exotic hallucinogens..."
I stared at him, incredulous.
*’Why is he telling his life story?’*
He sighed, his gaze lost in the void.
"Ancestor, I’m in a hurry—"
"Such was my disappointnt when I reached the immortal stage..."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"No substance, no herb could give pleasure anymore. I was completely immune..."
"Ancestor, I need you to stop the current Matriarch before she starts a war that will involve the entire Upper Realm."
He looked at for a mont, then resud in a monotone voice.
"You see... it ans it’s impossible to have everything you want, even after achieving immortality."
I felt my blood boil with impatience. This mad old man was talking about his regrets and love for hallucinogenic herbs while my mother was about to start a war that could plunge the entire Upper Realm into chaos. The atmosphere was oppressive, the acrid smoke from his pipe hung heavily in the room, slightly blurring my vision.
The Ancestor took a deep drag, savoring one last puff before exhaling slowly. His lazy gaze finally settled on , as if he’d just noticed my presence.
"Young BaiShe, you’re far too tense. Impatience leads to recklessness."
"Are you fucking with ?"
The old man burst into laughter, a raspy, mocking laugh.
"Ah, kid... if only you knew."
"Are you fucking with ?"
The Ancestor stopped smoking abruptly, surprised by my words. His gaze, until then indifferent, hardened in a fraction of a second.
Instantly, my surroundings changed.
I found myself atop a mountain battered by violent winds, a dark, stormy sky stretching endlessly. Thick mist swirled around , and beneath my feet, there was only the void.
A sense of vertigo gripped , but before I could react, the Ancestor reappeared before , his clothes fluttering in the wind.
"Watch your words, junior."
I felt the pressure of his Qi weighing on my shoulders, but it didn’t stop .
"You’re pissing off, old fart. I was polite, and you’re fucking with . I’ll be direct. Either you help and we avoid this damn war, or you send back down the mountain and go fuck yourself."
The air grew heavy and oppressive. My body tensed under the crushing pressure he exerted on .
"And what makes you think I won’t just kill you for your insolence?"
I struggled to maintain eye contact despite the pain pulsing through my muscles.
"Because you wouldn’t risk killing the most talented heir the Hu family has ever seen. And especially because if you hadn’t wanted to see , you would never have brought here."
A smile stretched across his wrinkled lips.
"So, will you help or will you play the fucking mysterious like those other useless ancestors?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, a fleeting shadow of amusent passing through his gaze.
"Ah... Ahaha! You’ve got guts, kid."
He abruptly released the pressure, finally allowing to breathe normally.
"Half-step into the Sage stage... Your talent is decent, I’ll admit."
He laughed, taking a long drag from his pipe before exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
"So, what’s so urgent?"
I took a deep breath before explaining everything. I told him in detail about the conflict that had erupted between the younger generations, how the Kraken heir had insulted our family, and how I’d already smashed his face in. But despite that, my mother had left ready to annihilate the Krakens without restraint.
The Ancestor shook his head.
"She’s impulsive... I was a bit reckless in my ti too."
He exhaled a long stream of smoke before adding in a more serious tone.
"But she risks starting a war over young fools’ mistakes..."
His loose clothes fluttered around him.
"Alright. I’ll educate this little one."
A sigh of relief escaped .
"You should be careful, Ancestor. She’s already an Immortal."
He raised an eyebrow, straightening his hunched back.
"Immortal? She must be pretty old then..."
He fixed a piercing gaze on .
"It’s the opposite... You should take precautions, she’s quite... How to say... "
’ I hope she doesn’t just attack the Ancestor.’ I tensed slightly.
"Protective of her ideologies... Anyway, how should this junior address this venerable Ancestor?"
"You were talking to like a dog a mont ago, and now you’re calling venerable... Ahaha! You’re inflexible and shaless. I like you, kid."
He patted my shoulder with a powerful gesture before stepping back.
A silvery Qi enveloped him, vibrating with ancient, untad energy. Before my astonished eyes, his body tamorphosed. His back straightened, his muscles fird, and his figure beca that of a man in his thirties, massive and imposing, standing nearly two ters thirty tall. His long graying beard floated slightly under the aura he emitted.
"I am the fourteenth Ancestor after the White Tiger. Hu Minshen."
I bowed slightly.
"Hu BaiShe greets the Ancestor."
He grimaced, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah, you can stop. Don’t say things you don’t an."
A mischievous smile stretched across my lips.
Minshen turned his head toward the distant horizon.
"Alright, shall we go before it’s too late?"
He snickered.
"I feel like your subordinate, kid."
With a casual gesture, he raised his hand and tried to open a portal. But space trembled before abruptly closing.
Minshen narrowed his eyes.
"Hmm... The Matriarch of this era is very capable..."
He remained pensive for a mont before sketching a sidelong smile.
"Very well. If she wants to seal space, then we’ll use another thod."
Without warning, he contracted space with a single step.
The world around us shifted.
One mont we were in his smoke-filled pavilion. The next, we were thousands of kiloters away.
I felt dizzy as my body brutally adapted to this traversal. The power he had just demonstrated left speechless.
It wasn’t every day you saw an Immortal in action.
"And it would be best if you stayed in the domain. Things might get dangerous."
I nodded. Either way, I needed to ditate.
"Alright, let’s go discipline this brat..."
*End of POV*
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