Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

No matter how he called out, Li Xiuyuan ignored him and just kept eating. After a few times, Chenxiang got a little annoyed, but Xiaoyu stopped him.

“Chenxiang, Master must have his own reasons.”

Chenxiang deflated, no longer uttering a word or calling out to Li Xiuyuan. He simply sat there sulking, and Xiaoyu, sitting beside him, didn't know what to say either, only able to sit quietly with him.

The night is deep.

Li Xiuyuan lay by the campfire, the two people next to him already fast asleep, but he was wide awake.

The image of the man sitting hunched over in the darkness lingered in my mind.

"It's my fault for being incompetent. I couldn't protect her back then, and now I can't protect Chenxiang anymore. Immortal, Chenxiang and she are counting on you."

"I don't know your background, but I trust you just the same way that Chenxiang trusts you. I'm asking you for one last thing: don't tell Chenxiang about my illness."

Liu Yanchang, Liu Yanchang, it's only natural for a son to want to see his father.

Li Xiuyuan accidentally touched a stone above his head and casually threw it, but heard a "thud". "The sound is wrong."

He pulled out a burning piece of firewood and followed the direction the stone had flown, and surprisingly found a turtle the size of two palms next to the stone!

While sleeping, Chenxiang suddenly smelled a special fragrance that filled his entire dream. Half-asleep, he crawled toward the source of the fragrance.

Li Xiuyuan was concentrating on roasting the tortoise shells when he suddenly felt a weight on his leg. He looked down and saw that Chenxiang was lying on his leg, barely alive, muttering, "Master, you've been stealing food again."

Xiaoyu crawled over and lay on Li Xiuyuan's other leg, just like Chenxiang, muttering, "Chenxiang, Master is stealing food again, it smells so good."

Li Xiuyuan resisted the urge to kick them both away. What do you mean, "again"?! Does he really like to steal food?!

This time, Li Xiuyuan really didn't steal any food. The fresh turtle meat was still there, neatly placed on the leaves he had laid out. He was just dutifully performing divination.

After roasting for about an hour, he turned the tortoise shell over and carefully studied the divination results.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Li Xiuyuan's expression changed drastically. After a year apart, Liu Yanchang was on the verge of death!

It seems there's still a strong connection between father and son. No wonder that kid Chenxiang was acting so strangely today.

"Liu Chenxiang! Wake up!" Li Xiuyuan kicked the drowsy Chenxiang awake, furious.

Chenxiang suddenly woke up, her breathing uneven, and it took her a while to calm down. Even Xiaoyu was startled awake by Li Xiuyuan, and before she knew it, the fox tail had popped out again.

"What's wrong, Master? My uncle's here?"

Li Xiuyuan calmed himself down and said, "Just now, I cast a divination for your father."

All the unease of the past few days gathered at this moment. Chen Xiang held her breath and trembled slightly, afraid that Li Xiuyuan would say something bad.

Li Xiuyuan remained silent for a long while before finally speaking, "Chenxiang, your father... he's leaving soon..."

“Actually, when we left home to make our way in the world, he was already seriously ill. He was afraid that you would be distracted, so he specifically asked me to keep it from you. Chenxiang, you... don't blame your father.”

For over a decade, they had depended on each other for survival. Suddenly, Chenxiang remembered her father sitting at the table making lanterns, remembering how he had repeatedly forgiven her willfulness, his calloused hands, and how he had stayed up late by lamplight to sew clothes and socks for her…

“Agarwood…” Xiaoyu couldn’t bear it.

Chen Xiang looked terrifying, his face flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead, and fists clenched tightly. Just when Mo Tianwen thought he was about to explode, he calmed down.

"Master, let's go home now!"

He had barely finished speaking when he got up and ran, his speed comparable to flying through the clouds.

Li Xiuyuan and Xiaoyu chased after them relentlessly for three days and three nights without taking a break. Li Xiuyuan, being a natural genius, could withstand the pressure, but Xiaoyu couldn't. She collapsed outside Liujia Village, revealing her true form.

Li Xiuyuan didn't care about anything else. He picked up the fox and chased after it towards the lantern shop. When he got to the door, he saw several old lanterns that had faded. The door was open, so it must be Chenxiang.

The shop hadn't been maintained for a long time; choking dust filled the air, and it was dark and gloomy. Everywhere was dilapidated and worn out by the years. Whether it was things or people, they would not survive without maintenance.

Li Xiuyuan, afraid of frightening Old Man Liu, placed Xiaoyu, who had revealed her true form, in the shade under the courtyard wall. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds and was a desolate and dilapidated place.

"father!"

A heart-wrenching sound came from Old Man Liu's room. Li Xiuyuan ran away and ran into the room to find Chen Xiang kneeling by the bed, tears streaming down her face, holding Liu Yanchang's weak hand.

Li Xiuyuan rushed over, checked Liu Yanchang's pulse, took a breath, and said, "Don't rush to call out, your father is still alive."

"But Dad... he's not moving at all. I call him, but he doesn't hear me. I shake him, but he won't wake up..."

"He must have fainted. I'll prescribe some medicine, go and get it. It might not save his life, but it will wake him up."

Suddenly, Chenxiang knelt down and kowtowed three times to Li Xiuyuan, pleading, "Master, please save my father! I beg you, don't you have magic that can change the laws of life? Please save my father!"

Chen Xiang's head was bleeding from the banging, and Li Xiuyuan felt the pain in his heart, but he had to harden his heart and scold him: "Do you remember what I said when I taught you this spell?"

Chenxiang recalled what Li Xiuyuan had said under the scorching sun.

No life can exist indefinitely; all things are born and die, and this is the correct order.

Chapter 1170 The Passing of Liu's Father

"But······"

"No buts, lifespan is predetermined, it can't be changed, and it shouldn't be changed!"

Chenxiang just sat beside Liu Yanchang, silently weeping. It wasn't until Li Xiuyuan and Xiaoyu finished brewing the medicine and gave it to Liu Yanchang that he seemed to come back to life and showed signs of waking up.

"Father? How are you?" Chenxiang grasped Liu Yanchang's hand.

Liu Yanchang vaguely woke up and saw Chenxiang's face. His thin, bony face suddenly broke into a smile. "Is that Chenxiang? Chenxiang is back."

"father······"

"It's grown taller, darker, and stronger."

“Our Chenxiang has grown into a big boy, he’s all grown up now, why is he still crying? Stop crying.”

“Chenxiang, in your father’s cupboard, there’s your favorite osmanthus cake. You’re just like your mother, you love to eat this.”

"Dad still remembers when you were little, you passed by a pastry shop and you were such a tiny little thing, you were making a fuss and asking to eat some."

"Chenxiang, where is your mother? I miss her so much, and I miss you too."

"Dad, Mom will be coming to see you soon. Our family will be reunited soon. When that happens, I want you both to hold my hand, and no one is allowed to let go."

"Yes, we're family...we'll never be separated again..."

Li Xiuyuan stood at the door, her back pressed tightly against the doorpost. Beside her, Xiaoyu squatted on the ground, covering her mouth tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. She was also thinking of her family.

Li Xiuyuan listened to the sounds inside the room; it was Chenxiang who was talking.

“Dad, once, my master, Xiaoyu, and I took shelter from the rain in a cave. Guess what? There was a huge tiger sleeping in the cave, as big as... half the size of our shop. We were so scared that none of us dared to make a sound. Even after we ran away, the tiger still hadn't woken up.”

"Dad, you haven't met Xiaoyu yet. She's the most beautiful and adorable girl in the world. I'm sure you'll like her."

"Dad, do you know? Master loves to steal food. Every night, he sneaks up while we're asleep to find something to eat, and he thinks we don't know."

"Dad, when you get better, let's go find Mom together, okay?"

"Okay, everything Chenxiang said is good, everything is good."

Liu Yanchang grinned, took Chenxiang's hand in his own, his eyes filled with tears, "Chenxiang, there's something I've been keeping from you. Actually, you look just like your mother."

The night fog was thick, and finally there was no sound in the house. Mo Tianwen looked up at the moon, which was white and bright, hanging in the sky like a silver plate.

Xiaoyu had stopped crying and was just squatting on the ground, burying her face in her arms, not wanting to utter a sound.

What a quiet night, what a cold night.

Chenxiang knelt before Liu Yanchang's sickbed for a long time, unwilling to get up. Li Xiuyuan knew that he was in great grief at the moment, so she had no choice but to let him go.

Today is the day of Liu's father's burial, but Li Xiuyuan has not seen Chenxiang since this morning. Logically speaking, he should have gotten up very early today.

Li Xiuyuan sighed as he looked at Chen Xiang's tightly closed door. "Sigh, he's probably too heartbroken and didn't sleep last night. Oh well, I'll just go and wake him up in a bit."

After a while, it was almost time to offer incense, but Chenxiang still hadn't come. Li Xiuyuan was getting anxious. "Could something have happened?" So, he immediately went to Chenxiang's room and pushed open the door.

As soon as Li Xiuyuan entered the room, he heard Chenxiang's murmured voice: "Mother, where are you? When will you come back? I miss you so much. Father is gone, and I'm all alone now. Father said you were still alive and that you would come back, but I haven't seen you yet. Mother, I, I really miss you so much..."

Li Xiuyuan immediately went over, took a look, and felt that he was probably sick. He touched his head and felt that it was very hot. Li Xiuyuan muttered to himself, "How could this happen? He suddenly got sick. He was fine yesterday!"

Finally, he guessed that it might be because today was the anniversary of his father's death, and he was too sad last night, which led to depression and then his blood pressure spiked. Now he had a slight fever, and his mind was filled with thoughts of his deepest self, his mother.

He immediately helped Chenxiang sit up, leaning him against the pillows. Then he went out, soaked a cloth in hot water, applied it to his head, covered him with a blanket, and touched his head. It was still burning hot, and he was still muttering to himself.

Li Xiuyuan had no choice but to feed him one of the pills she used for cultivation.

But it didn't work; Li Xiuyuan knew that it was only a temporary solution. After much thought, he realized that the one who tied the knot must untie it, and a heart ailment needs a heart remedy.

He decided to go to Mount Hua to find the Third Holy Mother.

However, the Holy Mother of the Third Princess is located in the center of Mount Hua, in a place that is sealed away. How can a living person like him find her?

You should know that if you force your way in, not only will you get hurt, but the Heavenly Court will also find out, and then things will get complicated.

Although he didn't take the people of Heaven seriously, it was still a troublesome matter.

Li Xiuyuan began to recall some methods he had seen in the system before.

"As Zhuangzi said, the seal is the seal of the body, mind and spirit of the one being sealed. If an outsider can enter in spirit or physical form, he will not be able to touch the seal."

Li Xiuyuan recalled a sentence he had read in a book, and immediately thought of entering with his primordial spirit. The primordial spirit is also a spiritual body, not a physical one. Moreover, once inside, he could manifest a spiritual form, allowing the Third Holy Mother to see him.

Without further ado, Li Xiuyuan's primordial spirit was already much stronger than that of ordinary people, so it was best to leave this situation to him.

He sat cross-legged on the spot, and soon his primordial spirit left his body.

Li Xiuyuan was still somewhat worried about Chenxiang, so after his primordial spirit left his body, he first went to Chenxiang's house and then checked on his condition.

He approached Chenxiang, who was still muttering to himself and whose fever hadn't completely subsided. Although he gave him his own medicine, the effect was not obvious.