The poorest member of the Imperial Guard, the Empress begged me to embezzle.

"As expected of Brother Ye, I couldn't hide it from you..."

Chu Xiu said helplessly, "There is a strange Heavenly Dao will on her, which seems to be related to life force."

Ye Wujiang nodded: "No wonder..."

"You can keep this relic. I'll take this fellow to see my old friend."

After saying this, Ye Wujiang left with the unconscious Zen practitioner.

Chu Xiu returned to the restaurant and saw An Tu lying on the ground, severely injured and dejected, while his mother-in-law was patiently comforting and advising him.

Upon seeing Chu Xiu's return, Antu struggled to his feet and whispered, "My benefactor... I've disappointed you. The relic legacy left by my master rejected me..."

Chu Xiu sighed: "I already know about this. I don't blame you; it's just that you're unlucky..."

He took out the Zen Meditation Knife Technique manual that he had previously given away but which had eventually returned to him from his storage space and tossed it to Antu.

"Although you are not destined to inherit the skills, you don't need to be discouraged. This sword technique should be suitable for you to study."

Antu took the sword technique manual that Chu Xiu tossed to him, and after flipping through it, his eyes lit up with joy. The quality of this sword technique was even higher than some of the techniques his master had taught him.

"Thank you so much, my benefactor!"

"Okay, you go and heal your wounds first. I need to start preparing medicine to heal your sister."

"Yes!"

Chu Xiu wasn't a professional physician, but he was still a Great Perfection Realm cultivator.

He had previously suffered extremely serious internal and external injuries from magical battles, all of which he recovered from through his own efforts.

Therefore, even though Sister Antu's injuries were very serious, she was still a person without any magical power, and all her injuries, big and small, were exposed under Chu Xiu's divine sense.

Chu Xiu only needed to use his magic to refine the mild medicinal herbs he had purchased into a pure medicinal liquid, mix them thoroughly, and then help him digest the liquid.

After finishing all this, Chu Xiu checked Antu's injuries again to make sure nothing was missed before ending the treatment.

The old woman, who had been watching for a long time, rushed forward, grabbed the clothes scattered on the ground, and dressed her adopted daughter.

Chu Xiu was somewhat embarrassed upon seeing this. Removing the clothes for treatment was indeed a necessary step, but he had been careless and hadn't asked the old woman for help. Instead, he used his magic to remove the girl's clothes in an instant.

Fortunately, I didn't show any unusual expression when I was treating his wounds, otherwise, based on that alone, I would have been labeled a pervert...

The old woman was puzzled when she saw the person who had been her adopted son and daughter's benefactor suddenly remove her adopted daughter's clothes in an instant, but she chose not to make a sound.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her benefactor's eyes held no other emotion than the earnest and cautious focus on treating her daughter.

That being said, if their daughter could be chosen by such a powerful immortal, she wouldn't have to continue suffering in this cannibalistic Demon Zen Kingdom.

The old woman felt a pang of regret, her eyes filled with heartache for her daughter who was covered in wounds.

My health was already weak from years of hard work, and this ordeal will likely leave me with lasting health problems...

The thoughts of a mortal are naturally not hidden from Chu Xiu, who is a high-level cultivator.

He said gently, "Mother-in-law, there's no need to worry. Since I'm personally treating your daughter's injuries, I won't let her suffer any aftereffects."

The old woman was overjoyed upon hearing this and nodded repeatedly in gratitude: "Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Immortal Master!"

"Alas, speaking of which, my children have also suffered a lot..."

"He was abandoned outside the city when he was still an infant by his heartless biological parents. If his wife hadn't gone out to chop wood and happened to find him, he would have been carried away and eaten by jackals that very night!"

"Tell me, what kind of parents in the world are so heartless as to travel all the way from the distant Wood Demon Kingdom to abandon their children here? Isn't this a clear indication that even if their children were to survive, they wouldn't let them go back to find their families?!"

"This old woman is so angry!"

Hearing the old woman's angry words, Chu Xiu raised an eyebrow and asked:

"How did Grandma know that the brother and sister came from the Wood Demon Kingdom?"

The old woman took out a blue jade pendant from her bosom, engraved with the image of a lush, giant tree, and handed it to Chu Xiu to look at:

“Immortal Master, look, the pattern engraved on this jade pendant is none other than the legendary sacred tree of the Wood Demon Kingdom.”

"Even if this old woman doesn't understand anything, she has lived for sixty or seventy years and has seen many other demons and heard a lot of rumors."

"Originally, I returned the jade pendant to the two children after they grew up, but Anlan was afraid of losing it, so he asked me to continue to keep it for him."

Upon holding the jade pendant, Chu Xiu immediately felt its smooth and warm texture.

This jade pendant is no ordinary object; it appears plain and unremarkable, yet it contains a vital energy that those below the Qiankun realm cannot sense.

Wearing it on your body can protect you from disasters and illnesses, and prolong your life.

Despite being from the lowest rungs of the Demon Zen Kingdom, this old woman painstakingly raised her two adopted sons and daughters to be so outstanding and graceful, without suffering from any mortal illnesses caused by hard work. This was probably due to her carrying the jade pendant on her body all the time.

Chu Xiu pondered, glancing at An Tu, who was recuperating and healing his injuries.

Antu had previously stated that he was not born with a talent for cultivation, but rather that his spiritual root was discovered by his master one day, who then explored his potential and led him to embark on the path of cultivation.

This can be confirmed to some extent; his talent for cultivation came from the activation of the life force inside the jade pendant that was exactly the same as Chu Xiu's.

His sister, An Lan, did not choose to keep the jade pendant in her own hands, but instead placed it on her adoptive mother, which, by a twist of fate, has kept her adoptive mother healthy and free from illness to this day.

"But if we infer this, how do we explain the origin of the life force emanating from her body..."

"Was it something they were born with, or something they acquired by chance?"

While treating An Lan's injuries, Chu Xiu took the opportunity to examine all of An Lan's memories since she gained intelligence, but found nothing unusual.

This child, however, developed cognitive abilities at a very young age.

When they were still infants, abandoned and completely hidden in the bushes, they knew to cry out when they heard someone passing by, which is how the old woman discovered them. Otherwise...

"Before he was even a year old, he had already developed intelligence... he could almost be considered to have innate intelligence."

Chu Xiu looked curiously at An Lan, whose beautiful face was slightly furrowed as if she were in pain from her injuries.

"Could she... be the reincarnation of some powerful being from the Wood Demon Kingdom?"

"But if that's the case, why have they chosen to remain at the bottom of the Demon Zen Kingdom's society for over a decade, constantly being controlled by others?"

Just then, An Lan, whose injuries had gradually stabilized, let out a soft moan and slowly opened her pair of emerald green eyes.

Upon seeing his adoptive mother, his eyes first lit up with joy.

But when she saw Chu Xiu sitting to the side drinking tea, her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and the joy in her eyes quickly turned into caution.

Chu Xiu had been observing An Lan's performance closely, and he noticed every subtle change in her expression.

"This girl is definitely not an ordinary person..."