Chapter 263 - 192: Death of a Genius, Rout of the Demon Beasts

The contents of the Divination left Li Chang’an utterly perplexed.

’How could the daughter of a mighty Nascent Soul expert possibly be wandering the Mortal Realm?’

He frowned slightly, pondering for a long time.

Something like that was almost impossible.

’Could it be that the expert doesn’t care about their own child at all?’

But the Divination indicated it was auspicious.

This meant...

...that taking in the girl would be beneficial to Li Chang’an.

’Could it be that the Nascent Soul Old Monster is unable to protect their child for some reason? Trapped deep within a Secret Realm, for example?’

Li Chang’an mused, running through all sorts of possibilities in his mind.

He was well aware that if he handled this matter well, he might have a chance to earn a favor from a Nascent Soul expert!

...

「The next day.」

Li Chang’an descended the mountain and entered a Mortal Realm.

His expression was solemn as he traveled between mortal villages, county towns, and prefectural cities, searching for the Nascent Soul’s daughter mentioned in the Divination.

Before long, he paused, stopping in a relatively bustling prefectural city.

His gaze was profound, landing on a small, filthy girl.

’Traces of the Immortal Dao!’

The reason Li Chang’an had stopped was precisely because he had detected a trace of the Immortal Dao on the little girl.

Clearly, she had once lived in the Cultivation Immortality Realm.

Later, for some unknown reason, she had ended up adrift in the mortal world, becoming a vagrant.

At this moment, she was frail and her clothes were in tatters. She was struggling to drag the corpse of a young boy, leaving a long trail of blood on the ground.

Behind her, at the entrance of a tavern, a brutish-looking middle-aged man was cursing loudly.

"That little bastard dared to steal from my tavern! Serves him right for getting beaten to death!"

"And you, little brat! If you dare come back, you’ll be beaten to death too!"

Hearing the harsh, sharp curses, the little girl trembled slightly. She said nothing, keeping her head down as she struggled to drag the corpse away.

After a long while, she laboriously dragged the body into a corner, fumbled in the corpse’s clothes to pull out a blood-stained steamed bun, and squatted in the corner, silently gnawing on it as tears streamed from her eyes.

Li Chang’an stood quietly in the crowd, like a phantom. No one noticed him at all.

From the chatter of the people around him, he learned the identities of the little girl and the boy.

They were a pair of siblings who had arrived in the prefectural city at some unknown time and had been wandering this area for a long while.

Today, the boy had snuck into the tavern’s kitchen to steal a steamed bun but was discovered and beaten to death by the tavern staff.

His body was carelessly tossed out onto the street.

Li Chang’an looked at the boy’s corpse and sighed inwardly.

’A genius with an Earth Spirit Root, beaten to death in the Mortal Realm over a single steamed bun.’

He secretly used the Spirit Testing Technique to check the Spiritual Roots of the two siblings.

To his surprise, he found that they both possessed an Earth Spirit Root!

In a Major Sect like the Cyan Cloud Sect, someone with an Earth Spirit Root was a guaranteed Golden Core Seed and would be treasured and nurtured by the entire Sect.

But now, a Celestial Pride with an Earth Spirit Root had fallen over a steamed bun.

’A genius who hasn’t had the chance to grow is no different from an ant, in the end.’

Li Chang’an shook his head silently.

This little girl before him must be the Nascent Soul’s daughter mentioned in the Divination.

Her real age was ten, but due to chronic malnutrition, she looked so frail that she appeared to be only five or six.

Just then, a kitchen maid in a gray cloth apron suddenly ran out of the tavern.

She looked nervous as she came up to the little girl and secretly gave her some leftovers.

"Here, eat up. You poor child."

"Thank you, miss."

The little girl’s eyes were red as she wolfed down the leftovers, tears streaming down her face.

"If only my brother could have eaten this..."

A flash of pity and helplessness crossed the kitchen maid’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but sigh.

"Sigh... Later, find a place to bury your brother. I’ll try to find a good family for you."

"Let her come with me."

Li Chang’an appeared and said calmly.

The kitchen maid sized him up, noticing his extraordinary bearing and fair skin. She figured he must be the young master of a wealthy family.

If the little girl could go with him, she probably wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

"Little one, hurry and thank the young master."

The kitchen maid tugged the little girl’s arm.

The little girl raised her head and looked timidly at Li Chang’an. As if worried about being rejected, she quickly wiped her tears with her small, grimy hands.

"Thank you, young master."

"Mm."

Li Chang’an nodded slightly and secretly sent out a stream of Magical Power to heal the numerous hidden injuries in her body.

The little girl quickly seemed more energetic.

She stood up and thanked the kitchen maid.

"Miss, when I grow up, I will definitely come back and repay you."

"Just focus on growing up well. Don’t worry about repaying me."

The kitchen maid wiped the girl’s small face and earnestly gave her some advice.

Li Chang’an looked at the kitchen maid and asked, "Do you have any wishes?"

"I..."

The kitchen maid was taken aback for a moment.

She hesitated for a bit before voicing her wish.

"Young master, I’m looking for my man. He’s a Martial Artist. A few years ago, he went to participate in a martial arts tournament. He said he’d come back and marry me once he became the best in the world, but he hasn’t returned. I’ve been looking for him ever since."

"Do you have a portrait of him?"

"Yes."

The kitchen maid immediately took out a portrait.

Li Chang’an memorized the portrait, gave her some silver coins, and told her to take the little girl for a good meal.

Then, with a flicker, he vanished on the spot.

Seeing this, the kitchen maid’s eyes widened, and she muttered in shock.

"An... an Immortal..."

...

Li Chang’an had helped the kitchen maid on a whim as well.

He felt it was the right thing to do.

However, to his surprise, he searched the entire Mortal Realm but couldn’t find the person in the portrait.

’How strange!’

Li Chang’an spread out his Divine Sense, sweeping rapidly over region after region, checking so thoroughly that he nearly counted the ants in the ground, yet he still couldn’t find him.