Chapter 481 Master, wash your neck and wait for me

Li Qianmei suddenly stood up, and the withered begonia petal in her arms fell to the ground, swept by a draft, it spun on the bluestone slab and finally stopped at Daoist Lan Meng's boot.

Her eyes, usually soft, were now like ice, staring directly at her father, and her voice trembled with coldness: "Stop? Father, do you think it's still not too late to stop now?"

Li Qianmei took a step forward, firmly shielding Lin Qingxuan, who had just run to her side, behind her. The small child, frightened by his mother's tense aura, timidly clutched her clothes, yet was sensible enough not to make a sound.

Li Qianmei's gaze swept over the begonia tree in the courtyard, whose petals had long fallen, then over the bamboo chair under the veranda where she had sat for four years, and finally returned to Daoist Lan Meng's face, which was filled with solemnity and authority.

"From the moment you locked me in this square courtyard, from the moment you waved your sleeve and erased Lin Che's name, from the moment you said Xuan'er shouldn't acknowledge his father, I had no intention of turning back."

Daoist Lan Meng's face instantly turned ashen, and his spiritual power involuntarily overflowed, causing the lanterns under the veranda to sway gently.

"Do you know what you're saying! Xuan'er is only three years old, and his Nascent Soul stage cultivation is already too conspicuous. If you let him step into the cultivation world again, once the Sect Leader and his group find out, he won't even have a chance to live past tomorrow!"

"A chance?"

Li Qianmei suddenly let out a desolate laugh, tears streaming down her cheeks, splashing onto the back of her hand that was protecting her child.

"Father, is the 'chance' you speak of to make Xuan'er a useless person trapped in a courtyard for his entire life? He is Lin Che's child, a born cultivator. By what right do you decide for him whether or not to walk the path of cultivation?"

Li Qianmei's voice suddenly rose, carrying four years of pent-up grievance and anger, erupting in the courtyard.

"You always say that Lin Che's defiance of the Sect Leader was wrong, that he would bring about great chaos in the world. But have you ever calmly considered whether the Ancient Five Reverends are truly always right?"

Daoist Lan Meng's pupils contracted, and he interrupted her sharply: "Impudent! The Ancient Five Reverends have guarded the Cave World for hundreds of thousands of years; how dare you criticize them!"

"Criticize?"

Li Qianmei shook her head, approaching step by step, her voice still indifferent as she said: "They cling to ancient rules that haven't changed for a thousand years, tolerating no dissent, tolerating no one who might threaten their position."

"Brother Lin Che merely wanted to walk his own path, merely unwilling to submit to their suppression, and he became the enemy you say deserves to have his soul scattered. But the path of this world can never be secured by blocking others' ways!"

Li Qianmei looked down at the ignorant Lin Qingxuan behind her, reached out and gently stroked the child's head. Her voice softened a few shades, yet still carried an undeniable firmness.

"Xuan'er asked me yesterday, 'Mother, why can other children's fathers fly kites with them, but where is my father?' How do you expect me to answer? To say his father is a bad person? To say we must hide from him, hide from the entire cultivation world?"

Daoist Lan Meng's breathing gradually quickened. He looked at the unfamiliar expression in his daughter's eyes, at her posture protecting the child like a fledgling, and a sudden panic surged in his heart.

"Father," Li Qianmei's voice finally calmed down, yet it made people's hearts clench more tightly than her earlier roar, "Actually, we both know that the fault has never been with the Ancient Five Reverends, nor with Brother Lin Che."

Daoist Lan Meng angrily said: "Then Lin Che, who didn't cherish himself, openly provoked the Ancient Five Reverends, and killed Daoist Master Miaoyin, is that still my fault?"

Li Qianmei paused, her gaze falling on Daoist Lan Meng's tightly clenched fists.

Those hands had countless times gently stroked the top of her head, had lifted her when she fell as a child, but now, they had become the shackles that locked her in a cage.

"You are not wrong, none of you are wrong, the fault is ours."

These five words were light as air, yet they struck Daoist Lan Meng's heart like a heavy hammer. For a moment, he didn't know what to say, only able to watch his daughter turn away with a face full of desolation.

Daoist Lan Meng frowned and said, "What are you going to do?"

"Father, I'm sorry, I've had enough of this life. Xuan'er is my son, I cannot let him stay here any longer. From now on, I will not return."

Li Qianmei embraced Lin Qingxuan's body and walked towards the direction outside the courtyard with a look of disappointment, her voice indifferent: "Father, none of you are wrong… The fault is with this world, the fault is with the deception and intrigue of this world."

"Father, take care."

Watching Li Qianmei's disconsolate figure, Daoist Lan Meng trembled all over. The words on his lips were about to be spoken but then held back, and in the end, he could only withdraw his raised right hand, but his heart was filled with disappointment towards his daughter.

Just as Daoist Lan Meng was about to say something, the Sect Leader's voice suddenly came from the jade slip at his waist.

"Daoist Lan Meng, that brat Lin Che has already arrived outside the realm. It seems he is prepared to fight us to the death."

"If you still consider yourself one of the Ancient Five Reverends, then come personally and join us three in killing that brat Lin Che."

Daoist Lan Meng looked at the jade slip in his hand, then directly crushed it, his eyes red as he said: "Sect Leader, you beast!"

…At this moment, outside the realm, Lin Che was riding the Blood Fiend Azure Dragon, speeding towards the distant direction. The surging energy continuously spread outwards like a raging tide, and wherever it passed, the surrounding void blossomed and changed.

"Is this the energy of the Sky Profound realm? It is indeed formidable."

Feeling the change in his body's energy, Lin Che nodded with satisfaction, then clenched his fist. His cultivation had already reached the mid-Sky Profound stage.

Even in the early Sky Profound stage, Lin Che wasn't afraid of those guys, let alone now that he had reached the mid-Sky Profound stage, he didn't even put those old fogies in his eyes.

"Master, judging by our current speed, it won't be long before we reach the cultivation star domain where the Sect Leader is located."

The Blood Fiend Azure Dragon raised its head, looked at Lin Che sitting on its back, and gently reminded him.

Lin Che nodded: "I'm afraid our location has already been exposed, but that's fine. We'll just deal with these guys ahead of time to avoid unnecessary trouble."

Now it seems, only the Sect Leader is a threat; the other Ancient Five Reverends are merely ants. Even Daoist Lan Meng is not in his eyes at this moment.

Unless all of them break through to the Sky Calamity realm, otherwise, only one outcome awaits them: their demise.

Lin Che slowly stood up, one hand behind his back, gazing at the star-filled space, and said indifferently: "Sect Leader, wash your neck and wait for this Venerable One."

"I just don't know where that guy Lian Daofei ran off to. I haven't even thanked him in person for bringing him to the Rain Immortal Realm."