Invincible Dad-Chapter 749: The Journey is Long and Arduous - Part 1

Chapter 749: Chapter 749: The Journey is Long and Arduous - Part 1

The Heavenly Dao appeared in the sky not far from Haitang Court.

Xu Lai stood up. "Honey, I’m stepping out for a bit. A friend is here."

"Mm," Ruan Tang nodded.

It was his sister-in-law, Ruan Lan, however, who gave Xu Lai an extra glance. After he pushed the door open and left, she muttered, "Going out on a rainy night without an umbrella... Something’s off."

"Just focus on tutoring Yiyi and stop worrying about nonsense," Ruan Tang said, glancing at her sister.

"Sister, let’s follow him and see! On a night like this, with the rain pouring down, why would he meet a friend outside all sneakily instead of bringing them home?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Yiyi nodded her little head repeatedly.

She was so tortured by her math problems that she was starting to question her own existence; a walk outside would be the best thing ever. Of course, she was different from her young aunt; she stood firmly on her dad’s side.

"You two just behave," Ruan Tang said.

"Sigh." Ruan Lan and Yiyi simultaneously sighed in disappointment, the very picture of distressed beauties.

***

「At the foot of Mount Haitang.」

Xu Lai walked leisurely through the pitter-pattering curtain of rain without an umbrella. If one looked closely, however, they would see that not a single raindrop fell on him.

A few steps away stood a little boy in a red bellyband, holding two skewers of candied haws. He was the Heavenly Dao, Sikong Jiu.

The Heavenly Dao very attentively offered a skewer. "Supreme Emperor, have some candied haws. They’re very sweet."

"To offer something for nothing is to be a crook or a thief." Xu Lai accepted the candied haws but didn’t eat them. With a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, he said, "Speak. What do you need from me?"

"Supreme Emperor, your words are so hurtful! Can’t I just come to catch up with you for no reason?" The Heavenly Dao’s little face was filled with sorrow.

"Fine. If you ask me for a favor later, I’ll refine you into a pill."

"...No, no, no!" The Heavenly Dao, Sikong Jiu, was frantic, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. "Supreme Emperor, actually, I really do have a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny little favor to ask!"

"Just how tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny is it?"

"About this big." Sikong Jiu held two fingers about five centimeters apart.

"Let’s hear it. Then I’ll decide if I can eat these candied haws," Xu Lai said.

"Well, it’s actually quite embarrassing to ask..." As soon as the Heavenly Dao spoke, afraid The Supreme Emperor would retort with ’Then don’t,’ he hastily added, "It’s just that I’m a bit short on cash lately and was hoping to borrow some more Spirit Stones."

Borrow Spirit Stones? Are those even Spirit Stones he’s borrowing? Every single one is an invaluable Immortal-grade Spirit Stone! Last time, the Heavenly Dao borrowed one hundred Ten-color Immortal Grade Spirit Stones from me. How many will he ask for this time?

"It’s not much, just three hundred. I don’t need ten-color ones this time; five-colored will be enough," the Heavenly Dao said, a bit bashfully.

Immortal-grade Spirit Stones came in ten colors; the more colors, the more precious they were. Cultivators in the Immortal Venerable Realm used one-color or two-color Immortal-grade Spirit Stones, Quasi-Emperors used three-color or four-color, and those in the Emperor Realm used five- to eight-color. Nine-color and ten-color stones were so extremely precious that even Xu Lai only used them occasionally for alchemy or setting up formations.

Three hundred Five-colored Immortal Spirit Stones were a mere trifle to Xu Lai.

He nodded. "Hm."

"..."

The Heavenly Dao was stunned. The Supreme Emperor had agreed so readily that it made the script he had prepared over several days—full of rolling on the ground and miserable pleas—completely useless!

"The Emperor’s Demise... How much longer until it arrives?" Xu Lai asked calmly, gazing at the curtain of rain that enveloped all of East Sea City.

"I don’t know." The Heavenly Dao, Sikong Jiu, shook his head. "It’s like an ordinary person living their life, unable to predict when they will die. It could be when they’re a child, when they’re twenty, or perhaps after fifty. A small sneeze, a minor cold, a sudden carefree impulse to go for a walk, only to step outside and be..."

The Heavenly Dao’s analogy wasn’t quite right. Xu Lai understood what he meant, however. The arrival of the Emperor’s Demise was beyond anyone’s control or prediction. But that day would surely be one of carnage and bloodshed, with countless dead and injured.

"The road is long and arduous," the Heavenly Dao sighed softly.

"The road is long and arduous, but the destination can be reached by walking," Xu Lai said flatly. "Just like this relentless downpour, it too will eventually stop."

As Xu Lai spoke, the torrential rain over East Sea City gradually subsided, and even the sound of roaring thunder faded away. This wasn’t the work of Xu Lai or Sikong Jiu, but rather that of the cultivator who had successfully passed their Golden Core tribulation.

The dark clouds scattered, allowing specks of brilliant starlight to fall, dispelling the darkness that weighed on the hearts of ordinary people.

The tribulation of the heavens is a hardship every cultivator must face, whereas the Emperor’s Demise was the hardship Xu Lai had to overcome. This world, after all, was now under his protection. Being in his position, Xu Lai had to protect the trillions of inhabitants across the Immortal Domain’s star systems, as well as keep his wife and daughter safe.

"Supreme Emperor, there’s one more small matter." Sikong Jiu rubbed his hands together and asked expectantly, "Those Great Emperor’s Memoirs and diaries that you, ah, *borrowed* from me... have you finished reading them?"

Xu Lai said nothing. He just tilted his head, looking at him with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

The Heavenly Dao instantly lost his nerve, saying repeatedly, "I knew the Supreme Emperor hadn’t finished. Please, take your time. I’m in no rush."

"Mm," Xu Lai replied with a satisfied hum.

The Heavenly Dao, on the other hand, was bleeding internally. Those were all relics left by Emperor-level experts. While they couldn’t unleash any terrifying combat power or be used for dreadful divine skills, the mere association with the word ’Emperor’ made them worthy of being treasured for a lifetime. Not to mention that some of the casual notes and insights within them were priceless, enough to cause a stir throughout the Immortal Domain.

The Supreme Emperor certainly didn’t need the insights and notes of other Emperor Realm experts. What he likely wanted were those short, inconspicuous jottings.

The Heavenly Dao hadn’t truly expected to get the Emperor Realm relics back. He left with the three hundred five-colored spirit stones.

Xu Lai didn’t ask what the Heavenly Dao intended to do with the Spirit Stones, but before leaving, the boy volunteered the information anyway.

"I’m going to create a formation that connects to the Immortal Domain," the youthful voice declared, full of ambition. "I’ll let the Immortal Domain know that far off in the East, there’s a sapphire-blue star called Earth!"

"Which domain? The Eastern, Southern, Western, or Northern?" Xu Lai raised an eyebrow.

I can’t believe the Heavenly Dao is so eager to expose Earth’s cultivators to the Immortal Domain right after reviving its spiritual energy. But I just obscured Earth’s heavenly secrets. For Sikong Jiu to want to expose it now... what is he planning?

The Heavenly Dao’s spirited ambition instantly vanished. He gave a sheepish laugh. "Not one of the Four Immortal Domains. For now, I’ll just connect it to a few other planets in the Solar System..."

Xu Lai curled his lip.

That’s Sikong Jiu for you, as meticulously cautious as ever. Or, to put it another way—a coward.

The Heavenly Dao left.

Xu Lai returned home to find that Yiyi’s tutoring session had ended. The little girl and her dramatic young aunt had both gone to their rooms to rest. Ruan Tang, however, was sitting on the living room sofa, flipping through a fashion magazine while waiting for him.

"You’re back." Hearing the door, Ruan Tang put down her magazine and looked over tenderly.

"Yes." Xu Lai smiled. "I know you like sour things, so I bought you a skewer of candied hawthorns."

Ruan Tang’s heart warmed. She crooked her finger, her face, free of makeup, indescribably captivating and alluring under the light.

"Xu Lai, come here. I have something I want to tell you."