Chapter 985 Mengmeng’s Stubbornness
“Really? Is there such a thing?” Zhang Guangyou was dazed. He drank a little too much, so his cheeks were red. He shook his head to somber up and carefully felt his Elixir Field. After a while, he stretched out his hand and made a gesture. “Mine is this big.”
“What?” Zhang Mu was stunned. With a helplessly look on his face, he scorned, “Have you had too much to drink? You’re gesturing that you have an eight-inch dantian. If it’s the case, when you reach the Elixir Realm, you would have a seven-inch Elixir. You think you can become a Kunlun senior with your poor talent?”
“Um, well… Brother Mu, my dantian is almost the same as Guangyou’s, only a little bit smaller.” Dong Chen also gesticulated.
“You’re drunk, too, aren’t you?” Zhang Mu whacked his forehead. “You both think you have an eight-inch dantian. Who are you kidding?”
“Brother Mu, the key is that mine is about the same.” The Third Elder shook his head and asked, “What’s your dantian? Oh no, I mean, what size is your Elixir?”
“My Elixir is six-inch.” Zhang Mu sighed. “Nan Feng’s is seven-inch. He is in favor of the Wind Snow Temple and has access to a lot of resources. You people must have made wrong gestures, haven’t you?”
“No, mine is really a bit larger than yours.” Mu Xue also stretched out her hand and gesticulated. “Sir, my master is the demon king. The Cultivation Methods he gave us have been improving our bodies in all kinds of aspects. It’s no surprise that we all have an eight-inch dantian. After some more cultivation, I bet I can show you a nine-inch dantian.”
“How could you think it’s so simple?”
“Did I drink too much?”
Zhang Mu looked up at the sky in confusion.
“This doesn’t seem right!”
Seeing that Zhang Mu began to doubt his outlook of life, Dong Chen burst out laughing.
“You now look as stupefied as I was when I first learned about Han’s power. Brother Mu, our Cultivation Methods were all taught by Han, which are absolutely fierce.”
“What?”
Only then did Zhang Mu come to his senses. “All your Cultivation Methods were taught by him? Show me yours.”
“Swoos.h.!.+”
The Four Symbols Sea surged. The sound of flowing water could be heard, which seemed to come from Dong Chen’s body. What was even more absurd was that there were indistinct cries of four animals, which were the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise.
“This…”
Zhang Mu quickly reached out his right hand and placed it on Dong Chen’s body to feel his dantian for three seconds. His pupils instantly contracted.
“Holy cow! What the heck is this?
“There is no way to probe his dantian, but I can feel the immense energy in it. That’s to say, he does have an eight-inch dantian… and they all do!”
He was now too excited to sit still.
“Han, what size is your Elixir?” Zhang Mu asked in haste.
“Are you sure you want me to show you by gestures?” Zhang Han said, a strange look revealing from his eyes.
“Mine is ten-inch! I’m afraid that you wouldn’t believe me even if I gesticulated!”
Zhang Mu’s eyes suddenly turned evasive, and he quickly dropped this subject.
After thinking for two seconds, he got up and said, “Guangyou, Han, come with me.”
“Swoos.h.!.+”
Then, Zhang Mu prepared to fly into the air, however… he jumped 10 meters high and then was pulled back onto the ground by gravity.
Looking astonished, he asked, “No-fly Zone?”
“The No-fly Zone is cast by the Star Formation of the Five Elements,” Zhang Guangyou explained with a proud look on his face. “Dad, you only have a six-inch Elixir, while mine will be at least seven inches. Alas, my talent is not poor at all. Tut, tut, let’s go to the cliff.”
Looking at Zhang Guangyou’s smug face, Zhang Mu had an impulse to kick him away.
“Well, calm down. He is my son. I haven’t seen him for more than 10 years. Phew…”
While trying to hold back that urge, Zhang Mu slowly headed toward the back mountain with Zhang Guangyou and Zhang Han and then entered the thick woods.
“There are too many people there. But some things still need to be discussed in private.” Zhang Mu shook his head slightly and inquired, “What on earth is going on? You seem to have some secrets. Where did Han get so many Cultivation Methods?”
“I’d better let him answer this one himself.” Zhang Guangyou looked at Zhang Han.
“When I got the Thunder Yang Tree, I also obtained Han Yang Immortal’s memory of his 500 years’ cultivation. The martial arts heritage is mighty,” Zhang Han answered tersely.
“Pfft…” Zhang Mu was startled. “What did you say?”
“Relax. Calm down.” Zhang Guangyou laughed. “That’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“He cultivated for 500 years? He gotta be a Yuan Ying at, am I right? Could it be the martial arts heritage of a senior in the Kunlun Immortal World?” Zhang Mu muttered to himself.
“He was not from the Kunlun Immortal World but the vast cosmos, the real Cultivation World. He was not a weak Yuan Ying either.”
Zhang Guangyou said proudly, “Have you heard of pa.s.sing tribulation?”
“Pa.s.sing tribulation?” Zhang Mu shook his head. “Never heard of it. The strongest realm one can reach in the Kunlun Immortal World is the Yuan Ying Realm. No one ever talks about what realms there are above that. Maybe only when you reach the Yuan Ying Realm can you know that kind of secret.”
“Hahaha.” Zhang Guangyou laughed wildly. “The Kunlun Immortal World is really ignorant. Son, come on, enlighten him.”
The corner of Zhang Han’s mouth trembled.
Amused, he began, “The cultivation process is divided into several phases, namely the Qi Refining Stage, the Building Base, the Innateness, the Elixir, the Yuan Ying, the G.o.d Transformation, the Shadow Refining, the Integration, the Mastery, and the Tribulation. Except for pa.s.sing tribulation, each of the phases is composed of the Early Stage, the Middle Stage, the Last Stage, and the Peak. Pa.s.sing tribulation has nine tiers. At the ninth tier of pa.s.sing tribulation, if one can comprehend the Way, one will have a chance to step on the path of immortality and ascend to the Holy World.”
“The Yuan Ying, the G.o.d Transformation, the Shadow Refining, the Integration, the Mastery, and pa.s.sing tribulation with nine tiers. There are so many phases?” Hearing his, Zhang Mu’s scalp went a little numb.
“In the vast cosmos, tens of thousands of clans compete for glory. There are all kinds of cultivators. The Kunlun Immortal World is just a speck of dust. For example, the Sea Dragon Star Area that is the nearest to us is so vast that for some cultivators, their entire lifetime isn’t enough to allow them to explore every part of that Star Area. In the Sea Dragon Star Area, cultivators at the Elixir Realm can only be regarded as moderately strong ones. Those in the Yuan Ying Real are top-notch cultivators. And if one is in the G.o.d Transformation Realm, he or she will be sitting on the top of the pyramid.”
Zhang Han chuckled before continuing.
“Grandpa, you may ask how come those in the Elixir Realm are just moderately strong in the Sea Dragon Star Area. Let me explain. The Earth is not as simple as you thought. Its real name is the Saint Warrior Planet, a naturally-formed treasured place. It is hidden in the Sea Dragon Star Area, and no one can spot it unless we go out by ourselves. But the road leading to the outside is still not clear. In the vast Cultivation World, the Sea Dragon Star Area is just the size of a county.”
“It’s that big?” The muscles on Zhang Mu’s face quivered continuously.
It could be seen from his expression that his outlook of the world had collapsed again.
“Wait!”
Zhang Mu’s countenance changed. “You said that you have inherited the martial arts heritage of a predecessor at the ninth tier of pa.s.sing tribulation, didn’t you? That predecessor was regarded as a top cultivator even in that Cultivation World?”
“Yes,” Zhang Han replied.
“Oh…” Zhang Mu was dumbfounded. He stood there in a daze for a long time before he asked, “Then how big is your dantian?”
“It’s nothing. About this big.” Zhang Han casually made a gesture.
“What?”
Zhang Mu was at a loss. “Do it again. I didn’t see it clearly.”
“Forget it. I don’t want you to have a heart attack. Let’s go back.”
“No, no, show me again.”
“…”
An hour later.
The three of them came back, but Zhang Mu’s expression was quite phenomenal, as though he had really drunk too much.
“Shall we… we set off tomorrow?” Zhang Mu looked at Zhang Han and asked.
He finally knew why Zhang Han was the backbone.
“Tomorrow night works better for me,” Zhang Han thought for a moment and suggested.
During the day, he had to strengthen the formation and accompany Mengmeng and Zi Yan. The little girl would certainly insist on going with him. That would give him a headache.
When it was past five o’clock in the morning, everyone went back to rest.
At 10 o’clock the next morning, Zhang Han received three drops of blood essence from the Patriarch of the Ross Clan.
The delivery guy was s.h.i.+vering with fear when he came to Zhang Han. He also said a few words and introduced the other Patriarchs to Zhang Han. His words also implied that if the next time Zhang Han still chose to extort help from the Patriarch of the Ross Clan, the latter would rather die than surrender.
At this, Zhang Han smiled but didn’t say anything in reply.
Carrying all kinds of treasures, he went to the Thunder Yang Tree.
“I’m going to strengthen the Heaven-earth Formation.”
Mengmeng, Zi Yan, Zhang Mu, and others all ran over to watch the fun.
The strengthening process turned out to be gorgeous and colorful. All kinds of lights emerged. Zhang Han integrated the blood essence provided by the Patriarch of the Ross Clan into the Sky-suppressing Stone. With the help of the Thunder Yang treasures, the formation was once more enhanced.
Now, even if those at the Elixir Realm Middle-Stage couldn’t break the formation. Although the enhancement could only last for seven days, Zhang Han reckoned that it would be long enough.
“First Elder, I’ll leave the formation to you for the next few days,” Zhang Han said to the First Elder.
“As long as I’m here, Mount New Moon is secured from any invaders!” the First Elder a.s.sured him with pa.s.sion.
“Daddy, where are you going then?”
Mengmeng had keenly sensed her father’s tone. “Is he going out again?”
“I and your Great-Grandpa are going to the Kunlun Immortal World. We’ll come back in less than a week.” Zhang Han caressed Mengmeng’s little head with a smile.
“Yes.” Zhang Mu nodded. “I and your father have something to attend to in the Kunlun Immortal World. We can get it done in six or seven days if we’re quick.”
“Oh, okay. So, we can come back in six or seven days, right? Then I’ll have to take a three-day leave from school,” Mengmeng said tentatively.
She then carefully studied Zhang Han’s expression and found that he looked a little helpless.
“Sure enough, he doesn’t want to take me with him. Hmph!”
“Mengmeng,” Zhang Guangyou said beamingly, “you really can’t go with us this time. You should stay at home and do chivalrous deeds with your Aunty Xue.”
“No, I want to be with Daddy,” Mengmeng replied stubbornly.
All of a sudden, all the people around fixed their eyes on Mengmeng, not knowing what to say.
“Just stay and play with me, okay? If your father still doesn’t take you to the Kunlun Immortal World the next time, I promise I will take you there, okay?” Mu Xue also tried to persuade her.
“Be a good girl.” Zi Yan’s face turned stern.
The faint smile Mengmeng had forced on her face immediately disappeared. She pursed her lips in a grievance, but her big s.h.i.+ning eyes were still fixed on Zhang Han. The intense expectation in her eyes was evident.
“How should I refuse her?”
Zhang Han did not know how to say no to Mengmeng at all. At this time, he was really troubled.
After hesitating for two seconds, he sighed and said, “The term will soon start…”
“I can still get the first place even if I take several days off,” Mengmeng countered.
“But there are people in the Kunlun Immortal World who are more powerful than me,” Zhang Han added.
“That can’t scare me.” Mengmeng was still resolute.
“Don’t pester your father, Mengmeng!” Zi Yan’s voice had an edge to it.
But Mengmeng was still looking at Zhang Han.
“Next time, next time, I’ll definitely take you there, okay?” Zhang Han didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He bent over to comfort Mengmeng, but the little girl spun around and ran away.
“She wouldn’t cry for this, would she?”
Zhang Han watched the little girl’s back disappear at the gate of the castle, feeling deeply worried.
For a moment, silence fell in the field.
“My great-granddaughter is very clingy,” Zhang Mu rumpled his hair and said. “But this trip will be fraught with perils. Not only Mengmeng but others can’t go with us.”
“Go and coax her. Mengmeng is still a little girl, and she will get over this in a while.” Zhang Guangyou patted Zhang Han on the shoulder.
“Sure.”
Thus, Zhang Han and Zi Yan prepared to go back to the castle.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
Just then, Mengmeng’s figure appeared on the balcony on the third floor. She directly jumped to the ground and sprinted toward them.
“Daddy, I’m going with you.”
“The little girl is really stubborn. But she was not like this when I visited other places before,” Zhang Han thought with bewilderment.
Now, Mengmeng had put on a cap and brought her school bag with her.
“You can’t go!”
Zi Yan knitted her brows and said, “You’ll give your father more trouble if you go there, understand?”
“I won’t make trouble.”
Mengmeng pressed her lips together more tightly as if she was about to cry. She pulled her right hand from behind and unfolded her palm.
That movement was the same as it was when she was still in kindergarten. A little red flower was lying in her hand. This was the first time that Mengmeng had wanted to exchange her little red flowers for something.
In an aggrieved voice, she asked, “Daddy, can I use a little red flower on this?”
“Alas.”
Zhang Han bent down slightly and said, “Why do you have to go with me this time?”
Zi Yan was also a little angry. This trip was no joking matter. But just as she wanted to say something, Mengmeng’s answer made her heart contract vehemently.
“Because, because it’s very dangerous there. I want to be with you, in peace or in danger.”
‘Rumble!”
Hearing Mengmeng’s slightly tearful voice, Zhang Han felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
The people around all looked astonished and moved.
No one spoke again. Even those who wanted to say something swallowed the words back.
Mengmeng’s pure love for her father seemed to have touched the whole world.
She was not making a pretense of crying as she did last time. Now, she really felt like shedding tears.
The rims of Zhang Han’s eyes were slightly red. He was moved and helpless. He held Mengmeng in his arms, gently patted her on the back, and said softly, “All right, all right, don’t cry. I promise you. I’ll take you with me wherever I go.”
Zhang Han thought that Mengmeng would immediately be in a good mood again. Perhaps she would start to giggle and happily chant that she was going on an adventure.
But to his surprise…
Mengmeng burst into tears, looking very sad.
“One of my little red flowers is gone…”
The little red flowers seemed to be Mengmeng’s obsession. Those flowers meant the world to her. In the past few years, the little blackboard displaying the little red flowers had always been in Mengmeng’s bedroom. And Mengmeng cleaned it every few days.
This scene made Zi Yan stand rooted to the spot. Her mind was blank. She was clueless about what to say.
“Yes, that’s what I want, too. How could I not want to be with Zhang Han?
“Now we live together, we shall die together as well.”
Suddenly, Zi Yan understood why Mengmeng was being so stubborn. Although Mengmeng only had the Qi Strength, she also had a lot of defensive treasures and could make some moves. But Zi Yan herself was just an ordinary woman. She would be a bigger burden on them if she also tagged along, wouldn’t she?
“I can’t go! I can’t!
“But I really want to go, too.
“Why, why can’t I cultivate?
“Why?”
Mu Xue, who was standing on the side, couldn’t bear it anymore.
She said, “I heard that for the Christmas holiday, the First Middle School has given the students two weeks off on end. That is to say, Mengmeng still has nine days to go before the term starts.”
In fact, it was only a one-week holiday. But as long as Mu Xue wanted, she could make it a two-week holiday with just a phone call.
“Besides, the place you’re going to is just the humble Kunlun Immortal World. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Mu Xue felt kind of heartbroken the moment she heard Mengmeng cry.
Hearing Mu Xue’s words, the cultivators who had followed Zhang Mu here also put on a helpless look on their faces.
“Since when have people referred to the Kunlun Immortal World as ‘just the humble Kunlun Immortal World’?”
“All right, all right, don’t cry anymore,” Zhang Han said in a hurry, “Who said you must spend a little red flower on this? I’m taking you to see the Kunlun Immortal World. That won’t cost any little red flower. Sweetie, don’t grab the flower too tightly. If you damage it, you will really lose one.”
“Well, okay, I won’t grab it too tightly,” Mengmeng sobbed. Then, she said, “Mummy, I’m going with Daddy.”
“Go ahead. You have my permission.” Zi Yan sighed. A trace of bitterness surfaced in her eyes. “I’ll be at home waiting for you, waiting for you to come back safely.”
“Mummy is the best. I love you, Mummy. I love you, Daddy.”
“Hahaha.” Seeing that everyone was kind of blue, Zhang Guangyou laughed out loud and said, “It’s good that you can go. Granddaughter, don’t cry. Look at Dahei and Little Hei. They are scandalized after they saw you cry.”
Hearing this, Mengmeng turned round to have a look.
Dahei, Little Hei, and Tiny Tot were standing under the Thunder Yang Tree.
The hair on Dahei’s body had all stood on end as if it had been struck by lightning. With a dumbfounded look on its face, it was scratching its head.
Little Hei also felt crestfallen. It was lying on its belly on the ground, trying to look pitiful.
Tiny Tot wanted to blend in. Its hair had stood on end while it lay on the ground.
Seeing this, Mengmeng’s tears gave way to smiles.
“Haha, Dahei looks so cute.”
As soon as Mengmeng smiled, the field immediately livened up.
This was the magic power of the Little Princess.