At least he had already informed the other members of his sect to take over his duties of searching for Murong Yanran.
What the Azure Clouds Grandmaster was most afraid of was whether or not Murong Yanran was in already in the hands of Lin Feng. If that was the case, following Lin Feng at least gave him time to come up with a solution.
Lin Feng laughed and said, "If so, let us be on our way." The Black Dragon Jieyu beneath him let loose a long howl as it brought Lin Feng and company back into the air.
The Azure Clouds Grandmaster did not dare to step up. No matter how docile the Jieyu seemed in front of Lin Feng, it was ultimately a Demonic Lord of the dragon tribe and its powers were as strong as his.
He could catch up as he flew alongside the Jieyu in a gust of azure mist. He was patient as he wanted to see what tricks Lin Feng had under his sleeve.
As they were travelling, the Azure Clouds Grandmaster gradually felt that something was wrong. Lin Feng’s destination was, surprisingly, Xiao Yan’s hometown – Wuzhou City.
Xiao Yan peered at the city far away across the horizon and immediately recognized their destination as well. He could feel the warmth of his hometown and he turned towards Lin Feng, "Master?"
Lin Feng smiled faintly and replied, "It has been about three years since you’ve returned to Wuzhou City since joining my sect."
There was a saying that went, not going home to brag about your new riches is comparable to wearing silk clothes in the dark. Basically, it meant that now that one has achieved so much, it was only right to go back to flaunt your achievements and not let it go to waste.
Some people may perceive this way of thinking as shallow, but they could not dispute the fact that everybody fighting for a living elsewhere would want to return home at some point in time.
The allure was even greater if there was someone familiar back home.
Xiao Yan nodded his head lightly and said, "I wanted to tell you that I’m going to return to Wuzhou to visit my family after the battle at Xingyun Peak is over."
"Do you feel the suspense of the upcoming battle?" Lin Feng and Xiao Yan shared a laugh together.
The Jieyu flew over Wuzhou city and sent the citizens of the city into hysteria. The pressure from the arrival of a demonic lord-level demon was undeniably huge, and the cultivator of the highest level was the city mayor and he was only at the Aurous Core stage.
A middle-aged man in distinctly Chinese clothing flew up into the air and met with the people on the Jieyu. He greeted the incomers and probed their identities. "Are all of you from the Celestial Sect of Wonders? I am Li Yuncong, also the city mayor of Wuzhou City and I hereby welcome everyone into my humble city."
Lin Feng did not answer. Xiao Yan leapt down from the Jieyu, treaded on air and arrived in front of Li Yuncong and returned the greeting. "I am Xiao Yan of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. Thank you, Mayor Li."
Li Yuncong peered at Xiao Yan and silently approved of what he saw. "This must be the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ big disciple Xiao Yan. He is indeed a cultivator of the Aurous Core stage. Rumour has it that he can put up a fight against a Nascent Soul stage grandmaster. I wonder if that’s true?"
"Who would have thought that the Xiao Family could produce a character such as this." Li Yuncong was still quietly observing Xiao Yan. Even though he was also an Aurous Core stage cultivator, he could still feel the pressure from the intimidating aura that Xiao Yan emanated.
As for Lin Feng's complete disregard for him, Li Yuncong did not dare to show his displeasure but accepted that it was a natural thing to happen. He looked at Xiao Yan, then at Lin Feng, and released a quiet sigh. "The Celestial Sect of Wonders is indeed mysterious and unpredictable, with their sudden ascension and everything."
Then he turned towards the Azure Clouds Grandmaster. Even though he did not recognize the latter, he could definitely feel the enormous waves of mana coming from him. As his vision shifted to the green clouds beneath the Azure Clouds Grandmaster, he made a guess at his identity. "I wonder which grandmaster from the Sword of Radiance Sect is here?"
The Azure Clouds Grandmaster replied plainly, "I am the Azure Clouds Grandmaster. Thank you for your courtesy, Mayor Li."
Li Yuncong immediately reacted and said, "Ah, it is the Azure Clouds Grandmaster. Welcome, welcome."
Xiao Yan suddenly voiced, "We’re at Wuzhou City today because it was on the way to our real destination. We won’t be staying long."
Li Yuncong nodded and smiled as he ushered his guests onward. "If that’s the case, then I shall stop blabbering. Everyone, please." Li Yuncong definitely had a decent emotional quotient as the leader of the city and left the scene with no further delay.
Xiao Yan was from Wuzhou City and thus needed no other guidance and direction.
Whether it was Lin Feng, the Azure Clouds Grandmaster, the Black Dragon Jieyu or even Xiao Yan, Tun Tun or Xiao Budian, Li Yuncong had no power to stop them even if they wanted to flatten Wuzhou City. He refused to worry himself over something he had no control over.
"It should be okay. The Celestial Sect of Wonders should be happy with the current arrangement." Li Yuncong wiped his sweat and congratulated himself for following through with Prince Chong Yun’s instructions perfectly.
Li Yuncong was congratulating himself on the other side while Xiao Yan was watching his old home. He was a little dazed and he glanced left and right to make sure he did not get his address wrong.
The problem was, the Xiao family house before him was nothing like it was when Xiao Yan left all those years ago. Their estate seemed to have expanded by more than twice its original size.
The brick walls, doors, the pavilions and the courtyards had all been renovated. In fact, the aforementioned items were still undergoing development and expansion. Some of the small buildings and pavilions had foundations that originally belonged to his neighbours.
The entire Xiao family estate was being developed and swallowed much of the nearby land.
The entrance to the mansion was filled with a row of people patiently waiting there. They were the members of the Xiao family who were secretly informed by Li Yuncong, and they all wore bright smiles and exhibited warm dispositions as they all waited to get close to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan frowned at the sight, however. He recognized every single face but they all looked like strangers at this moment.
He reminisced some of his old but not so memorable memories. From what he remembered, he had only seen all these smiling faces when he was only twelve years old.
The Xiao Yan back then had yet to destroy himself over Yan Mingyue and Tun Tun. He was still the star of Wuzhou City and the child prodigy with a reputation all over the eastern regions of the Great Qin Empire.
It was a pity that the big change occurred when he was twelve. His mastery and cultivation regressed overnight and his decadence was of his own volition.
In his memory, from that point onwards, all the smiling faces around him began to disappear and those who remained harboured pitiful and regretful attitudes toward him. There even people that mocked and laughed at him.
Xiao Yan’s eyes grew ever colder.
"Love needs a reason, and hate needs a reason as well," Lin Feng’s words suddenly rang loud in his head. "You are not the Xiao Yan of old and the times have changed. It is normal if the others have changed their attitude towards you."
"Do not let the judgments of others affect your emotional state of mind."
Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned and nodded his head.
"Thank you for your advice, master. I was wrong before."
He turned to look at the audience with renewed attitude and with a far more composed state of mind. Of course, he was not about to feel elated at the sight of the smiling faces of the welcoming party.
Xiao Yan’s own grandfather was the leader of the Xiao Family. When both of Xiao Yan’s parents perished and his powers regressed overnight into nothingness, he was one of the only few who had always cared about him.
He knew that his grandfather had received a lot of pressure from the other elders in the family because he had always doted on Xiao Yan. Even so, his grandfather never complained about it and was always silently taking care of his dear grandson.
When his mastery and skills regressed, the old leader of the Xiao family was one of the only few warm influences left in his life.
Murong Yanran’s rejection of the marriage humiliated his grandfather. The marriage was an arrangement he made together with Murong Yanran’s grandfather.
"Grandfather, I’m back!" Xiao Yan leapt down onto the ground and hurriedly knelt down in front of his grandfather. Ever since his parents perished, his grandfather was the only one that commanded such respect from him other than Lin Feng.
The old leader of the Xiao Family did not have the same elation on his face, however. His face had a look of deep but natural emotion and he gazed into Xiao Yan’s eyes with a look of warmth. He patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and whispered, "My good child, my good child…"
Xiao Yan stood up and a smiling Lin Feng stepped out from behind him.
"Grandfather, this is my master!"
The old leader of the Xiao Family hurriedly greeted Lin Feng. "Hello, leader of the Celestial Sect of Wonders. A great many thanks for talking care of my grandchild!"
Lin Feng smiled faintly and replied, "You don’t have to be so polite. As a teacher, I can only do so much and it’s all up to the disciple and I can’t change decaying wood into a crystal jade. Xiao Yan is a rare prodigy."
Except, his words sounded terribly modest. The youngsters of the Xiao Family all peered at Xiao Yan and Lin Feng and began to fantasize about being one of Lin Feng’s disciples as well and, they too, could reach heights like Xiao Yan did.
Everybody had exchanged their greetings and the impatient Xiao Yan began to tug on his grandfather’s sleeve. "Grandfather, is Zhener not here?"
Of the entire Xiao Family, the only two people that Xiao Yan cared about the most were his grandfather and Xiao Zhener.
The old leader of the Xiao Family heaved a sigh and replied, "You should know that Xiao Zhener was never really from the Xiao Family. Her real biological family came down a year ago to pick her up and took her away from Wuzhou City."
Xiao Yan was greatly disappointed by this piece of news. Anybody could see the despair on his face.
"She left this for you," the old leader of the Xiao Family tapped his grandson’s hand and retrieved a small pouch. "I can tell that she really missed you. She was thinking about hanging around in Wuzhou City to wait for you but seemed to have something else on her mind. Don’t blame her."
Xiao Yan took the silk pouch and pinched on it a few times. He could feel the texture of a paper letter within and his head drooped.
Lin Feng’s gaze swept the estate of the Xiao Mansion and suddenly said, "Old Leader Xiao, the materials you are using to develop and renovate seem a little unusual."
Old Leader Xiao was afraid of his family giving Lin Feng a bad impression because this would affect Xiao Yan negatively and immediately replied, "Many of these materials are indeed relatively exotic and rare. They were all gifts from the crown prince of the Great Qin Empire, Prince Chong Yun. We could not possibly say no."
Lin Feng did not show express any emotion but a faint grin on his face.
The Azure Clouds Grandmaster was a little shocked, however. He scrutinized every inch of the Xiao Mansion and he descended into deep thought.