Chapter 2: The First Unruly Descendant
After thinking for a while, Ying Tong couldn’t recall his name—there were simply too many unruly descendants.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
The young man was momentarily stunned, but he remained calm about the fact that Ying Tong didn’t know his name. After all, Ying Tong had always been known for being detached from worldly affairs, focusing solely on her cultivation. Except for necessary outings, she spent almost all her time cultivating.
Moreover, during his previous visits, Ying Tong had never asked for his name, always adopting an attitude of, “Say what you need to and be quick about it.” It hadn’t felt appropriate for him to introduce himself.
Now that Ying Tong had suddenly asked his name, he wasn’t offended at all. On the contrary, he felt honored.
“Junior Ying Xuan,” he answered.
Ying Tong nodded casually. “Ying Xuan, you’re getting engaged tomorrow, right? I’ll be there.”
As soon as she spoke, Ying Xuan’s face lit up with excitement, and he lifted his head. “Many thanks to Venerable Yunhuang!”
In truth, before coming, he hadn’t held much hope. Even when the head of the family asked, Venerable Yunhuang was rarely persuaded to attend anything.
Especially now, with her upcoming ascension, Ying Xuan had even discussed with his father and the head of the family that Venerable Yunhuang was about to ascend. He had come mostly to try his luck, never expecting that he’d succeed.
The thought of having a Deity Transformation stage cultivator—especially one about to ascend—attend his engagement banquet made Ying Xuan’s smile stretch wide.
He could already imagine how happy Xiaoya, his fiancée, would be when she found out.
Thinking of his fiancée, Ying Xuan couldn’t help but smile with happiness.
However, what he thought was a smile of happiness looked to Ying Tong like pure foolishness, almost comically so.
‘Your fiancée is planning to cheat on you, and here you are daydreaming about a blissful life together,’ Ying Tong thought.
At his age, he should be focusing on cultivation, but instead, he’s obsessed with romance. Can love fill your stomach?
Ying Tong began recalling everything she knew about Ying Xuan.
At his engagement banquet, Ying Xuan had the misfortune of being humiliated. Not only was his fiancée stolen from him in front of everyone, but he was suddenly turned into the third wheel in what was clearly a budding romance. To make matters worse, the man who had stolen his fiancée even taunted him.
Determined to win back her love, Ying Xuan challenged the man. But during the fight, his beloved fiancée betrayed him, stabbing him in the back, literally and figuratively, causing him to lose the duel and fall into a state of inner turmoil.
And that wasn’t the worst of it. The Ying family was one of the most powerful clans in the Cangqiong Realm, known for producing a staggering number of unworthy descendants. Over the years, Ying Xuan, this foolish boy, had spoiled his fiancée endlessly. Anything she wanted, she got—resources for cultivation delivered to her the very next day.
But all those resources had gone straight to her secret lover, the very man she would eventually marry. Neither of them felt even a shred of gratitude for Ying Xuan’s sacrifices.
When Ying Xuan finally learned the truth, he was consumed by hatred, the intensity of which matched his previous love. In his despair and rage, he embraced dark arts, seeking power through forbidden cultivation techniques, and went on a murderous rampage, slaughtering both mortals and fellow cultivators alike. He became a feared demonic cultivator, terrorizing the region, until eventually he was killed by none other than his former fiancée and her lover.
By the time these events unfolded, Ying Tong had already ascended to the heavens, so she remained unaware. Otherwise, she would have dealt with the situation herself, not leaving it to his treacherous fiancée and her lover to clean up the mess.
Of course, her ascension had granted the Ying family a sort of immunity, a “get out of jail free card” for the clan’s misdeeds. Ying Xuan’s actions hadn’t affected the family’s standing in the slightest.
Suddenly, Ying Tong spoke up, breaking the silence. “I’ve heard that over the past few years, you’ve been supplying your fiancée with cultivation resources?”
Ying Xuan was visibly surprised. Wasn’t Venerable Yunhuang supposed to be detached from worldly matters? How could she know about something so trivial?
If Ying Tong had been able to read his thoughts, she would have slapped him across the face.
Trivial?
Do you even realize how many cultivation resources you’ve squandered?
In truth, Ying Xuan’s fiancée and her entire family had been living off him.
To those around him, Ying Xuan was nothing more than a golden goose, always laying eggs without needing to be fed.
“Yes, that’s right. Xiao Ya has hit a bottleneck in her cultivation and needs a lot of resources. As her fiancé, it’s my duty to help,” Ying Xuan said, scratching his head with a silly smile on his face.
Ying Tong found the scene difficult to watch. What kind of bottleneck lasts for years? She still hasn’t even built her foundation? And with the amount of resources he’s been sending her, she could’ve cultivated two or three Golden Core cultivators by now. Sure, the Ying family is wealthy, but not so rich that they could afford this kind of waste.
Ying Tong contemplated how to handle this situation. Since the other party was looking to break off the engagement, the first step would be to reclaim all the resources Ying Xuan had given her. Those resources were meant for his fiancée, not for some ungrateful traitor.
The real issue, however, was this boy.
In her dream, Ying Xuan’s descent into darkness was entirely caused by his fiancée’s betrayal. Even so, that fiancée still held considerable influence over him. It was like dealing with a dog accustomed to groveling—whether the love turned into hate didn’t matter; the habit of submission wouldn’t change easily.
In the end, he was even killed because, when faced with his former love, he couldn’t bring himself to strike her down. Just because he couldn’t let go of the past didn’t mean others would be as sentimental.
Looking at Ying Xuan’s silly smile, it was clear he was deeply entangled in his feelings, unable to extricate himself. Intervening forcefully could backfire. Young people tend to rebel; the more you forbid something, the more determined they become to pursue it.
Ying Tong thought about all this with a serious expression, unaware that she wasn’t much older than Ying Xuan herself.
“The engagement banquet is tomorrow, right? I’ll attend. You can leave now,” she said.
Ying Tong wasted no time in ushering Ying Xuan out.
“Junior takes his leave,” Ying Xuan said respectfully, bowing before turning to leave. He was eager to share the news with Xiaoya.
Once he was gone, Ying Tong made her way to her storage chamber. This room housed the many treasures and divine artifacts she had collected over the years. Originally, she had planned to leave them to the Ying family, as they shared her bloodline, and she had benefited from the family’s protection. Now that she was on the brink of ascension, it seemed only natural to give back to her family.
But after what she saw in the dream—her family members using these very gifts to commit atrocities and bringing the karmic consequences down on her—Ying Tong decided to change her plans. Things gained too easily were often taken for granted. The Ying family should learn to earn their way rather than relying on her handouts.
Aside from rare materials and divine treasures, the room contained a vast collection of books. There were not only the Ying family’s own archives but also many ancient texts Ying Tong had gathered from ruins and secret realms over the years, many of which had long been lost to time.
Sifting through this hoard, Ying Tong searched intently until she finally found what she was looking for in an inconspicuous corner. She held a small white tower in her hand, its body as smooth as jade but cold to the touch. Its craftsmanship was intricate, resembling a piece of fine art.
In truth, this tower was a magical artifact she had discovered in one of the secret realms.
“I’ll give this to Ying Xuan as an engagement gift tomorrow,” Ying Tong said with a mysterious smile.
She was certain he would love it.