Protect Our Patriarch

"Thank you for the compliment, Ancestor Xiaoxiao~~" Wang Anye forced a polite smile, "You look very beautiful too."

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The older female relatives in his family and extended family just loved to take advantage of him, always hugging, pinching, or kissing him at every opportunity.

Ah, one really shouldn't be too handsome, or it brings endless trouble.

"This child's sweet mouth is even more charming than his cousin's when he was young." Lu Xiaoxiao's smile was as bright as the sun. She then took out a stack of gold notes from her storage ring and stuffed them into Wang Anye's arms, "Use these to buy some candy later."

Although the Lu Clan of Changning was only a seventh-grade family, its position in the marriage alliance was solid due to being Wang Shouzhe's maternal clan. Over the past few decades, it had become increasingly prosperous.

Currently, the Lu Clan had over twenty Lingtai Realm cultivators, including three promising young Celestial Realm seeds.

Clearly, Lu Xiaoxiao was not satisfied with the Lu Clan remaining a seventh-grade family and aimed to quickly advance to the sixth or even fifth grade, closely following her cousin Wang Shouzhe's footsteps.

Buy candy? With these gold notes, he could buy enough candy to fill a cargo ship and still not finish it in a thousand years.

Wang Anye's face turned slightly red, but he still politely thanked Ancestor Xiaoxiao, despite having so many gold notes in his storage ring—[Endless Abyss]—that even he couldn't count them all.

The elders loved to give him money for no reason, and as a child, he had no way to spend it all. Sometimes, even when he tried to spend some, he ended up with even more money... It was quite a headache.

"Xiaoxiao," Wang Shouzhe interrupted, bringing the conversation back to the main topic, "What is the origin of this formation? Even if we can enter through this vortex, is it safe?"

Wang Shouzhe had studied some formation knowledge, but the field was profoundly deep and required long-term research and accumulation. As the clan leader, he didn't have that much free time.

Wouldn't it be better to spend that time nurturing the younger generation of the clan? Therefore, his understanding of formations was limited to basic knowledge, and he was unfamiliar with more complex and profound aspects.

However, Lu Xiaoxiao often took time to teach basic formation classes at the Wang's Clan School, and over the past few decades, she had discovered a few promising formation masters who were now studying under her.

Other families also had people learning from her to varying degrees.

Within the scope of Changning Garrison, Lu Xiaoxiao was undoubtedly the "top-tier" formation master.

"Cousin Shouzhe," Lu Xiaoxiao smiled sweetly, "Although this isolation formation is formidable, it has been here for a long time. Since Anye has already found a flaw, the next steps are simple."

Then, under Lu Xiaoxiao's manipulation, the vortex passage in the formation was slowly torn open, revealing a clear and visible gap.

"Cousin, you stay outside with Anye to provide support." Since it was a matter of breaking the formation, Lu Xiaoxiao naturally took the lead.

Moreover, the team entering the isolation formation was very strong, including four Celestial Realm cultivators and the formidable Ancestor Long Yan. With Wang Shouzhe providing support from the outside, they could handle even a seventh-rank fierce beast.

Considering Wang Shouzhe's cautious nature and the clan's stable development over the years, they had accumulated plenty of resources and secret weapons to deal with Purple Mansion Realm cultivators or seventh-rank fierce beasts.

Everyone was fully armed, bringing along their most treasured secret weapons accumulated over the years, ensuring their safety.

After they all entered the formation, Wang Shouzhe set up some plant-based formations outside, leaving an extra layer of security. He then smiled and chatted with Wang Anye, "Anye, you're still young. Isn't wearing the Endless Abyss all the time too ostentatious? It might attract thieves, don't you think?"

"Hmm?" Wang Anye widened his eyes, "Great-grandfather, don't worry. I'm a direct descendant of the Wang Clan and an external direct descendant of the Qian Clan. No one in Longzuo Commandery would dare target me, especially with Elder Qian secretly watching over me."

That made sense... Wang Shouzhe felt at a loss for words.

The Endless Abyss was a birthday gift from Qian Xuehan to his great-grandson, bought at a high price. Even though Wang Shouzhe envied it, he couldn't openly ask for it.

He couldn't just tell Wang Anye: "Dear great-grandson, can Grandpa trade an upper-grade storage ring for your supreme-grade Endless Abyss?"

That would be too shameless.

"Great-grandfather wants the Endless Abyss?" Wang Anye rubbed his chin, looking like a rich man, "You should have said so earlier. If you want it, I'll give it to you."

Fortunately, he was smart enough not to say "reward," or he would have been beaten by his father when he got home.

Seeing his great-grandson's filial piety, Wang Shouzhe was quite pleased.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford a supreme-grade storage ring, but such items were not in high demand, and there were very few in stock. Even searching all of Daqian, there were only a few.

With the Wang Clan planning to explore the outer regions, having the person in charge wear an Endless Abyss would greatly reduce the pressure.

Storage rings were essentially portable dimensional spaces that required spiritual sense (mental power) to refine, allowing the spiritual sense to form a continuous resonance mark within the storage space. This enabled seamless access with a single thought.

At any given time, only one storage space could be linked and resonated with the spiritual sense. To switch to another storage ring, one had to first empty the current storage space, erase the previous spiritual sense mark, and then spend some time continuously refining it with spiritual sense to activate the internal storage space.

Those with too weak spiritual sense couldn't even use a storage ring.

Although Wang Anye was young and had not yet opened his Lingtai, his bloodline had already awakened to the second high stage, making his spiritual sense strong enough to handle a storage ring.

In short, a person could only use one storage ring at a time, and it was impossible to wear storage rings on all fingers and toes or carry a box of storage rings to use one after another. Unrefined storage rings had inactive dimensional spaces and couldn't be used as containers.

Due to these limitations, the larger the storage ring's capacity, the more valuable it was.

However, Wang Shouzhe remained slightly reserved about his great-grandson's generosity: "Actually, there's no rush."

"No rush? Then great-grandfather can wait until I get a better one." Wang Anye replied honestly, "Otherwise, it would be troublesome to go through another refining cycle."

Wang Shouzhe's mouth twitched slightly.

Did you take my polite remark seriously? What do you mean by "a better one"? The Endless Abyss is already an extremely rare supreme-grade storage ring, not some common cabbage.

As Wang Shouzhe silently complained, Lu Xiaoxiao's voice came from within the formation: "Cousin Shouzhe, there's no danger inside the formation, but we can't break the formation core. Let Anye give it a try."

Great-grandfather and great-grandson exchanged glances. Lu Xiaoxiao really was treating Wang Anye as a tool. A dignified formation master couldn't break the formation core and was pinning her hopes on a child. If word got out, people would find it absurd.

However, based on Wang Anye's usual miraculous performance, Wang Shouzhe decided to let him try. With everyone watching, nothing serious would happen, and there was no loss if he failed.

Soon, a scene unfolded.

At the formation core, black mist swirled like thick ink, forming a vortex resembling a star.

"Formation Master" Lu Xiaoxiao studied it for a long time but couldn't understand the core's principles, feeling like a cat trying to eat a crab with no way to start.

"Anye, give it a try." Lu Xiaoxiao said expectantly.

"Ancestor Xiaoxiao, how do I break it?" Wang Anye asked, wide-eyed and innocent.

"If I knew how to break it, why would I need you?" Lu Xiaoxiao replied righteously.

I'm just a ten-year-old child who hasn't even graduated from the Clan School...

Wang Anye was speechless and looked to Wang Shouzhe for help.

"Just give it a try," Wang Shouzhe said, "It's okay if you can't break it. No pressure."

Well, let's give it a try then.

Wang Anye looked around, picked up a small stone, and threw it into the formation core. With a "thud," ripples spread, but nothing happened.

Wang Shouzhe's face darkened.

I said to try, but you threw a stone? Do you think this is child's play?

When you're just trying to make great content at pawread.com .

However, despite his inner complaints, he didn't stop Wang Anye. Based on past experience, others' guidance or suggestions often backfired. Letting Wang Anye do things his way had the highest chance of success.

A group of adults watched Wang Anye with expectant eyes.

Then, Wang Anye picked up a larger stone and threw it... still no reaction.

Finally, Wang Anye struggled to lift a two to three hundred-pound stone, much larger than himself, and was about to throw it into the vortex when the formation core suddenly surged violently.

A hoarse and indignant voice emerged from within: "Young man, this is too much. I tolerated the small stone because you're young. I tolerated the medium stone because you're many. But this big stone... are you trying to kill me?"

At these words, the Celestial Realm cultivators present immediately drew their treasures and quickly surrounded Wang Anye.

"What demon dares to play tricks before us? What is your intention?" Ancestor Xiaohan of the Wang Clan roared, "Do you know we are from the Changning Wang Clan?"

"I was sleeping peacefully here. You disturbed my rest and now want to suppress me? How unreasonable! This is intolerable!" The black mist vortex in the formation core surged, revealing a faint humanoid figure, dancing like a ghost.

"A ghost?" Wang Anye's face turned pale, and he instinctively hid behind Wang Shouzhe, clutching his clothes, "Great-grandfather, didn't you say there are no ghosts in this world?"

There were some ghost stories circulating, even within the family. Although ghost tales were often dismissed as nonsense, the current situation made his young mind immediately think of "ghosts."

"Don't be afraid, Anye." Wang Shouzhe comforted him, patting his head, "This thing looks scary, but it's just a remnant soul from a long time ago. Despite its arrogance, we can easily destroy it."

Wang Shouzhe had encountered similar things before, such as the old ghost Jiang Yuchen, who had been a Divine Realm cultivator but ended up as a remnant soul.

"Hehe~ Boy, you seem knowledgeable." The remnant soul in the formation core was infuriated, "I'd like to see how you plan to destroy..."

Before it could finish, Wang Shouzhe wiped his storage ring and threw out a jade pendant.

Energy surged from the jade pendant, and a remnant soul emerged, resembling Jiang Yuchen. Upon seeing Wang Shouzhe, it trembled and quickly bowed, "Old servant greets the young master."

No wonder Old Ghost Jiang was so terrified. Over the years, he had been "tormented" by the seemingly divine couple, who were actually ruthless and cunning, almost to the point of soul dispersion.

All his knowledge and memories had been thoroughly extracted.

Just when he thought they would destroy his soul after exhausting his knowledge, Wang Shouzhe offered him an irresistible deal.

Faced with the choice between life and death, Jiang Yuchen chose to trust and pledge allegiance to Wang Shouzhe, even if the hope given was slim.

"Old Jiang, greet your kindred spirit." Wang Shouzhe said calmly.

"Ah? There's another remnant soul here?" Jiang Yuchen scanned with his incomplete spiritual sense and understood, "Young master, typically, Divine Realm cultivators can leave behind remnant souls. The earlier the stage, the weaker the soul energy and the lower the chance of leaving a remnant soul. The remnant soul in the formation core is similar in strength to mine, likely a late-stage Divine Realm cultivator."

Late-stage Divine Realm!

Ancestor Mang and Ancestor Xiaohan were both shocked by the presence of Wang Shouzhe's remnant soul servant and the content of his words.

In the entire Great Qian, apart from the current Emperor and the Holy Land's master, there were only a few late-stage Divine Realm cultivators.

And now, there were two remnant souls, both seemingly late-stage Divine Realm.

Only Ancestor Long Yan glanced at Wang Shouzhe and transmitted a message, "Shouzhe, why keep such a cunning old ghost? Either destroy it or hand it over to the academy."

"Rest assured, Ancestor. I have means to suppress it. This old ghost has lived long enough to be quite useful if handled properly." Wang Shouzhe wouldn't keep the old ghost if he wasn't confident in controlling it.

Since Shouzhe had a plan, Ancestor Long Yan was reassured.

Meanwhile, the remnant soul in the formation core fell silent, clearly intimidated by Jiang Yuchen's remnant soul.

"Old Jiang, can you suppress that remnant soul?" Wang Shouzhe asked calmly.

"One-on-one, he has the advantage of the terrain, so it would be difficult. But with our numbers, we can use brute force to break this damaged concealment formation and then easily suppress him." Jiang Yuchen, though specialized in the evil art of the Golden Toad Manual, had lived for over a thousand years and recognized the formation's general nature.

"Stop! I was sleeping peacefully, and now you want to destroy my home and suppress me? How unreasonable! This is intolerable!" The remnant soul in the formation core raged.

Wang Anye, with his pure eyes, seemed a bit sympathetic.

He tugged at Wang Shouzhe's arm, "Great-grandfather, the old man's words make some sense, and he seems pitiful. How about we let it go?"

Ancestor Mang laughed, "Anye, you're kind-hearted. But consider the benefits of breaking this formation. Moreover, our marriage alliance's outer region development will require extensive exploitation of the nearby spiritual veins. We can't afford such a hidden danger."

Wang Anye felt a bit troubled but suddenly brightened, "Old man, can you move? I have money and can ask great-grandfather to build you a big house."

With that, Wang Anye waved his hand, revealing a pile of gold notes, including some valuable purple gold notes.

"My dear Anye is such a good child." Wang Shouzhe patted his great-grandson's head, "Great-grandfather promises that if he agrees to move, I'll build him a big house in a remote mountain. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, we won't harm him."

"Old man, did you hear that? My great-grandfather is the head of the Changning Wang Clan. He always keeps his word, especially to children." Wang Anye said earnestly, "If you agree, I'll help you."

The remnant soul in the formation core pondered for a moment.

After a while, it asked, "Good child, do you know how to use a sword?"

"A sword? I once watched the tides by the sea and spent a stick of incense's time comprehending a sword move—Boundless Sea." Wang Anye replied calmly, without any hint of boasting.

"A stick of incense? Show me." The remnant soul was surprised.

Then, Wang Anye began to pose and practiced the Xuanyuan Sword Technique, eventually demonstrating the Boundless Sea move.

"Good, good, good. Your basic swordsmanship is solid, indicating strict family training." The remnant soul was delighted, "Your sword move, though immature, contains the essence of tidal sword intent, showing great potential in swordsmanship. What is your current bloodline level?"

"Innate upper-grade C-rank, now enhanced to B-rank. Great-grandfather said he'll find a way to elevate me to supreme-grade bloodline when I grow a bit more." Wang Anye answered honestly.

"Blessed by the Immortal Emperor." The remnant soul exclaimed joyfully, "I thought my shattered soul would eventually fade away, but the Immortal Emperor has sent such a precious gem to me."

"Hahaha~~ I, Ji Wuchen, thought my lineage would end with me, but I can still take in a worthy disciple and continue my master's legacy."

"Take a disciple?" Wang Anye was slightly confused.

The vortex in the formation core surged, and an ancient sword shot out, agile like a fish and swift as lightning.

A misty light rose from the sword, quickly forming the image of a white-robed man with a dignified and aloof demeanor.

He looked at Wang Anye with excitement, "Good child, would you like to become my disciple? If you agree, I promise your path to the Divine Realm will be smooth, and you may even glimpse the Lingxu Realm."

"This..." Wang Anye was at a loss and looked to his great-grandfather for help.

Ji Wuchen hurriedly added, "Good child, don't rush to refuse. I have a spiritual storage ring for you, and I am one with this sword. The sword is me, and I am the sword..."

"A spiritual storage ring? Is it better than a supreme-grade storage ring?" Wang Anye's eyes lit up.

"Like heaven and earth! It's a talking storage ring~" Ji Wuchen said proudly, "If you become my disciple, everything I have will be yours."

Such luck... Everyone was envious, including Wang Shouzhe and Jiang Yuchen.

"A talking storage ring? Sounds interesting." Wang Anye happily looked at Wang Shouzhe, "Great-grandfather, I have a new storage ring. You can have the Endless Abyss now."

Want it?

Ancestor Long Yan glanced at Wang Shouzhe, clearly annoyed. How could he be so playful at his age?

"Giggle~ Cousin Shouzhe, you're actually eyeing Anye's Endless Abyss? Shame on you." Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but laugh, "But who wouldn't be envious?"

"Shouzhe is lucky to have such a filial great-grandson."

Everyone teased Wang Shouzhe, laughing.

Even with his thick skin, Wang Shouzhe felt a bit embarrassed.

He secretly glared at Wang Anye.

This kind of thing should be discussed privately between us. How could you say it so openly? Do you not care about my face?

But this kid was amazing. Just mentioning a new storage ring, and he really got one.

Even Wang Shouzhe was envious of his great-grandson's luck.