Mengfei and Daoyi both agreed to Tianyi's proposal. Tianyi also thought of including Xi Ri in the expedition. Normally, disciples under the Core Formation Realm were not allowed to leave the sect, but that was only on the condition that they were not accompanying an Elder. This was why Tianyi was able to leave for the Fleeting Mist Sect with Elder Shan over ten years ago.
But Xi Ri replied to Tianyi with, "Senior Brother, I am still busy with matters my master has assigned me with. I'm afraid I will not be able to accompany you, Senior Sister Jiang, and Grand Elder Xi."
As a disciple of an Elder from Assignment Hall, it was reasonable for Xi Ri to be burden with many matters. But Tianyi got a slight impression of unwillingness within Xi Ri. In the end, Tianyi didn't bring it up and only left the matter lie.
But the matter kept bugging Tianyi even as he left the sect on his mother's immortal boat. Normally, a human would be nostalgic for their home that they left. The only exception would be because if the person had a negative experience at their homes, such as child neglect or even abuse. But Xi Ri was the most favored child of the Xi Dynasty's Emperor, Tianyi's Emperor-Uncle. Logically, as the one with the highest potential, Xi Ri should've been pampered and honored, second only to the emperor. So Tianyi didn't understand why Xi Ri would be unwilling to return.
This matter gave Tianyi's suspicions more credibility. Part of the reason Tianyi decided to take a detour to the Xi Dynasty was for Daoyi's matter and the blood relationship between him and the Emperor. But even if Daoyi did not come with him, Tianyi still planned to drop by in order to ask questions about Xi Ri.
Along the way, Tianyi could sense the heavy mood that Daoyi clad herself in. It was practically screaming, "don't talk to me." So Tianyi didn't. In lieu of the awkward atmosphere around Daoyi, Tianyi spent time trying to deepen the bond between mother and if only for the fact that it would be slightly less awkward on him. Tianyi and Mengfei weren't totally avoiding Daoyi because of her spider-shaped Dreamsilk Weaver Beast. Its threatening gestures did not play a part in Tianyi's decisions, not at all...
Now that Tianyi thought about it, all of his excursions from the Buzhou Immortal Sect never lasted more than a year or two at most. In fact, he never actually left to temper himself outside. The sudden realization came as a shock to Tianyi. But thinking clearly, it was also reasonable. Disciples mainly descended from the sect in order to break through the bottleneck that plagued them.
Tianyi wasn't sure he actually wanted to have a long adventure. What was so fun about continually putting yourself in danger? He would rather tour the Huang Realm and taste all the local delicacies. Although, it was impossible with his current predicament.
The Xi Dynasty as a whole didn't know of the group's arrival. It wasn't like Mengfei came every year to the nation either, so most ordinary mortals thought of Mengfei's arrival as a rare occurrence that only happened maybe once a decade. But that didn't mean that the Xi Emperor wasn't aware of the future visitation. It would have been disrespectful for Mengfei to show unannounced in front of her Emperor-Brother. Although the difference in status between the two would have made all disrespect from Mengfei acceptable in others' eyes, Mengfei still sent an early notice in respect to the two's relationship.
The Xi Emperor tapped his fingers on his desk within the jade study as he waited for his younger sister's arrival. Really that younger sister of his, she only sent a message saying that she would be visiting without any reason behind the visit. Instead, she wrote a whole essay praising her son endlessly. The content seemed to be filled with words praising Tianyi, but at the same time, when you think back onto it, you would realize that nothing worthwhile or concrete had been written.
The Xi Emperor smiled helplessly. His younger sister seemed to have grown yet regressed at the same time.
When he first heard the news that his younger sister had a son, elation wasn't the first thing within the Xi Emperor's mind but shock. That sister of his who had the full range emotions of a wooden block was actually capable of conceiving a child with a man!?
The Xi Emperor had actually thought that his sister had walked out trauma from her early years. He had even prepared a speech to lay down some ground rules on his future brother-in-law. With their imperial father dead, it was now his duty to make sure that Mengfei's future companion wasn't a trickster or liar. That's why the Xi Emperor was even more baffled when he heard that Mengfei left Tianyi's father in the lower realm they met.
Forgetting the fact that Tianyi's father was a cultivator who hadn't even achieved immortality, the Xi Emperor never expected that Tianyi's conception was a complete accident. When he asked his younger sister, she replied, "It was merely an unfortunate accident that led to the incident. As the event was not his fault, I did not do anything to him and left the Venerable with life. I returned to the Huang Realm and only later discovered the life in my womb."
There were so many problems with that statement that the Xi Emperor didn't even know where to begin. He was broken out of his thoughts by his personal eunuch reporting his Mengfei's arrival. The Xi Emperor quickly moved out of the jade study to meet his sister. For the past hundred years, aside from the predetermined days, Mengfei had never visited the Xi Dynasty before. So a hint of excitement was budding in the Xi Emperor's chest as he guessed the reason for the sudden visit.
"Emperor-Brother," Mengfei said as she greeted him, her appearance more mature than he remembered.
"Emperor-Uncle," As usual, Tianyi's eyes were strikingly similar to his mother's, only with his unique flair due to the difference in personality.
"Your majesty," Jiang Daoyi curtsied. The Xi Emperor almost couldn't recognize the current Daoyi. The face was the same, but the way she held herself and the way of dressing had utterly changed. If you told him that Daoyi had a twin sister and that the twin sister was the one in front of him, the Xi Emperor would have fully believed it.
Furthermore, with the Xi Emperor's observation, he could easily discern Daoyi's Core Formation cultivation base since she wasn't purposely hiding it. He smiled ruefully to himself. How long had it taken him to advance from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Core Formation Realm? Comparing himself to others would only lead to him questioning life. Since Daoyi had entered the early-Core Formation Realm, then Tianyi should not be in any way slower than this junior sister of his. The Xi Emperor observed Tianyi with greater attention. He frowned.
The first time he had laid eyes on Tianyi, he was still only a Foundation Establishment Disciple. Although young, it was only natural for his younger sister's son to be this outstanding in the Xi Emperor's eyes. What caught his eyes, even more, was those pair of phoenix eyes so similar to his mother's. But now, standing before him, Tianyi exuded a sense of inexplicable distance. It wasn't an emotional distance, but a physical one like how the full moon seemed to be within reach as long as one stretches his hands towards it but always just out of reach. But even more shocking was...
"N-Nascent S-Soul Realm!?" The Xi Emperor's voice was tainted with disbelief despite the evidence right in front of his eyes. The Xi Emperor would have expected Tianyi to reach the Core Formation Realm in less than ten years, but he never expected this. Forget comparing his progress to Daoyi's. It was even more heart-rending to compare his progress to Tianyi.
The Xi Emperor knew that his younger sister would support her son without end, using all sorts of priceless treasures. But the speed of Tianyi's advancement still shocked him. This wasn't a realm you could achieve with just resources. The Xi Emperor also knew this since he had been supported with the best resources, and it still took him hundreds of years before he reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
Living a dog's life, the Xi Emperor felt like he finally understood the purest essence of that proverb.
Tianyi smiled, a hint of vanity revealed at the Xi Emperor's exclamation. Daoyi giggled as she saw through how hard Tianyi was trying to maintain his neutral expression. It wasn't just the Xi Emperor that was shocked, but those who heard his stuttered words as well. Tianyi preened under the gazes of envy, admiration, and hate.
After reigning in his shock and returning to his ever peaceful state of mind, the Xi Emperor congratulated his nephew and Daoyi. If they did not die before reaching their full potential, then these two would be juggernauts compared to his little Xi Dynasty. He had already maintained a familial relationship with Tianyi, and he wanted to tighten his relationship with Daoyi.
He hadn't forgotten how he had summoned Daoyi into the palace years ago with the intent of making her his nephew's concubine. Although, because of this, she was able to become Mengfei's disciple, a sparrow ascending to a phoenix, the Xi Emperor didn't discount the possibility of Daoyi harboring a grudge. A human's heart was a difficult thing to fathom. Even if he could not maintain a positive relationship with Daoyi, the least he could do was prevent her from developing a grudge against him. But as long as the Xi Emperor didn't do anything foolish, based on his relationship with Daoyi's master and senior brother, she would let bygones be bygones.
Since Mengfei's appearance wasn't announced and knowing of her penchant for avoiding noisy affairs, the banquet welcoming her and Tianyi and Daoyi was more of a family meal. The Emperor only brought his empress, favored sons, daughters, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law.
Compared to the banquet of Tianyi's memories years ago, although it was less grand, but the separation between the two sides was even more vast. Aside from the Xi Emperor, the rest of the imperial family treated Mengfei, Tianyi, and Daoyi cautiously as if the slightest displeasure could spell their deaths.
Daoyi just went along with it, having not experienced the treatment years ago. But Tianyi felt a distinct difference. But soon, he felt as if he understood. The current him was a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, not the little Foundation Establishment Disciple all those years ago. Tianyi could sit equally with the Xi Emperor even without his mother backing him now, and because he was of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, his position was even higher than the Xi Emperor.
Tianyi didn't have much time to ponder about this situation since another conundrum reared its head to him.
"Mother, do you remember older cousins' names?"
That's right, Tianyi's terminal problem had reared its head once more. What did you expect? For him to remember these non-important people in his life? Hell, if he hadn't interacted with Xi Ri so much, he would have forgotten Xi Ri's name as well!
"No. I just call them virtuous nephew and niece. I don't need to remember their names."
Tianyi was speechless at his mother's self-righteous attitude toward the matter. He could only imitate her and call them older cousin without mentioning their names. But Tianyi's savior soon came in the form of Daoyi. Despite not being of the imperial family or related to them, she was the one out of three that memorized all the imperial family members present.
Tianyi tried not to dwell on how that reflected on him.
But there was an important matter that Tianyi wanted to bring forward. So when the matter of Xi Ri was brought up, he smiled towards his Emperor-Uncle and said. "Emperor-Uncle, Older Cousin Ri is currently favored by an Earth Immortal Elder of the Assignment Hall, so he is too busy with affairs to make this trip, unfortunately. He has switched to a more arcane cultivation method, so he is still in the Foundation Establishment Realm, but that should change soon."
"Good, good, good!" The Xi Emperor smiled happily and downed the wine in his cup.
Tianyi felt that he was truly happy about Xi Ri's progress. He looked towards his other cousins. He could see some envy and jealousy, but nothing as overt as hatred, so he didn't think the reason Xi Ri's unwillingness to return originated from his siblings.
"What was Older Cousin Ri like as a child? I ask him, but he said it was nothing special."
"Ri'er, ah. He's always been humble, always trying to downplay his talent." The Xi Emperor said in an almost dissatisfied tone. "Since young, he has always been a quick learner. He even started speaking at one-year-old!"
The more Tianyi heard, the more it confirmed his suspicion concerning Xi Ri. A one-year-old already developing a sense of self and morality shouldn't be possible. Of course, there was a really such a heaven-defying genius baby. Hell, Xi Ri actually started to cultivate at three years of age and could have reached greater heights, but the Xi Emperor stopped him since he wanted Xi Ri to be chosen as a disciple of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Even more, the Xi Emperor's next words caught his attention even more.
"Why, if I didn't know that all souls drink Granny Meng's soup of forgetfulness, I'd think he was a reincarnated Immortal!"
Tianyi's body slightly stiffened before returning to normal. "Why couldn't Elder Cousin Ri be a reincarnated Immortal? Does everyone who dies drink the soup of forgetfulness?" He spared a glance at Elder Meng, who stood next to Su Bojing behind him. Her sense of presence was so low that even he forgot that she was there sometimes. He couldn't help but recall how Elder Meng asked him to call her Granny Meng the first time they met. But Elder Meng was a Unity Venerable, a vast gulf compared to the Divinity of the Nai He Bridge.
It wasn't the Xi Emperor who replied, but his mother. "Granny Meng is the custodian of Nai He Bridge. All the souls of beings who have died within the Huang Realm and lower realms will drink the soup of forgetfulness before reincarnating with none of their memories or six desires and seven emotions."
"Then is it possible for a soul to not drink the soup of forgetfulness?" Tianyi asked, greatly curious as it also concerned him.
"It is possible. Outsiders who reincarnate into Three Thousand Immortal Realms System will have a chance of not forgetting their past lives." Mengfei said, shocking Tianyi.
He knew that there existed other universes besides the cultivations realms, but this also made it even clearer that Earth was not among the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. His search had just gotten far more difficult.