Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 1486 - 1486 0853 Asking to Visit

Chapter 1486: Chapter 0853: Asking to Visit Chapter 1486: Chapter 0853: Asking to Visit Chapter 0853: Requesting a Visit

He had not intended to receive visitors, but when Qi Tian saw a line of characters on the invitation card, he changed his mind. He had someone bring the person holding the invitation to him.

Soon, a middle-aged man accompanied by a young man in his twenties arrived before Qi Tian. Without a word, they knelt before Qi Tian, respectfully speaking, “We pay our respects to the Great Elder.”

Qi Tian sat upright in his chair, with no intention of letting the two rise. Beside him, on a low table, lay the invitation card, unfolded and bearing the most conspicuous line of characters: “Master Xian Yu sends greetings to the Great Elder.”

In the Cultivation World, aside from some baseless and arrogant individuals who dared to call themselves Masters, anyone who was genuinely recognized and addressed as Master had to possess at least the cultivation realm of a Half-step Nascent Soul. Typically, only after reaching the Nascent Soul Stage would one dare to use the title of Master publicly.

The cultivation realms of the two kneeling weren’t low; both were firmly in the Gold Core Stage. The middle-aged man was in the late stage of the Gold Core Realm, surpassing Qi Tian, and the young man in his twenties had already reached the First Level of Gold Core Realm. In other places, to deceive others, they might dare to call themselves Masters. But this was Wanjie City, and even with all the gall, they wouldn’t dare to claim such a title.

Pretending to be confused while knowing full well, Qi Tian said, “I am truly negligent, not knowing which of you two gentlemen is Master Xian Yu. Please inform me, and I will immediately order a feast to be spread with Spiritual Wine, Spirit Fruits, and all sorts of delicacies in your honor.”

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, “Great Elder, you misunderstand. Neither of us is Master Xian Yu; we are merely his direct grandsons. I am Chen Tian, and this is my cousin Chen Huai. We brothers have taken the liberty of using our grandfather’s invitation card to visit the Great Elder out of sheer necessity, and we beg the Great Elder, for our grandfather’s sake, to forgive us.”

Qi Tian did not pursue Chen Tian’s remarks further. Instead, he turned his head to glance at Huang Liuyan standing beside him and said, “Sister Yan, if I remember correctly, our Wanjie City doesn’t seem to have a Master Xian Yu, does it?”

Huang Liuyan replied, “Master Xian Yu is not from our Wanjie City; he’s the ancestor of the Chen family from Sui’an City. He represented Sui’an City in the Fire Cloud Secret Realm Battle and was seriously injured, falling into unconsciousness. It was you who carried him out of the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm.”

With that reminder, Qi Tian immediately recalled who Master Xian Yu was.

Chen Tian quickly said, “Yes, yes, yes, our ancestor was indeed rescued by the Great Elder. If it wasn’t for the Great Elder’s timely intervention, perhaps our ancestor would have perished in the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm. The most important reason for our visit this time is to express gratitude on behalf of over four hundred members of our Chen family to the Great Elder. Please accept our three bows.”

As he spoke, Chen Tian and Chen Huai simultaneously began to kowtow to Qi Tian.

Qi Tian sneered. He hadn’t expected any reward when he had saved Master Xian Yu, but since Chen Tian and Chen Huai had gone out of their way to visit him without bringing anything, appearing with empty hands, that truly lacked sincerity. What was the point of kneeling and kowtowing? He had been cultivated up to this point, and there had been no shortage of people kowtowing to him.

He picked up his teacup, a clear sign of seeing the guests out.

Huang Liuyan said, “The Great Elder has received your gratitude. If there is nothing else, the two of you may leave. Our Great Elder is very busy and has seen you purely because of your ancestor’s name.”

“No, Great Elder, we still have a very important matter,” Chen Tian said as he looked at Chen Huai, and both of them once again prostrated on the ground, touching their foreheads to the floor, and said, “Ever since the Great Elder last showed great compassion by bringing our ancestor out of the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm, our ancestor has been in a coma, his breath growing weaker by the day, possibly passing away at any moment. We have exhausted the wealth of our house, begging far and wide, hoping that someone would come forward to save our ancestor’s life, but no one has been willing to help. In just a few short days, our Chen family has depleted countless assets, yet we see not a glimmer of hope. If this continues, our ancestor, who has protected our family for hundreds of years without complaint, will meet an ignoble end. We cannot bear to see our ancestor meet such a fate, nor can we accept that after our ancestor’s passing, our Chen family will inevitably be devoured alive by others. After much consideration, we remembered your compassion, Great Elder, and we beg you to extend a helping hand once more, to save our ancestor’s life, and rescue our entire family as our house is on the verge of collapse. Our whole family will be eternally grateful, and should the Great Elder have any orders in the future, we will do everything in our power to assist.”

Huang Liuyan glanced at Qi Tian and saw that his face was expressionless. She instantly understood what Qi Tian meant and said, “You’ve come to the wrong person. First of all, the Great Elder is not a pill refinement master, so seeking his help is like asking a tree for fish; you’re praying to the wrong deity. Secondly, the Great Elder is neither kith nor kin to you, and you are from Sui’an City, having no ties to our Wanjie City. Sometimes, you’re even competitors. How could you think that my National Master would rescue your ancestor? You should go to the major powers of Sui’an City and earnestly plead with them. Perhaps you might encounter someone sympathetic to save your ancestor.”

Chen Tian and Chen Huai, the brothers, smiled bitterly together. They had come to Qi Tian for help out of desperation after finding no solutions in Sui’an City, holding onto a slim hope. If Qi Tian was unwilling to help them, then their ancestor had no other outcome but to perish.

Prostrated on the ground, Chen Tian kowtowed several times to Qi Tian, pleading, “Great Elder, I beg you to show compassion and save our ancestor. Last time, you were able to rescue our ancestor from the Fiery Cloud Secret Realm, which shows your merciful nature. Please, carry your goodwill through to the end and grant us a top-ninth grade pill to save our ancestor. Even if it does not fully heal our ancestor, it could stabilize his condition and pull him back from the brink of death. Should the Great Elder be willing to extend a helping hand, we will agree to any conditions you impose.”

Qi Tian still remained silent. He did feel sympathy for Master Xian Yu’s family, but sympathy does not mean he would take action to help. In the Cultivation World, there were countless families even worse off than the Chen family. If Qi Tian were to rescue every one he encountered, he wouldn’t have time for anything else. Moreover, he had no personal ties with the Chen family, and Wanjie City and Sui’an City were in fierce competition. If he saved them, what would the sects in Sui’an City think? Would they believe he was trying to interfere in Sui’an City’s affairs? Wouldn’t that make numerous enemies for him?

For such thankless tasks that could earn him enemies, Qi Tian would certainly not be swayed by mere sympathy.

Seeing that Chen Tian and Chen Huai refused to leave shamelessly, Huang Liuyan’s face darkened, and she said loudly, “Someone, please show these two guests out, and tell the doormen that from now on, anyone from the Chen family of Sui’an City is not to be seen.”

Chen Tian’s complexion changed drastically; he knew that if they were thrown out of the National Master Manor now, their ancestor would have no chance of survival, with only death awaiting him. And once the ancestor fell, the fate of their entire family was clear. Chen Tian quickly reached into his chest and pulled out a Storage Bag, holding it out with both hands, he said, “Great Elder, this is the last treasure of our Chen family. We are willing to offer it to you in exchange for saving our ancestor.”

Huang Liuyan looked at Qi Tian once more and noticed an almost imperceptible nod. She then went forward and took the Storage Bag into her hands, and in front of Qi Tian and the Chen brothers, she took out the contents of the Storage Bag.

Huang Liuyan had expected the Storage Bag to contain many treasures, or at least some fine items, otherwise, how could Chen Tian dare to present it at this time? In a way, it was like a doctor’s fee, and the amount could equate to the value of Master Xian Yu.

But to Huang Liuyan’s utter shock, she only pulled out a jade slip from the Storage Bag, and no matter how she extended her Divine Sense into the bag, there was nothing else to retrieve. In other words, Chen Tian was offering only this single jade slip in exchange for Qi Tian’s lifesaving intervention for their family ancestor.

Huang Liuyan was not greedy for wealth, but such a display still caused her eyes to frost over; this was outright disrespect for Qi Tian. A mere jade slip to exchange for Qi Tian’s assistance? Did it contain some earth-shattering, unparalleled technique?

Huang Liuyan was inches away from throwing the Storage Bag and jade slip back at Chen Tian’s face and pointing them toward the exit, telling them to get out fast. However, at that moment, Qi Tian suddenly reached out and took the jade slip from Huang Liuyan.

From the moment the Chen brothers entered his courtyard, Qi Tian had already scanned all the items they carried, and though the brothers had many treasures, none were enough to move Qi Tian, with the exception of this jade slip inside the Storage Bag, which sparked some interest due to the sensing function of the Heavenly Dao Engine.

Now holding it in his hand, Qi Tian was astounded to find that this seemingly inconspicuous jade slip was anything but ordinary. Holding it in his grasp, he was unable to detect its contents, as the surface of the jade slip was covered with a powerful restriction that sealed it away. Anyone seeking to uncover the contents of the slip would first need to break through this layer of restriction.