My mother is the white moonlight of the cultivation world.

The wind in the valley is just as it was seven years ago.

Hua Yue took a deep breath, her spiritual energy remaining as still as an abyss, not used in the slightest. In her hand, she still held a withered twig that she had casually broken off, as ordinary as could be.

Before her stood a blue stone half her height. For the past few years, she had been keeping company with the stone. At first, the wooden branches only left tiny scratches on the stone.

But today, things are different.

Hua Yue closed her eyes, and the sounds of the world seemed to fade away, leaving only the sound of the wind, the breath of the grass, and the beating of her own heart. She achieved a wondrous resonance with the branch in her hand and with this world.

There were no powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy, nor dazzling sword light.

She simply swung the branch in her hand.

"Whoosh—"

A faint, almost inaudible whooshing sound.

The tip of the branch landed precisely on a single point on the bluestone.

"Click..."

A faint cracking sound was heard.

The next instant, a spiderweb-like crack spread rapidly from the spot where the branch touched the hard bluestone, and finally shattered into pieces of varying sizes with a "crash".

The branch in her hand was completely undamaged.

Hua Yue slowly opened her eyes, looking at the broken stones on the ground. The pent-up frustration from seven years of monotonous cultivation was completely released at this moment.

So this is the true meaning of the sword: it is not about the strength of spiritual power, but about the absolute control of "momentum" and "reason".

"good."

Behind him came Jun Yuan's calm voice.

Over the past seven years, the word Hua Yue heard most often from him was "continue." This "not bad" was truly unique, making her feel a little smug.

She turned around, about to say something, when she saw that Jun Yuan had already stood up, his dark red cloud-patterned brocade robe fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze.

"You have mastered the basics of swordsmanship; the rest requires you to prove yourself in actual combat."

Hua Yue understood that if swordsmanship was only used for splitting rocks and not for actual combat, then she was no different from a woodcutter. She really needed to go down the mountain to gain experience.

"You're right, Senior Jun," she replied respectfully.

Jun Yuan did not respond immediately. Instead, he walked to the open space to the side and began to draw on the mud with his sword, which he never parted with.

It's stick figures again.

Hua Yue curiously leaned closer to take a look. Over the past seven years, she had grown accustomed to this peerless powerhouse's strange quirks.

But today's stick figures seem to be more... lifelike than ever before?

Although it is still composed of just a few lines, Hua Yue can see an indescribable deep affection in those simple strokes.

She pondered for a long time, thinking that this was some kind of profound sword technique that she needed to comprehend, but she couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried.

"Senior Jun, it seems my comprehension is not yet sufficient to fathom the mysteries within..." she said somewhat embarrassedly.

Jun Yuan sheathed his sword, looked at the graffiti on the ground, and his voice carried a gentleness that Hua Yue had never heard before, almost imperceptible.

"This is your mother, Hua Zhishuang."

"what?"

Hua Yue's mind went blank for a moment.

She stared blankly at the stick figure on the ground, then looked at Jun Yuan, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"You...you drew my mother?"

Jun Yuan did not answer the question. He turned around, his deep eyes staring straight at Hua Yue, and then dropped another bombshell.

"I am actually your father, Hua Yue."

"boom!"

Hua Yue felt as if a thunderbolt had exploded in her head.

What?

father?

Doesn't she already have a father?

How come after seven years of cultivation, I have an extra father?!

She stared blankly at Jun Yuan, her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing her like this, Junyuan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, thinking that she was unwilling to accept him, the father who had been absent for many years. A hint of loneliness crept into his voice.

"I know I've missed too much. I'll wait until the day you're willing to accept me."

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant!" Hua Yue finally screamed internally.

This isn't a question of willingness! It's a biological question!

She braced herself and carefully organized her thoughts: "Senior Jun...Jun Yuan, are you...possibly mistaken? Or have you misremembered something?"

After all, Shen Qingfu had his blood tested!

"How could I be wrong?" Jun Yuan retorted, his tone resolute and brooking no argument. "The moment you used your blood as a catalyst to make Feng Tong recognize you as its master, I sensed it. Our clan's bloodline is powerful and rare; blood relatives naturally have a connection."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Besides, Ashuang has mentioned your name to me before."

Hua Yue was completely dumbfounded.

Bloodline intuition? That sounds even more advanced than blood-drop kinship testing!

So... both are true?

A strange thought popped into her mind, leaving her completely bewildered.

My dearest mother! You're really something else! Not only are you two-timing me, but you could at least have left a message to tell me which one is my real father!

For a moment, Hua Yue felt a mix of emotions. Looking at the outrageously handsome man in front of her, she didn't know what expression to wear.

This multiple-choice question was too difficult for Hua Yue, so she chose to skip it.

Hua Yue took a deep breath and gave a well-behaved yet polite smile: "Senior Jun, this matter... is of great importance. Why don't we wait until my mother returns, and then confront her face to face—no, I mean, discuss this further?"

She decided to return this hot potato to her own mother intact. Whoever incurred the debt of infidelity should pay the price!

However, upon hearing these words, a clear hint of hurt appeared in Jun Yuan's usually calm and composed eyes.

"You...don't want to call me father?"

Hua Yue's heart skipped a beat.

Hey bro, don't do that! Your expression makes me feel so guilty!

Her mind raced, weighing the pros and cons.

After thinking about it, he thought, "A teacher for a day is a father for life." He had taught him swordsmanship for seven years, so calling him "father" didn't seem like such a bad deal. Anyway, one's skin naturally becomes thicker with practice.

It only took a moment for Hua Yue to mentally prepare herself before she decisively and clearly called out:

"Father."

Jun Yuan paused noticeably, and then, a faint smile slowly bloomed on his perpetually icy face.

Although fleeting, it was like the first melting of ice and snow.

"Mmm," he responded, his tone gentler than ever before.

Looking at him like this, Hua Yue silently thought to herself: I didn't expect you to be so easy to coax.

"I need to leave for a while." Jun Yuan regained his usual composure. "I'm going to the Demon Realm to investigate Ashuang's whereabouts again. The journey is long and arduous, and we may lose contact temporarily."

The Demon Realm!

Hua Yue's heart skipped a beat. The Demon Realm again! It seems her mother might have disappeared there.

"If you encounter any problems you can't solve," Junyuan advised, "you can go to your grandfather."

"Grandfather?" Hua Yue was taken aback again.

There was just too much information today; she felt like her brain couldn't keep up.

The father of a big shot—wouldn't that be an even bigger big shot? Shouldn't he have already ascended to godhood and lived a carefree life beyond the mortal realm?

"Okay." She nodded dazedly, still wondering how many surprises (or shocks) were hidden in her complicated family history.

Jun Yuan said nothing more, only giving her one last look, a look filled with complex emotions. The next moment, his figure transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the horizon.

In the valley, only Hua Yue remained.

She stood there for a long time before finally letting out a long breath and rubbing her throbbing temples.

"One father is the richest merchant in the cultivation world, the other father is the supreme swordsman in the cultivation world... Mother, you have so many secrets..."

Complaints aside, the most urgent matter is to greet Immortal Venerable Yue Qingxue. After all, it's been seven years since they last met, and it's time for her, as a "nominal disciple," to make an appearance.

Hua Yue sorted out her thoughts and strode towards Qinglin Peak.

After many years of absence, Qinglin Peak remains as elegant as ever, and the herbs in the spiritual fields exude a refreshing fragrance.

Before she even reached the main hall, she encountered someone she didn't want to meet on the stone steps leading to the mountaintop.

The man was dressed in white, tall and handsome, with a hint of arrogance typical of scions of noble families. It was none other than Xuan Tianyu, who had cultivated with her on Qinglin Peak years ago.

After seven years apart, he has shed his youthful naiveté and now displays a sharper, more charismatic edge.

Xuan Tianyu seemed to have just come out of the main hall and was deep in thought when he bumped into Hua Yue, who was climbing the steps.

He looked up and froze the moment he saw Hua Yue.

His eyes first flashed with intense amazement, and then his usually arrogant face suddenly turned bright red, the blush spreading from his cheeks to his ears.

He stammered, his voice slightly stuttering, "May I...may I ask who...who you are, fairy? And why are you here at Green Forest Peak?"

Hua Yue found his innocent, lovestruck appearance rather amusing.

It seems this guy didn't recognize her at all.

A mischievous thought crossed her mind, and she deliberately winked, a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Your senior sister, junior brother."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Tianyu's expression froze instantly, his eyes widening in astonishment as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable. The next second, his already flushed face turned even redder, almost as if it were about to bleed.

Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, he took a step back abruptly, then fled without looking back, flying away as if on a flying sword.

"..."

Hua Yue stood there, watching his retreating figure, her head full of question marks.

This guy... has he damaged his brain from all these years of cultivation?