All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

The Gluttonous Realm, the Hall of Ten Thousand Beasts.

Dark clouds hung low, and a menacing aura filled the sky.

This supreme palace, located at the core of the Beast Plane, is entirely cast from the bone jade of a ten-thousand-year-old ferocious beast. Countless Devouring Demon Patterns are carved on the pillars of the palace, each pattern flowing with an ancient and savage killing aura. The oppressive aura is so heavy that ordinary cultivators find it difficult to even breathe.

Fifty years have passed.

Since the battle in the void years ago, when Qiongqi slaughtered the Earth Dragon Clan, the father and son were forced to flee into the Taotie Secret Realm, and half a century has passed in the blink of an eye.

This is Jiang Chen, seeing his son, Xu Qiu'an, for the first time in fifty years.

Fifty years of isolation, though silent, are enough to completely rewrite a person's temperament, character, and destiny.

The boy standing quietly in the hall was no longer the naive child who used to follow Jiang Chen around, obedient and dependent, with a pure heart.

At this moment, Xu Qiu'an stood tall and straight like a spear, his figure slender and upright. He wore a black robe with gold trim, and the hem of the robe was embroidered with an extremely domineering Taotie Devouring Heaven pattern. With each slight movement, wisps of purple-gold evil energy swirled around him.

He stood in the center of the hall, his back straight, his shoulders broad and his waist narrow. The immaturity of his youth had completely faded, replaced by a commanding aura of authority.

His facial features became increasingly deep and sharp, his eyebrows and eyes were cold and aloof, his thin lips were tightly pressed together, and his eyes were dark and deep, without any extra warmth, only the indifference and composure of someone who had experienced killing and wielding power.

Over fifty years, under the personal guidance of Elder Taotie, Xu Qiu'an underwent a complete transformation.

He was no longer the child who only relied on his father's protection, but the Taotie Holy Son who held all the power over the younger generation of the ferocious beast lineage and commanded the awe and submission of countless ferocious beast people.

Over the years, the Grand Elder has devoted all his efforts to teaching him the ways of ancient ferocious beasts, teaching him to be decisive in killing, to command all beasts, and to abandon his soft heart and weaknesses.

He personally experienced, made decisions, and suppressed countless rebellions amidst the tribal conflicts, resource competition, and power reshuffling within the secret realm.

Over time, the once gentle and innocent boy was honed into a ruthless, decisive, and cunning leader who could decide the life and death of thousands with a single word.

Every gesture he made exuded the indifferent authority of a superior, and his aura of menace was restrained yet heavy, making people afraid to look him in the eye or get close to him.

Throughout the entire Taotie Secret Realm, and even among the countless ferocious beast clans that vassals in the surrounding area, no one is unafraid of this excessively young yet outrageously powerful holy son.

But no one knows that beneath this cold, hard, and impeccable exterior lies a tenderness that has never been extinguished.

That was a softness that belonged only to Jiang Chen.

Even though he holds immense power, even though he has reached the pinnacle of the younger generation, even though he is revered and looked up to by thousands of his clansmen.

Jiang Chen remains Xu Qiu'an's only family member, only weakness, and only bond in her life.

Over the course of fifty years, he has secluded himself countless times for solitary cultivation, and countless times, when sitting alone late at night, he would recall the peaceful days of his childhood on the desolate island.

I remember my father's gentle admonitions, his back as he shielded me from the wind and rain, and all the warmth and companionship I had experienced during our century of peace and stability.

His indifference, ruthlessness, and hardness over the years were nothing more than a disguise.

He always hoped that when he was strong enough, had a firm foothold, and could stand on his own, he could get along well with his father, let down all his defenses, and rekindle their past affection.

He had fantasized countless times about the scene of father and son reuniting, about reconciliation, about getting closer, about the rest of their lives together, with no more barriers between them, standing side by side, with no one to bully them.

For the sake of this closeness, he endured for fifty years, restrained himself for fifty years, and silently grew stronger for fifty years.

But he never expected that his first reunion after fifty years would not bring him warmth and reconciliation, nor father and son reminiscing, but rather a devastating piece of news that shattered all his illusions.

The wedding is just around the corner.

The news had already spread throughout the entire Taotie Secret Realm.

The Taotie patriarch betrothed his daughter to Jiang Chen. Three days later, the grand ceremony began, with a banquet for all races and a proclamation to the heavens.

He fought desperately to become stronger, enduring hardship and biding his time, yearning for closeness with his father.

But his father, during the years when he was growing up and looking forward to it, quietly arranged a marriage for him to marry someone else and start a new family.

At this moment, the expectations, tenderness, and longing that Xu Qiu'an had accumulated in her heart for fifty years collapsed instantly.

All the forbearance, all the expectations, all the softness hidden beneath the cold exterior, have all turned into a bone-chilling coldness and utter disappointment.

The main hall was completely silent.

The malevolent aura was stagnant, and the air was so heavy it was suffocating.

Xu Qiu stood quietly, her dark eyes fixed on Jiang Chen not far away. The last trace of warmth in her eyes slowly faded, leaving only a deathly coldness.

There were no furious roars, no uncontrolled violence.

The more extreme the disappointment, the more silent it becomes.

After a long silence, he parted his thin lips slightly, his voice clear and low, devoid of any emotion, yet each word piercing and echoing throughout the deathly silent hall:

"Is this Father's decision?"

A question, as light as the wind, yet it weighed down fifty years of grievances, expectations, and a crumbling obsession.

Jiang Chen stood there, his body slightly stiff, and a sudden pain shot through his heart.

Looking at his son, who was both strange and familiar, at the lifeless disappointment in his eyes, and at his cold and aloof aura as a holy son, Jiang Chen felt a tightness in his throat and a bitter feeling welled up in his heart.

How could he possibly want that?

This marriage was never his intention.

It was a forceful arrangement by the Taotie clan chief, a binding of clan interests, and a helpless compromise he made in order to ensure Xu Qiu'an's peaceful cultivation, to secure his son's unparalleled resources, and to gain a moment of respite.

He carried too many secrets, too many debts, and too many involuntary shackles.

He harbored guilt towards Di Qiu, regrets about the past, and hidden pain from his hometown; he never lived for himself for a single moment.

Faced with his son's cold questioning, he could only sigh softly, his voice hoarse and weary, filled with endless helplessness:

"Qiu An, your father has his own reasons..."

That same phrase again.

Familiar words, familiar perfunctory responses, familiar helplessness.

Throughout the past century, in every argument, every estrangement, and every disappointing choice, my father always used the same excuse.

There's a reason for it.

There's always a reason behind it all.

At this moment, Xu Qiu'an laughed completely, but there was no smile in his eyes, only extreme sorrow and disappointment.

He lowered his eyes slightly to hide the soreness welling up inside. When he looked up again, his gaze was icy cold, devoid of any dependence or affection for his father.

"That line again."

"Whenever you make a decision that I can't accept, this is your best excuse, isn't it?"

Every word was powerful and resounding, every sentence pierced the heart.

Fifty years of anticipation, fifty years of forbearance, fifty years of self-consolation, have all become a complete joke at this moment.

He thought that as he grew up and became stronger, he could close the distance between father and son and preserve this only kinship.

In the end, it was all just wishful thinking on his part.