Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

"Where did the little dog's barking come from?" Yun Mo had just come out of the house and heard a pitiful, whining bark. As he looked out, he frowned slightly, "Xiao Chuanzi, look, a little stray dog has wandered to the front door."

Wan Mingchuan followed with curiosity all over his face, "Indeed, it's a little stray dog. It looks rather pitiful."

Ever since Riverfront Village was completely destroyed and then invaded by the Ghost Realm, after Master dealt with it, the original housing and even fields turned to ashes, leaving desolate wilderness. It's been a long time since there have been any traces of refugees near Shuiyun Lake.

Now, suddenly, a stumbling little puppy appeared. He thought it might be a dog kept by a refugee family, either abandoned or lost, and didn't think much of it. Turning his head, he asked, "Master, there's a little stray dog at our doorstep blocked by the divine light. Can we let it in?

I reckon it's just about a month old, and there's no sign of a big dog nearby. It might not survive if left alone."

Little stray dog?

Jiang Yuan had just finished picking Blue Star Flowers in the greenhouse, ready to deliver them as a gift. Upon hearing this, he crossed the bridge and looked towards the door, raising an eyebrow.

[Lingdi: Mahayana Realm Great Perfection advanced monster, former Guardian Sect Beast of Cloud Concealment Sect, currently the senior-most Ancestor Level Demon Beast. Disguised as a stray dog with no spiritual energy, with no malicious intent]

What's with this expert's peculiar hobby?

He was momentarily dazed then understood! It must be here because of Xie Chenyuan! After all, it's the sect's ancestor, disguised as a harmless little animal traveling with the sect's direct disciple to ensure safety.

Since it doesn't want to reveal its identity, having disguised itself like this, there's no need for him to expose it, just pretend he hasn't noticed.

As Jiang Yuan was thinking, Hu Zhile and the others also heard Wan Mingchuan's inquiry and came out to watch the excitement.

Everyone in the courtyard, including the Bluebird, didn't notice anything unusual; instead, Xie Chenyuan came out, eyebrows slightly furrowed, thinking this little dog looks so familiar.

Practicing the Celestial Secret Dao has this downside - when encountering something that feels odd, one always wants to take a peek, and thus his occupational hazard acted up, eyes employing cultivation techniques to look at the little puppy.

"Woof!"

In his sea of consciousness echoed an earth-shattering, vigorous dog barking. Xie Chenyuan's mouth twitched as he finally remembered - wasn't this the ancestor who had been hiding in the woods all along?

Rumor has it that it was originally a spiritual dog with some Heaven-Howling Divine Dog blood, meticulously trained by a senior to become a Guardian Sect Beast. After its master fell, the spiritual dog ancestor turned into a stone dog and went into seclusion.

As a direct disciple, he had the fortune to visit the forest and see the ancestor's statue while paying respects to the past ancestors when joining the sect.

"Ancestor, oh ancestor, why have you suddenly come here?" Facing the ancestor turned into a pitiful little puppy, wagging its tail begging to be adopted, Xie Chenyuan couldn't help but cover his face quietly. "It can't be here for me; I'm merely a direct disciple, what virtue or ability do I have to alarm the ancestor, and even become like this... Could it be it's here for Senior Jiang?"

Thinking of the Honored Guest Elder's waist token, the sudden instructions in his sea of consciousness, and the concise reply from his master, Xie Chenyuan realized that Senior Jiang definitely has some connection with this sect!

This connection is so intimate that it even requires the ancestor to personally act, not daring to reveal its true identity!

Jiang Yuan watching the subtle changes in Xie Chenyuan's expression felt even more certain of his speculation. Given this, of course, they had to let it in.

So he modified the system settings slightly, then pretended to know nothing, bent down, and made a friendly and down-to-earth summoning gesture, "Here, here, here!"

Lingdi nearly turned to stone on the spot, amazed that the other person had no causal lines, no spiritual power fluctuations, couldn't see the realm, past lives, or lifespan geometry, as clean as a blank sheet of paper, capable of leaving this world without a single care.

Then it heard "Here, here, here," and the whole dog was stunned.

Its thoughts seemed to immediately flashback to a long, long time ago, so long ago that many things it couldn't remember. The first time it met its old master, he summoned it warmly, holding a piece of meat just like that...

"Woof woof!" Lingdi shook its head, snapping out of the shock and reminiscence, wagging its tail pretending to be an ordinary puppy, and ran over to Jiang Yuan's hand in response to the "Here, here, here" call looking for food.

Xie Chenyuan was so shocked by this scene that his face turned a little pale.

He looked incredulously at Jiang Yuan, then at the ancestor, thinking, not worthy of being a senior, how daring is he?! Which disciple of Cloud Concealment Sect dares to "Here, here, here" the ancestor, at least they would receive a few whippings for disrespecting their elders, after which they'd have to copy sect rules.

Could it be... Senior Jiang didn't see the ancestor's true form?

Actually, Jiang Yuan also couldn't quite understand. If it was here to watch over the direct disciple, why didn't it go closer to Xie Chenyuan and instead keep spinning around his feet?

Then thinking it over, he thought maybe he found out the true form through the system identification, it's very likely Xie Chenyuan's previous facial changes weren't due to recognizing their ancestor, but simply from not having seen ordinary dogs in the Mortal World.

Since he didn't recognize, and the ancestor dog has its own plans, keeping a proper distance prevents the disguise from being discovered.

Since it's Cloud Concealment Sect's ancestor, naturally, it shouldn't eat leftovers. Jiang Yuan hurried to the kitchen to prepare two dishes and a soup to entertain the special guest.

"Eat, eat, look at how nice my master is to you, specifically making you a meal." Wan Mingchuan stroked its white fur and sighed, "When I was in Anping Town, those somewhat wealthy families keeping dogs couldn't even compare? Giving them some leftovers foods was a luxury, many dogs ended up eating feces."

Yun Mo lightly kicked him, "The little dog is eating, your words are too gross!"

He argued slightly aggrieved, "But what I said is true. If we don't take it in, so small as it is wandering the forest, it can't even eat feces and would end up being eaten by wolves, eagles, etc."

"I do think this little stray dog has a connection with my brother," Bluebird perched on the tree house steps, swinging little feet, chuckled, "First adopted a white snake; then a white fox, now the little white dog has come on its own. If it gains more spiritual energy from our courtyard, it might gain intelligence to cultivate and guard the house in the future."

Lingdi raised its head to look at the Bluebird; as a Demon Beast at the Great Perfection of Mahayana Realm, examining true forms was naturally more detailed than what Xie Chenyuan could see.

It quietly lowered its head to gnaw on the fragrant big chicken leg, thinking as expected, a reincarnated senior, yet now seems less related to Demon Beasts, more human-like, for reasons unknown.

Puzzled in heart, Lingdi again raised its head towards Jiang Yuan; however, the examination result was still a complete blank.

"Could there actually be Immortal beings outside of the Three Realms and unrelated to the Five Elements?" It couldn't figure it out, even the chicken leg in its mouth seemed tasteless.

Jiang Yuan, in order not to expose, intentionally prepared ordinary meals without containing even a trace of spiritual energy, fragrant they were, but naturally, they held no temptation for an ancestor-level dog of this caliber.

"Master, what should we name it?" Wan Mingchuan very much liked the little white dog. After it was full and content, he held it in his arms playing, seeking input in passing.

He thought, it's here to ensure the safety of the direct disciple, once Xie Chenyuan leaves the courtyard tonight naturally it would follow, as for naming it, "There is no need to name it for now, I reckon it's very sentient and might have an owner, let's take care for a few days, if no one claims, then we can decide."