Invincible Dad

Men can be quite selfish at times, and Xu Lai was no exception.

「Half an hour later.」

Xu Lai went to the airport with his wife and daughter, accompanied by his third-wheel of a sister-in-law. Their flight was scheduled to depart in thirty minutes.

Yiyi was dressed in light blue clothing, donning a pair of children's sunglasses. Her hair was tied into cute twin ponytails, making her look like a little angel. This drew praise from many passersby, and a few even tried to sneak a photo of Yiyi and Ruan Tang.

None succeeded. Their phones either glitched with a scrambled screen or shut down automatically—very strange occurrences that were, naturally, Xu Lai's doing.

"There are so many creeps, staring at Yiyi without even blinking."

The conch shell girl, hiding in Xu Lai's pocket, sounded slightly displeased. "Can I kill them? In the sea domain, this would be a serious provocation!"

"This is the land," Xu Lai said indifferently. "Stay put, or you're going back to Haitang Court."

Beibei fell silent.

What a joke! That damned Gold Swallowing Beast is still at Haitang Court. If I had to be alone with it for the next few days…

Inside her conch shell, Beibei shuddered violently. She had just remembered the pitiful sight of being held by Xiao Hei while he went SLURP, leaving her completely covered in saliva.

In this world, there was nothing more disgusting than that.

"Sister Yiyi!"

Suddenly, a voice filled with surprise called out from a distance. The person approaching with the voice turned out to be Qian Xiao!

He abandoned his luggage and ran excitedly toward Xu Yiyi. "Big Sis, it really is you! I thought I got the wrong person."

Qian Xiao's mother, Luo Chu, and his father, Qian Song, also approached with surprised expressions on their faces.

"What a coincidence," Luo Chu asked. "Where is your family headed?"

"Nanhai Province," Ruan Tang replied with a smile. "What about you?"

"What a coincidence," Luo Chu also smiled. "We're on vacation and planning to take Qian Xiao to Nanhai Province to fulfill a vow."

"There's a temple in Nanhai Province. The vow we made last year was quite effective," Qian Song explained.

"Then let's go together," Ruan Tang suggested.

"Sure thing." Luo Chu nodded with a smile. It was always more lively with more people, and the two close friends chatted happily.

And just like that, the size of their group increased...

Xu Lai felt a headache coming on. So much for the promised family trip. Bringing along my third-wheel of a sister-in-law was one thing, but how did we gain three more people, and one of them is Kid Qian!

However, Xu Lai didn't object. A trip is supposed to be about making the family happy, and from the looks of it, my wife and daughter are quite happy…

After a flight of nearly three hours, the group arrived at the airport in Siya City, Nanhai Province.

「On the plane.」

Ruan Tang and Luo Chu had already booked their accommodations: a five-star hotel called 'Immortal Court' located in Fragrance Bay.

The coastline here was gentle, the waves small, the sand white, and the water clear. It was not yet overrun with hotels, with only two five-star establishments in the area. The environment was elegant and tranquil, perfect for a relaxing getaway.

The rooms Ruan Tang and Luo Chu booked were standalone villas, numbers 6 and 7.

The group had a simple meal at the hotel, after which Luo Chu said, "We're going to fulfill our vow now. Want to come with us?"

Yiyi didn't speak, but her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

"Let's go take a look," Ruan Tang said, naturally not wanting to disappoint her daughter.

"The temple isn't far from here; we can walk."

Leaving the hotel, Qian Song led the way, chatting sporadically with Xu Lai.

"Do you see that well by the seaside? That's Xianren Jing. Legend has it that its water never runs dry. The locals have a saying: 'Drink from the Xianren Jing, and you'll enjoy three years of fragrance, three years of fairness, and three years of peace.'"

Qian Song added, "The name of our hotel, Immortal Court, comes from here. It means the dwelling of Immortals."

"Big Sis, let's go try it!"

Qian Xiao ran over excitedly and scooped up some water to drink. Yiyi followed his lead.

Ruan Lan scoffed, "What Immortals? It's probably just a gimmick concocted by the hotel and the local tourism department. It's a common trick in this country, isn't it? Just to fool outsiders."

"That could be the case. After all, Immortals... they are just too illusory," Qian Song laughed.

As a Ninth Grade Martial Ancestor, Qian Song knew full well that the Ancient Immortal Path had been severed. The cultivators on Earth today simply couldn't leave the planet. The thought filled him with a sense of regret and melancholy.

They followed the seaside path to a dense forest, then wound their way through ankle-high wild grass onto a narrow mountain trail. The lush tropical plants along the path blocked out the sunlight, creating a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. If she hadn't known their guide so well, Ruan Tang might have suspected he was leading them into a trap.

After walking along the mountain path for about ten minutes, they finally reached the halfway point, from where they had a clear view of the summit.

A very simple temple came into view.

The temple had no name, and its white paint was mostly peeling off, giving it a dilapidated look. It seemed no one had offered incense for a long time, as even the idol in the main hall was covered in a thick layer of dust.

And the idol being venerated was a bit strange. It wasn't a statue of a Buddha or any other deity, but of a giant fish. It had the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish, resembling a mermaid.

"There was an elderly abbot here last year. Where'd he go this year?" Qian Song wondered aloud, puzzled.

"We're here to fulfill a vow, not to look for someone," Luo Chu chided.

Qian Song nodded. "That's true." He, his wife, and Qian Xiao then began to offer incense and fulfill their vow.

Xu Lai frowned slightly. There was something unusual about this temple; it had faint wisps of the Power of Wishes floating around it.

Xu Lai was very familiar with the Power of Wishes, also called the Power of Incense Fire in the Immortal Domain. It was generally possessed by those who had performed meritorious deeds or were benevolent. Therefore, one of the Three Thousand Great Daos was to achieve sainthood through the Power of Incense Fire.

But now, the entire Universe venerated Supreme Emperor Qingfeng, and he, Xu Lai, accounted for more than seventy percent of all incense offerings in the Universe. The other great powers who relied on the Power of Incense Fire were envious and jealous, but they were utterly helpless.

Since this temple contained the Power of Wishes, it meant the venerated mermaid must have performed many good deeds and been remembered by the people for them.

But why was there a seal beneath such a meritorious temple? And why did the sealed entity radiate an endless aura of resentment?

Xu Lai felt as if he had grasped something, and his gaze suddenly shifted toward the temple entrance.

At that moment, a voice came from outside the temple. "Benefactors, you have traveled from afar. This humble Daoist has neglected you."

Ruan Tang and the others looked toward the voice and saw a young man dressed in white Daoist robes. There was something indescribably eerie about his eyes.

Yiyi took one look and felt an inexplicable fear, causing her to grab Xu Lai's arm. She had noticed something wrong with the Daoist's eyes. His pupils were tiny, and the whites took up almost the entire eyeball, making them look not quite human. Moreover, a strange fishy smell, like the sea, wafted from him, causing the little girl to wrinkle her nose repeatedly.

Qian Song and Luo Chu, however, stared at him with looks of shock and uncertainty. "What happened to old Daoist Yu?" Qian Song asked.

The Daoist who had guarded this place last year was surnamed Yu. He was over sixty years old, with an immortal-like bearing and a youthful complexion. This young Daoist couldn't be older than twenty-five, but his face was strikingly similar to Daoist Yu's.

What made Qian Song's and his wife's scalps tingle the most was that the two Daoists' voices were exactly the same.