The Demon Hunter and a Panorama of Cangyuan Realm

On the ninth day of the second month, outside Dongning City in a desolate wilderness, the sky was overcast.

"Yo." A melodious bird call rang out, and a massive flying beast, enveloped in lightning, dove down from the clouds. On its back, two figures sat cross-legged.

"Boom!"

As the beast approached the ground, lightning from its enormous wings surged in all directions, causing the entire wilderness to tremble. Electricity spread across the ground before dissipating.

Only then did the two figures dismount from the beast's back.

One was a middle-aged woman, and the other was an elderly woman leaning on a cane.

"Junior Sister Huang, I have arrived at my hometown. You can return now," the elderly woman with the cane said with a smile.

"Sister Meng," the middle-aged woman's eyes glistened with unshed tears. Her 'Elder Sister Meng' had not been this aged before, but the recent injury had made her appear much older. However, one could still faintly see that the elderly woman had been a beauty in her youth.

"After this parting, we may never meet again," the elderly woman sighed with a smile. "But I am fortunate, at least I can return to my hometown and spend my final years here. Those who died in battle have truly become piles of yellow earth."

"Sister Meng, if there's anything you need my help with, just send a letter, and I, Huang Xiangning, will do my utmost," the middle-aged woman said solemnly.

"If I need your help, I will ask," the elderly woman said with a smile. "Now, go back quickly."

The middle-aged woman looked at the elderly woman intently before finally leaping onto the beast's back. The beast flapped its wings, and lightning spread through the air.

Whoosh.

Carrying lightning and thunder, the beast quickly soared into the sky and disappeared into the horizon.

The elderly woman watched her companion leave before turning to look at Dongning City with a smile. "It's time to go home. To be able to return to my roots, the heavens have been kind to me!"

"Bang!"

The elderly woman lightly tapped her cane on the ground, and ripples of space spread out from the point of impact, enveloping an area of a hundred zhang.

Holding her cane, she walked towards Dongning City, each step covering dozens of zhang. Even as she passed by pedestrians and merchant caravans on the official road, they seemed not to notice her and continued chatting merrily.

In a short while, she arrived at the city gate.

"Dongning City."

The elderly woman, leaning on her cane, gazed at the magnificent city before her.

This was her hometown, the place where she had lived in her youth.

With a smile, she continued to walk forward. The large crowd at the city gate, including the guards, did not see her. It was as if she did not exist. She entered the city and walked along the streets, eventually arriving at the Meng family's ancestral estate.

Entering the estate, many clan members were patrolling, but none of them could see her.

"Glug, glug, glug." In one of the small courtyards of the estate, an elderly, plump man was drinking in solitude.

"Little Ping, are you sneaking a drink?" A voice sounded in the courtyard.

The plump man was startled and looked around, unable to help but say, "Third Elder Sister, is that you? Third Elder Sister?"

An elderly woman leaning on a cane suddenly appeared in the courtyard, smiling at him.

"Sister."

The plump man's eyes reddened. He was the only younger brother of 'Divine Lord Meng.' Although other Presbyters in the family also called her 'Third Elder Sister,' it was because the family was too large—with a history of over a thousand years, many family members were several generations apart. The plump man was named Meng Yanping, the current head of the Meng family. He was nearly twenty years younger than Divine Lord Meng, so he had been raised by her, both as a mother and an elder sister.

In his heart, his sister had always been so young, so beautiful, and so capable. Now, she had aged so much.

"Why are you crying? I'm still alive and well," the elderly woman said with a smile.

"Sister, is your injury truly incurable?" the plump man asked urgently.

"As long as I don't engage in desperate battles, I can still live for seven or eight more years," the elderly woman said calmly. "Humans have birth, old age, sickness, and death, and even divine lords have their lifespan limits. There's no need to be sad. The next few years will be enough for me to properly arrange the Meng family's future. Since the news of my injury has spread, has there been any movement in Dongning City?"

"The Yun family has canceled the engagement with our Meng family, specifically with the young lad Meng Chuan," the plump man said. "As for the others, the four major divine families have only made some minor moves; they don't dare to truly provoke our Meng family."

"Mm, when the engagement was arranged, Yun Wanhai wanted to use our Meng family's influence. Now that I am injured, it's normal for him to cancel the engagement of the younger generation," the elderly woman said.

She instructed, "By the way, Little Ping..."

"Sister, I'm already ninety years old and the head of the Meng family. Can you call me by my full name?" the plump man couldn't help but say.

"OK, fine, fine, I'll respect your wishes," the elderly woman said with a smile. "Meng Yanping, go and gather all the family Presbyters in the Flame Hall. I want to meet them."

"What Meng Yanping, my name is Meng Yanping," the plump man muttered, but he still hurried to summon the family Presbyters.

His sister had raised him, both as a mother and an Presbyter sister.

She had protected him, allowing him to reach where he was today.

Hearing his sister call him 'Little Ping,' even as the head of the Meng family, Meng Yanping felt his steps become more vigorous.

Hall of Blazing Fire, Meng Family Ancestral Estate.

Only the most important family matters are discussed here. Today, the surroundings of the Hall of Blazing Fire were heavily guarded.

Inside the hall.

Madam Meng, leaning on her cane, stood there, looking up at the plaque with the characters 'Blazing Fire.'

The patriarch and the Presbyters all stood respectfully, not a single one daring to speak.

In terms of age...

Madam Meng was 112 years old this year, the eldest in the family. In terms of strength, she had become a divine being at the age of 35, safeguarding the Meng family for nearly eighty years, during which the family flourished for eighty years. Her authority in the Meng family was unquestionable. With a single command, many family members would readily give their lives.

After gazing at the plaque with the characters 'Blazing Fire' for a long time, Madam Meng turned around, her gaze sweeping over the Presbyters present. Each of them bowed, feeling somewhat nervous.

"Are there any talented young members of the Meng family who have the potential to become divine beings?" Madam Meng inquired. The Meng family has been established in Dongning City for over a thousand years, but only two divine beings have emerged—one was the ancestor Yushan five hundred years ago, and the other was Madam Meng. During their times, both had brought the family to its peak. What Madam Meng most hoped for was...

To cultivate the family's third divine being in history.

Originally, she could have patiently searched for suitable descendants to nurture, but now time was too tight, and she had to choose from the less promising.

"Dajiang has considerable talent. He comprehended a secret technique of the saber at the age of nineteen and the 'momentum' of the saber at thirty. Now at forty-seven... there is a slim hope of becoming a divine being," said the bald, frail Presbyter.

"Dajiang?"

Madam Meng looked at Meng Dajiang, who stood to the side.

"Auntie," the obese Meng Dajiang quickly bowed.

"Have you achieved the stage of elixir formation?" Madam Meng asked.

Meng Dajiang shook his head.

Madam Meng frowned. At forty-seven, he hadn't even achieved the stage of elixir formation, making the hope of becoming a divine being truly slim.

"What about the younger generation?" Madam Meng pressed.

"There are three promising ones among the younger generation," the patriarch Meng Yanping quickly replied. "Meng Zhu, this lad, is twenty-three this year, at the Impervious Stage, serving in the military at Qinyang Pass. He comprehended a secret technique at nineteen. Then there's 'Meng Wenying,' this girl, who is sixteen this year and achieved mastery of the top-tier sword technique at twelve. And Dajiang's son, 'Meng Chuan,' who is fifteen this year, achieved mastery of the top-tier saber technique at thirteen. Both Meng Wenying and Meng Chuan are young, but neither has comprehended a secret technique."

Madam Meng fell silent.

Meng Zhu, who comprehended a secret technique at nineteen, was really too late for becoming a divine being! Because comprehending 'momentum' could be any year, and the path to becoming a divine being would be even more distant.

Meng Wenying and Meng Chuan, one sixteen and one fifteen, were also pressed for time, and the key was that neither had mastered a secret technique.

She wanted to choose from the less promising, but there was truly no choice.

"You all go back," Madam Meng said coldly. "In the coming years, the entire family's younger generation will be given increased cultivation resources. This is the family's top priority; nothing else matters. Before I die, I want to see a promising candidate who can become a divine being."

Clearly, she hadn't seen anyone particularly outstanding, so she could only cast a wide net, hoping that a genius would emerge among the eight or nine-year-olds, or those around eleven or twelve.

"Yes," the patriarch and the Presbyters all responded in unison.

"This matter concerns the rise and fall of the family; there can be no slackening. Anyone who embezzles resources will be dealt with according to family law," Madam Meng said, then directly leaned on her cane and walked out.