Chapter 158: The Departure of the Xiao Family

"Looking for me?" Chen Xiang frowned slightly before smoothing his expression. "Lead the way."

Guided by the pageboy, Chen Xiang arrived at a pavilion.

Without standing on ceremony, Chen Xiang stepped directly through the threshold.

Madame Xiao's face betrayed a mix of shock and joy, occasionally shadowed by worry. Seated upon the grand hall, she was deep in thought.

Seeing this, Chen Xiang knew she had already received word about the Heavenly Yin Sect. He asked directly, "Madame Xiao, is what I mentioned true?"

Upon seeing Chen Xiang, Madame Xiao hastily rose from her seat and bowed deeply. "Everything the senior said is true. Thank you, Senior, for informing me of such a monumental matter."

Chen Xiang helped Madame Xiao up, took a seat nearby, and smiled faintly. "Haha, think nothing of it. Even if I hadn't said anything, you would have found out in a few days anyway."

Madame Xiao pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Not at all. When I made inquiries with the Heavenly Yin Sect this time, no one gave me a straight answer. It was only because a disciple, flustered and in a rush, accidentally let it slip that I came to believe it. To think that a dignified Soul Formation cultivator could simply perish just like that."

With a solemn expression, Madame Xiao turned to Chen Xiang and said, "Senior, I know not where you obtained this news, but since Luo Tianming is dead, my family will no longer remain here."

Looking somewhat surprised, Chen Xiang asked, "You are leaving?"

Madame Xiao nodded firmly and explained, "I never intended for Lin'er to touch the path of immortal cultivation, but unexpectedly, someone from the Heavenly Yin Sect discerned her constitution. Who knows how many in the sect are aware of her special physique? Now, before the Heavenly Yin Sect reacts, I intend to take Lin'er and the others away from here as quickly as possible. Afterward, we shall live in seclusion and never easily show ourselves to the world again!"

Chen Xiang was secretly startled.

He had not expected Madame Xiao to make such a momentous decision.

Indeed, should anyone still covet Miss Xiao's special constitution, fleeing with the entire family before the Heavenly Yin Sect reacted was precisely the right course of action.

However, doing so meant their family would remain hidden from the light of day for at least decades, and Miss Xiao's Ice Phoenix Physique would go to waste.

Finding it hard to bear, Chen Xiang probed, "Will Madame Xiao not reconsider?"

Madame Xiao shook her head resolutely. "I believe Senior means us no harm, but the people of the Heavenly Yin Sect cannot be guarded against lightly. They are one of the top major sects in the continent, yet they are also a demonic sect! The cruelty of the cultivation world is something I trust Senior understands. I truly cannot bear the thought of Lin'er being dragged into it."

Chen Xiang thought it over carefully, and it seemed to make sense. The cultivation world was inherently a den of dragons and tigers, fraught with extreme danger. Even if two people held no enmity, they could become foes over an object or some shared interest, and even close friends were no exception.

Furthermore, he had heard that members of the Heavenly Yin Sect were ruthless and stopped at nothing, to the extent that anyone who recognized them would instinctively give them a wide berth.

Besides, the Xiao family's future under Luo Tianming had already been uncertain. Despite previous promises, a mere mortal family was hardly something a major sect would care about.

Now that Luo Tianming was dead, if anyone else learned of Miss Xiao's peculiar constitution, they would surely be tempted. The Heavenly Yin Sect might even vent their frustrations on the Xiao family simply out of frustration at failing to find him.

All things considered, leaving now was indeed a viable option.

If Miss Xiao truly warranted others' attention, remaining here would simply be waiting for death. If not, it was merely a matter of moving to a new place to live.

"That may be for the best. I have already troubled Madame Xiao these past few days; is there anything I can do to help?" Chen Xiang asked, nodding.

Madame Xiao's eyes lit up—this was precisely what she had been waiting for.

"Senior, I do indeed require your assistance. Although Elder Liu has been recalled, we cannot be certain whether anyone from the Heavenly Yin Sect is still watching us. Therefore... I only need Senior to escort us out of the city." Madame Xiao hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a face full of eager hope.

"Simple! Leave that to me," Chen Xiang agreed without hesitation.

After all, this was no difficult task; it merely required guarding against people from the Heavenly Yin Sect. With Chen Xiang's divine sense, within a radius of ten miles, no cultivator below the Soul Formation stage could hide from him!

And cultivators above the Soul Formation stage certainly wouldn't be idle enough to run over and monitor the Xiao family.

"Then I thank Senior deeply. If fate allows, I will certainly repay Senior in the future. I shall go make preparations at once!" Madame Xiao said hastily.

Chen Xiang nodded.

Madame Xiao went off to make arrangements with Xiao Tingming and Miss Xiao. Since she also possessed several storage pouches, she surely wouldn't need much time.

As for Chen Xiang, he returned to his guest chamber, lost in thought.

While leaving Liuxin City was a good thing for the Xiao family, he still felt their actions lacked foresight.

If the Heavenly Yin Sect were to launch a full-scale search for them, no corner of the four nations would remain hidden; it would only be a matter of time.

Yet this situation shouldn't last too long.

Once the Ice Phoenix Physique passed the age of eighteen, the primordial energy within the body would dissipate year by year. Three years later, more than half would be gone, at which point its utility would plummet drastically. Three years after that, almost nothing would remain, and the Ice Phoenix Physique would transform into a mere Ice Spiritual Physique.

Though the Ice Spiritual Physique was uncommon, it was not significant enough to warrant a major sect's attention, let's alone that of a Soul Formation cultivator.

Therefore, the Xiao family only needed to endure the next decade.

Even then, they would need to maintain a low profile. If recognized by someone from the Heavenly Yin Sect, the sect members might fly into a rage out of frustration at not finding them and slaughter the family just to vent their anger.

For such matters, Chen Xiang could only sigh at his own powerlessness.

In the cultivation world, a realm ruled by the law of the jungle where the strong prey upon the weak, everything was determined by strength. Once one's own power was sufficient, who would dare cast greedy eyes in their direction?

Thus, when Chen Xiang heard Madame Xiao say she did not want Miss Xiao to touch cultivation, he felt extreme disdain.

Amidst such crises, failing to elevate one's own strength rendered everything else empty talk. However, since this was someone else's family business, it was not his place to interfere, causing him to abandon the notion of presenting Miss Xiao with an ice-attribute cultivation manual he had originally prepared.

That night, Madame Xiao dismissed all the servants up and down the Xiao residence. Together with Xiao Tingming and Miss Xiao, she waited in the main hall.

They planned to leave that very night.

"Mother, are we truly leaving?" Miss Xiao asked softly.

Having lived in Liuxin City for over a decade, leaving now—perhaps never to return—filled her with a sense of lingering reluctance.

Xiao Tingming's eyes burned bright and he remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.

Madame Xiao stroked Miss Xiao's fine hair and said gently, "Lin'er, it is not that I wish to leave, but our Xiao family is in peril and we have no choice but to take refuge elsewhere. Once the storm passes, we shall find a city and live in seclusion."

Madame Xiao did not mention returning, the unspoken implication being that they would never come back to Liuxin City.

With reddened eyes, Miss Xiao muttered softly, "Tomorrow is the Liuxin Literary Gathering. I had promised Young Master Chu we would go together... it seems that will no longer be possible."

Hearing this, Madame Xiao gave a bitter smile. It seemed this girl had indeed developed affections for Young Master Chu, but the two of them could never be together.

A cultivator's lifespan differed from that of a mortal. By the time her other half grew old with all his teeth fallen out, she would likely still retain her youthful appearance. It was only after making an immense resolve that she herself had chosen to remain unwaveringly by Xiao Tingming's side.