Rumors are so frightening precisely because there are no constraints.
There is a saying that describes it well.
When you get a slight cold, by the time the rumor spreads from the east end of town to the west end, some people are already setting the table to feast on your demise.
For things like this, it's not easy for you to stop them, unless you take drastic measures to forcibly "gag" others.
Chen Xia naturally would not do things like this. At the moment, he could only listen to these rumors. Fortunately, it was not a big deal.
He was half-lying in the cave, leaning against the wall, and scratched his cheek. Curiously, he asked,
"Where is Chi Yu? Why hasn't he come back yet? It's been several years since he went out, right?"
Chen Xia remembered that Chi Yu had originally gone back to the clan to get him some medicine that could nourish his blood and energy.
Now more than ten years had passed, and Chen Xia's blood and energy had already recovered, yet Chi Yu still hadn't returned.
If Chen Xia really had been in mortal danger and had relied on Chi Yu to treat him, his grave would probably already be overgrown with three yards of grass by now.
The Big Yellow Dog shook his head, also very puzzled.
"It shouldn't have taken him so long just to get medicine. But when he left, he did say the clan's medicine was precious and not easy to obtain. I even advised him at the time."
"What did you advise him?" Chen Xia keenly picked up on this information.
The Big Yellow Dog wrinkled his sparse eyebrows, recalled it, clasped his paws to his chest, and said,
"Nothing much, I just told him that if he couldn't get it out, he should just steal it directly. After all, it would be his stuff in a few thousand years anyway, he'd just be taking it early."
Well, that explained how he had been filially pietied.
If Chi Yu really had been detained for stealing medicine, at most he could be considered an accomplice. Big Yellow Dog was the real culprit.
Big Yellow Dog was still pondering with his head lowered, mumbling to himself,
"He said he was the young lord of the clan, and his dad was the chieftain. I thought since the medicine was supposed to be his anyway, he was just taking it out early. Was there a problem?"
"What do you think?" Chen Xia asked back first.
"There shouldn't be a problem, right?" Big Yellow Dog wrinkled his brows and replied. Then he stretched out a paw to rub his head, and added,
"Chi Yu said his dad had a lot more treasures and pills too. I told him to take those back as well. After all, they'd be his stuff in a few thousand years anyway. He'd just be taking them early."
Chen Xia was silent for a while. After a long pause, he finally commented,
"He has been very filially pietied indeed."
So this was the Great Heavenly World?
It really lived up to being "simple and honest folk."
Chen Xia shook his head. In fact, he wasn't worried about Chi Yu's safety at all, he had just been curious and wanted to ask about it.
Although Chi Yu was a supreme being, he didn't seem that powerful in the Vast Sky Sword Sea, just mid to upper tier, and not even among the best batches, but barely qualified.
After all, Chi Yu was a Three Thousand Blazing Crow, not comparable to the supreme races that had produced quasi-Emperor level characters.
This demonstrated that there were also differences between supreme beings, but this was very normal. Tigers and hyenas were both fierce beasts, but tigers were obviously more powerful.
Of course, there would also be individual differences. For example, a hyena that was strict with itself, highly disciplined, and exceptionally gifted, could possibly defeat an average tiger.
But that would be too fantastical, and was generally not taken as a reference.
Chi Yu's clan was like the hyena among fierce beasts. Naturally it was not very remarkable in a place like Vast Sky Sword Sea where even the lowest were ancient races.
But if you looked at it in this star domain, then it was a genuinely top existence, able to suppress tens of thousands of races.
It could even dominate several planets and establish its own sphere of influence.
And that was indeed the case.
Chi Yu's clan was in the southern part of this star domain, just beyond several star rivers. It was in a remote place with not the best resources, so there were not many powerful cultivators.
The most powerful one there was Chi Yu's father, at the beginning stage of the Heaven Mending Realm, who controlled several stars in that area.
And because of this, Chi Yu had been sent to the Vast Sky Sword Sea to cultivate, with the clan hoping that their most talented Chi Yu could become a saint and usher in a golden age for the clan.
Chi Yu's goal had always been to become a saint.
Well... before he met Chen Xia, that is.
After meeting Chen Xia, Chi Yu's ambitions changed.
He wanted to become an Emperor.
That was a good thing, right?
After all, who didn't want to have lofty ambitions?
He just didn't know if Chi Yu would say this to his dad when he went back: "Ministers and generals, you must have ambition!"
If his dad didn't know, he'd probably think Chi Yu was trying to rebel and seize power, and give him two big slaps.
Chen Xia leaned against the wall and stroked his cheek, feeling that Chi Yu shouldn't be that silly.
Hmm...
Hard to say.
Chen Xia shook his head again. Anyway, it wouldn't be him getting slapped.
It could be said that Big Yellow Dog and Chen Xia had tricked Chi Yu quite badly. If anything happened to Chi Yu one day, those two would be the masterminds.
Big Yellow Dog hiked up his red pants and sat on the white jade cushion, meditating while curiously asking Chen Xia,
"Bro, I heard you beat up two formal disciples last time, and they were two mysterious races?"
"Can't say I beat them up." Chen Xia shook his head in denial. Because he really hadn't laid a hand on them. He changed his wording,
"I just intimidated them one-sidedly."
The most violent thing he did was grab that Gold Condor by the head.
Chen Xia had no intention to kill at all, otherwise a single Violetgold Little Sword would have been enough to execute the Gold Condor and the Heavenly Lightning Spirit Python.
He had only shown himself later to intimidate the two, and saving that reserve disciple was secondary. His main goal was to make the Gold Condor and Heavenly Lightning Spirit Python repair the pavilion for him.
Thinking of this, Chen Xia's eyebrows twitched as he asked,
"Did they repair the pavilion that got torn down?"
He had forgotten for a moment and hadn't gone to check yet. It had been three months now since that day.
Big Yellow Dog often wandered around outside, and had some impression. Sitting cross-legged on the white jade cushion, he nodded his dog head and said,
"It was fixed long ago, but it doesn't look much like a pavilion now."
"What does it look like then?" Chen Xia asked with raised eyebrows, suspecting that the two hadn't kept their word and built him a restroom instead.
"Like a palace," Big Yellow Dog answered honestly, continuing, "And there's even a spirit stone statue of you at the entrance. I heard they're planning to expand recently too, and have bought land to build a garden outside the palace."
Such diligence?
Chen Xia was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected the Gold Condor and Heavenly Lightning Spirit Python to take this matter so seriously. It seemed his intimidation had not been in vain.
Big Yellow Dog placed his front paws on his legs wrapped in red pants, sitting in a Daoist meditation posture. He went on,
"Those two seem to have become sword cultivators too. They carry flying swords around them everyday now, have been doing it for three months, as if afraid others won't know."
Chen Xia frowned. "One Violetgold Little Sword, one golden flying sword?"
Big Yellow Dog nodded. "Even you know about it, brother. They must be showing off a lot."
Now Chen Xia understood. No wonder the Gold Condor and Heavenly Lightning Spirit Python were so enthusiastic. It turned out he had forgotten to take back the flying swords.
"But their flying swords don't seem very obedient," Big Yellow Dog continued. "I saw the flying swords slapping their mouths. Good heavens...
"The sword seals even left imprints on their faces. They were really hitting them!"
Big Yellow Dog sighed feelingly, then added,
"It looks to me not like they have tamed the flying swords, but rather the flying swords have tamed them."