Chapter 228: This Life's Goal

Gu Mountain Manor.

Inside the residence, the plump Meng Dajiang was playing with his grandchildren.

"Grandpa, hug!"

"Grandpa, hug me, hug me!"

The two children were still vying for his attention, so Meng Dajiang picked up one in each arm, playfully teasing them.

Nearby, Liu Yebai lay completely relaxed on a lounge chair, enjoying her leisure. "It's so much easier now that you're here," she said. "These two little ones are truly a handful; they're noisy both day and night. And I don't feel comfortable letting the servants handle them."

"Alright, alright, I'll take care of them from now on," Meng Dajiang said, not at all bothered by the effort, as he carefully played with the children. "Xiao Youyou, come here, give Grandpa a kiss."

The older sister, Meng You, immediately grinned and gave him a big kiss.

The younger brother immediately leaned in for a kiss too, glaring at his sister.

"Haha..." Meng Dajiang laughed with exceptional joy.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue watched all this through the window.

"Everything was going so well, but then he was suddenly framed. I was quite worried about my father before," Meng Chuan said. "But it seems he's in good spirits."

"A'Chuan," Liu Qiyue chuckled, "you underestimate your father-in-law too much. When he was young, he served in the military for ten years and fought countless times between life and death. He's also been a member of the Demon Slaying Alliance for many years, and for the past few years, he's overseen the Earth Net, witnessing untold horrific events. Compared to all that, this false accusation is minor; of course, he's taking it in stride."

"Hmm," Meng Chuan nodded slightly. "Since Dad's in good spirits, I'm relieved."

"What do you think about your mother's situation?" Liu Qiyue suddenly asked.

"My mother?"

Meng Chuan looked distantly to the northwest. Gu Mountain Manor in Wuzhou was located in the southeastern part of the Great Zhou Dynasty, while the Black Sand Dynasty was to its west.

"I never imagined my mother would be the Saintess of the Lunar Palace of Black Sand Grotto-Heaven," Meng Chuan said. "Now we are both Marquis Godfiends, but our family still can't reunite."

"Is there truly no way?" Liu Qiyue asked. "Last night at dinner, when your father mentioned it, I could feel how much he wanted the family to be reunited."

"A Lunar Saintess is forbidden from marriage and must remain chaste. The only exceptions are becoming the Palace Master of the Lunar Palace or having her Saintess status revoked. These are the public rules of the Lunar Palace," Meng Chuan explained. "Currently, the matter is kept secret, so the Lunar Palace can pretend not to know. But if my mother were to come and reunite with my father—especially since her son is over thirty now—the secret of her early marriage couldn't remain hidden indefinitely. According to their rules, the Lunar Palace would have to punish her..."

"Furthermore, behind this matter is primarily Venerable Bai Yaoyue."

Meng Chuan stated, "If Venerable Bai Yaoyue doesn't approve, my mother wouldn't dare leave the Black Sand Dynasty at all."

"Venerable Bai Yaoyue? What is this Venerable's temperament like?" Liu Qiyue inquired.

"All I've learned is that she's cold and severe, and even the Godfiends of Black Sand Grotto-Heaven hold her in great awe," Meng Chuan replied.

"Cold and severe?" Liu Qiyue frowned.

Meng Chuan said softly, "Although I'm furious about my father being framed this time, and I haven't found out who the mastermind is yet, I'm also very happy. Firstly, my father is safe and sound, and secondly, I know my mother is still alive."

Liu Qiyue also hugged Meng Chuan's arm, leaning gently against him.

"I'm truly happy that my mother is alive," Meng Chuan said, his eyes slightly red. "Another goal for my life has emerged: to reunite our family, to ensure my parents can truly be together without obstacles."

"You'll definitely be able to do it," Liu Qiyue affirmed.

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded.

A bamboo tube flew in from outside. Meng Chuan looked up, extended his hand, and the tube landed in his palm. The avian demon monarch hovering above the residence only flew away once it saw Meng Chuan receive the message.

Meng Chuan pulled the rolled-up letter from inside the bamboo tube.

"Who is the letter from?" Liu Qiyue asked.

"It's from Xiangshan Garden in Wuzhou City," Meng Chuan said, reading the letter. "It asks my father to return to Dongning Prefecture City as soon as possible to fully transfer the Earth Net affairs."

"Didn't your father-in-law resign from his Earth Net position? Can't the person in charge below him fully take over the duties?" Liu Qiyue wondered.

Meng Chuan chuckled, "I'll personally escort my father back."

That afternoon, Meng Chuan took his father, Meng Dajiang, back to Dongning Prefecture City.

"These are all the intelligence dossiers I kept at my residence," Meng Dajiang said, pulling a cartload of documents for transfer. "I intentionally compiled and collected them. Logically, others under my command should have had backups of these dossiers too. Each dossier has more than one copy."

"I've just taken office, and I'm still familiarizing myself with many situations. Some intelligence also needs to be cross-referenced with two copies," the thin middle-aged man said with a smile.

Meng Dajiang nodded.

Meng Chuan, standing by, asked in surprise, "Is the Earth Net for an entire prefecture now managed by a Great Solar Godfiend?"

"Brother Meng, you may not know," the thin middle-aged man replied with much humility and respect, "but all the Godfiend teams originally stationed in various prefectures have been disbanded."

"Disbanded?" Meng Chuan was surprised; he truly hadn't known.

"All Great Solar Godfiend outer disciples have joined the Earth Net," the thin middle-aged man stated. "I am one of them. We are no longer responsible for warfare but solely for intelligence gathering and reconnaissance."

Meng Chuan frowned slightly.

The Great Solar Godfiends of the Great Zhou Dynasty—including both inner and outer disciples of Yuanchu Mountain—totaled roughly two thousand. Now, all Great Solar outer disciples were joining the Earth Net? That would significantly reduce the number of Great Solar Godfiends available for external warfare.

"Not only that, but inner disciples of Great Solar Godfiends with lesser strength are also forbidden from participating in combat," the thin middle-aged man continued. "From my previous team, only the captain was transferred to a new one."

"Oh?" Meng Chuan pondered.

He and Liu Qiyue were too powerful to be subject to these reassignments. In fact, recently, Godfiend teams had been constantly disbanded and reorganized.

"Could it be related to a large-scale demon monarch invasion?" Meng Chuan wondered to himself. He knew from his master, Venerable Qin Wu, that the demon race was about to launch a massive invasion, with the number of demon monarchs entering the human world far exceeding current levels. Yet, Yuanchu Mountain's strategy seemed to be to reduce the number of Godfiend teams?

That same evening, Meng Chuan took his father back to Gu Mountain Manor.

Now, the elders could manage the family affairs, while Meng Dajiang stayed with Liu Yebai, looking after the two children.

Godfiend teams were disbanded, and elites were selected for reorganization.

Meng Chuan and his wife, as always, received a rescue mission every few days. Amidst this 'calm,' the human race's high command was actually extremely tense.

"Keep a close eye on it."

"Report any movement immediately."

Marquis Nanyun gave orders inside a residence in Yuguan.

"Yes, Marquis," the Earth Net personnel replied with utmost respect. They were all responsible for monitoring the medium-sized world entrance at Yuguan.

Yuguan originally had hundreds of thousands of people living there, but now the entire city had been abandoned, becoming a desolate place. Marquis Nanyun and others, however, were secretly hidden within it.

Not just Marquis Nanyun...

Most of Yuanchu Mountain's Marquis Godfiends were now lying in wait at various medium-sized city passes.

This was because humanity was certain that the demon race would launch a large-scale invasion! Naturally, intercepting them at the 'entrances' was the most efficient approach. Meng Chuan, being a Great Solar Godfiend, was not involved in these 'interception' missions.