Chapter 415: Family Reunion

On a spring day, wild peach blossoms outside the city bloomed vibrantly, their fragrance filling the air.

A scruffy middle-aged man with a saber at his waist walked through the wilderness, smiling as he gazed at the majestic Jiangzhou City in the distance.

"I'm back," Meng Dajiang muttered, his face unshaven. After three years of living in the wild, he had grown accustomed to the untidy lifestyle.

A figure flashed across the sky and landed before Meng Dajiang. It was Meng Chuan, who joyfully exclaimed, "Father!"

"Chuan'er," Meng Dajiang said proudly, looking at his son. "Didn't you go hunting demon kings today?"

"Since you're back today, Father, it's only right for your son to welcome you home. As for the demon kings? We're just wrapping things up now, so it's not as urgent." Meng Chuan smiled.

Walking side-by-side with his son on the wilderness path, Meng Dajiang asked, "Chuan'er, your letter mentioned that the first batch of patrol Godfiends would be reduced by five hundred? Are there only about eight hundred patrol Godfiends left in the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

"Eight hundred and five," Meng Chuan nodded, his voice filled with complex emotions. "It's been nearly seven years since the patrol Godfiends were deployed. The Great Zhou Dynasty has sent out a total of one thousand five hundred and seventy-nine patrol Godfiends. Seven hundred and sixty-three have died in battle, and eleven were severely wounded and forced to return home."

"Nearly half dead in battle," Meng Dajiang sighed. "During my recent patrols, I noticed it was getting progressively easier; now it's almost impossible to encounter a demon king. It was only when Yuanchu Mountain released the news that I learned it was you, Chuan'er, who killed a million demon kings."

"Yes." Meng Chuan nodded. "My strength broke through about half a year ago, allowing me to detect demon kings ten times more effectively than before. That's why I've been able to clear them out across the land. I estimate it will take a few more months to finish the mop-up."

"As your father, I'm benefiting from your achievements," Meng Dajiang chuckled. "If it weren't for you, the patrol Godfiends probably wouldn't have been able to retire for decades."

"The losses have been too severe," Meng Chuan said. "The Great Yue Dynasty and the Black Sand Dynasty have suffered even heavier losses than us. Across the world, more than half of the patrol Godfiends have died or been wounded in just seven years. If this continued for another ten years, almost all of them would likely perish. I even thought that if I had broken through earlier, so many patrol Godfiends wouldn't have had to die."

Meng Dajiang patted his son's shoulder and smiled. "Not everything in this world can go as we wish, but you've already done exceptionally well. The many patrol Godfiends who made that choice were prepared for it. While many have died, they also saved billions of lives."

"Yes," Meng Chuan nodded. Without the patrol Godfiends and their demon servant escorts patrolling the land, allowing millions of demon kings to 'hunt humans' freely, the death toll would be unimaginable. Even with Meng Chuan's formidable detection abilities, he couldn't be everywhere at once. Millions of demon kings would have slaughtered most of the common people across the land. It was the deterrence provided by the patrol Godfiends that kept the losses to a minimum.

"By the way, you mentioned picking up your mother on the eighth day of the fourth month?" Meng Dajiang looked at his son. "Did Black Sand Cavern really agree?"

"They agreed," Meng Chuan smiled. "Don't worry, all three Venerables of Black Sand Cavern have given their consent and sent a reply letter. They won't go back on their word."

Meng Dajiang nodded.

"Before we go, Father, you really need to clean yourself up," Meng Chuan couldn't help but say. "You're too disheveled."

"Me?" Meng Dajiang looked himself over and chuckled. "I truly didn't pay attention to it while living alone in the wild. I do need to clean up."

The eighth day of the fourth month arrived.

Meng Dajiang had lost a lot of weight, becoming leaner and appearing much younger. As a Godfiend specializing in body refinement at the Grand Sun realm, he looked to be in his thirties.

Meng Dajiang and Meng Chuan, father and son, flew at super-high speed through the clouds and mist, heading directly towards Black Sand Cavern.

"Father, you look much younger like this," Meng Chuan said, turning to his father with a smile.

"Not much different from back then, right?" Meng Dajiang pressed.

"About eighty or ninety percent similar," Meng Chuan assessed. His build and appearance were very similar, and his demeanor was even more composed and introverted. The solitary life of a patrol Godfiend had also been a form of tempering for his father.

"That's good," Meng Dajiang nodded, clearly a little nervous. Meeting his wife, Bai Nianyun, was his lifelong dream, one he had thought would remain an eternal regret. Now, it was about to come true, and he was incredibly excited.

"Up ahead."

Meng Chuan spotted two figures standing at the foot of one of the distant mountains. The father and son descended.

Meng Dajiang's gaze fell upon the woman in green in the distance. Her eyes, too, were filled with tears as she looked back at him. Meng Dajiang was no longer stout; he resembled his younger self by about eighty or ninety percent, similar to when he and his wife parted ways. Bai Nianyun was stronger, but as a Feudal Lord Godfiend with a lifespan of three hundred years, her appearance had barely changed from back then, though her demeanor was now somewhat colder.

As they looked at each other, memories flooded their minds. Their meeting, time spent together, falling in love, marriage, and raising a child... They would never forget those affectionate days. Because of a massacre by a large group of demon beasts, Bai Nianyun had to act, disregarding the risk of revealing her identity. That was when the couple parted ways.

"Dajiang," Bai Nianyun said, looking at her husband.

"Nianyun," Meng Dajiang exclaimed, running towards her excitedly.

Fifty years had passed. The couple gazed at each other.

"Hmph," a spectral figure nearby snorted coldly.

Bai Nianyun snapped out of her intense emotions and quickly pulled Meng Dajiang, respectfully saying, "Dajiang, this is my Bai family's Ancestor. Quickly pay your respects to the Ancestor."

"Meng Dajiang pays his respects to the Ancestor," Meng Dajiang bowed respectfully.

The spectral figure of Bai Yaoyue appeared even younger than Bai Nianyun, but her icy aura made even a Grand Sun realm Godfiend like Meng Dajiang tremble.

"You are Meng Chuan?" Bai Yaoyue, disinclined to look at the couple, turned her gaze to Meng Chuan.

"Greetings, Venerable Yaoyue," Meng Chuan bowed.

"By defeating a million demon kings, you have rendered great service to humanity," Bai Yaoyue nodded with satisfaction. "It's been a long time since I've seen such an outstanding young Godfiend. Cultivate diligently and strive to reach the Creation realm soon. The demon race won't give up so easily."

"Yes," Meng Chuan replied politely. She was a formidable expert, comparable to his master and Venerable Li Guan, and also his mother's ancestor, so he needed to be courteous. And, of course, it was also because his parents could finally reunite. If Bai Yaoyue had continued to prevent his parents from reuniting, Meng Chuan wouldn't have been so good-tempered; he would have forcibly brought his mother back once his strength increased. But for now, since Black Sand Cavern was genuinely seeking to establish a friendly relationship, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to be rude.

"As for you two?" Bai Yaoyue cast a cold glance at Bai Nianyun and Meng Dajiang.

"Ancestor," Bai Nianyun said with utmost respect, while Meng Dajiang bowed his head, listening to the rebuke.

"One is weak, and the other is foolish. You value so-called 'love' and don't take cultivation seriously at all, wasting a vast amount of resources from the Lunar lineage," Bai Yaoyue sneered. "It's only because Meng Chuan has rendered such great service to humanity that my Black Sand Cavern has made an exception. Otherwise, given my temperament, neither of you would ever have been together again in this lifetime."

Bai Nianyun and Meng Dajiang listened to the reprimand without refuting.

"Seeing you two just irritates me," Bai Yaoyue said, flicking her sleeve before turning and walking away. Her spectral figure merged into the vast mountains and disappeared.

"Let's go," Meng Dajiang said with a smile.

"Ancestor said all that, and you're not angry?" Bai Nianyun asked, looking at her husband.

"We're together now, so it's nothing for the elder to say a few words," Meng Dajiang replied, smiling brightly. He was indeed incredibly happy today.

Meng Chuan watched from the side, seeing his parents so intimately reunited, feeling almost like an outsider.