In the Wang family mansion, within the Hall of Deliberation.
A middle-aged man in a blue robe sat at the head of the hall, gazing at his second son, who lay in the middle of the hall with his Golden Core shattered, his eyes burning with boundless fury.
This man was Wang Juetian, the patriarch of the Wang family in Wuning City, a cultivator at the peak of the Three Tribulations Nascent Soul stage.
"Tell me exactly what happened, from beginning to end. Not a single word can be left out!" Wang Juetian said in a low voice, looking at the attendant who was kneeling beside him.
"Yes." The surviving attendant recounted the entire incident in detail. After finishing, he dared not look up at Wang Juetian, bowing his head deeply to the ground.
"Take this wretch away first, he’s an eyesore!" Upon hearing this, Wang Juetian's anger intensified. He waved his hand, and the attendant quickly took Wang Er Shao away.
"Killed Luo Chen with a single sword?" After the attendant left with his men, Wang Juetian sat on his throne, lost in thought.
To be able to kill Luo Chen with a single sword, leaving him no chance to resist, such strength was beyond the capabilities of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators, as Luo Chen's strength had already reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage.
This indicated that the murderer was at least a Two Tribulations Nascent Soul cultivator.
But the perpetrator was also a young man carrying a sword…
…
Zhang Fan returned to the inn with the little girl. In the room, he looked at her adorable face, finding it hard to believe she was born with the Dark Divine Body.
"If not for the extreme shock she experienced today, perhaps this Dark Divine Body of hers would never have awakened in her lifetime." Looking at the little girl's tranquil face, Zhang Fan thought to himself.
The little girl appeared to be only about ten years old and did not cultivate any techniques. It was clear that her father understood the hardships of the cultivation path and did not intend to teach her, perhaps hoping she would live a peaceful and happy life.
The Dark Divine Body was a type of divine body, but it differed from Zhang Fan's method of cultivating divine body techniques. Those with it were naturally close to the path of darkness, able to easily manipulate the rules of darkness, their Dao divine bodies forming naturally without the need for cultivation techniques.
It was similar to many powerful races among demonic beasts, such as the Blood Dragon clan. Every few eras, the Blood Dragon clan would produce one or two prodigies who inherited the bloodline of the Ancestral Dragon. Their physical bodies were incredibly powerful from birth, possessing divine body constitutions from the moment they were born.
Of course, such innate divine bodies were extremely rare among both the beast and human races.
The Dark Divine Body, in the eyes of most cultivators, was considered an evil innate divine body. Their dark constitution would cause an irresistible surge of negative emotions within the cultivator, deeply implanting demonic roots.
Therefore, most of the innate Dark Divine Bodies born throughout history were bloodthirsty demons. In Zhang Fan's current era, this was the first time he had encountered a born Dark Divine Body.
"I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing for her," Zhang Fan shook his head and sighed softly.
After a long while, the little girl slowly woke up. She looked around, a little bewildered by the unfamiliar surroundings.
"The dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences." Zhang Fan waved his hand, bringing out her father's corpse from the Star Map space, and comforted her.
The little girl stared blankly at the corpse before her. Her star-like eyes were filled with sorrow and helplessness. Her father was the only family she had in this world, her only reliance, but he was now gone.
"You have two paths now."
"The first is that I will help you bury your father and find a common family to adopt you. You will live out your remaining years in peace, which is perhaps what your father would have wished for."
"The other path is that I can lead you onto the path of cultivation. However, once you enter the world of cultivators, your world will become even more cruel, filled with endless killing. There will be no turning back. If you have any thought of retreating, you will be not far from death."
Zhang Fan looked at the little girl calmly and said.
"I want to cultivate, please take me as your disciple!" The little girl's bright eyes fixed on Zhang Fan. She knelt on both knees and bowed.
"Tell me, why do you choose this path? Do you know that your cultivation path will be a hundred or even a thousand times more arduous than that of ordinary people!" Zhang Fan's voice was low, carrying an irresistible will that struck directly at the soul.
"I want to avenge my father, and I don't want to be bullied anymore, so I want to cultivate and become strong!" Zhang Fan's irresistible will put immense pressure on the little girl. Her small face turned extremely pale, but she still gritted her teeth and said stubbornly.
"What is your name?" Zhang Fan asked.
"Luo Xiaoxiao."
"Get up. From now on, you will be the second disciple under my, Zhang Fan's, tutelage."
Zhang Fan looked at Luo Xiaoxiao and said, "You shall have only one rule under my sect: never disobey a master's orders. If you violate it, I will personally deal with you."
"Yes," Luo Xiaoxiao responded respectfully.
"I will now take you to bury your father, and then I will teach you some basic knowledge of cultivation. As for revenge, I think you can put it aside for now and stop dwelling on it." Zhang Fan said, looking at Luo Xiaoxiao.
"Master, why?" Luo Xiaoxiao looked up at Zhang Fan, her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"While you were unconscious, I already struck and shattered the culprit's Golden Core, crippling his cultivation."
"Of course, if you feel that is not enough, you can personally kill him once your cultivation reaches a certain level. However, I do not wish for this to become your goal for cultivation, but merely a part of the process. Do you understand?" Zhang Fan looked at Luo Xiaoxiao and said.
Luo Xiaoxiao nodded, a hint of understanding in her eyes.
Zhang Fan didn't say more. After all, Luo Xiaoxiao was still young, and it was unrealistic to expect her to fully grasp these principles immediately.
If the motivation for cultivation stems from hatred, the cultivator's heart will gradually become twisted by that hatred. This would be even more fatal for Luo Xiaoxiao, who possessed the innate Dark Divine Body.
…
Having crippled the cultivation of the second young master of the Wang family, Zhang Fan expected the Wang family to come looking for him soon. After all, he had not hidden his movements, and they could find him with a little inquiry.
However, to his surprise, the Wang family took no action, as if nothing had happened.
"It seems the Wang family patriarch is not as foolish as his son, not rushing to confront me." Zhang Fan thought to himself.
On this Boundless Continent, there were countless powerful individuals, far stronger than the Wang family patriarch. It was best to remain still before understanding the enemy's capabilities.
Zhang Fan took Luo Xiaoxiao out of Wuning City and traveled to a forest tens of thousands of miles away.
"Father, don't worry. I understand you didn't teach me cultivation for my own good. But now I have a very good master, and I will follow my master to cultivate well and live well."
After paying respects at her father's grave, Luo Xiaoxiao found Zhang Fan by a pool in the forest.
At that moment, Zhang Fan was holding a fishing rod, leisurely fishing.
Seeing Luo Xiaoxiao approach, he turned his head and asked, "Xiaoxiao, do you know how to fish?"
"No, where we used to live there were no fish ponds, and it was too dangerous in these deep mountains, so we never dared to come in." Luo Xiaoxiao shook her little head.
"Come, I'll teach you!" Zhang Fan took out a smaller fishing rod and handed it to Luo Xiaoxiao. He then taught her how to bait the hook, adjust the float, and cast the line…
After teaching her, the master and disciple sat by the pool and began to fish.
During this time, Zhang Fan's line was constantly tugged by fish. By the end of the day, his basket was full of fish, while Luo Xiaoxiao had not caught a single one.
"Do you know why?" Zhang Fan asked.
Luo Xiaoxiao looked at her master curiously and shook her head, also perplexed.
"Fishing has no other secret. The only secret is patience."
"Once you cast your bait, you just need to wait patiently. If there is even the slightest disturbance on the float, you will move your rod, and the fish that was about to bite will be scared away."
"Because you are desperately eager for a fish to bite, you end up achieving the opposite result."
"It's the same with doing anything. You cannot be too eager for success, nor can you only focus on the result. The process is also very important."
"Especially in cultivation, only by calming your mind, enjoying the process of cultivation, resonating with the great Dao of heaven and earth, and acting in accordance with the flow, can you naturally achieve success." Zhang Fan instructed.
Luo Xiaoxiao seemed to gain some understanding, nodding her little head. Her heart also gradually calmed down.
For over ten days, Zhang Fan and Luo Xiaoxiao stayed in the forest, their daily activity being fishing, with no mention of cultivation.
"It's about time." Zhang Fan put away his fishing rod, released all the caught fish back into the pool, and left with Luo Xiaoxiao.