Chapter 5

Lowering his head, Lu Tianyu stepped into his family's small courtyard and immediately heard a high-pitched exclamation: "Ah? Brother Tianyu, what happened to you?"

The voice was extremely sweet and clear, making one feel inexplicably comfortable upon hearing it.

Lu Tianyu immediately looked up at the sound and saw a graceful young girl standing before him. She was about sixteen or seventeen years old, slender and delicate, with a face as smooth as goose fat, lips like cherry blossoms, eyebrows as finely drawn as ink, and eyes as clear as autumn water, exuding an indescribable gentleness and delicacy. She wore a bright green dress, standing alone beside the flowers in the courtyard, looking particularly striking and fresh.

This girl was none other than Lu Yi, the adopted daughter of his fourth uncle, Lu Xingkong.

Fourth Uncle Lu Xingkong had been married for several years but remained childless, even after taking several wives and concubines. Sixteen years ago, while on a business trip, he came across a baby girl lying in the grass. Believing this to be a gift from heaven, he joyfully brought her back, named her Lu Yi, and raised her as his own daughter.

In the entire Lu family, apart from his mother, Li Xianghui, Lu Tianyu only had good feelings for Lu Yi, as they had grown up together. Even after he was found to have no spiritual root and thus unable to cultivate, Lu Yi never looked down on him and continued to treat him kindly.

Lu Tianyu once asked Lu Yi why she was so good to him, a useless young master. Lu Yi simply smiled faintly and slowly replied, "I treat those who are good to me well."

This was the truth. From a young age, Lu Tianyu had always treated Lu Yi like a real younger sister. Whenever someone bullied her, he would step in without hesitation, even if it meant being beaten to a pulp.

"Brother Tianyu, I'm asking you a question. Why do you look like this?" Seeing Lu Tianyu in a daze, Lu Yi pouted and continued to press him.

"Oh, I'm fine, I just fell down." Lu Tianyu felt a deep warmth in his heart and casually lied, smiling in response. He didn't want Lu Yi to worry about him.

If he told her the truth, the fiery-tempered Lu Yi might not be able to resist going to confront Lu Tianci, and then he would suffer again. Every time Lu Yi caused a commotion, Lu Tianci would blame Lu Tianyu and bring a group of evil servants to cause trouble for him and his mother.

"Really?" Lu Yi asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

"Of course, by the way, where is Mother?" Lu Tianyu looked around the courtyard, not seeing his mother, and immediately asked in confusion.

"Oh, Second Mother was called by Third Uncle to clean the front courtyard. She should be back soon." Lu Yi sighed inwardly and slowly replied.

"Third Uncle..." Lu Tianyu clenched his teeth in anger. It was Third Uncle again. Since his father's death, the old master of the Lu family had been in seclusion, almost handing over all the affairs of the Lu family to Third Uncle, Lu Xingyao.

Because his eldest uncle was born with polio, his legs were paralyzed and he could not walk normally, he was destined to have no status in the Lu family from birth.

As for the second uncle of the Lu family, who was Lu Tianyu's deceased father, he had exceptional talent and was one of the best in the second generation of the Lu family, with the greatest hope of becoming the future head of the Lu family. However, he died young.

As for Fourth Uncle Lu Xingkong, his favorite thing to do was to manage the family business, and he was not very interested in cultivation. Therefore, the old master of the Lu family entrusted all the family's external business to him.

Lu Tianyu's father's death was a great blow to the old master of the Lu family. Perhaps because of this, the old master had been in seclusion ever since, entrusting all the affairs of the Lu family to Third Uncle, Lu Xingyao.

From a young age, Lu Tianyu could see that Third Uncle was not friendly to him. However, as long as his father was alive, Third Uncle did not dare to do anything to him. After his father's death, the fate of him and his mother changed drastically, and they were moved from the front courtyard to the back courtyard.

Fourth Uncle Lu Xingkong was quite dissatisfied with this, but after the family detected that Lu Tianyu had no spiritual root and could not cultivate, he could no longer say anything. After all, no one cared about a useless person.

"Brother Tianyu, I have also advised Third Uncle not to assign those servants' tasks to Second Mother, but he didn't listen..." Lu Yi said softly.

"Thank you, Xiao Yi. Everything will change one day." Lu Tianyu looked firmly towards the front courtyard, believing that one day he would be able to help his mother escape from her suffering and no longer endure hardship.

"By the way, Brother Tianyu, you haven't been home for a few days. Where did you go?" Lu Yi, remembering that she hadn't seen Lu Tianyu for a few days, immediately asked in confusion.

"Oh, I had some things to do." Lu Tianyu did not want to alert anyone, so he did not reveal the truth.

"What things? Brother Tianyu, can I help you?" Lu Yi immediately asked with concern.

Lu Tianyu's heart stirred. To be honest, he did have something that needed Lu Yi's help. Apart from her, no one else in the entire Lu family could help him.

"Xiao Yi, I do have something that needs your help, but it's a bit difficult..." Lu Tianyu hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed to speak.

"Brother Tianyu, just say it. Whatever I can help with, I will do my best." Lu Yi immediately said.

"Xiao Yi, I need some heavenly treasures with metal, wood, and earth attributes. Can you help me get some from the Lu family's treasure room? If it's too difficult, then forget it." Lu Tianyu mustered up the courage and finally spoke.

"Hehe, what's so difficult about that? You know, my father manages all the Lu family's external business and has collected a large number of heavenly treasures, which are all stored in the Lu family's treasure room. For others, that treasure room might be a forbidden place, but for me, it's different. As long as I have my father's authorization, I can enter freely. Don't worry, Brother Tianyu, I'll go get them for you." Lu Yi immediately agreed, then wondered why Lu Tianyu, who could not cultivate, needed these things.

"Brother Tianyu, what do you need these for?" Lu Yi couldn't help but ask.

"Xiao Yi, please don't ask the reason. It's not the right time to tell you yet. When the time comes, you will know. And I hope you can keep this a secret and not tell anyone, not even your father. Okay?" Lu Tianyu immediately instructed earnestly.

"Okay, I won't tell anyone. If my father asks, I'll say I need these materials to refine pills. Hehe, Brother Tianyu, wait for my good news." Lu Yi said and immediately skipped away.

"Xiao Yi, thank you!" Lu Tianyu watched Lu Yi's retreating figure and sincerely thanked her.

"Silly brother, why are you so formal with me?" Lu Yi laughed without turning back and finally disappeared from the courtyard.

"Now that the matter of the heavenly treasures is settled, I wonder what shocking cultivation techniques will appear after the outer seal of the Pangu Heavenly Book is broken." Lu Tianyu felt a great weight lifted from his heart and took a deep breath. He immediately ran into his room, fetched a basin of water, washed himself thoroughly, and changed into a clean blue robe.

Holding the white stone, Lu Tianyu frowned slightly. Carrying such a fist-sized stone around all the time would be very inconvenient, and it might accidentally fall out and be discovered by others.

"Senior Daogu, are you there?" Lu Tianyu, thinking of his concerns, immediately asked the white stone in his hand.

"Kid, what is it?" Daogu's tone seemed somewhat impatient.

"Senior Daogu, I think it's very inconvenient to carry you around like this. How about I dig a hole under the bed and hide you there? That way, you won't be easily discovered." Lu Tianyu said slowly.

"There's no need for that. As long as you help me find the heavenly treasures with metal, wood, and earth attributes, once I reach the first small completion of the five elements, I can use some divine powers to hide in your third eye. That way, unless someone reaches the War Venerable realm, no one will be able to detect my presence." Daogu immediately replied.

"Ah? That simple?" Lu Tianyu was taken aback again.

"Alright, kid, remember, don't disturb me unless it's something important. I'm busy refining the energy from the two demon beasts' cores into pure ice and fire energy, preparing for the first small completion of the five elements. Got it?" Daogu instructed impatiently.

"Okay, Senior Daogu, I'll call you when I find the other three types of heavenly treasures." Lu Tianyu immediately said.

Putting the white stone close to his body, Lu Tianyu immediately lay down on the bed and began to rest. After enduring torture for several days and the arduous climb up the cliff, he was exhausted. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.

In a daze, Lu Tianyu felt as if it was raining, with countless raindrops splashing on his face. He opened his eyes groggily and immediately saw a pair of loving eyes staring at him, filled with tears.

"Mother, you're back. Why are you crying?" Lu Tianyu's sleepiness vanished, and he immediately sat up, grabbing his mother's hand and asking with concern.

Li Xianghui had been standing by the bed for a long time, watching her sleeping son without disturbing him, only silently shedding tears. Seeing her son wake up, she quickly wiped away her tears and forced a smile, saying, "Mother is fine. Fei'er, tell Mother where you've been these days. Do you know how worried I've been? I couldn't sleep at night, and I was always worried about you..."

At this, Li Xianghui's tears overflowed again, dripping onto Lu Tianyu's shoulder.

"Mother, I had some things to do these days. I'm sorry for making you worry. Don't cry, Mother, I'm back now." Lu Tianyu immediately held his mother's hand tightly, feeling deeply moved.

As the saying goes, "A mother worries when her child travels far." During these few days, Li Xianghui had grown a few more white hairs.

"Fei'er, remember, if you have to go out, tell Mother first. That way, Mother can wait for you at home with peace of mind." Li Xianghui pressed Lu Tianyu's head to her shoulder, saying with infinite love.

"I know, Mother." Lu Tianyu leaned on his mother's warm shoulder, and his eyes swept over her, immediately noticing a few more white hairs. His heart ached, and tears welled up in his eyes.

Lu Tianyu's mother, Li Xianghui, was only in her forties. At this age, people usually don't have white hair. However, years of hard work, coupled with the bullying from the Lu family's evil servants and constant worry about her son, had made her show signs of premature aging.