My Son-in-Law Has Quite an Appetite

"...Ahem... His name is Qi Yuan," Jiang Ruhua said, looking somewhat sheepish. After all, by now, who under heaven did not know of Qi Yuan eliminating the Great Tribulation? For his son-in-law to share that very name was indeed rather awkward. When Wang Lingtong heard this, even as a Great Venerable, his heart gave a violent jolt. He whipped his gaze toward the staircase ahead, only to see a figure cloaked in blood-red robes descending slowly. Footsteps tapped softly against the stairs, pacing down one step at a time. Beside him, Jiang Lingsu in her plain robes was holding that figure's arm, an uncontrollable joy welling up from the depths of her eyes. At this moment, every cultivator drinking in the tavern set down their cups and silently rose to their feet. Inside the entire tavern, the only sound was the rustling thud of footsteps descending the wooden stairs. Jiang Ruhua did not notice the other cultivators rising. He only heard the sound of Qi Yuan's heavy footsteps on the stairs, which made his face flush with embarrassment. *Sigh, this son-in-law really is like me—from a small backwater. His public manners are just as crude, clomping around so loudly.* *Couldn't he see how quiet it was in here?* *Where are his manners?!* He resolved that upon returning to the Eastern Lands, he would properly discipline Qi Yuan. When away from home, one could not go around embarrassing the cultivators of the Eastern Lands. When that flash of crimson met his eyes, revealing an exceptionally handsome face still laced with indolence—as though suffering from lingering spring drowsiness—Jiang Ruhua stood up abruptly. Seeing the young man with his arm around his precious daughter, he opened his mouth to interrogate him. Yet before he could speak, every cultivator present bowed together, and a deafening roar swept through the room. "We pay our respects to Senior Blood-Robed Sword God!" "Senior eliminated the Great Tribulation with boundless merit. You should be the Human Sovereign of our Canglan Realm!" The voices rose in perfect unison, like a single speaker, cleaving rock and parting clouds as they echoed straight to the firmament. At this moment, the Great Venerables in the tavern cried out together. No matter how noble their status or illustrious their origins had once been, before that blood-robed figure, every single one of them was humble to the utmost degree. Jiang Ruhua blinked, doubting his own ears and eyes. His mind went completely blank, as if struck by lightning, his whole body tingling and numb. The shouts of the cultivators blurred into a ringing in his ears. Qi Yuan... *That* Qi Yuan?!! He was utterly at a loss, entirely unable to think. Panic seized him. He had just bragged about going up there to give Qi Yuan a good slap upside the head. Now, caught between a rock and a hard place, he could only play dead. And then... an immense wave of ecstatic shock surged in his chest. *Has this Daoist master... struck it rich?!* Wang Lingtong stole a glance at Jiang Ruhua with a glimmer of anticipation, wondering if this brother would actually go through with... Of course, he only dared to let the thought cross his mind, not daring to linger on it. After all, the person before them was a ruthless figure who had wiped out three thousand Great Tribulations! Under his command were a full several thousand Yang God Heavenly Venerables! Even in the Upper Realm, he would surely be a supreme Sovereign presiding over a domain! Just then, the languid Qi Yuan yawned, deep exhaustion lingering in the depths of his eyes. He swept his gaze across the Great Venerables present, then glanced at Jiang Ruhua, who looked as if he needed emergency resuscitation, and spoke slowly. "The title of Human Sovereign carries responsibility. I... am not worthy." To be a Human Sovereign, one must shoulder the Canglan Realm. He had already swallowed the entire Canglan Realm whole; how could he shoulder it? Thus, he was unworthy! Seeing this, none of the Great Venerables dared utter a word, let alone offer any objection. After all, this was the Blood-Robed Sword God who had annihilated the Great Tribulation! His word carried more weight than any divine decree. Seeing this scene, Jiang Ruhua was finally certain in his heart: this Qi Yuan was the real Qi Yuan. Otherwise, had all these cultivators gathered here just to put on a play? No wonder he had been unable to discern their cultivation levels. The weakest among them... were probably Great Venerables. "Senior ought to be the Common Lord of the World!" Great Venerable Baiyu bowed deeply, speaking as the former foremost figure of the Canglan Realm. The other Great Venerables chimed in one after another. Now that the Great Tribulation was eliminated, if the Blood-Robed Sword God did not become the Common Lord of the World, how could they even exist? After all, the myriad stars in the Canglan Realm were gone, replaced only by ten suns hanging high in the sky. Where lay their future and their path forward? "Though the Great Tribulation is gone, the marks left behind by the entity orchestrating it still remain upon your bodies. "That is why I swallowed the Canglan Realm and placed it inside my Purple Mansion. "Were you to leave my Purple Mansion, if the mastermind behind the Great Tribulation wished for revenge, a single thought from them would snuff all of you out. "Therefore... you will temporarily remain lodged within my Purple Mansion. "I am a very generous person. Swallowing you without asking first was a bit of a forced lease... so I won't charge you rent." Qi Yuan stretched lazily, his tone calm and unhurried. The surrounding Great Venerables exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with shock and suspicion. Just then, Wang Lingtong stepped forward and said loudly, "Senior Blood-Robed Sword God speaks the absolute truth! I hail from the Xingli Realm. A Heavenly Venerable of my realm once stated that the entity behind the Great Tribulation left imprints inside all living beings, leaving our lives and deaths subject to their whim. "Now that the Great Tribulation has dispersed, once that entity learns of this, they will likely extinguish those marks and harvest us all!" Cold sweat broke out on the backs of the other cultivators upon hearing this. Even the Great Tribulation had been so terrifying and overwhelming; the entity behind it was simply beyond imagination. All their calculations and plans prior to coming here dissolved into thin air. Great Venerable Baiyu stepped forward at this moment, his gaze resolute. "Senior's will is the will of the Canglan Realm!" He did not mention the Common Lord of the World again. After all, every living soul in the Canglan Realm was indebted to Qi Yuan. "I have no interest in any of that. I am merely a cultivator with zero ambition, weak strength, barely able to protect myself, a bit socially anxious, and fond of staying home. "Sigh, it's all because of this damn social climate forcing my hand. "If not for the Black Mountain Sect acting so rampantly, the Palace of Light pushing things too far, the Dark Sun behaving so arrogantly, and the Great Tribulation being so cold and merciless... "And those netizen trolls flaming me online every single day, why would I have to tire myself out like this? "I just want to see a peaceful, friendly, harmonious cultivation world with a healthy culture. It's that simple. "If it were like that, wouldn't it be wonderful for me to just hole up in my sect every day and play video games?" Qi Yuan said with utter sincerity. He was socially anxious by nature; playing the savior did not suit him. Doing it in games was fine enough, but there was really no need in reality. The other Great Venerables stared at one another upon hearing this speech, utterly dumbfounded and not daring to speak. The Blood-Robed Sword God's words had left them completely at a loss. Jiang Lingsu looked at her Eldest Senior Brother, amusement sparkling in her eyes. Her Eldest Senior Brother was still the same familiar brother, and what he said was always so wonderfully bizarre. "Rest assured, Senior, we will do our utmost to cleanse the atmosphere of the cultivation world!" Great Venerable Baiyu declared, his tone firm. A few Great Venerables who normally had foul mouths broke into a cold sweat down their spines. "We are willing to build a peaceful and loving cultivation world for Senior!" "Not bad, not bad," Qi Yuan praised offhandedly before continuing, "Give me a moment. During the battle against the Great Tribulation earlier, the shockwaves caused quite a few living beings to perish. Sigh, this was all my fault." Qi Yuan sighed. Battling the Great Tribulation inevitably produced aftershocks, which even the Netherworld's separation between the living and the dead could not completely prevent. Great Venerable Baiyu hurriedly said, "The casualties of this battle are not Senior's fault!" "The blame lies entirely with the Great Tribulation!" No one dared blame Qi Yuan. Even if someone did, these Great Venerables would never allow such voices to reach Qi Yuan's ears. "Fortunately, being as clever as I am, I prepared in advance." Clad in his blood-red robe, Qi Yuan extended his palm. With his words, his languid demeanor vanished completely, replaced by an incomparably sacred aura, like a deity seated high above the Nine Heavens. His arm around Jiang Lingsu remained right where it was. Seeing Qi Yuan like this, Jiang Ruhua felt an overwhelming urge to prostrate himself in worship. The other Great Venerables felt the exact same way. Earlier, the Blood-Robed Sword God had seemed far too approachable and down-to-earth, almost surreal. Such solemnity was truly fitting of his stature. Boundlessly sacred and unfathomably mysterious, his aura suddenly shifted again, turning intensely somber and gloomy. Between heaven and earth, a gate to the underworld seemed to swing open, releasing an endless, eerie aura that permeated the air. The towering, upright deity spoke, his voice vast and profound, like an ancient sacrificial chant. "O soul, return! You cannot dwell in the four quarters! "Rootless and lush, duckweed drifting and sinking. "Helpless and solitary, willow catkins blowing in the wind. "All marked by my imprint, return!" With Qi Yuan's chant, heaven and earth shook violently. The eerie aura intensified to its peak. It was as if the gates of the Netherworld had swung wide. The voice resonated across the entire Canglan Realm, heard by every living soul. "Is that the voice of the Blood-Robed Sword God?" "What is he doing?" Countless cultivators, mortals, and even insects, birds, and beasts looked around in confusion. Every Great Venerable sent out their divine senses in astonishment. Across nearby shattered mountains and rivers, deceased mortals and cultivators were drawn by an unfathomable summons, returning from the silence of death. "I... am still alive?" "Wait, what happened?" "Father, you're alive!!" Countless cultivators were stunned, while others wore looks of terror. All living beings in the Canglan Realm who had perished in this great war awakened once more at this moment. Their forms, whether converted into departed souls or scattered, instantly reconstituted into their original states, fully restored. Witnessing this scene, countless cultivators revered it as a divine miracle. And in the Canglan Realm, who else could perform such a miracle besides the Blood-Robed Sword God, Qi Yuan! "Blood-Robed Sword God!" Countless people kowtowed in worship, while some cultivators trembled uncontrollably. This had exceeded their wildest imaginations. For the Great Venerables in particular, not even ancient records contained any mention of such an occurrence. Meanwhile, Qi Yuan, looking divine and solemn, showed a flicker of complex emotion in his eyes. *So the boundary between life and death is simply transformation. Sigh, another day of growing a brain.* While utilizing the functions of the Netherworld, Qi Yuan had gained some insight, realizing that life and death were, to a certain extent, energy conversion and the transformation of all things. This was somewhat similar to Ning Tao's realization upon stepping into the Yang God realm—that time did not truly exist, but was merely transformation. Of course, he had only grasped a tiny sliver; there seemed to be far more unknowns regarding his Netherworld. Jiang Ruhua swallowed hard as he watched. As for giving him a slap upside the head, he didn't dare even entertain the thought anymore. The power of the Blood-Robed Sword God standing before him surpassed his comprehension and imagination. The Great Venerables felt this even more deeply than he did. The stronger one was, the more terrifyingly astounding this divine miracle performed by the Blood-Robed Sword God appeared! "Alright, is there anything else?" Qi Yuan asked, his sacred aura fading away as he reverted back to that ordinary Purple Mansion cultivator of the Divine Light Sect. "If not, I'm going back to catch up on sleep." He was still very sleepy and exhausted. The battle earlier had drained far too much of his mental energy. Just then, Wang Lingtong suddenly dropped to his knees, and beside him, Wang Lingshan knelt as well. "We beg Senior Blood-Robed Sword God... to swallow our Xingli Realm!" They had come here specifically to seek the Blood-Robed Sword God's aid. After all, though the Great Tribulation was destroyed, the marks upon them remained. If the entity in the Taihuang Palace wished, every living soul in the Xingli Realm would perish in an instant. Seeing that the Blood-Robed Sword God remained silent, Wang Lingtong pressed on, "As long as Senior Blood-Robed Sword God swallows the Xingli Realm, all the cultivation techniques of the Xingli Realm will belong to you! "Doesn't Senior wish for a better atmosphere in the cultivation world? Sigh, the cultivators of the Xingli Realm mostly have bad habits—drunkards, foul-mouthed trash-talkers, you name it! They desperately need Senior to rectify their conduct! "And in the other realms afflicted by the Great Tribulation, the cultivation worlds are suppressed and suffocating, and many cultivators have mental health issues. They also need the Blood-Robed Sword God to clean up their act! "All the cultivation techniques of the Three Thousand Realms will be yours, Senior! "We beg Senior to swallow the Three Thousand Realms whole!" Wang Lingtong's voice was low and reverent. Evidently, he had made preparations before arriving and learned something of the Blood-Robed Sword God's temperament. Naturally, he knew that accompanying a sovereign was like walking with a tiger; guessing and catering to an expert's whims might draw their ire. Yet at this juncture, he could not afford to be cautious. The Three Thousand Realms could face annihilation at any moment. Qi Yuan pondered briefly upon hearing this. "What you say makes some sense." Cultivation techniques were secondary. The techniques across the Three Thousand Realms were not even as good as those collected by the Buddha Realm. Now, if the entity in the Taihuang Palace learned what had happened to the Great Tribulation, they might trigger the marks and harvest the Three Thousand Realms. Harvesting three thousand realms would surely bolster that figure's strength by a margin. Therefore, to prevent this villainous Taihuang Palace from growing stronger, it was his duty to swallow the Three Thousand Realms. Most importantly, he, Qi Yuan, was a lawful-good, law-abiding person who never killed the innocent and always blinked when killing people. Thus, the Three Thousand Realms had to be swallowed whole! "Senior, these are the coordinates to the Xingli Realm. As for the rest of the Three Thousand Realms, we will provide the coordinates to you as soon as possible!" Wang Lingtong said with immense excitement, breathing a sigh of relief. As long as the other party was willing to swallow them, the Three Thousand Realms still had a chance at survival. The black-robed man nearby felt a trace of joy upon hearing this, but mostly regret and sorrow. His homeland had long since been consumed by the Great Tribulation, leaving not a speck behind. "No need. When I annihilated the Great Tribulations, I obtained all the coordinates," Qi Yuan said calmly, then looked at Wang Lingtong. "If I swallow so many realms whole, what if I get diarrhea?" Wang Lingtong fell silent, completely unsure of how to answer. "Alright, enough chatter. I'm going to swallow the Three Thousand Realms. Once I'm done, I'll sleep a bit more to help digest." Having said this, Qi Yuan vanished alongside Jiang Lingsu, leaving behind the dumbfounded Great Venerables. "Senior Blood-Robed Sword God swallowing the Three Thousand Realms whole... It is simply unimaginable!" Great Venerable Baiyu remarked with profound awe. The other Great Venerables could hardly picture what kind of scene that would be. "For the Canglan Realm to produce Senior Blood-Robed Sword God is a blessing accumulated across lifetimes!" a Great Venerable lamented. With the Great Tribulation resolved, they still felt as though they were living in a dream. They knew intimately how terrifying the Great Tribulation was; the Canglan Realm alone had no power to resist it. Yet who could have foreseen that the Great Tribulation was even more horrifying than imagined? Three thousand Great Tribulations were enough to crush any will to resist in every cultivator. And yet, they had still been suppressed by the Blood-Robed Sword God! At this moment, Wang Lingtong looked toward Jiang Ruhua, took a deep breath, and sent a voice transmission laced with a hint of fawning, "Senior, I never expected that the young lady beside Senior Blood-Robed Sword God was actually your daughter." Jiang Ruhua felt a surge of delight upon hearing this, but on second thought... *How could you send a voice transmission for something like this?!* *You should say it out loud!* *These cultivators from big places really have no tact whatsoever!* Seeing these Great Venerables discussing the Blood-Robed Sword God, Jiang Ruhua suddenly let out an emotional sigh—and an extraordinarily loud one at that: "*Sigh*, my son-in-law has quite an appetite, having to swallow three thousand realms in one go. If he ever comes to visit my Jiang Family, how could we possibly afford to host him?" As Jiang Ruhua's words rang out, the eyes of every Great Venerable in the room snapped toward him in unison. Shock, astonishment, reverence... all manner of gazes converged upon him. Jiang Ruhua basked in the attention, utterly delighted. "My Jiang Family really is far too poor. *Sigh*," Jiang Ruhua lamented once more.