CHAPTER 607: 607 ENCOUNTERED

"I don’t know what happened? Fellow Daoist, sorry, I have to leave first."

Tan Shaoting’s divine sense was constantly monitoring him, and only after he left the range of his divine sense did he release the three children.

"You should stay outside. We just encountered an outsider, and I estimate we’ll meet more people later."

The three children had not yet recovered from their sadness. But they obediently nodded.

Tan Shaoting picked up Qi Wen. "What’s wrong?"

"Dad, did I ruin the chance to see Mom just now, hmm?"

Tan Shaoting rubbed his daughter’s head. Who can say for sure?

"Qi Wen, that’s an unknown matter. No one knows. Meeting your mom is already a blessing from heaven, so don’t overthink it."

"Dad, where’s Mom?"

Tan Shaoting’s eyes reddened. He never knew his tear glands were so active.

"Your mother must be fine. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely find a way back."

The four of them fell silent, the scene they encountered plunged them into anxiety. It also taught the three children from a young age that nothing can be forced. Right now, they can’t even think of going back, as they lack the ability to do so.

Even seeing some spirit plants couldn’t cheer the children up.

Tan Shaoting suppressed the sadness in his heart, unwilling to see the children in such a state.

"We need to perk up. Dad’s decided to find a way to get you into a big sect."

"Dad." The three children didn’t understand at all.

"Since we can’t find our way out here, we’ll go to a big sect. There are many books there. Maybe we’ll have unexpected gains."

Tan Shaoting didn’t want to be entangled in karma, but as a loose cultivator, he really didn’t have these resources.

Only by joining a sect can the children’s spirit roots be a major issue, and he had a small magic technique that could let them try. The spirit roots shouldn’t be too good, as it would impose too many restrictions. It’s certain that they must leave here so that the children aren’t burdened by karmic ties.

But all of this must wait until they get out of here.

At night, the four of them sat in the array eating. Although they seldom encountered demon beasts or cultivators along the way, necessary defenses were still in place.

Tan Shaoting cuddled them to sleep, having been shocked today. The children were still young, and during the night, they would cry themselves awake from dreams.

Since they were born from the same womb, when one cried, the other two would cry along.

Tan Shaoting didn’t know what he could do.

Seeing the children like this, his heart twisted. He was powerless, unable even to bring the children to find their mother.

The next day, they were still listless.

At noon, the four of them encountered a group of people.

These were the first people the children had seen in the secret realm.

"Fellow Daoist, we came from the east and haven’t encountered anyone else along the way."

A particularly gentle-looking person spoke to Tan Shaoting with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist. We came from the south, and also only met a fellow Daoist yesterday."

Tan Shaoting knew that these five people must be from a sect because they didn’t have the weathered look of those struggling for survival.

"Are we nearing the central area?" asked a particularly cute girl.

Who can really say? The terrain and experiences, no one can clearly articulate.

"Senior Sister, look, they look exactly alike, so beautiful."

The three children stood beside Tan Shaoting, unflinching, just being stared at by a few people.

"Fellow Daoist, let’s go together. This situation is very abnormal."

Tan Shaoting showed a troubled expression.

"Fellow Daoist, I would love to join you, but as you can see, my three children are still very young. I need to take care of them," afraid of being disliked, he didn’t say outright.

Everyone understood and, of course, knew what he meant.

"Senior Brother, they’re already at Qi Refining First Layer."

Their eyes were sharp, seeing that the children were able to cultivate to Qi Refining First Layer at such a young age, indicating that their spirit roots must be good. This was also forming a good relationship for the future.

"It’s fine, we can all look out for each other.

We are all from the Shushan Sect, my name is Xing Chongshan, Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer."

"Fellow Daoist, I am Jiang Xueyan, Qi Refining Eighth Layer," said the female cultivator called Senior Sister.

"My name is Cheng Yuanfang, also Qi Refining Eighth Layer."

The cute girl quickly added, "My name is Li Wenjun, also Qi Refining Eighth Layer."

The last male cultivator spoke faintly, "I am Qin Weichuan. Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer."

Tan Shaoting cupped his hands in greeting, "Five fellow Daoists, nice to meet you. I am Tan Shaoting, Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer. These are my three children, eldest son Tan Qiyan, second son Tan Qihong, and daughter Tan Qiweng."

The three children mirrored Tan Shaoting’s actions, cupping their hands in greeting.

Their cultivation level was similar to Tan Shaoting’s, but his skeletal age, just twenty-four at Qi Cultivation Tenth Layer, showed he wasn’t ordinary.

"Wow, Mr. Tan’s children are truly beautiful."

The three children cupped their hands again, displaying exceptional politeness.

The three female cultivators, watching their actions, grew even fonder, as liking cute people or things is normal.

So now they were teamed up. So they moved together.

Li Wenjun sidled up to the three children, looking at them with starry eyes.

Tan Shaoting was actually on guard, and the three children showed no expression throughout.

"Mr. Tan, did you encounter any danger along the way?"

"We encountered quite a few First and Second Rank demon beasts."

"It was the same for us along the way. The number of demon beasts wasn’t high," Xing Chongshan said.

"Mr. Xing, why have we seen so few people? This situation is very off."

"We too have been wondering all along. How can this be? The quiet is making me uneasy."

Everyone felt this way. They had participated in many secret realms before, and never encountered a situation like this.

Could it be that this secret realm is too large? The intuition of cultivators is very precise. They all believed this to be very dangerous.

A nine-person team was quite impressive. Along the way, whenever they saw spirit grass, they would pick it.

Tan Shaoting had already instructed the three of them to act with restraint along the way.

Dad had already told them not to show off or they might be taken by others, so the three of them obediently followed closely by Tan Shaoting’s side.

"Mr. Tan, is it dangerous to travel with three Qi Refining First Layer children?"

Tan Shaoting shook his head, "I try to avoid danger, just to prevent accidents."

They actually wanted to ask if there were any good resources in the south, as cultivation resources are really scarce now. But it wasn’t appropriate to ask directly, so they could only hint at it in this roundabout way.