It wasn't long before the banquet prepared for guests was ready, and everyone took their seats to eat.

Xi Ying was forcibly seated by her father between him and Ximen Rui, while Yuan Ming was arranged to sit at a slightly distant seat at the lower end of the table.

Throughout the meal, Xi Zheng didn't stop trying to set up Xi Ying with Ximen Rui in both overt and subtle ways.

Unable to listen any longer, Xi Ying claimed to feel unwell and left the banquet after a short while.

Yuan Ming also took the opportunity to leave.

However, before the two could get far, Xi Zheng followed them out with a displeased expression on his face.

"Yuan, I ask you to rest in the guest room for a while. I have something to discuss with Xiao Ying," Xi Zheng said without giving Yuan Ming a single glance.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming did not move. Instead, he turned his gaze to Xi Ying.

Xi Ying, with a look of helplessness, nodded at him, and only then did Yuan Ming turn around and leave.

As Yuan Ming walked away, he couldn't help but find it laughable that someone as extraordinary as Xi Ying had to endure such constraints due to arranged marriages.

"Come with me." After Yuan Ming left, Xi Zheng's face darkened, and he commanded.

Without a word, Xi Ying followed him.

"I just emerged from seclusion, and the first thing when I'm out is to clash with me?" they arrived in a secret room, Xi Zheng looked at his daughter, whom he had not seen in years, and finally softened, speaking with a gentler tone.

"If you don't force me, there won't be any clashing," Xi Ying replied, calm and unhurried.

"Force you? This is your duty as a member of the Xi Family," Xi Zheng retorted with dissatisfaction.

"Since when has the Xi Family fallen so low as to take female marriage alliances as their mission?" Xi Ying raised an eyebrow and countered.

"Nonsense, Xiao Ying, you have been exceptionally intelligent since you were young, and I have indulged you too much, allowing you to become so wilful! Do you really not know the current state of our family? Can you truly disregard the interests of the family?" Xi Zheng said angrily. Note: Check * for any corrections.

"Did I cause the current situation of the family?" asked Xi Ying coldly.

"You..." Xi Zheng was momentarily at a loss for words due to his anger.

"Father, do you really believe that marrying into the Ximen Family will relieve us from our current predicament?" Xi Ying continued.

"At least the Nine Yin Venerable is the strongest among the Six Great Venerables, and marrying into his family would be most beneficial for our Xi Family," Xi Zheng finally admitted after hesitating for a moment.

"Father, continuing to submit to the Wu Yue Sect is fundamentally a misguided path of no return. Aligning with the Ximen Family through marriage is just a temporary relief. If the Xi Family truly wants to become strong, the only way is to break free from the Wu Yue Sect's control," Xi Ying coldly left these words and turned to leave.

No matter how much Xi Zheng called after her from behind, she did not stop for even a moment.

The father and daughter parted on bad terms, and Xi Ying went straight to Yuan Ming, and the two immediately left the villa, heading towards Red Lotus Island.

...

About a month later, at Red Lotus Island, the Xiao Family.

Outside a grand estate, Yuan Ming and Xi Ying stood shoulder to shoulder, with a woman dressed in water-blue clothes and a veil standing beside them.

"Is it really okay to let her go back like that?" Yuan Ming asked, frowning as he looked at the woman beside him.

"Don't worry, Xiao Ying's Divine Soul has grown stronger under my nourishment than before. It's just that her cultivation will have no choice but to fall back to the early-stage Foundation Establishment without my mana support. However, with the foundation I've laid for her, her future cultivation path will be much smoother without any side effects," Xi Ying said.

"What about her memories?" Yuan Ming inquired.

"Under normal circumstances, her memories will stay at the time she came to Biluo Cave, but over the years, I have been weaving dreams for her using Divine Soul Secret Techniques. Once she awakens, those dream experiences will become her memories. The time and place are roughly the same as mine, only the experiences differ. Without a High-level Soul Cultivator investigating, it won't be discovered," Xi Ying explained with a smile.

Yuan Ming nodded, understanding, and didn't ask any more questions.

"It's almost time. She can go back now," Xi Ying looked around and then snapped her fingers with a "pop."

Xiao Ying, who had been standing idly by, suddenly shuddered.

Under her veil, her originally vacant eyes began to shine, gradually regaining consciousness as if life were returning to them.

Unaware of the two people beside her due to the Illusion Technique, Yuan Ming saw her expression change from dullness to joy and then her eyes becoming moist as she ran towards the grand estate.

"What's happening to her?" Yuan Ming asked, surprised.

"The last part of the memories I fabricated for her was that she left home to travel to the East Sea, where she was attacked by someone of unknown identity, causing her cultivation to drop. After much difficulty, she finally returned to Red Lotus Island and the Xiao Family," Xi Ying clarified.

"You have thought of everything," Yuan Ming said, realizing and nodding with a smile.

From the distance, a cheer rang out from the entrance of Xiao Mansion. The gatekeeper, steward, and maids surrounded Xiao Ying and escorted her through the gates.

"That's that, let's be on our way," Xi Ying retracted her gaze and suggested.

The two turned to leave, heading in the direction away from Red Lotus Island.

But they hadn't gone a hundred steps before encountering a tall woman dressed in Southern Border attire, walking towards the Xiao Mansion.

Her features were delicate, with distinct facial structures and her hair braided into small twists, gathered at the back of her head. She clearly had the characteristics of the Southern Border People, yet around her was an aura of refreshing vigor.

As they passed by each other, Yuan Ming's pupils shrank suddenly, and he came to a halt.

The woman quickly walked away, but he turned his head sharply to gaze after her retreating figure.

Upon seeing this, Xi Ying frowned slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It seems like I've encountered someone from the past…" Yuan Ming said hesitantly.

He did not recognize the figure himself; it just looked somewhat familiar to him. However, the aura emanating from her gave him a inexplicable sense of familiarity.

"Someone from the past?" Xi Ying scrutinized and asked.

"Forget it, better not to disturb her," Yuan Ming shook his head and said.

"If it is really an old acquaintance, you can't just let it go. She has the aura of a Soul-locking Array on her," Xi Ying said, frowning.

"Soul-locking Array?" Yuan Ming said in surprise.

"It's an Array to prevent the dispersal of Mana, usually employed to assist those who are severely injured or whose Dantian is destroyed in confining their mana," Xi Ying explained.

"She doesn't look like someone who has been gravely injured though?" Yuan Ming wondered aloud.

"That's exactly the issue. Cultivators without mana leakage problems would never imprint a Soul-locking Array on themselves, as it can interfere with the flow of Mana and, in serious cases, lock the Mana completely, making it impossible to cast Magic," Xi Ying explained.

Yuan Ming's eyes couldn't help showing a shade of worry upon hearing this.

"Is there a way to break it?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Of course there is, but you have to tell me first, who is she to you?" Xi Ying raised her eyebrows and asked.

"Do you remember Hagon?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Your friend who turned into a Human Demon at the Biluo Cave?" Xi Ying had some recollections of him.

"The girl who just passed by seems to be his daughter, Tuya," Yuan Ming said solemnly.

"If it's indeed her, then we definitely cannot stand idly by," Xi Ying nodded, at his words.

"But I remember that she was already taken in by a Sect for Cultivation, so how could she appear in the Xiao Mansion?" Yuan Ming pondered with doubt.

He vaguely remembered that when he possessed Divine Soul Tuya, he saw the veiled woman who once saved him recruit Tuya into her Sect.

Could that woman also belong to the Xiao Family?

Yuan Ming's eyes brightened, and a surprise joy emerged in his heart.

Over the years, he'd thought of finding that person to repay the life-saving favor of that elixir on the riverbank, but survival and constant wandering had never allowed his wish to be fulfilled.

"Just go and ask her, and you'll find out," Xi Ying said.

"Alright," Yuan Ming immediately nodded in agreement.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the Xiao Mansion. Xi Ying, unhurriedly, took out an antiquely designed bronze oil lamp. With a gentle rub on the wick, she lit a small flame.

Accompanied by the light of the flame, a layer of scarcely perceivable Divine Soul Power began to spread, covering the bodies of both Yuan Ming and Xi Ying.

"Let's go," Xi Ying said.

"Just walk in like this?" Yuan Ming asked in surprise.

"This lamp is called the Divine Concealing Lamp. With the support of my Mana, the fluctuations it emits can conceal our Divine Soul Aura and twist the perception of those around us through waves of Soul Power, preventing them from detecting our presence," Xi Ying explained with a smile.

That said, she then led Yuan Ming straight into the Xiao Mansion.

Just as she described, everyone they encountered along the way failed to see them or sense their presence.

"Don't worry, this is a Magic Treasure of very high rank. With my Soul Power supporting it, unless it's a Nascent Soul Late Stage Cultivator or someone with greater Divine Soul Power than mine, we cannot be detected," Xi Ying reassured Yuan Ming through a transmitted voice.

Therefore, they brazenly made their way deeper into the Xiao Mansion.

While Xi Ying occupied Xiao Ying's Physical Body, she lived there for a while and was quite familiar with the mansion. She quickly led Yuan Ming to the area where guests were accommodated.

However, upon reaching this courtyard, they searched but could not find Tuya.

Just as Yuan Ming was hesitating whether to use the White Jade Lotus Platform to fully scan the entirety of Red Lotus Island, a series of footsteps came from outside the courtyard.

Then, two figures walked in.

The brisk woman dressed in Southern Border attire with her hair in small twists was indeed Tuya.

Following her was a tall young man with a sycophantic smile plastered across his face, dressed in luxurious green robes, reaching out to pull on Tuya's sleeve.

"Uncle Master Xing Rong, I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need. I need to concentrate on studying arrays lately and really don't have time to go out with you," Tuya dodged his hand while maintaining basic civility with an air of resistance.

"Tuya, your Third Senior Sister asked me to take care of you. That includes not just your safety but also your mood is important. You've been down lately, and I feel troubled seeing that. Why don't you accompany me to the Beisha Sea Domain for a break?" The tall man, addressed by Tuya as Xing Rong, was persistent as he tried to persuade her.