"Xian'er, you've finally deigned to return. You've been gone for decades, do you know how long I've waited in agony?" A voice echoed from the void, followed by a group of people tearing through space and emerging from the darkness. Leading them was a youth with an imposing figure and an air of supreme arrogance in his gaze. He swept his eyes across the courtyard, finally settling on Liu Muxian.
"Pang Tianyun!" Liu Muxian's eyes flickered with disgust upon seeing the youth. It was precisely because of this man that she had ventured out into the world.
"Tianyun, Xian'er has just returned to the family. Can't we discuss your matters later?" Mother and daughter had just reunited, and before they could exchange pleasantries, Pang Tianyun had arrived with his entourage, landing directly in the Liu mansion. Liu Chu couldn't help but feel a hint of displeasure.
"Uncle, Xian'er and I have postponed our engagement for decades. Please understand my feelings." Pang Tianyun smiled faintly, cupped his fists in a bow towards Liu Chu, and continued, "I observe that Xian'er's Boundless Divine Body has reached great completion. Our previous marriage contract should now be fulfilled. I will send someone to propose tomorrow. Today, Xian'er is reuniting with her family, so I shall not disturb you further."
Liu Muxian was about to speak when her mother pulled her arm, shaking her head in a silent gesture. In the end, she could only watch as Pang Tianyun left.
"Mother, must I marry Pang Tianyun?" Liu Muxian's eyes welled up with tears, her heart filled with unwillingness.
"Xian'er!"
A figure enveloped in white radiance descended from the sky, its voice ancient and vast. As it landed in the courtyard, the divine light receded, revealing a slightly hunched figure. He wore a white robe, and his demeanor was filled with an aura of immortal elegance.
"Old Ancestor."
Upon seeing the newcomer, Liu Mu and her parents quickly bowed and inquired.
Zhang Fan and his group stood by, observing the elder. Even though his aura was completely suppressed, Xue Mo Jiao and the others still felt an indescribable pressure, and they couldn't help but marvel inwardly, "Is this the might of a Dao Integration Immortal King?"
"Xian'er, the Pang family has rendered great service by helping the Willow God. Your cultivation of the Boundless Divine Body technique is also inherited from the Willow God. This marriage is unavoidable," the Liu family's Immortal King said, gazing at Liu Muxian.
"If Muxian is unwilling, why force her hand?" Zhang Fan interjected. Liu Muxian's parents were both astonished and turned to look at him. The Liu family's Immortal King also turned his gaze to Zhang Fan. His eyes, like chaos itself, seemed to probe Zhang Fan, yet the more he looked, the more astonished he became. This young cultivator at the Void Returning stage was shrouded in a mist, making it impossible for him to discern anything.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Zhang Fan. I am Muxian's sworn friend. I cannot bear to see her suffer such injustice. If the Liu family finds this matter troublesome, you can entrust it to me," Zhang Fan stated calmly.
His words drew a hearty laugh from the Liu family's Immortal King. Even Liu Muxian shook her head at him. The Pang family's strength surpassed that of the Liu family. Although Zhang Fan's current power was considered top-tier beneath the Immortal King realm, he was still below it. The Pang family's foundation was even more profound than the Liu family's. Liu Muxian did not wish to involve him.
"Young friend Zhang Fan, I am delighted that Xian'er has a friend like you. However, this is not something you can intervene in. The Pang family's influence is far beyond your imagination. Perhaps when you cultivate to the Dao Integration Immortal King realm, you might have a say, but even then, you cannot change this reality."
After speaking, the Liu family's Immortal King turned to Liu Chu and said, "The Pang family's Old Ancestor has already contacted me. They will send someone to propose tomorrow. You all should prepare well and do not lose courtesy."
With that, the Liu family's Immortal King vanished from the spot.
In the main hall, Liu Chu hosted a banquet for everyone. Zhang Fan learned the entire story from Liu Muxian.
The Liu family possessed a divine tree named Willow Aspect, which had survived for tens of millions of years and was revered by the Liu family as the Willow God. However, a hundred years ago, during a great battle, the Willow God's trunk was severed by a cultivator in the Myriad Manifestations realm, leaving it critically injured and on the brink of death. The Liu family tried every method to save it but failed. Finally, they invited the Pang family's Old Ancestor, who was skilled in the Great Dao of Life and the Great Dao of Time, to intervene, but even he could not save the Willow God's life.
However, the Pang family's Old Ancestor proposed a solution: the Willow God's death was irreversible, but he could use the profundities of the Great Dao of Life and the Great Dao of Time to delay its demise. The Liu family could then, during this period, send their most exceptional disciple into the Willow God's body to inherit its divine techniques and tens of millions of years of knowledge.
There was a condition, however: only a female disciple of the Liu family could receive the inheritance, and upon completion, she must marry into the Pang family. This condition was agreed upon by the Liu family's Immortal King.
The young and still innocent Liu Mu was thus chosen. She received the Willow God's inheritance, and the Boundless Divine Body she cultivated was also from the Willow God.
"No wonder," Zhang Fan nodded. When Liu Mu faced great peril, a personality within her would always awaken, cold and powerful. It was likely the residual consciousness of the Willow God protecting Liu Muxian.
And the fact that Liu Mu could cultivate the Sword Dao rules to perfection at the Nascent Soul stage, besides her own talent, was likely also greatly aided by the Willow God's inheritance.
"So, you do owe the Pang family quite a favor. I see that Pang Tianyun is exceptionally talented, a man of distinguished appearance, and from an Immortal King lineage. Why don't you like him?" Zhang Fan teased.
Liu Muxian glared at Zhang Fan, a hint of anger in her eyes, but she didn't say anything further. Her mood was heavy.
"You carry the Willow God's inheritance, and in the future, you are destined to become an Immortal King-level expert. The Pang family will indeed not let go easily. However, this all comes down to interests. If enough compensation is offered, the Pang family will likely weigh their options." Zhang Fan said.
"What could be more appealing than an Immortal King-level expert?" Everyone's gaze turned to Zhang Fan, filled with doubt. Even Liu Chu looked at Zhang Fan, wondering if he could produce, or was willing to give up, something that would make the Pang family let go for Liu Muxian.
"How about a set of Divine Body techniques?" Zhang Fan said with a smile, looking at Liu Chu.
"You have Divine Body techniques?" Liu Chu was incredulous. Although Liu Muxian cultivated a Divine Body technique, it was inherited from the Willow God. Without the Willow God's divine techniques, others could not cultivate it.
If Zhang Fan could produce a set of Divine Body techniques, the Pang family would undoubtedly choose them, as such divine arts were rare, even among some Immortal Venerable experts.
"Since I dared to say so, of course, I have them." In his previous life, Zhang Fan had fought countless Immortal Emperors from various races and collected an innumerable number of Divine Body techniques. Producing one to help Liu Muxian out of her predicament was nothing.
"Tomorrow, when they come to propose, leave it to me to handle. I will go and prepare first," Zhang Fan said, greeting everyone, and then he departed.
The Divine Body technique was in his memory. To inscribe a set of inheritable Divine Body techniques would require some effort from Zhang Fan.
...