"Can you tell me what happened back then?" Joe Di felt a bit uneasy in his heart.
Nina Ning choked back her sobs for a long while before speaking, "Grandmother was very angry at the time, but my uncles were extremely delighted to see her and my uncle coming over..."
"They were delighted?" Joe Di was somewhat puzzled. Was there some kind of misunderstanding here?
Nina Ning understood what Joe Di meant. She shook her head, "It wasn't that kind of delight. They thought the cultivation method my mother wrote was incomplete, so they wanted to force answers out of Grandmother and Uncle..."
Joe Di's expression grew darker.
Nina Ning continued, "No one expected Grandmother and Uncle to be consummate True Form experts with formidable combat power. In the end, several secluded elders of the Ning Clan were alerted, and a fierce battle broke out. The Ning Clan suffered heavy casualties, and only after activating the family’s grand array did they manage to seriously wound Grandmother and Uncle..."
Joe Di's fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He asked in a somber tone, "Was your grandmother hurt? Is she alright?"
Nina Ning shook her head. "I don't know. At that moment, a friend of Grandmother's arrived and broke through the killing array, rescuing Grandmother, Uncle, and my mother. After they left, they never returned."
"Your grandmother doesn't like you—why didn't your mother take you with her?" Joe Di looked at Nina Ning, sensing her confusion.
Nina Ning's eyes reddened as she said, "After my father died, my mother was heartbroken. She, she..."
Joe Di didn't ask, but he knew that her mother must have forgotten even her own daughter.
Joe Di sighed inwardly, feeling the responsibility lay with him. Nora Xiu had grown up as an outsider in the Shan Family, always wary of harm, which made her guarded toward the world. Autumn Waters must have spent her childhood in the Lethe Mountains, lacking opportunities to interact with others, and so missed out on affection.
In such circumstances, when Autumn Waters met the handsome Nicholas Ning, it was only natural for her to fall in love at first sight if he showed her a bit of care.
"Then why didn't you return to the Ning Clan?" Joe Di asked in confusion.
Nina Ning lowered her head, "My talent was poor, and both my mother and grandmother were wanted by the Ning Clan. I had lost my father... When my mother left, I was only seven years old. Later, someone from the Ning Clan broke my leg and threw me into a stinking ditch to die, calling me a bastard. It was Brother Alex and Sister Yana Rain who saved me. They kept me hidden in the Stormspring Mountains, struggling to survive..."
Joe Di gently stroked Nina Ning's hair, feeling a deep ache in his heart. After a long pause, he said, "Since that's the case, would you be willing to take the Di surname? I will be your grandfather, and from now on, you will have no ties to the Ning Clan."
"I am willing, Grandfather. From now on, I will be Nina Di..." Nina Ning immediately knelt to the ground, tears filling her eyes. Clearly, life had been unbearably hard for her all these years.
"How old are you now?" Joe Di asked, his heart full of tenderness. He could see that this granddaughter of his was as pure-hearted as a blank sheet of paper, yet had faced such hardship from a young age.
Even after suffering such unfair treatment, she harbored no hatred—not toward her grandmother for killing her father, nor toward the Ning Clan for breaking her leg and abandoning her to die, nor even toward her mother for leaving her behind.
All she had was a relentless pursuit of life and a longing for family. Her heart was as vast as the ocean.
"I'm seventeen years old..."
Joe Di's heart ached at her words. At seventeen, she looked as old as thirty—how hard must her life have been?
Sensing Joe Di's mood, Nina Di took the initiative and said, "Grandfather, meeting you is already a blessing from heaven. I've always been well with Brother Alex and Sister Yana Rain in the Stormspring Mountains. You should stay here too, Grandfather—I'll take care of you."
To Nina, her grandfather was gravely injured in the Stormspring Mountains, clearly unable to match Grandmother and Uncle in cultivation. So she felt responsible for caring for him.
"Alright, then I'll rest for a few days." With that, Joe Di closed his eyes. He felt that his arrival here might not be a coincidence. After the Ninth Prime Law, the Sacred Yin Pearl, and his sea of consciousness were all shattered, it seemed he had lost a bond but gained a new world.
He had to recover his cultivation as soon as possible, then scan this planet with his spiritual sense to find Xiuqi and his two children.
"Yes, Grandfather." Nina Di carefully drew the curtain and left. Her heart was still racing with excitement. No wonder she felt a connection to Joe Di—he was her grandfather all along.
When she was very young, she had asked her mother why she only spoke of Grandmother and not Grandfather. Her mother said she had never met him... No, he should be her grandfather.
But that wasn't right either—Grandfather looked so young, his cultivation must be very high. She only hoped his injuries weren't serious, and that he could recover soon.
......
Joe Di's consciousness was completely immersed in his shattered sea of awareness. Within it lay a gray bead the size of a longan fruit.
Previously, Joe Di had been gravely injured and unconscious, so he hadn't even known when this bead had formed. Now, as his mind focused on it, he immediately sensed something different.
He had complete control over this bead—under his will, there was no resistance at all. More than that, it seemed to contain a world of its own.
This is...
Joe Di suddenly grew excited. With a thought, he found himself inside the space within the bead.
The bead's space was shrouded in gray mist, with heaven and earth barely discernible. Yet Joe Di could sense every subtle movement within it, clearly perceiving all signs of life and formation.
Before he could even revel in his excitement, Joe Di sensed the vast and boundless aura of cosmic Dao principles.
Not only were there remnants of the Ninth Prime Law, but also fragments left by the Sacred Yin Pearl, and even shards of Dao principles from the collapse of his sea of awareness.
All of this was nurturing an entirely new Dao direction under his will—exactly what Joe Di had hoped for.
The rules of the universe continued to operate, fusing with the Dao aura within the bead in his shattered sea of awareness. Gradually, a defensive space formed around Joe Di, impenetrable even to divine sense.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!
Joe Di once again immersed himself in the operation of these universal rules. His sea of awareness slowly began to take shape, gradually evolving into a starry sky.
It was just like when he used the Galaxy Technique to transform his main meridian into a starry network. Only this time, Joe Di was completely immersed, utterly unaware of anything else.
......
"Nina, are you alright?" Before nightfall, Alex and Yana Rain hurried to Nina Di's residence. When they saw her come out of the house, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm fine, thank you both." Nina Di's eyes were still a little red, but her spirits were good.
"And the person you saved?" Yana Rain asked again.
Nina Di replied softly, "He's badly injured and recuperating inside."
"Alright, take care of yourself. We'll head back now. Today's harvest was average—are you coming with us tomorrow?" Yana Rain nodded.
Nina Di shook her head, "I won't go. I need to stay here and take care of someone. If I leave, that elder will have no one to look after him."
Nina Di trusted Alex and Yana Rain deeply, but Joe Di's identity was simply too sensitive. The Ning Clan was still hunting for her grandmother and mother. If they discovered a member of the Di Family was here, it would be a disaster—not only for her grandfather, but also for her saviors, Brother Alex and Sister Yana Rain.
"Alright, just be careful. If anything happens, let us know immediately." Alex understood Nina's kind nature and didn't try to persuade her further.
The three of them lived not far from one another, all at the outermost edge of Stormspring Market. There were many people like them on the outskirts, and as long as they were careful, safety wasn't much of a concern.
......
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, six months had passed.
Early one morning, Yana Rain arrived at Nina Di's door.
"Sister Yana Rain, why aren't you heading out today?" Nina Di asked in confusion as she saw Yana Rain at the door.
Yana Rain looked at Nina Di with some concern. "Nina, today Alex and I might head deep into the Stormspring Mountains. It could take us several days to return..."
After speaking, Yana Rain handed Nina Di a small pouch. "There's some money in here—take it, okay?"
"I can't accept this." Nina Di quickly declined, then asked worriedly, "But isn't it dangerous to spend the night in the Stormspring Mountains?"
Yana Rain nodded, "I know, but more and more people are coming to the Stormspring Mountains, and there's nothing good left on the outskirts. Besides, we're not the only ones spending the night in the mountains. Just take the money—you haven't gone out for months, and if this keeps up, even daily living will be a problem."
"Thank you. Please be careful out there." Nina Di knew she couldn't refuse anymore, and besides, she truly was struggling now.
Taking the pouch, Nina Di felt deeply embarrassed. Over these six months, she had received so much help from Alex and Sister Yana Rain.
(I'll be on a business trip in the next couple of days, so updates may be irregular.)