Chapter 994: Chapter 994

Siheng understood her temperament, sighed inwardly, and could only persuade her, "Rest for a couple of days first, and once your complexion improves, I won’t stop you."

Nanli nodded reluctantly.

However, she suddenly remembered something. "Earlier, we talked about visiting your parents’ coffins, but then something happened, and we were delayed. Should we go now?"

Siheng pressed his lips together, emotions churning within him, and said quietly, "Let’s go take a look."

The Sijia family’s tombs were located in a secluded place in the back mountains.

Apart from the ancestral tablets, there were also several coffins, each with different materials.

The first-generation ancestor of the Sijia family, a celestial being, had a coffin made of Kunlun Divine Wood. Since he was a cultivator with no spouse, it was just his coffin.

After his ascension to immortality, he brought his descendants to cultivate on his immortal mountain. Following the fall of the Immortal World, his lineage established the Jialan Celestial Mountain Sect. By Siheng’s time, the family had reached its sixth generation.

Each of the ancestors, except for the first, had spouses, so their coffins were made in pairs.

Siheng led Nanli to a cave at the southeast corner, which was rather small, and within it lay two stone coffins.

As cultivators, there was no need for burial items or luxuries.

Siheng’s gaze was indifferent, and his expression showed no special emotions.

Nanli asked, "Shall we offer our respects and then open the coffins?"

Siheng replied, "No rush. Let’s make sure there are people inside before offering our respects."

Nanli looked at him in surprise. "You’re so calm about it."

It seemed he had little attachment to his parents.

The stone coffins were guarded by a formation, but for Siheng, it was nothing, and he easily broke the barrier.

As the stone coffin was moved, a foul stench immediately spread out.

Nanli instinctively covered her nose.

Siheng approached, peering inside, and frowned deeply. He murmured, "Just as Shang Jue and the others said, it really does look like her."

Was there really a corpse of Princess Xingmian in the coffin?

But why did his expression become so indifferent all of a sudden?

Nanli stepped closer and saw a beautiful woman lying inside the coffin—her skin pale, her beauty astonishing. It was hard to believe someone so exquisite could exist.

She raised an eyebrow. "So this is Princess Xingmian? She really does resemble you."

Especially the brow ridge and nose—almost no difference at all.

Siheng, still puzzled, asked, "You’ve never seen her before?"

Nanli shrugged. "No, I haven’t. I heard your mother won a martial competition, but the loser couldn’t accept it and accused her of using her beauty to deceive others, claiming she didn’t win by strength. After that, she always wore a veil, even when she went into battle, and only the Asura King and his protectors ever saw her face."

Later on, Princess Xingmian became famous for her own strength. Even the people of the Human World heard of her and feared her.

Siheng remained silent, his eyes fixed on the corpse in the coffin. "So I guess we don’t know if this wooden figure looks just like the real one."

Nanli was confused. "What do you mean?"

Siheng raised his hand and cast a spell. The corpse in the coffin emitted a strange glow.

To their surprise, the body vanished, replaced by a wooden figure.

Nanli blinked in astonishment. "So it was some kind of magic technique?"

Even she had been deceived; this magic was indeed impressive. Only someone like Siheng, with such a high cultivation level, could have seen through it.

Siheng’s gaze remained calm, but his voice betrayed him, trembling slightly. "It seems she’s still alive."

He knew full well the level of cultivation his father possessed. This kind of magic could only be used by his mother, Princess Xingmian.

Nanli asked, "If she’s still alive, why has she been hiding? She’s been hiding so thoroughly for years that even the Asura protectors couldn’t find her. Why did she leave right after giving birth to you?"

Siheng’s fingers tightened around the edge of the stone coffin, his knuckles turning white.

He had once blamed himself, thinking that it was his birth that caused his mother’s illness and eventual death.

But now he realized his mother wasn’t dead; in fact, she was likely alive and well. The psychological gap was too much for him to accept.

He lowered his head, his voice barely audible as it came from deep within his throat. "There’s no real reason. Maybe she just didn’t like me... didn’t like me as her son, so she never came back all these years."

Nanli, having gained some understanding of familial bonds in this life, walked over to him.

She wanted to hug him, but with her large belly, she felt a little awkward, so she instead gently patted his back.

"Don’t think like that. Maybe your mother had no choice but to hide."

"Even if not, you still have me, and you’ll have the baby. We’re always here for you."

Siheng’s body, which had been stiff, gradually relaxed. His cold hands and feet slowly warmed up again.

He looked at Nanli, his eyes red-rimmed.

"A’Li..." He held her hand, gently touching her belly. "Thank you."

To him, as long as she was by his side, he was truly happy.

Therefore, he would do everything in his power to ensure she and their child were safe and sound.

After Siheng calmed his emotions, he resealed the stone coffin.

Just as they were about to leave, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Since we’re here, why not take a look at my father’s body as well?"

"..." Nanli paused briefly, then advised, "Didn’t you personally handle your father’s funeral? What’s the problem now?"

Siheng shook his head lightly. "No, when my father ascended to immortality, although I was already over a hundred years old, for some reason, he never saw me before his death. Instead, he summoned Qingwu and asked him to handle his funeral arrangements. So I didn’t get to witness his burial."

Nanli found this odd. "Then it’s best we check."

Siheng moved to open another stone coffin, but immediately noticed the formation was different.

He sensed something was off and quickly cast a protective spell on Nanli before opening the coffin.

As the stone coffin opened, a strong, foul gas surged out!

It spread rapidly throughout the cave.

Nanli, protected by the spell, was unaffected by the toxic fumes. Siheng, with his immortal body, was also unharmed.

But Nanli’s voice rang out: "This is poisonous gas! It not only harms a cultivator’s dantian and meridians but also kills all living beings. We have to contain it quickly before it spreads."

With that, she took out the Heaven Star Brush and began drawing symbols, sealing the toxic gas within the cave.

Siheng didn’t stand idle either, gathering the gas.

Nanli sealed it with a talisman, and their movements were swift and coordinated.

Though not a life-threatening situation, the fact that such a strange energy had emerged from Siheng’s father’s coffin was unsettling.

Before Nanli could move closer, Siheng took a glance inside the coffin. His face immediately went pale, his lips trembling slightly. "What... what’s going on?"

Nanli’s heart sank. If even Siheng was shocked, then this was certainly not a trivial matter.