Invincible Dad-Chapter 499: You Can’t Escape_1

Chapter 499: Chapter 499: You Can’t Escape_1
Xu Yiyi was speechless.
...
Haohao was the top dog at the neighboring kindergarten and had been Qian Xiao’s arch-nemesis for a very long time. In recent months, Haohao had become even more arrogant, as he had the nerve to look down on Xu Yiyi, the leader of Star River Kindergarten.
Although Haohao had been shocked by the terrifying combat power of Xu Yiyi, Qian Xiao, and Yun Jin at the "East Sea City Youth Martial Arts Tournament" not long ago, he was still defiant.
"How can you use someone else’s name?" Xu Lai knocked Qian Xiao forcefully on the head.
"I’m sorry, Uncle Xu." Covering his forehead with tears in his eyes, Qian Xiao said, "I won’t dare do it again."
"It’s good that you know your mistake, Jing Ke."
Qian Xiao was speechless.
"You’re also called Jing Ke?" Elder Huang Quan was startled. "The same name as that traitor..." He quickly stopped himself before finishing the sentence.
"You know Jing Ke? Who is he, exactly? And the key... is it the one that leads into the Nine Kings’ Palace?" Xu Lai narrowed his eyes. "The Netherworld Road only appears where there’s a key. Does that mean other stars or Star Domains have their own Netherworld Roads? Where are you leading them?"
The elder looked deeply at Xu Lai, his gaze filled with apathy and pity.
"If you don’t give me an explanation today, you’re not leaving," Xu Lai said calmly.
"Ah, sometimes ignorance is bliss. There are some things you are destined to learn. You cannot escape it."
Elder Huang Quan gently pushed off with his bamboo pole, and the small boat beneath him drifted hundreds of miles away into the Netherworld, vanishing from sight.
Xu Lai snorted coldly.
He thinks he can get away after I’ve seen him? How delusional!
SWOOSH.
Xu Lai’s figure vanished on the spot.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
The three crows were still circling overhead. Qian Xiao and Xu Yiyi looked at each other.
"Boss, do you think Uncle Xu abandoned us...?" Qian Xiao asked nervously.
"Shut up." Xu Yiyi glared at Qian Xiao. "Daddy would never abandon me."
"But... but he just vanished!" Qian Xiao said, his face falling. "Have you seen the news lately? There were two cases of child abandonment in Hangcheng."
Xu Yiyi grew anxious. "If you say one more stupid thing, I’m going to ignore you."
Qian Xiao immediately shut his mouth.
The two little ones waited for a full half hour, but Xu Lai still hadn’t returned. This time, even Yiyi started to get anxious. Her little lip trembled, and she looked like she was about to cry.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
The crows in the sky cawed relentlessly.
"Shut up, you’re so noisy!" Yiyi shouted, waving her little fists. She attacked the crows with Spiritual Energy, but they were strange; the energy couldn’t harm them at all.
It was then that Qian Xiao finally noticed that each of the crows had three eyes. The third eye on their foreheads flickered with an eerie green light.
CAW! CAW! CAW!
The three crows shrieked, suddenly transforming into a giant hand that lunged for Xu Yiyi.
"You’re courting death!"
Just then, a cold snort echoed. The hand crumbled inch by inch, shattering into countless grains of deep blue sand.
Isn’t that the sand from the Netherworld?
Qian Xiao’s scalp tingled. He then realized Xu Lai had returned at some point.
"Daddy."
Yiyi threw herself into her father’s arms. Xu Lai gently stroked his daughter’s head. "Daddy was late."
An icy glint appeared deep in Xu Lai’s eyes. He had battled Elder Huang Quan for a full half an hour, yet the old man still managed to escape.
However, he had not come away empty-handed.
Xu Lai had forcibly severed a section of the Netherworld, about a hundred feet long and thirty feet wide, along with an equal amount of Yunmeng Blue Sand. This could be used to refine a Soul Settling Pill, a pill that allowed the souls of the dead to temporarily break free from the constraints of the laws of life and death.
Fortunately, Xu Lai hadn’t gotten carried away with the fight. Otherwise, the trap set by Elder Huang Quan might have actually succeeded in kidnapping his precious daughter.
"Let’s go home," Xu Lai said.
"Mmmhm!"
On the way home, Xu Lai constantly pondered the recent events, feeling as if a dense, impenetrable Mist shrouded his vision. Within that Mist lay far too many secrets.
A living person in the Netherworld, a place that shouldn’t harbor life... He only came to Earth because it has a key.
Xu Lai’s brows furrowed deeply. He was unsure if this key was the same one Jing Ke was searching for to enter the Nine Kings’ Palace. Moreover, this being from the Netherworld not only recognized Jing Ke but also called him a traitor.
A traitor to what, or whom?
At the same time, Xu Lai also learned something else: several old monsters were still alive inside the Nine Kings’ Palace. To survive, they had compromised on certain conditions and had become beings that were neither human nor ghost. This was a terrifying forbidden land where even those at the Emperor Realm would perish. If those old monsters were still alive, just how high must their Boundary be?!
The mere thought made Xu Lai’s breathing grow heavy. He suppressed his apprehension as a deep sense of crisis washed over him.
This starry sky isn’t as simple as I imagined. There are probably other Emperor Realm experts besides me.
At the very least, that old ferryman from the Netherworld, whose Boundary was between the peak of a Quasi-Emperor and the Emperor Realm, could be considered a Half-Step Great Emperor. Then there was the Faceless Demon suppressed under the Dragon Vein of Mount Fu, who claimed to be a pawn of Jing Ke’s. And that day, another expert comparable to the Emperor Realm had exchanged blows with Xu Lai across countless light-years.
That one was considerably stronger than the Netherworld ferryman, possessing combat power comparable to a true Emperor Realm expert.
...
「Back at Haitang Court.」
Xu Lai locked himself in his room to refine Elixirs and Magic Artifacts, even inscribing Formations into a Jade Slip. He wanted to prepare some things that could save his wife and daughter’s lives. This way, even if he were to suddenly disappear or die, his enemies wouldn’t be able to harm Ruan Tang and Yiyi.
"You are not to take off this ring."
Xu Lai slid a Storage Ring onto Ruan Tang’s finger. Her pretty face blushed, but she said nothing. She just pouted slightly.
Why is he being so bossy all of a sudden?
"Inside the ring, there is a black box. If I ever have an accident, you open it and swallow the pill inside," Xu Lai said gravely.
The Elixir was a Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill. Even he only had one. After consuming it, Ruan Tang would instantly step into the Immortal Venerable Realm. Although she would temporarily lack the combat power to match that Boundary, Xu Lai had also placed his Emperor Artifact and the Great Emperor Formation inside. An unprepared Quasi-Emperor could be caught off guard and killed.
"What’s wrong with you? Why are you being so serious all of a sudden and saying such unlucky things?" Ruan Tang’s expression grew stern. "Are you seeing someone else?"
"No!" Xu Lai explained with a grim expression. "Life is unpredictable. I’m just worried something unexpected might happen, and if it does..."
Ruan Tang embraced Xu Lai from behind, pressing her cheek against his back. She whispered, "Then I won’t let you have an accident. I won’t let you leave me."
Xu Lai’s heart skipped a beat.
He held Ruan Tang’s hand and said softly, "Alright. Our family will be together forever."