Chapter 626 - 624: Pip, Long Time No See

Chapter 626: Chapter 624: Pip, Long Time No See

The voice was ancient, like that of a wizened old man on the verge of death.

He reached out, scooped the figure up, and placed it in his palm. Looking at the familiar ball of black mist in his hand, Aaron Sinclair’s expression softened.

He smiled faintly and said, "Long time no see, Pip."

Long time no see, Pip.

At just these simple words, the ball of black mist in his hand burst into a torrent of tears, wailing uncontrollably. "Is it really... is it really you? I’m not dreaming, am I?"

Seeing Pip crying his heart out, Aaron Sinclair felt a pang in his own heart. "You’re not dreaming, Pip. I’m back."

The ball of black mist nuzzled against his finger and said excitedly, "Master, it’s been so long! How have you been? I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime. I looked for you for so, so long. I thought I wouldn’t live to see your return."

Over the past thousand years, Pip had traveled to many worlds, searching everywhere for his master’s aura. But there was never a trace. Everyone in the Cunmere Realm said his master was dead. Utterly perished, with no chance of reincarnation. The contract established between it and his master was even gone. Yet, Pip refused to believe his master had simply died like that.

Even if everyone else believed he was dead, Pip did not. He never once gave up the search. In his quest for news of his master, his Cultivation was exhausted and his lifespan was nearing its end. But Pip never had a single regret.

Pip always remembered how well his master had treated it. His master would share any treasure he found. His master gave it everything. Therefore, its own life was nothing. If it could find his master, it would all be worth it. If it couldn’t, then dissipating into nothingness would be its way of accompanying his master.

He reached out and patted it gently.

"Don’t cry, don’t cry."

Hearing this only made Pip cry harder.

"Master, I’m so happy. You’re really alive."

"They all said you had utterly perished and couldn’t possibly be alive. I knew it, I knew it! A menace like you is destined to live a thousand years, how could you possibly die? Ha ha, I knew it."

Aaron Sinclair’s mouth twitched at that. He chuckled and said, "Pip, I really have to thank you. You sure know how to give a compliment."

"Let’s head to the surface first," Aaron Sinclair said, and in the next instant, his figure appeared above ground.

In the boundless Spirit Herb Fields, countless balls of black mist followed him down, instantly transforming into wintergourds with arms and legs. A glance revealed they were of all sizes. The large ones were a meter tall, while some were only half a meter. There were even smaller ones just a little longer than a chopstick. Regardless of their size, they all looked like black wintergourds.

This was The Shadowmist Clan, though Aaron Sinclair actually preferred calling them the Wintergourd Clan. They simply looked too much like wintergourds. But while they resembled wintergourds, The Shadowmist Clan was, in essence, completely unrelated to the vegetable.

The Shadowmist Clan was very familiar with Aaron Sinclair’s aura. This was because of a bloodline inheritance in their evolutionary path, and also because the former Yun Chang had marked them. The Shadowmist Clan was under his protection. So, even after a thousand years and several generations, that inherited mark allowed them to recognize Aaron Sinclair at first sight.

That was why, even though his face had changed, they would not mistake him for another.

"We greet you, Master."

"Master, welcome back."

Countless wintergourds knelt before Aaron Sinclair, stretching far into the distance. Each and every one of them gazed at him with wide eyes filled with joy. Their expressions were as if they had found their backbone, their direction in life. It was as if his presence alone guaranteed they would be led to a better future.

The wintergourds kneeling at the very front were relatively large. These were the elders and seniors of The Shadowmist Clan. Behind them was the entire Wintergourd Clan... ahem, The Shadowmist Clan.

Aaron Sinclair’s gaze swept over the wintergourds, and he couldn’t help but say, "Pip, you have so many clansmen now. I took a quick look, and there are well over ten thousand. I remember when you first started, your Wintergourd Clan had less than two thousand members. It seems you’ve developed quite well over the past thousand years, expanding the Wintergourd Clan’s population by so much."

Pip spoke up to remind him.

"Master, how many times do I have to say it? It’s The Shadowmist Clan, not the Wintergourd Clan."

Aaron Sinclair made a sound of acknowledgment.

"Mm, the Wintergourd Clan."

Pip’s ancient voice replied, "Forget it. Wintergourd Clan it is. As long as you’re happy, Master, you can call us whatever you want. This is all thanks to you, Master, for teaching us so many ways to protect ourselves. You even left us a Defense Array to protect the clan. For this past thousand years, even though you weren’t here, we felt your presence by our side at every moment. We have only been able to develop to this point because we have always been under your protection."

The wintergourds present looked at Aaron Sinclair and said in unison, "We have been waiting for you to return, Master."

One of the elders kneeling at the front spoke up, "Master, we’ve saved several warehouses full of Spiritual Medicine for you. From now on, you can have complete freedom with your Alchemy. You can refine whatever you want, however you want. We guarantee we have enough."

Pip added, "That’s right, we prepared a whole lot. It’s all for you, Master. From now on, you’ll never have to worry about running out of Spiritual Medicine for Alchemy after blowing up a furnace." After all, their master loved to conduct all sorts of strange research and refine all sorts of bizarre Elixir Pills, so blowing up furnaces was a common occurrence.

Hearing that there were several warehouses full of Spiritual Medicine, Aaron Sinclair couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "HA HA HA! Pip, you guys really know the way to my heart."

’Look at this,’ he thought. ’These guys are pros at cultivating wastelands. The perfect workforce, natural-born grinders. So if I were to leave, how could I possibly leave them here? Of course I’m packing them all up and taking them with me.’

He had the Divine Artifact his dear father had given him, the Heaven-Reaching Ancient Jade. Packing up their entire clan and taking them with him would be a trivial matter.

’Decision made. Not a single wintergourd gets left behind.’

He raised his hand, his gaze falling upon the ball of black mist in his palm.

Aaron Sinclair said, "Pip, everyone else has turned back into a wintergourd. Aren’t you going to change back and let me have a look?"

As his words fell, the ball of black mist hemmed and hawed, but didn’t transform back. "I’m old now. I’m not good-looking anymore."

Originally, with Pip’s Cultivation, its lifespan should have been very long. Living for several thousand years wouldn’t have been a problem. But because it had spent all that time searching for Aaron, it had repeatedly depleted its Cultivation, and now it didn’t have many days left.

He glanced at it and said, "You’ve exhausted your Cultivation and look like you don’t have much time left. Was it worth it, reducing yourself to this state?"

Pip spoke with a casual air.

"It was worth it. I originally thought I would never get to see you again, Master. Now that you’re back, and I can see you one more time, I have no more regrets. Even if I were to perish right now, body and soul, it wouldn’t matter."

He waved his hand lightly.

Pip landed on the ground and revealed its true form.