Qin Cheng still found it incredible, but his good brother was alive and had gained an unimaginable fortuitous encounter. This was good news, worth celebrating.
"It's good that you're alright. I'm happy today, we must go out for a meal!" Qin Cheng finally smiled and said generously.
He quickly asked Wang Li to prepare. They wouldn't eat at home tonight but at a hotel outside. He would also pick up his daughter from school so she could meet Uncle Xu.
Xu Mo nodded in agreement. For Qin Cheng, they hadn't seen each other for over ten years. But for Xu Mo, it had been over a hundred years.
If it weren't for the exceptional memory of a cultivator, he might have forgotten what Qin Cheng looked like.
He was also quite nostalgic for the delicacies of Earth.
Wang Li nodded. Although she was very curious about Xu Mo, she still listened to her husband and went to pick up their daughter from school.
When Qin Cheng had rushed home earlier, he had sent a message to his daughter, telling her not to come home until he said it was okay. He was afraid she might run into that scumbag Jin Dashao.
"After you 'died' back then, I was heartbroken for a long time, drowning my sorrows in alcohol every day. Old Xu, you must at least drink three toasts to me today!" Qin Cheng's nose twitched, and he said with a laugh.
Xu Mo also chuckled, "If I have to drink, then I'll drink. Three toasts aren't enough, so thirty. Three hundred is fine too, as I can't get drunk now anyway!"
Cultivators could expel alcohol from their bodies with spiritual energy, making it simple to drink without getting drunk.
"No cheating! You have to drink heartily today!" Qin Cheng immediately said.
Xu Mo quickly nodded, assuring him he wouldn't cheat.
Then, Qin Cheng continued to ask Xu Mo about his experiences in the Great Wilderness over the years and whether he had married and had children.
Xu Mo briefly recounted his story, from hiding away to cultivate, to being forced to rebel by the Emperor of Great Hao and establishing the Great Qian Dynasty...
When Qin Cheng learned that Xu Mo had transmigrated to the Great Wilderness, he had assumed Xu Mo was just an ordinary cultivator and hadn't thought in any other direction.
To his surprise, Xu Mo now told him that he wasn't a minor cultivator but the emperor of cultivators, the ruler of the Great Qian Dynasty, the Great Qian Emperor!
Qin Cheng's eyelids twitched. After confirming Xu Mo wasn't lying, he was utterly astonished.
It was then that he remembered Xu Mo was wearing a dragon robe!
He gasped and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Old Xu, you're the emperor now? An emperor of a cultivation dynasty!?"
Qin Cheng felt that the shocks he had experienced today were too numerous; they surpassed all the shocks from the first half of his life combined.
"Of course. I've been emperor for a hundred years," Xu Mo said.
Seeing his good brother putting on airs, Qin Cheng felt powerless to retort, because Xu Mo truly had the right to do so. No one in this world had more right to act this way than him.
It took Qin Cheng several minutes to gradually digest this information. He then looked at Xu Mo's handsome face, tall and straight physique, and most importantly, his youthful appearance at twenty, forever young.
He felt incredibly envious and couldn't help but say, "It's one thing that cultivation can preserve youth, but it can also make you even more handsome and taller. I remember you used to be uglier and shorter than me, but now you've caught up."
Hearing this, Xu Mo's expression darkened.
"Cultivation can indeed change one's appearance and make them more attractive. However, if you cultivate, it probably won't change much, because you're already quite unsightly," Xu Mo said unceremoniously.
Qin Cheng smiled. Xu Mo was still the same Xu Mo, not much had changed.
"I'll pass. I don't have the talent or aptitude," Qin Cheng shook his head, then added, "But my daughter does. She's your niece, so you'll have to take care of her and teach her how to cultivate."
Xu Mo smiled, "Teaching her cultivation is simple. The Great Qian Dynasty has the Great Qian Academy, which is specifically for teaching cultivation. I'll arrange for my niece to enroll."
He paused, then continued, "As for you, who says you can't cultivate without talent and aptitude?"
Qin Cheng was stunned, then his breathing quickened. "Old Xu, are you serious?"
Who wouldn't want to cultivate if they could? Although he had said it casually just now, his heart was filled with a sense of loss.
Especially seeing his good brother Xu Mo's youthful appearance, compared to his own middle-aged and greasy look, made him feel even more dejected, though he didn't show it.
"Of course, I'm serious," Xu Mo smiled and then said, "Think about it, I'm the emperor of a cultivation dynasty now. Making a mortal without talent able to cultivate isn't a difficult matter."
What he said was true. Although lacking talent meant being destined to miss out on cultivation, the Great Dao had fifty paths, and Tian Yan's forty-nine paths, with one遁其一 (one escaping).
That escaping one was a sliver of hope, a lifeline, through which one could defy fate.
A person without talent who wanted to cultivate only needed to find a spiritual root, a great medicine in heaven and earth, and consume it to defy fate.
Xu Mo still had quite a few of these spiritual roots, which he had gathered in the Southern Region back then.
After refining them a few times with the Chaos Furnace, if the effect wasn't strong, he wouldn't use them. Later, he used them to reward his subordinates and didn't need them himself.
Giving them to Qin Cheng now was perfect.
Without further ado, Xu Mo took two spiritual roots from his sleeve and handed them to Qin Cheng.
Wang Li was also a mortal, so she could use them too.
The spiritual roots were crystal clear, resembling jade Ruyi in appearance, and were very beautiful.
Qin Cheng received them with excitement. They felt cool to the touch and emitted a refreshing fragrance.
"Old Xu, thank you so much!" Qin Cheng said with heartfelt gratitude.
Xu Mo replied, "Between us, there's no need for such words."
Qin Cheng nodded, knowing that Xu Mo's feelings for him hadn't changed, just like back then.
After accepting the spiritual roots, Qin Cheng thought of Jin Dashao, that great trouble. The Jin family was the foremost family in Suzhou City; even the Suzhou City officials were their people.
With Jin Dashao paralyzed, the Jin family would undoubtedly be furious and might launch a frantic retaliation.
Qin Cheng felt a pang of worry, but then he remembered his brother was now an emperor, an emperor of a cultivation dynasty. What could a Suzhou City family compare to that?
With this thought, he relaxed. However, he still felt the need to remind Xu Mo.
After all, the Jin family was a Chinese family, and Xu Mo couldn't act too recklessly within China. Qin Cheng didn't want his good brother to have any conflicts with their homeland.
"Don't worry. I don't even bother with these mortal families. The high-level officials in China are all sensible people and will understand the situation," Xu Mo said dismissively.
Hearing Xu Mo's words, Qin Cheng cast the Jin family out of his mind.
At this moment, Wang Li had already picked up their daughter, Qin Ran, and they were waiting downstairs.
"Let's go. My daughter and the others are waiting downstairs. We'll go down and then head straight to the hotel for a meal!" Qin Cheng said.
Xu Mo followed Qin Cheng downstairs. However, before going down, he transformed the dragon robe he was wearing into modern attire.
This way, he wouldn't attract too much attention while walking in the city.