Battle Through the Heavens: Marry Cao Ying, Reward is Devouring Ancestral Symbol

Chapter 261 It’s just that I don’t want to, that’s all.Cao Tianxiong looked at Shen Wen.

Shen Wen also looked at him.

The hall was quiet.

Cao Ying lowered her eyelids and did not interject.

A long time passed.

Shen Wen spoke, his voice steady as before:

”I understand everything you’ve said, Old Sir.”

He paused.

”But I still cannot do this matter.”

Cao Tianxiong did not speak immediately.

He leaned back into his chair, looking at Shen Wen; there was no disappointment or anger in his gaze.

Only scrutiny.

After a moment, he spoke indifferently:

”The reason?”

Shen Wen answered frankly:

”There is no reason, I just don’t want to, that’s all!”

Cao Tianxiong did not speak.

He leaned back in his chair, those eyes that had settled over nearly a hundred years fixed steadily on Shen Wen.

Shen Wen did not back down either, meeting his gaze calmly.

After a moment.

”Hahaha—”

Cao Tianxiong suddenly burst out laughing.

The laughter was low at first, then grew louder and louder, shaking the faint scent of sandalwood in the hall until it seemed to tremble.

He laughed heartily, fine wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Cao Ying was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly: ”Grandfather?”

Cao Tianxiong waved his hand, stopping his laughter, but the mirth in his eyes had not faded.

He looked at Shen Wen, his tone carrying a bit of emotion and appreciation:

”Young and headstrong, young and headstrong indeed.”

He shook his head, as if reminiscing about something from long ago, ”I have lived for over a hundred years and have seen too many people bow before profit.

There aren’t many who can say ’I can’t do it’ without even blinking like you.”

Shen Wen did not speak.

Cao Tianxiong continued: ”Interesting. Truly interesting.”

He paused, his gaze shifting across Shen Wen’s face, then glanced at Cao Ying sitting nearby, his tone becoming more playful:

”Although you are a philanderer with many women around you.

I have heard of them all—the Queen of the Snake-People Tribe, the Calamity Poison Body, and that girl from the Dan Family,

But I must say, you have quite a personality.”

Cao Ying’s brow furrowed deeper: ”Grandfather...”

”Enough, enough.” Cao Tianxiong raised his hand to interrupt her, not letting her continue to protect him.

He looked at Shen Wen, the smile on his face fading slightly, replaced by seriousness:

”Everything I said before is retracted.”

Shen Wen’s brow twitched slightly.

Cao Tianxiong continued: ”I will send word down. From now on, your authority in the Cao Family will be the same as Ying’er’s. The Cao Family’s resources, connections, and intelligence network—whatever you need, use it. There is no need to ask me again.”

Hearing this, Shen Wen cupped his hands in a salute:

”Thank you, Grandfather.”

Cao Tianxiong waved his hand, but a meaningful smile appeared on his face:

”Don’t be happy too soon.”

He paused, his tone indifferent:

”The cake is only so big. If you appear, you will inevitably take a piece. This problem is something you must solve yourself. I will not help you.”

Shen Wen nodded, his expression normal:

”That is only natural.”

He understood, of course.

The Cao Family was not a monolith.

Those Elders and managers in power each had their own interests and calculations. His sudden arrival as an ’outsider son-in-law’ with the same authority as Cao Ying would naturally cause dissatisfaction.

When people are dissatisfied, trouble arises.

And Cao Tianxiong’s meaning was clear: he could give the title, but whether he could sit firmly in it was his own business.

Shen Wen was not surprised.

On the contrary, this made him feel more at ease.

If Cao Tianxiong had taken everything upon himself and cleared all obstacles for him, that would have suggested an ulterior motive.

Cao Ying, however, gave a cold snort, her tone carrying a hint of chill:

”I’d like to see who dares to act out.”

Her gaze was clear and cold, with a faint curve at the corner of her lips; that smile carried the confidence of the ’Pill Tower Witch’ from back then.

Looking at his granddaughter like this, Cao Tianxiong was suddenly dazed.

He remembered when they first got married, when Cao Ying returned home and mentioned Shen Wen, her tone still carried a bit of distance and politeness.

Back then, he had asked her privately: Was this marriage your own choice, or was the Cao Family forcing you?

Cao Ying had answered frankly: I chose it.

But in her eyes, there wasn’t this kind of... how should I say, protective light like she has now.

How long had it been?

Two years?

Cao Tianxiong shook his head, sighing inwardly.

This girl’s heart and eyes were now entirely focused on her own man.

He pulled back his thoughts, the smile reappearing on his face as he looked at Shen Wen:

”Alright, the official business is finished.”

He paused, his gaze showing more interest:

”Then I wonder if Grandmaster Shen would do me the honor of discussing Alchemy with me?”

Shen Wen hurriedly cupped his hands, his tone respectful:

”I ask for your guidance, Grandfather.”

Cao Tianxiong waved his hand and stood up:

”It can hardly be called guidance. I am not even sure I can refine that yi shi pill in one go. It’s perfect timing; you can also see if there’s anything in the Cao Family’s collection that catches your eye.”

As he spoke, he had already walked around the desk and headed toward the back of the hall.

Shen Wen and Cao Ying exchanged a look and rose to follow... For the next two days, Shen Wen stayed at the Cao Family.

Cao Tianxiong personally took him into an Alchemy Room deep within the Cao Family.

The room was not large but was extremely well-appointed. The Earth Fire was drawn from deep underground with precise temperature control; the surrounding walls were covered with Fire-Gathering Runes to ensure every bit of the flame’s heat was fully utilized.

Cao Tianxiong opened the Library and took out scrolls of Pill Formulas and notes, laying them before Shen Wen.

”These are the Alchemy insights passed down through generations of the Cao Family,” he said, his tone flat. ”Some are unconventional methods the old guys figured out themselves, and some are improved Pill Formulas. If you want to read them, then read them.”

Shen Wen was not modest and began flipping through the pages.

The Cao Family’s Alchemy was not quite the same as the style taught by Xuan Danzi.

Xuan Danzi emphasized ”controlling complexity with simplicity,” pursuing the purest medicinal power with the fewest changes.

Whereas the Cao Family’s methods leaned more toward ”controlling precision with complexity.”

For the same purification of medicinal herbs, they would use multiple layers of alternating flames to bake and peel away Impurities layer by layer; for the same medicinal Fusion, they would use several techniques in rotation to ensure every bit of medicinal property was fused perfectly.

It was tedious but solid.

As Shen Wen read, he compared it with the style he had learned, gaining much.

Cao Tianxiong did not hold back either.

Whatever Shen Wen asked, he answered. There were some Pill Formulas he wasn’t sure about either, so the two of them deduced and discussed them together.

After a day, they truly seemed like friends despite the age gap.

On the evening of the second day, the two were deducing the final key point of the ”yi shi pill” formula.

Cao Tianxiong suddenly stopped his movements and looked up at Shen Wen.

That gaze was somewhat strange.

Shen Wen noticed and looked up: ”Grandfather?”

Cao Tianxiong did not speak immediately.

He looked at Shen Wen, then at the several scrolls of the Cao Family’s secret Pill Formula notes on the table that Shen Wen had flipped through and even annotated.

Then he suddenly spoke:

”This girl, she even gave you the family’s foundations?”

Shen Wen was startled.

Beside them, Cao Ying, who had been quietly sitting and occasionally pouring tea, blushed slightly upon hearing this but did not dodge. She merely lowered her eyelids and pretended not to hear.

Seeing her like that, how could Cao Tianxiong not understand?

He shook his head and sighed, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness and amusement:

”Fine. Since it’s given, it’s given. What else can I say?”

Shen Wen rubbed his nose and didn’t respond.

Cao Tianxiong didn’t say more either, just continued to look down at the Pill Formula, muttering a sentence:

”A grown daughter cannot be kept at home.”

Cao Ying’s face turned even redder, yet she remained seated, her fingertips only slightly tightening on her sleeve.

Shen Wen glanced at her, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

However, this also allowed Cao Tianxiong to witness Shen Wen’s talent; no wonder even the Old Ancestor Xuan Dan personally nurtured him.

He was the former head of the Cao Family and naturally knew that Xuan Danzi was currently staying at the Pill Tower for the purpose of nurturing Shen Wen.

Hundreds of years of the Cao Family’s accumulation were absorbed and digested by Shen Wen in a short time.

One could only say that Cao Ying had indeed chosen a good husband.