Chapter 776: 314. Elder Lei’s Imperial Capital Dragon Tour (10,000-Character Grand Chapter)

Yuan Mobai listened quietly to Lei Jun’s description and sighed deeply, "The Xiao Clan of Longwai may no longer be as flourishing as before, but they still produce talents generation after generation."

Lei Jun silently nodded in agreement.

Besides Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting, there was their half-brother, Xiao Hang, the current clan leader of the Xiao Clan.

The Surge of Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi made it increasingly easier for cultivators of this era to practice, with the most notable beneficiaries being the young generation of top-tier talents that had newly risen.

Xiao Hang resided in the ancestral land of the Xiao Clan in Longwai. Unlike Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting, he was not commonly at the Tang Emperor’s side and seemingly attracted less attention.

However, neither Lei Jun and Yuan Mobai from the Celestial Master Mansion, nor other top forces, would overlook the fact that Xiao Hang had once been considered one of the leading figures among the young generation of the Great Tang’s prominent clans, alongside Fang Zhu of Jingxiang, Ye Cheng of Qingzhou, Chu Zhe of Suzhou, and Ye Feishan of Cangzhou.

Their future paths pointed towards the heads of the great families, such as Ye Yan, Fang Jingsheng, and Chu Xiuyuan.

Like Xiao Xueting, Xiao Hang had also successfully ascended to the Eightfold Heaven Realm a few years earlier.

Additionally, with the naturally gifted yet reclusive Xiao Chunhui, who was deeply cultivating and preparing, the Xiao Family of Longwai, though no longer in its prime, showed signs of sprouting new branches and a burgeoning revival.

"That elder patriarch of the Xiao Clan from the past was no simple character," said Lei Jun.

Yuan Mobai replied, "Layman Xiao Yumen was indeed extraordinary."

Decades earlier, when the Xiao Clan of Longwai was still dominant and deeply rooted in the Northwest, there were roughly three most important individuals in the clan.

First, the previous clan leader of the Xiao Clan, who was also Xiao Hang’s grandfather, known as the Elder Patriarch of the Xiao Clan.

Second, the leader of the Xiao Clan of the preceding generation, who was the second uncle of Xiao Hang, Xiao Chunhui, and Xiao Xueting. Before he took over the position of clan leader, people inside and outside the Xiao Clan commonly referred to him as Mr. Xiao Chunhui.

The third was the father of the three siblings—Xiao Hang, Xiao Chunhui, and Xiao Xueting—the great patriarch of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yumen.

At that time, Xiao Yumen was also celebrated as the strongest in the Xiao Clan of Longwai.

In his younger years, he was a famed Confucian scholar of the Great Tang who later soared to great heights.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yumen never assumed the role of clan leader of the Xiao Clan.

Among his peers, he, along with Fang Jingsheng, the current leader of the Jingxiang Fang Clan, and Lin Huan, the leader of the Lin Clan of Youzhou, were the ones most expected to reach the Ninth Heavenly Layer in a short period.

However, the destinies of the three greatly diverged thereafter.

Fang Jingsheng managed to break through to the Ninth Heavenly Layer, fulfilling the expectations people once had of him.

Lin Huan, due to a battle with Xu Yuanzhen, has yet to take that final step to this day.

As for Xiao Yumen, he tragically perished along with the other high-ranking cultivators of the Xiao Clan of Longwai in the turmoil caused by the Great Demons of the Western Regions...

"However, it cannot be definitively stated as such," Lei Jun said thoughtfully. "At the time, no one confirmed the remains of Layman Xiao Yumen. It was only said that he fell to a Great Demon, and the witnesses soon perished in the turmoil in the Western Regions. It is now difficult to verify the truth."

If Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting had not had their mysterious and remarkable rise thereafter, it might have been dismissed. But with their outstanding talents coupled with their uncertain backgrounds, one couldn’t help but speculate more about Xiao Yumen’s life and death, wondering if there were also hidden circumstances.

Yuan Mobai remarked, "Without conclusive evidence, one should refrain from baseless speculation. The turmoil back then in the Western Regions was almost a national calamity for the Great Tang. Regardless of his ultimate fate, Layman Xiao Yumen had slain many Great Demons during the war, protecting the common people."

Lei Jun responded, "Master’s teachings are correct."

Speaking of which, in the current political climate of the Great Tang, if the Xiao Clan of Longwai still existed, their path forward would likely be fraught with uncertainty.

Regardless, the line of Xiao Yumen can certainly be considered legendary.

If Xiao Chunhui is willing to take one more step forward, then he, along with Xiao Hang and Xiao Xueting, would all possess Eightfold Heaven Cultivation.

This is extremely rare in both ancient and modern history.

Chu Xiuyuan, the former clan leader of the Suzhou Chu Clan, and Ye Moquan, the former clan leader of the Cangzhou Ye Clan, are famously known in this era for having successful children.

But Chu Xiuyuan only has his third son, Chu Zhe, and his youngest daughter, Chu Yu, who have cultivated to the Eightfold Heaven Realm. His most accomplished remaining child is his eldest son, Chu Lin, the current Prefect of the Central Secretariat of the Great Tang. Chu Lin holds a high office, wields great influence, and is widely respected for his achievements; however, his personal cultivation is at the Seventh Heavenly Layer of Confucian Classical Studies.

At over two hundred years of age, whether he can reach the Eighth Heavenly Layer before four hundred hangs by a thread, unlike the nearly inevitable rise of Xiao Chunhui.

Meanwhile, Ye Moquan has a son, Ye Wei, and a daughter, Ye Han, both of whom have achieved the Eightfold Heaven Realm, totaling two individuals at that level.

In the past few centuries of the Great Tang, apart from the special circumstances of the Royal Family, there has been only one precedent similar to the current achievement of the Xiao Clan.

This precedent was set by the very first Celestial Master Li Zhiyuan. His three sons, Li Yang, Li Bai, and Li Song, all achieved the Eightfold Heaven Realm of the Taoist Talisman Sect. Furthermore, Li Yang and Li Bai even reached the Perfection of the Eighth Heavenly Layer Divine Court Four Sceneries. Together, these four family members established the two-hundred-year foundation for the rise and fall of the Li Clan of Xinzhou.

However, the Li Clan of Xinzhou has become a thing of the past.

The future of the Xiao Clan of Longwai remains uncertain.

After ending the communication with Master Yuan Mobai, Lei Jun returned to Lianyun Temple.

In the following days, various figures came to visit or invite Master Lei.

These visitors ranged from prominent figures such as Deputy Minister Shangguan Qing, a key government official, and Lu Zhen, a veteran general of the Divine Strategy Army, to Chu Lin, the current Prefect of the Central Secretariat. Even Fang Hezhou, the Zuo Pushe—a respected elder statesman of the Jingxiang Fang Clan, whose influence was comparable to that of the Great Tang’s prime minister—paid a visit.

A series of garden strolls and banquets were queued up one after another.

Lei Jun was already well-prepared for this.

The moment he accepted the post of Patrolling Wind Elder and was decreed to come to the Imperial Capital Luoyang, all of this was expected.