Li Yuanjiao and his brother felt the need for courtesy, but didn’t expect Xiao Yuansi to immediately clasp his hands in a salute and say solemnly,

"My family’s elder has been traveling abroad for many years, and I went into the mountains to seek medicine. Here returning to Lixia only a few months ago, I heard that the Tongya Sword cut down Maha and forced the noble families to retreat. What’s this all about?"

Li Yuanjiao felt a chill in his heart:

"The Xiao Family couldn’t possibly be unaware of the truth behind Li Tongya’s sword cutting down Maha. Even if they don’t know how the elder fared in the end, they must know about the elder being used as bait!"

Xiao Yuansi had an open and tranquil gaze, and his eyes were gentle. He seemed completely uninformed, which made Li Yuanjiao feel a chill down his spine as he pondered silently,

"It seems that the people of the Xiao Family have intentionally kept him in the dark... Should I speak... or not?"

He paused slightly, his mind racing, and felt a surge of alarm inside:

"My Li Family shouldn’t know! Although Xiao Yuansi has good intentions, gentlemen can be misled by straightforwardness. It’s possible that Xiao Guitu and the others are testing us with this question..."

He immediately shook his head and answered,

"The elder returned and went into seclusion; we also don’t know the details, only that Maha was merely a reincarnation."

Xiao Yuansi looked at him thoughtfully for a moment and nodded as if he understood, then asked again,

"I received a letter earlier from my junior sister. Do you have a disciple under her tutelage?"

"Indeed!"

Li Yuanjiao was relieved that the conversation shifted, and he quickly called Li Xizhi over.

Li Xizhi, attired in brocade, had a handsome and proper appearance. Although not as outstanding as his brother Li Xijun, he could be considered a talented individual. When he stood in the courtyard, he carried himself with a certain dignity.

"Xizhi pays his respects to the senior!"

After Li Xizhi respectfully saluted, Xiao Yuansi finally nodded and said ponderously,

"Yuan Tuan... owes your family a lot. He will definitely protect this child thoroughly. Don’t be polite with her, and if he lacks anything, he can directly ask her for it... Ah!"

While he was speaking, he looked down at the scale-shining Jiao Carved Pillar at Li Yuanjiao’s waist and nodded,

"This ’Jiao Carved Pillar,’ having been held by the Yuan Family for so many years, even though they have no one who practices swordsmanship, they were unwilling to let it leave their possession. To have so readily given it to your family demonstrates the regard they have for you."

The Jiao Carved Pillar was a Foundation Establishment congratulatory gift from the Yuan Family to Li Tongya years ago. It had somehow ended up in Li Yuanjiao’s hands, and Li Yuanjiao has never even thought about it.

"The Yuan Family of Secret Forest County owes your Li Family a great favor. Giving away the ’Jiao Carved Pillar’ is just a small part of their debt. If you need help, you should feel free to ask the Yuan Family."

Li Yuanjiao listened with growing suspicions, feeling not joy but alarm, and squinted his eyes as he said softly,

"The younger generation is unaware of this matter... Could the senior please enlighten me?"

"This..."

Xiao Yuansi appeared hesitant to speak, pausing for a long time before continuing in an obscure tone,

"I only learned of it from a letter not long ago... ’QingXuan Yue’ was originally intended to be... to be a replacement participant for ’Lake Moon Autumn.’ Therefore, my junior sister postponed for many years... This... a den of absurdities, how can it be clearly explained!"

Seeing the confused expressions on Li Yuanjiao and his brother, Xiao Yuansi awkwardly shook his head and awkwardly changed the subject, saying,

"It’s been many years, and despite his young age, Yuanjiao has reached the sixth layer of Qi cultivating!"

"Senior flatters me."

Li Yuanjiao hesitated before responding politely. Xiao Yuansi chuckled meaningfully and said,

"A new generation of talent emerges... rare indeed, rare indeed!"

He then looked up with a smile, observing the respectful manner of the two juniors, and with a hint of jest said,

"Perhaps Elder Mutian... is not merely a simple Foundation Establishment practitioner, eh?"

Li Yuanjiao and his companion exchanged glances, equally bewildered. Li Yuanjiao merely clasped his hands together and said,

"There is no detailed record in the clan..."

Xiao Yuansi waved his hand, cutting off his words, and declared in a clear voice,

"Well then, let it be. I still have important matters to attend to and must not linger any longer. When Tongya leaves seclusion, please inform him."

"Yes!"

After they replied, Xiao Yuansi departed on the winds, and Li Yuanjiao escorted him to the boundary before returning.

All affairs within the hall had been settled, and Li Yuanping was reading over the Pill Script. Looking up as Li Yuanjiao strode in, he said with a wry smile,

"With Xiao Senior’s attentiveness, we are unable to reciprocate. The Xiao Family indeed has been gracious to our family... and moreover, we now need to rely on them even more."

"Xiao Yuansi is Xiao Yuansi, the Xiao Family is the Xiao Family."

Li Yuanjiao agreed, heaving a sigh,

"Senior Xiao’s love and care is evident, but whether Xiao Guitu shares that sentiment remains to be seen. This matter isn’t urgent... But how has the Yuan Family come to owe my family a favor again?"

"It sounds related to the Sword Immortal. ’Lake Moon Autumn’ is the Taoist Foundation of the Sword Immortal. Perhaps it’s Yuan Tuan who owes the favor... It’s just a pity that we can’t ask the old ancestor."

After pondering for a while and lacking information, they couldn’t reason anything out and had to give up. Li Yuanjiao picked up a jade slip, his Spiritual Sense delved into it, and he said warmly,

"This ’Golden Hall Bright Yuan Art’ is indeed good, and the ’Huanyuan Border’ has many wondrous aspects. It’s just that calling nature’s spiritual energy ’Golden Sun Radiant Origin’ really makes it quite difficult to collect."

Li Yuanping had also read through this cultivation technique and immediately said,

"This kind of Spiritual Energy is clearly extraordinary. We’re just lucky that the technique comes with a method for gathering Qi. Otherwise, this ancient Spiritual Energy would be so hard to find that even turning Yue Country upside down wouldn’t help."

Li Yuanjiao chuckled and shook his head. Musing aloud,

"Seek out the thousand-mile-long desolate border pass. When the dusk winds and sand settle, and half of the setting sun drops below the horizon, use your mana to extract the Golden Sun’s power. You have only a moment to collect the Qi, two years for a thread, and ten threads for a single portion."

"Ancient techniques are truly burdensome indeed!"

Li Yuanping sighed, then reminded,

"And that’s not all. ’Golden Sun Radiant Origin’ must not meet gold or iron, and upon contact with copper, water, or wood, it transforms into ’Agile Smoke Qi’ and will require an exquisite jade box for storage."

"We don’t need to worry about that."

In Li Yuanjiao’s possession was a Zifu Level jade box that Li Tongya had once found on Lake Zhongzhou, more than capable of containing the Golden Sun Radiant Origin. He was currently considering where to find this border pass.

"Elder brother, let’s set aside these matters for now."

Li Yuanping shook his head gently and said,

"The Rosy Cloud Boat is arriving!"

————

The golden rosy light of the cloud boat was brilliant and dazzling, with golden wings that unfurled and parted layers of clouds, reflecting off the deep cyan waters of the lake with the morning sun, glimmering with golden light.

At the very front of the Rosy Cloud Boat, a young man in simple green clothes stood quietly, his features resembling Yu Mugao quite closely, but the grimness in Yu Mugao’s face was entirely replaced by tranquility and calmness in him.

"Wangyue Lake, once known as Wangyue Marsh..."

The Rosy Cloud Boat gently docked in Secret Forest County. Yu Muxian stood with his hands behind his back, his ethereal demeanor making his simple outfit look elegant and lively. Just standing there attracted the glances of the cultivators on board.

Having left his home for more than twenty years, Yu Muxian could barely recognize the various sceneries under his feet. He looked down indifferently, fiddling with a jade buckle in his hand.

The jade buckle, clear as ice crystal, subtly revealed colors akin to moonlight as it rotated in his hand. Yu Muxian’s eyes silently fixed forward, as if quietly observing something.

"Wangyue Lake... truly a treasure trove."

The jade buckle in his hand faintly emitted colorful lights, with his Immortal Foundation "Golden Melting Cave" constantly operating, shadows emerged in Yu Muxian’s pupils, as he silently counted:

"Yu Family’s ’Jade Smoke Mountain,’ Li Family’s ’Green Ruler Sword,’ Taoist He’s ’Jiumen Temple.’"

He glanced around, arching an eyebrow in surprise, saying,

"Even the minor Shanyue Cultivators possess a Foundation Establishment Magical Instrument... Of course, it’s from that Duanmu Kui with his Witch Mountain origins. After all, they always have one or two precious things on them!"

Yu Muxian scrutinized for a moment, his brow furrowed, showing a hint of disgust as he looked at a vision of mountains of corpses and seas of blood emerging in his mind, thinking to himself,

"Human Head Mountain, what a sinister Magic Artifact!"

Despite finding it repugnant, he couldn’t help but marvel at the ingenuity of the Magic Artifact and thought,

"With over a dozen Foundation Establishment legacies and four Foundation Establishment Magical Instruments on the lake, apart from the Three Sects and Seven Doors, no place in Yue Country could be richer than Wangyue Lake!"

With these thoughts, the Rosy Cloud Boat came to a gentle stop, and as Yu Muxian stepped off, he heard a chorus of respectful voices from the mountain peak below:

"Welcome, envoy!"

Yu Muxian looked up to see a crowd of cultivators bowing deeply, their heads lowered en masse. He caressed the jade buckle and responded,

"You needn’t be so formal!"

Only then did the cultivators straighten up and return to their seats. A cultivator approached from below, middle-aged, with a haggard face and eyes as piercing as an eagle’s, fierce and venomous. Under Yu Muxian’s impassive gaze, he respectfully bowed, saying in a clear voice,

"Yu Mugao of the Secret Forest Yu Family, greets the envoy!"

This man was his brother from the same mother, Yu Mugao.

"Rise."

Yu Muxian’s demeanor, which had been as placid as a snow-capped mountain, showed a slight ripple as he watched Yu Mugao slowly raise his head. With respectful and polite tones, Yu Mugao said,

"Thank you, envoy."

As the two brothers locked eyes for a moment, one as grim as an eagle and the other as cold as snow, similar in appearance but completely different in temperament, they met each other’s gaze in silence.