Li Yifei stayed with Old Master Su for half a day before receiving a call from Murong Yuanqing urging him to leave. Before he left, he used True Qi to comb through once more, still worried about Old Master Su. As he exited the door and looked back at the closing door, Li Yifei suddenly felt a bit uneasy. No matter how high one’s status, how much power one had, or how glorious one’s past was, when you get old, loneliness is inevitable. In decades to come, will I end up this way too? After all, among the women at home, for now, only Xu Shanshan and Jiang Ningxiang can live as long as him, while the other women... ultimately, they can’t cultivate right now, and even He Fangqing and others have started to worry about aging.

Sitting in the car, Li Yifei began to calculate this matter. The women’s interest in martial arts was limited, but for now, they couldn’t cultivate. The Dual Cultivation Technique that Elder Yao Lingfu gave before had some effect, but... due to the Worm, they had stopped almost a year now. This thing requires continuous cultivation, and once you stop, you have to start all over again.

Lost in thought, the car pulled up to a villa. Just how large was the villa? At least before Li Yifei entered, he thought this was a school. Surrounded by walls with verdant trees set off against them, Li Yifei was momentarily dazzled. The car stopped, and the driver turned to Li Yifei saying, "Mr. Li, the old master is waiting inside for you, you can go in by yourself. I won’t go in."

"Okay," Li Yifei replied. This wasn’t in the Capital City, but rather a location in the suburbs with a nice environment. Li Yifei didn’t use an umbrella as he stepped out, and none of the heavy rain fell on him, protected by an invisible thin film that shielded him from all the rain.

As Li Yifei walked forward, several old faces and figures in the villa watched him through the window, with varied expressions, some familiar to Li Yifei, and some not. Li Yifei stopped, turned his head, and looked to the side; there stood a giant banyan tree with a man seemingly taking shelter from the rain, but Li Yifei knew he wasn’t just avoiding rain because the man’s gaze was penetrating through the dense curtain of rain, landing on him.

So Li Yifei stopped. He was sensitive to energy, so he turned and looked through the rain his way as well.

The two stood twenty, perhaps thirty meters apart, the massive banyan making the man seem so small. However, Li Yifei knew he wasn’t an ordinary man. The man’s eyes were sharp and spirited, his temples were full and bulging with vigorous energy, and Li Yifei couldn’t discern his depth.

So he stood there watching, while the man watched Li Yifei.

Inside the villa, Murong Yuanqing, hair graying, squinted as a faint smile appeared on his face, turning to a nearby old man, "Elder Nan, your disciple is quite special."

The man addressed as Elder Nan turned, chuckled, his gaze sharp despite his small stature. Naturally, no one would overlook him due to his height, for within that body under 1.6 meters was contained immense energy and... destructive power.

Elder Nan said, "Your disciple is quite special too."

"Haha!" Murong Yuanqing laughed, and Yao Lingfu, who was also watching through the window, said, "Should we call them in?"

"Why call them in? Young people are fiery, let them get some rain to quell the fire!" Elder Nan replied.

"Lingfu is worried your disciple might catch a cold, seeing him hiding under the tree to avoid rain," Murong Yuanqing said.

The rivalry between the two was no news, and others were unsurprised. Yao Lingfu smiled faintly, while Elder Nan remarked, "Even if they do fight, it’s no big deal. Young people spar a little, it’s beneficial for both."

"Well, we should talk about winning and losing, your disciple waited out there likely for a fight, taking the initiative to stir things up. If he loses, how do you plan to handle it?" Murong Yuanqing provocatively asked.

The elder known as Elder Nan twitched his white brow, "What do you want to bet?"

"Depends on what you have!" Murong Yuanqing replied.

Elder Nan gave a light snort and with a shake of his hand, something slipped from his sleeve. The other elders watching had a change in their gaze, and one couldn’t help but say, "Elder Nan, don’t tell me you plan to bet that with Old Murong?"

Murong Yuanqing naturally saw what was in the other’s hand, his eye gave a slight twitch but his expression remained unchanged, "Old fellow, you’re generous."

"Why wouldn’t I be? I have great confidence in my disciple!" Elder Nan said, tilting his chin provocatively, "What can you put up?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The elders’ gaze shifted to Murong Yuanqing, who chuckled, reaching into his robes, and similarly took out an item, shaped like a beast’s head but not quite, having only one leg, and someone familiar with it shouted its name!

"Old Murong, you’ve certainly invested heavily. This Kui Bull Ornament is a treasure from over two thousand years ago, and you’ve brought it out to gamble with Elder Nan?" someone couldn’t help but say.

The so-called Kui Bull is a type of divine beast described in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas." It is said to dwell on Liubo Mountain, spanning seven thousand miles into the sea. There, a beast resides, appearing like a bull, with a blue body and without horns, possessing only one foot. Whenever it emerges from or enters the water, there is bound to be wind and rain. Its light is as bright as the sun and moon, its sound is like thunder, and it is named Kui.

Although the Kui Bull Ornament Murong Yuanqing wears isn’t truly a Kui Bull, this jade ornament was obtained from the ancient tombs of the Great Powers. Wearing it allows one to constantly sense the mighty sound, clear the mind, and assist in gathering Spirit Qi during cultivation. For cultivators, it is extremely beneficial. Nowadays, as cultivators dwindle, having such an ornament is very rare. Even among the old fellows in the room, few can casually bring out a treasure at Murong Yuanqing’s level.

Elder Nan revealed from his sleeve a set of prayer beads, which were also treasures. These prayer beads belonged to a cultivator monk about eighteen hundred years ago. It was said that there were originally eighteen beads, and when all were present, they could summon hurricanes and storms. However, now, sixteen of them have disappeared, leaving Elder Nan with only two. He found a Wisteria and extracted its essence to bind them into a bead string, wearing it day and night. Elder Nan initially intended to challenge Murong Yuanqing, especially since he had brought out a top-notch treasure. Little did he expect Murong Yuanqing to straightforwardly reveal the Kui Bull Ornament, a direct confrontation indeed.

The Kui Bull Ornament is not an ordinary item, even though the specific Great Power it belonged to is unknown, it still surpasses the prayer beads Elder Nan presented. The former is complete, while the latter is not, being only one-ninth.

After Murong Yuanqing displayed the Kui Bull Ornament to the crowd, he said to Yao Lingfu, "Lingfu, you hold onto this. If Li Yifei loses, hand it over to them!"

Yao Lingfu smiled and nodded, as if such scenes were not new to her, carefully putting away the Kui Bull Ornament. She turned to look at Elder Nan; from Yao Lingfu’s reaction, such matters seemed not few.

However... this time Murong Yuanqing’s offering was too valuable, and Elder Nan’s was slightly weaker, so Yao Lingfu’s glance carried a questioning intent. Elder Nan smacked his lips, shaking his hand again to reveal a charm. Made of yellow paper, it faintly emitted a lightning aura, seeming like an item capable of discharging at any time, akin to an electric baton in appearance, though this was clearly no ordinary baton, but also a treasure.

Murong Yuanqing glanced at it, smiled lightly, and said, "Adding this Thunder Talisman barely makes it even."

"That’s bullshit! My Thunder Talisman was handed down from the ancestor and you call that equal? Just this Thunder Talisman could be worth that broken jade ornament of yours." Elder Nan suddenly cursed.

"Nonsense! A mere Thunder Talisman, your ancestor must have written hundreds or even thousands over the years, wasting countless ones!" Murong Yuanqing retorted.

The atmosphere in the room momentarily shifted, but everyone was accustomed. They listened as Elder Nan cursed, "You’re talking nonsense. My ancestor only left a few charms. Most of them were used during the wartime, and now there are barely any left."

"Ha, so they’re not that precious, Elder Nan. Will you bet or not? If not, take your stuff back." Murong Yuanqing sneered.

Elder Nan was certainly going to bet. Since the items were already out, how could he take them back? With a glare, he said, "Pah, why wouldn’t I bet, you old fool, unless you’re scared."

"Afraid of you? Can your apprentice really defeat Li Yifei? What a joke." Murong Yuanqing laughed and cursed.

Elder Nan sneered back, "Does fame equal strength? Murong, your ambition is limited. Even decades ago, you were lacking, and now still the same."

"Words aside, personal attacks are unnecessary!" Murong Yuanqing spoke sternly, but his face showed little anger. He continued, "I won’t boast, but if we’re discussing my apprentice, ha, not only can he fight your disciple, I am confident against you as well."

Such praise was extremely high. If Li Yifei heard, he’d likely feel elated. Elder Nan naturally felt displeased, quivering with anger as he pointed outside the window coldly saying, "Let’s see. If he truly defeats my disciple, I’ll concede!"

Murong Yuanqing lowered his hands, flicked his sleeves, standing with a suddenly more upright posture, saying, "No more talking, I’ve set my sights on your two treasures!"

"I’ve also set my sights on your broken jade ornament." Elder Nan stubbornly retorted.

The other elders in the room wore varied expressions—some smiled as they watched two centenarian old men bickering, while others looked solemnly outside the window.

Holding both the jade ornament, prayer beads, and charm in her hands, Yao Lingfu also gazed outside. In the curtain of rain, Li Yifei stood observing the opponent. It wasn’t that he wasn’t prepared to enter the villa, but rather... he sensed hostility, even murderous intent enveloping him. Hence, Li Yifei didn’t walk in, not because he feared, but because, should he wish to enter, none could prevent him.