Ye Xuan changed into a green robe and donned a jade crown. The ornate robe was not flashy, carrying a subtle air of restraint instead.
Clasping one hand behind his back, he took a single stride and appeared outside the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect, flanked by many sect elders.
All of them wore grave expressions, standing ready as though facing a formidable foe. Yet in less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the entire Nine Dragons Immortal Sect, from top to bottom, had turned exceptionally festive.
Word that Mahayana cultivators would arrive today quickly spread among the disciples, who flocked over to watch.
At the mountain peak, a lavish banquet had already been prepared in the main hall to welcome the esteemed guests.
Before long, a faint smile surfaced on Ye Xuan’s face. But as he looked into the distance where ghostly howls seemed to shriek, his expression shifted slightly.
He murmured under his breath, “The Five Yang Ghost Emperor, Meng Jiangchu!”
Immediately following that, raging flames swept forth like a wild wolf. Gu Changsheng had donned his eighth-grade alchemist robes, and eight phantom spirit pills circled him like the sun, moon, and stars.
The dazzling vestment was bright enough to blind onlookers. Gu Li stood quite a distance away, finding it thoroughly mortifying...
“Ugh, my dad is way too flamboyant. Why does he have to be like this?!”
“We’re just visiting! Did he really have to put on his alchemist robes?”
Li Guanqi, however, shoved him away in utter disgust, hissing, “Your whole act makes me sick! Truly sick!”
Gu Li looked down at his own seventh-rank talisman master robes and sighed. “Don’t be like that, Brother Li. I just don’t have an eighth-rank one. If I did, I’d be wearing it too!”
Meng Wanshu covered her mouth and stifled a laugh, suddenly feeling that her own father was considerably more mature.
Gu Changsheng and Gu Li were truly a pair of clowns. In front of outsiders, they acted aloof and haughty, but around people they knew, they turned into overgrown children.
Yet it had to be said that their display was remarkably effective.
Beholding Gu Changsheng clad in eighth-grade alchemist robes, the elders of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect grew even more reverent and deferential.
Not to mention the young man beside him, who bore a seventy percent resemblance to the elder Gu, was wearing shimmering robes that clearly belonged to a seventh-rank talisman master!
By contrast, Meng Jiangchu, an eighth-rank Saint-grade armorer, was far more restrained.
With a reserved smile, he cupped his fists toward Ye Xuan from afar.
The party of five arrived before the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect. Looking at the lifelike stone carvings of nine ink flood dragons, Meng Jiangchu could not help praising them with a smile. “Fellow Daoist Ye, your mountain gate is truly magnificent.”
It would have been better had he not mentioned it, as the topic immediately stirred Ye Xuan’s irritation.
Ye Xuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. “It’s not all that great. Anyone who comes by feels the need to stomp on them twice. Hahaha, let’s not speak of it, let’s not speak of it!”
“Brother Meng, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. We’ve already met Niece Wanshu.”
Meng Jiangchu merely smiled at Ye Xuan’s response. Having lived for thousands of years, neither was so petty as to hold a grudge over such trivial matters.
Gu Changsheng laughed and said, “Fellow Daoist Ye is truly blessed. Allow me to offer an early congratulations—the day your sect’s ink flood dragon transforms into a true dragon is just around the corner! Hahaha!”
Ye Xuan bowed with cupped hands and said softly, “Many thanks for your congratulations, Fellow Daoist Gu. The Nine Dragons Immortal Sect is rich in spirit herbs; please feel free to help yourself to some, haha.”
Gu Changsheng roared with laughter, demurring aloud that he could never impose, yet inwardly cursed, *This old fox! If I take his lousy spirit herbs, won’t I have to refine pills for him later? Nothing in this world comes cheap!*
After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Changsheng introduced his son.
Yet before he could finish, Gu Li had already sauntered forward on his own, warmly grabbing Ye Xuan’s arm.
“Aiya, Dad, why are you all being so polite?”
“Uncle Ye, we’re all family here! No need for such formality. Come on, let’s head into the hall to chat!”
“Why should a bunch of us stand around by the mountain gate? Anyone passing by might think Uncle Ye hadn't invited us inside!”
With that, he pulled Ye Xuan toward the main hall, chattering all the way.
“Uncle Ye, a single day apart feels like three autumns! How is the ink flood dragon in your sect doing?”
“Don't worry, my dad can work as a vet too. A patient is a patient, whether man or beast! What's there to be shy about?”
“By the way, everyone’s here today. Once you hand over the goods, it’ll bring you immense face, and you won’t have to bother asking someone to deliver them, right?”
Watching Gu Li up ahead, Li Guanqi could not help giving a thumbs-up. He turned to Gu Changsheng in confusion and asked, “Uncle Gu, is Gu Li always like this?”
It would have been fine if Li Guanqi had not asked, but the moment he did, Gu Changsheng gave him a deeply meaningful smile.
“No, no, no. He wasn’t like this before.”
Li Guanqi frowned, puzzled. “He wasn’t?”
Gu Changsheng grinned knowingly at Li Guanqi. “Ever since he sneaked out to travel the continent last time, met someone named Li Song, and swore brotherhood with him, he came back like this.”
Li Guanqi was choked so hard he could not utter a word, forced to pretend he had not understood.
The party received a warm welcome lined with disciples of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect. Every face shone with reverence toward the powerful.
Many of them looked toward Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu with gazes overflowing with envy.
Even with the favored conditions of the Ethereal Immortal Domain, reaching the Soul Formation Realm in one’s thirties was enough to make someone an exceptional talent among their peers.
Far more people were still struggling in the Nascent Soul realm. Yet the three youths before them, without exception, were all in the Body Integration Realm under the age of forty!
The Body Integration Realm... for many, this was a realm forever out of reach in their entire lifetimes.
Once the hall doors were shut, Meng Wanshu found the atmosphere dull. She simply closed her eyes to focus her mind, refining the power within her body to suppress her breakthrough.
After a few rounds of small talk, Ye Xuan inquired about the Yu clan.
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment before offering an overview to everyone, though he refrained from revealing the special nature of the demon fox tribe.
Hearing his account, Ye Xuan could not help sighing. “So the secret technique the Yu clan mysteriously obtained all those years ago was tied to this.”
“However... this secret art is truly sinister, relying on the eyes of demon foxes as a catalyst. Utterly wicked!”
Ye Xuan seemed to hesitate on further words. Seeing this, Li Guanqi said solemnly, “Senior Ye, are you wondering about the ancestor of the Yu clan?”
Ye Xuan nodded and said in a heavy voice, “The Yu clan's ancestor, Yu Chang'an, is definitely a prominent figure even within the Ethereal Immortal Domain.”
“Over two thousand years ago, he established the Yu clan single-handedly. Setting down roots along the Coast of the Eastern Sea to become a local hegemon was by no means a fluke.”
Ye Xuan glanced at the crowd and continued gravely, “Now that the Yu clan has been eradicated and the survivors exiled to the external Six Domains, Yu Chang'an will certainly learn of this.”
“Of course, knowing how selfish he is, I doubt he would seek vengeance for their sake.”
“However...”
Ye Xuan paused, picking up his teacup as he fixed his gaze on Li Guanqi. He said softly, “Do not forget, what you did was tantamount to severing the path Yu Chang'an needed to advance his ocular technique.”
Meng Jiangchu and Gu Changsheng nodded somberly at his words. Against such a ruthless cultivator, no one could afford to drop their guard.
Having truly confronted a Mahayana cultivator this time, Li Guanqi understood that if he were forced to face a late Mahayana expert, he would possess virtually no means to resist even if he threw out every trick in his arsenal. He might have to rely entirely on the sword spirit’s power.
Li Guanqi could not help sighing inwardly. *After this, I might truly need to enter secluded cultivation for spirit comprehension.*
At this thought, he glanced toward Meng Wanshu, who was meditating with her eyes shut.
During that earlier battle...
For a brief instant, Meng Wanshu had seemed subtly different!
*Could all of that be related to spirit comprehension?*
*Or rather... to stand against a Mahayana cultivator, must one first cross the chasm of spirit comprehension?*
Chapter 893