Deep in winter, snowflakes drifted through the sky.
Beneath the darkness, the Cui estate’s silver bamboo groves swayed, and ripples stirred across its blue lake. Amid the biting cold, the grounds remained as warm as spring. Yet the members of the Cui clan still felt a chill seep into their bones. An overwhelming tension hung over the compound, weighing heavily on every heart.
A patriarch of the sixth realm had arrived. What was more, he had come in person to this minor blessed land to back a formerly "abandoned pawn." Who could fail to quail before such a sight?
Inside the great hall, the senior figures of the Cui estate sat as if on pins and needles. This visitor had named their clan's ancient ancestor the moment he entered. What was he planning to do?
Intense unease coiled tightly in their chests. Could Lu Zizai truly intend to rip up the Cui clan’s taproot and wipe out a millennial lineage?
"Cui Geng certainly puts on grand airs," Lu Zizai remarked. He had waited for some time, yet the Cui clan’s ancient ancestor had still not shown himself.
The clan’s leadership looked grim. Secretly, they wondered: could he really be planning to slay their ancestor?
Cui Changqing spoke up. "Patriarch Lu, please taste the Thorough Enlightenment spiritual tea from Feilai Peak first and wait with patience. We have already dispatched someone to invite the old ancestor from his quiet room."
He was a core senior member of the clan, ranking second among his generation. Though over a century old, he showed no signs of aging, with lush, dark-green hair tumbling down his shoulders. He had cultivated the World-Abiding Scripture to an exceptionally profound depth.
The reception hall could hardly be called resplendent or ornate. If anything, it seemed rather weathered and aged. The tea table, for instance, had been chiseled from plain, dusty rock.
Yet this was precisely where the Cui clan received their most honored guests.
Everything in the hall, from the tea tables to the stone chairs, consisted of relics excavated from the ruins of a fallen grotto-heaven. Worn by the passage of endless time, they still retained a faint trace of Dao resonance.
None of the furnishings looked luxurious, but every piece possessed an extraordinary heritage, returning to simplicity and truth.
Qin Ming sat quietly behind a stone table, gazing down at the black tea bowl before him. Within it, silver specks glittered like a portrait of the deep night sky, and the faint silhouette of a True Dragon swam through the fragrant, pale-green tea liquor—drifting in and out of view, lifelike and profoundly mystical.
This was another ancient relic unearthed from the grotto-heaven ruins.
Even when Qin Ming was considered a direct descendant of the Cui clan, he had only ever heard of Feilai Peak's Thorough Enlightenment spiritual tea and this set of tea ware.
He was truly receiving treatment far beyond standard protocol.
Mother Cui broke the silence. "Child, you have suffered greatly these past three years. In truth, as your mother, my heart ached as well. I had difficulties of my own... I would like to talk with you."
Time had left few marks upon her fair face. She appeared barely in her early thirties, dressed in an elegant court gown of dignified grace. Her hair was swept high into a cloud coiffure, pinned in place by a feather hairpin that shimmered with golden light, and her expression seemed earnest.
Qin Ming did not respond. His senses were extraordinarily sharp now. Beneath her fair, gentle demeanor, he could detect no genuine warmth whatsoever.
Even when she smiled, it was devoid of heat.
Seeing his silence and refusal to acknowledge Mother Cui, Father Cui turned his gaze toward him. He remained as stern and rigid as ever, bearing the uncompromising authority of a family patriarch.
He was the visible ruler of the Cui clan’s secular affairs, exuding a formidable presence with every movement.
Qin Ming tilted his head and met his gaze impassively. His eyes were clear as spring water, devoid of the filial attachment he had once held; all that remained was composure, confidence, and calm.
"Cui Geng!" Lu Zizai uttered the name once more.
In truth, Lu Zizai knew Cui Geng had left long ago—likely departing the day before Lu Zizai ever approached this region.
After breaking through his secluded cultivation, a supreme grandmaster possessed senses far beyond normal. A brief sweep of his mental light had already picked up the residual resonance Cui Geng left behind in the quiet room.
Lu Zizai’s demand to see Cui Geng was merely a means of applying pressure to the Cui clan.
Indeed, when he spoke those two words, many felt as though a heavy hammer had struck their hearts. Father Cui’s face turned deathly pale; he gripped the armrests of his stone chair tightly, no longer daring to look at Qin Ming.
"The old ancestor is not in his quiet room. He has likely gone to the ancestral land or departed on a distant journey," a young direct descendant reported upon returning.
Learning that their clan’s patriarch was not present, the seniors secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A deterrent of that magnitude was best kept off the front stage; lurking in the shadows was what truly kept rivals wary.
Just as now: if Lu Zizai dared massacre the Cui clan's forces in this minor blessed land, their old ancestor could retaliate in kind down the line, targeting disciples of the Six Imperials ancestral court with fatal strikes.
Lu Zizai remarked, "Cui Geng was said to have the makings of an ancient worthy in his youth. Yet after advancing to the grandmaster realm, no matter how much time passed, he struggled to break through. Then, a year before the clash against the nomadic hunting civilization, he finally found the inspiration to charge toward the heavenly gate in his old age. His knack for seeking good fortune while dodging calamity is truly remarkable."
He suspected Cui Geng had calculated the historical cycle in advance, realizing years prior that a bloody clash with the nomadic hunting civilization and the demon civilization was inevitable.
The Cui clan’s senior figures sat wooden-faced. Had anyone else spoken like this, they would have flared up long ago. Who dared ridicule and slander their clan's old ancestor?
Cui Changqing said, "This time, our Cui clan lost many descendants on the western battlefield. The old ancestor's attempt to breach the heavenly gate truly began a year ago. Moreover, patriarchs from various factions all gave their consent, appointing him as one of the top combatants safeguarding the deep rear."
"A blessed man indeed, Cui Geng," Lu Zizai said, declining to elaborate.
He turned his gaze to Father Cui. "Speak. Where did Qin Ming's grandfather ultimately go?"
The Cui elders looked grave. For Lu Zizai to attend to Qin Ming's affairs in person proved the bond between them was astonishingly close.
Father Cui was tall, martial, and profoundly cultivated, usually presiding over all secular clan affairs. Yet before a patriarch-level powerhouse, he could not maintain his air of authority.
He responded calmly and frankly, explaining that while he had indeed met the old man, he never learned where he had finally settled, offering only a few place names.
Those cities and ancient towns matched what Seventh Uncle Cui had told Qin Ming.
"He traveled far away alongside some traveling merchants," Father Cui added.
Lu Zizai said, "Who witnessed this entire matter from start to finish? I wish to inspect a portion of your conscious spiritual light. Rest assured, I will not pry into your secrets, nor will I harm your spiritual origin."
"This..." Several faces shifted.
A few members looked thoroughly displeased, but under the crushing weight of Lu Zizai's aura, they ultimately consented with expressionless faces.
Father Cui felt a wave of relief instead. Though he had interacted with Qin Ming’s grandfather, as the head of the Cui clan's secular affairs, he had not personally overseen the matter to the end.
In the end, two elderly men stepped forward and opened their mental domains.
After examining them, Lu Zizai nodded to Qin Ming. The Cui clan had not secretly dealt a lethal hand or carried out an execution; there had been no bloody scene.
Qin Ming let out a breath of relief.
"Child..." Mother Cui spoke again.
Lu Zizai looked at her coldly. "From this day forward, all ties between you two and Qin Ming are severed. Do not try to hold him hostage using some nonexistent affection from the past. You were cold from the start, devoid of warmth, with no familial love to speak of. Drop the loving facade and stop pretending to be a doting mother here."
Mother Cui protested, "Over the past three years, I truly missed him! Even if he isn't my own flesh and blood, we spent ten years together. How could there be no affection at all?"
"There are words I have no wish to repeat. You... step down!" Lu Zizai looked at her evenly.
Mother Cui was instantly lifted into the air and hurled backward, hurtling out through the window. She flew clear across five courtyards before crashing to the ground.
Fury flared in the hearts of many clan members, yet none dared let it show; they could only swallow their anger.
Lu Zizai fixed his gaze on Father Cui, scrutinizing him. "And you. Drop that stern-father face of yours. Henceforth, Qin Ming has nothing to do with any of you."
Father Cui’s expression turned exceedingly grim, but he could only grit his teeth and nod.
Then Lu Zizai spoke once more. "Where is Qin Ming’s silk book? Hand it over!"
Instantly, the hall fell dead silent. That book was currently kept on the person of their old ancestor, who had studied it for years and was still poring over it to this day.
"Do you mean Cui Geng took it with him?" Lu Zizai’s face darkened.
He currently took the form of a delicate youth of about eighteen, yet the presence he gave off was terrifying. As a faint heavenly light radiated from him, the entire estate lit up brightly, as though the sun were about to rise and set this minor blessed land ablaze.
An elder over two hundred years old hurriedly chimed in, "It is the absolute truth. The old ancestor is currently studying it."
Lu Zizai said coldly, "Then fetch the World-Abiding Scripture first and let Qin Ming inspect it."
This secret scripture was renowned throughout the world. Several versions existed, but the Cui clan's version was considered supreme; practicing it to its peak could extend one's lifespan by half an era!
"Very well!" Cui Changqing nodded.
Lu Zizai added, "I want the secret chapter, not the standard version your clan gifts to outsiders."
"Impossible!" one clan elder objected, highly agitated.
Lu Zizai's voice turned chilling. "You object?"
"The ancestors of the Cui clan decreed that the secret chapter of the World-Abiding Scripture can never be revealed to outsiders..." The elder refused to yield.
In truth, few beyond their walls even knew that a secret chapter of the scripture existed.
Lu Zizai's face went cold. "Your clan has studied the Qin family's silk book method for over a decade. Now that Qin Ming wishes to view your World-Abiding Scripture, suddenly it is impossible? Did you think my good temper since arriving meant I have no teeth?"
With a wet burst, the elder shattered into pieces inside the hall, which were instantly consumed by blinding heavenly light and reduced to ashes. In the blink of an eye, his body and spirit were thoroughly destroyed.
A violent tremor ran through the Cui clan’s leadership, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. The man before them was a patriarch-level figure; his majesty truly brooked no offense.
The elder over two hundred years old nodded at once, ordering someone to fetch the secret text.
Qin Ming did not hold back. Taking the yellowed ancient tome in his hands, he flipped through it openly. The secret scripture renowned across Yezhou held no more secrets from him.
Afterward, he handed it to Lu Zizai, who casually skimmed through it before tossing it back to the Cui clan elders.
"The silk book is the only heirloom my grandfather left me. I must have it back," Qin Ming declared in the hall.
The others remained silent, while Father Cui merely stared at him coldly, as rigid and stern as ever.
With a booming crash, Father Cui was sent flying backward, smashing through the hall doors and hurtling dozens of meters away.
Lu Zizai remarked, "I said you no longer have any connection to one another. Stop squandering the last embers of your past. Preserve whatever dignity you have left."
With that, he and Qin Ming turned and departed.
"Tell Cui Geng to return the silk book as soon as possible." Those were Lu Zizai's parting words.
No matter how the Cui clan tried to conceal what had happened, word leaked out that very day. While it did not spread everywhere at once, latest intelligence dossiers were already landing on the desks of every major organization.
All kinds of rumors began to circulate.
Braving the wind and snow, Lu Zizai accompanied Qin Ming straight to the Cui clan’s ancestral land, intending to corner Cui Geng.
Yet they came up empty once more; the ancient ancestor was not there.
A group of venerable elders of immense age inhabited this blessed land, and even they were thoroughly shaken by Patriarch Lu’s presence.
Qin Ming said, "Senior Brother Lu, he is intentionally hiding from us. We won't find him. Let this matter rest for now."
He was not in an urgent rush to retrieve the silk book method, having already obtained the subsequent chapters—and in a refined edition, no less.
More importantly, this feud was something he ultimately had to settle with the Cui clan himself.
A millennial aristocratic clan was indeed a colossal entity.
Their roots ran deep, their power reaching across countless domains.
For instance, the estate overseen by Father Cui represented their secular influence. Beyond that, they possessed their ancestral land, hidden branches, forces planted in the outer realms, connections within the esoteric sects, and more.
It was virtually impossible to rip them up by the roots in a single stroke.
In particular, now that Cui Geng had become a patriarch, his going completely into hiding served as a potent deterrent. If he were to retaliate without regard for his dignity, handling him would prove exceedingly troublesome.
In the end, Lu Zizai nodded. "Very well. I can see that some within the Cui clan are still not resigned to this. Perhaps they still pin their hopes on Cui Chonghe's rise, believing he will reach the summit of the patriarch realm far faster than you—or even hoping he becomes an Earth Immortal or Heavenly Immortal. The grudge between you and the Cui clan should be settled by your own hands in the future. Dealing with it personally, venting your grudges in full, will bring far greater satisfaction."
Meanwhile, the news continued to brew, and major organizations had already learned what took place at the Cui estate.
"Hiss... Lu Zizai accompanied Qin Ming to the Cui estate and actually forced a millennial clan to bow its head!"
"Someone even died right inside their great hall! A Cui clan elder was blasted apart, his body and spirit incinerated to ash by the Six Imperials force!"
Innumerable people were stunned, deeply shaken to the core.
Far away in the outer pure land, when Cui Chonghe received word of the details from his clan, he shattered a sheer cliff with a single furious palm strike, completely unable to maintain his usual immortal-like bearing.
Immediately after, he went to see his master, Sun Taichu.
Far in the distance, deep within the pitch-black night mist, a group of humans hurried along at great speed. An elderly man led the way like an old horse that knew the path, heading toward Yezhou.
"That mist gate is rather unreliable. Stepping out of it threw us so far off our destination," someone grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"Soon. We're not far now."
"Leaving home in youth, returning in old age..." someone murmured to themselves, filled with boundless emotion.
Chapter 349