Qi Yuan paid no mind to Lord Feng's inner thoughts.
"I leave everything in your capable hands, Senior," Qi Yuan said with utmost respect.
Even having transmigrated, he was determined to uphold the fine Blue Star virtues of respecting the elderly and cherishing the young.
Of course, if he ever ended up reduced to a beggar—pardon him, but he wouldn't be from Blue Star; he would be from Trisolaris.
"As for these cultivation arts, this old man shall donate them to the Origin God Sharing Society to contribute a few bricks and tiles to Origin God's sharing endeavor." Lord Feng produced a storage bag and presented the arts he had prepared well in advance.
The storage bag was packed to the brim with cultivation manuals.
Yet Qi Yuan couldn't bring himself to look pleased. "Do not call me Origin God. Call me the Blood-Robed Sword God, or simply Qi Yuan."
Lord Feng blinked, a bit mystified, but took mental note nonetheless.
At this moment, Feng Xie, who had remained quiet all this while, spoke up. "Grandfather, what did that person come for today...?"
Bringing this up darkened Feng Xie's expression.
Before departing, that Yin God had mentioned the Mythological Secret Vault.
Feng Xie had a faint suspicion.
"Just as you suspect, he wanted to use my name to scheme for Great Venerable Moli's Mythological Secret Vault," Lord Feng answered openly.
Such occurrences had happened many times before.
Rumor had it that Lord Feng was an illegitimate son of the Taifeng Mythological.
With the Mythological Secret Vault in Great Venerable Moli's hands, more than a few hidden figures coveted it and sought to use Lord Feng as a cat's paw to lay hands on it.
"Hmph, a bunch of sneaky cowards hiding their heads and tails!" Feng Xie could not help but sneer.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan asked softly from the side, "Do you two also want to obtain the Mythological Secret Vault?"
Lord Feng shook his head. "To obtain it is my fortune; to lose it is my luck."
Qi Yuan stared blankly for a second, having half expected him to say 'my fate.'
"Alas, if Great Venerable Moli were to confess her love to me and offer the Mythological Secret Vault as a courtship gift, I might just consider being her boyfriend for a day," Qi Yuan mused with a sigh.
Lord Feng fell utterly silent.
Then, Qi Yuan delivered another startling line: "Great Sun Flame Emperor, if Great Venerable Moli and I hit it off, wouldn't that make me your grandfather?"
According to rumors, Great Venerable Moli was Lord Feng's elder sister.
If Qi Yuan were to get together with her, his seniority in the family tree would shoot well above Great Sun Flame Emperor's.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Great Sun Flame Emperor coughed violently, at a complete loss for words.
"Don't worry. If that day ever comes, we'll each address the other separately," Qi Yuan said with great resourcefulness.
...
At the Dao Seeking Palace.
Li Yaxian looked considerably exhausted.
Her granddaughter stood beside her, looking somewhat helpless, but mostly filled with joy.
"We've finally reclaimed Grandfather's legacy!"
"Though there were some twists and turns, the bitterness has passed and sweetness has arrived," Li Yaxian said, a smile gracing her face.
This visit to the Dao Seeking Palace had been guided by the Slovenly Daoist, yet they had still run into intentional obstructions.
Fortunately, with money paving the way and forty percent of the inheritance donated to the Dao Seeking Palace, things had gone relatively smoothly.
Even so, a deacon named Yang Kang had made things difficult for them throughout.
This deacon harbored a deep grudge against Li Yaxian's late husband.
Li Yaxian had heard her husband mention that Yang Kang was lecherous by nature. In the past, he had attempted to use his position to violate a young man, only to be stopped by her husband, which led him to bear a burning grudge ever since.
When she came to claim the property this time, Yang Kang had made no attempt to hide his intentions, directly creating obstacles and even hinting to Li Yaxian that if she wanted to retrieve her late husband's legacy, she would have to pay a price.
That price was her body.
Thankfully, the Slovenly Daoist had intervened to settle Yang Kang, finally allowing Li Yaxian to secure the inheritance.
"Our coming to Qinghong City has fulfilled our wish. The only regret... is that I couldn't catch a glimpse of the Blood-Robed Sword God," the young woman sighed.
On the very day they arrived in Qinghong City, they had heard that sky-shattering voice transmission.
The Blood-Robed Sword God had actually arrived in Qinghong City, and from the Wangxian Tower, he had boldly challenged Great Venerable Moli.
It was a legendary scene of the century, but sadly, she had been tied down and unable to see him in person.
Later, upon hearing about what had unfolded at Wangxian Tower and the magnificent poise of the Blood-Robed Sword God, her heart had swelled with immense regret.
Perhaps due to covert interference by the Blood-Robed Sword God or Great Venerable Moli, not a single cultivator watching Wangxian Tower had captured his appearance with an image-recording talisman.
Thus, she had missed the chance to see the legendary Blood-Robed Sword God.
He was the figure she admired most, making her regret all the deeper.
"The Blood-Robed Sword God slaughters without batting an eye. Aren't you afraid he might casually kill you too?" Having reclaimed her late husband's legacy, Li Yaxian was in good spirits and teased her granddaughter.
"The Blood-Robed Sword God doesn't kill indiscriminately! Everyone he executes deserves to die!" The young woman spoke like a devoted admirer, defending him at every turn.
"You silly girl..." Li Yaxian smiled indulgently. "Qi Yuan's looks are probably no worse than the Blood-Robed Sword God's."
"My admiration for the Blood-Robed Sword God has nothing to do with looks! Of course, if he were as handsome as Qi Yuan—or even half as handsome—he would be the Dao companion of my dreams!" the girl fantasized, drifting into daydream.
"Stop daydreaming. Come, let's meet Qi Yuan and guide him into the Dao Seeking Palace," Li Yaxian said.
She had promised earlier to introduce Qi Yuan and facilitate his visit to the Dao Seeking Palace.
Now that Qi Yuan was due to arrive soon, she needed to go receive him.
"Sigh, if Qi Yuan were a bit stronger, I really wouldn't mind him becoming my grandfather," the young woman chuckled. "Having such an easy-on-the-eyes grandfather would be quite a delight."
Li Yaxian gave her granddaughter a mock glare.
The two stepped out of the Dao Seeking Palace and headed toward the agreed meeting place.
At that moment, the main avenue was bustling with noise and activity. Cultivators strode through the city just like ordinary mortals.
There were virtually no mortals in Qinghong City; Qi Refining cultivators made up the vast majority.
Occasionally, one could even catch sight of a Divine Infant True Monarch.
Qi Yuan stood amid the crowd, assimilating the newly acquired cultivation arts.
He had been continuously collecting arts to formulate his own Qi Yuan Scripture.
Though he looked down on these ordinary methods, each art provided at least some small measure of insight.
To draw an analogy, the rules of this realm totaled 100, scattered throughout all the cultivation arts.
What Qi Yuan was doing now was gathering these 100 parts of rules and using what he gained to continue composing the Qi Yuan Scripture.
Whenever he had spare time, he would assimilate arts, determined to absorb the Canglan Realm's 100 parts of rules in their entirety.
"Qi Yuan, you're here!" From a distance, a young woman in a yellow dress waved at him.
Li Yaxian stood by her side with a kindly demeanor, looking at Qi Yuan as though regarding a favored junior.
Qi Yuan walked over promptly. Reaching into his robes, he produced a crystal-clear, remarkably exquisite wine flagon.
He tossed the flagon toward the yellow-dressed girl. "You like drinking, right? I picked up this wine vessel on a whim. It looked decent enough, so it's yours."
Qi Yuan believed in observing social courtesies.
Since the two of them were willing to introduce him to the Dao Seeking Palace, he naturally had to offer a gift.
This flagon was something he had taken from Wangxian Tower, called the Exquisite Pot.
Back then, the Second Shopkeeper and Old Ancestor Xiangyun had falsely accused him of stealing it.
Since they insisted he stole it, wouldn't he have suffered a false accusation in vain if he hadn't taken it?
The yellow-dressed girl twitched her nose and took a deep sniff. "What a fine flagon! It wasn't cheap, was it?"
As she spoke, she winked at Qi Yuan, seemingly hinting that if he wished to pursue her grandmother, she would gladly help him strategize.
"Didn't cost a copper."
Beside them, Li Yaxian took a closer look at the flagon. She couldn't shake the feeling that it was far from ordinary.
Right then, a voice called out from behind Qi Yuan.
"Senior, someone asked me to deliver this letter to you."
A man dressed like a beggar appeared behind Qi Yuan. He was filthy all over, holding a letter in his hands.
A smile lit his eyes.
Delivering this single letter was such an effortless task, yet he would receive a reward of one hundred spirit stones.
With those one hundred spirit stones, his daughter would be able to obtain far better cultivation resources.
"A letter for me?" Qi Yuan asked curiously.
Li Yaxian shook her head, sending a voice transmission: "Beware of deceit."
Qi Yuan didn't mind. He took the letter, tore open the envelope, and caught sight of a plain sheet of paper.
On the paper, a few words were written in delicate handwriting:
"Dark Sun approaches. Flee!"
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. The message was completely out of nowhere.
Still, it seemed some well-meaning person was warning him that an enemy named Dark Sun intended to move against him.
Hence, they were advising him to run.
Run? Out of the question.
Though Qi Yuan was still quite ordinary at the moment—possessing only the strength of a student from a top-tier high school—his self-preservation capability was top-notch.
Who was warning him?
And who was Dark Sun?
He turned to the beggar. "Who told you to deliver this letter to me?"
Hearing the question, the beggar opened his mouth to reply.
Suddenly, his eyes froze.
Boom!
In that split second, his body abruptly detonated, shattering into a cloud of bloody mist.
Li Yaxian's expression shifted drastically as she immediately went on guard, for even she had failed to perceive how the beggar had died.
"What's going on? An enemy?" The yellow-dressed girl was equally panicked.
Yet the surrounding cultivators acted as if they hadn't seen a thing, continuing about their own business.
Qi Yuan stood frozen in place. He narrowed his eyes and opened his palm, upon which half a drop of fresh blood lingered.
"In broad daylight, under the bright blue sky, murdering someone right on the open street—is there no law left?!" Qi Yuan was furious.
Flouting all law, committing murder on the streets, and doing so right in front of him!
Such behavior would inevitably lead to moral decay and the collapse of propriety in the cultivation world.
To Qi Yuan, this conduct was no different from the Sima clan breaking the Luoshui River Oath.
After all, who was he?
He was the righteous vanguard dedicated to rectifying the moral climate of the Canglan Realm, having slain a whole crowd of morally bankrupt scoundrels for this very cause.
Yet today, someone dared to commit murder right before his eyes. What did they take this for?
This was an open provocation against him!
Qi Yuan was incensed.
The yellow-dressed girl sighed softly. "This person... how innocent he was."
Li Yaxian cautioned, "Qi Yuan, you must be careful."
Qi Yuan stared at the blood on his palm and the letter.
Regrettably, his eyes caught no useful information whatsoever.
He narrowed his eyes and ultimately put the letter away.
"Once I come out of the Dao Seeking Palace, I will definitely bring that lunatic outlaw to justice!"
Killing someone right in front of him.
As a moral role model, he naturally could not tolerate this!
Seeing this, Li Yaxian said nothing further and led Qi Yuan toward the Dao Seeking Palace.
The incident came to an end just like that.
It was as if an utterly insignificant ant had quietly perished, and save for Qi Yuan, no one remembered this little figure.
Or rather, no one cared about his death in the slightest.
The Dao Seeking Palace was situated in the northeastern sector of Qinghong City, nestled amidst rolling mountain ranges.
Looking from afar, one could see a sprawling cluster of architecture.
Pavilions and palaces vanished into the mist and clouds, appearing thoroughly detached from the mortal world.
Li Yaxian had frequented the Dao Seeking Palace over the past two days, and she could be considered half an insider herself.
Thus, when she led Qi Yuan inside, no one stopped them.
Before long, Qi Yuan traversed covered walkways, suspension bridges, and solitary peaks, finally arriving before a grand hall.
Li Yaxian said, "The elder we are visiting this time is named Fu Lu, a great cultivator at the peak of Purple Mansion.
"He alone holds authority over the Dao Seeking Palace's external affairs."
Qi Yuan nodded. "Thank you."
The yellow-dressed girl stuck out her tongue and lowered her voice: "The people of the Dao Seeking Palace hold their noses high in the air. We'll probably have to wait a while."
"It's fine, no rush." Qi Yuan scanned his surroundings, pondering something. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you think I follow the rules too much?"
Seeing that beggar-like Qi Refining cultivator die before him today had stirred many thoughts within Qi Yuan.
There were far too many people in this world who refused to follow rules.
Delivering a message was just delivering a message, yet they went and killed the messenger.
This made Qi Yuan rather angry.
When dealing with rule-breakers, Qi Yuan believed the best approach was to break rules himself.
Otherwise, he would only be constrained by them.
"Before one possesses sufficient strength, following the rules is a good thing; it allows one to live longer." Not knowing why Qi Yuan asked this, Li Yaxian simply voiced her honest thoughts.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan sank into thought.
"What you say makes a lot of sense.
"Rules are established by the strong for the weak, designed to bind the weak.
"And I... should probably count as one of the strong now?
"In that case..."
Qi Yuan suddenly realized he was simply too kind, too law-abiding.
If he stopped following rules, would anyone dare commit wanton murder right in his face, showing utter contempt for the law?
Obviously not.
If he set the rules, everyone would have to obey.
"It seems I haven't killed enough people yet," Qi Yuan muttered to himself. "Nobody fears me, and that is not a good thing."
Qi Yuan felt he had great potential to be an archdemon villain.
Since that was the case, why bother following rules?
Why go through the tedious process of sending word step by step?
Wouldn't it be far more satisfying to just barge in and look for Great Venerable Wujun directly?
At this moment, Qi Yuan's thoughts became thoroughly clear.
Just then, a mocking voice drifted over.
"Elder Fu Lu is busy today. I'm afraid you won't be able to see him."
A plump middle-aged man appeared. His frame was stout, yet compared to his colossal head, his torso seemed rather diminutive.
His eyes brimmed with greed. He cast a burning, lustful gaze over Li Yaxian's figure before turning to Qi Yuan, his stare growing even more heated.
Upon seeing him, Li Yaxian's expression changed slightly.
She had feared running into this person today and had deliberately taken a detour to avoid him.
Yet to her dismay, they had crossed paths after all.
This chubby cultivator was none other than Yang Kang, the man who had been giving her a hard time throughout.
Hearing his words now, Li Yaxian realized instantly that Yang Kang was pulling strings behind the scenes to obstruct them.
Anger surged within her, but she dared not let it erupt.
The yellow-dressed girl was fuming, glaring furiously at Yang Kang.
Qi Yuan's gaze grew profound. Looking at Yang Kang, he asked softly, "Did you deliberately tamper with things so Fu Lu wouldn't be able to meet us today?"
Yang Kang was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled. "You speak far too bluntly. This old man didn't tamper with anything; don't go wrongly accusing a good man.
"However, if you're willing to pay a certain price, this old man wouldn't mind stepping forward to ensure Elder Fu Lu has the time to see you today."
As he spoke, greed leaked from his eyes.
"Right. I won't wrongly accuse you. I'll just chop off your dog head,"
Qi Yuan replied flatly.
These words came so out of nowhere that everyone present failed to react.
"What?" Yang Kang blinked, suddenly sensing a suffocating premonition of danger.
A flash of sword light streaked across. Yang Kang, who had still been smiling a moment ago, didn't even have time to react before his head parted from his neck in an instant.
This scene unfolded far too fast, far too horrifyingly.
Li Yaxian couldn't process it at all. She could only stare blankly at Qi Yuan, hearing him speak to the corpse on the ground:
"Your head was too big for your shoulders to carry, so I helped you lighten the load.
"Didn't you want me to pay a price? Is this price enough?"
Regrettably, Yang Kang had already perished and could no longer answer Qi Yuan's question.
Chapter 256