Having finished regulating his breathing, An Zheyan strolled slowly down from the bluestone slab at the mountain peak. Before him sat a middle-aged man cross-legged, his head full of gray hair, looking more than a decade older than An Zheyan. He too was quietly regulating his breath. As An Zheyan drew near, the man opened his eyes and greeted respectfully, "Senior."
An Zheyan merely nodded, looking somewhat dejected. The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, a trace of amusement breaking through his normally solemn expression. He asked, "Could it be that you were driven out by your wife again?"
"Alas!"
An Zheyan shook his head, caught between tears and laughter as he replied, "I don't mind you laughing at me, Brother Youdao. Feiruo is wonderful in every way, except that her temper is far too overbearing..."
Tian Youdao chuckled softly. He had a rather favorable impression of this former head of the An family. It was just that with many eyes and ears around on ordinary days, they rarely associated closely. He replied, "Feiruo is capable, and her ambitions are great as well."
The Li family had sought wives for An Zheyan in the town several times. However, most women with spirit apertures had already been wed. Even Li Yuanyun had barely managed to marry someone with a spirit aperture, to say nothing of An Zheyan—a surrendered warrior previously notorious for his brutality. In the end, after many twists and turns, he had been wed to Li Feiruo.
Li Feiruo had once been married off west to the Shanyue and rendered meritorious service there. Later, she had served as a steward at Lichuankou. Striking in appearance, she naturally carried an air of nobility. Though An Zheyan was a Qi Refinement cultivator, he had weathered drastic ups and downs, which had instead molded him into a gentle and genial temperament. As a result, he was kept completely under Li Feiruo's thumb. Though he grumbled under his breath, life between husband and wife was decent enough.
An Zheyan chuckled and let the subject drop, asking instead, "Brother Tian, you seem downhearted. Has something been troubling you?"
Tian Youdao let out a low sigh, his aged face drooping. "I am past half a century old. I have enjoyed what pleasures there were to enjoy, and I barely reached the peak of Embryonic Breathing before turning sixty. What grievances could I possibly have... other than unworthy descendants?"
At the mention of this topic, An Zheyan's expression grew somewhat unnatural. He said in a low voice, "Brother Youdao, there is no need to fret. Sometimes being foolish brings its own kind of blessing. Having offspring who are too outstanding is not necessarily a good thing either."
Tian Youdao fell silent. As the two sat on the peak, footsteps thumped from below as a figure walked up. Dressed in long robes with a sword buckled at his waist, his face appeared calm and steady—it was Chen Donghe.
Chen Donghe was covered in dust from travel, clearly having just returned from abroad. Both men rose and cupped their hands. Chen Donghe returned the greeting, and An Zheyan asked with a smile, "Donghe, where have you been?"
Chen Donghe gave his robes a shake, sending a cloud of dust showering to the ground, leaving himself pristine and clean. He answered in a low voice, "My wife and daughter are in Lijing Town. Missing them in my heart, I always have to go back to see Jingtian and Qingxiao."
Chen Donghe sat down beside the stone table, took a sip from a jade cup, and looked up with some puzzlement. "When I returned to the mountain just now, I heard that Tian Zhongqing volunteered to lead a group of Tian scions to the Eastern Shanyue, and even pledged a quota of six hundred jin of spirit rice. Uncle... what does this mean?"
Tian Youdao shook his head gently, opened his mouth, and replied, "It is a long story. The younger generation has simply failed to live up to expectations."
Seeing that he was reluctant to say more, Chen Donghe paused before speaking gently, "Allow me to speak candidly. The younger generation of your clan is truly arrogant and domineering. Undergoing this trial might well be a blessing..."
Tian Youdao raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue. Chen Donghe nodded slightly and lowered his voice. "Every day in town, seeing the Tian scions racing dogs, fighting cocks, and behaving so insolently, I secretly break into a cold sweat on your behalf, Uncle! Though today's affair has dealt the Tian clan a setback, it may very well have steered them clear of a far greater disaster. It is truly a stroke of fortune!"
These words of consolation brought Tian Youdao great comfort, yet his brow remained tightly furrowed. He sighed, "What you say makes good sense, Donghe. Zhongqing is quite decent, so I can rest easy regarding him. I only fear that useless trash like Tian Rong will manage to stir up trouble no matter where they go!"
Tian Youdao swept his sleeve and stood up, as if he had made up his mind, speaking in a grave tone, "I shall enter seclusion to break through at once; there is no need for further preparations. Idling upon this mountain constantly leaves my heart unsettled. If I break through and descend the mountain sooner, I can keep a proper watch over them!"
With that, he cupped his hands to Chen Donghe and An Zheyan, waved his hand, and walked straight toward the spirit spring cave dwelling. As the stone door shut heavily behind him, Chen Donghe set down the jade cup, looked at An Zheyan who sat dazed before him, and said softly, "Let us cultivate, then."
***
Yu Yufeng flew on the wind for a time. The speed of Foundation Establishment was swift as lightning; in mere moments, he had left the Yu family's territory, bypassed the narrow, elongated lands of the An family, and passed over the Li family's borders.
Below, smoke curled from chimneys, and dogs barked amid the crowing of roosters, appearing remarkably prosperous in the dim light of dawn. Yu Yufeng was intensely tempted by the sight. Pinching his fingers to calculate, he secretly hatched a scheme, murmuring slowly, "This Li family truly has impressive methods for rearing mortals. The lands on the outskirts of Mount Dali were never fertile, yet they manage to support so many mortals. If I were to consume them, not only would it heal the wounds on my hands, it might even allow me to take another step forward!"
Restlessness surged in Yu Yufeng's heart, yet he still understood what mattered most. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, "Were it not for that sword immortal's protection, how could I let such delicacies slip past my eyes? For now, I must seize that opportunity first... Once I break through to the Purple Mansion and promptly pledge allegiance to the Qingchi Sect, could I ever lack a mere one or two hundred thousand mortals?"
At this thought, Yu Yufeng felt immensely pleased with himself and involuntarily quickened his pace. Flying swiftly across the Li family's territory, he followed Guli Road straight toward the west. The mystical guidance in his heart grew increasingly distinct, stirring him deeply. As his magic power surged, the sword scars between his palms began to ache faintly once more, irritating him so intensely that he nearly howled aloud.
Yu Yufeng failed to notice his abnormal state in the slightest. Riding the wind, he descended toward the small hill. Unexpectedly, in that very instant, a buzzing roar exploded in his ears as streaks of spell light shot upward. A pure white barrier enveloped heaven and earth. Yu Yufeng's mind went blank, and he bellowed, "Who dares block my path?! Who dares snatch my opportunity!"
"Heh!"
A cold sneer echoed from midair, detonating beside Yu Yufeng's ears like thunder.
"With death imminent, you remain lost in a divine ability and spell without even realizing it. Yu Yufeng, you truly are a conceited piece of trash!"
These words exploded like thunder in his ears, and the haze in his turbid eyes finally cleared with a jolt. As if waking from a long dream, Yu Yufeng shuddered violently from the chill. Everything he had done over the past half day flooded into his mind. He stammered, "I am the ancestor of the Yu family, and I have ties to Yuanwu Peak! A scion of my clan, Yu Muxian, cultivates within the peak and is a grand-disciple of a True Person! You had best think this through carefully!"
Yet no one inside the array answered him. Three figures slowly rose into the air. Yu Yufeng froze slightly, his spiritual sense sweeping across them. Terror instantly engulfed him. He stumbled back several paces, only to discover that heaven and earth—front and back, left and right, north, south, east, and west—were entirely sealed by the formation.
Yu Yufeng was finally horrified by his own bewildered actions. He muttered in a low voice, "A spell... No, it is a divine ability... Which Purple Mansion, which Purple Mansion seeks to kill me?"
Chapter 238