Chapter 1792: Xu Family

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality - Main Text

"Is Fairy Linglong the concubine of Divine Wolf Tianben, who returned from the lower realm? I heard that Fellow Daoist Linglong is not only a direct descendant of Senior Ao Xiao but also greatly favored by the Wolf King?" the purple-haired young woman, a human cultivator, asked with some surprise, seemingly aware of the matter.

"Yes, it is indeed Fellow Daoist Linglong. When she returned from the lower realm back then, she was only at the late-stage of Nascent Soul cultivation. But the last time I saw her, she had already advanced to the peak of the mid-stage of Void Refinement, and seemed on the verge of entering the late-stage. Perhaps she'll even have a chance to break through again before the demonic calamity descends. After all, her talent was renowned among the Silvermoon Wolf Clan. If she hadn't been trapped in the lower realm for so long, she might already be one of us," the masked woman said with a sigh.

"Even with extraordinary talent, advancing to such a realm after spending only a few hundred years by Senior Ao Xiao's side shows how vast Senior Ao Xiao's divine abilities are. But since she is the Wolf King's favored concubine, why would Senior Ao Xiao keep Fellow Daoist Linglong by his side? Is Senior Ao Xiao doing this on purpose, perhaps with some other plan in mind?" the purple-haired young woman asked with great interest, pressing for more details.

"This concubine is not entirely clear on that. But I vaguely heard others in the clan say that after Fairy Linglong escaped from the lower realm this time, there were some disagreements between her and Fellow Daoist Tiankui. Senior Ao Xiao actively took Fellow Daoist Linglong away. Perhaps Fairy Linglong was very displeased that the Wolf King did not care or inquire about her being trapped in the lower realm for so many years," the masked woman said with a hesitant, speculative tone.

"Alright, since Senior Ao Xiao is fine..."

"There's no need for us to speculate further about other fellow daoists. Next, we should discuss the imminent arrival of envoys from the Yaksha and Wood clans. These two clans have most likely sent representatives here because of the approaching demonic calamity..." The white-robed elder suddenly interjected, bringing up another topic.

Everyone else's expressions turned serious upon hearing this, and they immediately focused their attention.

And so, time passed, bit by bit.

The elders of Skyreach City debated here for most of the day before finally dispersing.

Two days later, a teleportation formation in Skyreach City, leading directly to a certain location, suddenly lit up. Two figures flashed at the center of the formation and disappeared.

At the same time, in a certain hall of another large city, an unknown distance away from Skyreach City, a buzzing sound erupted.

A carefully guarded teleportation formation blazed with white light.

Several armored guards holding spears, who had been casually conversing nearby, were startled and all turned their heads to look.

Although this teleportation formation was highly valued by the high-ranking cultivators in the city, routinely maintained, and guarded with extreme strictness, the exorbitant teleportation fees meant that very few people actually used it. They would only encounter it being used a few times a year.

However, each time the formation was activated, it was naturally not by low or mid-level cultivators.

Therefore, when these Core Formation stage cultivators saw two figures appear at the center of the formation, they immediately straightened up and displayed due respect.

"Is this Maplewood City...?" a young man who had just teleported out asked one of the guards, his gaze sweeping around.

"Reporting to Senior. This is indeed Maplewood City. Welcome to our city, Senior!" the questioned guard respectfully replied.

These guards had already used their divine sense to scan the two individuals before them, finding themselves utterly unable to discern their cultivation levels, and thus naturally dared not show the slightest disrespect.

"Good, it's Maplewood City," the young man said with a slight smile, then ignored the guards and walked out of the formation with the other woman, whose skin was like jade, heading straight for the main gate.

These two were, of course, Han Li and Fairy Xu, who had teleported directly from Skyreach City.

Although the Xu family was not located directly in Maplewood City, this was the closest city with a teleportation formation to their home.

After passing through several layers of guards, Han Li and the other person finally exited the teleportation hall.

Before them, a vast bluestone plaza appeared.

The plaza was exceptionally simple; apart from large bluestone slabs, there were no other eye-catching decorations.

However, around the plaza were other buildings resembling pavilions and halls. Aside from several teams of armored guards patrolling back and forth nearby, there were no other cultivators moving about.

Han Li extended his divine sense further into the distance, and his expression subtly changed.

The plaza was actually built on the mountainside of a thousand-zhang peak, while at the foot of the mountain, there were densely packed houses and exceptionally neat rows of streets.

Han Li turned his head and glanced at the summit of the mountain.

A small palace was built there, exceptionally magnificent in appearance, and faintly, several auras emanated from within, all seemingly at the Void Refinement stage.

It seemed these individuals were the high-level cultivators responsible for this city.

Han Li's eyes glinted, and he immediately withdrew his divine sense.

Then, with an expressionless flick of his sleeve, a burst of green light shot out, enveloped himself and the woman beside him, and instantly transformed into a shocking rainbow, soaring away into the sky.

In a side hall of the palace atop the mountain, three Void Refinement stage cultivators sat around a long table laden with spirit fruits, wine, and dishes, appearing to be enjoying a pleasant conversation.

A moment later, however, they exchanged glances, surprise flickering in their eyes.

"What's going on? That divine sense just now was so powerful. Which Integration Stage senior suddenly arrived in our city?" a black-robed elder muttered to himself.

"Judging by the strength of that divine sense, it's likely an Integration Stage cultivator has indeed teleported to our city. I wonder if it's one of the Saint Emperor's esteemed officials or an elder from Skyreach City..." another individual, a middle-aged man wearing white armor, said with a hint of surprise and doubt.

"As far as I know, the few esteemed officials by the Saint Emperor's side have been busy preparing for an important matter in Heavenly Origin Holy City and wouldn't be able to spare a clone to come to our city. It must be an elder from Skyreach City, right?" the third cultivator, a young man with a gleaming golden headband, said with a rather certain tone.

"Oh, if it's an elder from Skyreach City, then they must just be passing through. Given how hurried they seemed, there's no need for us to specifically go and pay our respects," the black-robed elder exhaled slowly, his expression relaxing somewhat.

"But Maplewood City is considered a remote place in the Heavenly Origin Realm. What would an elder from Skyreach City be doing here?" the white-armored middle-aged man still seemed a bit uneasy.

"Hehe, these Integration Stage cultivators are elusive by nature. As long as they aren't here for us, why bother interfering? I'd be more than happy if this person left our city immediately," the young man said with a sneer.

"While that's true, we should still issue orders for everyone below us to be extra careful during this period, so they don't cause any major trouble for us brothers," the black-robed elder, however, was very composed. After a brief thought, he said with a solemn expression.

"Big Brother's words are wise. Even if they aren't those esteemed officials from the Holy City, and we aren't under Skyreach City's direct control, they are still Integration Stage cultivators. It's always wise to be cautious," the white-armored middle-aged man nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

As the three conversed, their tones subtly hinted at something clandestine, as if they had done something unspeakable.

On the other side, Han Li naturally had no idea that his teleportation had made the three city lords and vice city lords feel a guilty conscience.

Guided by Xu Qianyu, he flew away from Maplewood City and sped south.

According to the woman, although this was the closest cultivator city to the Xu family, their true dwelling was still about a month's journey away.

Therefore, not long after, Han Li released a flying carriage. Both of them sat inside, allowing it to soar through the sky on its own.

Evidently, this area was quite remote; after leaving Maplewood City by hundreds of thousands of miles, ordinary humans rarely appeared on the ground.

Even if there were an occasional small town or two, common mortals and cultivators lived together there.

However, after more than ten days, the ground became entirely hilly terrain. Apart Preaching from occasional sightings of beast herds in some valleys, there was no other sign of life.

What surprised Han Li even more was that while these hills were not entirely devoid of spiritual energy, it was noticeably much thinner compared to other places.

As for the traces of spirit veins, after flying for so many days, not a single one had been seen.

"Why would your Xu family choose to establish your clan in such a place?" Han Li finally couldn't help but ask from the carriage.

"Please forgive this junior for keeping you in suspense. Senior will understand the reason soon enough..." Xu Qianyu smiled charmingly, a hint of mystery in her tone.

"Oh, really? Then I, Han, look forward to seeing it for myself..." Han Li felt a genuine curiosity in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged.

After flying for another ten-plus days without a break, the hills below, which were originally yellowish-green, began to turn slightly reddish. The rocks, soil, and even some of the growing plants all had a faint red hue.

At first, Han Li didn't pay much attention to this.

But after flying for a few more days, when the entire landscape had completely turned a yellowish-red, Han Li's expression finally changed.

After carefully scanning the ground below with his divine sense several times, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

"It seems Senior finally understands..." Xu Qianyu chuckled softly.

"So that's it. There's a high-grade copper spirit vein here with a considerable reserve. No wonder you were willing to sacrifice some spiritual energy density to establish your family clan in this place..." Han Li replied with a faint smile.

"Senior is wise! When our Xu family settled here ten thousand years ago, there was indeed a lot of debate about whether to establish the family's foundation in this place. Ultimately, a few of our clan's grand-uncles made the final decision. As a result, our clan has indeed become immensely wealthy, but the cultivation of our disciples has also been somewhat affected. The gains and losses are truly difficult to weigh..." Xu Qianyu sighed, speaking with a hint of helplessness.

Han Li listened, nodded, but his eyes flickered and he said nothing in response.

The woman, understanding the hint, naturally stopped bothering Han Li.

A few days later, a patch of vibrant green finally appeared on the distant horizon.

The spiritual energy washing over him invigorated Han Li, making him realize that the Xu family's location had finally been reached.

Indeed, not long after, an exceptionally lush, sharply peaked mountain range appeared before them.

Although there was only an ordinary spirit vein within the mountain range, it was enough to make the spiritual energy here vastly different from the surrounding areas.

And on the dozens of peaks of the mountain range, various buildings were densely constructed.

Between these peaks, faint, mysterious fluctuations were present, clearly indicating the presence of powerful magical formations and restrictions.