Chapter 310: Scattered Cultivators

Li Qinghong returned to the mountain on his own, leaving Ning Heyuan standing awkwardly for a while. Not knowing what to do and too ashamed to seek out other mountains for a contest, he stood by the lake, lost in thought. Just then, he saw someone walking across the water.

The woman, also dressed in green, had beautiful features and appeared to be in her early twenties, cultivating at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Her face was stern as she frowned, staring at Ning Heyuan. "Have you made enough trouble?" she asked coldly.

Ning Heyuan's face instantly fell. He took a step back and stammered, "Auntie..."

Ning Wan glanced at him, her aura still fluctuating, clearly showing she had just been in a fight. After a moment to compose herself, she replied, "I just went to the Fei family to investigate, and I told you to wait by the lake. And what do you do? You attacked the Li family's mountain gate!"

"Auntie!" Ning Heyuan offered an ingratiating smile and explained, "I just heard about the Sword Immortal's great reputation! I wanted to see what was so special about his family's swordsmanship. Besides, I claimed to be a rogue cultivator, so no harm done, right?"

"A rogue cultivator?!" A hint of guilt flashed in Ning Wan's eyes when she heard "Sword Immortal," but then Ning Heyuan's words amused her to anger. Her beautiful eyebrows unfurled as she chided, "Idiot! What rogue cultivator is covered head to toe in artifacts? And just happens to be named Ning and knows the E'yuan Qianguang spell? You've played enough with those sycophants in the sect; do you really think people outside are also fools?"

Ning Heyuan waved his hand dismissively. "Who cares?" he replied. "My sect says it is, so it is. Who would dare speak up?"

"You've truly learned everything from Chi Ziyan, exactly like him!" Ning Wan suddenly froze, then cursed angrily. Ning Heyuan lowered his head and remained silent.

"Alas!" Ning Wan used to cultivate at Moon Lake Peak and had interacted with Li Chijing several times, holding a good impression of the young man. She never imagined things would turn out this way. She sighed softly, a little wistfully, "The Li family... Li Chijing also seems to have an elder brother named Li Tongya, who is also skilled in swordsmanship... My Azure Pool Sect has wronged them. Chi Wei's word is law; there's nothing a mere woman like me can do to persuade him..."

"By now, they should know that Li Chijing has died. Chi Zhiyun's actions are meticulous, so the Li family should only know of his death, not the truth behind it."

"The Azure Spike Sword Immortal." Ning Heyuan paused, perhaps feeling a touch of empathy for Li Chijing's exceptional swordsmanship, and sighed with some regret. "In a few decades, when all of Li Chijing's generation are dead," he replied, "we can fabricate a cause of death, send some token gifts, and bring a child into the sect. That would settle the matter. We can't let a dead person hinder the living, can we?"

He chuckled lightly, his luxurious clothes flowing with spiritual light. "Haven't things been handled this way for hundreds of years?" he said with a laugh. "What's more tempting, an ancestor from several generations ago whom no one remembers, or shining artifacts and spiritual treasures?"

"You..." Ning Wan shook her head, her expression full of worry. She said softly, "You, Chi Ziyan and Chi Zhiyun, and the elders of both the Ning and Chi families, are all too contemptuous... My Azure Pool Sect has ruled for five hundred years without ever having a significant disturbance, making you all arrogant and complacent."

Ning Heyuan laughed loudly. "My Azure Pool Sect has five Purple Mansion inheritances and thirty-six peaks," he replied. "We have five hundred years of accumulated methods for governance, coercion, division, and inducement. We gather talents from all over the world and monopolize hundreds of cultivation methods. We will not only dominate for these five hundred years but for another thousand years!"

Ning Wan merely sneered. "The Moon Essence Yuanfu suppressed Jiangnan for twelve hundred years," she said. "Where is it now?"

Autumn was deep, and the letters on the desk grew day by day. Li Yuanping was incredibly busy, managing family affairs on one hand, and on the other, handling the marriage arrangements for Li Qingxiao and the Yushan branch of the Xiao family. He worked sleeplessly for several nights.

His slender figure looked slightly cumbersome in the white robe. His already pale face became even paler from deep thought, and his gray-black eyes silently stared at the letters on the desk.

Dou Yi, who stood below him, glanced at him a few times. After struggling internally for a while, he stepped forward and said, "Young Master... Madam has urged you to rest three times already... Perhaps you should take a break..."

Li Yuanping carelessly shook his head. He turned his brush and replied, "I am a Fetal Breath cultivator; a few days without sleep won't harm me. Please tell Mother not to worry."

Seeing that persuasion was futile, Dou Yi secretly gritted his teeth. He bowed and said, "Madam means... she can share some of the household affairs. She only hopes that Young Master takes care of his health and starts Qi Condensation soon..."

Li Yuanping frowned. "I already know my own root bones," he replied. "Don't mention anything about Qi Condensation again!"

Li Yuanping knew that Madam Dou's intentions were good and that she had no ulterior motives, but he couldn't set such a bad precedent. He put down his brush and said, "The Fei family's mountain gate has been closed for two months... Is there still no news?!"

"None," Dou Yi replied, looking at Li Yuanping's face. "All five of the Fei family's immortal mountains are sealed. On Hanyun Peak, the Cloud-Gathering Sky-South Array is activated daily, with white light constantly flowing without interruption."

"Furthermore, the Fei family's secular territories are in chaos, barely maintaining their rule. Three groups of people have already come to inquire if my family has any news about the main family..."

Li Yuanping nodded. The Fei family's mountain protection array, the Cloud-Gathering Sky-South Array, had a long history. It was an array from several hundred years ago that had rescued the Fei family from danger multiple times and was one of the best arrays on the lake. Its energy consumption was considerable; fully activating it for a month was not a small sum.

"The Old Ancestor has also entered seclusion..." Li Yuanping muttered, recalling Ning Heyuan's sudden appearance on the lake half a month ago. He pondered, "This Ning Heyuan is undoubtedly from the Azure Pool Sect... and since he knows such high-grade spells, he must be a direct descendant of the Ning family. Could it be that an Azure Pool Sect cultivator is also involved in the Fei family sealing their mountain?"

Li Yuanping silently gazed at the four characters "E'yuan Qianguang" under his brush. Then he saw someone come up from below, who cupped his fists and said, "Young Master! A group of rogue cultivators are fighting on our territory!"

"Rogue cultivators?!" Li Yuanping dropped his brush. Knowing that ordinary Fetal Breath cultivators would never report to him, he quickly asked, "What cultivation level?! How many people?"

"There are Fetal Breath cultivators and miscellaneous Qi cultivators... We don't know their specific cultivation levels yet, but there are about six or seven of them fighting fiercely in the mountains and forests. They have alarmed An Fenggong, who has already gone to investigate the situation on the wind!"

Li Yuanping walked down from the main seat and paced a few steps in the courtyard. "Just a few miscellaneous Qi rogue cultivators," he said softly. "An Zheyang is at Qi Condensation seventh layer, so there shouldn't be any problem."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard a cacophony of sounds from outside the courtyard. A bald man walked in, clad in gray fur, imposing and mighty. In his hand, he held a frail old man, who looked as if he was barely breathing and on the verge of death.

"Young Master." An Zheyang nodded in greeting. He tossed the old rogue cultivator he held onto the ground with a thump, below the steps, causing the old man to groan continuously. An Zheyang then cupped his fists and said, "This is the one!"