As he looked up, he saw the spacious hall filled to capacity.
One scrutinizing gaze after another descended from above the hall.
It seemed as though they were not family returning home, but rather two criminals about to be judged.
Mao Qingzhu’s face turned cold, showing no fear as she stepped into the hall.
Her black hair swayed slightly, and her eyes shone like lightning.
The aura belonging to a Foundation Establishment True Man, like an unsheathed sharp sword, instantly cut through all those malevolent gazes!
Inside the hall, there was an immediate silence.
"Qingzhu, you have returned. We haven’t seen each other for years, and your cultivation has progressed again, not bad..."
From the main seat, an old man with white hair and beard opened his murky eyes and nodded.
He was already too old.
So old that his eyes were buried in wrinkles, his figure hunched over, his bones thin and sharp, as if the flame of life would extinguish at any moment.
The old man was the elder of the Xu Family, Xu Henshan.
He was the direct descendant of the Xu Family ancestor who originally moved to Dragon Sleep Mountain; one could say that the rise and fall of the Dragon Sleep Xu Family had his shadow everywhere.
His cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer, just half a step away from the Golden Core.
Of course, some also said that the Xu Patriarch had given up the path and formed a Fake Pill by borrowing the Golden Core of a Demon Beast.
"Patriarch." Mao Qingzhu saluted him, neither humble nor arrogant.
"This child beside you is..." Xu Patriarch’s gaze fell on the little girl hiding behind Mao Qingzhu, timidly peeking out at him.
"Her name is Qing Jun." Mao Qingzhu pulled Qing Jun forward a bit, "She is my daughter."
"Your daughter?"
In the hall, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothing saluted the patriarch and laughed coldly after seeing him nod.
"Qingzhu, you can eat recklessly, but you can’t speak recklessly. Our Xu Family does not have a rule that allows extraneous bloodlines to appear from nowhere."
Mao Qingzhu was the wife of the Xu Family Head; her daughter would naturally be the most esteemed bloodline of the Xu Family, wouldn’t she?
Xu Buming was unwilling to see a mere illegitimate child surpass his children!
Moreover... outsiders wouldn’t know, but the inheritance of the Xu Family True Seal was left only three times, with many wolves eyeing a scarce amount of meat; if Xu Qingjun seized one share, his younger son might lose his qualification for inheritance!
"Second Uncle, this is not right."
Mao Qingzhu guarded Qing Jun unwaveringly,
"What bloodline Qing Jun possesses, I believe everyone present knows better than I do. When she was born, the mist over Dragon Sleep Mountain dissipated, and there was faint dragon roar. This is indeed the sign of the Xu Family’s bloodline being revealed!"
The hidden ailment of Qing Jun, also had an official term in the Xu Family, called the Bloodline Seed.
At birth, the hair of a Bloodline Seed would be white, with outstanding appearance and extraordinary aptitude. The whiter the hair, the more exceptional they are.
Unfortunately... supposed to be a natural spirit seed, yet the older a Bloodline Seed gets, the more deranged their mind becomes.
Discussing the peculiarity of Bloodline Seeds aside for now.
Within the Xu Family, Bloodline Seeds were acknowledged as a legacy of the Xu Family ancestor.
In the past, two of Xu Patriarch’s brothers were Bloodline Seeds with white hair.
Since Qing Jun is a Bloodline Seed, there’s no doubt she possesses the Xu Family bloodline.
The seated Xu Patriarch, upon hearing this, nodded slightly, his gaze toward Qing Jun softening.
Regardless if Qing Jun was a direct or collateral bloodline... in the end, it was still his bloodline.
Given that both his brothers had become deranged and died young.
Now, as the head of a notable family with a population numbering in the tens of thousands, it’s not surprising that they are all his bloodline descendants — over three hundred years is enough to propagate over ten generations.
But ironically, what seems like a long three hundred years is merely a fleeting instant in the Cultivation Realm — an era that witnesses the rise and fall of dynasties.
To Xu Patriarch, it was merely his lifetime, and whether direct or collateral bloodline, was no different from the palm of his hand.
Laughably, he was decisive and ruthless in his youth, his hands stained with much blood, having personally killed his brothers. Yet ironically, approaching his death, he instead valued familial bonds.
And this was the crux of the Xu Family’s internal strife over direct and collateral bloodlines.
Mao Qingzhu paused for a moment, then said, "Today, I brought her back not to argue with you all about these things. It is only to take back something that originally belongs to her."
At this point, Xu Patriarch closed his eyes to rest, leaving the younger generations below to argue.
Though he held absolute sway within the Xu Family, he was actually over three hundred years old, nearing the end of his life, surviving only due to the elixirs left by the ancestors.
So old that even his mind was somewhat muddled, he rarely managed the Xu Family matters.
Seeing the patriarch closing his eyes, the rest of the Xu Family members resumed their debate.
"Oh?" The man in lavish attire raised his eyebrow, "What is it?"
"The qualification for the Cold Pond baptism at Dragon Sleep Mountain."
Mao Qingzhu’s words were resounding and unyielding,
"And the Xu Family True Seal!"
Upon hearing this, the hall erupted!
"Absurd!"
"This is completely delusional!"
"An illegitimate child of unclear origin dares to covet the inheritance of the Xu Family True Seal?!"
Of course, there were other voices as well.
"Ha! Illegitimate? Qing Jun is a Bloodline Seed of the Xu Family; how could she be an illegitimate child? Since she is of the Xu Family, why can’t she receive the inheritance?"
This person appeared ordinary, yet his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer, and considering his age, he was in the prime of life.
"Xu Zhangfeng, what face do you have to howl?"
Another Foundation Establishment Cultivator countered coldly,
"Could it be... this girl is your illegitimate child?! To think you’d fornicate with Mao Qingzhu just to covet the inheritance of the True Seal!"
Xu Zhangfeng smiled, "Actually, I would love to, but unfortunately, the lady doesn’t give me a chance."
The crowd was noisily arguing, completely disregarding Xu Patriarch’s presence.
And as the old man listened to the relatives slander each other without shame, he merely shook his head slightly and coughed: