An Zheyan cupped his fist and lifted the hem of his robe before falling onto his knees, his expression one of sorrow. His voice was full of resentment when he spoke.
"My three sons and a daughter, along with numerous wives, concubines, and brothers, have all been slaughtered by the Yu Family... The An Family has fallen into the hands of traitors and has been enslaved. The hatred in my heart is as deep as the waters of the boundless sea, impossible to contain. Despite past grievances, your family has agreed to shelter me, An Zheyan, a dog who has lost his home... I am deeply grateful and willing to offer the legacy of the An Family to serve as your claws and teeth, toiling for you for the rest of my life."
An Zheyan paused as he finally made up his mind.
"If I live to see the day when I can return to Mount Huazhong, I am willing to offer the entire territory of the An Family as repayment!"
As he finished speaking, he performed a hand seal. Almost immediately, a point of light appeared on his forehead, indicating that he had just taken a Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath.
Li Xuanxuan was overjoyed, yet his face had feigned sorrow as he helped him up, saying solemnly, "Why must you resort to this, Senior..? The Yu Family is our common enemy, it is only right that we help each other!"
An Zheyan got up and sat down, hesitating for a moment before shaking his head and whispering, "My ancestors were also once glorious... Our forefather was an outer disciple of the immortal mansion. At that time, the Wu, Yue, and Xu States were all under the Moonlight Origin Mansion's protection. The immortal mansion established a rule to separate the immortals from mortals, constraining all immortal sects to secluded cultivation, unlike the current mingling of immortals and mortals. My ancestor cultivated alone in the mountains back then.
"Later, as the immortal mansion withdrew from the world, the three sects and seven gates emerged into society—dividing the Yue State. The earliest clans declared themselves kings and marquises. My ancestor had already died of old age, and his descendants spread out here, eventually splitting the family and forming their own clans. If we were to discuss kinship, the Yu, Ji, and Lu families all share ancestry with the An Family... with only the WAn Family coming from the east."
Li Xuanxuan listened intently, also surprised by this news. Thinking about the rivalry between these families, he nodded silently.
"That is truly... remarkable," he said quietly.
"Eight hundred years of kinship has turned us into strangers. When you think about it, which family in Yue State is not descended from prominent clans that migrated from the north to the south? Except for Mount Yue, probably all have a common origin."
An Zheyan let out a small sigh before continuing.
"Our family's cultivation technique was originally an ancient technique recorded in the Aged Courtly Path Sutra . It could be practiced by immortal cultivators from the Embryonic Breathing Realm to the Purple Mansion Realm, as long as they had the Courtly Red Dust Qi for cultivation. Over generations, this qi became unattainable, leaving only a secondary method that could only reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. It's called Guardian of the Courtly Path , a Grade Two technique using the Courtly Frost Armor Qi for cultivation."
Listening to the name of this technique, Li Xuanxuan immediately recognized it as an ancient technique. Ancient techniques often bore mystical-sounding names, and this one was no exception. He felt intrigued right away.
"Since it has been modified into a secret technique, it must not be perfect... What are the flaws in this technique?" he asked.
An Zheyan nodded and explained patiently, "The beauty of this technique lies in its ability to enable cultivators to quickly condense the six Embryonic Breathing Chakras, thus achieving the Qi Cultivation Realm swiftly. However, progress slows significantly after reaching this realm, and one's lifespan is slightly reduced as a consequence. Nonetheless, the synergy between mana and jade dharma artifacts is enhanced, meaning the power of dharma artifacts made by jade will be amplified.
"As for the Courty Frost Armor Qi required for this technique, we have a method of gathering it... By submerging copper and iron heavy armor into a specially crafted jade well to soak in rainwater, one can collect a wisp in three months, with ten wisps making a full portion. This is considered the easiest to gather among the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. However, the Courtly Frost Armor Qi serves no other purpose and is solely useful for this ancient technique, so it barely fetches a few Spirit Stones."
"That's amazing! This essentially grants those with lesser talents nearly a hundred more years to cultivate! What a treasure!" Li Xuanxuan gasped upon hearing this. He was already brimming with ideas and was delighted.
"Exactly," An Zheyan nodded and paused briefly before responding, "There is another important thing—those who cultivate the Guardian of the Courtly Path will find their power greatly reduced if they encounter someone practicing the Aged Courtly Path Sutra . Even if their cultivation realm is much higher, they would likely not be able to defeat them... Fortunately, that's not a big problem as this technique is no longer possible to cultivate."
"Indeed, indeed!" Li Xuanxuan nodded repeatedly.
An Zheyan continued, "There is also the vein searching technique, known as Earthly Court Detection Technique . Let me find an empty jade slip later and write a copy of it for you."
"Thank you, Senior," Li Xuanxuan said as he pondered for a moment. Sensing that something was not quite right, he spoke softly.
"But there is something I do not understand... If the Guardian of the Courtly Path makes it easy to achieve the Qi Cultivation Realm... then why, in the past, did only your father and you from the An Family achieve this realm while the rest lingered in the Embryonic Breathing Realm?"
An Zheyan sighed deeply and cupped his hands awkwardly before responding.
"After experiencing so much, I have realized that I am stingy and lack vision... Only my father and I practiced this technique, and I used other methods to pacify the other branches of the family."
"I see!"
Li Xuanxuan fell silent and drank some of his tea, then inquired about the details of that fateful day on Mount Huazhong.
An Zheyan answered each question patiently before cupping his fist once more. "Fearing that carrying it on my person would risk the legacy falling into the hands of the enemy, I destroyed the jade slip when I left the An Residence... I will go transcribe the technique from memory now," he said with a somber voice.
Having said this, he left hurriedly. As An Zheyan departed, Li Xuanfeng, who had been silent throughout the conversation, then raised an eyebrow and issued an instruction.
"Uncle Donghe is still on the mountain... have him go down and watch this man."
Li Xiewen nodded and took his leave while Li Xuanxuan sighed softly, saying, "Second Uncle once told me about this man... An Zheyan was originally a greedy and miserly person, but he has undergone a transformation through this great disaster!"
After a brief moment of contemplation, he continued, "The An Family's ancestor was originally an outer disciple of the immortal mansion. This technique might well be a special one imparted to outer disciples by the immortal mansion, and being able to pass down the technique unrestrictedly suggests that the An Family's ancestor must have held some status."
Li Xuanfeng nodded but was still unconvinced and skeptical. He waved his hand dismissively and said in a low voice, "Appearances can be deceiving... Although this man has taken the Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath, we cannot place too much trust in him. He has loose lips. Just let him exterminate demons and tend to the fields... When there's something to be done at home, let him be a handyman. There's no need to let him know more than necessary."
"I know," Li Xuanxuan nodded in agreement as he put down his tea bowl. "Let's observe him for a while before discussing further," he added after a short pause.
The two of them talked for a while before Li Xiewen came up holding several jade slips. Li Xuanfeng took them and examined them. Apart from the Guardian of the Courtly Path , Earthly Court Detection Technique , and the unpracticable Aged Courtly Path Sutra , there were several Grade One techniques for the Embryonic Breathing and Qi Cultivation Realms.
He read through all of them, nodding continuously and excitedly, then exclaimed, "The An Family's ancestors indeed had profound connections; these techniques are truly amazing! It's a pity that the Aged Courtly Path Sutra can no longer be cultivated... It's unclear what grade it belongs to. However, the Guardian Rite of the Courtly Path is quite unique and stands out even among Grade Two techniques, especially with its effect of hastening advancement to the Qi Cultivation Realm. It's certainly very useful!"
Li Xuanxuan laughed heartily and nodded, saying, "It's not just for use with the less talented disciples within the family... Nowadays, with cultivators in the late stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm to suppress them, those external cultivators can also benefit from this technique. We're not looking for combat power; having more Qi Cultivators means we would have more people that are capable of flying, which makes everything more convenient!"
"You're right, Brother Xuan," Li Xuanfeng agreed with a small smile. He then passed over the Earthly Court Detection Technique , his voice soft as he spoke.
"Since the An Family was attacked, our personnel have been withdrawn, and we have lacked people to survey ore veins. The ebony mine has been idle for a long time... You should keep technique and choose new personnel to restart the mining."
Li Xuanxuan took the jade slip, and seeing that Li Xuanfeng was ready to leave to continue his cultivation, he smiled slightly, teasing, "It's a wonder how An Zheyan could have fathered a genius like An Jingming. Maybe we should arrange more wives and concubines for him... perhaps he could produce another genius. Wouldn't that be great for us?"
Li Xuanfeng laughed heartily, knowing that Li Xuanxuan was just joking. He left for the mountain, leaving Li Xuanxuan in the courtyard to drink some tea.
Li Xuanxuan pulled out a piece of yellow paper and began drawing a talisman. It took him a while before he finally put away the ink and paper and instructed, "Let An Zheyan choose a few women. He may look a little dumb, but he's still a Qi Cultivator... Let's see if any women with spiritual orifices are willing to marry him."
Li Xiewen nodded in agreement while Li Xuanxuan shook his head. An Zheyan's arrival had indeed profited the Li Family greatly, yet he still harbored some regrets.
"If only our families had joined hands back then, allowing An Jingming to marry a girl from our Li Family... Had that been the case, we wouldn't have had to face so many tragedies today," he murmured softly to himself.