"Senior!"
An Zheyan walked out of the house, greeted warmly by the clan guards on both sides. Smiles lit up their faces as they waved to him, even those outside the courtyard.
An Zheyan nodded to each of them, answering with a smile. Suddenly, he felt like he was in another world. He had always acted greedily and domineeringly, ruling the An Family with an iron fist. Servants cowered in his presence, and he would kill over the slightest dissatisfaction.
After his family's downfall, he had taken refuge with the Li Family. During a demon beast attack, he thought to curry favor with them by saving a young clan guard.
That night, the boy cheerfully knocked on his door, carrying a large bowl of dumplings his mother had made to express their gratitude. The two chatted all night, and while An Zheyan forced himself to eat the food, he asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"
The boy froze for a moment, then laughed heartily and replied, "What is there to fear?"
An Zheyan chewed the dumplings, which tasted like dog shit to him, but he forced them down nonetheless and said with an equally forced smile, "Indeed... there's nothing to fear!"
After that night, An Zheyan would join the clan guards for drinks and drinking games, where they would laugh and cry together. They would sit by the wall watching the young women pass by, and An Zheyan would take them flying, scaring the boys so much that their legs went weak. An Zheyan laughed heartily and often shed tears from laughter.
Returning to his senses, An Zheyan noticed the clan guards smiling at him. He pulled out a long bench and said with a grin, "Alright kids, what supernatural stories would you like to hear today?"
The guards' eyes lit up, and they started fighting over which story to hear first. An Zheyan watched them all with a smile until the sound of hoofbeats approached, kicking up dust at the end of the alley.
A young man in a white robe reined in his horse in front of the courtyard and dismounted, cupping his fists respectfully.
"Senior! The family head requests your presence."
"Captain Tian!"
A guard cried out in surprise, and the group quickly bowed lowly, half-kneeling. They then said in unison, "Greetings, Captain!"
Tian Zhongqing nodded and saw An Zheyan shake out his robe while sitting on the wooden bench.
"I understand," he replied.
He then soared into the air and headed straight up the mountain. Tian Zhongqing watched in envy before the guards swarmed him, all asking questions eagerly.
"Captain! What level is your cultivation now?"
"Brother Zhongqing! Are there more Qi Cultivation Realm demons devouring people?"
Tian Zhongqing simply waved his hand and replied, "I'm only at the third stage of the Embryonic Breathing Realm, nothing worth mentioning... As for the family head's matters, they are beyond my understanding."
The guards continued to ask questions, and one whispered, "Brother Zhongqing! Is it true that Clan Uncle Xuanling has broken through to the Qi Cultivation Realm?"
Tian Zhongqing nodded and smiled. "Yes, it is true."
The guards then erupted into a hubbub of chatter. Tian Zhongqing shook his head with a smile as he glanced around, mounted his horse, and rode out of the alley.
————
The stone path was meticulously clean. As An Zheyan ascended the mountain, he was filled with confusion, pondering to himself deeply.
What could this be possibly about..? Even if a Qi Cultivation Realm demon infiltrated the town, there's no need to personally call me up the mountain.
Mount Lijing was mostly deserted, with only the chilly breeze greeting him as he arrived. An Zheyan murmured, "Could it be that the Li Family suspects me because I haven't taken any of the women sent to my home in recent years?"
As the courtyard made of bluestone bricks appeared before him, he took a moment to dust his sleeves. The gate was mostly ajar.
An Zheyan pushed the heavy gate open to find the house quite unguarded, save for the two clan guards standing outside silently.
An Zheyan clicked his tongue. He thought about his own grand hall, then looked at the small house in front of him. He felt bitterness fill his mouth and he muttered under his breath, "An Zheyan... you truly deserve death."
He stepped into the modestly furnished house and bowed his head, having made a habit of it, and lifted his robe hem. He was just about to kneel when he suddenly opened his eyes wide.
The person seated at the head wasn't Li Xuanxuan, but instead a middle-aged man with graying temples and long, gentle eyebrows. His expression was calm as he sat in the main seat, holding a white jade slip.
An Zheyan, at the sixth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm, could immediately read the small characters engraved on the jade slip— Aged Courtly Path Sutra .
With a thud, An Zheyan dropped to his knees, his heart filled with fear and trembling as he bowed deeply and stammered out his words.
"Zheyan... greets Senior!"
Foundation Establishment Realm! How did he reach Foundation Establishment...
An Zheyan's head buzzed with thoughts like a beehive. He swallowed hard in disbelief. He had previously reached the Qi Cultivation Realm before Li Tongya and had watched him rise from beginner to the fifth heavenly layer, and then to the eighth.
Now, with Li Tongya achieving Foundation Establishment Realm, An Zheyan's attitude shifted from disdain to amazement, from amazement to respect, from respect to fear, and finally... he kneeled in front of him.
His conflicting emotions were clear; they were all written on his facial expressions.
Seeing that Li Tongya had reached the realm he had only dreamed of reaching, An Zheyan bowed deeply and closed his eyes—a mix of admiration and fear. Li Tongya then smiled gently.
"Brother Zheyan, no need to be so formal... Please rise," he said softly.
An Zheyan stood up, watching as Li Tongya set down the jade slip, and said warmly, "I heard that your ancestors were once outer sect disciples of the immortal mansion, and this Aged Courtly Path Sutra was passed down by them... Would you care to explain it in detail?"
An Zheyan nodded eagerly, setting aside his emotions. After recalling for a moment and organizing his thoughts, he replied, "My ancestors bore the surname Jiang and were outer sect disciples of the immortal mansion. They reached the Qi Cultivation Realm at eighteen, meeting the minimum requirements and receiving this Aged Courtly Path Sutra , and they led the immortal soldiers on patrol from the Moongaze Marsh's three eastern domains to the Yuling Lake area. They achieved the Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty-nine and became an immortal general, receiving these two legacies and recruiting their own subordinates."
"From the three eastern domains of Moongaze Marsh to the Yuling Lake area..?" Li Tongya asked as he raised an eyebrow.
An Zheyan quickly replied, "Nowadays, it is the southeastern shore up to the Mushroom Forest Plain... Back then, it was all part of Moongaze Marsh."
Seeing Li Tongya nod, An Zheyan continued, "My ancestor failed to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm and passed away... He had only one son, who reached the peak of the Qi Cultivation Realm. Left with no choice, he recruited external and rogue cultivators to defend the territory, laying the seeds for future disaster... Ten years later, his son broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. His descendants were few but all had spiritual orifices. The cultivation technique quickly led them to the Qi Cultivation Realm, but the higher their realm, the more difficult it became to produce heirs. Later, when his son pursued an opportunity to advance to the Purple Mansion Realm, he was slain, and the various external cultivators began to compete for control, each supporting their own descendants. This foreshadowed the family's collapse."
An Zheyan sighed deeply and said softly, "The external cultivators formed alliances, marrying their daughters to one another and becoming increasingly divided. The different lineages grew ever more distant and within a century, even some members of the main family began marrying into the external families. After three generations, there weren't many left with the surname Jiang..."
Li Tongya stroked the jade slip in his hand silently.
An Zheyan glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Thus, only very few families on the lake dare to accept external cultivators, wary of repeating the Jiang Family's tragic lesson. Families like ours, with legacy techniques, fear this most of all. That's why there are almost no external cultivators in our households."
An Zheyan straightened before hesitating for a moment, then added, "The main family oversees the Chen, Liu, Tian, and Ren families, which have all produced individuals with spiritual orifices. If we don't suppress them, problems may arise over time..."
Li Tongya raised an eyebrow, surprised that An Zheyan would bring this up. He chuckled softly and answered, "Don't worry, our family isn't the Jiang Family. Nothing will go wrong."
"I've spoken out of turn," An Zheyan quickly said as he lowered his head.
Li Tongya gave him a once over and asked, "How old are you now?"
"Eighty-five," An Zheyan replied, seeming to be a little downcast at this revelation.
"My cultivation technique makes it difficult to reach the Foundation Establishment Realm, and I'm only at the sixth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm at eighty-five... I doubt I will have any hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm," he added with a tight smile.
Li Tongya paused and offered a few words of comfort before watching An Zheyan leave. Picking up the jade slip containing the Aged Courtly Path Sutra , he murmured, "Courtly Red Dust... our family still holds the River Mountain Sutra . There's still a long way to go to the Purple Mansion Realm, so there's no need to hurry..."