In an instant, his younger male and female cousins swarmed out from their courtyards and rooms like a flock of sparrows, looking up at their Brother Yunzhi with adoration and chattering questions.
The older cousins stood a bit farther away. Though they did not crowd around him noisily like the little turnips, they stood quietly and obediently to the side, their faces full of reverence and admiration.
Lian Yunzhi lightly coughed to hide his smile and stood with hands behind his back, maintaining the demeanor of an elder brother. He first asked about their studies or cultivation progress, then warmly encouraged them, patting each head and giving gifts one by one.
Finally, he departed calmly amid their tearful, adoring gazes.
Mm… Feels great!
.
Entering the main hall and seeing his grandfather, the smile on Lian Yunzhi’s face became even more genuine.
He had always been close to his grandfather, who favored him the most.
Now, the Lian Family Head stroked his beard and laughed heartily upon seeing him. “Yunzhi, come here quickly! Let Grandpa check if you’ve really reached Foundation Establishment Peak!”
Lian Yunzhi smiled and called out “Grandpa,” then extended his wrist for inspection.
With his Foundation Establishment Mid Stage cultivation, the Lian Family Head probed Lian Yunzhi’s body and his expression turned one of shock and delight. “You didn’t just reach Foundation Establishment Peak—you’re about to form your core?!”
Lian Yunzhi smiled modestly—a rare occurrence—and said, “Grandpa, I can’t form my core yet. I need to consolidate my foundation first and make some preparations.”
The Lian Family Head was overjoyed beyond measure, calling out “Good!” several times before pulling his hand and asking what fortunate encounter he had experienced.
But Lian Yunzhi hesitated unusually.
Using the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Herb and the Beast Taming Contract to advance two realms was easy to explain, but dual cultivating with a Human Cauldron to touch the Golden Core barrier… He feared disappointing his grandfather, as it was not a method that could be openly acknowledged.
“Family Head!”
At that moment, a black figure appeared like a sharp arrow and knelt on one knee before the Lian Family Head. He seemed to have urgent news to report but closed his mouth upon seeing Lian Yunzhi nearby.
Lian Yunzhi started to rise to leave, but the Lian Family Head pressed him back into his seat.
“Speak. What is it?” the Lian Family Head ordered the black guard.
The Black Guard Team was the Lian Family Head’s private shadow guard unit. These black guards all had single spiritual roots or even variant spiritual roots. After eight years of careful training, each had cultivation above Foundation Establishment. However, it was said that these black guards, cultivated through secret methods, could never reach Golden Core in their lifetimes.
And such “Black Guard Teams” existed for the Lian Family, the Mu Family, and every Family Head of the Four Great Families of Xiaoze State.
Black Guard: “Mu Kunrong encountered an assault at the Relay Station Market and suffered severe injuries. The attackers are unknown, but Mu Kunrong acted in public, exposing his cultivation—he has now reached Golden Core.”
Mu Kunrong was the Mu Family Head’s name. Upon hearing the first half, Lian Chengfeng nearly burst into laughter.
But at the second half, his smile froze on his face.
“Golden Core?”
How had Mu Kunrong, previously at Foundation Establishment, silently advanced to Golden Core?
The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was vast.
Lian Yunzhi’s heart pounded wildly at that moment, an indescribable hidden pain emerging in a corner of his heart—as if he was about to lose something—the Beast Taming Contract!
Lian Yunzhi abruptly stood, forcing himself to calm when his grandfather looked over. “Grandfather, I’ll take my leave first.”
This time, Lian Chengfeng did not stop him, merely nodding distractedly as he pondered something.
As soon as Lian Yunzhi exited the main hall, he ignored the Four Directions City ban and used Imperial Sword Flight straight to the Relay Station Market outside the city!
The Relay Station Market was now under strict lockdown. Qi Refining Birds had stopped flying, vendors and shops halted sales, and everyone was herded to an open area for inspection, with the Mu Family’s forces tightly surrounding the place.
Lian Yunzhi hid nearby and succeeded in casting the Invisibility Technique on his fourth try. The Invisibility Technique was a minor spell that only worked on those with lower cultivation than the caster. Fortunately, no one present had higher cultivation than Lian Yunzhi.
Following the guidance of the Beast Taming Contract, Lian Yunzhi arrived and stopped beside a Qi Refining Bird tied off alone.
The Qi Refining Bird did not notice Lian Yunzhi under the spell and merely fixed its gaze on its master amid the crowd undergoing inspection.
Lian Yunzhi lifted a corner of the massive black wing of the Qi Refining Bird and slipped inside.
Then.
He saw Mu Cheng half-reclining against the Qi Refining Bird’s wing, his flesh a bloody mess, continuously vomiting blood… looking as good as dead.
The Invisibility Technique was ineffective against the other half of a Soul Contract. As Lian Yunzhi approached, Mu Cheng’s eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes.
But a wound crossed his face horizontally over his eyelids. Blood tears flowed as he opened his eyes—he could no longer see anything.
“Master, I…” Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth as soon as he parted his lips, but he still murmured an explanation. “He usually went out with many… many black guards. Today, he brought none. I thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity… so I planned to kill him with formations and talismans. Those formations and talismans could kill Foundation Establishment cultivators, but I didn’t expect… didn’t expect he had fused my spiritual root so well that he was already at Golden Core…”
“Your eyes are blind, and your Dantian is destroyed again.” Lian Yunzhi’s icy hand left Mu Cheng’s wrist, his voice devoid of any warmth.
Mu Cheng raised his head in panic, but he saw nothing.
Lian Yunzhi’s tone was calm: “Can you still set up formations, draw talismans, and help me pass my thunder tribulation from now on?”
Mu Cheng’s face turned ashen.
Lian Yunzhi said, “I won’t give you Immortal Pills anymore.”
“Lian Yunzhi…” As Lian Yunzhi moved to rise, Mu Cheng tremblingly and urgently grasped his hand. “Don’t abandon me. I… even if I can’t set up formations or draw talismans anymore, I can… I can teach you, and I can… still continue being your Human Cauldron…”
“Only the cheapest Qi Replenishing Pills.” Lian Yunzhi pinched his chin and forced a Qi Replenishing Pill—the cheapest kind—down his throat.
Mu Cheng dazedly “looked” at him.
A moment later, he suddenly laughed, his laugh twisted and ugly.
He said softly, “Master, we had an agreement. You have to transmit spiritual power to me once a day. You haven’t done today’s yet.”
Lian Yunzhi: “Your Dantian is broken. You can’t store it.”
Mu Cheng: “I want it.”
Lian Yunzhi: “Fine.”
After studying furnace cauldrons and dual cultivation knowledge, Lian Yunzhi was now thoroughly familiar with the three methods of transmitting spiritual energy.
The current situation was unsuitable for the first method, and even less so for the third.
Lian Yunzhi first cast the Dust Removal Technique on Mu Cheng, then peeled off the fake skin on his face, now even more horrific.
Of course, his real face was also covered in wounds and far from pleasing.
But it was at least barely tolerable.
Lian Yunzhi’s cool fingertip gently wiped the blood from the corner of his eye, then closed his eyes, took his lips, and transmitted the promised spiritual power.
—
