In the Grand Hall where the elders of the four great clans gathered to discuss matters of importance, the air was filled with heated arguments.
The millennium-old tree root that served as the table had already started cracking from the force of repeated slamming.
“The artifacts sealing Mount Xuyu have loosened. Some time ago, my Chu family sent three elders to investigate, and all of them perished with no trace left!
And yet, your Wen family still wastes time on this grand tour of the family head—ignoring urgent matters while indulging in meaningless theatrics! Have you forgotten the great righteousness of Wen Ancestor a thousand years ago?
Have you forgotten the duty to protect the common people? You, a mere child, usurped the position of Wen family head—was it just for vanity, or simply to have the status to openly bed women?”
The speaker was Elder Chu Dao Xun, infamous for his violent temper and fierce protectiveness over his own.
Unable to contain his anger, he slammed the table once again and directly confronted the silent man seated in the highest position.
The others turned their gazes toward the family head, their expressions varying subtly.
The Wen family elders present lowered their eyes and chose not to defend their leader.
Of the four True Lords who had once transformed into artifacts to seal Mount Xuyu, the foremost had been Wen Ancestor—Wen Liuguang.
This was the very reason why the four great clans still honored the Wen family as their leader.
However, many things were not known to outsiders.
Wen Liuguang had been born a simple village woodcutter, wielding nothing more than a chopping knife to gather firewood in the mountains.
He had a wife and child, living a peaceful and humble life.
Yet, when the demonic path rose, bringing disaster and endless war, bandits attacked his village.
Wen Liuguang took up his axe, killing to protect, and thereby stepped onto the path of cultivation through bloodshed.
In the mortal world, he became a general, shielding the people from suffering, purging the land of plagues, vanquishing demonic threats, and assisting the emperors of the time in securing their dynasties.
His efforts brought five hundred years of peace.
But after five hundred years, the heavens cracked open, causing spiritual energy to leak and demonic forces to surge forth—this time, far worse than before.
Wen Liuguang had a son who had followed him from the mountains to the battlefield.
Perhaps blessed by fate, this son possessed extraordinary talent.
Before reaching the age of five hundred, he had already refined his celestial marrow and ascended to the Earth Immortal Realm, becoming the strongest cultivator of his era.
The bond between father and son was deep.
Yet, it was Wen Liuguang himself who slaughtered his own son, extracting his celestial marrow to mend the heavens’ breach and halt the outflow of spiritual energy.
He then led three other True Lords in purging the world of demonic entities, cutting down countless monsters.
After twenty years of relentless battle, they drove the remaining demons into Mount Xuyu and ultimately sacrificed themselves, transforming into artifacts to permanently seal the mountain.
In recognition of this great sacrifice, the heavens bestowed the Celestial Tome, marking the end of imperial rule.
From then on, the world would be protected by the four great clans.
Such was the great righteousness of the True Lord of Light—yet his descendants have been nothing but useless seat-warmers!
“Elder Chu, that statement is a bit excessive.”
A cold female voice broke the tense silence.
Elder Xie Fuling of the Xie family turned toward the young man seated at the head of the hall.
“I believe the Wen family head already has a plan in mind.”
The elders of the Zhongli family had always been known for their adaptability, diplomacy, and ability to read situations.
At this moment, Zhongli Gen chimed in with a flattering tone, also looking toward the head seat.
“If the Wen family head were to lead us to Mount Xuyu to reinforce the seal and investigate the artifacts, I believe we could restore peace to the mountain. After all, the Wen family head is the direct inheritor of Wen Ancestor’s legacy, and his abilities are extraordinary.
If all else fails, the Celestial Tome could be used to strengthen the seal—after all, the protection of this land requires the Wen family head to stand with us.”
At his words, the hall fell into an abrupt silence.
The Celestial Tome was powerful, but the elders of each clan knew well that unless it was whole, using its power was a one-way depletion—like sand in an hourglass, never to be replenished.
For generations, the tome had been safeguarded as each clan’s most precious treasure.
No one was truly willing to surrender it.
The new family head of Dongyun’s Wen clan was undeniably the most strikingly handsome leader in generations.
When expressionless, his cold black eyes—dark as ink—could send chills down one’s spine, exuding a brooding and ruthless aura.
Yet, with the slightest curve of his lips, he could transform into a refined gentleman, as warm as polished jade.
At this moment, he finally spoke, his voice cool and serene, yet gentle enough to seem almost without temper:
“Then please decide on your representatives. In three days, we shall set forth together. What do you all say?”
The elders present—including those of the Wen family—knew better than to take his lack of visible anger at face value.
Would someone without a temper have slaughtered twenty-nine direct descendants of the Wen family to secure his position?
When Wen Wuqi had killed the three most revered Holy Realm elders of the Wen clan, he had reportedly even said with an innocent and gentle expression:
“Apologies. It seems the rules require me to kill you in order to become the family head. I had no other choice.”
Only someone as brash and fiery as Chu Dao Xun dared to speak out against him.
The man’s foul mouth had earned him enemies on all sides, yet no one could afford to offend him because his mastery of Curse Arts made him the most formidable expert of the Chu family.
The Wen elders, who had remained silent throughout the meeting, exchanged discreet glances.
Finally, Sixth Elder Wen Zhang stood up and addressed the room.
“The family head has spoken. What say you all?”
Xie Fuling nodded in agreement.
“The Xie family will send word to make the necessary preparations.”
Chu Dao Xun snorted—a begrudging sign of agreement.
Zhongli Gen, ever eager to please, nodded repeatedly while adding a stream of flattering remarks.
With that, the elders shifted their discussion toward the logistics of their journey to Mount Xuyu, carefully avoiding further mention of the Celestial Tome, as if Zhongli Gen had never spoken of it.
Outside the council hall, Wen Que could already hear the heated arguments inside, along with the family head’s deceptively mild tone.
After a brief pause, he changed direction and headed instead to the Nine-Layered Lotus Palace, walking directly into the forest behind the main temple.
There, beneath a towering millennium-old banyan tree—a tree so vast that it formed an entire grove—he came to a halt.
The one sitting in the council hall, presiding over the elders’ meeting, was indeed a puppet clone controlled by the family head.
The real family head had little patience—though he appeared warm and refined, in truth, he was someone who followed his emotions and desires without restraint.
If he could sit there listening to those old men drone on without losing his temper, then it was definitely not him in person.
Just yesterday, he had personally gone to tour the outer city.
But the real reason?
The elders of the great clans had come knocking, demanding a meeting, and he had used the tour as an excuse to completely abandon them.
Beneath the ancient banyan tree lay a natural cold spring.
The Nine-Clear Cold Water within had already turned dark, a sign that someone had been soaking in it not long ago.
Wen Que tilted his head back and looked up into the tree.
A corner of a white robe lazily dangled from a branch, swaying gently in the breeze.
The soft fabric fluttered playfully in the wind.
The man lay sprawled on his side, his back to Wen Que, loosely dressed, his robe slipping off his shoulders.
His bare skin was faintly covered with a thin layer of frost, yet still flushed red with heat.
Beneath his collar, winding scars crisscrossed his back, some of them fresh, still seeping blood, staining the delicate silk fabric.
Wen Que’s voice immediately carried concern:
“Family Head, has the Nine-Clear Cold Water lost its effectiveness? Why has your condition worsened again? Weren’t you improving before?”
The man in the tree didn’t answer.
Having just emerged from the water after tending to his wounds, his usually warm voice carried a hint of laziness: “Has the person been brought in?”
Wen Que choked. For a moment, he wasn’t sure which person the family head was referring to.
Sensing his hesitation, Wen Wuqi turned his face slightly to glance at him.
His features were elegant and refined, but his expression was indifferent and sluggish.
His deep, ink-black eyes gazed over with an emptiness, void of emotion.
“The Heavenly Yin Woman?”
Wen Que, unable to suppress his curiosity, added with a trace of gossip in his tone:
“Zhongli Ying is indeed a Heavenly Yin Woman… but Family Head, I have something else to report.”
“Do you remember, over three years ago, giving a certain mortal woman a Jade Pendant?”
“According to her, that pendant still holds three strands of your celestial energy, making it impossible for anyone else to take from her.”
“She says her name is Wei Xi, and now… she has come looking for you.”
Wen Wuqi narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.
Slowly, he sat up, and for the first time in a while, a spark of curiosity flickered in his usually distant gaze.
At last, he had found the cause of his weakening celestial energy and worsening injuries.
“Where is she?”
“She’s currently on a crane carriage heading toward the Nine-Layered Lotus Palace .”
Wen Wuqi nodded.
As he fastened his robe, he instructed calmly: “Bring her to the main hall.”
Wen Que hesitated briefly before suddenly asking, “And how should we handle Zhongli Ying?”
Wen Wuqi tilted his head, shooting him a glance.
His eyes were pure, bottomless black, void of discernible emotion.
Then, he smiled gently and asked, “What do you think?”
Wen Que fell silent.
A Heavenly Yin Woman should, by all logic, be a perfect match for the family head of the Dongyun Wen clan.
But judging by his completely indifferent attitude, perhaps not.
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