Innate Treasure

Great Perfection of Houtian... Mu Bai whispered to himself, a trace of contemplation flashing in his eyes.

This answer both reassured and worried him. He was reassured that the opponent had not yet stepped into that legendary Xiantian realm, but worried that he himself was similarly trapped in this bottleneck and unable to make further progress.

He turned to the sturdy man kneeling on the ground, his gaze like a blade: "Tell me, is there a method to break through within the Langya Aristocratic Family?"

Hearing this, a look of panic appeared on the sturdy man's face: "Reporting to the Young Master, there is indeed a way to break through to Xiantian within the Langya Aristocratic Family!"

Mu Bai's heart skipped a beat, and he asked rather impatiently: "How does one break through to Xiantian?"

"This villain... this villain is merely a servant of the Langya Family, how would I know the mysteries of such profound martial arts!" The sturdy man pressed his forehead against the ground, his voice trembling. "Even within the Langya Aristocratic Family, the number of Innate experts is extremely scarce, and every single one of them is a heavyweight elder-level figure of the lineage..."

Mu Bai furrowed his brows slightly, pondering inwardly. This answer did not exceed his expectations, but it still brought him a trace of disappointment.

Clearly, one could analyze from what the sturdy man confessed that there was a huge watershed between Xiantian and Houtian. Once someone broke through to Xiantian, they could leap over the dragon gate and become a formidable, influential figure even within a secluded aristocratic family!

In his past life as a webnovel author, he had written countless plots about protagonists breaking through realms under his pen. Yet when he truly faced this threshold himself, he discovered that those armchair strategist experiences were completely useless.

"Tell me everything you know about the Xiantian realm." Mu Bai said coldly, true qi circulating between his fingers, the meaning of his threat self-evident.

The sturdy man shuddered all over and hastily said: "This villain only knows that Xiantian and Houtian are as different as cloud and mud. It is said that when breaking through to Xiantian, the martial artist's internal true qi will transform into Innate True Essence, possessing boundless might with every gesture..."

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "A senior in the family once said, 'Falling short of Xiantian, one remains forever an ant,' but as for how precisely to break through, this villain truly does not know!"

A brilliant light flashed in Mu Bai's eyes.

Transforming true qi into true essence? According to the knowledge he learned in his past life, could this be a process of gaseous liquefaction?

Right as he was pondering, the sturdy man suddenly thought of something and hurriedly supplemented: "That's right! There are detailed records concerning the Xiantian realm within the Scripture Pavilion of the Langya Aristocratic Family! It is said that only core disciples are qualified to consult them..."

"Where is the Scripture Pavilion?" Mu Bai immediately pursued.

"It's... it's in the family Forbidden Land deep within Langya Mountain..." The sturdy man regretted it the moment he finished speaking, his complexion turning pale white. "Young Master, spare my life! If I leak family secrets again, going back will mean death either way!"

A sneer surfaced at the corner of Mu Bai's mouth, and a trace of disdain leaked from his gaze. His voice was icy and merciless: "Do you think you can still return safely?"

This sentence struck heavily upon the sturdy man's heart like a massive hammer, his expression instantly turning as pale as paper without a shred of color.

The corners of the sturdy man's twitching mouth formed a smile even uglier than crying, an expression where despair and helplessness were intertwined. He muttered to himself: "Although I long anticipated that you, Young Master, would not easily let me go, when truly hearing this news, I still find it completely impossible to bear!"

His body trembled slightly, as though he had already lost all his strength. Yet at this juncture of life and death, he suddenly straightened his torso, facing Mu Bai directly, the fear in his eyes gradually replaced by a resolute determination.

"Young Master, is there truly no way to grant this villain a chance at survival?" Although the sturdy man's voice was somewhat hoarse, it was exceptionally firm.

Mu Bai looked at him expressionlessly, slowly shaking his head, and replied indifferently: "From the moment you stepped into the Carefree Prince's Estate and attempted to assassinate my father, you had already stepped onto a dead end with no room whatsoever to turn back."

Upon hearing these words, the last shred of hope in the sturdy man's heart was completely shattered.

He emitted a wretched laugh, the laughter sounding exceptionally jarring in this silent environment.

Suddenly, as if he had made up some sort of determination, he fiercely pulled a jade pendant from his bosom.

This jade pendant was entirely emerald-green and crystal-clear, clearly a precious treasure.

The sturdy man gripped the jade pendant tightly, as if it were the final sustenance of his life.

He raised his head, gazing intently at Mu Bai, a thick surge of emotion flowing within his eyes, and said earnestly: "This jade pendant was left behind by my mother before she passed away; it has extraordinary significance to me. I earnestly beg Young Master to allow me to reminisce about my mother one last time in the final moments of my life."

Mu Bai was silent for a moment, and ultimately nodded in agreement.

His gaze shifted away from the sturdy man, looking off to the side as though he no longer wished to engage in excessive communication with him.

The sturdy man cast a grateful look at Mu Bai, turned around, and tightly grasped the jade pendant with both hands.

The very instant he turned around, his face abruptly twisted, the previously somewhat benign countenance instantly turning ferocious and terrifying, making one's hair stand on end!

His eyes bulged round, filled with a deep, burning resentment toward Mu Bai as if they were about to spew fire!

Damn it, I've already humbled myself to beg him like this, why is he still unwilling to let me go! The sturdy man cursed inwardly, his voice filled with despair and anger.

Since I'm dead either way, this jade pendant absolutely cannot be wasted on you! He thought, gnashing his teeth as his hands clamped onto the jade pendant like iron pliers, using all his strength in an attempt to crush it directly!

In truth, everything the sturdy man had just said about this jade pendant was a complete and utter lie!

What maternal keepsake—it was nothing more than nonsense he had blurted out at random!

This jade pendant was actually something he accidentally acquired after arriving in Great Yan.

At that time, the two of them who had just left the capital city of Great Yan quickly squandered their remaining silver at Yihong Tower. Penniless and at their wits' end, they ultimately decided to fish for some oil and water from local merchants.

To increase their success rate, the two even deliberately divided the labor, heading out to steal from the households of the two largest local wealthy merchants respectively.

And deep within the vault of that wealthy merchant's household, the sturdy man had unexpectedly discovered a letter and a jade pendant.

After reading the letter, the sturdy man could not help but be pleasantly surprised. It turned out that the ancestors of this wealthy merchant's family had actually produced a Xiantian expert!

At the time when that Xiantian expert was on the verge of death, he knew deeply that if no next Xiantian expert were born within the lineage, the family would surely find it difficult to guard this massive legacy.

After careful consideration, he resolutely decided to hide all the inheritance, leaving behind a letter and a piece of jade pendant.

The letter detailed the hidden location of the inheritance, and repeatedly enjoined that only when a Houtian expert once again emerged within the family could they carry this jade pendant and proceed to the designated location according to the route map to retrieve the inheritance.

This was the reason why the sturdy man had consistently answered all of Mu Bai's questions and made humble supplications.

After all, that was the inheritance of a Xiantian expert!