True Inheritance

Yun Ji slowly opened his eyes. His aura had stabilized considerably. He looked at his two old friends, then glanced at his son, who had his ears pricked up, before finally speaking with a hint of emotion in his voice:

"You both know that the Yun Clan has always had few descendants. For generations, each generation had only one heir. It was only with A-Long's generation that the family branches began to spread a little."

Li Pinghu and Shi Tie nodded. That was indeed the truth.

Yun Ji paused, then changed the subject. "There has always been a saying within the clan that an immortal once emerged from our Yun Clan ancestors and left behind an inheritance. Alas, generation after generation, no one ever touched its threshold. That inheritance became nothing more than an ethereal legend."

"Descendants of an immortal?" Li Pinghu and Shi Tie exchanged a glance, each seeing a measure of doubt in the other's eyes. What ancient Lineage did not have one or two such legends? Most were merely gilding their own faces.

"Until this boy, A-Long." Yun Ji looked toward Yun Long, his tone carrying both gratification and pride. "Who knew what luck this brat stumbled into? By some blind chance, he actually opened that sealed inheritance!"

"Thanks to him, A-Hu and I also basked in the light. This cultivation of ours came from it."

The moment those words were spoken, Li Pinghu and Shi Tie opened their mouths wider, and the way they looked at Yun Long immediately changed.

So the crux of it lay with this boy!

"However..." Yun Ji shook his head with a trace of regret. "What was opened were merely some Martial Dao cultivation techniques. As for the legendary methods of immortals, they remain flowers in the mirror and moon in the water—far too elusive."

With age came wisdom, and they knew one another all too well.

The moment Yun Ji began speaking, Li Pinghu already knew that his old friend's words were half truth, half falsehood.

What the Yun Clan had obtained could not possibly be brushed aside with a mere phrase like "Martial Dao cultivation techniques."

"Old Yun, let us not waste words."

Li Pinghu's expression turned grave as he said in a low voice, "You and I both understand the current situation. The people around the Ninth Prince possess unfathomable cultivation. They are very likely true immortals."

Shi Tie's face was equally solemn. He took a jade bottle from his robe and held it seriously in his palm.

"Inside are one True Essence Pill and one even rarer Supreme Spirit Pill."

"If A-Long can truly rely on the inheritance you mentioned and has hope of transcending the Xiantian realm, then take these pills and let them lend him a hand!"

Li Pinghu also took out a brocade box from his robe. "I have two True Essence Pills as well. If that is not enough, we will continue searching these mountains. No matter what, we must gather everything he needs!"

They understood well that even if they were lucky enough to find some ruins, with their present strength, facing beings of that caliber would be no different from striking a stone with an egg. Even if they had no desire to lay claim to anything, they would not be able to return alive.

Yun Ji let out a long sigh, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "Ah, I knew I couldn't hide it from you two old fellows."

He turned to Yun Long, his gaze filled with inquiry and expectation. "A-Long, how far exactly has your understanding of your inheritance reached?"

Facing the gazes of the three elders, Yun Long pondered for a moment before speaking cautiously. He did not mention the matter of Immortal Fate in the clan genealogy. "After receiving the inheritance, this disciple's comprehension of the cultivation technique has already reached the realm of great mastery. It is only the accumulation of True Qi within my body that remains at the beginner stage."

"In theory, as long as my True Qi is sufficient, this disciple can fully unleash the cultivation technique's power. Surpassing the Xiantian realm would not be empty talk!"

At those words, a sharp gleam flashed through Li Pinghu and Shi Tie's eyes!

Without the slightest hesitation, they stuffed the pills in their hands into Yun Long's hands.

"Good!" Yun Ji said resolutely. "Then our foremost purpose in entering these mountains this time is to help A-Long cultivate with all our strength, allowing him to bring the cultivation technique to great mastery as quickly as possible!"

"Whether we can win a sliver of life will depend on this!"

Retreating and hoping the Ninth Prince would show mercy? That was the thinking of fools.

Li Pinghu and Shi Tie understood even more clearly that the Yun Clan's transformation had long since fallen into the eyes of interested parties. That Ninth Prince and the expert at his side had likely already set their sights on the Yun Clan.

Before long, they found the Wind Tiger's lair.

At the cave entrance, three crystal-clear little flowers shrouded in Spiritual Energy swayed in the breeze.

"Heavenly Spirit Flowers!" Li Pinghu's eyes abruptly lit up, and even his breathing quickened. "These are supreme treasures that can directly raise one's cultivation! Their medicinal effects are said to far surpass True Essence Pills. They can even benefit immortals!"

"Hahaha, Heaven truly favors us!" Li Pinghu laughed heartily. "Quick, let us enter the cave and see whether there are any other treasures!"

Yun Ji remained vigilant. After carefully investigating the surroundings, the three men cautiously stepped into the cave.

Deep within the cave, there were actually two tiger cubs with feeble auras, howling for food.

Scattered throughout the cave were medicinal herbs the Wind Tiger had carried back. After examining them, Li Pinghu selected several useful stalks.

The group temporarily settled down within the cave.

Yun Ji gathered dry branches and lit a bonfire in a corner of the cave, then began dealing with the adult Wind Tiger's hide.

Shi Tie looked at the two tiger cubs, and a trace of reluctance flashed through his eyes, but it was swiftly replaced by resolve. In such a precarious situation, where they could not be sure of surviving even the morning to see the evening, there was no room for the slightest softness. With a rise and fall of his blade, he killed the cubs and began preparing food.

All of this was for survival.

The three men busied themselves with their own tasks, placing all their hopes on Yun Long and creating an undisturbed environment for his cultivation.

Yun Long sat cross-legged, fully aware of the heavy responsibility he carried at this moment.

He decided to begin with the relatively gentler True Essence Pills.

After swallowing one True Essence Pill, surging medicinal power dissolved through his meridians, and the total amount of True Qi in his body instantly increased by half!

However, he still fell just short of breaking through to the middle stage of the Xiantian realm.

Yun Long did not hesitate in the slightest. He took out another True Essence Pill and swallowed it.

Boom!

True Qi surged like a tide, smashing through the barrier. He successfully entered the middle stage of the Xiantian realm! The faint Golden Bell phantom around his body also solidified somewhat.

Yet the realm of his cultivation technique still remained at the beginner stage.

Yun Long kept his mind free of distractions, immersing himself in the rise of his cultivation.

Immediately afterward, he swallowed the final True Essence Pill, along with the even more precious Supreme Spirit Pill.

To ordinary martial artists, the Supreme Spirit Pill might not differ much from the True Essence Pill in terms of increasing the total amount of True Qi.

But the reason it bore the words "Supreme Spirit" lay in its ability to produce an exceptionally pure current of Spiritual Energy, cleansing the physical body, improving one's aptitude, and even helping one comprehend the profound mysteries of cultivation techniques!

This pure Spiritual Energy was precisely what Yun Long needed most at this moment!

As the Supreme Spirit Pill's medicinal power spread, the cultivation technique he practiced seemed to receive some kind of catalyst. Its circulation suddenly accelerated, and layer after layer of bottlenecks crumbled away.

The realm of his cultivation technique leapt directly from the beginner stage into the minor mastery stage!

His cultivation also rose with the tide, breaking through from the middle stage of the Xiantian realm to the late stage of the Xiantian realm in one stroke!

In less than a single day, aided by medicinal pills, his strength underwent such an earth-shaking transformation that he even surpassed his father, Yun Ji, in one leap!

While Yun Long cultivated, Yun Ji personally guarded the cave entrance, both protecting him and watching over the three precious Heavenly Spirit Flowers. Li Pinghu and Shi Tie took the opportunity to carefully search the nearby mountain forest, hoping to find more useful herbs.

By the time evening fell, the two returned to the cave with some gains.

When they learned from Yun Ji of Yun Long's astonishing progress over this short day, even with their steady temperaments, both could not help but draw in sharp breaths.

As they looked at Yun Long, sitting cross-legged in quiet meditation with a steady, long aura, their eyes were filled with unimaginable shock and wild delight!

The Yun Clan's mysterious inheritance was actually so terrifying!