The Dao Path

The next day, as dawn was about to break, a few rays of morning light struggled to pierce the thick cloud cover.

Ning Yongrui's figure appeared before the Yun Family's grand mansion, his steps hurried, a stark contrast to his usual calm and collected demeanor as a guardian.

His breathing was slightly rapid, and fine beads of sweat had even formed on his forehead, clearly indicating he had rushed here.

As soon as he saw the Yun Family servant who came to open the gate, he immediately spoke, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hoarseness due to his urgency: "Please inform the Yun Family Head that Ning Yongrui has an extremely urgent matter to request an audience."

Not long after, Yun Long appeared in the main hall.

Upon seeing Yun Long, Ning Yongrui's face, etched with anxiety and the lingering shock from yesterday, was now overlaid with an inexplicable solemnity.

Without much preamble, he directly took out an antique-looking box from his storage artifact.

The box was dark gold all over, carved from some unknown exotic wood. It felt heavy in his hands, and its surface was inscribed with intricate, mysterious cloud patterns and dragon emblems, faintly exuding a heart-stopping majesty.

Around the box, a subtle, almost imperceptible light seemed to flow, a manifestation of the Great Xia Dynasty's unique fortune.

"Family Head Yun, this is the Dynasty's official treasure offering box," Ning Yongrui said, holding the box with both hands, his tone solemn.

"Once this box is sealed, its contents will immediately be protected by the Great Xia Dynasty's fortune."

"Any unauthorized opening without the Dynasty's permission will instantly expose the act."

"At that time, the opener will not only suffer a strong backlash from the Dynasty's fortune, but the Great Xia Dynasty will also be enraged and punish them severely, pursuing them to the very end."

His words were filled with deep reverence for that magnificent heavenly might, as if the punishment had already descended.

"The Great Xia Dynasty has stood for over a hundred thousand years since its establishment," Ning Yongrui's voice held a hint of distant sigh, his eyes flashing with yearning and an indescribable fear of that colossal entity.

Such a long river of history had witnessed the rise and fall of countless dynasties, yet only Great Xia remained standing.

"In such a vast expanse of time, there have been many cultivators and families, like Family Head Yun, who wished to contribute rare techniques or treasures to the court."

"Therefore, the Dynasty has long established a complete, even watertight, system for offering treasures."

"It is precisely through this mechanism that the Dynasty has been able to continuously gather numerous nearly lost pearls of the sea, or newly created wondrous techniques, from the populace."

This was not only a part of the Dynasty's unfathomable foundation but also a crucial source of its enduring prosperity and continuous strengthening.

Meanwhile, in a quiet room in the Yun Family's inner courtyard, a faint scent of medicine mingled with a peculiar fragrance.

Just last night, Yun He had taken the most exceptional of the three Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish sent by the Ning Family, the one with whiskers nearly five inches long, and carefully brewed it with several rare medicinal ingredients into a bowl of golden spirit soup, which she gave to Li Lingyue to drink.

After consuming it, Li Lingyue felt a warm yet powerful surge of pure spiritual energy dissolve within her, tendril by tendril, nourishing the fetus in her womb.

She could clearly sense that the unborn life within her, like a hungry fledgling, was joyfully absorbing the pure energy born from the spirit fish within her body.

Her own True Qi, energy, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth were also drawn by this power, integrating into the fetus's body bit by bit, connecting with its bloodline.

"Perhaps this is why the offspring of cultivators are more likely to be born with Spiritual Roots, and even their Spiritual Root grades are often higher," Li Lingyue gently stroked her abdomen, her face radiating the tenderness and anticipation of a new mother, she mused inwardly.

As for the remaining two Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish, which were of slightly inferior quality but still precious, Yun He had also made proper arrangements.

She planned to find some gentler and more nourishing auxiliary herbs to brew them together, allowing Li Lingyue to consume them in portions over the coming days.

This way, the efficacy of the spirit fish would be maximized, and the mother and child would not be harmed by overly potent medicine.

The matter of offering the cultivation technique was temporarily concluded. Ning Yongrui had already taken the treasure offering box containing the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic and submitted it through the special channels of the Guardian's Mansion.

Yun Long had ultimately decided to offer the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic instead of the Wudang Xiantian Gong or the Pure Yang Skill that Yun Hu cultivated.

He wanted to maintain his persona as a genius, so the offered technique should ideally appear to originate from the same source as his abilities.

Yun Long imprinted the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic onto a jade slip. The content below the Qi Refining Stage was extremely detailed, while the content after the Qi Refining Stage was described more vaguely, which perfectly matched his current strength.

The entire Wanfang Lake, after the drastic changes of that night, had completely returned to its former tranquility, even more peaceful than ever before.

Those factions, big and small, that had been restless were now lying low, not daring to make the slightest move.

Yun Long, therefore, found himself with rare leisure time, allowing him to attend to some internal family matters that he had previously been too busy to handle.

One day, he summoned his eldest disciple, Shi Chen, to his study.

Since Shi Chen officially became his disciple, Yun Long had guided him in martial arts and familiarized him with the common knowledge of the cultivation world, but he had never made detailed plans or arrangements for Shi Chen's future cultivation path.

Today, Yun Long's expression was exceptionally solemn, clearly intending to discuss something extremely important with Shi Chen.

Shi Tie also accompanied his son to the study. His burly figure stood to the side, his face showing a hint of unconcealed nervousness and deep anticipation.

He knew very well that every solemn word from the Family Head could directly determine Shi Chen's life path.

Yun Long's gaze fell upon Shi Chen.

The young man before him had grown considerably taller since they first met. The childishness had faded from his brows, replaced by a firmness and composure rarely seen in peers his age.

"Xiao Chen," Yun Long said gently.

"These past few days, you must have gained a relatively sufficient understanding of the fundamentals of mortal martial arts and Spiritual Root cultivation."

"Under my guidance, your mortal martial arts have already laid a solid foundation far exceeding that of your peers."

"Even more rare is that you possess a Mid-Grade Spiritual Root with Gold-Water Dual Attributes and five inches in length."

Such talent, even when viewed across the entirety of Sanshui County, could be considered outstanding.

"Now, there are three paths laid out before you," Yun Long's tone gradually became serious.

"This is your own path, concerning your future achievements and direction. No one can make the final decision for you, including your master."

His gaze was calm and profound as he looked at Shi Chen.

"The first path is to continue cultivating martial arts under me."

"In the future, relying on your own tempered martial arts True Qi, you will emulate your master and forcibly condense your own first wisp of Qi Refining, thus truly embarking on the path of Entering Immortality through Martial Arts."

"However, this path is destined to be much slower and more arduous in the early stages compared to cultivators who directly rely on Spiritual Roots for Qi Refining. The dangers and uncertainties involved also far exceed the ordinary," Yun Long explained the difficulties of this path without any reservation.

"Furthermore, once you choose this path, when you use True Qi to condense Qi Refining, what kind of changes will occur with your Spiritual Root – whether they can complement each other, hinder each other, or even conflict – these are unknown variables that even I cannot accurately predict at the moment. After all, I do not have a Spiritual Root."