Trouble

Yun Long's gaze was deep, as though he had seen a world farther away, broader and vaster.

He had already studied every household's spell jade slips from Wanfang Lake.

Those spells that had once seemed unfathomably profound in his eyes now appeared so shallow, even laughable.

What this realization brought him was not pure self-satisfaction.

Instead, it was a deeper clarity, an almost icy awakening.

The Yun Clan, including every Cultivation Family around Wanfang Lake, were like frogs at the bottom of a well.

The sky they saw was merely that tiny patch framed by the mouth of the well.

And perhaps because of that mysterious clan genealogy, the Yun Clan had luckily managed to stand a little taller, stretch their necks, and steal an utterly insignificant glimpse beyond the well.

That single glimpse was enough for Yun Long to clearly recognize the Yun Clan's smallness and ignorance.

The true world of cultivation was so vast and mysterious that it lay far beyond their imagination.

Those truly powerful spells, those wondrous and inscrutable magical treasures, remained legendary things to them.

Yun Long withdrew his far-reaching gaze and gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

The breath quickly dispersed into the night wind, carrying away some of the turmoil in his heart and leaving behind only a heavy burden of responsibility.

He turned and looked toward the Lineage's training ground.

His father, Yun Ji, still appeared so... focused, even in the darkness.

Yun Ji had successfully broken through to the Second Layer of Qi Refining half a year ago.

Now, he had already condensed his third strand of Mysterious Turtle Sea Suppressing Qi.

At this pace, he could already be considered exceptionally gifted among the cultivators of Wanfang Lake.

Yet compared to Yun Long's own inconceivable cultivation progress, it was hardly worth mentioning.

Yun Long knew clearly that the true foundational threshold for cultivating the Great Arhat Fist and Golden Bell Shield he possessed was at least cultivation at the peak of the Third Layer of Qi Refining.

Only then would the quantity and purity of a cultivator's qi refining initially be sufficient to support the operation of these two supreme spells.

Thus, he had not hurried to pass these two spells on to his father.

For now, while the ordinary spells Yun Ji cultivated, gathered from around Wanfang Lake, possessed limited power, they could still familiarize him with the circulation of qi refining and allow him to accumulate experience in casting spells.

It was a helpless compromise.

Yun Long's brows drew together slightly.

He had secretly assessed it before. Though his father Yun Ji's Mysterious Turtle Sea Suppressing Qi was of decent quality, its compatibility with the Great Arhat Fist and Golden Bell Shield was likely only ordinary.

The Golden Bell Shield in particular seemed to have more exacting requirements for the nature of qi refining.

The heavy, steady qualities of Mysterious Turtle Sea Suppressing Qi did not seem to fully harmonize with the Indestructible Diamond Body's flawless, all-encompassing essence.

Of course, the exact situation could only be known through actual attempts in the future.

Perhaps there would be an unexpected surprise.

Or perhaps it would confirm the concerns he held now.

Yun Long's gaze unconsciously shifted toward another quiet courtyard.

It was the residence of his third sister, Yun He.

Yun Long's heart stirred. He could sense that Yun He was not far from breaking through into the Qi Refining Stage.

A thread of anticipation quietly sprouted in his heart.

Yun He had likewise received a card inheritance from the clan genealogy. The Wudang Xiantian Gong contained within was itself an exceedingly superior qi refining method.

By all reason, such a profound qi refining cultivation method was highly likely to have equally extraordinary exclusive spells to go with it.

Once Yun He successfully broke through, perhaps she could obtain those lost inheritances from the Wudang Daoist Doctor Card.

If it truly went as he expected, then the Yun Clan's difficult situation regarding spell inheritances would be greatly alleviated.

Those spells paired with the Wudang Xiantian Gong could be cultivated not only by Yun Ji, but also by his wife, Li Lingyue.

Like Shi Chen, Li Lingyue had chosen to cultivate the Martial Dao to enter Qi Refining rather than directly break through into Qi Refining through her Spiritual Root.

Yun Long had initially intended for Shi Chen to blaze the trail first. Yet with Li Lingyue making this choice, perhaps she would be the first person in the Lineage to explore this path.

As time passed and the Lineage's foundations accumulated, its members would have increasingly more choices in spells.

The path of cultivation had never been a smooth road.

Human hearts were unfathomable, interests intertwined, and strife and trouble were like shadows that could never be shaken from a cultivator's side.

With the Ning Family running about outside and serving as a barrier, the peace of these past months had already been a rather rare situation.

Yet this peace would one day be shattered.

Nearly three months later, at dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entrance to Evergreen Valley a dim gold.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Urgent knocking shattered the stillness before the Yun Clan's gatehouse.

Shi Tie pulled open the heavy bolt. Standing outside was unexpectedly Ning Shaojie, dusty from travel.

His clothes were slightly disheveled, fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples, and his expression was full of anxiety he could not conceal.

"Worthy Nephew Shaojie?"

Shi Tie was somewhat surprised.

Ning Shaojie's eyes passed over Shi Tie as he anxiously looked inside.

"Uncle Shi, is the Yun Family Head here? My father... my father has run into grave trouble in Donghu City. It is an emergency of the utmost urgency. I beg the Yun Family Head to lend us a hand!"

His voice was somewhat hoarse with urgency, and every word carried a heavy weight.

Yun Long's figure soon appeared behind the gatehouse.

He had heard Ning Shaojie's words, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The Ning Family had rendered the Yun Clan the service of running about and making connections, and moreover, their lips and teeth depended on one another.

If something had truly happened to Ning Yongrui, it would be no good thing for the Yun Clan, which had only just begun to build up its foundations.

"Tell me in detail."

Yun Long's voice was calm, yet it possessed a power that steadied people's hearts.

Ning Shaojie took a deep breath and swiftly summarized the whole matter from beginning to end.

It turned out that the Liu Family, a cultivation family within Sanshui County, was stirring up trouble. Of the Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish caught from Wanfang Lake each year, a considerable portion had always been sold by the Li Family to the Liu Family.

Now that the distribution of benefits at Wanfang Lake had changed, the Liu Family wanted to obtain more from Wanfang Lake.

The Liu Family had cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Stage and was considered a fairly powerful family in all of Sanshui County. Back then, the Li Family had not dared seek outside aid, fearing that inviting a god in would be easy, but sending it away would be hard.

The annual yield of Dragon Whisker Golden Tail Spirit Fish was not high to begin with. The Liu Family was doing this merely to test the reactions of the Ning Family and Yun Clan, especially to see whether Yun Long of the Yun Clan was truly as powerful as the rumors claimed.

Recalling the other party's disregard for the Ning Family, a flash of humiliation and resentment passed through Ning Shaojie's eyes.

Yun Long nodded.

"I'll go."

He did not hesitate in the slightest.

Yun Ji also emerged from the rear courtyard, his expression grave.

"Long, be careful in all things."

Yun Long turned to his father, his gaze calm.

"Rest assured, Father. I'll leave things here with you."

He then turned toward the Lineage ancestral hall, and his gaze softened somewhat.

The child in Li Lingyue's womb was nearly due.

With a thought, the nine extremely refined strands of Vajra Primordial Qi within him were instantly mobilized.

Pale golden currents of qi swirled, compressed, and condensed in his palm.

A moment later, a palm-sized invisible little bell, suffused with a faint golden gleam, quietly took shape.

This golden bell was formed temporarily with his own nine strands of Vajra Primordial Qi as its foundation, following the operating mysteries of the Golden Bell Shield spell.

With a flick of his finger, the little golden bell silently rose into the air, passed through layer after layer of courtyards, and hovered with incomparable precision above the circular roof of the Lineage ancestral hall. It then slowly descended and perfectly merged with the hall's structure, as though it had become one with it. Its golden light withdrew inward, vanishing from sight.

"This bell can protect the ancestral hall for three days. After three days, if I cannot retrieve it in time, it will automatically disperse into its original true qi."

Yun Long's voice clearly reached Yun Ji's ears.

What casting spells consumed was not qi refining itself, but the Spiritual Energy contained within it. Unless the qi refining shattered, it had to be recalled into the body.

Once it remained outside the body for too long, its spirituality would dissipate and the qi refining would shatter. That would amount to a pointless loss, requiring enormous time and effort to condense anew, and would also greatly delay his own cultivation.

This was also the limit of what he could presently achieve.

To condense his own qi refining into a physical form, send it outside his body for protection, and maintain it for so long was already shocking beyond belief.

Yun Ji nodded solemnly.

"I understand."

He knew the weight of this golden bell, and he knew even more clearly the risks his son faced on this journey.

Yun Long said no more. He addressed Ning Shaojie.

"Let's go."

As night deepened, the two figures swiftly vanished from the entrance of Evergreen Valley, racing toward Donghu City.