Sealing the Mountain

"Something else?" Yun Ji glanced up at him and asked flatly.

"That old bastard Zhang Qiaoshan somehow took on a formidable disciple and challenged my Lingyue Martial Arts School—three days from now." Li Pinghu slapped his thigh, a hint of irritation on his face. "I've been trying to find Yun Long to help these past two days, but your front gate's been shut tight, no visitors allowed."

At the mention of "Yun Long," Li Lingyue's previously bored expression vanished in an instant. Her eyes lit up, a faint blush crept across her cheeks, and she stole a glance at her father. Her heart fluttered like a startled deer, and she unconsciously perked up her ears to listen closely.

"Formidable? Don't you have plenty of Xiantian realm fighters here?" Yun Ji raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

"It's a match between young disciples. That old codger set the rules—under twenty years old, a contest of the schools' teaching standards." Li Pinghu snorted in frustration, gesturing with his hands as if he wished he could step in himself. "If I could fight, I'd twist his head off and kick it around like a ball!"

Hearing her father's grim description, Li Lingyue felt both worried that Yun Long might run into trouble if he accepted the challenge and secretly hoped he'd display his prowess. Her small hands unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, and she bit her lower lip.

"You're full of it. If you could kill him, you'd have done it by now." Yun Ji scoffed, waving his hand dismissively.

Where there are people, there's conflict. Though Nanshan Town was small, it was far from peaceful.

Ever since Li Pinghu opened the Lingyue Martial Arts School and cut into the Zhang Martial Arts School's profits in town, the two had been locked in constant strife.

"As long as he comes, win or lose, I'll give him my finest White Tiger spine." A sharp glint flashed in Li Pinghu's eyes, but his tone was earnest, as if he were bleeding for it.

Li Pinghu had long entertained the idea of making Yun Long his son-in-law. A single tiger bone was nothing—he figured it was a fair deal. Hearing this, especially catching her father's meaningful look, Li Lingyue's face flushed even redder, like a ripe apple. She lowered her head further, her heart pounding wildly, a mix of shyness and an indescribable secret delight. She stole a sidelong glance at Yun Ji, eager to see his reaction.

"Deal." Yun Ji paused briefly, then agreed crisply, a faint, barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

At his words, a weight seemed to lift from Li Lingyue's heart. The corners of her lips curled up involuntarily into a hopeful smile, her eyes shimmering with a young girl's characteristic longing.

Both Yun Ji and Li Pinghu noticed Li Lingyue's blushing face and bowed head.

The two families had always been close, and no one would stand in the way of such a good match.

In the past, Yun Ji had set a rule for that boy Yun Long: no marriage until he reached the Xiantian realm.

Yun Long had lived up to expectations, burying himself in training without ever causing Yun Ji worry on that front. Yun Ji had always been confident in his talent.

Li Pinghu, that old fox, was well aware of this and fully supported Yun Ji's decision.

Now, with Yun Long already in the Xiantian realm and the Yun family's genealogy established, it was time to expand the family and bring in new blood.

With this thought in mind, Yun Ji strolled out of the Lingyue Martial Arts School.

Yun Long marrying Li Lingyue—that was a done deal, no question.

But Yun Ji pondered: wasn't one a bit thin?

A large estate thrived on a bustling household.

His mind was now full of how to build up the Yun family, counting on the brothers Yun Long and Yun Hu to give him plenty of grandchildren.

That girl Li Lingyue was indeed fine.

Gentle in nature, skilled in medicine, and no slouch in martial talent either.

But Li Pinghu's protective streak would be a tough nut to crack. She was his only daughter.

If Yun Long wanted to take a concubine, that old man would probably fly off the handle and come charging at the Yun family with a blade.

If he caught wind of what was brewing in Yun Ji's mind right now, he'd likely flip the table on the spot and turn hostile.

"Hahaha."

The Yun family's cheap Ancestor, Yun Jiang, was now watching TV through Yun Ji's perspective. Sensing his mental activity, he was already in stitches, laughing uncontrollably within the genealogy.

Interesting. So interesting.

Yun Jiang had accepted his fate. This way of playing the game wasn't bad either. Better than being stuck in the mountains before.

Yun Jiang mused: no one had misnamed it—this truly was a nurturing game, nurturing a Cultivation Family.

With the game awakened and him as the Yun family Ancestor, this player could switch to any clan member's perspective at will, sense their thoughts, and notice what they overlooked.

At the same time, all the knowledge, techniques, and Classics the clan members learned would converge in him. Whatever they knew, he knew; whatever they understood, he understood.

After absorbing the family's incense offerings these past few days, Yun Jiang had also discovered that by consuming the accumulated incense power, he could directly transmit what he knew into his clan members' sea of consciousness.

Though not as good as card fusion, it was still far better than them fumbling through comprehension on their own.

In high spirits, Yun Ji grabbed five glistening roast chickens on his way home.

Just as he reached the doorstep, he ran into Yun Long.

That kid, in a tight outfit with a bow on his back and a blade at his waist, was fully kitted out.

Seeing this, Yun Ji knew he'd been out in the mountains stretching his limbs.

After all, having just broken through to the Xiantian realm, it was normal to have itchy hands and feet.

Still, Yun Ji was a bit puzzled.

Given Yun Long's skill and experience, how could he come back empty-handed after an afternoon?

There wasn't even a speck of mountain dirt on him.

"Dad."

Before Yun Ji could speak, Yun Long said first, his voice somewhat heavy: "The mountain entrances around Nanshan Town are all sealed off."

"They say no one's allowed into the mountains to hunt for half a month."

Yun Ji's brow furrowed instantly.

In this life, this was the first time he'd encountered such a rare occurrence.

The Jingyang Mountain Range was vast beyond measure; even if the entrance near Nanshan Town was sealed off, people from other places could still enter freely.

What were the imperial court's people trying to achieve by doing this?

Could it be...

Yun Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think of the genealogy book he'd fished out from the mountains.

Was it really related to that thing?

Or had some other immortal fortune emerged within the Qingyang Mountain Range?

"Stay home and behave yourselves these next two days. Focus on your cultivation." Yun Ji suppressed his doubts and instructed, "The day after tomorrow, go support your Uncle Li's martial arts school."

At the dinner table, father and son never brought up the mountain sealing again, but both harbored their own thoughts.

Sealing the mountain?

Yun Jiang was also puzzled.

He was very certain—these people were definitely not here for him.

After all, ever since he'd transmigrated into this world, Yun Ji was the first living person he'd met.

This Nanshan Town was likely about to stir up trouble.

That evening, Yun Ji brought his three children to offer incense to Yun Jiang.

Seeing Yun Ji struggle so hard to cultivate the Wudang Xiantian Gong, Yun Jiang spent a bit of incense to transmit the detailed cultivation inheritance of the Wudang Xiantian Gong into Yun Ji's mind.

Yun Long and Yun Hu saw that their father had also received the inheritance and breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Yun He was even more relieved; previously, he had painstakingly taught his father, yet the old man could never grasp the method, which had left him quite discouraged, secretly wondering if his own approach was flawed.

Now that their father had also received the Ancestor's guidance, the weight that had hung over the three siblings' hearts finally lifted—it seemed the Ancestor looked after their father as well.