Mountain Closure

"What is it?" Yun Ji lifted his eyes and glanced at him, asking blandly.

"That old bastard Zhang Qiaoshan somehow took in a formidable disciple and challenged my Lingyue Martial Arts School. The match is three days from now." Li Pinghu slapped his thigh, anxiety written across his face. "I wanted to ask that kid Yun Long for help these past two days, but your family's gates have been shut tight, with no visitors allowed."

The moment she heard the name "Yun Long," the faint boredom on Li Lingyue's face vanished in an instant. Her eyes suddenly lit up, and a blush quietly crept across her cheeks. She secretly glanced at her father, her heart pounding like a startled deer, while her ears perked up of their own accord as she listened closely.

"Formidable? Don't you have plenty of Xiantian realm experts?" Yun Ji raised a brow, slightly surprised.

"It's a competition between young disciples. That old bastard drew the line at under twenty, saying it's a test of the martial schools' teaching standards." Li Pinghu snorted irritably, gesturing with both hands as though he wished he could take the stage himself. "If I could compete, I'd twist his head off and use it as a ball to kick around!"

Hearing her father describe the danger so fiercely, Li Lingyue was worried that Yun Long might run into trouble if he accepted the challenge. Yet she also secretly hoped he would display his mighty prowess. Her small hands unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes, and her pearly teeth lightly bit her lower lip.

"Keep spinning your tales. If you could kill him, would you have waited until today?" Yun Ji scoffed and waved his hand dismissively.

Where there were people, there was conflict. Though Nanshan Town was small, it was far from peaceful.

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

"As long as he comes, win or lose, I'll give him my finest White Tiger spinal bone." A glint flashed through Li Pinghu's eyes, but his tone was utterly sincere, as if he were making a costly sacrifice.

Li Pinghu had long harbored the thought of making Yun Long his son-in-law. It was only a tiger bone; he did not think it was a loss. When Li Lingyue heard this, especially when she noticed the meaningful look in her father's eyes, her cheeks flushed even redder with a whoosh, like ripe apples. She lowered her head further, her heart thumping wildly, bashful yet filled with an indescribable secret delight. She stole a glance at Yun Ji from the corner of her eye, wanting to see his reaction.

"Deal." After a brief pause, Yun Ji agreed readily, the corner of his mouth curving into an imperceptible smile.

At his words, it felt as though a huge stone had fallen from Li Lingyue's heart. Her lips could not help but lift slightly into a faint, expectant smile, and her eyes shone with the particular dreams of a young girl.

Yun Ji and Li Pinghu both saw Li Lingyue's flushed face and bowed head.

The two households had always been close. Neither would stand in the way of such a good match.

In the past, Yun Ji had set a rule for Yun Long: before reaching the Xiantian realm, he was not allowed to think about taking a wife.

Yun Long had lived up to expectations too. He had always kept his head down and trained hard, never making Yun Ji worry over this matter. He had always known the measure of his own talent.

That old fellow Li Pinghu was also perfectly clear on the matter and wholeheartedly supported Yun Ji's decision.

But now, Yun Long had reached the Xiantian realm, and the Yun Clan had established its genealogy. It was time to branch out, bear children, and bring new members into the household.

With this on his mind, Yun Ji strolled out of Lingyue Martial Arts School.

Yun Long marrying Li Lingyue was as solid as nails. There was no question about it.

But Yun Ji pondered, was just one a little too thin?

For such a vast family enterprise, a flourishing population was the proper way.

His mind was now filled with thoughts of how to make the Yun Clan prosper, relying on Yun Long and Yun Hu, the two brothers, to give him plenty more grandchildren.

That girl Li Lingyue truly was quite good.

Her temperament was gentle, she understood the healing arts, and her talent in Martial Dao was not bad either.

It was just that Li Pinghu's fiercely protective nature would likely be troublesome. He had only this one precious daughter.

If Yun Long truly wanted to take a concubine, that old fellow would probably jump to his feet, grab a blade, and charge straight into the Yun Clan's home.

If he found out about Yun Ji's little calculations right now, he would likely flip the table on the spot and turn hostile without recognizing old ties.

"Hahahahaha."

The Yun Clan's bargain-bin Ancestor, Yun Jiang, was currently watching television through Yun Ji's perspective. Sensing Yun Ji's thoughts, he had long since been laughing himself silly within the genealogy.

Interesting. Too interesting.

Yun Jiang had accepted his fate. This way of playing a game was not bad either. It was much happier than his previous life in the mountains.

Yun Jiang sighed. His name had not been wrong—this truly was a development game, one for developing a Cultivation Family.

When the game awakened, he became the Yun Clan's Ancestor. As the player, he could switch at any time to the perspective of every clan member, sense their mental activity, and notice things the clan members overlooked.

At the same time, all the knowledge, cultivation methods, and Classics the clan members had seen or learned would gather with him. Whatever they knew, he knew; whatever they understood, he understood.

After absorbing the clan's incense offerings, Yun Jiang had discovered over the past few days that, as long as he consumed the accumulated power of incense offerings, he could directly transmit what he knew into a clan member's sea of consciousness.

Though it was not as good as card fusion, it was still far better than having the clan members comprehend and explore things on their own.

In high spirits, Yun Ji casually bought five glossy, golden roast chickens on his way home.

The moment he reached the gate, he ran into Yun Long.

The kid was dressed in fitted martial attire, with a bow on his back and a saber at his waist—fully equipped.

One look at that getup and Yun Ji knew he must have been planning to head into the mountains to loosen up his limbs.

After all, he had just broken through to the Xiantian realm. It was normal for his hands and feet to itch for action.

Still, Yun Ji found it somewhat strange.

With Yun Long's skills and experience, how could he return empty-handed after an entire afternoon?

There was not even a speck of mountain dirt on him.

"Father."

Before Yun Ji could speak, Yun Long spoke first, his voice somewhat heavy. "All the entrances into the mountains around Nanshan Town have been sealed."

"They say no one is allowed into the mountains to hunt for the next half month."

Yun Ji's brows immediately knitted together.

In all his life, this was the first time he had encountered such a rare affair.

The Jingyang Mountain Range was so vast. Even if the entrances near Nanshan Town were sealed, people from elsewhere could still enter as usual.

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

Could it be...

Yun Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he could not help thinking of the genealogy he had brought out of the mountains.

Could it truly be related to that thing?

Or had some other Immortal Fate emerged within the Qingyang Mountain Range?

"Stay home and behave yourselves these next few days. Cultivate properly." Yun Ji suppressed the doubts in his heart and instructed him, "The day after tomorrow, go support your Uncle Li's martial arts school."

At the dinner table, neither father nor son mentioned the mountain closure again, yet each harbored his own thoughts.

Mountain closure?

Yun Jiang was puzzled as well.

He was certain these people were definitely not coming for him.

After all, ever since he had transmigrated into this world, Yun Ji had been the first living person he had seen.

Trouble was likely brewing in Nanshan Town.

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

Seeing that Yun Ji was struggling too much while cultivating Wudang Xiantian Gong, Yun Jiang spent a bit of incense-offering power to transmit the detailed cultivation inheritance of Wudang Xiantian Gong into Yun Ji's mind.

When Yun Long and Yun Hu saw that their father had also received the inheritance, they quietly relaxed.

Yun He felt even more relieved. Previously, she had painstakingly taught her father, yet he had never quite grasped the method, leaving her rather discouraged and secretly wondering whether her own teaching method was wrong.

Now that their father had also received the Ancestor's guidance, the stone hanging over the three siblings' hearts finally fell to the ground. It seemed the Ancestor was looking after their father as well.