Winds of Trouble

Lan Chang'an and Mu Maode's five-year agreement had already expired.

After becoming a First-Order Talisman Master, Lan Chang'an prepared to discuss terms with the Mu Family.

Yet after waiting half a month, neither Mu Maode nor the Mu Family's higher-ups had made any statement.

Then, on this day.

Mu Xiuyun's maid came to his door, saying the Eldest Miss had invited him out to discuss the Talisman Dao.

The location was the "Weeping Willow Pavilion" by Jade Moon Lake.

"The Mu Family's Eldest Miss invited me?"

To be honest, Lan Chang'an did not want to get too close to Mu Xiuyun.

Especially not for a meeting between a lone man and a lone woman—it would easily invite suspicion.

Half an hour later.

Lan Chang'an arrived at the willow-shaded shore of Jade Moon Lake, where a pavilion that seemed almost to hang suspended in midair came into view.

"This is the Weeping Willow Pavilion?" Lan Chang'an glanced at the plaque.

"Young Master Lan, please come up to the third floor."

A young woman's voice, clear and pleasant as spring water, drifted down from the pavilion.

The third floor was arranged like an aerial garden, facing the sparkling splendor of Jade Moon Lake.

Lan Chang'an had assumed it was a private tryst.

The truth proved that he had overthought things.

Besides Mu Xiuyun, dressed in a plain skirt and gentle in bearing, there was another young woman in blue.

She had an exquisite oval face, willow-leaf brows, and apricot eyes, with a bright and charming liveliness.

Lan Chang'an found her familiar.

He soon recalled that she was the young woman in red who had stood beside Mu Xiuyun during his first visit to September Pavilion.

"She is Mu Yinglan. You have met before."

Mu Xiuyun introduced her with a smile.

Lan Chang'an had heard Li Ergou speak of Mu Yinglan.

This woman had quite a reputation. Among the Mu Family's young women with spiritual roots, only Mu Xiuyun surpassed her in beauty and temperament.

"Young Master Lan." Mu Yinglan curtsied, her voice soft and low.

"Miss Mu."

Lan Chang'an returned the gesture, feeling somewhat strange inside.

The last time they had met was two or three years ago, and Mu Yinglan had not treated him kindly then.

This time, she seemed like an entirely different person.

Dressed in full finery, she looked gentle and moving.

Noticing Lan Chang'an's probing gaze, Mu Yinglan's pretty face reddened slightly.

Yet she was not the timid type. Her bright eyes boldly looked back at Lan Chang'an.

Meeting again today, her state of mind had changed.

Mu Yinglan's apricot eyes brightened.

Not only was Lan Chang'an handsome, he also possessed a special air—detached and tranquil, making people feel at ease.

Some days ago, the clan elders had pressured her. Under Sister Xiuyun's persuasion, Mu Yinglan had reluctantly agreed.

Now that she saw him today, she found him not so bad after all.

His cultivation was not outstanding, but as a young Talisman Master, he was handsome and refined, truly blessed with both talent and looks.

"Young Master Lan, I left an ancient Talisman book downstairs. I will come back shortly."

Mu Xiuyun spoke apologetically, then hurried downstairs.

Only Lan Chang'an and Mu Yinglan remained.

No matter how dull Lan Chang'an was, he should have understood by now.

"Young Master Lan, Yinglan will make tea for you."

Mu Yinglan smiled sweetly. Her fair-skinned, long-legged figure moved lightly as she busied herself.

Lan Chang'an wanted to speak, but stopped himself. Not until Mu Yinglan brought him a cup of clear tea, her face full of expectation, did he say anything.

Blowing on the rising steam, Lan Chang'an took a light sip.

"Young Master Lan, you have maintained yourself so well. Do you have some secret formula?"

Mu Yinglan blinked and asked curiously.

Lan Chang'an was already in his twenties, yet he still looked like a youth, his skin crystal-clear and flawless.

Among cultivators, there was no shortage of those skilled at preserving their looks. It was also a subject that female cultivators found interesting.

"Perhaps because I have a good mindset, and I cultivate a Wood-Type Technique?"

Lan Chang'an had long prepared for questions like this.

This was not the mortal world. In the Cultivation World, ageless beauty was nothing unusual, so there was no need to worry about being seized and cut open for study.

Besides Youth Preservation Pills, many cultivation techniques also had the effect of preserving one's appearance.

Wood-Type Techniques in particular.

The relatively common Evergreen Art was seventy to eighty percent similar to the Ancient Wood Evergreen Art.

They nourished the body and preserved youth, but their power was mediocre.

Even if Lan Chang'an deliberately released his mana, he would only give others the impression of cultivating an ordinary Wood-Type Technique.

Mu Yinglan's eyes shone as she glanced around. Just as she wanted to delve deeper into the subject—

"Miss Mu, Lan has an urgent need to relieve himself. I will step out first."

Lan Chang'an smiled apologetically, rose to his feet, and hurried away.

"An urgent need to relieve himself?"

Mu Yinglan froze for a moment.

Her pretty face immediately flushed red, her chest rising and falling.

Lan Chang'an was obviously using an excuse to leave.

"Lan! Who are you looking down on? This young lady coming here was already giving you face!"

Mu Yinglan was furious.

She had not thought much of Lan Chang'an in the first place.

Only because the family had pressured her, and Lan Chang'an had become a Talisman Master, had she reluctantly agreed to Mu Xiuyun's matchmaking.

Proud and high-spirited as she was, her eyes turned red with anger.

Smash!

The teacup hit the ground, and the table and chairs shattered into pieces.

Lan Chang'an, who was going downstairs, heard the sound and quickened his pace, vanishing from the Weeping Willow Pavilion in a puff of smoke.

"Why? Does he not wish to marry a Mu Family woman?"

Mu Xiuyun, dressed in her plain skirt, stood before a second-floor window, lost in puzzled thought.

Given Lan Chang'an's age and potential, his hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment were slim.

As an orphan, he should not have been so resistant to marrying into the family.

Unless he looked down on mortal women.

Mu Yinglan had spiritual roots and excellent looks, with no shortage of suitors pursuing her.

As long as he married Mu Yinglan, Lan Chang'an could receive the family's support—cultivation techniques, pills, guidance from clan elders—and his future would be a broad, open road.

"Sister Xiuyun, it is not that your little sister would not cooperate. That Lan fellow is probably not interested in women."

Mu Yinglan came over in a huff.

"Not interested in women?"

Mu Xiuyun was astonished. Could that be the truth?

Yet when she recalled the two or three times she had met Lan Chang'an—

When Lan Chang'an faced her, he had occasionally revealed a subtle appreciation for beauty.

As a woman, she was very sensitive to such instincts.

"I am furious! Lan is older than me, and his cultivation is not even higher than mine, yet he dared to humiliate me like this."

Mu Yinglan could not swallow the resentment in her heart. The more she thought about it, the worse she felt.

"Do not act rashly!"

Mu Xiuyun's starry eyes narrowed as she warned her.

Mu Yinglan was a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator. If she truly set her heart on revenge, Lan Chang'an would likely suffer.

"I am not that foolish! Lan Chang'an is a First-Order Talisman Master. If I lay a hand on him, the elders will surely punish me severely."

"I, Mu Yinglan, swear that I will find a man ten times stronger than him, so that in the future he can only look up at me."

"The Mu Family is truly going to great lengths to recruit me as a son-in-law."

Back in his separate courtyard, Lan Chang'an did not know whether to laugh or cry.

The Mu Family's "matchmaking" ultimately ended in failure.

Fortunately, the Mu Family did not force the matter.

After all, a forcibly twisted melon was never sweet.

Several days later.

Family Head Mu Maode personally summoned Lan Chang'an, and the two spoke for half an hour.

The two sides smoothly reached an agreement.

From then on, even without marrying a Mu Family woman, Lan Chang'an could still enjoy the treatment of an ordinary clan member.

Each year, he would receive a fixed amount of Spiritual Rice, pills, and other supplies.

Of course, he would also have to fulfill his obligations and refine a certain number of Talismans for the Mu Family every year.

The Mu Family would provide the materials for making Talismans. Given Lan Chang'an's attainments in the Talisman Dao, he could only profit from the arrangement.

Thus, Lan Chang'an officially took up residence at Jade Moon Mountain Villa and began a period of cultivation.

Three years flashed by.

Inside the separate courtyard.

Evergreen Mana circulated through Lan Chang'an's limbs and organs, carrying an endless, revolving essence of verdant life.

"Eight years already."

Lan Chang'an sighed at how quickly time had passed. He had been with the Mu Family for eight years now.

After observing over all these years.

Amid the turning of time, the power of the Evergreen Art had been increasing at an exceedingly slow pace.

At the very least, it was slightly stronger than commonplace techniques like the Open Source Scripture and Earth Rock Scripture.

He truly became stronger in mana the longer he lived!

After nearly three years of cultivation, Lan Chang'an had advanced more than halfway through the Qi Refining Third Layer.

By his estimate, in another year he would reach the Qi Refining Third Layer Peak.

During the Qi Refining Realm, he basically had no bottlenecks.

The Qi Refining Third Layer Peak was equivalent to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

In other words, it would take four years to go from the Qi Refining Third Layer to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

Meanwhile, Li Ergou next door had reached the Qi Refining Third Layer Peak half a year ago.

The reason he had not broken through was the existence of a bottleneck.

Advancing from the Qi Refining Third Layer to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, entering the Qi Refining Mid-Stage, was a hurdle.

Li Ergou's aptitude was ordinary. How could breaking through that bottleneck be easy?

Either he had to slowly grind it away with time.

Or he had to rely on a Breakthrough Pill.

Breakthrough Pills were scarce within the Mu Family and required contribution points to exchange for them.

"Brother Lu, let's go hunt birds—"

At dusk, Li Ergou shouted from outside.

"You are shouting so merrily? You have not caught a single bird these past few days."

Lan Chang'an teased him.

He had nothing to do anyway.

"Fine, I will go have some fun with you today."

"Wonderful! With Brother Lu taking the field, we will definitely bring something back tonight."

Li Ergou was delighted.

The "birds" they spoke of referred to a type of "Fish Eagle" that had recently begun invading Jade Moon Lake.

These Fish Eagles were semi-spirit beasts bred after birth, and they fed exclusively on the Spirit Fish in Jade Moon Lake.

As a result, the lake's Spirit Fish harvest had sharply declined.

Rumor had it that these Fish Eagles came from the Beast Taming Zhou Family.

Having cultivated in the Mu Family for eight years, Lan Chang'an smelled a trace of approaching instability.

It stemmed from the old grudge between the Mu Family and the Zheng Family.

Ten years ago, the two clans had fought fiercely over ownership of a First-Order Violet Copper Mine, and both sides' Foundation Establishment Ancestors had been injured.

Later, the Beast Taming Zhou Family, one of the Seven Great Clans, stepped in to mediate, making the two clans Stop the War and divide the discovered Violet Copper Mine equally.

As the arbiter, the Beast Taming Zhou Family took thirty percent of the profits.

Some time ago.

Beneath that First-Order Violet Copper Mine, a vein of accompanying "Violet Heart Copper" had supposedly been discovered—a superb material for forging High-Grade Magic Items.

The two clans, which had remained stable for years, once again stood with swords drawn and bows bent, sending additional manpower to the Mine Area.

Over the past two years, the Zheng Family had somehow secured the backing of one branch of the Beast Taming Zhou Family at great cost, selling quite a few of their Spirit Pets.

The Fish Eagle was one of them.

Though Fish Eagles posed no threat to Qi Refining Realm cultivators, they could both fly and dive well, secretly catching Spirit Fish and other aquatic produce in Jade Moon Lake every night.

The Zheng Family used such tricks in an attempt to tie up the Mu Family's attention at the rear.

Their true target was still the "Violet Heart Copper" in the Mine Area.

To deal with the Fish Eagles' harassment,

the Mu Family issued a mission to its clansmen: anyone who killed a Fish Eagle could exchange it for contribution points.

Li Ergou lacked the contribution points needed to exchange for pills to break through his realm.

That was why he had so eagerly gone "bird hunting."

"The accompanying Violet Heart Copper, the Fish Eagles' harassment... the conflict between the Mu Family and the Zheng Family may escalate."

On the road to Jade Moon Lake, Lan Chang'an's gaze was deep and distant.

Wait a little longer! A cultivation haven as relaxed and harmonious as the Mu Family's is not easy to find.

If the Mu Family's Foundation Establishment Ancestor cannot hold on, or falls, then I must flee at once.

Li Ergou, traveling beside him, had no idea.

Brother Lu, whom he trusted most at his side, was already considering plans for escape.