The Things Guarded by the Mysterious Mountain Village

After they finished speaking, the two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere immediately felt more intimate.

"Old man, why do you live in seclusion here?" Jiang Liu asked, puzzled.

Xuan Yi explained, "The reason we live in seclusion here is twofold: first, to abide by our ancestral teachings, and second, to escape the chaos of war."

"Ancestral precepts?" Jiang Liu suddenly recalled the strange things that happened in this mountain village when he first came here.

Xuan Yi seemed to see Jiang Liu's doubts and nodded, saying, "It's an ancestral instruction. Didn't I just say that? As long as you cultivate the Saintly Sky Art, there will be another benefit for you."

Jiang Liu said with an embarrassed expression, "I thought the old man was lying to me."

"Haha! It's alright, I understand." Xuan Yi noticed Jiang Liu's embarrassment and laughed heartily.

Amidst Xuan Yi's loud laughter, Jiang Liu's embarrassment eased considerably, and he also became curious about the benefits Xuan Yi had mentioned.

Xuan Yi then stood up and said, "Young hero, please come with me! I'll show you what benefits I have for you."

After saying that, Xuan Yi took the lead and walked out of the room, taking advantage of the moonlight.

Jiang Liu also quickly stood up and followed Xuan Yi out of the hall.

Xuan Yi led Jiang Liu towards the back of the village, and soon the two arrived at the last wall of the village.

Upon reaching the wall, Xuan Yi formed hand seals, holding a spell in each hand, and channeled a stream of vital energy to both sides.

"Click! Click! Click!" The sound of a mechanism rang out, sounding particularly loud in the still of the night.

Upon hearing this noise, the previously silent mountain village suddenly seemed to come alive.

Then one by one, candlelight was lit, and the villagers gradually came out and moved closer to the wall.

Jiang Liu looked at the open hole, which was completely dark inside, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Uncle, is this the benefit you mentioned?"

Xuan Yi nodded and said, "Yes, don't worry, it's in here." After saying that, Xuan Yi went in first.

At this moment, Jiang Liu hesitated, after all, what the situation was was unknown.

Although this Xuan Yi from the Mystic Gate claimed to have no ill intentions towards me, human hearts are unpredictable, and who knows what he is really thinking?

Moreover, this Mystic Gate is a companion Sects of the Saint Heaven Sect. Does it not have any complaints about the main Sects? After so many years, it still serves the main Sects diligently and without complaint?

Jiang Liu himself thought it was unrealistic. He didn't really believe in the old ways of the Jianghu arts world, like the idea of following ancestral precepts.

If it weren't for the passage of time, it might be possible, but now more than a thousand years have passed, who would still remember who you are?

How could I possibly be willing to be your slave for generations to come? Could it be that Xuan Yi really intends to lure me into this cave and then murder me?

Thinking of this, Jiang Liu couldn't help but secretly summon the Fire-Winged Monkey.

Xuan Yi, who was leading the way, noticed that Jiang Liu hadn't followed him in. He turned around and said, "What? Are you afraid I'll lie to you? Then wait here for a moment, and I'll go in and bring it out."

After Xuan Yi finished speaking, he continued to walk inside and quickly disappeared into the darkness. It was as if there was a layer of barrier blocking the outside, and no sound could be heard from inside.

At this moment, the villagers had arrived at the wall and saw Jiang Liu alone there. They were furious.

They all condemned Jiang Liu, saying, "You little thief! We treated you with the utmost kindness, and you dared to covet our treasures!"

Jiang Liu remained expressionless and silent in the face of the accusations.

After seeing how their village chief opened the mechanism, anyone with a sound mind would know that it's impossible for them to open it.

Therefore, Jiang Liu had no intention of paying any attention to these completely unreasonable accusations.

At this moment, a young man stepped forward and asked Jiang Liu, "Where is our village chief?"

Jiang Liu then glanced at him and said, "If you want to see your village chief, go in yourself!"

The young man looked at Jiang Liu with a slightly strange expression and said, "Then why don't you come in with us?"

Jiang Liu shook his head and said, "That's your precious place, it's not convenient for me to go in."

When the young man heard Jiang Liu say this, he stopped making things difficult for him and simply stood aside, looking at the open hole.

Seeing that Jiang Liu remained unmoved, the other villagers secretly surrounded Jiang Liu, standing in front of the cave entrance and waiting.

Suddenly, the atmosphere among the crowd in front of the wall became increasingly strange, as a subtle standoff had begun between the two sides.

Not long after, Xuan Yi came out, holding a wooden box about the size of an adult's palm. The box looked incredibly ancient, and it was covered with densely carved patterns.

Xuan Yi smiled at Jiang Liu and handed the box in his hand to Jiang Liu.

At this moment, the young man standing to the side suddenly reached out and snatched the box from the village chief's hand, then retreated behind the villagers.

Meanwhile, the surrounding villagers began to riot.

One by one, they all revealed their anger, surrounded Xuan Yi, and looked at him as if they would take action if Xuan Yi did not give them a reasonable explanation.

Xuan Yi was slightly taken aback when he saw the young man snatch the box, then flew into a rage and shouted, "Xuan Feng, what are you doing? Are you trying to rebel? Give me the Treasure Orb right now!"

Facing Xuan Yi's angry shout, Xuan Feng said nonchalantly, "Village Chief, this is the foundation of our village. How can we hand it over to outsiders?"

At this moment, the other villagers chimed in, "Yes, village chief! If our village loses the Treasure Orb, it will be very difficult for us to continue to survive here."

"Village chief, have you forgotten why we've been hiding here? Isn't it because we don't want to have too much contact with outsiders?"

"Village chief, if we go outside now, we'll definitely be targeted and killed. You can't just watch us all die!"

Jiang Liu, who was standing to the side, was also extremely surprised. What kind of Treasure Orb was this? How could it be related to the life and death of this mountain village?

Moreover, why would the village chief give this Treasure Orb to him? Could it be related to cultivating the Saintly Sky Art?

But aren't their cultivation techniques meant to assist in cultivating the Saintly Sky Art? How are they related to this Treasure Orb?

What kind of mountain village is this? Why would we be targeted and killed if we went out?

All these questions flooded Jiang Liu's mind at once.

"Have you forgotten our ancestral teachings? Don't you know why we're hiding here?" Xuan Yi shouted angrily at the surrounding villagers.

"But what does handing our Treasure Orb over to this person have to do with our ancestral precepts?"

"Because this person may be the only successor of the Saint Heaven Sect left in this world."

"What? This person is a successor of the Saint Heaven Sect? Wasn't the Saint Heaven Sect completely destroyed? How could there still be a successor?"

"Yes! Village chief, don't be fooled. You know there are plenty of swindlers in this world."

"Shut up! How could I be so easily fooled? Don't you want to leave this place?"

Upon hearing the village chief's words, the villagers' eyes lit up, and they stared intently at Jiang Liu.