Taixu Profound Realm, Li Clan Ancient Clan

Whether Qiuyue is an Innate Dao Body or not, Ye Jing grew increasingly certain that her origins were likely far from ordinary.

It wasn't just Ye Jing's own speculation—the higher one's cultivation, the better the innate talent of their offspring, as a general rule.

According to ancient records, since the six Heaven and Earth Cataclysms, in the Canglan Domain alone, one hundred and three special physiques had emerged.

Every one of those special physiques was born into a great clan or noble family, with parents who had reached the Peak of Humanity, and some were even Gods of Heaven and Earth.

Ye Jing had no reason to doubt this claim, especially since the Great Li Imperial Family itself was a prime example.

Ever since the first Li Emperor broke through to become a God of Heaven and Earth, his descendants awakened bloodline power. Thanks to that power, the Great Li Imperial Clan produced talent after talent.

But a thousand years had passed, and no new God of Heaven and Earth had emerged from Great Li. The Imperial Family's bloodline power had gradually weakened, and by now, they hadn't produced any truly outstanding figures.

That was the root cause of Great Li's decline.

Of course, there were rare cases of special physiques rising from obscurity, but those were so uncommon they couldn't be taken as a reference.

Still, Ye Jing was cautious by nature. He had to consider the worst-case scenario.

If Qiuyue's ancestors were all ordinary folk, that would be a stroke of luck. He would only need to nurture her, and with her talent, she would soon become a figure of immense power.

But if Qiuyue came from an ancient clan, that would be troublesome.

Children of those ancient clans had their aptitudes tested from birth and were trained from a young age.

Given Qiuyue's talent, whether she was an Innate Dao Body or not, she was undoubtedly a peerless prodigy.

A person like that, even in an ancient clan, would be discovered and cultivated as the family's foundational legacy. How could she possibly have been abandoned!

The only scenarios Ye Jing could imagine were that Qiuyue's parents had no choice but to give her up, or that internal strife within the clan forced them to abandon her among commoners to save her life.

Neither of those possibilities was what Ye Jing wanted to see.

His expression grew grim. Over the years, Qiuyue's parents had never come looking for her, which likely meant they had met with misfortune.

Perhaps the situation was even worse than he imagined.

Having broken through to the Grandmaster Realm today and comprehended the Time Domain, Ye Jing believed that even across all of Great Li, he could be considered someone of note.

He had felt a bit proud this morning, but now, anticipating the challenges Qiuyue might face, he felt an increasing urgency and a growing thirst for greater power.

He roused Qiuyue from her cultivation state and said with a grave expression, "Qiuyue, don't reveal your cultivation to anyone but me."

It was the first time Qiuyue had seen Ye Jing so serious. Though confused, she nodded belatedly. "Understood, Young Master."

Void Mountain, Taixu Profound Realm.

On the East Sea Shore stood a mountain tens of thousands of feet high, named Void. Legend said it was a pillar connecting to the Heavenly Ruins.

At the mountain's peak grew a giant tree, hundreds of feet wide, its canopy blotting out the sun.

The Taixu Profound Realm existed in the void above that canopy, created by the ancestors of the Li Clan Ancient Clan using great divine powers.

Within the Taixu Profound Realm, ancient pines stood tall, seas of clouds churned, immortal cranes circled, spirit beasts roamed everywhere, and rare herbs filled the air with fragrance.

Compared to Great Li's barren spiritual energy, this place was abundant—truly an ideal location for cultivation.

Amid the sea of clouds, three immortal mountains appeared and disappeared. The central peak was the tallest, the two flanking it slightly shorter. The entire Li Clan Ancient Clan lived within these three peaks.

The tallest central peak was where the main branch of the Li Clan resided. The mountain was covered in palaces and jade towers.

Among them, one magnificent palace stood out like a jewel, named Celestial Pivot. It was the residence of the Li Clan's patriarch.

In the Celestial Pivot's great hall, the clan elders, rarely seen on ordinary days, had all gathered. On the jade steps, the clan patriarch Li Tianchen sat in his chair.

He swept his gaze across the hall, saw the elders silent, and spoke first.

"Elders, what do you think?"

A white-haired elder with a grizzled beard glanced at Li Tianchen before asking cautiously, "Patriarch, is that child really still alive?"

"Yes. This morning in the Ancestral Hall, that bastard's Life Tablet lit up again. That's why This Seat summoned you all to discuss a plan."

"That fool Li Changqing thought hiding his daughter among commoners would evade the clan's Life Tablet resonance and escape our pursuit."

"He probably never dreamed that his daughter would eventually walk the path of cultivation and be sensed by the clan's Life Tablet."

A flash of anger crossed Li Tianchen's eyes. Fifteen years ago, Li Changqing had escaped his grasp, leading to punishment from the Ye Imperial Clan that nearly cost him his life.

Even though he had finally captured Li Changqing, the Ye Imperial Clan's most desired prize—the Innate Dao Body—had never been found.

Now that the Innate Dao Body had reappeared, if he could find it and present it to the Ye Imperial Clan, he might regain their trust.

Hearing Li Tianchen's confirmation, the elders in the hall could no longer sit still and spoke up one after another.

"Patriarch, what are we waiting for! Fifteen years ago, if not for that Criminal Branch offending the Ye Imperial Clan, our Li Clan Ancient Clan was nearly wiped out by them."

"Thankfully, you stepped in, Patriarch, suppressing the former patriarch and the Criminal Branch, averting the clan's destruction."

"Yes, Patriarch, what's there to hesitate about? As long as we offer that Innate Dao Body to the Ye Imperial Clan, our Li Clan Ancient Clan will soar to new heights. Even restoring our ancestors' Prosperous Era might not be impossible!"

"That's right, Patriarch. A mere child of the Criminal Branch in exchange for a thousand years of our clan's prosperity—there's no better deal under heaven."

"Enough."

Li Tianchen gave a light snort, like a great bell tolling, and the entire hall fell silent at once.

"This Seat knows, naturally we must capture that remnant back, but that remnant is in the mortal world. If a God of Heaven and Earth were to appear in the mundane realm, they would likely be discovered by the Judgment Divine Envoy immediately."

"Moreover, at White Emperor City on the East Sea Shore, Old Monster Wang sits in command, forbidding any being above the divine level from setting foot in the Eastern Continent."

Hearing Li Tianchen's words, the clan elders present calmed down. Right—on the East Sea Shore, with Old Monster Wang holding the line, how many gods would dare step into the Eastern Continent?

And there was even the rumor that Old Monster Wang was the reincarnation of some great figure from the Heavenly Court. Even the Ye Imperial Clan might not dare to violate his taboo.

"By the way, Clan Leader, that remnant is surely in the Eastern Continent. Although the mortal realm of the Eastern Continent does not permit gods and deities to enter, we can send our clan's younger generation in."

"The Eastern Continent is vast, but our Li Clan Ancient Clan has no shortage of disciples. As long as we take our time, we will surely find him."