Condolences

Lu Yu's body was found by the sect leader's team three days later, at the bottom of a mountain stream about a hundred miles from the tomb.

A hundred miles was just a moment's flight on a sword, so it was impossible to tell if he had been ambushed, his body dumped, or if he had died in a duel and fallen here.

Of course, when Lu Yu was found, all his magic treasures, storage jade pendant, the mechanical right arm from the Lu family that stored 'things', and the four dragons guarding him were all gone. Whether they were plundered by the killer or taken by treasure hunters on Mount Buzhou as 'opportunities', it was impossible to know.

In the cultivation world, there were no laws to speak of; might made right. Even if Lu Yu's magic treasures, or even the Azure Dragons raised by Ink Bamboo Mountain, were found, the perpetrators could simply claim to have 'an affinity with the treasure'. Unless one was willing to fight them directly, it was highly unlikely they could be recovered.

But magic treasures and dragons were minor matters.

The major issues were that Ink Bamboo Mountain had lost two Golden Core cultivators and one Foundation Establishment cultivator. Furthermore, there might be a traitor among the inner disciples with ties to the Li Country court, someone who would kill their own sect members.

Ink Bamboo Mountain's tradition was for the Mountain Master to suppress the sect and the Sect Leader to enforce the rules. This time was no different.

The Sect Leader immediately summoned Zhang Jiugao. According to the old man, as his attendant, he had suddenly discovered that Chen Daotong's soul lamp had extinguished. He then found Lu Yu's magic talisman left on Canglong Jian, and knew that the four of them had left the city towards Mount Buzhou to herd dragons, guessing that something had gone wrong.

So, while he sent a message to the Sect Leader, he also flew ahead on his sword to search and rescue. Finally, he sensed the bright light talisman released by the attendant Qingyue, and arrived in time to save the two attendants.

His words were corroborated by the Sect Leader, and the soul lamp and magic talisman provided concrete evidence. Moreover, he had rescued the two surviving attendants, Qingyue and Yuan Xuanbao, so everything made sense.

Then came Yuan Xuanbao's account: Senior Brother Lu had taken them to herd dragons and discovered a miasma emanating from a tomb. So, he left the three attendants to collect the miasma, preventing the corpses from reanimating and causing trouble.

But then a Golden Core mage from Ink Bamboo Mountain suddenly appeared, decapitated Chen Daotong with his flying sword, and then cut Yuan Xuanbao in half at the waist. He then entered the tomb to pursue the attendant Qingyue, but was severely wounded by Qingyue's dragon-herding magic sword, using the sword light of Black Sword. He was then attacked by the miasma zombies and met his end in a ditch. Only then could the two of them survive and be rescued.

Although Qingyue was severely injured and unconscious, an examination of his injuries, the remains left in the tomb, and the scene of the battle corroborated Yuan Xuanbao's speculation.

The Golden Core mage was indeed caught off guard, severely injured by sword light upon entering, his dan prefecture damaged, his divine light extinguished, rendering him unable to circulate qi or cast spells. He was then unexpectedly attacked and killed by the miasma zombies. The miasma zombies were also roughly shattered by his flying sword at the same time, resulting in a mutual destruction.

There was only one problem.

Judging by his attire and cultivation methods, this demonic cultivator indeed looked like a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain, yet no one in the inner sect recognized him.

"No one recognized him? You're kidding me?" In Wangshu's small residence, Li Fan glared at Yuan Xuanbao, who had come to visit him.

The two sat opposite each other in the tea room. On the table was a pot of stewed mountain delicacy chicken soup, specially prepared by Fuling to nourish and replenish blood before she went to the trading company.

Of course, Li Fan brought it out to entertain this friend who had saved his life. Yuan Xuanbao wasn't there to freeload on the chicken soup, but Kun was there, gobbling it down.

"Indeed, no one recognized him. His pendant also contained no Taoist register or decree," perhaps grateful for being saved, Yuan Xuanbao's tone towards Li Fan had improved considerably. He patiently explained, " Ink Bamboo Mountain is a loose cultivation alliance. Too many Taoist lineages have spread out over the years. The unified issuance of Lou Guan Taoist registers is only a matter of the last hundred years or so.

Moreover, with the void moon in the sky, disciples often fall into demonic possession. In the inner sect, only those who reach the Nascent Soul Realm are considered renowned true disciples. As for Golden Core cultivators, unless they hold important positions like True Master Zhang, who is stationed at the Taoist Pagoda, most are assigned to various peaks and caves to cultivate.

Since this person was a spy, having personal connections with him would only bring trouble. Therefore, his head was displayed under the Lou Guan Tower, and to this day, no one has come forward to claim him."

Li Fan frowned immediately, "This... your big data is too poor. It's one thing that there's no identity verification, but there are only a few Golden Core cultivators. Can't you find out by checking them one by one..."

Yuan Xuanbao thought for a moment, "Of course, there's another possibility: this demonic cultivator is not an inner disciple, but achieved Golden Core from the outer sect."

"Outer sect? Those registered disciples?" Li Fan was stunned.

Yuan Xuanbao nodded, "The Sect Leader suspects so. The registered disciples are indeed taught true methods. If some have outstanding talent and profound destiny, it's not impossible for them to cultivate to Golden Core. Claiming to be a disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain is also reasonable.

But this makes it even harder to investigate. The registered disciples in the outer sect are people sent by aristocratic families, royalty, and powerful landlords. Some are the sons of noble families, and some are retainers raised by those cultivation families. They only have their names registered in the outer sect, and once they achieve Foundation Establishment, they return to their families to cultivate.

If they were originally assassins raised by the Li Country noble families, their identities would be even more deeply hidden, and it would be difficult to find out their background in a short time."

The two fell silent.

Kun took the opportunity to pull a chicken leg from the pot and eat it.

Li Fan hesitated and asked, "Do you think... it might be those eunuchs from Liqiu Palace?"

Li Fan had also told Yuan Xuanbao about the demonic cultivator being a eunuch, and the events at the Dragon Gate Inn after he recovered from his injuries.

Yuan Xuanbao nodded, then shook his head, "That demonic cultivator is likely from the Li Country court, but killing fellow disciples is a major taboo in the three sects, and it's truly hard to guard against. As for who harmed Senior Brother Lu, it's hard to say.

The calculations in the imperial court are deeper and darker, and with the involvement of Immortal Palace, these matters are too complex for us attendants to figure out...

However, it's not too late to find the mastermind behind the scenes later. Qingyue, you have avenged Daotong by eliminating this culprit. Today is the seventh day memorial. I came to check on your injuries. If you are well enough, I'd like to take you to offer incense to Daotong and Senior Brother Lu."

"Oh, the seventh day memorial. It's been seven days... Of course, I'm fine now. Let's go." Li Fan also realized how time had flown; he must have been unconscious in the pot for several days.

So, Li Fan changed into a black ceremonial robe, grabbed Kun, who was still gnawing on chicken bones, and stuffed it into his sleeve. He and Yuan Xuanbao left Wangshu's small residence.

Yuan Xuanbao summoned a wooden kite to ride, flying ahead to lead the way. Li Fan then summoned the crane given by Fairy Wangshu and followed behind.

They first exited the inner mountain cave-heaven towards the Lou Guan Tower, then headed east. Following the river for about ten miles, they saw a cluster of pavilions, red-tiled buildings, waterside pavilions, and gardens, forming a forest of noble manors.

From afar, they saw tiled roofs covered in frost, delicate bamboo curtains swaying in the wind, and auspicious energy rising from the high gates. Red pavilions and waterside structures, emerald ponds and golden towers, amidst the Xie family gardens, orchids and jade vied for beauty. This picturesque scene, a unique ancient town, was likely the gathering place of the cultivation noble families and immortal-protected clans of the Ink Bamboo Mountain lineage.

When one person achieves enlightenment and becomes an immortal with a lifespan of hundreds of years, they would naturally shelter their descendants for three generations, five generations, or even seventeen or eighteen generations. This was only human nature. If there were one or two more who achieved enlightenment, an entire cultivation family, a clan passed down through generations, would rise from the ground.

Organizations like Immortal Palace, with their heavenly courts, deification, and systems of Taoist registers, were also built on this core logic of one person achieving immortality and their whole household ascending. The first immortal venerable in the world, along with his disciples, and even the entire Immortal Palace, the twelve kingdoms, were a microcosm of such cultivation families. Naturally, cultivation techniques and heavenly treasures were kept within the family.

However, this system of family inheritance was later challenged by the master-disciple inheritance of the Xuanmen, and then by the sect inheritance of God Sect. With the great changes in the Heavenly Dao during the void moon, a single cultivator falling into demonic possession could bring ruin to their entire family, which led to some restraint.

But even now, from the family courtyards near Ink Bamboo Mountain, it could be seen that cultivation families were still the most widespread and basic units in the cultivation world. As long as a major sect accumulated a few hundred years without disaster, dependent aristocratic families would naturally emerge.

With Yuan Xuanbao leading the way, Li Fan first followed him to the Chen family.

After all, Chen Daotong was only a Foundation Establishment Realm attendant. The Chen family had not held a grand ceremony; it was only the immediate relatives of Chen Daotong's branch, and close friends like Yuan Xuanbao, who came to offer incense and pay their respects.

Li Fan had helped avenge Chen Daotong, so he was treated as an honored guest. Chen Daotong's parents and his three wives and four concubines also came to express their gratitude.

...Well, indeed three wives and four concubines.

Chen Daotong looked about fifteen or sixteen, like a high school student. His parents, though sad, appeared to be middle-aged, likely preserved by spiritual elixirs, making them look quite young. So, at first, Li Fan thought the young women in mourning clothes who came to pay their respects were his sisters. But upon introduction, they turned out to be his wives and concubines...

They could play two tables of mahjong tonight. This damned feudal society is truly enviable... Cough, criticize, must criticize...

"Brother Xuanbao, how many years have you and Brother Daotong been cultivating together?" Although it's disrespectful to gossip about the deceased, Li Fan couldn't help but ask, choosing his words carefully.

"About twenty years," Yuan Xuanbao calculated. "We both apprenticed under the same master at sixteen when we reached Foundation Establishment. We've been cultivating as partners until Foundation Establishment Perfection for at least twenty years."

Is that so? So they're around thirty-six, and already immortals. In this era, having three wives and four concubines seems normal, and sixteen is about the age of puberty... Huh?

"...You said, sixteen for Foundation Establishment..." Li Fan's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Yuan Xuanbao's appearance. "Brother Xuanbao, you don't seem to have aged much..."

"Oh, after Foundation Establishment, the growth of the Dao body slows down. The higher the realm, the slower aging becomes..." Yuan Xuanbao seemed to realize something too. He turned to look at Li Fan, who looked only ten years old. "Uh, Qingyue, you could have actually... waited a couple more years... but given the circumstances at the time, there was no other way..."

Holy crap! So if I cultivate too fast, I'll be stuck looking like a child forever!

'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'

'Profound Heaven Sword Intent states: What's so bad about that? It just means the host is a rare genius. The host will understand after traveling the world more. Those great beings who have reincarnated for tens of thousands of lifetimes all started cultivating at five or six years old and became old monsters, fierce and powerful. The host met me too late, otherwise, I would have helped you achieve Foundation Establishment in the cradle.'

Sword Intent, get lost!

Li Fan was speechless. This was too much of a scam! No wonder most disciples from these cultivation families, like Monster, were teenagers around fifteen or sixteen. And they didn't have many outer disciples who were married. They needed to pass on their lineage...

He looked at Chen Daotong's widows, who were crying their eyes out. It seemed two of them were already pregnant. Was this the legacy of cultivation families...

"Don't worry, uncles and aunts. I, Xuanbao, will help look after Brother Daotong's bloodline," Yuan Xuanbao went to comfort the family again.

Li Fan felt helpless, but figured it didn't matter. He'd grow up eventually, he just needed to be careful not to level up too quickly.

So he also offered a stick of incense to Chen Daotong, paid his respects, and after Yuan Xuanbao left some elixirs and talismans, and settled all the trivial matters for his Dao companion, he accompanied him away from the Chen family.

Chen Daotong, a Foundation Establishment disciple he had only met a few times, had briefly teamed up with Li Fan, traveling a short distance together on the long journey of cultivation before exiting the server.

If Li Fan, this troublemaker, lived long enough, would there be many more people who would pass him by like this in the future?

"Hoo... The difference between immortals and mortals, the bonds of life and death..."

Li Fan looked back at the red gates of the Chen family. It seemed there were no other cultivators in this generation of the Chen family. Chen Daotong had been a potential Nascent Soul cultivator, and now with his fall, the Chen family would probably move out of this mansion soon and return to the mortal world.

At this moment, Li Fan suddenly realized that he could never go back to the Human Dao.

He was no longer a mortal.

This wasn't arrogance, but a very realistic feeling.

After Li Fan reached Foundation Establishment, even his physical fitness was no longer like that of a mortal; the difference was too great.

The birth, aging, sickness, and death of mortals, their joys and sorrows, all their emotions. Perhaps slowly, perhaps quickly, but sooner or later, Li Fan would gradually stop experiencing them. And the consequences of him casually using some spells, casually beheading two people, were something that 'mere mortals' could not bear. Not to mention when he would be flying on his sword, manifesting heavenly bodies, and merging with the Dao.

This was probably the ideological hurdle that true immortal cultivators, martial arts masters, and superheroes had to overcome. Sooner or later, you had to realize how dangerous your existence and actions were to ordinary people.

But if you can no longer see yourself as human, how can you maintain your humanity?

'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'

Is that so? Is it really that difficult to uphold one's Dao heart...

Yuan Xuanbao's spirits were also low. "No need to worry. The Chen family still has relatives working as officials in the imperial court, and Daotong also had some savings. His family won't starve. I'm more worried about Senior Brother Lu..."

"Senior Brother Lu? Right, isn't his family generations of cultivators, with their own Heavenly Craftsman inheritance?"

Li Fan shook his head, snapping back to reality. He released a flying crane and followed Yuan Xuanbao to the Lu family to pay their respects.

Yuan Xuanbao turned his head and solemnly instructed, "Qingyue, Senior Brother Lu took great care of us, but the Lu family had offended many people in the past. Now that Senior Brother Lu's cause of death is unknown, I'm afraid someone might come looking for trouble.

The grudges between cultivation families are very troublesome. Some hatreds last for decades, centuries, or even millennia, and generations will not see them resolved. Dao companion, relatives, disciples, generation after generation, they fight. A single mistake in a sword duel could draw batches of people into the feud, making it impossible to distinguish right from wrong, entangled in karmic debt.

If there's a fight later, you absolutely must not get involved."

Li Fan nodded. He had personally experienced a conflict in the martial world and a battle in the cultivation world. These were minor disputes among rogue cultivators, not even involving the feuds of the major sects, yet so many people had died.

He had some idea of how harsh the living environment for old-school cultivators was. No wonder Profound Heaven Sword Intent, a great cultivator, suffered from paranoia and was so petty...

Even with the void moon in the sky and the Heavenly Dao greatly changed, the core of the conflict had temporarily shifted to Devil Form, but this only eased the temporary resource scarcity. It hadn't fundamentally changed the nature of this world, let alone human hearts.

To put it bluntly, the various sects were just digesting the benefits brought by the void moon, which was why there were no major wars for now. But once they recovered to a certain threshold, and even Devil Form couldn't satisfy everyone's greed, they would likely return to the cycle of killing and fighting.

Devil...

Heh, what is the devil?

In terms of killing intent, humans are far more terrifying than devils...

And when they arrived at the Lu family, Li Fan further experienced the brutal and ruthless customs of the cultivation world.

At the grand mourning hall of the Lu family, two groups of people were confronting each other with drawn swords, about to engage in a duel.

Li Fan and Yuan Xuanbao stopped their mounts and, along with other cultivators who were likely there to pay their respects, watched the situation from afar.

This was a bit much, wasn't it? Lu Yu was a Golden Core cultivator of Ink Bamboo Mountain. Causing such a scene would make the sect look bad, right?

Yuan Xuanbao clearly hadn't expected them to be so brazen. He found a cultivator he recognized and flew over to inquire, "Brother Gao, who are these people troubling the Lu family?"

The cultivator, Brother Gao, had a square face, was tall and sturdy, and plump. He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator standing on a flying boat. He smiled wryly, "Junior Brother Yuan, you wouldn't know. This is their internal family matter; it's not convenient for us to get involved."

He explained briefly, and Li Fan and Yuan Xuanbao finally understood.

The two groups were both members of the Lu family. It was the same old story. The conflict was about the succession of the family head, the division of property, and the snatching of treasures. As ugly as it was, it was an internal Lu family affair. The fellow cultivators who had come to pay their respects could only wait awkwardly outside, pretending not to see anything, and visit after the Lu family had sorted things out.

But who knew it would escalate, and eventually turn into two factions preparing to duel in the mourning hall? Can you believe it!

Yuan Xuanbao frowned, his eyebrows raised. "Senior Brother Lu's body is barely cold, and these are the kind of wicked relatives! They're going too far!"

"Hey, Xuanbao! Didn't you just say not to get involved?"

Senior Brother Gao continued to smile wryly, "This... they can't exactly be called bad in-laws. One is the daughter of Brother Lu's concubine, and the other is the son he secretly kept with an outside mistress. Both have successfully established their foundations, so they're currently fighting for the position of Lu family head."

Xuanbao was also taken aback. He exchanged a look with Li Fan, utterly speechless.

Who would have thought? Brother Lu, you with the stern eyebrows, you actually kept an outside mistress... Wait a minute!

"Xuanbao, you must have a wife and children too, right?"

Yuan Xuanbao, who had been craning his neck to look at the Lu family, replied impatiently, "Of course! Ink Bamboo Mountain doesn't forbid marriage. Oh, Junior Brother, you'll have to wait a few years... or a few decades..."

'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'