Sun Tzu Li Yun!

"Whether to return to the Spring Autumn Sect requires careful consideration! However, it has been eight years since I left Peach Blossom Village; I might as well take this opportunity to go back and have a look. I wonder how that lad Li Yun is doing!"

Li Qingshan thought to himself, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Having left the ancient battlefield, the only attachment Li Qingshan held for the mortal world became clear.

This place was only a thousand miles from Peach Blossom Village, stirring up the longing and concern within his heart.

He circulated the Lesser Heaven-Veiling Secret Art, maintaining his appearance as a common traveling physician around thirty years of age, and suppressed his cultivation base until not a trace remained. Only then did he mount an inconspicuous streak of light and fly toward Peach Blossom Village in Qing Province, following the direction in his memory.

Several years of time are but a blink of an eye for a cultivator, yet for mortals, they are enough for things to change and people to pass. Peach Blossom Village seemed to have become more prosperous; there were a few more houses, and the old peach tree at the entrance of the village remained lush.

Li Qingshan did not alert anyone. Like a true passerby, he walked silently along the small paths of the village.

His divine sense stirred slightly, and the idle chatter of the villagers about their daily lives became clearly audible.

"...Speaking of our Peach Blossom Village, the ancestral graves must be smoking with good fortune! Who could have imagined that the little girl Er Ya would actually become a female immortal?"

"That's for sure. I heard that when Er Ya came back two years ago, she gave Widow Wang a lot of immortal pills and miraculous medicines. After eating them, Widow Wang became much younger and even more radiant!"

"That's not something to be envious of; who told us to give birth to children without spiritual roots?"

"It's not just Er Ya; there's also that centenarian, Old Man Qingshan. Now his grandson, Lord Li Yun, is even more incredible!"

"Indeed, indeed! I heard he became a high official in the capital! He passed the imperial examination and was personally appointed by the Emperor!"

"That's not all! He married the daughter of the Prime Minister. In just a few years, he's already the Vice Minister of Justice! He must be a Star of Literature descended to earth!"

"The Li family has truly accumulated great virtue..."

Listening to these discussions filled with envy and pride, a smile of gratification appeared in Li Qingshan's weathered eyes.

Gouwa... he had truly made something of himself.

He did not enter the village. With a flicker of his figure, he vanished from where he stood and headed toward the capital.

The capital was bustling, far beyond what a prefectural city could compare to.

Carriages and horses flowed like a stream, the crowds were like woven fabric, and the atmosphere of the mortal world was thick.

Li Qingshan easily found the grand and imposing Residence of the Vice Minister of Justice.

He did not rashly break in, choosing instead to sit at a nearby teahouse. His divine sense spread like mercury across the ground, silently covering the entire residence, focusing his attention on the young Vice Minister.

During the day, Li Yun was busy with official duties, receiving visitors, and processing documents. Every move he made carried a sense of dignity, a far cry from the youth who had once studied by the light of a lonely lamp in his memory.

However, as Li Qingshan's divine sense probed carefully, his brows gradually furrowed.

He sensed an extremely faint, yet unusually cold, demonic energy on Li Yun!

This demonic energy was entrenched in the center of his brow, within his sea of consciousness. Although it had not completely eroded his sanity, it was subtly influencing his temperament, causing him to occasionally reveal imperceptible irritability and malice.

Li Yun is merely a mortal; how could he be tainted by demonic energy? What exactly is going on here?

Li Qingshan's heart sank.

When night fell and the surroundings grew quiet, Li Yun was still in the study reviewing official documents, the candlelight flickering. That demonic energy seemed to become a bit more active when his mind was exhausted.

Li Qingshan hesitated no longer. His figure merged into the night like green smoke, appearing silently within the study, and with a wave of his hand, he set up a simple sound-insulation barrier.

Li Yun, who was rubbing his brow in slight fatigue, was startled. He looked up, only to find that someone had appeared in the room without him noticing.

He was just about to shout a stern reprimand, but when he saw the face of the visitor—a face that was somewhat familiar yet far too young—he was struck as if by lightning. He stood up abruptly, completely unaware that he had knocked over the teacup at his side.

"You... you are..."

Li Yun's voice trembled with disbelief, his eyes widened to their limit.

Li Qingshan looked at him, his eyes filled with kindness and emotion. He spoke slowly, his voice still the aged tone that was carved deep into Li Yun's memory: "Gouwa, do you not recognize your grandfather?"

"Grand... Grandfather?! Is it really you?!"

Li Yun rushed around the desk, taking a few steps to stand before him. He looked closely at Li Qingshan's face; although it was much younger, the gaze and the tone could not be wrong!

His voice changed pitch with excitement, "How... how did you... become so... young? Have you truly become an immortal?!"

Surprise, excitement, and disbelief filled his heart.

Eight years ago, when Li Yun heard that his grandfather had joined the Spring Autumn Sect to pursue the immortal path, his heart was filled with endless worry and reluctance.

He had even felt that it would be difficult to ever see his grandfather again.

He never expected that eight years later, he would see Li Qingshan again, and that he would be so young.

Li Qingshan smiled slightly and patted his shoulder: "The immortal path is vast and uncertain. Grandfather merely stumbled across the threshold by luck, managing to extend my life and preserve my youth. I returned to see you this time, only to find you tainted by foul energy, which hinders your lifespan and easily affects your temperament."

As he spoke, he pressed his fingers together like a sword and tapped lightly on the center of Li Yun's brow.

Pure and vast Longevity True Essence surged in, carrying immense vitality and the power to suppress evil. The wisp of cold demonic energy, like snow meeting the sun, instantly let out a faint hiss before being completely purified and dispelled.

Li Yun felt his mind clear up instantly. The irritability and anxiety that had accumulated over the years were swept away, leaving him feeling refreshed and his thinking much sharper.

Only then did he realize in hindsight how vast that momentary warm power had been, and he immediately held his grandfather in even greater awe, as if he were a god.

"Thank you, Grandfather!" Li Yun was so moved he prepared to kneel.

Li Qingshan held him up, his tone turning serious: "Between us grandfather and grandson, there is no need for this. Tell me, have you come into contact with any peculiar people recently? Or have you been to any unusual places? This foul energy is certainly not caused by any ordinary illness."

Li Yun's expression turned grave upon hearing this. He recalled carefully, "As an official, I come into contact with a vast array of people... If there is anyone unusual... over the past half-year, I have interacted quite frequently with several disciples under the State Preceptor. His Majesty has relied heavily on the State Preceptor in recent years, so it is inevitable for us courtiers to have some dealings with them."

"The State Preceptor?"

Li Qingshan's brows locked in a deep frown. "The State Preceptor of the Yan Kingdom should, by all rights, be an envoy stationed by the Spring Autumn Sect. They ought to practice the orthodox path of the Profound Gate. How could their disciples possess... that kind of aura?"

He deliberately blurred the words "demonic aura."

Li Yun lowered his voice. "Grandfather may not know, but the current State Preceptor was personally invited by His Majesty three years ago; he was not dispatched by the Spring Autumn Sect."

"It is said that he possesses vast supernatural powers, capable of summoning wind and rain and refining immortal pills, earning him the deep trust of His Majesty. His disciples are also far from ordinary, but... but I occasionally feel that after spending too much time with them, a sense of revulsion easily rises in my heart. I had assumed it was due to the pressures of officialdom, but thinking back now..."

Alarm bells rang in Li Qingshan's heart.

The Yan Kingdom was the traditional sphere of influence for the Spring Autumn Sect. The position of State Preceptor in a mortal dynasty had always been filled by disciples appointed by the sect to signify protection and oversight.

To think it was now being controlled by a State Preceptor of unknown origin whose disciples carried the stench of demons?