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The next morning.

With no need to go out, Ji Yuan started eating eggs early at home. Unlike the three he had eaten the previous days, starting today, he would be having extra meals.

Six Spirit Eggs a day—digesting and absorbing them all was quite the challenge.

But just as he finished absorbing two Spirit Eggs, someone knocked on his courtyard gate.

He instinctively touched the Thunderstrike Talisman at his chest. Only after confirming it was still there did he go open the door.

The one knocking was Huang Laotou again.

But unlike before, Huang Laotou wore a little more of a smile upon seeing Ji Yuan today. "Cultivating again, little brother Ji?"

"Kid Ji" had become "little brother Ji."

"Yes. Is there something you need, Elder Huang?"

Ji Yuan still maintained that same neither humble nor overbearing attitude.

"Nothing in particular..." Seeing that Ji Yuan had no intention of inviting him inside, Huang Laotou added, "It's just that I have some news related to your parents."

"My parents?"

A trace of surprise flickered across Ji Yuan's face, but it vanished in an instant. Then his voice changed. "What? My parents?!"

Huang Laotou entered the house, and the moment he stepped inside, his eyes began roaming everywhere.

Ji Yuan, meanwhile, manipulated the panel in advance and temporarily turned off the effects of the [Fish Pond].

Thankfully, the panel came with an "on-off switch." Otherwise, if an outsider were present when a Spirit Fish suddenly evolved, it would be hard to explain.

The [Chicken Coop] was no issue. Ji Yuan had already put away all six Spirit Eggs for today.

Still, he had not expected the six Green-Yellow Chickens to draw Huang Laotou's attention.

"You've got quite a few chickens here."

"Yes. My master likes roasted Green-Yellow Chicken. The meat is delicious and tender, so I raised a few more."

Since he had already draped himself in a tiger's hide, Ji Yuan was not afraid to make that hide even bigger.

"Oh, I see... Little brother Ji, may I ask which great expert your master is?"

Huang Laotou could not help asking again.

"Didn't you say you had news about my parents, Elder Huang?"

Ji Yuan did not answer, instead throwing the question back at him.

"Oh, right. Look at me—I'm old, and my memory is failing."

Huang Laotou laughed awkwardly, then went into the inner room and sat down. After pondering for a moment, he finally said, "I saw the Willow Leaf Boat."

The magical fishing vessel belonging to Ji Qingyun, the original owner's father, was called the Willow Leaf Boat.

"Where?!"

"In Luo Tong's hands. He said he bought it from Lousy Liu."

Luo Tong dealt in Spirit Pigs in Zengtou City. Put simply, he sold pigs. If Ji Yuan wanted to buy a Spirit Pig, he would have to go to Luo Tong.

Moreover, Ji Yuan remembered that Luo Tong had been on fairly good terms with the original owner's father.

Whenever Ji Yuan saw him, he had to call him Uncle Luo.

But how had the Willow Leaf Boat, which had been lost in Cloud-Rain Marsh, ended up in Lousy Liu's hands?

Either he had found it by chance, or else... he had murdered someone and seized their goods!

As if noticing the change in Ji Yuan's expression, Huang Laotou hurriedly waved his hands and explained, "I merely... merely happened to see it. I don't mean anything else, little brother Ji. Don't overthink it."

"Don't worry. I understand. Thank you, Elder Huang."

Ji Yuan nodded to him calmly.

"Mm. Then cultivate well at home. I still have some business in Zengtou City, so I'll be going."

Ji Yuan escorted Huang Laotou back to the gate and watched him head toward Zengtou City.

After returning home, he immediately activated the effects of the [Fish Pond].

As for seeking out Lousy Liu to get to the bottom of things, Ji Yuan truly had no such plans for now.

Leaving aside the fact that Lousy Liu was already at the Middle Qi Refining Stage, his connections throughout Zengtou City were tangled and intricate. It was said that he also had many ties to the Qin Household.

Even if Ji Yuan wanted revenge now, his heart was willing but his strength was lacking.

He might as well focus single-mindedly on improving his strength first.

Thus, regarding the news Huang Laotou had told him, he merely committed it silently to memory and thought no further about it.

After arriving in Zengtou City, Huang Laotou moved through the many alleyways as familiarly as if walking his own home, turning left and right until he finally stopped before a courtyard with white walls and dark tiles. He knocked on the door.

A slightly impatient voice came from within the courtyard.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Old Huang."

The door opened. Standing there was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a face full of pockmarks. "Huang Laotou? What are you doing here?"

"Come inside. We'll talk inside."

A while later, in the main hall, Huang Laotou lifted his teacup and drained it in one gulp. Only then did he let out a long breath and say:

"Something happened with Ji Qingyun."

"Ji Qingyun? What, that bastard can come back to life or something?"

Lousy Liu laughed.

Back then, he had shattered Ji Qingyun's head with a Water Arrow Technique. He did not believe anyone could revive after that.

"Not Ji Qingyun. His son who survived—Ji Yuan!"

Huang Laotou lowered his voice. "A few days ago, he was about to be driven out of Zengtou City, but then he unexpectedly picked up a Spirit Fish."

"His luck isn't bad," Lousy Liu said with a nod.

"Just yesterday, he sold another Stonehide Grouper at the Fish Pen... a Stonehide Grouper whose Stonehide Scales had not suffered a single bit of damage."

"He has that kind of ability?!"

This time, Lousy Liu could no longer sit still.

"No. I made inquiries in several places before learning a little about the situation."

"What situation? Speak up, you old thing. Don't forget, you were the one who sold Ji Qingyun's location to me and took my Spirit Stones."

Lousy Liu spoke impatiently.

A trace of regret flashed through Huang Laotou's eyes, but he still said, "Ji Yuan... has taken a master. And that person is at least an expert of the Middle Qi Refining Stage, perhaps even the late stage."

Hearing this, Lousy Liu immediately calmed down. After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised his head to look at Huang Laotou and sneered.

"You want to eliminate all future trouble, but you're afraid of offending someone yourself, so you want to borrow my hand to kill Ji Yuan too."

"This..."

With his thoughts exposed, Huang Laotou could not quite keep face, but he absolutely could not admit it.

"How could that be? I... I'm merely worried that Ji Yuan may discover something. If he manages to call upon that master behind him, we'll be in trouble."

Huang Laotou did not doubt that Ji Yuan had a master.

Without a master backing him, where would he have gotten those Spirit Fish?

"What we did was secret. He won't find out."

Lousy Liu shook his head. "Besides, something big is about to happen around Maple Leaf Island in the northeast. I need to go there first and fish for some benefits."

"As for that kid Ji Yuan... we'll talk after the matter at Maple Leaf Island is settled."

"Maple Leaf Island? What exactly happened there? I've seen quite a few fishermen heading that way lately. Even after several died, people still keep going."

Huang Laotou hurriedly pressed for answers.

Lousy Liu glanced at him. "It'll be made public in the next couple of days anyway, so I might as well tell you first."

"On Maple Leaf Island, there is an Immortal Abode... the Immortal Abode of a Foundation Establishment High Person who passed away in meditation."

"What?!"

Huang Laotou cried out in shock. An Immortal Abode belonging to a Foundation Establishment High Person—if he could get even a little benefit from it, he would not have to worry for the next several years.

Perhaps he could even use this chance to find an opportunity to break through his cultivation.

"Then... then I'll be heading back first."

Just as Huang Laotou was about to leave, Lousy Liu watched his retreating back and suddenly said, "Huang Laotou, you didn't go tell Ji Yuan about Ji Qingyun again, did you?"

Huang Laotou did not dare turn around.

"How could that be?"

"Indeed. Don't forget—you were the one who came to me first, and afterward, you got your share of the benefits too," Lousy Liu reminded him.

"Don't worry. I know."

Only after Huang Laotou had completely left did Lousy Liu sneer. "What kind of trash thinks he can play 'let a fellow cultivator die rather than let oneself suffer' with me?!"

Huang Laotou, walking home, was equally weighed down by his thoughts.

He had wanted Lousy Liu to be the bird that stuck its head out, but he had not expected him to be so hard to fool... as expected, not a single person who had made a name for himself in Zengtou City was a fool.

Fine. If Lousy Liu was not in a hurry, neither was he.

There was only one thought in Huang Laotou's heart now: the Foundation Immortal Abode!