Only Qian Daoliu, Dugu Bo, and Ye Haining remained seated facing one another in the center of the courtyard.
Qian Daoliu invited Ye Haining to sit on a stone stool and personally poured him a cup of spirit tea brewed with water from the Lake of Life. As the warm fragrance spread, he spoke in an even tone:
"Mr. Ye, Elder Dugu should have already told you why I asked you here, correct?"
Ye Haining accepted the cup. The warmth against his fingertips eased some of the tension in his heart.
He nodded gently, his voice earnest yet apprehensive. "The old poisoner did tell me everything-it was the Great Enshrined who helped him resolve the hidden danger of the toxins in his jade phosphorus snake martial soul back then, and even gave his granddaughter, Dugu Yan, an evolved martial soul. I came with a faint glimmer of hope, wishing to ask the Great Enshrined whether you could help our Ye family lift the 'curse' of the nine heart begonia."
At the word "curse," Ye Haining's voice grew heavier, his eyes filled with helplessness and worry:
"Although the nine heart begonia is one of the continent's finest healing martial souls, it carries the fatal restriction of a 'single line of succession.' No more than two people can possess it at any given time. I worry that Lingling will someday bear the burden of its inheritance just as I have. Worse still, I fear that one day, without a suitable successor, this precious martial soul will vanish from the world entirely..."
Qian Daoliu nodded in understanding. The nine heart begonia martial soul was certainly famous.
Without further preamble, he took a card glowing with dark gold light from System Space. Intricate runes covered its surface, and pure restriction-breaking power swirled around it.