The disciple Elder Zhou had dispatched carried his orders to Azure Mist Peak.
Barely half a day passed.
Then streaks of flight light came hurtling toward Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
Xiao Yuanshan arrived in haste with the two elders at the early Qi Refining stage, all three looking frantic.
He had not even dared bring many attendants.
Upon reaching the valley entrance, Xiao Yuanshan did not dare enter without permission, much less probe it with his spiritual sense.
He merely bowed deeply toward the presence of Elder Zhou within the valley, bending all the way to the ground.
Sweat glimmered at his temples as he called out repeatedly:
"I, Xiao, had eyes but could not see."
"I did not know that an esteemed representative of the superior sect was truly establishing a foundation here. My previous offenses were all a tremendous misunderstanding!"
"I beg the elder of the superior sect to forgive me!"
"The Xiao Household of Azure Mist Peak harbors not the slightest disrespect toward the Azure Wood Sect. From now on, we will maintain friendly relations with our neighbors, the Xu Household of Spiritual Expanse Mountain, and guard the frontier together. We will never dare mention tribute again!"
His voice was fearful, his posture utterly humble.
Compared with his aggressive demeanor a month earlier, when he had intended to raze the valley, he seemed an entirely different person.
Elder Zhou remained in the quiet chamber within the valley and did not show himself.
He merely transmitted his voice calmly to Xu Xuan.
"Martial Nephew Wang, convey my words on my behalf."
"Tell him the sect already knows of this matter, and that he should conduct himself wisely."
"If he harbors any further unlawful intentions, he will certainly not be spared."
Xu Xuan respectfully accepted the order and went out of the valley. Seeing Xiao Yuanshan and the others still waiting with their bodies bowed, he relayed the words as instructed.
Hearing this, Xiao Yuanshan felt as though he had received a grand pardon. He repeatedly voiced his agreement, then cupped his hands toward Xu Xuan.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, I committed many offenses against you before. Please be magnanimous, please be magnanimous!"
As he spoke, he took a storage pouch from his robes and handed it to Xu Xuan.
"A modest apology gift. Please accept it, fellow Daoist."
With that, he dared linger no longer. Taking the two elders with him, he turned away in a sorry state and flew off at speed in a streak of light, never daring to utter the word "tribute" again.
Elder Zhou's arrival had not only forced the Xiao Household to retreat.
It had also cowed the Black Tooth Tribe, who had been watching in secret.
Upon learning that the Xu Household of Spiritual Expanse Mountain had a Qi Refining Practitioner from the Azure Wood Sect backing them, they had already been frightened out of their wits.
They feared that one careless move would bring a cultivator of the superior sect down upon them and wipe out their tribe.
Their intentions, which had been stirring restlessly, were extinguished in an instant.
The tribespeople completely concealed their movements and no longer dared come within a hundred li of Spiritual Expanse Mountain.
By borrowing Elder Zhou's authority on this occasion, Spiritual Expanse Mountain's external threats were temporarily dispelled, and the Xu Household finally gained a precious chance to catch its breath.
Xu Xuan naturally prepared generous gifts.
Among them were rare spiritual herbs and minerals gathered from the Southern Wilds, offered in thanks for Elder Zhou's assistance.
Seeing that he knew how to conduct himself, Elder Zhou was pleased.
Before departing, his gaze passed over Xu Qingchan, who had been standing in attendance beside Xu Xuan all along. A trace of unsurprised recognition flashed in his eyes as he offered Xu Xuan some guidance:
"Martial Nephew Wang, this girl beside you has an exceptional root bone, with spiritual grace hidden within. She is a fine piece of jade yet to be carved."
"Nurture her well, and she may amount to something in the future."
"If she catches an inner sect elder's eye, admission to the inner sect is not impossible."
He himself spent years patrolling outside, had no disciples under him, and had no time to train any.
But upon seeing such fine talent, such beautiful jade, he could not help cherishing it, and so offered a word or two of guidance.
Xu Xuan bowed in thanks.
"Thank you for your guidance, Elder. This disciple will remember it."
Soon afterward, Elder Zhou departed with his people upon the wind.
The members of the Xu Household watched their figures disappear into the horizon, yearning flashing in every pair of eyes.
Qi Refining Practitioners rode the wind through empty air, roaming the northern sea at dawn and Cangwu by dusk.
What exhilarating freedom that was.
Xu Xuan withdrew his gaze.
Although the external threats had now been temporarily dispelled, it was only temporary, and the Xu Household could not afford the slightest laxity.
Elder Zhou's authority can be borrowed for a time, but cannot be relied upon for a lifetime.
The Xiao Household fears the Azure Wood Sect, not the Xu Household.
If one day the sect has no attention to spare, or the war with the Profound Sword Gate grows pressing, these people will come again.
Even if the Xiao Household does not come, there will be the Su Household, the Wang Household, the Li Household...
If the Xu Household wished to establish itself in this savage wilderness, truly multiply, and spread its branches and leaves,
it needed a Qi Refining Practitioner of its own to preside over it.
Cold came and heat passed; in the flick of a finger, ten years drifted by.
Spiritual Expanse Mountain Valley had long since shed its former crude appearance.
Houses stood in orderly rows, paths crisscrossed the spiritual fields, spiritual grain breathed out rosy light, and fragrant medicinal gardens vied in splendor.
Drawing upon the mountain's ironwood and red copper mines, the Xu Household had built several workshops to refine implements and forge armaments, producing not only enough for its own use but a surplus to sell.
The Xu Household's people lived peacefully and prospered, and new children with spiritual roots were discovered one after another among the younger generation.
The spiritual energy here was abundant, far beyond anything Xu Household Market or Hundred Fragrance Valley could compare with.
Moreover, the lineage had increasingly many cultivators, and its rules offered generous rewards for continuing the bloodline.
Over those ten years, the Xu Household had fully spread its branches and leaves, and the lineage's foundations grew deeper by the day.
Xu Xuan himself rarely ventured out, devoting himself to cultivation.
The lineage's affairs were all managed by Xu Ziyu and Xu Qingchan.
Xu Qingchan indeed lived up to Xu Xuan's high expectations. Her earth spiritual root aptitude was outstanding, and her cultivation advanced triumphantly.
After ten years of arduous cultivation, she actually entered the late Spiritual Treasury stage even before Xu Xuan.
She was only a single step away from the Qi Refining realm, where one transcended the mundane.
Meanwhile, her swordsmanship grew ever more refined.
Her reputation gradually emerged along the Yue Kingdom's southeastern frontier.
The cultivation world knew that the Xu Lineage of Spiritual Expanse Mountain had a young female sword cultivator.
Her attacks were ruthless, and whenever she drew her sword, blood was sure to spill.
She had already become the Xu Household's second strongest expert.
Over those ten years, Xu Xuan himself cast aside outside distractions, focused his mind, and stilled his breath, devoting all his efforts to breaking through Spiritual Treasury's third profound gate.
The realm of the life palace.
Before Qi Refining came the three stages of Essence Condensation, Meridian Opening, and Spiritual Treasury.
Essence Condensation was the beginning of cultivation, tempering one's own vital essence.
Meridian Opening opened the meridian wheels and awakened the human body's potential.
Only after passing through these two stages was it possible to open the spiritual treasury.
The three realms of Spiritual Treasury each held their own mysteries.
The first, the qi sea, was the foundation for accumulating spiritual power.
The longer one cultivated in this realm and the more deeply one refined it, the larger the qi sea became, and the more spiritual power it could hold.
The second, the yellow court, was the place where the spirit was nurtured and one's nature cultivated. Blood and qi flourished, and lifespan increased. Upon reaching this step, one had a chance to knock upon the immortal gate and break through to the Qi Refining realm.
The third, the life palace, was where the soul was anchored and settled.
Hidden within the ancestral aperture between the brows, it required one to open a "life palace" belonging solely to oneself.
Only then could the soul enter it, become stabilized and nourished, and truly touch the Qi Refining bottleneck-the "immortal gate barrier."
After many years of arduous cultivation, together with the Earth Spirit of the Eight Directions' enhancement of his fortune, he had long since refined his qi sea and yellow court to perfect fullness.
His qi stirred frequently; all he lacked was an opportunity to open his life palace.
Another month passed. That day, he was still sighing in his room when he suddenly sensed a mysterious stirring of qi. Knowing the time had come, he immediately sat cross-legged again, gathered his vital essence, and held to unity.
He mobilized his spiritual power and condensed his spiritual sense, turning them into two torrents that thundered toward the profound gate of the ancestral aperture between his brows.
"Rumble!"
Within the dark mystery, a thunderous sound seemed to arise.
A tremendous rumble exploded deep within his sea of consciousness.
In an instant, his sea of consciousness churned and his soul swayed, as though heaven and earth were first opening and primordial chaos were shattering.
Amid this endless upheaval, a spark of spiritual light was born from the depths of nothingness.
At first it was the size of a soybean, then it rapidly expanded, radiating boundless light.
At last, it became the hazy yet majestic phantom of a palace, towering at the very center of his sea of consciousness and holding it steady, giving off a mysterious aura.
The instant the phantom palace took shape, Xu Xuan felt as though his soul had found a home.
An unprecedented sense of solidity spread throughout his body.
The range of his spiritual sense expanded dramatically. Every stirring of wind and grass, every chirping insect and crawling ant within ten li lay clear within his mind.
His control over the spiritual power throughout his body had reached the point where it moved at his will.
His lifespan, too, increased slightly.
An invisible barrier stretched before him, awaiting only the moment when he condensed the qi of heaven and earth and blasted it open in a single stroke.