Three days later, at dawn, at the Purple Sun Gate's mountain entrance.
Xu Xuan returned his token to the disciple guarding the mountain.
He was about to descend when a squad of black-robed cultivators blocked his way.
"Young marquis, please stay."
Their leader displayed a Demon Suppression Bureau token. "We have orders from His Majesty to inspect your Soaring Serpent Bloodline. Please come with us."
Xu Xuan's gaze turned cold. "And if I refuse?"
"Then we will have to offend you."
The Demon Suppression Bureau cultivators all drew their weapons.
Just then, a streak of sword light came tearing through the air.
Su Yuqing floated to the ground and said coldly:
"Since when did the Demon Suppression Bureau have the right to run wild on Purple Sun Gate territory?"
"Su Yuqing, this has nothing to do with you."
An icy voice rang out.
The second prince stepped forward slowly, followed by two Qi Refining Stage guards.
Xu Xuan suddenly smiled.
"Your Second Highness really has gone to painstaking lengths."
He took a step forward, and his aura abruptly surged.
He unleashed his Spirit Treasury cultivation without holding anything back.
"You want to inspect my bloodline?"
Fighting spirit soared within Xu Xuan as he clenched both fists.
"Ask my fists first!"
At once, the blood and qi in his body surged, spiritual pressure shooting outward until a faint bloody mist formed around him, like flames of blood and qi.
"A Yellow Court manifestation?!"
A Qi Refining Cultivator beside Chen Jing cried out in alarm.
"Your Highness, this brat hasn't just entered the Spirit Treasury Realm. He's already broken through the second mystic barrier and opened his Yellow Court Spiritual Treasury."
"It's just that his body seems frighteningly powerful..."
The second prince's expression shifted slightly. "Seize him!" he ordered coldly.
The Demon Suppression Bureau cultivators scattered around them, setting up a Demon Subduing Formation.
Meanwhile, the other Qi Refining Cultivator beside him immediately attacked.
A streak of sword light shot toward Xu Xuan.
Su Yuqing was about to help, but Xu Xuan stopped her.
"Just watch, senior sister."
Xu Xuan neither dodged nor evaded, throwing both fists forward.
Where his fists' wind passed, the sword light shattered inch by inch.
A single punch crushed it.
Even his attacker had not expected this sight.
"Something's strange."
"Senior Brother Sun, help me subdue this demon."
At those words, the other Qi Refining Cultivator beside the second prince also attacked in anger. Skilled in spellcraft, he used the five elements to restrict Xu Xuan's movements.
Meanwhile, the sword cultivator continued engaging Xu Xuan in close combat.
His sword struck Xu Xuan's body with the clang of metal.
Everyone who witnessed this could not help drawing a sharp breath.
None had imagined Xu Xuan could clash head-on with Qi Refining Cultivators using his body alone!
"Impossible! You harbored sinister intentions and concealed your cultivation!"
Xu Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, every inch the lofty master.
"You only realized that now, Your Highness? Rather late, isn't it?"
His gaze swept across the crowd before finally settling on the second prince.
"I won't kill you today."
"Go back and tell the state preceptor that my Soaring Serpent Bloodline is not something he can covet."
"Before long, I'll lay bare every last one of his secrets!"
With that, Xu Xuan turned and descended the mountain without another backward glance.
Su Yuqing watched his retreating figure, autumn waters brimming in her eyes.
Her maiden heart had long since followed him down the mountain.
Just as Xu Chen was preparing to head south.
Far away on the Yue Kingdom's frontier, the Lingyan Xu Lineage had already weathered two hundred years of wind and frost.
Spiritual Expanse Mountain was now far larger than it had been in the past.
A formation's curtain of light enveloped dozens of miles around it.
Within stood pavilions and towers, spirit fields and medicinal gardens, all neatly arranged.
With nearly ten thousand clanspeople, it presented a magnificent sight.
Incense burned abundantly within the ancestral shrine.
The tablet at the very top bore the words "Spirit tablet of Venerable Lord Greenwood, founding ancestor of Lingyan."
Beneath it were the spirit tablets of successive lineage heads and clanspeople who had rendered meritorious service.
Seated cross-legged beneath the altar was none other than the current lineage head, Xu Xingzong.
He still lived and had not passed away.
His cultivation had now reached the late Qi Refining stage.
Through the resources Xu Xuan had left behind and his own diligence, he had managed to extend his lifespan to this day.
Though old and decrepit, his blood and qi declining, his eyes remained sharp as he upheld the lineage's affairs.
Yet Foundation Establishment remained beyond his reach.
It had always been a regret in his heart.
Now, Xu Xingzong was advanced in years.
Most lineage affairs were handled jointly by several lineage elders.
The most outstanding among them was Xu Xingzong's great-great-grandson, Xu Mingxuan.
Not yet forty, he had already reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.
He was also meticulous in thought and brimming with stratagems.
Xu Xingzong had privately chosen him as the next lineage head.
Once he broke through to the late Qi Refining stage, he could formally assume the position.
The Black Tooth Tribe of old had long since been destroyed by the Xu Lineage.
Azure Mist Peak had also become Xu Lineage property.
To preserve their bloodline, the Xiao Household had swallowed their pride and offered up their wealth and inherited cultivation methods.
They acknowledged the Xu Lineage as their parent lineage, tending livestock and farming for them.
Aside from Xu Xingzong.
The Xu Lineage also had two late Qi Refining stage elders, seven middle-stage disciples, and over a dozen early-stage disciples.
Their strength made them a local power even in the Yue Kingdom's Southern Frontier.
They fell only somewhat short of those Foundation Establishment forces.
More than fifty years ago, Fairy Qingchan, the Xu Lineage's strongest sword cultivator, had resolutely set out to sea in search of an opportunity for Foundation Establishment.
There had been no word of her to this day.
As for the inheritance in the hidden cave abode left by Ancestor Xuan, no one had managed to open it either.
Even Xu Mingxuan, whose cunning bordered on the uncanny, had never opened it.
That day, Xu Xingzong summoned Xu Mingxuan to his quiet chamber.
"Mingxuan, how has your cultivation been lately?"
Xu Xingzong's voice was aged, yet carried authority.
Xu Mingxuan replied respectfully:
"Great-grandfather, I've already touched the threshold of the seventh level of Qi Refining."
"I should be able to break through within three years."
"Good, good."
Xu Xingzong nodded, satisfaction appearing in his eyes.
Then he sighed. "If Grandaunt Qingchan were here, why would our Xu Household need to tread so cautiously..."
"The seas are perilous. May Heaven watch over her."
"Rest assured, Great-grandfather. Ancestor Qingchan's cultivation is profound. She will surely turn misfortune into blessing."
Xu Mingxuan offered words of comfort.
Then he changed the subject.
"Great-grandfather."
"I've been sorting through the lineage's records lately."
"I discovered that the branch at the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate in the north seems to have made some unusual moves in recent years."
"The young marquis there, Xu Chen, who bears the Soaring Serpent Totem, is said to possess astonishing talent. Yet the imperial household fears him, and he has spent the past three years hiding within the Purple Sun Gate..."
"The Marquis of Martial Might's Estate, Xu Chen..."
A trace of reminiscence flashed through Xu Xingzong's clouded eyes.
"He belongs to your Granduncle Yi's branch, doesn't he?"
"The Soaring Serpent Totem..."
"Back then, I urged him not to practice that evil art. It offends the harmony of Heaven..."
"The Soaring Serpent brings calamity upon nations. The Chen Yue line fears this above all. That child has probably had a hard time these past years."
"Keep a close eye on him. If he needs help, lend him a hand."
"I understand."
In his previous life, Xu Xuan had traveled far as well.
Now, after so many years, times and circumstances had changed, and many places were different. Without a Qi Refining Practitioner from the Cloud Arrival Trading House to guide him, even Xu Xuan would have struggled to find this place.
After several more months and a trek of ten thousand miles.
Xu Xuan's party finally reached the frontier mountains and caught sight of Spiritual Expanse Mountain, wreathed in clouds and mist.
Looking at the somewhat familiar sight.
At the mountain entrance and formation's curtain of light, now countless times grander and more magnificent than in his memory.
Xu Xuan's heart surged.
A hundred and fifty years had passed in the flick of a finger.
Now he had returned to an old haunt, where the places remained but the people had changed. He wondered how many familiar faces were still alive.
The disciple guarding the mountain spotted the approaching carriage from afar, its bearing extraordinary.
Especially after its passengers alighted, the young man at their head wore luxurious clothes. Though young, he made no attempt to conceal his Spirit Treasury aura. The disciple dared not slight him in the least and hurried back to report.
Within moments, someone came out to welcome them. It was Xu Mingxuan.
He saw that although Xu Xuan was travel-worn, divine light lay within his eyes, and his blood and qi were as vigorous as a dragon.
He also faintly sensed an elusive pressure.
Inwardly startled, he dared not look down on him in the slightest because of his youth.
"Xu Chen of the Marquis of Martial Might's Estate greets you, elder kinsman."
Xu Chen cupped his hands and saluted according to their generational standing.
Though he had awakened the wisdom of his past life, his identity in this life was that of Xu Xingzong's great-great-grandson. Propriety could not be discarded.
Xu Mingxuan hurriedly returned the salute.
"Brother Chen, thank you for making the long journey! The lineage head is already waiting in the ancestral shrine. Please, come!"
The party passed through successive layers of formations and entered the valley.
Xu Xuan silently sensed the spiritual energy here, far denser than in the Northern Frontier, and felt considerably more at ease.
Within the ancestral shrine, Xu Xingzong sat in the seat of honor, watching the young man enter.
When his gaze fell upon Xu Chen.
Especially when he sensed the faint spiritual pressure emanating from him, his clouded eyes suddenly blazed with astonishing brilliance.
So alike!
Far too alike!
It was not his appearance, but that steady bearing, cast from the very same mold as Ancestor Xuan's.
"Your junior, Xu Chen, pays his respects to Great-grandfather!"
Xu Chen bowed in greeting.
"Good! Good child! Rise, quickly!"
Xu Xingzong's voice trembled slightly. He rose in person to help Xu Chen up and studied him closely.
"A metal and earth dual spiritual root, the Soaring Serpent Totem... Heaven blesses our Xu Household!"
"Could you be the fated one Ancestor Xuan foretold?"
Xu Xuan had already awakened his memories of his past life. Though there were some gaps, they were more or less complete.
At that moment, he did not spell it out, but merely said:
"Great-grandfather, I returned south this time first to acknowledge my ancestors and rejoin the clan, and second..."
"I seem to sense, in some unseen way, that there is something I need within the ancestral grounds."
At his words, Xu Xingzong grew even more excited:
"You sense something?"
"Good! Good! Come with me!"