Inside the cave abode, the atmosphere was heavy.
Xu Jiuling sat upright in the jade chair at the head of the hall, his face as still as water.
He had just questioned Li Feiyu until he understood the entire sequence of events, and now his gaze held undisguised reproach.
"Foolish!"
"That Qing Chen has already made a mortal enemy of Mo Qiuxian. Do you know who stands behind Mo Qiuxian? That man from the Technique Transmission Hall! Without sufficient benefit, why should I offend a cultivator of my own rank over this petty quarrel of yours?"
He snorted coldly and continued his reprimand. "This boy is clearly someone Mo Qiuxian has painstakingly plotted against. Protecting him for a time was one thing."
"Now you insist on sticking your neck out again. That is openly declaring that you will fight Mo Qiuxian until one of you dies! When that draws in the man behind him and stirs up an even greater storm, will it be worth it? Will it pay?"
"You are a cultivator, yet you are steeped in the habits of the martial world. If you act on such hotheaded impulses, what sort of immortality are you cultivating?!"
Li Feiyu stood below with his head bowed, his face pale from the scolding, yet he dared not utter a single word in his defense.
The reprimand, lasting nearly half an hour, made his uncle's stance utterly clear to him.
Only after roughly half an hour did Qing Chen see Li Feiyu emerge, his head hanging and his expression somewhat awkward.
"Junior Brother Qing, well... I'm truly sorry."
He approached, his tone apologetic. "My uncle... he isn't in a good frame of mind today. He said he would see only me and didn't wish to receive visitors."
Seeing his expression, Qing