Leaving the City

Just as Mo Wen was shut away at home, cultivating diligently behind closed doors, a messenger delivered a piece of news to Song Yixue.

"Five Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Ji Household gathered hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators and laid siege to Moon-Washing Lake. Song Xuan was gravely wounded in the battle and may be in mortal danger!"

Song Yixue's face changed drastically the moment she read the message.

Of everyone in the Song Household, she was closest to her third brother.

Song Yixue had lost her father at a young age and had been raised by her uncle, Song Kang. Song Xuan was Song Kang's only son.

Song Yixue was naturally aloof and disliked socializing, so she was not well liked among her peers. After she was found to have Three Spirit Roots and the clan designated her a seed for Foundation Establishment, many of her clansmen grew even more secretly jealous and resentful of her.

Song Xuan cared deeply for his cousin Song Yixue and had always looked after her, even giving her the Spirit Stones he had saved to support her cultivation.

Later, when Ji Yuan set his sights on Song Yixue's "bewitching yin physique," Song Xuan went to great lengths to intercede within the clan, finally putting a stop to the proposed marriage alliance.

It could be said that, without Song Xuan's staunch protection, Song Yixue would probably have fallen into Ji Yuan's hands long ago.

Now that Song Xuan had been gravely wounded, Song Yixue immediately lost her composure.

In fact, the moment she first read the message, she had sensed something suspicious about it, but she did not dare take the gamble!

"What should I do?" Song Yixue knew very well that if she rushed back to Moon-Washing Lake, she would only be a sheep walking into a tiger's maw, and it would do nothing to resolve the matter!

She immediately thought of Mo Wen, because this man was now her dao companion, the one she could rely on!

Song Yixue hesitated no longer. She immediately contacted Mo Wen with a Message Transmission Talisman and told him everything.

After receiving the message, Mo Wen replied at once, "Come see me immediately!"

When Song Yixue reached Mo Wen's cave abode, he was already waiting outside.

"Mo Lang, I want to go back to Moon-Washing Lake!" Song Yixue said urgently as soon as they met.

"Don't worry, leave everything to me!" Mo Wen said comfortingly as he led Song Yixue into the cave abode.

"Yixue, whether this is true or not, you cannot leave Azure Luan Immortal City!" Mo Wen said decisively as soon as they entered the courtyard.

"But I'm worried about third brother..." Song Yixue was about to continue, but Mo Wen stopped her with a gesture.

"Yixue, do you trust me?" Mo Wen asked with utmost seriousness.

"Of course I do!"

"Trust me, I have more than enough strength to resolve this! You must stay inside this cave abode until I return. No matter who comes or what he says, don't believe him!"

"But you've only just reached Foundation Establishment. How can you fight the Ji Household?"

"Yixue, there are many things I can't explain, but I really am very strong! You only need to trust me. Leave the rest to me!"

Song Yixue looked at Mo Wen, her eyes full of reluctance to part with him. She knew very well that if Mo Wen went to Moon-Washing Lake now, the odds would be stacked heavily against him!

"Mo Lang, perhaps you shouldn't go. The Song Household's clan elders won't just stand by and watch third brother die," Song Yixue said with difficulty.

"Yixue, have you heard of 'Sword Qi Thunder Sound'?" With that, Mo Wen drew his sword and slashed at the air.

In an instant, a thunderous sound burst forth, and a streak of Sword Qi struck the defensive formation, stirring up wave after wave of violent ripples.

At the sight, Song Yixue's beautiful eyes widened, and she stared at Mo Wen in a daze.

"Mo Lang, you're a sword cultivator too?!"

Song Yixue was truly stunned. Mo Wen's image as a genius talisman master had only just been established, so how had he suddenly transformed into a sword cultivator with extraordinary combat prowess? This was just too fantastical!

"I used less than a tenth of my strength for that strike! With Sword Qi Thunder Sound, even a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator can't harm me in the slightest!" Mo Wen explained.

"Mo Lang, you must be careful. Don't trust even the people of the Song Household too readily!" Song Yixue cautioned him, her eyes brimming with affection.

"Don't worry, I'll return safe and sound! Remember what I said: no matter who comes looking for you, don't leave the cave abode or open the protective formation!" After giving her a few more instructions, Mo Wen left the cave abode and headed for the Divine Pill Pavilion.

Whether the news of Song Xuan's injury was true or not, he still needed to prepare some second-tier healing spirit pills. He could use them himself anyway, so they would not go to waste!

Over the past two years, Mo Wen had purchased a large number of pills from the Divine Pill Tower, raising his VIP rank to "silver." He could now enjoy a ten-percent discount and was also eligible to purchase some higher-grade pills.

The purchase went smoothly. Mo Wen spent a fortune on five kinds of high-grade second-tier spirit pills, covering most types of injuries.

After leaving the Divine Pill Pavilion, Mo Wen did not immediately leave the city. Instead, he changed his appearance and went to the vicinity of the Song Clan Talisman Shop.

He searched the area with his Divine Sense and found no suspicious figures nearby. Only then did he disguise himself as an ordinary Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator and head for the southern gate of Azure Luan Immortal City.

After leaving the city, Mo Wen flew south on his sword at the usual speed of a Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator.

This was not the direction of Moon-Washing Lake, but Mo Wen showed no intention of changing course. He flew on for over two hundred li before stopping to rest.

Half an hour later, having recovered, Mo Wen continued flying south. This time, he had barely gone five or six li when a powerful Divine Sense stopped him.

Mo Wen gauged it and found that the other party's Divine Sense was somewhat stronger than his own. He was probably a veteran Foundation Establishment cultivator.

At this point, Mo Wen no longer bothered to conceal himself. Looking toward a certain spot, he said, "Fellow Daoist, why not show yourself? What are you doing hiding over there so furtively?"

"Fellow Daoist Mo, you truly are extraordinary. I am Ji Buqun, and I would like to invite you to visit the Ji Household." An old man with a gray beard and a ruddy face revealed himself, a trace of pride in his voice.

"Ji Buqun, the Ji Household's second elder?" Mo Wen asked as he recalled the information he had on the Ji Household.

As far as the public knew, besides its False Core patriarch, who had not appeared in public for a long time, the Ji Household had seven Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Of the seven, the household head, Ji Bufan, had the greatest aptitude, with a wood-and-fire Dual Spirit Root. He had now reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. He was not yet a hundred and thirty years old, and if he could obtain a suitable spirit item for core formation, he might have a sliver of hope of forming a Golden Core.

Below Ji Bufan were two Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivators: the first elder, Ji Buli, and the second elder, Ji Buqun. Both were over a hundred and fifty years old and would probably never break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage in this lifetime, much less reach Golden Core.

Below them were four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the "Wu" generation. Their foundations and potential were both rather ordinary, and their combat prowess was unremarkable!

It could be said that whether the Ji Household could rise to the next level rested entirely on Ji Bufan! At the very least, he could become a False Core cultivator and protect the Ji Household for another hundred years.

As Ji Bufan's only son, Ji Yuan had naturally been made the Ji Household's young master. He had been doted on by the clan's elders since childhood, and as a result had grown up lawless and unruly.

Although Mo Wen was confident in his own strength, this was his first time facing an opponent at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, so he did not dare be careless in the slightest.

Moreover, his Divine Sense detected another Foundation Establishment cultivator hiding nearby.

To keep his true strength from being exposed, Mo Wen decided to go all out and kill both of them here!