Chapter 433: I Came to See You

At the Xiao Clan’s ancestral land, in a courtyard built atop the mouth of a spirit spring, a woman dressed in court attire sat high on the head seat and said solemnly, “Xiao Yu, you have had too many secular entanglements in the past, and you have become entangled in too much karma and karmic debt. From this moment on, you must sever all ties to the secular world. Only then, ten years from now, may you reach a modest level of mastery in your Western Mountain Rain. The Xiao Clan is currently in a precarious state, and the crisis will soon strike us. It is about time you and the younger generation shoulder your responsibilities.”

Though somewhat reluctant, Xiao Yu replied affirmatively. Standing on either side of him were several others, all outstanding members of the Xiao Clan’s younger generation.

The woman in court attire’s expression softened slightly as she said, “You’ve been too absorbed in secular affairs. Your insistence on becoming City Lord has caused you to fall behind in your studies. This time, you must resolve to sever all ties with Qingming.”

Xiao Yu suddenly asked, “I’ll just focus on my training. Why must I sever ties with Qingming?”

“A tribulation is approaching Qingming soon. We must draw a clear line between us and them now, and see after the tribulation has passed.”

“Isn’t it our duty as cultivators to resolve crises and save those in distress? How can I stand by and watch my sect fellows suffer without offering help?” Xiao Yu asked.

The woman in court attire’s expression darkened. “That only applies to independent cultivators! As members of the Xiao Clan who will advance into the Avatar stage very soon, you must prioritize the clan above all else! A major battle looms for our clan, and we cannot afford to get entangled in further trouble. Xiao Nian, keep a close eye on your grandson. He doesn’t have much time left.”

Xiao Nian, standing nearby, replied simply, “Yes.”

Suddenly, someone came in and reported, “Elders, an Avatar named Wei Yuan has just arrived at the foot of the mountain. He’s expressed his wish to see Xiao Yu.”

The woman in court attire’s expression shifted slightly, and she said bluntly, “We will not receive him! Send him away!”

......

The sun rose and set.

Wei Yuan had been sitting in a pavilion all day. It had no mystic arrays to shield against the wind or the cold—it was simply a pavilion.

Passersby pointed and whispered about Wei Yuan, gossiping and mocking him, convinced he had come to the Xiao Clan to beg for a favor, only to be barred from even entering the main gate. There had been many such cases in the past; some had even knelt at the foot of the mountain for over half a month. However, the Xiao Clan had set their threshold high. If you couldn’t cross it, you couldn’t cross it—no matter how long you knelt.

Wei Yuan simply sat there listening, unperturbed. Even in the western regions, few could recognize him at glance, let alone the Xiao Clan, who was situated hundreds of thousands of li away.

In a warm pavilion atop the mountain, a steward peeked in cautiously and whispered, “He’s been sitting there for quite a while.”

“I know. You may go,” Xiao Yu said calmly.

Xiao Nian, who had been meditating nearby, opened his eyes and said, “Your mind is unsettled.”

“It isn’t.”

“Hmm.” Xiao Nian closed his eyes and lost himself in meditation again.

Xiao Yu suddenly opened his eyes and tapped lightly on the low table beside him. A faint, almost imperceptible figure appeared, kneeling before him.

“How many people had mocked him?”

“One hundred and sixty-seven.”

“Did you record them all?”

“Not a single one was missed.”

“Where is the list?”

The figure immediately presented him with a piece of jade paper. Xiao Yu read it slowly, committing each name to memory one by one, then closed his eyes to meditate.

......

The next time Xiao Yu opened his eyes again, he realized with a start that the sky was already filled with morning light.

Xiao Yu drew in a breath of true spirit qi, rose to his feet, stepped outside, and looked at the rising sun. Just then, a figure materialized behind him and reported, “Three hundred and nineteen.”

Xiao Yu furrowed his brows in puzzlement. “What?”

The figure presented him with another piece of jade paper, and upon seeing the newly added names, Xiao Yu’s expression finally darkened, and he uttered through gritted teeth, “Kick everyone on that list out of the mountain gate!”

The figure did not vanish but replied, “They’re bound to harbor resentment once they leave the mountain.”

Xiao Yu sneered. “Like I am afraid of that! Let anyone with a grievance come find me—if I can’t kill them within three sword strikes, I’ll reincarnate and start over! If even one of these people goes on to achieve anything in the future, I’ll reincarnate and start over as well!”

Xiao Nian finally opened his eyes and said with a faint smile, “Good.”

Xiao Yu’s face suddenly flushed crimson, and he exploded, “Can’t you go into secluded cultivation for real?”

Xiao Nian replied with the same smile, “You’re better than I was back then. Naturally, I can’t miss a single moment of your growth.”

Xiao Yu grunted and said, “You just want to brag to your old buddies, that’s all!”

“You’re exactly what. What are you going to do about it?”

“You’re an old man acting like a child!”

Xiao Nian chuckled. “You’re still too green to go up against your own grandfather. Oh, he’s already covered in quite a bit of snow.”

“Impossible!” Xiao Yu knew full well what level Wei Yuan was at right now. Forget snowflakes, the bastard would be fine even if he was sealed in a ten-thousand-year-old profound ice.

“His aura is weakening.”

“That’s even more impossible!”

“Hmm.”

Xiao Yu sat down in the courtyard, facing the rising sun, and began to absorb solar essence. However, he had just taken his first breath when he choked and coughed violently. Try as he might, he simply couldn’t calm his mind.

Xiao Yu gritted hi teeth, grasped the Immortal Sword The Sun, and headed out. Just then, Xiao Nian’s voice rang out from behind him. “Go early and come back early!”

Xiao Yu looked back and asked, “Am I really your biological grandson?”

“No, you’re adopted.”

Xiao Yu’s figure flickered and vanished. The next moment, Wei Yuan’s large face appeared before his eyes.

Xiao Yu’s expression was as cold as frost as he asked, “What are you doing here?”

Wei Yuan smiled faintly and began, “I have a sword—”

Expressionless, Xiao Yu yelled, “Eat sword, barbarian!”

He thrust his sword at Xiao Yu’s face after saying that. Seeing that Wei Yuan remained motionless and smiling, Xiao Yu increased his strength by a third, then withdrew nine-tenth of it the instant the tip made contact.

The blade of the Immortal Sword The Sun sliced right through Wei Yuan’s skin and flesh before it was stopped by the bone.

Xiao Yu’s hand trembled, and the wound doubled in size.

Wei Yuan sat motionless, as if it weren’t his own flesh being cut or his own blood flowing.

An aghast Xiao Yu erupted, “Are you crazy?!”

A chuckle escaped Wei Yuan’s throat as he answered, “Of course not.”

Xiao Yu covered his face and said helplessly, “Just tell me what you want already, Ancestor.”

The chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. “Originally, I just wanted to see you since it’s been so long. But after I arrived, I divined the heavenly mysteries and fortune and decided to take a sword strike from you—to increase our karmic bond so to speak.”

The wound on his face closed on its own, and Wei Yuan stared intently at Xiao Yu’s face.

“Is there a flower on my face?”

“Your cultivation is a bit lacking. No good flower may come of it.”

“So, you’re saying I’m ugly?”

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment before answering sincerely, “You’re just a tiny bit better-looking than me.”

His answer caught Xiao Yu by surprise. His sword was already halfway through its strike, but upon hearing Wei Yuan’s answer, it suddenly couldn’t move an inch further. At the same time, the corners of Xiao Yu’s mouth curved up uncontrollably.

“Don’t you have anything better to do? Don’t you need to tend to Qingming? Are you so free that you can afford to come all the way here just to chat? Have you finished sorting out my Yong’an City yet?” Xiao Yu fired off a barrage of questions.

Wei Yuan rose to his full height and said, “All right, I’ve seen the person and formed the karma. I know what to do now. I’m leaving!”

Xiao Yu frowned. “What are you planning”

Wei Yuan smiled faintly and said, “What I’m planning isn’t important. For everyone’s sake, I’ll do anything!”

Looking at Wei Yuan’s receding figure, Xiao Yu suddenly exploded, “Who do you mean by ‘everyone’? Explain yourself!”

Wei Yuan’s voice drifted from afar. “I don’t take questions from a Dao Foundation.”

......

The Bao Clan’s ancestral land, the State of Wu.

Bao Yun sat upright and asked, “Why are you here again?”

Wei Yuan asked, “Will you come with me?”

Bao Yun smiled faintly and replied, “Beg me!”

Wei Yuan was caught off guard for a second. He then clenched his teeth—his face flushing red in an instant—and forced out the word: “Please!”

Bao Yun immediately grabbed his hand and declared, “Let’s go!”

“Stop right there!” Zhao Fusheng emerged from behind the courtyard gate, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Inside the Great Realm, Wei Yuan addressed Yin Yang in a tone of command: “I don’t need you for this! Stay where you are.”

Wei Yuan, still holding Bao Yun’s hand, pressed forward. Zhao Fusheng stood directly in their path, saying nothing.

Wei Yuan withdrew all of his mystic power and charged straight at Zhao Fusheng purely with physical strength! The two separated the moment they made contact, and for an instant, the Bao Clan’s ancestral land shook violently, and some elders were forced out of their secluded cultivation.

Zhao Fusheng retreated three steps. Seeing that Wei Yuan had retreated only one step, his expression darkened. This time, it was he who withdrew his mystic power and charged toward Wei Yuan—but again he was forced back three steps, and Wei Yuan one.

Wei Yuan then said, “It’s a bit unfair for me to defeat you in a physical battle. Let us fight in a martial demonstration instead!”

Zhao Fusheng’s face turned ashen. “Do you think that this son of Zhao would fear you in a physical battle? Although I owe you my life from our encounter in the secret realm, I cannot back down on this matter. If I accidentally kill you later, I’ll repay you with my own life.”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “You’re overthinking it.”

Zhao Fusheng said coldly, “You don’t believe I’d pay you back with my life?”

“Whether I believe it or not makes no difference—you simply won’t have the chance to pay me your life.”

Zhao Fusheng said nothing, simply charging head-on at Wei Yuan a second time. The earth shook again and again, and the two were forced back farther with each collision.

By the tenth collision, all the elders of the Bao Clan were forced to emerge from secluded cultivation. If they hadn’t, they would certainly suffer a qi deviation.

A mountain-like energy descended, firmly pinning Wei Yuan and Zhao Fusheng to the spot. Several elders then appeared, their expressions varied. One elder, whose meditation had just been interrupted, barked with a furious expression, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

Bao Yun asked Wei Yuan, “We’ve been discovered. What should we do?”

Wei Yuan looked around and sighed. “I guess we won’t be leaving just yet. Let’s talk business first, then.”