Chen Xiyuan could feel that her younger brother had been teaching her things very seriously.

And he taught her more and more deeply, more and more advanced things.

Not only did he save her twice in this wave, but she would also be able to survive, and thrive, in future waves because of what he taught her.

For this, she was very grateful.

Li Zhuiyuan, however, had no such emotions. He did what he did mainly because Chen Xiyuan’s tuition was simply too generous.

The white flame cut through smoothly.

From Chen Xiyuan’s perspective, what should have been a complex problem involving the soul was handled by her younger brother as if he were holding a sharp kitchen knife and slicing a hairtail.

Simultaneously with the soul division, in reality, Ming Qiushui and the Blood Python’s physical bodies gradually separated.

Finally, accompanied by a sound:

“Crack!”

Ming Qiushui and the Blood Python completely separated.

The Blood Python, though headless, was still active.

But because Chen Xiyuan stepped on its body, it could only twitch futilely and comically.

Ming Qiushui was gone from the waist down, her wound looking like beef jerky forcefully torn in two.

She was calm, her eyes full of despair.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed at Ming Qiushui’s face and said to Chen Xiyuan:

“Remember that expression; it usually only appears at the very beginning of a mental shock. But if it lasts too long, like hers now, it means she hasn’t given up yet and is still looking for an opportunity to bite you again.”

On a kitchen chopping board, severed snake heads often lie quietly. But if you’re careless enough to scoop them into the trash can with your hands, they might just give you a “surprise.”

Chen Xiyuan nodded vigorously.

The despair in Ming Qiushui’s eyes instantly turned into a look of venomous resentment.

After separating from the snake’s body, although her vital energy was severely damaged, she could finally use her own techniques.

A point of light appeared between her eyebrows, and her soul power rapidly surged, attempting to envelop the young man.

Chen Xiyuan was about to intervene, her jade flute already raised, her fingertips placed at the mouth of the flute. With a slight rub, melodies would pour out.

This flute, of course, was not just for hitting people; it was just that Chen Xiyuan’s domain was too powerful, making it simpler and more efficient to use it as a stick.

The young man raised his left hand, signaling Chen Xiyuan not to interfere.

He quite wanted to experience Ming Qiushui’s cornered beast struggle.

The harder she struggled, the more secrets of the Ming family he could discern through her.

Ming Qiushui herself hadn’t expected everything to proceed so smoothly; she actually managed to pull the young man into her mental consciousness.

Here was a realm of misty white clouds. Ming Qiushui stood perfectly intact on the cloud, with a verdant mountain behind her, surrounded by buildings, like a wonderland.

Li Zhuiyuan guessed that it was probably the Ming family’s ancestral home.

“Falling into your hands is due to my bad luck, not because I lost to you.

Boy, today I will teach you that some opportunities you may seize, but you may not truly be able to digest!”

After speaking, Ming Qiushui began to form hand seals.

Longwang Ming focused on cultivating the soul, which was why Ming Qiushui still felt she could retaliate.

For a moment, the surrounding white clouds drifted faster, the calls of cranes were incessant, and the verdant mountain behind let out solemn bell tolls, as immense pressure bore down on Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan saw through her intention: she wanted to use the prestige of the Longwang gate to plant a seed of fear in his heart, thus severing his path on the river.

Because as long as fear existed in his heart, it would be difficult to reach the end of this river.

Zhao Yi was most deeply “harmed” by him in this regard.

He relied on sensing the state of mind of his ancestors to remain on the river.

As for Chen Xiyuan… she had already stated herself that if she encountered a wave where she had to be in opposition to him, she would not hesitate to light the lamp a second time and concede.

Therefore, as long as Li Zhuiyuan was alive, they both, in fact, had their chances of competing for the position of Longwang cut off.

But they were they; he could be a stumbling block for others, but he didn’t want one erected in front of himself.

Of course, she, Ming Qiushui, was not worthy of erecting a stumbling block for him.

To think of forcing him into fear by merely relying on the prestige of the Longwang gate was simply naive.

If he had come from humble beginnings and lacked a resilient character, he might have fallen into her trap. But the problem was, he was neither.

Li Zhuiyuan stood there, allowing Ming Qiushui’s dominant mental pressure to wash over him like waves.

The young man was like a rock on the seashore, unmoving.

Ming Qiushui realized something and exclaimed in surprise: “Whose child are you, exactly?”

Those with strong character could indeed withstand this pressure, but the young man was too calm, which meant he might not be relying on character to hold firm.

More likely, he was accustomed to such pressure.

Li Zhuiyuan did not answer. If Ming Qiushui only had this much in her arsenal, he would indeed be dissatisfied, feeling he had wasted some time.

The young man decided to first break this move and then see if she had any new tricks.

He wasn’t incapable of overpowering others with his might.

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, and the Liu family’s offering table appeared to the young man’s right.

Ming Qiushui: “Longwang Liu? You’re from the Liu family? That dead old woman Liu Yumei…”

The Qin family’s offering table appeared directly above Ming Qiushui’s head. Although the ancestral tablets on it were decayed and cracked, they still exuded an ancient and solemn aura, pressing straight down.

Ming Qiushui’s body twisted, and she had to retreat.

Unlike reality, in mental confrontation, not an inch can be yielded. Whoever retreats first loses momentum.

When the Qin family’s Longwang offering table appeared, Ming Qiushui’s heart was already in turmoil.

“Two family inheritances…” Though greatly alarmed, she still forced a cackle and laughed, “Hahahaha, the Qin and Liu families truly have no spirits left, no spirits left, haha!”

Li Zhuiyuan continued to advance, pressing closer to Ming Qiushui.

A heroic figure in a blue robe manifested before the young man. The figure leaped up and threw a punch.

Ming Qiushui: “Which Longwang’s spirit is this…”

“Boom!”

Ming Qiushui was heavily sent flying.

In this mental duel, she had already lost, now merely making a final struggle, and Li Zhuiyuan was willing to grant her wish.

Since you laugh at those without spirits, then I will show you those with spirits.

I can even show you those who are still alive!

The young man lifted his foot and stomped it down heavily.

“Buzz!”

A ghost gate appeared before Ming Qiushui. As the ghost gate opened, cries of ghosts and howls of wolves surged forth.

An aged hand reached out from within the ghost gate, grabbing towards Ming Qiushui.

Ming Qiushui quickly retreated and then dodged, only to find that this hand was not grabbing at her, but rather at the verdant mountain behind her.

The large hand clenched in the void, and the verdant mountain began to decay, its plants wilting, and the original white clouds turned into black mist.

Ming Qiushui: “No, how is this possible!”

She could accept her complete defeat in this mental confrontation, but that was due to her, what did it have to do with the Ming family?

She didn’t believe that the outcome of her duel here would have any impact on the Ming family’s ancestral home. Therefore, the current change in scenery could only mean one thing:

Something had happened at the Ming family’s ancestral home.

The prestige of the Longwang gate, which was supposed to protect the family’s descendants and give them strength and confidence, not only failed to be a help at this moment but instead became a burden.

At least it meant that at present, because of their connection with Longwang Ming, their luck would be suppressed extremely low.

Ming Qiushui: “What happened to my Ming family, what happened!”

This kind of change, for great families that value inheritance, was simply a natural disaster. It would affect every aspect of the family until it decayed and degenerated.

Through gradual pressure, Li Zhuiyuan indeed gained useful information.

Something had indeed happened to Longwang Ming.

Looking at it this way, the big commotion at the Yu family ancestral temple earlier should have been the old dog making a move on Ming Yuwan.

Although the young man had foretold this outcome before Yu Dibai worshipped Ming Yuwan as Longwang, he hadn’t expected it all to happen so quickly.

No, if it was just to whitewash the old dog… it was indeed too fast.

It should have waited until this wave passed, or at least approached its end, for everything to settle, before tearing off the facade.

“It seems that old dog wasn’t trying to whitewash himself.”

“Ahhhhh!”

Ming Qiushui collapsed; she prostrated herself on the ground.

First, the failed absorption of the Blood Python, then being taken advantage of by the young man during her struggle with the Blood Python, then a complete defeat in the mental consciousness battle, and finally, the perception of a change in the Ming family…

Under a series of blows, Ming Qiushui’s mental defenses finally completely shattered.

The white clouds, black clouds, verdant mountains, and withered mountains had all disappeared at this moment. Li Zhuiyuan also dissipated everything he had conjured in his mind.

Here, it was pitch black, with only himself standing in place, and Ming Qiushui prostrated there.

Yet, this illusion had still not dissipated.

But Ming Qiushui’s current state was not fake.

This meant that within Ming Qiushui’s body, there was another force maintaining the situation here, acting in her stead.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that next, he would encounter the Ming family’s true core secret.

The fundamental cultivation technique, which caused the soul to proliferate, and which was not stopped even by the burning of the soul using secret techniques, must have benefits far outweighing its side effects.

The young man suddenly turned his head. Unbeknownst to him, another figure had appeared behind him, identical to Ming Qiushui but with an indifferent expression.

She pointed a finger at the young man and said coldly:

“The cause sown today will bear fruit another day. The living soul is ceaseless, the spiritual念 fluctuates. I am the cause, I am the one, I am the infinite…”

The indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui’s body instantly multiplied into countless figures. They collectively chanted a scripture, all pointing their fingertips at the young man.

The real Ming Qiushui had failed, but the other Ming Qiushui had unleashed a true killing move.

Li Zhuiyuan admitted that he had indeed underestimated the Ming family.

This desperate struggle of a cornered beast truly reached a superhuman level.

If it hadn’t been him, “arrogant” today, but Chen Xiyuan, she would have undoubtedly paid a huge price for it.

It seems that after he wakes up and opens his eyes, he’ll have to teach Chen Xiyuan again: next time she encounters an opponent, if she can smash them to death early, she should do so, and not attempt to overthink things.

As for himself, Li Zhuiyuan began to silently recite the *Dizangwang Pusa Jing* in his heart, using Buddhist methods to first stabilize his mind, thus resisting the opponent’s mental offensive.

At the same time, the young man had a slight sense of doubt and familiarity.

This method of switching and coexistence felt truly familiar.

Dense rows of indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui figures completely surrounded the young man,

Shouting in unison:

“Today I am the fuel, to ignite your soul, disturb your spiritual realm, and shape your inner demon!”

In a distant corner, the still-collapsing Ming Qiushui began to burn.

Next, all the Ming Qiushuis around him began to burn.

A majestic surge of spiritual power wildly poured in, attempting to break through Li Zhuiyuan’s Buddhist defenses and disrupt his mental consciousness.

But facing such a terrifying move, Li Zhuiyuan not only did not seek other methods but even actively removed all his defenses, without continuing to fortify his Buddhist techniques.

Listen, what was she, what were they, just saying?

They wanted to burn their souls to help shape and strengthen his inner demon.

Li Zhuiyuan himself… was the inner demon!

How could these even be life-and-death enemies? Even elders in a family would be hard-pressed to be so utterly devoted, sacrificing themselves just for your advancement.

What was there to resist?

Nothing could be wasted, not a single bit. These methods of nurturing the inner demon absolutely could not be squandered in a stalemate; they had to be completely absorbed by him.

The young man sensed powerful surges of spiritual energy rushing madly into his body.

Division, promotion, instigation, alienation, indoctrination, support…

Even Li Zhuiyuan had to marvel at the skill of the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui in executing this technique.

In terms of pure skill and method, the true Ming Qiushui’s previous attempt to oppress him with the power of the Longwang gate was simply a superficial display.

This indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui truly displayed the level expected of an elder from a Longwang family.

Moreover, this was under the premise that the real Ming Qiushui was already severely weakened in reality, giving her very limited room for action. Yet, she still managed to conjure up a sudden thunderclap from a clear sky.

To be even more cynical, all of the real Ming Qiushui’s previous actions were laying the groundwork for the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui, solely to make this move come even more unexpectedly.

It was truly similar…

Similar to the relationship between him and his original body.

This Ming family actually walked this path.

But there were still differences, and huge ones.

Their primary and secondary roles were very clear. The indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui was more like an “instrument” truly “refined” by the real Ming Qiushui.

And the fundamental technique of the Ming family was a process of continuously allowing the soul to proliferate, then using secret techniques to sever it and feed this “instrument.”

The Ming family’s cultivation method was essentially refining tools, but these tools were not physical objects, but rather hidden within their own bodies.

Therefore, the Ming family had no need to worry about suffering backlash. The probability of a tool rebelling against its master was not zero, but it was extremely low, so low that it could be ignored.

What the Ming family had to worry about was that this operation, the higher the realm, the more difficult the operation. Sometimes, a certain degree of luck was truly needed. If luck was not enough, it could very likely lead to both the person and the tool perishing together.

Therefore, if Longwang Chen relied on talent, then Longwang Ming relied on luck!

Once this family’s luck declined, it would be a devastating blow, leading to a vicious cycle where the more they tried to develop and strive, the more they would decline.

Li Zhuiyuan and his original body were originally two sides of the “one.”

There was no question of who nourished whom between them, nor was there a master-servant relationship. It was more like a single person choosing different paths, and each embarking on the path they had chosen.

The reason they didn’t clash was purely because, deep down, they were both too calm, so calm that they tacitly skipped the internal conflict and struggle.

However, the Ming family’s “relationship” truly made Li Zhuiyuan envious.

If he could treat his “original body” as a tool, taking it out when needed and discarding it when not, and a master-servant relationship was established, what a wonderful situation that would be.

The indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui was indeed calmer and more astute than the real Ming Qiushui; she discovered the problem.

“Why…”

Why did she use such a sinister move, yet the other party showed no reaction?

Those with a mind as firm as a mountain could indeed slay their inner demons to temper their state of mind, but at least you should have made an attempt to slay it, right?

Why had she sacrificed such a huge price, yet saw no result at all?

A bold and absurd guess arose in the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui’s mind.

“You… are an inner demon?”

Li Zhuiyuan did not respond.

He hoped it would continue.

Originally, the young man had planned to strip Ming Qiushui’s soul clean and throw it into the Unwritten Book for torture and interrogation by the *Xie Shu*.

Now, it seemed unnecessary. If it could be directly converted into nutrients to nourish his spiritual consciousness, why take a roundabout path?

The figures of the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui began to rapidly diminish; she knew she couldn’t continue, or he would likely take extreme advantage.

Li Zhuiyuan sensed her intention. He was enjoying the absorption so well; how could he allow her to stop now?

“You start when you want, and you think you can stop when you want?”

In reality, Chen Xiyuan saw the young man with closed eyes, releasing an even larger white flame from his fingertips, directly enveloping Ming Qiushui.

In the mental consciousness, two ghost pillars emerged behind the young man, and rusty chains swung out, trapping the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui figures, preventing them from disappearing.

On one hand, he accelerated Ming Qiushui’s burning sacrifice, and on the other, he controlled the input port to remain open.

Li Zhuiyuan was using very crude methods to forcibly extract Ming Qiushui’s last bit of value.

Finally, in reality, Ming Qiushui’s shattered body began to rot and swell simultaneously.

In the mental consciousness, the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui figures collectively faded, and in her final moments, she uttered this question:

“Your inheritance and the Ming family’s inheritance, there’s a…”

“Snap! Snap! Snap!”

In the mental consciousness, the true Ming Qiushui turned into nothingness, and the indifferent-faced Ming Qiushui figures exploded collectively.

In reality, Li Zhuiyuan slowly opened his eyes.

Yes, I’ve also noticed, there must be a connection between my condition and your Ming family’s inheritance.

Chen Xiyuan noticed that her younger brother’s condition had not only fully recovered from the previous exhaustion of helping the Yu family but also that the fleeting sharpness in his eyes indicated he had advanced further.

Then, looking at Ming Qiushui, who had turned into pus and exploded everywhere, Chen Xiyuan unconsciously swallowed.

Her younger brother was truly terrified of poverty; others merely sucked the marrow from bones, but he even had to suck the remnant souls.

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to where Ming Qiushui had exploded and said:

“Remember, my actions just now are a negative example. Don’t learn from my overconfidence and recklessness.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I will smash her without hesitation the first chance I get.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “Hmm, if you want to talk, wait until the enemy is dead, then you can talk slowly with them.”

Chen Xiyuan: “I remember.”

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and savored the feeling of mental fullness he now possessed.

As expected, a centipede, even dead, will not fall stiff; even severely wounded, Ming Qiushui managed to infuse him with so much energy and even helped broaden his mental reservoir.

One must know that reaching his current level of mental refinement, further improvement was already extremely difficult.

The Ming family, truly a treasure.

Unfortunately, in the martial world, any reputable family generally only assigns one person to “go down the river” per generation, because those from the same sect or family are easily arranged by the river to meet early and decide a winner from among themselves.

But luckily, he had a grudge with the Ming family.

When Ming Qiushui discovered his origin from the Liu family, she didn’t immediately try to cozy up; instead, she directly referred to Liu Nainai as “that dead old hag.”

This indicated that in her subconscious, the Liu family and the Ming family already had an irreconcilable feud. They might tolerate each other in public, but privately, they would never let go of an opportunity to suppress and kill each other.

Liu Nainai was still too conservative after all.

She had already taken him to the “Wangjiang Lou” meeting and pulled back the curtains for him to clearly see the enemies, but she hadn’t told him the specific names of those enemies.

Making him have to distinguish from the opponents’ reactions which were normal competitors and which were his family’s enemies.

Perhaps Liu Nainai hadn’t expected that he would start avenging the grudges so quickly.

Looking at it this way, Zhao Yi recommending Yu Dibai to Ming Yuwan, causing the Ming family to suffer karmic backlash, truly helped him greatly.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that this was not a lucky coincidence; it must have been a result carefully chosen by Zhao Yi.

After this wave ends, he should invite Zhao Yi to Nantong again to experience his training ground.

Zhao Yi was helping the Qin and Liu families avenge their grudges, and Li Zhuiyuan had to award him on behalf of Liu Nainai.

Of course, the premise was that Zhao Yi had to survive this wave.

Currently, Zhao Yi should still be alive and well. Given his personality, he might not have even entered the inner area of the Yu family by now, focusing on finding high-level demonic beast corpses in the periphery.

Perhaps, he might even be counting on his fingers, gloating, saying how many teams would perish in this wave, and that he was the most clear-headed.

Little did he know, in this Yu family ancestral home, if you truly did nothing of substance, there was a high probability… you wouldn’t make it out of the Yu family gates alive.

Li Zhuiyuan regained his focus and pointed at the headless Blood Python under Chen Xiyuan’s foot: “Hold it down.”

Chen Xiyuan, without a word, inserted her jade flute into the Blood Python’s body.

This action even made Li Zhuiyuan sigh with emotion, that such an exquisite object truly suffered when it was with Miss Chen.

However, because of this, the Blood Python was completely suppressed, utterly reduced to snake meat on a chopping board, and the kind that was headless and harmless.

Li Zhuiyuan spread his right hand, and the Jiaolong spirit excitedly coiled into an incense spiral in the young man’s palm.

It was very well-behaved, clearly with a feast before it, yet still waiting for the young man’s final instruction.

“Go eat, eat as much as you can, depending on your ability.”

The Jiaolong spirit immediately coiled up and disappeared into the Blood Python’s body. The size difference between the two was so immense that the Jiaolong spirit looked more like a tiny parasite.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, took out a black formation flag from his backpack, and began to set up the surrounding area.

Temporary formations could have a certain probability of error, so the young man intended to set up a safer one for Chen Xiyuan.

Chen Xiyuan followed closely beside him, ensuring that her domain constantly covered the young man.

She had always wanted a younger brother, but unfortunately, her parents were not competitive enough, couldn’t even compete for luck, and couldn’t have one.

At first, Li Zhuiyuan truly fit her dream image of a younger brother. Who knew, after continuous interaction, she instead felt like a younger sister who needed this “older brother” to worry about everything.

No wonder Tan Wenbin and the others called him “Little Yuan Ge”; it was truly fitting.

“Alright, stretch your domain a bit wider. I’ll activate the formation now. Try your best to maintain it, don’t just resist, but understand new dynamic stability in the confrontation.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“If you feel you can’t hold on, tell me in advance.”

“Little brother, don’t worry, I, your older sister, will definitely hold on until the last moment and will never let you down.”

“The result of holding on until the last moment is your domain shattering, and I will be drenched in the blood water turned from demon resentment. You might only be severely injured, but I will surely die.”

“Oh, I understand…”

“Begin.”

Li Zhuiyuan activated the formation.

The blood water from the blood pool was drawn over, like a fountain, showering onto Chen Xiyuan’s domain.

The domain instantly swayed and trembled, and a look of pain appeared on Chen Xiyuan’s face.

In terms of cultivation and comprehension, Chen Xiyuan did not need him to worry.

Li Zhuiyuan focused on his own tasks, extending his fingertips outwards, reaching the critical point of Chen Xiyuan’s domain.

The blood water that had splashed onto Chen Xiyuan’s domain and was dripping down was gradually drawn towards the young man.

Li Zhuiyuan needed to constantly move his fingertips back and forth, based on Chen Xiyuan’s state, so that he had contact with these bloodwaters, yet no actual contact.

It was indeed troublesome, but this was already the best method.

The black leather book’s secret technique activated.

The dense and oppressive resentment in the blood water began to surge wildly into the young man’s body.

Deep in his consciousness.

His true self stood by the fish pond, looking up as a large amount of blood water continuously fell from the sky and crashed into the pond.

The fish fry in the pond seemed to go mad, beginning to devour this red substance.

However, the speed of consumption here was clearly much slower than the speed at which “feed” was added.

Before long, the entire fish pond began to turn slightly red.

As time continued to pass, the fish pond went from slightly red to light red to normal red and then to dark red.

In reality, the blood water stopped.

This meant that Chen Xiyuan had held on until the end.

Li Zhuiyuan withdrew his hand and looked at Chen Xiyuan standing behind him; her entire body was covered in blood.

Under immense pressure, her skin repeatedly seeped blood, and the layers of blood on her body were clearly visible.

And the domain she had been supporting had very blurry edges.

At first glance, it seemed as if the domain had shrunk, but in reality, the scope of the domain could expand further and more freely and naturally.

Li Zhuiyuan spoke: “It’s over.”

The blood scabs on Chen Xiyuan’s face fell off, and her eyes looked at the young man.

Although she looked incredibly disheveled, her eyes were still full of vitality.

This showed that she was indeed obedient; she hadn’t deliberately held on until the last moment, always reserving some strength to remind the young man to end it early.

There was no desperate fight for opportunity, no resolve to push through the last breath, yet she succeeded.

This was talent.

In fact, the first thing she said next was:

“Little brother, am I very ugly now?”

“Hmm.”

Chen Xiyuan was stunned for a moment, subconsciously wanting to rush out of the cave and take a bath in the pond, but she held back.

Beside them, the blood in the blood pool had dried up.

The Blood Python was still there, pinned by the jade flute, unmoving.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes.

He came to the edge of the fish pond deep within his consciousness.

The water in the fish pond was no longer simply dark red; it had become so thick that it resembled a giant block of *mao xue wang* in the shape of a fish pond.

And the height of this *mao xue wang* far exceeded the height of the fish pond’s banks.

The fish were not swimming around in it, but rather drilling through it, literally immersed in an ocean of food.

His true self walked up from behind and said, “It’s a good thing it’s over. If it continued, this fish pond wouldn’t be able to hold it, and it would definitely overflow.”

If it overflowed, it meant Li Zhuiyuan would be invaded by demonic resentment and would go mad.

Li Zhuiyuan: “You can make the fish pond bigger, or put in more fish fry.”

His true self: “Can’t eat that much, can’t afford to raise them, and wouldn’t dare to. The current number is just right. If they grew too large, it would get out of control.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “You’re also afraid of backlash?”

His true self: “Aren’t you the product of my backlash?”

Li Zhuiyuan: “For now, it should be enough, right?”

His true self: “Most of the resentment of the deceased demonic beasts in the Yu family is basically here. It’s definitely enough.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “That’s good.”

Seeing that the situation here was still relatively normal, Li Zhuiyuan left the depths of his consciousness and returned to reality.

Chen Xiyuan was pulling out her jade flute.

“Pfft…”

From the enormous body of the Blood Python, as if it had been filled with water, a large amount of foul-smelling liquid spurted out from the flute’s opening.

The entire python body quickly shriveled, leaving only its skin and scales.

The Jiaolong spirit wobbled out of the opening. Originally, it was only the size of an incense coil, but now its volume was like a small snake.

When it tried to coil in the young man’s palm as usual, it found the young man’s palm was not large enough. So it changed its posture, wrapping its body around the young man’s wrist, leaving only its head section lying in the young man’s palm.

Li Zhuiyuan could touch its head with his fingertip, a cool sensation that carried a certain hotness and ferocity.

After all, it was a Jiaolong, not an ordinary pet.

None of the Four Spirit Beasts within Tan Wenbin’s body, in terms of status, could compare to it. Currently, only Li Zhuiyuan himself could keep it in check. If placed inside Tan Wenbin’s body, it would rebel, even if it meant death.

Chen Xiyuan, seeing this, couldn’t help but remind him:

“Little brother, you must be careful when raising it.”

The Jiaolong spirit heard the hidden meaning in her words and immediately raised its head, wanting to unleash its malice upon her.

The young man tapped it with his fingertip, and it immediately lay back docilely, even affectionately rubbing itself under the young man’s finger.

Li Zhuiyuan calmly said: “Raising a Jiaolong causes trouble?”

Chen Xiyuan: “Hmm.”

Li Zhuiyuan: “No worries, I’ve already raised more than one Jiaolong.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Hehe, little brother, you think quite highly of me, your older sister.”

The young man put away the formation flags and placed them back in his backpack.

Before the two left, Chen Xiyuan placed a talisman on the headless female corpse and her subordinates. The talismans self-ignited, incinerating their bodies as well.

Although she was kind-hearted, she feared the young man would misunderstand and further explained:

“She dared to ambush and kill me in the museum back then, so I’m going to burn her to ashes.”

Leaving the cave and ascending, they saw a huge black shadow above.

Chen Xiyuan felt a surge of vigilance, but Li Zhuiyuan patted her wrist, signaling her not to act rashly.

The black shadow opened its eyes, its colossal body dissipated, revealing a normal figure; it was Run Sheng.

When Li Zhuiyuan was absorbing the purest resentment in the blood pool, it was equivalent to all the surrounding demonic resentment gathering madly there. Run Sheng’s position was like the filtering water in a rural elder’s water pipe.

Thanks to Xiao Yuan’s favor, he thoroughly enjoyed the thrill of having resentment wash over his body.

Just as his true self said, it was because the demonic beasts in the Yu family ancestral home had just undergone a large-scale slaughter. In reality, if you dared to create such a large area of high-quality Asura battlefield… well, you’d see if lightning didn’t strike you.

Run Sheng carried Xiao Yuan to the surface. Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou immediately came to meet them.

After the two got ashore, Chen Xiyuan was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Shuyou asked: “Where’s Miss Chen? Did something happen?”

Run Sheng:

“She’s taking a bath.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuyou took out an unopened bar of soap from his backpack and threw it towards the center of the pond.

“Plop!”

The soap sank to the bottom.

Tan Wenbin looked at Lin Shuyou: “Strange, why aren’t you this attentive with your Linlin?”

Lin Shuyou: “I don’t know either. When I’m with her, I often don’t know what to do with my hands and feet.”

Tan Wenbin: “Heh, that’s good.”

Lin Shuyou shined his flashlight on Run Sheng and asked:

“Run Sheng, how come you look a bit darker?”

As he spoke, he reached out to touch him again, and felt a stinging sensation at his fingertips.

Tan Wenbin also reached out and gave a pat: “Hiss…”

The two knew that Run Sheng had gained an advantage down below.

The Yu family truly was like a whale fall, bringing life to all things.

After a while, Chen Xiyuan surfaced, like a lotus emerging from clear water.

In her hand, she held a half-used bar of soap.

Chen Xiyuan: “Your river-going equipment is truly complete.”

Tan Wenbin: “Next time, I’ll send you a mountaineering backpack according to our equipment standards.”

Chen Xiyuan smiled: “Alright, thank you so much.”

Tan Wenbin: “It’s a small matter.”

Miss Chen used to go on the river without even an extra change of clothes, because often after a wave, her clothes weren’t even dirty.

The remaining half bar of soap wasn’t suitable for returning, so Chen Xiyuan found a lotus leaf to wrap it up, saving it for later use.

Li Zhuiyuan took out the purple-gold compass. The Jiaolong spirit willingly lay on the compass. Looking with the naked eye, one could see the compass rapidly rotating and changing in a more precise manner.

The well-fed Jiaolong, full and energized, further increased its enthusiasm for work. It even folded its body on the compass, “drawing” a route map with itself.

After recalibrating the position, Li Zhuiyuan spoke:

“There’s a shortcut to the ancestral temple. Follow me.”

Taking the shortcut required passing through some building complexes.

The closer they got to the Yu family ancestral temple area, the fewer functional buildings related to inheritance there were. Many were residences for core family members and other sacrificial areas.

A courtyard with a closed gate blocked Li Zhuiyuan and his companions’ path.

This was one of the few places that, after being occupied by demonic beasts, still retained intact house doors.

There were no formations or restrictions, making it much simpler than the residences of other Yu family members.

Li Zhuiyuan gestured for Run Sheng to push the door open.

As the door opened, the strange layout of the courtyard was presented before everyone.

It had no houses; what appeared from the outside seemed to be mere decoration to make it look normal. Inside, it was, in fact, just this one large courtyard.

In the courtyard, five human-shaped stone statues knelt.

One person in front, four behind, and on the shoulder of the front person, stood an eagle.

Behind the five people were five coffins, which, though they looked uncorrupted on the outside, were already very old.

In front of the five people was a stone tablet, with a sword mark on it.

Although it was unknown how many years had passed, the sword aura still remained.

Upon closer inspection, Li Zhuiyuan clearly perceived the aura of the *Liu Shi Wang Qi Jue* within this sword aura.

There were words on both sides of the stone tablet:

One side read: “Reflect and Repent.”

The other side read: “Longwang Liu.”

Chen Xiyuan: “Why is there a monument of Longwang Liu in the Yu family’s ancestral home?”

The first person kneeling there was clearly from the Yu family, and most likely a team member of that generation’s “river-goer” from the Yu family.

Chen Xiyuan continued to guess: “Little brother, was there a Longwang Liu in history who once condemned the Yu family?”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded.

Chen Xiyuan: “Then, looking at this posture, the Yu family voluntarily handed over that generation’s ‘river-goers’ for that Longwang to judge, and it’s highly likely the Yu family killed them themselves to quell that Longwang’s anger, and specifically set up this courtyard, preserving it to this day.”

There were only a few words on the stone tablet, without context, so no one knew exactly what happened back then.

But under normal circumstances, the Yu family, as a Longwang family itself, while deferring to the current Longwang, would not need to suffer such humiliating treatment.

Moreover, looking at the Yu family’s attitude towards this matter, and that the Yu family has preserved this courtyard, and that no one in the martial world has ever heard of this incident… it can be deduced that in this matter, the Yu family was in the wrong. Therefore, the Yu family uncharacteristically bowed to that generation’s Longwang Liu and carried out their own family law.

This courtyard was not equipped with formations or restrictions, allowing Yu family members to enter and exit freely, precisely to educate future generations and serve as a warning.

In this matter, the Yu family truly acted openly and honorably, demonstrating the dignified conduct of an orthodox Longwang family.

And that Longwang Liu, upon arriving at the Yu family and seeing this scene, left this sword qi on the stone tablet, declaring the matter concluded.

Li Zhuiyuan could already guess who that Longwang Liu was.

That person, after successfully navigating the river and becoming Longwang, did not choose the path of magnanimity. Instead, she drew her sword and sought revenge on her enemies on the river, one by one, even if they had already lit the lamp a second time, conceded, and come ashore. She would never let them off.

This was an ancestor whom even Liu Nainai, holding the ancestral tablet, didn’t know how to describe.

Longwang Liu—Liu Qingcheng.

Another chapter tonight.