Chapter 65

A good-for-nothing, and a spoiled, willful good-for-nothing at that, one who cared nothing for others' dignity and only knew how to stir up trouble. Even if he hadn't spoken, Elder Wen had no intention of plotting against her.

Yet, hearing Immortal Qingwu mention her specifically, Elder Wen could not help but freeze.

Putting aside the humiliation gnawing at his heart, he asked instinctively, "Why?"

"She is at least still human, far better than Gong Miaohua," Immortal Qingwu said coldly. "There are only so few left of the Gong family. It is enough that you are tormenting Gong Miaohua; you are not permitted to lay a hand on that little one."

He seemed to hold little fondness for Gong Miaohua, refusing to treat her with any special regard despite her being the orphaned descendant of his old friend.

Elder Wen's lips twitched. Looking at the burly man whose imposing aura was suffocating, he murmured to himself, "You still care about such things."

Immortal Qingwu withdrew his gaze.

"Do you know why I did not step forward earlier?"

"Why?"

"Because the Sun family is equally unworthy of my intervention," Immortal Qingwu scoffed coldly. "Ungrateful wretches! All the kindness he showed them over the years might as well have been fed to dogs!"

A deep, latent murderous intent welled up in the depths of his eyes.

Under that immense pressure, Elder Wen instinctively took a few steps back, looking at him in terror. Soon, however, Immortal Qingwu retracted his gaze, turned to him, and said, "As for you... I do not understand this so-called bitter predicament you speak of. If you desire superior bloodlines, did your son not marry the descendant of immortals?"

Elder Wen fell silent. After a long while, he replied, "Precisely because of this, A-yu's innate talent far surpasses both mine and his father's." Wen Yu's mother hailed from a renowned cultivation lineage whose ancestors had produced two immortals.

Although their family fortunes had declined, Wen Shi had spared no effort back then to win her hand and bring her home.

It was precisely because of Wen Yu's exceptional talent that Elder Wen became convinced that only by wedding female cultivators of superior bloodlines could the Wen family advance further.

Immortal Qingwu said coldly, "Since you already have Wen Yu, you ought to treat his mother well."

Elder Wen was stunned, looking at Immortal Qingwu in bewilderment.

Immortal Qingwu had always been indifferent to the affairs of others, let alone offering guidance on domestic household matters.

Seeing that he failed to grasp the point of his advice, a trace of impatience crossed Immortal Qingwu's face. Giving Elder Wen one last deep look, he said, "Do not let Wen Yu become a lackey to Gong Miaohua as well."

With those words, he flicked a stream of light toward Wen Yu in the distance. Shouldering his battle saber, he transformed into a streak of rainbow light and soared beyond the Sun family's estate.

Elder Wen stood dazed for a moment, unable to fathom what the other truly meant.

Yet, recalling his recent action, he glanced out the window and saw Wen Yu holding a jade slip—clearly guidance left behind by Immortal Qingwu. Elder Wen's eyes instantly lit up.

Could it be that Immortal Qingwu recognized Wen Yu's talent and intended to bestow upon him a greater fortune?

Whether it was taking Wen Yu as a disciple or recommending him to the Dayan Imperial Dynasty, either would be an event that propelled the Wen family to new heights.

A flicker of hope surfaced within him.

However, there were still more pressing matters to attend to. For instance, the relatives and friends who had previously received invitations to the wedding banquet all needed to be offered formal apologies and explanations as to why the marriage was being called off.

He tried his best to maintain a veneer of dignity, but the Sun family's estate was crowded and buzzed with onlookers. Many had witnessed the spectacle, and naturally, gossip spread.

The cultivation world soon learned that the Wen family had attempted to forcefully coerce a daughter of the Sun family, only to suffer a setback where her younger brother nearly severed a Wen family member's arm in retaliation.

This sparked no small amount of controversy throughout the cultivation realm.

After all, the Wen family was considered a prestigious cultivation clan, and Elder Wen had always projected an image of benevolence. Now, with his ferocious side abruptly exposed, he inevitably struck others as terrifying.

Rumors and gossip of this sort even drifted all the way to the Taiju Sect.

However, the Taiju Sect had no time to entertain such matters lately, as the three junior members of the Sun family had arrived at the sect, and even Ao Qing had come out to check on Sun Qingrong's condition.

The youth truly possessed a ferocious disposition; he had dared to forcibly break out of life-or-death closed-door cultivation, and upon returning to the Taiju Sect, his inner court showed faint signs of collapse.

Had Zhu Changshu not been proficient in alchemy and possessed every kind of healing elixir imaginable, it was uncertain whether he would have been left with lingering internal injuries or seen his cultivation permanently halted from advancing further.

Yet, Sun Qingrong felt no regret.

"Let him recuperate," Ao Qing muttered the moment he laid eyes on Sun Qingrong's stubborn expression, feeling as though he were looking at a second Daoist Lord Sun—the kind of madman who would bite through an enemy's bones even if it cost him his own life.

Facing such a stubborn blockhead always gave Ao Qing a headache... Having survived the simpleton Ao Xin in his dragon life, any reckless brute he looked at now filled him with misery.

Still, the green-robed Grand Elder had long since mastered the art of concealing his emotions. Seeing the two young girls of the Sun family watching him anxiously, he said coldly, "It is only a pity that his attempt to form his golden core failed this time."

Sun Qingrong was endowed with exceptional talent and a pure, lucid mind. Devoted entirely to cultivation, his realm had advanced at a blistering pace, reaching the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment at a tender age. This bout of closed-door seclusion had been solely aimed at forming his golden core.

Advancing to a higher realm inherently carried risks for cultivators.

For him to have his core-formation process interrupted midway without suffering a direct spiritual explosion and perishing on the spot was already a matter of sheer good fortune.

Sun Qing仪 felt lingering terror and hastily expressed her gratitude to Ao Qing.

Zhu Changshu had already emerged from seclusion.

Yet her emergence did not require her direct intervention, as the Sun family siblings had already been brought back by Chu Xingyun.

She retrieved several elixirs and handed them to Sun Qingrong—whose complexion was fair and serene, bearing no trace of the murderous aura he had displayed at the Sun family estate, appearing somewhat shy instead—and instructed him to recuperate properly.

The youth had shed his aggressive demeanor from the Sun family; he pressed his lips together, blushed slightly, and bowed to everyone.

When it came to Yu Youyou, Sun Qingrong looked at the little one sitting on a small wooden stool, tilting her head and smiling obediently up at him. He reached out and gently patted her little head.

The toddler's eyes lit up.

The gaze was confirmed.

It was a little older brother who liked her.

"Hug!" She hurriedly sought to secure her favor—bribing for more affection—and cheerfully stretched out her little arms.

This left the slender, delicate youth at a complete loss, awkwardly picking her up into his arms... One could tell at a glance that he lacked any experience in holding babies; the posture in which he held Yu Youyou was far from comfortable.

Yet she did not mind, and instead comforted the even more flustered youth, saying, "Hold more." By holding Youyou more, she would gain more experience, and he would grow accustomed to it in the future.

The youth answered instinctively, and met with the toddler's satisfied expression, his pale cheeks flushed even redder.

Sun Qing仪 stood to the side, holding her cousin's hand and smiling with curved eyes.

This was perhaps the most at-ease moment the siblings had known since their ancestor's disappearance.

The reason Sun Qingrong had insisted on forcibly entering life-or-death seclusion to form his core was precisely so that he could break free from familial constraints afterward, gain the capability to roam and travel across the cultivation world, and set out to search for Daoist Lord Sun.

Now that Daoist Lord Sun had been found—even though he remained unresponsive and devoid of sentience when they went to pay their respects—just seeing that their ancestor was still alive meant Sun Qing仪 no longer dared to ask for too much.

She simply thought of something abruptly, her expression hesitant, words resting on the tip of her tongue.

Sect Master Yu was currently watching with great satisfaction as his Youyou babbled away in the arms of her newly acquainted pretty older brother.

Noticing Sun Qing仪's expression, he asked with concern, "If there is anything else you need, just tell me. We are all family; none of you children need to stand on ceremony."

He was exceptionally cordial, prompting Sun Qing仪 to shake her head hastily. "Senior Sister Zhu has already arranged everything meticulously, and we have no further requests, except..." She hesitated for a long moment before saying to Sect Master Yu, "It's just that this junior recalled certain events from before our ancestor left home."

"Left home?"

"Our ancestor flew into a terrible rage back then." Sun Qing仪 recalled the year Daoist Lord Sun had lost his temper.

Although Daoist Lord Sun had a fiery disposition, he was hardly someone who threw tantrums often. That particular display of anger, however, had left a deep impression. She spoke softly, "Our ancestor said, 'He does not trust me,' and 'He actually does not trust me.'"

She felt somewhat awkward, as the target of Daoist Lord Sun's fury had been none other than the former Sect Master of the Taiju Sect.

The reason behind it was likely that, around that year, the former Sect Master had left without a word to anyone, silently departing to uncover the truth behind the annihilation of the Gong clan.

Others might simply have assumed the former Sect Master preferred to travel alone, but Daoist Lord Sun, having crossed paths with him for centuries, instantly understood his thoughts.

The former Sect Master suspected that the destruction of the Gong clan was linked to them.

Among the old friends he had once known, he suspected that one or more of them had participated in the calamity that befell the Gong clan.

Therefore, he trusted no one, contacted no one, and set out alone to investigate the truth.

Sect Master Yu remained silent upon hearing this.

He had long since guessed the former Sect Master's mindset.

However, over the years, he had kept a cold eye on all the various clans and noticed no anomalies, which was why he had never voiced it.

Seeing that Sect Master Yu remained unperturbed, Sun Qing仪 sighed inwardly, a bitter smile touching her lips as she continued, "Later on, when the tragedy struck, our ancestor was deeply grieved. He..."

She looked at Sect Master Yu, and amidst the silent anticipation of everyone present, she slowly said, "He said that perhaps certain old friends were indeed no longer who they used to be." What reason could he have had to be so certain?

That could only be answered by Daoist Lord Sun himself.

Yet now that Daoist Lord Sun's soul was sealed, asking him would yield no reaction.

Moreover, rather than questioning Daoist Lord Sun—who had suffered such a catastrophic misfortune later on—inquiring of the former Sect Master, the party directly involved, would naturally yield clearer answers. Sect Master Yu sighed involuntarily, saying, "Old friends no longer who they used to be..."

He smiled bitterly at Sun Qing仪 and said, "I already tried long ago. Neither of them showed any reaction."

As a sect master who had witnessed countless affairs, how could he have failed to consider this angle?

He had long since brought it up before both the former Sect Master and Daoist Lord Sun.

Whether it was "Wen" or "Qingwu," neither of them had shown the slightest ripple of emotion.

Yet, since Daoist Lord Sun had spoken thus, a grave look settled upon Sect Master Yu's countenance as he murmured to himself, "In other words, the upheaval of the Gong clan is indeed connected to old acquaintances."

He narrowed his eyes, involuntarily recalling the people who had frequently inquired about the former Sect Master ever since his disappearance, a thoughtful look dawning upon him.

Everyone remained silent in their own thoughts. Sect Master Yu mentally noted the matter, deciding against alerting the enemy for the time being to avoid being countered, and instead perked up his spirits. He said to Sun Qing仪, "This matter is of grave importance; it must be thoroughly investigated and verified before we can make a move. As for the three of you..."

With three talented young juniors from the Sun family having arrived, all possessing excellent aptitude worthy of entering the inner sect, Sect Master Yu had no intention of sending them back. He told Sun Qing仪, "I intend to take you all as disciples..." Daoist Lord Sun had endured immense suffering for the sake of his master; taking the Sun family juniors as disciples was nothing burdensome to Sect Master Yu.

After all, these children possessed admirable cultivation foundations and sound character.