Chapter 34: Giant Python Mountain, Secret Meeting in Qimen

  Building the foundation, spiritual objects are not a necessity. Some cultivators have successfully built their foundations without any help from spiritual objects. However, those were all cases of condensing single-pole vortexes, and compared to Xu Yang's condensed eight-pole mystic wheel, the difficulty is heaven and earth apart.

  The same attribute of spiritual objects also has its own strengths and weaknesses. Like the Flame Flower, Violent Stone, and Rouge, which are all condensed from the Fire Spirit Vortex Wheel, the Rouge is stronger than the Violent Stone by more than one level, with a higher success rate in condensing the Fire Spirit Vortex Wheel.

  Xu Yang had originally only wanted to find some ordinary spiritual objects to complete his foundation, but after one appraisal meeting, he had already basically collected all the foundational spiritual objects, among which there were many rare high-grade spiritual objects. This made him sigh in admiration - the Golden Age was indeed the Golden Age, and later generations simply couldn't compare.

  "It's time to go back to the Giant Python Mountains, building a foundation in Lin Ying City is not safe. If someone disturbs us, it's very likely that our efforts will be in vain and we'll suffer severe backlash." Xu Yang knew that when condensing the Xuan Wheel, what he feared most was being disturbed by others; usually, Xuan disciples would invite a powerful expert to guard them when making a breakthrough.

  Ke Xiangyang didn't want to owe too many people favors, so he didn't go to the Li family's house. Instead, he chose to be alone and went deep into the mountains to find a secluded place where he could quietly complete the foundation-building steps.

  "Brother, you must come back early." Xǔ Yu began to sob again, last time Xǔ Yáng was away for three months, making the little girl suffer a lot.

  "Alright, don't worry, remember to stay indoors for these few days, at least ten days or up to half a month, brother will definitely come back." Xun Yang said as he patted Xun Yu's head.

  Qimen Daochang, in one of the houses in the rest area.

  Lying on the bed was none other than Qi Shiliang, also known as Qi Baozi, who had been punched in the chest by Xu Yang and had his sternum cracked. He no longer had the vigor of the previous day, looking weak and sickly, and would occasionally burst into a violent fit of coughing.

  "Dad, you have to be a good master for our family!" A middle-aged woman with several pimples on her face cried out.

  Across from the middle-aged woman were an old man and a young one, who turned out to be Qi Men's master and his son, Qi Hong.

  "Xiu'er, calm down." Qi Men Chang Zhu sighed, he was very satisfied with his son Qi Hong, who had reached the early stages of Xuan Shi by middle age. After he passed away at the age of 100, he could rest assured that he would hand over the family business to his son.

  But this daughter, however, has caused him some distress. His daughter Qi Xiu doesn't have any innate talent for cultivating the mysteries of heaven, and her poor abilities are one thing, but finding a good family for her to marry into would be fine too. However, in the past, his daughter had been deceived by Qi Shi Liang's sweet words and lost her chastity, so the Qi family had no choice but to acknowledge Qi Shi Liang as their son-in-law.

  It's said that more than a decade ago, Qi Shiliang wasn't as bloated and fat as he is now. He was actually quite decent-looking back then. Originally, his surname wasn't even Qi, but rather Zhao - he was a fallen and scattered member of the family. In order to climb up into the Qi family, this Zhao Shiliang not only agreed to become an uxorilocal husband, taking on the Qi surname as his own heir, but also changed his own surname to Qi!

  Unable to withstand his daughter's pleas, the master of the Qi Gate gave Qi Shiliang a managerial position, putting him in charge of managing the families of the cultivators who guided the roads. This was originally an extremely easy task, but somehow today it ended up with him being beaten to the point of disability.

  As for Qi Shiliang's boastful claims in front of Xu Yang, the actual manager was far from it, his position as a manager was at least 108,000 miles away.

  "What's going on here?" Qi Hong was puzzled, "I asked you to give condolences to Song Ren's family, how did you end up getting beaten like this? You're a xuan shi after all, and Song Ren's only family member is just an eight-year-old little girl."

  Qi Shiliang licked his lips, not daring to speak. If his father-in-law and eldest brother-in-law found out that he had embezzled the temple's relief funds, the consequences would be more severe than just a few months of injury. The old case might even be reopened, and Qi Shiliang would no longer have a foothold in the Qi family.

  "It's that kid Xǔ Yáng again, bullying the weak with his family's influence, and he even snatched away the condolence money under the pretext of taking care of Sòng Rén's orphaned daughter!" Qǐ Xiù wailed, "My brother Shì just asked a couple of questions and got beaten up like this! Father, Xǔ Yáng is relying on his family's power to act tyrannically, it's too much!"

  "Is it Xu Yang again?" The master of the Qi Gate felt a headache. At that time, he had sent a Xuan Shi to capture Xu Yang and bring him back for questioning. However, the Xuan Shi did not bring back Xu Yang, but instead was sealed in the Star Sea, and brought back some major news.

  Lin Yuanjun's second son, Li Zhongxuan, came out and said that he would protect Xu Yang.

  Without mentioning Li Zhongxuan's identity, his own strength was enough to make the Qi Men Dao Chang tremble. In his thirties, he was already a strong man in the early days of Xuan Zong, and he was among the top strong men in Lin Yuan City.

  "What should we do, Father?" Qi Hong asked.

  Qimen's thin fingers scratched his hair, and he sighed, saying: "What else can we do? We can only swallow this breath. Without mentioning Xu Yang's identity, just relying on Li Zhongxuan's name, we can't afford to provoke him!"

  Qī Hóng refused to give in, saying: "Father, the Li family may be powerful, but they can't ignore the rules and not distinguish between right and wrong. This time it's Xu Yang who is being arrogant, even if we make a scene at the city master's mansion, we will still have reason on our side. If Li Zhongxuan wants to openly shield Xu Yang, the reputation of the Li family will be ruined."

  Reputation is very important for a family. Once the reputation is ruined, other forces are unwilling to communicate with that family, and under public ostracism, the decline of the family can also be expected.

  Of course, for some shortsighted people, faithlessness and betrayal are everyday occurrences. They don't care about tearing up agreements and will stop at nothing to pursue their interests. People like this may gain temporary benefits, but afterwards, in order to calm public opinion, they often become scapegoats pushed out by their families.

  Qimen's master, with a heavy tone, swung his sleeves and said: "Alright, let's do it this way! Hong'er, send someone to investigate Xu Yang's whereabouts, quietly capture him, interrogate him to get the truth out, and report directly to the City Master's Mansion!"

  Qī Shì father and son walked out of the house door one after another. Qī Shì Liáng fell off the bed with a thud.

  Qixiu hastily went to support him and asked with concern: "Shi Liang, are you feeling a bit better?"

  "Alas, it's all over! If I confront Xu Yang and that stinky girl, my embezzlement of relief funds will be exposed! I'm done for!"

  Qī Xiù's face turned even paler, but suddenly she had an idea and said: "Shì Liáng, don't rush for now. Didn't Father say to send someone to capture Xǔ Yáng first? I'll go find Big Brother right away and have him put me in charge of this matter! If Xǔ Yáng dares to resist, we can kill him on the spot and just say it was an accident later."

  Qī Pángzi's spirit was shaken, and he hastily asked: "What if he doesn't resist?"

  A fierce and venomous glint shot out from Qi Xiu's eyes: "If he obediently surrenders, we have plenty of ways to deal with him! No matter what, I must help you vent this anger!"

  Qianbao Pavilion, in the inner courtyard of the palace.

  "Master Hou, while I was away at the Giant Python Mountain Range, please take care of things at home," said Xun Yang. "The Qi Men Dao Chang's actions are chilling, and I'm worried that after Qi Shi Liang was beaten up, they'll send someone to retaliate."

  "Alright, alright, I'll send Li Feng to guard the area near your house," said Li Wang with a snort. "To be honest, this kind of injustice is also within the jurisdiction of our City Master's mansion, and letting you take action is already a dereliction of duty."

  Xu Yang smiled contentedly and felt a lot more at ease in his heart. It was only at the moment before departure that he thought of this key point.

  "Living in this world, wanting to never owe anyone a favor is impossible," Xǔ Yáng had an epiphany, "unless one retreats to the deep mountains and buries their head in quiet cultivation."

  Although the hidden repair is not affected by external turmoil, it is precisely because there is no danger stimulation that progress is extremely slow, and often the increased lifespan is exhausted before advancing to the next level.

  Cultivating the Profound Path is to contend with Heaven for one's life! Each time a major boundary is broken through, it will increase one's lifespan by a certain amount. Legend has it that those who reach the peak of the Profound Path are indestructible for a hundred kalpas and imperishable for ten thousand eras.