"What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist?"
Feng Bingwen raised an eyebrow, noticing something unusual. The way this Taoist priest spoke reminded him of the charlatans and mystics of the Tianyan Dao.
"Fellow Daoist, do you perhaps wish to take that Ji family brat who usurped the heart of a sage as your disciple?"
"Fellow Daoist's abilities are truly remarkable!"
Feng Bingwen cupped his hands in greeting, a look of caution in his eyes. If nothing unexpected happened, the Taoist priest in front of him, whose exact age was unknown, was also a charlatan skilled in divination.
"I agree with Liao Zan. I just don't understand. Since you have such a plan, why not take these two children under your wing? This would resolve a conflict and save you a lot of trouble. If you give this child to me, we will surely have a battle in the future!"
loubiqu.
"As long as no one is killed, what's wrong with a fight? This is a perfect opportunity to return that exquisitely intelligent heart!"
Feng Bingwen is no longer the naive young man who takes things one step at a time. Now that he has suddenly encountered such a disgusting situation, he has already figured out how to handle it cleanly.
The exquisite heart with seven orifices must be returned, but returning it now would cost the reincarnation of that supreme being his life. It would take some time for him to separate this heart that did not belong to him.
As for the methods used on that born saint, they absolutely cannot be used on that supreme reincarnation. Using the blood of his past life's gods and demons to create a heart for him would ruin his plans.
"Give it back?"
The Taoist priest who suddenly appeared and claimed to be a wandering hermit looked even more confused. With his cultivation level, even if his divination skills were profound, he could not predict the existence of the most outstanding beings in the world.
He had initially thought that the extraordinary young Taoist priest wanted to take in the Ji family's boy because of the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, but now the other party said that he would return the heart in a few years.
Although he didn't know the specifics of what the other party was planning, he figured they wouldn't lie to him. Given their strength and cultivation, the other party wouldn't need to do such a thing. What value did he, a mere wandering cultivator, have in deceiving them? He didn't intend to get involved in this matter.
"Yes, he doesn't need that saintly heart."
Feng Bingwen naturally wouldn't say anything more, since he had already figured out how to handle the whole matter.
"..."
The Taoist fell silent. Although he didn't understand the specifics, he knew that some things shouldn't be explored too much. There were many secrets in the world, and knowing them might not be a good thing. At this moment, he only knew that he had gotten what he wanted and had a disciple with exceptional talent.
"Since that's the case, then I'll shamelessly accept this child!"
"That's exactly right!"
Feng Bingwen replied with a smile that if this Taoist hadn't appeared, he really would have taken the child away and raised him by his side. After all, he couldn't just abandon the child, who was, after all, a future sage of the human race.
"Fellow Daoist, please show yourself. If you wish to take this child as your disciple, you should inform his biological parents!"
"That's exactly right!"
The Taoist did not refute Feng Bingwen's suggestion. His figure immediately appeared in front of the overjoyed young couple. Ye Wei was stunned when he saw the Taoist's figure, and then he was overjoyed.
This was the same Taoist priest he had seen when he was young and had wandered into the deep mountains. The priest looked exactly the same as he had seen when he was young, with almost no change.
"Greetings, Immortal Master!"
Ye Wei bowed deeply in reverence, and his wife, Yingying, followed suit, paying homage to the immortals. The couple subconsciously assumed that the two celestial-like figures before them were together, and that the other might even be the former's elder.
"No need for formalities. I wish to take your children as my disciples. What do you think?"
"I couldn't ask for more!"
Things went very smoothly. Feng Bingwen was very satisfied with the scene. He politely declined the invitation from the Taoist who called himself a hermit. He then turned back to the city where the supreme being had descended. He had already sensed the fluctuations of the void cracking there, which meant that the Ji family had arrived.
He was just about to make contact with the ancient aristocratic families to see how the people they sent wanted to handle the matter—whether they would uphold the law impartially or cover up the scandal.
Having prepared himself for a battle, Feng Bingwen returned to the inconspicuous little town as quickly as possible. When he landed, he indeed sensed dozens of unusual fluctuations emanating from the vast and magnificent Ji family mansion in the town. These fluctuations were either powerful or profound, and could be found in both martial artists and cultivators.
This can be considered a characteristic of ancient cultivation families with a long history. They are not confined to a single cultivation system, and their large population allows them to explore all areas of cultivation that humans can engage in.
Cultivators and martial artists are quite common, and even slightly unorthodox witchcraft practitioners are often involved. However, Buddhist practitioners are rare because Buddhism requires ordination, which conflicts with the most basic bloodline inheritance requirements of aristocratic families.
"Seeing is believing, indeed it is Feng Daozi! I thought it was the people below who were deceiving us!"
Before Feng Bingwen landed, a divine rainbow rose from below, transforming into a handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows and a bright, intelligent face. His gentle demeanor was like a spring breeze, possessing a unique charm. Even though Feng Bingwen was filled with anger, he was somewhat restrained by Feng Bingwen's charm.
Who are you?
"I am Ji Changkong from the Ji family, and I currently serve as an elder in the Enforcement Hall!"
Meeting Feng Bingwen's scrutinizing gaze, the exceptionally handsome young man introduced himself, then a look of apology and shame appeared on his face.
“I had previously thought that when Feng Bingwen traveled to my Beicangzhou, I would definitely find an opportunity to visit Daozi, but I never expected that I would meet Daozi in this way. It is truly embarrassing.”
"I wonder what the Ji family plans to do with them?"
Feng Bingwen still didn't give them a pleasant look. Instead, he asked them with extreme seriousness that this was a very serious matter. To put it bluntly, if this matter was not stopped, it might even shake the foundation of the human race.
Although most of the human race's prodigies come from powerful clans and sects, there is also the possibility of producing saints among ordinary humans.
If these humans, who are born extraordinary, are forcibly stripped of their divine abilities by a higher power before they have even grown up, what future do ordinary humans have?
“The names of this branch have been completely removed from the family genealogy; they are no longer members of the Ji family.”
Ji Changkong replied.
That's it?
Feng Bingwen was not satisfied. After such a major incident, all they could say was to expel them from the clan. This ancient family only wanted to sever ties, which was ridiculous.
"Of course, that's not all. We law enforcers will also strip him of all his cultivation and demote him to a mortal!"
Is there anything else?
Feng Bingwen was still not satisfied. He didn't kill anyone because he wanted to see how this ancient family would deal with these people. He didn't want these mild, bloodless punishments, even though they were already very serious in some ways, even worse than death. He was still not satisfied.
"Then what does Feng Daozi intend to do?"
Ji Changkong maintained a gentle smile on his face. Beside him, one figure after another rose into the sky, watching Feng Bingwen with unreadable expressions. This was a huge scandal for their ancient family.
"I don't care about the lives of these people. If I wanted, I could have wiped them out before you arrived. I want to know how your Ji family views those born with divine abilities but no background, mortal prodigies?"
Feng Bingwen stared at the young man in front of him. He didn't care about the Ji family cultivators who were subtly surrounding him. Although the average strength of this team was extremely high, with Yuan Dan cultivators at the very least and seven Dong Xuan cultivators accompanying them, they were definitely no match for him.
"If this branch of the Ji family didn't have the power of the Ji family, how would they dare to do such a rebellious thing?"
"Does Feng Daozi seem to have some misunderstanding about our family?"
Hearing Feng Bingwen's cold and sharp words, Ji Changkong looked helpless.
"After something like this happened, what do you think I'm thinking right now? If you can't give me a satisfactory explanation, then I'll have no choice but to go find the people who deserve to be punished!"
Feng Bingwen's tone was very forceful, which made some of the Ji family cultivators who were particularly competitive show their displeasure. In this continent, someone actually dared to speak to them like that.
Even a Supreme Daoist should not act like this. His status is one thing, but he is just a mere Yuan Dan cultivator. How dare he be so domineering?
"Daozi, you have truly misunderstood. I swear that this is an isolated incident. My Ji family will never treat these geniuses of humble origins in this way!"
If Ji Changkong put himself in Feng Bingwen's shoes, he could understand. After all, this matter was too shocking. A born saint had his heart replaced right after birth.
"Oh, I'd love to hear more about it!"
"Daozi underestimates our ancient families too much. A born saint with a seven-point exquisite heart is indeed someone that even my Ji family cannot ignore. However, the normal course of action for my Ji family is definitely not to take away his exquisite heart."
Ji Changkong patiently explained to Feng Bingwen that this matter must be understood by this Supreme Daoist, after all, the other party's status is what it is, and even the ancient aristocratic families cannot use force against him.
This could lead to some unfortunate changes. After all, the other party is currently very powerful. Once their whereabouts are exposed, their branch's scandal will be revealed, which will cause irreparable damage to the reputation of the Ji family. Even though they have a long history, they still care a lot about their reputation.
"To be honest, I never expected that this small branch would decline so much, and that its vision would be so short-sighted as to make such a heart-stealing move. No wonder it has declined to this extent."
At this point, Ji Changkong was extremely annoyed. As an elder of the Enforcement Hall, he had seen many fools in the clan. In a sense, the Enforcement Hall was there to clean up the messes of the clan members, but he never expected that there would be such stupid people.
"I wonder if you can understand? After all, my Ji family now numbers in the tens of millions, and there are bound to be some bad apples among them who do some heinous things!"
"So, if you were the legitimate heir of the Ji family, how would you treat these grassroots prodigies!"
"Of course we recruit them, how could we harm them? Our aristocratic families are not short-sighted, how could we do such a foolish thing? Our aristocratic families value bloodlines, but we will spare no expense for those exceptionally talented geniuses."
Ji Changkong said with a serious expression,
"No matter how outstanding a human prodigy is, he or she has desires. What aristocratic families love most are heroes who rise from humble beginnings. They are born into ordinary families and are bound to have some shortcomings."
"And aristocratic families, with their vast wealth and profound resources, can satisfy all their needs, whether it be supernatural powers, Taoist techniques, supreme cultivation methods, or even Daoist companions; aristocratic families can cater to their desires and fulfill their every wish."
At this point, Ji Changkong could not hide his pride. How could there be any short-sighted people among the leaders of an ancient family that has been able to survive to this day?
"What if there are talented individuals who do not wish to serve aristocratic families and yearn for freedom? What should you do then? And what if they happen to possess the supernatural powers and techniques that you crave?"
Feng Bingwen inquired, before joining the Supreme Dao, he was considered a grassroots prodigy. Fortunately, Donghua Continent was the stronghold of the Divine Dao, and it wasn't that there weren't powerful sects. However, their sects were far away from the country where he was born, and he had already left before his reputation could spread.
"Since they are unwilling, our noble families will naturally not force them. After all, we are also part of the human race, so how could we do something like stifling the talents of our clan?"
Ji Changkong answered fluently, because this was the usual way these aristocratic families treated those geniuses from ordinary backgrounds. To shout for war at the drop of a hat was too shallow; they weren't that stupid.
"If they possess the supernatural powers and techniques we need, we will naturally try to establish good relations with them. If there is an opportunity, we can try to exchange with them; if they are unwilling, then so be it!"
"Are you going to let us go so easily?"
Feng Bingwen pressed for an answer.
"Daozi, no matter what, my Ji family is a descendant of the Human Emperor. It is no exaggeration to say that our supernatural powers and techniques are as vast as the ocean. So what if we have supernatural powers and techniques that we have not yet collected? They are just icing on the cake."
Ji Changkong couldn't help but shake his head. He realized that the Daoist in front of him lacked the most basic understanding of their aristocratic families. Why did he always think that aristocratic families would necessarily persecute those geniuses with ordinary backgrounds?
"Hmm, what you said is quite right, and you are worthy of the name of an ancient family. However, no matter how nice your words are, this kind of thing has still happened!"
Feng Bingwen pointed to the small town below.
"I don't believe this is an isolated case, and that I just happened to witness it by sheer coincidence."
"Such short-sighted people exist not only in my Ji family, but also in the older clans and sects of those cities. If Daozi is so serious, then I have nothing to say."
"That's true. However, since your Ji family has suffered such a mishap, you must pay the price. Let this matter, along with your punishment, be known throughout the Nine Provinces!"
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