Three thousand years ago, the Immortal Rhyme Sect discovered a small secret realm.
Although the secret realm is small, it truly lives up to the old saying "small but complete." Within the secret realm, there are countless rare and precious materials, from small things like herbs for refining Qi-refining pills to large things like Sacred Heart Flowers that help Mahayana cultivators ascend to immortality. The secret realm has everything.
The Immortal Rhyme Sect dispatched several elders to investigate and discovered that the small secret realm had a peculiar temperament, only allowing cultivators at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm to enter; no more or less would be permitted. Looking across the entire Immortal Rhyme Sect, there were a total of twelve cultivators at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm, including the original owner's eldest disciple, Murong, and Li Zhengfang.
On the day the small secret realm opened, twelve Immortal Rhyme Sect disciples at the initial stage of the Nascent Soul realm, including Murong and Li Zhengfang, entered together. Six months later, the small secret realm closed, and only three returned: Li Zhengfang, Liu Xinran, and Fang Feng.
Opportunity is synonymous with danger. Only three people returned, advancing to the mid-stage of the Integration Realm. The Immortal Rhyme Sect was heartbroken but did not suspect anything. As the saying goes, the net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it. Until one day, the sharp-eyed Duanmu discovered Li Zhengfang, Liu Xinran, and Fang Feng sneaking to the edge of the Immortal Rhyme Sect's forbidden area, whispering and discussing the "division of spoils."
Li Zhengfang took out a storage ring, and Duanmu immediately recognized it as belonging to his senior brother. His senior brother's storage ring was personally crafted by their master, Xian Bifeng; it was the only one of its kind on the Ling Shan Continent, and Duanmu had no reason to mistake it.
Why is the eldest brother's ring in Li Zhengfang's hands?
"Immortal, Zhengfang found that ring. He didn't harm Junior Nephew Murong." Liu Ruoshui cried and sobbed, looking pitiful.
"Bullshit!" Duanmu glared at him.
Ever since Li Yushi married Liu Ruoshui, the three brothers and Li Yushi's faction have been irreconcilably opposed. Even if their eldest brother were to die unexpectedly, he would rather feed the storage ring to pigs and dogs than give it to Li Zhengfang—keeping the wealth within the family.
But the eldest brother's storage ring is now in Li Zhengfang's hands. Considering all this, Duanmu understands that his eldest brother did not die in the danger of the secret realm, but was killed and robbed by his fellow disciple Li Zhengfang.
Li Zhengfang was caught red-handed dividing the spoils by Duanmu, and with the eldest disciple's stored goods as evidence, the matter was brought to Yuxiu Peak. However, due to the sect leader being Li Yushi, and Li Zhengfang being Li Yushi's son, the matter was all bark and no bite, and was left unresolved in a murky manner.
Ha, that's it?
Enraged, Duanmu attacked Li Zhengfang in the council hall of Yuxiu Peak. With his reckless fighting style, Li Zhengfang was unable to defend himself. If Li Yushi had not intervened to save him, he would have been seriously injured by Duanmu, who was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.
Duanmu was struck by Li Yushi's palm and coughed up blood, his cultivation level regressing to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Before he could fully recover, he was imprisoned at Fengbo Cliff for ten years. Fortunately, Duanmu had his junior brother Xuanyuan. Without Xuanyuan's help during his ten years of confinement at Fengbo Cliff, Duanmu would have been severely injured, if not killed, and his future cultivation advancement would have been extremely difficult.
Having learned his lesson, Duanmu understood that he couldn't avenge his senior brother because he wasn't strong enough. He calmed down and cultivated, but he was still no match for Li Yushi. All this time, this hatred had been building up for three thousand years.
"Duanmu, calm down." Ji Xiaoxiao waved her hand, and a stream of pure immortal power entered Duanmu's body, gradually calming his red eyes and breathing.
"With your master here, there's no need to rush," Ji Xiaoxiao reassured her.
Duanmu smiled, tears welling in his eyes, and said, "Yes, Master."
Having a master around is wonderful. Duanmu felt warm all over, as if he had returned to ten thousand years ago. Back then, the three of them could just focus on their cultivation, and their master would take care of everything else for them.
"Liu Ruosi, you're saying that Li Zhengfang found that storage ring?" Ji Xiaoxiao asked.
"Yes." Liu Ruosi's eyes were half-closed, and it was unclear what she was planning.
Ji Xiaoxiao remained silent, her attitude amiable and approachable, as she walked towards Liu Ruoshui.
"Liu Ruoshui, you've also used something I crafted. What were your feelings after using the Swift Wind Chasing Life Sword?" Ji Xiaoxiao asked a completely irrelevant question.
This was a minor matter, and Liu Ruoshui answered truthfully without hiding anything.
"It feels like a part of my own body, making it twice as effective with half the effort. That's right, the things I refine have this effect, which is why I, Xian Bifeng, am the number one weapon refiner on the Ling Shan Continent, but..." Ji Xiaoxiao paused.
The single "but" caused Liu Ruoshui's mood to plummet.
“You probably don’t know this, but once I create something, after it’s bound to me by blood, it can only be used by that one person, whether they are alive or dead.” Ji Xiaoxiao squatted down and grabbed Liu Ruoshui’s chin. “Duanmu said before that your good son successfully took a Sacred Heart Flower from my disciple’s storage ring.”
Didn't it say that only one person could use it from beginning to end? Why was Zhengfang able to take the Sacred Heart Flower from Murong's storage ring?
Liu Ruoshui turned to look at Li Yushi. It was Li Yushi who used the Sacred Heart Flower, which is why he has been able to stand as the "strongest person in Lingshan Continent" for thousands of years.
---Aside---
This matter will be over soon; I need to go back to the Immortal Realm to find Kongmin!
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