Returning Home

On the way back, Yang Lingrui learned of several developments from Zhao Qi.

The reason the family could only dispatch Zhao Qi to his rescue was that Elder Yu and Yang Linghu-who had recently broken through to the third level of Qi Gathering-had both gone to the distant northern mines.

"Has someone set their designs on our family's mineral veins again?"

"No, it is the Zhang family's Sanglu Valley. There has been some strange movement there. Someone from Qinghe Town came seeking aid, so Master and Senior Brother Linghu went over together."

"Sanglu Valley? Strange movement?"

Yang Lingrui frowned.

He had long harbored doubts regarding this matter. By his count, the Zhang family had kept Sanglu Valley sealed for nearly three years.

For cultivators, this was of little consequence; so long as the Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi was sufficient, they needed very little sustenance to maintain their physical vitality.

But what about the mortals?

The Zhang family had chosen to settle in Sanglu Valley precisely because the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Relying on several natural chokepoints and narrow passes, it was exceptionally difficult for outsiders to mount an assault.

Yet this also meant that the Zhang family possessed very little arable land. The vast majority of their provisions had to be purchased from Qinghe Town to sustain the household.

Although the Zhang family's population could not match the current Yang family, counting servants and slaves, they still numbered over a hundred mouths.

With the valley sealed, how had these people been surviving?

"The town chief of Qinghe Town was meant to return to Sanglu Valley yesterday. By now, he should have joined up with Master and Senior Brother," Zhao Qi said.

A sense of foreboding rose in Yang Lingrui's heart.

"This matter is likely not simple. Some disaster must have befallen that valley!" he thought to himself.

Zhao Qi dared not delay for a single breath. Though his legs were nearly numb from the exertion, he finally brought Yang Lingrui back to the Yang family estate after three days of travel.

Yang Lingqing hurriedly led him to the ancestral hall, seeking Chen Yang to treat his wounds.

Under the illumination of the healing light, Yang Lingrui's injuries mended at a visible rate.

"It is a pity for this Black Iron Soft Armor. It was originally purchased for Old Ancestor Guanfeng, but now it has been ruined to such a tattered state," Yang Lingrui said with a tinge of regret.

"Do not speak of such things. Keeping your life is more important than any treasure."

Yang Lingqing sat on a nearby cushion.

In her eyes, as long as Lingrui returned home alive, it mattered not even if every artifact they owned was destroyed.

"Right, there is a matter of great importance!"

Yang Lingrui drew out Yang Guanfeng's letter and handed it to her.

After reading it, Yang Lingqing felt a pang of sorrow, and her eyes grew red. "Knowing that the Ancestor is safe is the best news we could ask for. It is just that he is suffering out at the border, yet he must still worry over us."

As Yang Lingrui recovered from his injuries, he recounted the details of his journey to Yang Lingqing.

Chen Yang listened from the side. When the tale reached the part where Yang Lingrui met with the great clan, even he could not help but feel a touch of tension.

"The great aristocratic clans are indeed formidable. They actually discerned the arrangement I left in Yang Lingrui's Sea of Consciousness. Fortunately, this Su Lingyun overthought the matter so drastically. If his mind had been simpler and he had ordered a sudden inspection of the Yang family, our situation would have been truly dire."

Previously, Chen Yang had never encountered a power of a great clan's caliber.

Beyond the spiritual treasures, Yang Lingrui's trip to the Dharma Assembly had yielded an immense amount of crucial intelligence regarding the wider world.

This gave Chen Yang a far clearer understanding of the geography and the sheer scale of the Zhuhu Wangchao.

This world was known as the Lingyuan Realm, divided into four continents and five domains.

These were the Canglan, Liyang, Qingyue, and Youzhu Continents, alongside the Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, and Central Domains.

Geographically, the four continents lay within the four cardinal domains.

Because the boundaries between the continents and the domains were severed by a natural chasm known as the Hanging River, they were named as independent continents.

The Zhuhu Wangchao occupied a region in the northwest corner of the Eastern Domain's Canglan Continent.

There were five dynasties in this region. Aside from the previously mentioned Tianyou and Donghuang, there was Moliang to the west and Yunchu to the south.

Within this territory, besides the dynasties, there were several major sects and great clans that possessed True Intent realm cultivators.

Zhuhu's position was rather awkward, hemmed in on all sides by the other four dynasties.

In such a perilous position, merely managing to defend oneself would have been an achievement. Yet Zhuhu had swept through the surrounding minor states and ultimately established its sovereignty amidst powerful enemies. The founding emperor who conquered this realm was truly an extraordinary hero.

Looking closer, the dynasty was divided into eighteen cities, of which Wangyue City was but one.

Because it lay deep within the heartland and faced no threat of war, City Lord Song Kaiyang only possessed a late-stage Condensed Origin cultivation.

In contrast, critical strongholds-such as the strategic hub of Qiulu City, where Gao Hui and Cheng Yi had once been stationed, or the eastern border citadel of Wanghai City-were overseen by Wangchao cultivators of the Spirit Communion stage.

To ensure stable growth, the sects within the dynasty generally steered clear of the turbulent borderlands, giving rise to a distinct geopolitical pattern.

In the central regions, the strength of the sects typically eclipsed that of the local dynastic cities, manifesting in relationships like the one between Wangyue City and Lone Moon Mountain.

Yet at the borders, the dynastic strongholds held absolute authority, and the surrounding minor sects had to obey their commands.

On the surface, it appeared that the stronger sects in the interior enjoyed the greater advantage, developing in peace within the dynasty.

However, due to the presence of the imperial capital, Chongtian City, and the True Intent realm Grand National Teacher who sat at the center,

the various sects were actually surrounded and contained within the dynasty, managed through a coordinated net.

Meanwhile, the great clans were scattered like stars across the territory, maneuvering skillfully between the dynasty and the sects.

Whether they thrived by playing both sides or offended both and ended up cast out by all depended entirely on their own capabilities.

To integrate these complex, interlocking factions without sparking chaos ultimately required a cultivator of the Middle Three Realms to anchor the domain, a role fulfilled by the Zhuhu Wangchao.

Under this rule, whether they were sects or great clans, all had to conduct their struggles within the boundaries set by the dynasty.

Of course, a portion of the sects and great clans that had established firm roots within the interior possessed their own hidden networks.

For instance, the higher sects of Lone Moon Mountain and the main lineage of the Su family resided within the broader northwest region of the Canglan Continent, forming a higher-level balance of power with the regional dynasties.

This was precisely what Yang Lingqing had meant when she observed that the three forces were interlinked, one ring encompassing another, with a complexity of conflicting interests far beyond the current Yang family's imagination.

"The Li family is indeed struggling to survive, yet Li Cheng's character is truly commendable. Even with his clan in such a state, he did not resort to coercion or bribery against you."

Though Yang Lingqing had never met Li Cheng, she conceived a highly favorable impression of him from Yang Lingrui's account.

"I wonder if he can survive the upheaval facing the Li family. If our family gains sufficient strength in the future, we must remember to repay this kindness," Yang Lingqing remarked.

As Yang Lingrui proceeded to relate the events of his return journey, Yang Lingqing listened closely, her mind turning over the details.

Regarding the mysterious organization known as the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, neither she, the family, nor even Elder Yu possessed any deep understanding.

They only knew that this force held an extraordinary, detached status across the realm, never aligning with any faction, choosing instead to maintain absolute neutrality while selling intelligence.

The three rogue cultivators who had pursued Yang Lingrui had purchased the intelligence regarding his spiritual treasures and spiritual plant from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion for the price of two hundred Spirit Crystals.

"Judging by that wood-attribute cultivator's reaction upon seeing the Black Iron Soft Armor, they likely only knew you possessed two spiritual treasures, but remained ignorant of their exact nature."

Yang Lingqing analyzed, "The news of the spiritual plant originated from the Immortal Patrol Office, which is no great secret. Any cultivator serving within its ranks would have access to that information. The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion must have gathered it from those sources beforehand."

"Two spiritual treasures, one spiritual plant. This means those three were entirely unaware of the vast sum of Spirit Crystals and the other treasures in your possession."

Yang Lingqing pieced the clues together step by step.

The informants of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion spanned the entire dynasty. It was rumored that their main pavilion was situated in the Central Domain, a colossus far beyond their current capacity to comprehend.

The Zhuhu Wangchao was merely a newly established, minor dynasty in a remote corner of the Canglan Continent. If the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion truly wished to, they could easily place the entire territory under surveillance.

Yet a minor dynasty was clearly not worth such an investment of manpower and resources.

The sole purpose of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion was to profit from the trade of intelligence. They would never engage in an unprofitable venture unless an outside party paid an exorbitant sum to commission a specific investigation.

"Thus, it appears the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's intelligence gathering for this Dharma Assembly was restricted to public areas. Their depth only extended to the level of individual cultivators, failing to penetrate the interior of the exhibition pavilions, the private chambers of the various clans, the relationships between cultivators, or the higher-level politics of the great clans," Yang Lingqing concluded.

Yang Lingrui reflected on her words and found them reasonable.

With so many cultivators attending the Dharma Assembly, mastering the basic personal data of every attendee was already an astonishing feat. To delve deeper would require several times the expenditure, a loss-making proposition for the pavilion.

Therefore, while his departure with Pei Xuejian had likely been noted by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, the subsequent events within the Su family compound remained unknown to them.

Furthermore, judging by Su Lingyun's decision to offer compensation, the Su family would certainly keep the matter quiet rather than publicizing it.

"The greatest fortune of this journey is that the Su family did not suspect our house. Instead, they mistook us for a piece placed by some hidden, grand power. To us, this is spectacular news!"

Yang Lingqing's eyes gleamed. "The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has recorded this encounter. In the future, if other great clans or sects seek information on our family through them, they will discover that you met with Su Lingyun. Ignorant of the truth, they will very likely assume the Yang family operates under the protection of the Su family. This mutual misunderstanding will create a blind spot, granting our family the precious time we need to breathe!"

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