242: Chapter 242 Returning to Yan

Chen Changqing and Li Qingling stayed in Han Country for an entire month, during which they spent a considerable amount of time guiding the Cultivation of the younger generation.

Many of the younger generation were thrilled to see the Old Ancestor who had come from Yan Country for the first time. Although the Family often told them that they originated from the Chen Family of Yan Country, it was only because their territory was ceded to Han Country twenty years ago that they completely lost contact.

However, they only knew that the Chen Family in Yan Country had merely a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Even those clansmen who had moved over together back then only knew Chen Changqing as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. They never expected that in just a few years, the Family would not only gain a new batch of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but even Chen Changqing himself had become a Purple Mansion Master.

Among them, Chen Lingzhao, Chen Lingzhi, and Chen Lixuan showed good talent. Chen Lixuan and Chen Lingzhi possessed Three Spiritual Roots, while Chen Lingzhao had Four Spiritual Roots.

With further nurturing, these three could attempt Foundation Establishment in a few years. Although the normal shelf life of a foundation establishment pill was only three years, as a Purple Mansion Family, how could the Chen Family lack methods to preserve them? The jade boxes specifically prepared by Chen Changqing could preserve a foundation establishment pill for several extra decades.

Naturally, there would still be some loss of medicinal efficacy, but it was minimal.

In one month, the Chen Family's overall strength did not increase drastically, but their future prospects grew immensely. Given time, one or two more Foundation Establishment Cultivators might emerge here.

Meanwhile, Chen Changxuan had returned to continue his Cultivation during this period. With the bottle of Essence Gathering Pills provided by Chen Changqing, it should save him several years of hard Cultivation.

Once everything was arranged, the two of them finally departed.

They needed to return to Yan Country and leave the resources they had acquired with the Chen Family in Yan Country. Only after doing so could they leave in peace for Tang Country.

...

Above a dense forest, a group of Cultivators dressed in the robes of Biluo Palace arrived at the scene.

"How is it? Have you discovered anything?"

"Senior Martial Uncle Ning, there are signs of battle here, but no lingering aura whatsoever," a Foundation Establishment Cultivator explained.

"Hmm, to cause such destruction here, it must have been a clash between at least two Late Stage Purple Mansion Cultivators. It's only normal that you can't detect any aura," Ning Qian murmured.

"Go inspect if there's anything else unusual here first," he instructed. After the others left, he investigated while growing increasingly shocked.

Just who had acted, to actually be able to fight Junior Brother Fang to such an extent?

Fang Chen's strength was virtually unmatched among those of the same Realm in the entire Biluo Palace, yet even so, he was killed without even having the chance to call for help.

Could a Pseudo-Core Realm Expert have intervened?

But who could it be? This place was closest to Han Country, and Han Country did have a Pseudo-Core Realm Expert stationed in the former Bing Prefecture. However, there were still faint traces of thunder aura lingering here, and that Pseudo-Core Realm Expert did not seem to Cultivate thunder arts.

Growing increasingly bewildered, Ning Qian immediately reported the situation here to the Sect.

He realized the waters here were far too deep for him to handle alone.

Then again, being able to silently kill Junior Brother Fang meant that person's strength was undeniably formidable—Junior Brother Fang had even unleashed the Biluo Heavenly Palace.

The deeper his investigation went, the more shocked he became. Though he could only judge from the faint, almost non-existent aura in the air, he could still guess the dire peril Fang Chen had faced in this battle.

Right, Junior Brother Fang had participated in an auction in Youzhou City a while back. Could he have been targeted back then?

In that case, it would be best to investigate near the auction first. After all, his Junior Brother couldn't have come to the border of You Prefecture for no reason.

...

While Biluo Palace was still investigating the cause of Fang Chen's death, Chen Changqing and Li Qingling had already returned to Yan Country, albeit entering through Ying Province.

Ever since twenty years ago, Ying Province had been split in two. One half was occupied by the former Anti-Immortal Alliance—now known as the Zilong Sect—while the other half was occupied by the Huang and Mu Families.

However, You Prefecture and Qing Prefecture still had to yield portions of their territory to the Huang and Mu Families. After all, the lands controlled by the two families had shrunk by half, so this was the only way.

Since Chen Changqing and Li Qingling had killed the Purple Mansion Cultivator from Biluo Palace earlier, it was impossible for them to return to Cang Prefecture via You Prefecture. Moreover, Chenwu Mountain was closest to Ying Province, and the border of Ying Province was quite chaotic, so the two of them crossed over from Han Country into Ying Province.

In name, the Zilong Sect did not belong to any Cultivation country, but they had also formed an alliance with the three families of Han Country. The root cause was their fear that Yan Country would target them alone.

After all, the Zilong Sect only had a single Golden Core Master. If Yan Country wished to cause trouble, they wouldn't be able to stop it at all—not to mention that most of their Pseudo-Core Realm Experts had fallen during that grand battle twenty years ago.

Crossing the border line agreed upon by the Zilong Sect and the Huang and Mu Families, the two finally arrived in Yan Country.

Over the past twenty years, although no major conflicts appeared on the surface among the three forces, skirmishes frequently broke out on the border between the Cultivators under the Huang and Mu Families and those under the Zilong Sect.

Both sides turned a blind eye to this and paid little heed to their subordinate Cultivators, so long as it didn't escalate into a full-scale clash.

Swish, swish, swish!

Not far from Chen Changqing and Li Qingling, a group of Qi Refining Cultivators was rushing toward the border to reinforce their companions. As they passed by, they didn't notice the two, hurrying along to reach their destination.

"How lively!" Chen Changqing sighed with emotion.

Li Qingling nodded.

Were it not for this, the two wouldn't have come here. It was precisely because of the chaos in this area that they could conceal themselves easily.

Half a month later, they passed through Ying Province and reached Qing Prefecture. Upon arriving in Qing Prefecture, they spent a good number of Spirit Stones to purchase information, but the result showed that nothing out of the ordinary had recently occurred in Yan Country, including You Prefecture.

It seemed that after the death of that Purple Mansion Cultivator, Biluo Palace had not made a public scene and was instead investigating in secret. That was troublesome; although Chen Changqing had done his best to erase their aura, some lingering traces inevitably remained.

In that case, they needed to speed up their plans. Only when Li Qingling reached the Purple Mansion Realm would their Chen Family possess a greater say in Yan Country.

If Biluo Palace wanted to retaliate, they would have to think twice.

Furthermore, they shared an intricate, unseverable relationship with the Yuxu Sect.

"Brother, should we...?" Li Qingling also sensed the gravity of the situation.

"It's fine. What's done is done. As long as the two of us are around, the Cultivators of Biluo Palace will have to be wary of us," Chen Changqing comforted her.

"Mm." Li Qingling nodded.

Although they knew that Purple Mansion Cultivator's background was by no means simple, if they hadn't killed him back then, what if he sought revenge on the Chen Family Cultivators after the two left Yan Country? Therefore, no matter what, they had to act—that Purple Mansion Cultivator had to die.

Chen Changqing and Li Qingling ceased their investigations and seized the opportunity to hurry back to the Chen Family in Cang Prefecture. During this journey, Li Qingling first went to the Yuxu Sect to bid farewell to Master Baiye, while Chen Changqing returned alone to Wuyue Mountain to deliver a portion of the resources they had acquired earlier to Chen Changjie.

By the time Li Qingling returned from the Yuxu Sect, another ten-plus days had passed. This was a smoke screen deliberately set up by the two; if they were in a rush to leave, it would indicate a guilty conscience.

Thus, after waiting for Li Qingling to return, Chen Changqing stayed at Wuyue Mountain for another period of time specifically to spend time with Chen Yuanzhan and Li Chenghui.