Xie Guannan had no choice but to rest in his room. A day passed, and evening fell.
"Guard, come over here!"
"Young Master, what is it? Is there something you need?"
"In half an hour, take this note to the Head of the Xie Family."
The note was unfolded, with just two words written on it: "Come to the mine."
"Young Master, what kind of message does 'Come to the mine' convey?" The guard was utterly confused, but he still followed orders and left.
Xie Guannan strode purposefully to the entrance of Su Rongyue's room, where the lights were still on.
Although Xie Wentian had married Su Rongyue, they had never lived together—a fact that actually gave Xie Guannan a somewhat better impression of his father.
He cleared his throat and said, "Su Rongyue, it's me. I have something to discuss with you!" Xie Guannan knocked on the door and called out softly.
"You little bastard, what could you possibly want with me this late at night?" Su Rongyue pushed the door open, looking lazy in her bathrobe.
"Please don't go to sleep yet. After thinking about it all day, I realize I must have bumped my head the other day to treat you like that. It wasn't until today that I came to my senses."
"You little bastard, what kind of trick are you trying to pull?"
"Li Qinyun is nothing more than an outsider to our family. In the end, you and I are mother and son, so I've been thinking about how to make it up to you these past few days. Today, I found something good in the mine cave!"
"What mine cave? I know nothing about it. If you have nothing to say, get lost. I'm going to sleep." Su Rongyue feigned complete ignorance.
*As expected of an old fox,* Xie Guannan thought. *If I don't dangle some bait, she won't take the hook.* Aloud, he said, "There is a treasure in that vein that can help you break through to the Void Transformation Realm. I plan to take you there to harvest it!"
"What? Break through to the Void Transformation Realm? Could a little bastard like you be so kind?"
"Ah, what are you saying! You raised me for over a dozen years, after all. Now that I've grown up, it's time to repay you!" Xie Guannan instantly turned into a flatterer.
"Think about it: if there's any danger, you can just ditch me and run away. I'm still only in the Qi Condensation stage, right? Besides, what nerve would I have to harm you?" Xie Guannan put on a flattering expression.
"I should think so. You wouldn't dare treat me that way!" Su Rongyue gradually lost herself amidst Xie Guannan's sweet words.
"Let's go. Lead the way!"
"Yes, yes, right this way, please!"
Xie Guannan had already familiarized himself with the location of the mine yesterday; today, he was merely bringing Su Rongyue over.
The backyard was a bamboo grove, shrouded in mist. It truly felt like a misty fog blanketing the woods, as if the Immortal Realm had descended right before one's eyes.
Along the periphery of the bamboo grove were numerous herb fields where Xie family servants usually cultivated common medicinal plants.
The herbs here were growing exceptionally well, which must have been related to the subterranean spiritual vein beneath.
Spiritual veins were a special phenomenon in the Xuan Realm Continent, formed naturally by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth over long periods.
Some took a very long time to form.
Indeed, there were other examples, such as the Source of the Spirit Vein, which was the core of rare spiritual ores.
Such resources possessed incomparable value for cultivators. This vein core—or rather, the Source of the Spirit Vein—was the crucial foundation for generating spiritual energy.
Spirit stones could be used as currency or for cultivation, as they contained spiritual energy.
Su Rongyue followed Xie Guannan deep into the bamboo grove.
"The spiritual energy here is quite dense. Has it leaked out to this extent? How did I not notice this before?" Su Rongyue couldn't help marveling.
With this level of spiritual energy, it was undoubtedly a medium-grade spirit stone vein.
"After all, walls have ears in this world. It's best to be cautious!" Xie Guannan said softly.
"It's hard to keep the news hidden! True. But how can we hide this? Move away? Then others would discover the vein here, and heaven knows what they'd think of the Xie Family."
"Take the treasure and run?" Xie Guannan said in a deep voice, his tone heavy with helplessness. "That's why you need to raise your strength quickly so that I have something to lean on!"
－Chapter 028: Settling Scores－
"Haven't you hooked up with that powerhouse?" Su Rongyue asked suspiciously.
"What are you talking about? They are a powerhouse. Why would they call me over? At best, it would just be to serve as a servant. The Xie Family is much better—carefree and content." Xie Guannan showered her with flattery.
"Still, what you say makes sense. If the Xie Family leaves, abandoning a medium-grade spirit stone vein, outsiders might think the Xie Family took something even more precious than the vein itself!" Su Rongyue agreed, a hint of admiration in her tone.
From then on, the Xie Family would immediately join the ranks of the hunted, never to know peace for all eternity. Therefore, they had to drag things out, grow stronger, and wait for a better solution.
"If Grandfather were here, forget about Jianghai City; there wouldn't be a single dynasty capable of touching the Xie Family." Xie Guannan felt a wave of deep emotion.
More importantly, once family matters were settled, he had to go to the secret realm to find the cultivation method from his past life:
The Black Abyss Divine Scripture! That must absolutely not fall into anyone else's hands!
After a long while, the two walked up to a patch of bamboo.
Xie Guannan signaled for Su Rongyue to follow him. Instead of taking the straightforward path ahead, they cut directly into the side of the bamboo grove.
Su Rongyue wore an expression of surprise; she never imagined the entrance to the mine would be deep within this dense bamboo grove.
Noticing Su Rongyue's astonished expression, Xie Guannan felt even more proud inside.
She had somehow learned about the existence of the vein, yet had no idea where the entrance was. Now, Su Rongyue was overjoyed.
Xie Guannan thought to himself: *Since Father agreed to give it to me, no one should care what kind of mess I make inside!*
Although Su Rongyue felt this Xie Guannan was a bit unreliable—she had been coaxed over without even having time to change out of her bathrobe—soon enough, the two reached the mine entrance.
The entrance sloped straight down.
It was very narrow.
"Is this the entrance? You go down first, and I'll follow behind!" Su Rongyue said impatiently, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Alright, I'll go in first, and you follow right after. It gets wider inside."
Su Rongyue crossed her arms, nodded, and replied, "Fine!"
The entrance was somewhat dim, but inside the cave, clear-blue spiritual stones shone brilliantly.
Although Xie Guannan had been here yesterday, he still found it hard to conceal his inner excitement. In his past life, he had seen plenty of spirit stones, but never on this scale.
He was still deeply shocked.
Su Rongyue descended shortly after. Looking at the cyan-blue spirit stones before her, her expression remained calm.
Xie Guannan was puzzled inside: *This is a medium-grade vein of unimaginable value, yet Su Rongyue's expression is still this calm. Why was she surprised when she saw the bamboo grove, but showed no reaction at all upon reaching such a massive mine? There must be a secret here!*
*Could this little bastard have really changed his heart and become this good to me? Is there something wrong?* Su Rongyue harbored intense suspicion.
"The source of this vein, the Source of the Spirit Vein, is just ahead. It can help you break through to the Third Realm!" Xie Guannan said.
"What Source of the Spirit Vein? Stop talking nonsense and take me there!" Su Rongyue's joy was evident on her face.
*The Source of the Spirit Vein is something I only read about in ancient books! How does she know about it?* Xie Guannan felt a sense of foreboding.
The two traversed the spiritual mineral vein.
Xie Guannan naturally felt a twinge of regret; if not for his current lack of cultivation, he would certainly have swallowed this vein whole.
Who in their right mind would foolishly hand money over to someone else? It was simply because his strength wasn't enough. If Xie Guannan were in the Fifth Realm, the Spirit Void Realm...
The mine was somewhat dim, and the outside world was already deep in the night.
A brilliant radiance appeared ahead, and the surrounding spiritual energy was extremely dense, almost turning tangible.
"It really is the Source of the Spirit Vein." Su Rongyue was ecstatic and took a few quick steps forward.
A moment later, a rustling noise echoed. Xie Guannan smiled faintly and gave a sudden push with the back of his hand, sending Su Rongyue flying straight ahead.
Su Rongyue was knocked off balance and tumbled into a giant pit in front.
"Hiss—! What kind of strength is this? You are definitely not in the Qi Condensation stage!" Su Rongyue felt the pain rippling through her body and yelled in anger!
When she turned her head, what greeted her eyes were numerous one-meter-long ant fiends swarming toward her from all directions.
Roughly speaking, there were nearly a hundred of them.
"Not good! Tier 1 ant fiends! You little bastard, you actually set me up!" Su Rongyue cursed angrily.
As a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, she could naturally handle these Tier 1 ant fiends, but having no weapon left her at an extreme disadvantage.
"You little mongrel, I'm going to kill you." With murder in her eyes, Su Rongyue tried to charge out and kill Xie Guannan.
Yet how could she possibly break through such a massive horde of Tier 1 ant fiends?
Seeing Xie Guannan standing frozen in place, she was boiling with rage. "When I kill my way out, I'll tear you to shreds!" Su Rongyue's voice rose in pitch.
She no longer had time to pay attention to Xie Guannan. Unleashing her cultivation, Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Spiritual Power began to gather. Su Rongyue's breathing grew heavy; fighting so many Tier 1 ant fiends was no small burden.
Guided by her will, spiritual power condensed in her hand into a faintly glowing energy orb. She hurled it forward, and the orb exploded repeatedly in mid-air, shaking the surroundings, kicking up dust, and unleashing a flurry of violent shockwaves.
Countless ant fiends were blasted into pieces, sending flesh and blood flying in all directions.
Yet Su Rongyue was in no better shape. Her bathrobe had multiple tears, exposing large patches of snow-white, reddened skin, looking utterly unsightly.
Her hair was also slightly disheveled, strands falling across her face—a truly wretched sight.
Standing on high ground, Xie Guannan watched the scene unfold below with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Su Rongyue, why did you get close to the Xie Family? A small place like this shouldn't be able to hold someone from an ancient clan like you."
"You even know about ancient clans? That's right, the way you dared to defy me that day means you're definitely not ordinary." As if confirming something, Su Rongyue laughed like a madwoman.
"Didn't you already know? What I'm after is this mineral vein, hahaha." Abruptly changing her tone, her eyes widened as she muttered to herself, "I never expected to fall for your trap today!"
"Su Rongyue, let me ask you: what did you do back then to force my mother to leave the Xie Family?"
"Xie Guannan, to tell you the truth, I drugged someone to defile your mother, which made your father despise her and abandon her."
"You think I'd believe that?" Xie Guannan chuckled.
"Heh, like I said, whether you believe it is up to you!" Su Rongyue replied while continuing to slaughter the fierce beasts.
"You're spouting nonsense! If the head of the Su Family hadn't used his pressure against me while my father was away, how could I have let Qinyun leave? Let's settle things today once and for all!" An angry voice echoed.
"Father is here. Don't worry!" Xie Guannan looked to the side as Xie Wentian rushed over in a flurry.
"With a voice like yours, you could hear it all the way from the cave entrance!" Xie Wentian gestured helplessly. "How could I not worry?!"
"Su Rongyue, if you hadn't meddled in the affairs of the Xie Family, how could I have ended up in this state?!"
"Fine, Xie Wentian! All these years of you treating me with mutual respect—it was all just forbearance, was it?!"
"Father, why waste words with her? Just execute her!"
"Naner, their Su Family is somewhat special. Any death will cause the head of the family's divine soul to descend in person. Although it doesn't last long, he still possesses combat power. I've inquired, and the head of the Su Family has reached the Spirit Void Realm. We are no match for him at all."
"Therefore, imprisoning her is the safest bet!" Xie Wentian said with absolute confidence.
"Father, aren't you afraid she'll drag us down with her? That method won't work!"
"Just leave it to me!"
Xie Guannan didn't waste any breath. He slashed a sword wave toward Su Rongyue in the pit: *A Thousand Colors of Falling Leaves, Falling Leaf Slash!*
The sword hummed with a desolate intent as it rapidly cleaved toward Su Rongyue. At this moment, Su Rongyue was disheveled, covered in injuries, and had almost no spiritual power left. Furthermore, entangled by the ant fiends, she had no time to dodge.
Execution—without the slightest mishap!
The instant Su Rongyue's body hit the ground, countless ant fiends swarmed forward, fighting to devour it.
－Chapter 029: Possession?－
At the spot where Su Rongyue's body lay, a ripple of mighty pressure simultaneously diffused, causing the cave to rumble and shake from the force.
Without waiting passively, Xie Guannan directly tossed down the head of the phosphorus-armored snake.
The top of the head still bore dragon horns, and the pressure emanating from it was unabated.
A figure suddenly materialized shortly after, and a voice rang out abruptly: "Old man Su Yi! Who killed a member of my Su Family?!"
Su Yi's phantom turned around, only to lock eyes with the head of the phosphorus-armored snake. The former was instantly stunned and immediately unleashed spiritual power to attack the snake head. The dragon horns of the phosphorus-armored snake emitted a surge of pressure—this was noble dragon might.
The phantom couldn't stop retreating. He was merely a phantom, far from the personal descent of a Fifth Realm powerhouse.
"A phosphorus-armored snake on the verge of turning into a dragon! How could I possibly be a match for it? But why is this still inside a mine cave?"
After a flurry of commotion: "Tsk, there's no way to send a signal to the outside world either. What a pity."
Aloud, who knew how much time passed before this phantom dissipated.
The father and son poked their heads out, and the former said calmly, "It's finally over!"
"Wait, what's going on with this beast corpse? I've only ever felt this kind of aura from your grandfather!"
"Just a fortuitous encounter! No need to mind it!" Xie Guannan brushed him off evasively.
Su Rongyue's corpse in the pit had already become food for the ant fiends.
Xie Guannan currently possessed a Tier 5 monster core containing potent poison, which he was unable to absorb.
However, the Tier 4 monster core was enough for him to cultivate with for a long time. Yet, whenever he began to absorb and refine it, a great deal of spiritual energy would inevitably dissipate.
As for the numerous Tier 1 ones before him, they were the most suitable. Although Tier 1 monster cores were not easily formed, it was a matter of probability.
Xie Guannan directly pulled out the Xuan Sword, infusing it with spiritual power.
To avoid worrying his father, he immediately said, "You handle the Tier 2 ant fiends, and I'll take care of the Tier 1 ones."
Hearing his son say this, Xie Wentian nodded.
The very next second, however, in Xie Wentian's eyes, his son's figure shot forward like an arrow from a bow, flying rapidly into the pit to begin the slaughter.
Only then did he feel something was amiss. Had Xie Guannan become this confident? There were thousands of Tier 1 ant fiends—how could he possibly fight them all?
Yet judging by Xie Guannan's speed, he was hardly inferior to a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It was already nighttime! Under the cover of night, all his stats were doubled—double combat power!
At mid-stage Qi Condensation, level six, coupled with his nocturnal recovery rate, forget a thousand of them; even killing endlessly wouldn't be a problem!
Xie Guannan went on a killing spree! His flashing figure left blood splashing everywhere! He was simply a slaughtering machine, leaving the ground littered with the headless corpses of ant fiends.
It was entirely normal for this mineral vein to be coveted by ant fiends; they discovered spiritual-type items much earlier than other fierce beasts.
Existing naturally underground, Xie Guannan wielded the Xuan Sword with every strike proving fatal.
Standing in place, his father watched Xie Guannan slaughtering the beasts on a massive scale. For a moment, it felt like watching a satisfying drama, and he actually felt an urge to applaud!
Stunned as he watched his own son, he still didn't quite understand what his son was up to.
Xie Guannan had lost all sense of direction. With over a hundred ant fiends already dead by his hand, orientation no longer mattered—he just kept on killing.
"Harvest the monster cores," Xie Guannan said casually to his father, who was standing off to the side, as he cleaved a Tier 2 ant fiend's core in half with a single stroke.
Compared to Xie Guannan, Xie Wentian had it quite leisurely.
With so many beasts, he didn't even need to kill!
These monster cores weren't rare treasures to his father, but to him, they were quite precious.
He needed resources. Although he already possessed a mineral vein, it would need to be mined by others, leaving him with very little.
Xie Wentian hurriedly nodded. Stopping his observation, he drew his precious saber to collect the monster cores.
Harvesting monster beast inner cores was as easy as eating and drinking water to him.
However...
The speed at which he harvested monster cores still couldn't match his son's speed in slaughtering beasts.
He felt a secret sense of shock. His son's strength was terrifying.
Xie Guannan's skills, speed, and footwork were all far too astonishing.
At his son's age, Xie Wentian suspected that even if Xie Guannan fought him with both hands tied, he wouldn't win.
How could he possibly win? In his past life, Xie Guannan was an existence at the Emperor Realm.
He was someone who had weathered countless life-and-death trials.
Neither his battle experience nor his methods of killing could compare to the current Xie Guannan.
As Xie Wentian stood alone harvesting monster cores, he began to feel somewhat tired. Looking back at his son, however, the more he killed, the more spirited he became, leaving the ant fiends with no time to flee.
Until Xie Guannan reached the entrance of the ant fiend nest.
The ant fiends inside the cave seemed to have caught sight of something terrifying.
Not a single one dared to advance even an inch.
Xie Wentian finished collecting the monster cores.
Looking at his son standing by the ant fiend cave, whose posture suggested he was about to charge straight inside...
"They've been intimidated. It seems they don't dare to come out anymore," Xie Wentian said.
Yet Xie Guannan didn't see it that way at all; this was all leveling experience.
He would never let go of an opportunity to grow stronger, not even by the smallest fraction.
Looking at the ant fiend cave before him, where no ant fiends had emerged for quite some time, he finally put away the Xuan Sword and let out a long breath.
He turned his head to look back at his father.
Xie Wentian was gazing at him with a complex expression, deep in thought.
Xie Guannan didn't mind this at all and didn't care; no matter what, his father was still his father.
The very next second, however: "Are you really my son?"
Xie Guannan felt a jolt inside. You could doubt anything, but not that!
"Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself and my mother, Li Qinyun?"
Xie Wentian felt as though he had swallowed something foul; such an unserious reply was indeed something his son would say.
Yet it still gave him a strange feeling—the kind of killing intent and excitement that had never once existed in his son before.
What he could confirm was that before reaching adulthood, his son had hardly ever left Jianghai City, let alone killed any fierce beasts.
Xie Wentian's expression gradually grew solemn: "May I ask, senior... could you tell me if my son's divine soul has already been utterly destroyed?"