Ye Changsheng.
If this name were to spread to the Central Region, it would be enough to shake even those holy lands with tens of thousands of years of inheritance, along with the Eight Great Families.
At the end of the ancient era, he was the last recorded human powerhouse closest to ascension.
Rumor had it that he had already triggered the ascension tribulation, yet for unknown reasons, he ultimately perished, his dao dissipating—becoming one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the cultivation world for the past ten thousand years.
But who would have thought that this Ye Changsheng, who once dominated an entire era, was actually the ancestor of the Ye Family of Lizhou—the very family that Lu Qingxuan had personally wiped out not long ago?
What bitter irony.
Back then, the Ye Family had been one of the Eight Great Families of the Central Region. Yet after Ye Changsheng failed his tribulation, the vast clan collapsed like a crumbling building, declining in one fall.
After ten thousand years of erosion, they eventually fell to the remote lands of Lizhou, becoming a so-called top-tier family that even Divine Transformation Realm cultivators had to look up to.
Lu Qingxuan’s gaze deepened slightly.
In the original novel, Ye Changsheng had left behind more than one path for himself.
He had hidden his lifetime inheritance and treasures, leaving behind three bronze keys as tokens.
One was left in the ancestral land of the Ye Family.
Another was entrusted to the Liu Family, the closest ally of the Ye Family at the time.
That was why the Liu Family had spared no expense to send Liu Mengyao into the insignificant Ye Family of Lizhou.
Her goal had always been that key hidden in the Ye Family’s ancestral land.
Unfortunately, she never found it. In the end, she had no choice but to return to the Liu Family in the Central Region, preparing to begin her coming-of-age ceremony.
As for the third—and final—key, it had been hidden within the inheritance itself, waiting for its destined bearer.
In the end, it fell into the hands of those two old demons, Gui You and Ancestor Xuehai.
So today, Lu Qingxuan’s visit here—Yao Ling’er and the Spirit-grade cultivation technique were merely incidental. His true objective was the key in Gui You’s possession.
Ye Changsheng’s inheritance was the real goal of his journey.
Looking at Lu Qingxuan’s calm, unfathomable gaze, Hua Qianying gradually recovered from her earlier shock. A trace of bitterness and helplessness appeared on her face.
“Fellow Daoist Lu… it’s not that I’m unwilling to tell you. It’s just that those two old demons are inherently suspicious and cunning as foxes. Their seclusion site for joint cultivation lies within the most core forbidden ground of their sect. Apart from the two of them, no one knows its location, and no one dares approach it.”
She shook her head, her apology deepening. “Every time they go into seclusion, they set up layers upon layers of traps, completely isolating the inside from the outside. Unless they emerge on their own… even a peak Divine Transformation Realm cultivator would find it impossible to locate them. I… truly have no way to help.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Since he couldn’t get an answer, he would simply wait for them to come out themselves.
That would actually save him trouble. Once they appeared, he could simply kill them with a single strike.
Hua Qianying was about to say something more when her expression suddenly changed. Her beautiful eyes turned toward the tightly closed hall doors.
“Ling’er has arrived.”
Before her words even settled, she lifted her hand. A strand of spiritual light brushed past, and the hall doors silently slid open to either side.
Outside stood a graceful figure.
Lu Qingxuan raised his eyes to look.
With just one glance, even with his state of mind, his breathing paused for a brief moment.
The doors opened wide, light flooding in, outlining a peerlessly elegant silhouette.
The newcomer wore a peach-pink gauze dress. The skirt flowed wide, gently rippling with each step she took, like the softest peach blossom cloud of early spring.
The fabric was thin, yet perfectly layered with embroidered patterns at key points, subtly concealing while accentuating her breathtaking curves, leaving just enough to the imagination.
Her figure was tall and perfectly proportioned—any more would be excessive, any less would be lacking.
Yet what truly captivated the soul was her face.
A delicate oval face, her skin fair as snow, so tender it seemed it could break with a touch.
Her slightly upturned fox-like eyes held an extremely rare light-purple hue. With every glance, they carried an innate charm.
Beneath the corner of her right eye sat a perfectly placed tear mole, like the finishing touch of a masterpiece. It added a fragile, pitiful quality to her overwhelming allure, making one want both to conquer and to cherish her.
She was Yao Ling’er.
The current saintess of the Joyous Harmony Sect, hailed as “a single true bloom among ten thousand flowers,” a peerless enchantress.
“Jingle… jingle…”
A crisp, pleasant sound accompanied her steps, coming from the delicate red-gold ankle bells wrapped around her bare, snow-white ankles.
The sound was not loud, yet it seemed to strike directly at the heart, stirring the mind and igniting the blood.
But when Hua Qianying saw this, she felt a surge of unease instead.
This girl, Ling’er—relying on her innate seductive bone and the simplified “One-Heart Mirror” derived from the “Universal Joyous Canon”—had always been unstoppable. She had long grown accustomed to seizing the initiative with overwhelming presence.
Yao Ling’er stepped gracefully into the hall.
At a glance, she noticed her master Hua Qianying’s unusual expression, as well as the indifferent, unfamiliar man.
A man?
Could he be her master’s new lover?
But even when other Divine Transformation Realm Ancestors came seeking pleasure, they had never been received in the Main Hall.
Could this be some new… arrangement?
“Master,” Yao Ling’er said obediently, giving Hua Qianying a respectful bow. Her voice was soft and sweet, like it had been dipped in honey.
Only then did she turn her captivating fox-like eyes toward Lu Qingxuan.
She didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Her gaze carried three parts curiosity, three parts probing, and four parts of an innocent charm that seemed to surface unintentionally.
This was the demeanor she excelled at most.
A perfect blend of purity and allure—enough to melt even the hardest of hearts.
Her red lips parted slightly, her voice now laced with even more seduction than before. “This senior looks unfamiliar. May I ask why you are looking for Ling’er? If I have been lacking in hospitality, I hope senior will forgive me.”
As she spoke, she subtly activated her Nine Yin Absolute Meridians.
In an instant, the air within the hall seemed to thicken, turning heavy with ambiguity. A faint, elusive fragrance spread through the space, capable of seeping into one’s very bones and stirring the most primal desires.
This was her innate divine ability, combined with her cultivation technique—something that had never failed her.
For ordinary cultivators, a single glance or word from her would be enough to make them lose their minds and fall under her control.
But this time, she miscalculated.
Lu Qingxuan had already seen through all her disguises.
How could this be?!
Yao Ling’er stared at Lu Qingxuan in shock.
“You are Yao Ling’er?” Lu Qingxuan finally spoke, his tone calm.
“Y-yes… that is me,” Yao Ling’er replied instinctively, the unease in her heart growing stronger.
Lu Qingxuan’s gaze slowly moved from her face down to her legs as he said flatly, “Nine Yin Absolute Meridians, a once-in-a-thousand-years genius of the Joyous Harmony Sect. Your temperament is somewhat lacking, but your legs are quite nice.”
…