Wu Jiu’s gaze was as sharp as a blade as he coldly swept his eyes across the room, a faint, mocking smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Then, his voice low yet carrying an undeniable fierceness, he spoke.
“Hmph, I don’t need you old fossils to tell me what to do. I have my own plans.”
“If it comes to it, I’ll just go pay a visit to the Ancestor right now.”
With that, Wu Jiu flicked his sleeves and turned to leave. His retreating figure was like a sharp, cutting wind—filled with resolve and contempt, as if staying even a moment longer would be an insult to himself.
“Hmph. Just a mere martial artist at the Divine Mansion realm. I refuse to believe that this Lu Xuan would dare to act recklessly in front of our Wu Family—one of the Eight Great Clans!”
Wu Jiu let out a cold laugh, a flicker of disdain passing through his eyes, though it was tinged with a hint of complexity.
“Even if this old man’s strength is far inferior to this Lu Xuan’s, don’t you forget—”
His voice suddenly rose, as if deliberately meant for those still in the room to hear.
“I am a member of the Eight Great Clans!”
“A martial artist at the Divine Mansion realm is nothing more than an ant before those few Ancestors—they could crush him with a mere flip of their hand.”
After Wu Jiu left, the chill of his departure still lingered in the air of the room.
Those present exchanged glances, but no one spoke up to refute his words.
Because what Wu Jiu had said was exactly what they all considered an unshakable truth—no one questioned it, and no one dared to.
In this Great Xia Dynasty, aside from the exalted Great Xia Royal Family and the other powers on par with the Eight Great Clans—
Who would dare to lightly provoke the dignity of the Eight Great Clans?
Of course, apart from the Royal Family and the Eight Great Clans, there were also the five transcendent great sects—standing above the mundane world, with profound foundations and unfathomable strength, barely able to contend with the Eight Great Clans.
But even among those five great sects, only the Daoxu Monastery and the Jingxin Temple could truly command the serious attention of the Eight Great Clans.
The silence in the room did not last long.
The next moment, the elderly man in black robes from earlier let out a very displeased snort right in front of everyone, shattering the dead silence.
“Hmph!”
The black-robed elder’s voice was low and icy, carrying clear irritation and sarcasm.
“Patriarch, that old fox Wu Jiu is getting more and more brazen—he’s practically disregarding you altogether.”
At these words, everyone in the room turned their gazes toward the old man seated at the very center.
That elder wore a deep purple robe, embroidered with eerie, shifting patterns of white bone skulls. Each stitch of those skull patterns seemed to contain boundless pressure and murderous intent.
The purple-robed elder’s expression was as calm as still water, yet it exuded an invisible oppression, as if even the very air froze before him.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy, and everyone’s breathing unconsciously became lighter.
This man was none other than the Patriarch of the Wu Family—Wu Hun!
A being who had just stepped into the Divine Mansion realm!
The several elders in this room, along with Wu Jiu, were all martial artists at or above the Grandmaster Perfection level of External Gang, and also served as Supreme Elders of the Wu Family.
And Wu Hun, as the Family Patriarch, was merely someone at the initial stage of the Divine Mansion realm.
All of them—including Patriarch Wu Hun—were nothing more than figureheads put in place to manage the family’s day-to-day affairs.
The true foundational martial artists of the Wu Family spent their years deep within the Ancestral Artifact Spirit Realm, comprehending the primal forces of that spiritual world.
Patriarch Wu Yuan did not respond immediately. He merely raised his eyelids slightly.
His gaze, as dark and deep as an abyss, casually swept toward that black-robed elder—the meaning in it elusive and hard to read.
“Enough, Wu Shan.”
Patriarch Wu Yuan’s voice was low and authoritative, as if carrying an invisible force that instantly suppressed the restlessness in the room.
“There’s no need to drag family matters into your personal squabbles with Wu Jiu.”
Wu Yuan’s tone sounded extremely calm, yet it carried a faint pressure, as though nothing could be hidden from him.
Then, Wu Yuan shifted the topic. His gaze narrowed slightly as he looked toward the door, his voice turning more solemn.
“This Lu Xuan—young as he is, yet possessing strength comparable to a Primordial Spirit True Man—is truly a once-in-an-epoch prodigy.”
Mentioning Lu Xuan’s strength, a trace of wariness flickered in Wu Yuan’s eyes.
His brows furrowed slightly, as if recalling something unsettling.
Back in his day, he had been one of the top martial prodigies of his generation, bathed in glory and limitless promise.
But now, compared to this Lu Xuan, he was like a firefly trying to compete with the full moon—utterly shameful.
A trace of bitterness rose in Wu Yuan’s heart, but he quickly suppressed it.
Everyone in the room lowered their heads in silence upon hearing this.
Wu Yuan’s words were like a sharp blade, driven deep into their hearts.
From this day forward, the name Lu Xuan was like an invisible mountain, pressing down on the minds of everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty.
“Wu Shan, go make the preparations. Later, I’ll pay a visit to Mingqing’s residence.”
“Ever since Mingqing was brought back to the Heavenly Capital by that person, his spirits seem to have dampened.”
“Now, with this Lu Xuan suddenly emerging, I’m worried Mingqing might do something irrational.”
“Yes, Patriarch!”
——-
Wu Family Forbidden Grounds, Deep Within the Ancestral Hall.
“Greetings, Ninth Granduncle!”
“Greetings, Ninth Granduncle!”
“Greetings, Supreme Elder!”
Along the way, the Wu Family guards bowed respectfully, their tones extremely reverent and humble.
Yet Wu Jiu’s face was dark and gloomy, his gaze fierce, as if he hadn’t heard their greetings at all.
His steps were hurried and heavy, each one carrying a suppressed fury that seemed ready to erupt at any moment.
The atmosphere within the Ancestral Hall grew particularly tense with Wu Jiu’s arrival, and even the air itself seemed saturated with an invisible oppression.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances, but none dared to utter a single word.
They knew that although this Ninth Granduncle was usually stern, he rarely showed such blatant anger. For him to appear like this today meant that something major had clearly happened.
Under the watchful eyes of the guards, Wu Jiu’s steps finally halted at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall.
His gaze pierced through the doorway, fixed on the spirit tablets honoring the successive ancestors of the family.
Only then did the fury in his eyes subside slightly, replaced by a complex mixture of emotions.
He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
The next moment, Wu Jiu murmured softly to himself: “Ancestor, Wu Jiu has come today out of sheer necessity.”
“Ancestor, forgive this unworthy descendant for bringing a calamity upon the Wu Family. I beg you for guidance.”
His voice was low and hoarse, laced with barely concealed guilt and anxiety.
He knelt in the center of the hall, his gaze fixed on the ancestral tablets, his expression solemn and reverent.
But before he could finish speaking, an aged yet commanding voice suddenly thundered in his ear.
The voice was like a divine thunderbolt from the ninth heaven, shaking Wu Jiu’s very soul.
“Speak!”
That single word seemed to come from the distant past, carrying boundless authority and antiquity, instantly cutting Wu Jiu off mid-sentence.
Hearing that word, Wu Jiu’s body trembled slightly, and he bowed his head further, his demeanor growing even more respectful.
At that moment, the Ancestral Hall fell into utter silence, save for the candles before the ancestral tablets, flickering faintly.
Their bright flames clearly illuminated Wu Jiu’s aged face.
“Yes… yes…”
A long while later.
Much time had passed since Wu Jiu finished recounting the matter regarding Lu Xuan.
He still knelt on the prayer cushion in the Ancestral Hall, his gaze fixed almost pleadingly on the ancestral tablets, as if awaiting a response that could turn the tide.
How strange?
Ancestor… why was there no reaction?
A hint of unease and doubt slowly rose in Wu Jiu’s heart.
He had expected the Ancestor to give clear instructions, or perhaps even personally intervene to resolve the matter.
But what greeted him was nothing but dead silence.
Just as Wu Jiu was feeling perplexed, a hoary yet majestic voice suddenly echoed through the hall.
“Wu Jiu!”
Wu Jiu’s body jolted, and he quickly bowed his head, replying respectfully: “I am here!”
The aged voice continued: “Go find this Lu Xuan yourself. Have him return the Four-Pattern Star Artifact, the Moon-Chasing Staff, to the Wu Family.”
“As for his attack on a member of the Wu Family—let it be written off, considered settled.”
At these words, Wu Jiu’s expression changed drastically.
The healthy flush drained from his face in an instant, leaving it pale as paper.
His pupils contracted, and a storm of shock surged within him.
What!
The Ancestor was actually telling him to go alone to see that murderous star, Lu Xuan!
Last time, had it not been for Lu Xuan’s momentary carelessness and ignorance of the true source of the Eight Great Clans’ power—
He, Wu Jiu, would have already been a dead man, with grass growing several feet high over his grave.
A glint of sharpness flashed in Wu Jiu’s eyes, as if he had caught a glimmer of hope.
“Ancestor,” Wu Jiu raised his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of probing and implication.
“This Lu Xuan, at barely twenty years of age, has already attained power rivaling that of a Primordial Spirit True Man.”
“There must be earth-shattering secrets hidden within that boy. If our Wu Family could get a glimpse of them…”
Wu Jiu stopped there, leaving the rest unsaid, letting the Ancestor decide the answer himself.
A moment later, the aged and commanding voice sounded again by Wu Jiu’s ear, its tone carrying an unfathomable depth.
“Wu Jiu, I understand your meaning.”
“However, this Lu Xuan has caught the eye of that one in the palace.”
“Even I cannot ignore that one’s will and act against Lu Xuan.”
Disappointment flickered in Wu Jiu’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
He knew the Ancestor’s words were perfectly reasonable.
That Empress in the palace had actually bestowed the Violet Extreme Mysterious Bird Robe upon that brat Lu Xuan.
What others saw as an extraordinary honor, those in the major powers recognized as a clear and unmistakable signal.
It was obvious—that Empress was warning everyone.
Lu Xuan was someone she favored!
Quite a few of the Eight Great Clans had experienced the Empress’s unfathomable methods firsthand.
And among those clans was the Wu Family.
Back then, for a certain matter, that Empress had nearly destroyed the entire Wu Family.
Seeming to sense Wu Jiu’s fear, the Ancestor’s voice drifted over once more, slow and deliberate.
“Enough!”
“I will grant you a strand of Primordial Spirit power. Even if Lu Xuan has achieved Divine Mansion Perfection, he absolutely will not be able to overpower you.”
“If that Lu Xuan dares to disregard the Wu Family’s dignity and refuses to let the matter rest—”
“Then this Ancestor will immediately leave the Spirit Mirror and personally eliminate this scourge!”
“In the end, even if that one finds out, she will have no grounds to trouble our Wu Family.”
“After all, we have already offered this Lu Xuan a way out.”
As the Ancestor’s words fell, the fear in Wu Jiu’s heart receded like the tide, replaced by an inexpressible sense of relief.
Wu Jiu lowered his head slightly, the faintest smile curling at the corner of his mouth, and replied with due respect.
“Yes, Ancestor.”
Suddenly, a wisp of violet ethereal light shot out from the depths of the Ancestral Hall, piercing through all obstacles and plunging straight into Wu Jiu’s crown.
That violet light was cold and profound, as if containing boundless power, merging instantly with Wu Jiu’s flesh.
Wu Jiu felt a vast surge of energy coursing through him—in that fleeting moment, he could even sense the very laws of heaven and earth bending to his will.
The next second, excitement surged in Wu Jiu’s heart, yet he dared not show the slightest lapse in composure. He quickly bowed his head, his voice reverent and devout.
“Thank you, Ancestor, for this bestowal!”
Empowered by the Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit force, Wu Jiu slowly raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, and thought to himself.
Lu Xuan… this time, let’s see how arrogant you can be in the face of the Ancestor’s Primordial Spirit power!
If you’re wise, you’ll back off now—that would be the best possible outcome.
Anyone who stubbornly makes an enemy of the Wu Family is simply courting death.
Because the one speaking to me now is none other than the Wu Family’s Third Ancestor—Wu Sheng.
A terrifying being at the Half-Step Void Penetration realm.
With Ancestor Wu Sheng’s Primordial Spirit power, unless Lu Xuan possesses strength at the Divine Mansion Great Perfection level—
There’s no way he can shatter it.
Seven Days Later, Heavenly Capital Mysterious Bird Guard Headquarters!
In the courtyard where Lu Xuan resided, outside the main chamber, a shimmering violet radiance coiled like flowing water, completely enveloping the entire building.
That violet light was deep and mysterious, as if containing some supreme, otherworldly power.
At times it flickered like dancing flames, at others it seemed to freeze like stagnant icy waters, constantly radiating a heart-pounding pressure.
The air around the courtyard grew heavy under its influence, and even the wind seemed to have ceased.
Now and then, a few fallen leaves drifted by—but before they could even approach the main chamber, they were silently annihilated by the violet radiance, reduced to nothingness.
“Primordial Spirit True Man!”
“Divine Mansion Perfected!”
Inside the room, Lu Xuan’s low chant echoed like a resonant bell, swirling endlessly against the surrounding walls.
