356: Liu appeared

Lin Feng's words immediately stirred up resentment in the hearts of many Cultivators.

However, most only dared to grumble internally; no one actually dared to respond.

Your gaze swept over Lin Feng, and you thought to yourself—

This person likely has a grudge against the Liu Clan as well.

This was not surprising. There were plenty of people in the Immortal Realm who hated the Liu family; some out of jealousy, some out of pure cynicism, and some who truly had blood feuds.

After all, the Liu Clan Immortal Family had so many members that sometimes one wouldn't even know which clansman had caused the Karma.

Just as you were thinking this, a sudden commotion broke out at the entrance of the courtyard.

A female Cultivator rushed in with a Face full of fury, her eyes glaring death at Xuanyuan Yi, her voice shrill:

"Xuanyuan Yi! You bastard! The family's Spirit Stones are almost gone, and you're still here acting like a rich young master?!"

This female Cultivator was named Jiang He; she was Xuanyuan Yi's Dao Companion, and the two had a son together.

As soon as she heard Xuanyuan Yi had come here to squander money again, she flew into a rage and chased him down.

Jiang He rushed up to Xuanyuan Yi in a few steps and grabbed him by the ear:

"One hundred Spirit Stones an hour! Are you trying to ruin us?! Our son is lacking resources for his Cultivation, and here you are, living in your Xuanyuan pipe dream! I must have been blind to choose a loser like you!"

The people around them suppressed their laughter, their eyes darting about.

Clearly, everyone knew about Xuanyuan Yi's flaws—not only was he obsessed with Face to his own detriment, but he was also henpecked.

Xuanyuan Yi broke free from her hand and straightened his lapels, his Face looking terrible: "In front of everyone, what are you doing! Have you no shame!"

"Shame?" Jiang He laughed out of sheer anger. "Fine, Xuanyuan Yi, let me tell you: if you ever dare come to a place like this again, we're finished! You won't see your son ever again!"

Xuanyuan Yi's Face turned pale, and he fell silent.

His son was his hope—his talent was indeed outstanding. If he were truly noticed by the Xuanyuan main branch, it would be a complete transformation for them.

Jiang He had been willing to follow him back then because she was betting on this: if she had to find a Dao Companion anyway, she might as well gamble on the Bloodline. What if the son turned out successful?

Furthermore, for the Xuanyuan Immortal Clan to rank among the five major powers, their Bloodline Legacy was indispensable.

This was something everyone in the Immortal Realm knew.

Beside them, Xia Zhiwei pursed her lips and smiled, leisurely interjecting:

"Young Master Xuanyuan, your son is gifted with extraordinary talent, but your Aptitude... is quite mediocre. Could it be that you aren't actually a member of the Xuanyuan Clan... or perhaps Sister-in-Law..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear—swapping a commoner for a prince was not uncommon in the cultivation world.

This was not as simple as swapping babies in the mortal world.

The "swaps" in the cultivation world were far more insidious: blood replacement, soul snatching, stealing the Bloodline Foundation... these were all within the realm of secret techniques.

Just like the "Spotless Sword Body" you obtained back then, it was one of these methods.

There was also the blood replacement method mentioned by the mysterious person from the Immortal Palace, which could also reshape a Bloodline.

To put it bluntly, as long as the methods were ruthless enough, nothing was impossible to forge.

Of course, such methods often damaged the Foundation, making it difficult to achieve a full Awakening of the Physique, and carried immense risks.

But if it was just to cling to a great clan, it was "good enough."

However—where there are methods to forge, there are naturally methods to verify.

Hearing this, Jiang He immediately exploded: "Xia Zhiwei! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Xia Zhiwei was not annoyed, still smiling pleasantly:

"I'm just curious. With the means of the Xuanyuan Immortal Clan, improving a Spiritual Root or bettering Aptitude shouldn't be difficult."

"Besides... I heard that the Xuanyuan family had an extraordinary figure among their ancestors who personally modified the entire clan's Bloodline before Ascension. Since then, every clansman has been exceptionally talented."

Her eyes flickered as they landed on Xuanyuan Yi:

"How is it that when it comes to Young Master Xuanyuan... you're so ordinary? Having cultivated until now, you're still only at the Golden Core stage?"

Xuanyuan Yi stood up abruptly, his Face flushed red:

"I am a 723rd generation direct descendant of the Xuanyuan Immortal Clan! Who dares to question my identity?! On the day my son was born, I personally verified his Bloodline. Stop slandering people here!"

He glared at Xia Zhiwei and suddenly sneered:

"Xia Zhiwei, I know you still have feelings for me, but there's no need to use such low-handed tactics, is there?"

Xia Zhiwei smiled: "Don't be angry, Young Master Xuanyuan, I was just speaking casually."

Jiang He gave Xia Zhiwei a vicious glare: "Xia Zhiwei, do you really think I don't know what you're plotting?"

"Every time you goad my husband into coming here to squander money, aren't you just hoping I'll fall out with him so you can swoop in?"

"Let me tell you—not a chance!"

Xia Zhiwei threw her head back and laughed, her voice full of mockery: "Jiang He, you really are..."

Before she could finish—

The air above the courtyard suddenly froze.

It wasn't that the wind had stopped, but a deeper "stasis" that was almost at the level of Law.

Your heart suddenly tightened, and an extremely ominous premonition washed over you like ice water.

The next second,

The space above the courtyard rippled clearly, like a water surface broken by a stone.

Ten figures emerged from the center of that ripple without warning.

They stood suspended in the air, fanning out in a circle, their cold gazes like physical ice picks, all pinning themselves onto you.

Seven Soul Transformation experts, three Void Refining experts.

And the leader was none other than Liu Xuanyin.

A murderous aura flooded the entire courtyard like an invisible tide.

The air became thick and heavy; every breath felt like swallowing iron filings.

The Faces of all the Cultivators in the courtyard turned pale instantly. Many broke into cold sweats, their fingertips trembling slightly, yet they didn't dare make a sound.

Your eyes narrowed slightly.

They came... so fast.

But on second thought, it wasn't surprising.

With the Venerable Tianming standing behind them, finding someone was not a difficult task for such an existence.

While changing your appearance could fool Soul Transformation Cultivators, it couldn't deceive Void Refining Cultivators. Being found was only a matter of time.

You had originally thought of hiding in the desolate continental fragments deep in the starry sky—

But those fragmented continents had long lost their world Origin, their Spiritual Veins were dried up, and they were devoid of Spiritual Qi.

Even if you hid there, if the opponent truly intended to scour the heavens and earth, you probably couldn't hide for long.

You had wanted to take a gamble and come here to gather information, to see if there was a chance to escape using a teleportation array.

But you hadn't expected the Liu family's net to close so quickly.

Liu Xuanyin hovered in the air, his gaze scraping over your Face like an ice blade. He then turned his head and spoke calmly to the two Void Refining Cultivators beside him, his tone brooks no argument:

"Fellow Daoist Xie, Fellow Daoist Yun."

"This person is the wanted criminal my Liu Clan seeks to capture."

"I shall trouble you two."

The two exchanged a look, both seeing a hint of complexity in the other's eyes.

But they still stepped forward simultaneously, their Void Refining auras pressing down slowly like a deep abyss.

Everyone in the courtyard felt as if Mount Tai were pressing down on them; even breathing became extremely difficult.

Only two people were exceptions—

One was you, and the other was Lin Feng.