411: Letting the wolf into the house

"Zhou Qingwei!"

True Lord Haoran flashed into existence beside Liu Xuan. "Liu Xuan is my Disciple. If he were willing to go with you, that would be fine, but since he is unwilling, you cannot force him!"

"Fellow Daoist Haoran, you are being foolish!" Zhou Qingwei pointed at Liu Xuan. "He is a one-in-a-billion Artifact Refining Genius. How can you bear to watch such a Genius waste his time and regret it in the future?"

"Once he comes with me to Tiangong Immortal City and witnesses the vast Legacy of top Artifact Refining Great Masters, he will naturally change his mind."

Liu Xuan's talent for Artifact Refining was too high. Even in Tiangong Immortal City, where all the Artifact Refining Geniuses of the Human Race gathered, Zhou Qingwei had not seen many geniuses with higher talent than him.

For such a Prodigy-level Artifact Refining Genius, even without the Dao Court reward, he wanted to take him back; he was unwilling to let such a Genius be buried.

"How do you know that Liu Xuan's greatest talent lies in Artifact Refining?" True Lord Haoran resumed his elegant, gentlemanly demeanor. As his anger dissipated, a hint of mockery crept into his tone.

"What do you mean?"

Zhou Qingwei had only learned of Liu Xuan after sending people to investigate the origins of the great sun flying boat a few days ago. He did not know much about Liu Xuan, only that the great sun flying boat was crafted by the Liu Family Artifact Refining Workshop.

"It means nothing!"

True Lord Haoran looked at Liu Xuan with a complex expression. "My Disciple here doesn't just know Artifact Refining; he is proficient in Alchemy, Talisman, and Formation as well."

"Previously, he hid his cultivation and was able to perform Talisman Drawing out of thin air using only early-stage Qi Refining mana. Presumably, his Talisman path has long since advanced to the Third-rank."

"He uses a third-rank middle-grade demon core to refine the third-rank pill, the xuanhuang undying pill; he is at least a Third-Rank Alchemist."

True Lord Haoran stared at Liu Xuan and asked, "The third-rank city-protecting Formation outside was also set up by you, right?"

"Although this Formation is Third-rank Low-grade, it involves Yin and Yang and is incomparably exquisite. Even I can only break it through brute force."

"Alchemy, Artifact, Talisman, and Formation—you are at the Third-rank in all four immortal cultivation arts. Your Revered Master is very curious: which one are you actually best at?"

"This... it should be Alchemy!"

"Disciple does not have much interest in immortal cultivation arts. What I am actually best at is the Dao of the Sword!" Liu Xuan gestured with two fingers.

Liu Xuan possessed the Sword Heart Clarity talent and had mastered the Nine Radiance Sword Intent very early on. Later, he studied Xiao Changfeng's killing Sword Intent and gradually realized his own unique Dao of the Sword.

After gathering the Five Elements Cultivation Method, he realized the Five-Elements Creation-Destruction Divine Light Divine Ability, and this Divine Ability gradually fused with his Dao of the Sword.

The Kunpeng Swallowing Heaven Body Refining Method contained the Dao of Space, and the true dragon essence blood also contained the Dao of Space.

Liu Xuan had a premonition that when he completely fused the Five Elements Cultivation Method into a single technique, the combination of the Five Elements and Space would give birth to a Heaven-Defying level technique and Dao of the Sword.

Liu Xuan was actually a pure spell cultivator and Sword Cultivator; it was just that everyone could not see it.

"Alchemy?"

True Lord Haoran had guessed it would be Artifact Refining or Formation; he had not expected it to be Alchemy.

Judging from the Great Sun City city-protecting Formation, Liu Xuan's foundation in Formation was not much worse than his own. Judging from Zhou Qingwei's words and actions, Liu Xuan's talent for Artifact Refining was nothing short of a Prodigy.

Yet Liu Xuan claimed his best talent was Alchemy. If he wasn't talking nonsense...

"Nonsense!"

Zhou Qingwei did not believe what the two were saying at all. He looked at Liu Xuan and asked, "Kid Liu, are you really unwilling to come with me?"

"Senior, I truly have no interest in the path of Artifact Refining. My apologies!"

"Foolish!" "How foolish!"

Zhou Qingwei had wanted to just walk away, but after hesitating for a moment, he took out a golden token and threw it toward Liu Xuan.

"This is a Tiangong Immortal City token. I will be staying in the Southern Border for a few years. During this time, if you change your mind, you can bring this token to find me."

After dropping the token, Zhou Qingwei transformed into a streak of golden light that pierced through the room and vanished in the blink of an eye.

After Zhou Qingwei left, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat awkward. True Lord Haoran's face, which had just regained its elegant and composed look, began to frown again.

"Revered Master, Senior Sisters, this is not a place to talk. How about I take you to the guest hall to sit?" Liu Xuan took the initiative to speak, breaking the awkwardness.

Yun Miao and Yun Xi did not speak; both turned their gaze toward their father, True Lord Haoran.

True Lord Haoran was silent for a good while before suddenly saying, "No need. Speaking here is the same."

"I can marry Yun Xi off to you, but you must agree to a few conditions."

"Really?"

Before Liu Xuan could speak, An Yun Xi happily ran over and hugged her father's arm, saying joyfully, "I knew Father was the best to me!"

"Don't be happy too soon," True Lord Haoran stared at Liu Xuan. "Whether he will agree to my conditions is not yet certain!"

An Yun Xi turned her head to look at Liu Xuan, her big, watery eyes full of anticipation, yet also tinged with a bit of nervousness.

Liu Xuan cupped his hands in a salute. "Father-in-law, please state your conditions."

True Lord Haoran was stunned! He had already changed the way he addressed him to Father-in-law?

He suddenly felt as if he had made a mistake; he shouldn't have given this brat any chance at all.

However, as the dignified Head of the South Courtyard of the Beast Taming Sect, how could he take back words he had already spoken?

"First, Yun Xi can marry you, but you must agree to hand over all the business of the Liu Family Artifact Refining Workshop to Yun Xi to manage. I will send people to assist her in taking over."

"Second, I don't care how many women you have in your backyard, but my daughter cannot be bullied in the slightest. If she is bullied, I will definitely make you pay."

"Third, your Liu Clan Merchant Alliance will henceforth be directly subordinate to my South Courtyard. Yun Miao will be your superior, and she has the right to interfere with and manage all affairs of the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance."

"Fourth, Yun Xi must advance to the Golden Core stage within three years; otherwise, I will separate you two temporarily until Yun Xi advances to the Golden Core stage."

After finishing, True Lord Haoran looked at Liu Xuan. From his perspective, as long as Liu Xuan agreed to these four conditions, it would be equivalent to completely binding the Liu Family to the South Courtyard and to his An Family. As time passed, Liu Xuan would not be able to go back on his word even if he wanted to.

Didn't Liu Xuan value Family development the most? If he could agree to even these conditions, it showed he truly had no ulterior motives and really liked Yun Xi, so it wouldn't be a big deal for Yun Xi to be with him.

"Dad!" An Yun Xi pushed her father's hand away and said indignantly, "Your conditions are too excessive! Isn't this just seizing Junior Brother Liu's Family assets? Your daughter does not agree."

The expression on True Lord Haoran's face froze. His over a thousand years of scholarly cultivation was almost completely wiped out by his daughter's anger. How did he give birth to such a stupid daughter?

Seeing that the situation was about to become unmanageable again, Liu Xuan quickly spoke up to agree.

"Father-in-law, I agree to all the conditions you mentioned. Please calm your anger first."

"You really agree to all of them?"

When negotiating conditions, True Lord Haoran had left a little room for negotiation. For example, the third condition, regarding the Liu Clan Merchant Alliance belonging to the South Courtyard and being managed by Yun Miao—this could be discussed.

Just as Yun Xi said, this move was equivalent to forcing Liu Xuan to hand over the lifeblood of his Family to the An Family; it was indeed somewhat excessive.

"As your son-in-law, I have no reason to take back what I have said. Everything will be done according to Father-in-law's wishes!"

On the surface, True Lord Haoran's conditions were about seizing the Liu Family's assets, but Liu Xuan did not care.

As time passed, Liu Xuan would let True Lord Haoran know that these conditions of his were not seizing the Liu Family, but rather inviting a wolf into the house!