Matriarch Ye stood on the shore, staring at Luo Xiu beneath the waterfall, her teeth itching with rage.

This brat, to play the Ye Family elders for fools like this, is utterly arrogant and insolent!

However, while she fumed at Luo Xiu's arrogance, she was also greatly shocked. This kid looks so sickly and weak. I thought he was only in the Body Refinement Phase, but he actually possesses such terrifying strength. These four Ye Family elders are all at the Late Stage of Gathering Spirits. If the four of them joined forces, I fear only a warrior at the Great Perfection of the Gathering Spirit Realm could stand a chance against them! And yet, Luo Xiu easily defeated the four elders without even moving his hands, using only qi manipulation to attack his foes. Doesn't this mean that Luo Xiu's strength must be above the Great Perfection of the Gathering Spirit Realm? Even a master at the Great Perfection of the Gathering Spirit Realm couldn't defeat four late-stage cultivators so effortlessly. To possess such formidable power at such a young age—not even thirty—is something Matriarch Ye found truly unimaginable.

Now she understood why Ye Ningxue wanted to take Luo Xiu as her master. Putting everything else aside, his strength alone made him more than qualified!

「On the other side.」

Yue Tianyang stared at Luo Xiu in the pool, his eyes trembling lightly with an excitement he could hardly conceal. His thoughts were the same as Matriarch Ye's. I've truly found a treasure this time.

"Is Patriarch Ye present?" Luo Xiu suddenly spoke from the pool.

The people on the bank composed themselves and focused their attention on Luo Xiu. After waiting for a moment with no response from the cave behind the waterfall, Luo Xiu spoke again. "Junior Luo Xiu presumes to challenge the Patriarch!"

On the shore, the four Ye Family elders who had already come ashore exchanged glances before looking toward Matriarch Ye.

"Rongrong, do you think this kid can pass the Family Head's challenge?" one of the elders asked.

Matriarch Ye just shook her head slightly, saying nothing. Everyone was confused by her gesture. Does shaking her head mean he can't, or that she doesn't know?

Another elder spoke with conviction. "The Family Head has already reached the Great Perfection of the Gathering Spirit Realm, a level far beyond our own. If the Family Head were to fight this boy with all his might, the boy would be defeated without a doubt!"

"Grandfather could never be a match for my master," Ye Ningxue suddenly interjected.

At these words, several elders turned to look at her. She stood there proudly, filled with confidence.

"Xiao Xue, you traitorous wretch!"

"..."

Just then, Luo Xiu stepped onto the water and walked straight through the waterfall. Seeing this, the onlookers hurried along the path by the bank to the base of the cliff, then entered the grotto through a passage hewn into the rock face. They had all thought Luo Xiu was about to fight Patriarch Ye and were filled with anticipation, wanting to witness the battle with their own eyes. But when they walked into the cave, they were all stunned.

There, they saw the gaunt Patriarch Ye fast asleep in a rocking chair, completely oblivious to Luo Xiu shouting at his side. No matter how loudly he called, the old man could not be woken.

Luo Xiu turned, looking helplessly at Matriarch Ye. "Matriarch Ye, the old master is ignoring me. What should I...?"

Matriarch Ye coughed lightly, then said with a straight face, "Since the old man isn't stopping you, it means you have passed his test. You brat, you may go in and draw the sword."

The old matriarch was trying to appear calm, but inwardly she was embarrassed and frustrated. It was obvious that Patriarch Ye was only pretending to sleep! And who can wake a person who is pretending to be asleep?

"Really?"

Matriarch Ye waved her hand impatiently. "Go on. It's not like you'll be able to pull it out anyway."

Yue Tianyang smiled. "Mister Luo, allow me to lead the way."

"I want to go too!" Ye Ningxue chimed in, following them eagerly.

"..."

The cave behind the waterfall was spacious, a Grotto Heaven unto itself. Patriarch Ye must have lived here often, as the main cavern was fully furnished. At its deepest end was another opening, veiled by vines. Entering it revealed a winding tunnel that sloped downward.

At the end of the tunnel lay a large, natural cavern. It was not dark, as lamps had been installed all along the cave walls. Blocking Luo Xiu's path was a small underground river, its babbling sound incessant. Jagged stalactites of varying lengths hung from the ceiling above, a clear sign that this underground cavern had existed for many years.

Luo Xiu had no interest in the spectacular view. He had seen more than his fill of such caves during his childhood on Ghost Valley Mountain.

"Where is the sword?"

Yue Tianyang pointed to the opposite bank of the underground river. "It's over there."

With a light leap, Luo Xiu gracefully landed on the other side and continued forward. Before he had taken more than a few steps, he saw a sizable pool of water ahead.

Ye Ningxue walked up beside him and suddenly said, "This is called the Dragon Spring Pool. I peed in it when I was little."

Luo Xiu shot her a strange look.

Ye Ningxue continued, "When I was a little girl, Grandpa told me this pool led to the East Sea Dragon Palace. I even went searching for dragons in the water. I only found out later that he was lying; there's no such thing as the East Sea Dragon Palace in this world."

"The East Sea Dragon Palace may not exist, but it's true that dinosaur fossils were discovered here," Yue Tianyang said. "The complete dinosaur fossil in the provincial museum was provided by the Ye Family."

Luo Xiu walked slowly forward and asked, "Why is it called the Dragon Spring Pool?"

Yue Tianyang smiled. "Because the water here has never run dry. Legend says a dragon is chained at the bottom, spouting forth a spring all year round." He added, "But that's just a story from ancient times. In truth, the bottom of this pool is connected to the underground river outside, which is why it's always full and never dries up. There is, however, an interesting phenomenon. If you shout loudly while in the pool, water will spurt from the bottom, creating a fountain."

"..."

As they talked, the three of them arrived at the edge of the pool. Luo Xiu noticed a large, protruding boulder in the center of the Dragon Spring Pool. Atop the boulder stood a stone stele more than three meters tall, upon which were inscribed four lines of magnificent calligraphy, written as if in a dance of dragons and phoenixes:

*Upstream, it joins the Tianhe three thousand miles away,*

*Downstream, it opens to the twelve gates of the earthen sea.*

*Through all ages, it flows among the mortal world,*

*A single silver wave, binding all living things.*

Ye Ningxue looked at Luo Xiu excitedly. "Master, the sword is right below! You'll see it if you dive down. Hurry, go and pull it out!"

"..."

「Meanwhile.」

In the spacious cavern hall, Patriarch Ye, still lying in his rocking chair, had opened his eyes. Matriarch Ye kicked his shin irritably. "What was the meaning of pretending to sleep just now? Didn't you see how arrogant that little brat was being?!"

With a pained look, Patriarch Ye sighed helplessly and said to the Matriarch and the four elders, "That kid's background is no small matter! It's not a question of whether I'm his match or not. Even if I were, I wouldn't dare to truly lay a hand on him. I had no choice but to pretend to sleep to get through the situation."

Hearing this, Matriarch Ye and the others were all stunned. After a long silence, she finally asked, "What kind of background does he have?"

Patriarch Ye pondered for a moment. "I'm not certain yet; it's just a guess. However, when he was fighting the four elders in the pool earlier... the martial skill he used seemed to me to be Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong."

At this, everyone present looked at the Patriarch with shock and disbelief.

"Luo Tian's Control over Xuanzhong?"

"That's... isn't that from Ghost Valley...?"

Suddenly, the matriarch seemed to realize something. Her eyes widened as she stared at her husband. "Don't tell me this kid is..."

Patriarch Ye nodded.

The cavern fell instantly silent.

Patriarch Ye gave a helpless smile. "Just let him be."

An elder asked, "Then will he be able to pull out that sword?"

Patriarch Ye thought for a moment before replying, "It should be impossible. That kid's strength is likely similar to mine, at the Great Perfection of the Gathering Spirit Realm. With such strength, it's impossible to pull out that sword."

Matriarch Ye smiled. "Think about it. How many experts have come to draw it over the past few hundred years? Even powerhouses from the Heaven's List have tried, and they all failed. This kid may have a formidable background and considerable strength, but how can he possibly compare to experts on the Heaven's List? So, he definitely can't pull it out!"

Hearing this, the four elders all breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

It's good that he can't pull it out. After all, that sword is a treasure of our Ye Family. If an outsider were to really take it, we would suffer a great loss.

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