Chapter 177: Chapter 177: The Name of the Returning Guest

News came of Li Ping’s return.

Soon after, Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng arrived together for a visit.

To be honest, back when they were all Qi Refining Cultivators, the two of them weren’t particularly close. There had even been some unpleasantness over who would reach Foundation Establishment first.

But so much time had passed that they had long forgotten those unpleasant incidents. Instead, they stood shoulder to shoulder, united in looking toward the future.

Furthermore, their children had grown up and intermarried over the years, making their families even closer.

However, they still held a deep respect for their Big Brother.

This wasn’t just because he had helped them reach Foundation Establishment; more importantly, their Big Brother was now a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Upon seeing Li Ping, Zhang Tie smiled and said, "Big Brother, congratulations on breaking through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment."

Gumu Sheng also smiled and chimed in with his own congratulations.

Two years ago, Li Ping had taken Yan Hengchuan to capture Yan Liming the moment he broke through, so he hadn’t met with Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, or the others.

Before he left, however,

he had deliberately left a letter for Zhang Tie and the others, mentioning his breakthrough to the Mid-stage and that he had to leave for a while.

That was why the four remaining Cultivators of the Friends Association all knew that Li Ping had broken through to Mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

Li Ping smiled and nodded, leading the two to a pavilion to sit.

He then asked them how they had been.

Gumu Sheng shook his head, unwilling to say more. Zhang Tie, however, sighed and began to complain, "Big Brother, we’ve been having a hard time lately."

Li Ping was puzzled. "Didn’t you get in with Lin Yue? Why would you be having a hard time?"

The last time they met, they’d been delighted, talking about how after Meng Qingyi left her post, the Immortal City’s new general affairs steward was an old acquaintance of their Fifth Brother, Qi Hanmo. On top of that, the new steward knew nothing about managing general affairs.

The two of them cooperated seamlessly, and they were thriving in the Immortal City.

’So what changed?’

Zhang Tie sighed again. "Nephew Lin Yue is great, but in the two years you were away from the Immortal City, Big Brother, Senior Sister Dai had another disciple successfully reach Foundation Establishment. She appointed him as an Inspector Steward. This kid’s personality is just like hers—he can’t tolerate a single speck of dust. It’s not just us; the Meng family and the other Heroic Clans are suffering terribly because of him."

Gumu Sheng added, "Cheng Yao made a mistake, and he reported her to Senior Sister Dai. Now Senior Sister Dai has ordered her to return to Mist and Smoke Mountain for closed-door reflection."

Li Ping was taken aback. ’So that’s why,’ he thought, ’I sensed something was off with the Meng family’s Old Ancestor earlier.’

Clearly, just as he had expected, Dai Sangyu was gradually taking control of the entire Immortal City.

As for Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and her other nominal Junior Brothers, she didn’t trust them and was slowly pushing them to the fringes.

Meanwhile, Fenglan Master had little of his lifespan left. He almost never made public appearances and rarely interfered in the city’s affairs.

Gumu Sheng continued with some dissatisfaction, "Nominally, I’m his Martial Uncle, but he doesn’t give me any face at all. He repeatedly inspects the warehouses and ledgers of the Ten Thousand Laws Tower, which disrupts my work."

Zhang Tie nodded in agreement, thinking that if it weren’t for the interference from this new Inspector Steward—their ’nephew’—his own work handling general affairs would be much simpler.

As they spoke, it was clear both men were resentful of this "nephew" who couldn’t tolerate a single imperfection.

But they didn’t dare to actually oppose Dai Sangyu’s actions, only daring to vent their frustrations to Li Ping.

After all, in the Cultivation Realm, ultimate power comes down to the individual. As a Core Formation Cultivator, Dai Sangyu’s position as master of the Immortal City stemmed from her own strength, not from any other source.

Unless you were another Core Formation Cultivator of the same level, no one would dare act presumptuously in her presence.

After chatting for several hours, Zhang Tie spoke up. "Big Brother, we have to get going. If we’re gone for too long, that kid surnamed Xu might start looking for trouble."

"Surnamed Xu?"

Hearing Zhang Tie’s words, Li Ping immediately thought of the Tier Three Pill Master legacy he had obtained from Hu Feng.

The original master of that legacy was a Core Formation Cultivator named Xu Pingsheng, who was renowned as being ’Unmatched in both Pill and Sword.’"

When he inherited the Pill Master’s skills through the legacy tree, he had been immersed in the memories of Xu Pingsheng’s life in alchemy.

At the time, he’d vaguely felt that Xu Pingsheng’s disposition was somewhat similar to his own master’s, Yan Guikai.

So, after returning to the Immortal City, he had tried to make some inquiries but discovered that there was no Xu family in the city, nor were there any cultivators with the surname Xu in the Cyan Dragon Mountain lineage.

But he never expected to find a clue now, from Zhang Tie of all people.

Curious, Li Ping feigned nonchalance and asked, "By the way, what’s the name of that disciple of Dai Sangyu’s, the one who’s the Inspector Steward?"

Gumu Sheng, suspecting nothing, answered directly, "His name is Xu Guikai."

"Xu Guikai?"

Hearing the name, Li Ping froze on the spot. His mind went blank, his heart began to pound uncontrollably, and his thoughts were thrown into a tumultuous storm.

"Big Brother, you know him?" Zhang Tie asked, a little puzzled when he noticed the strange expression on Li Ping’s face.

HUFF!

Li Ping forced out a breath, his stiff expression slowly relaxing. He shook his head. "I don’t know him. But... I’d very much like to meet and talk with him."

"Big Brother, you want to talk with him?" Gumu Sheng looked at him oddly.

’The grudge between Big Brother and Senior Sister Dai is an open secret, even if no one talks about it. And now he wants to meet her disciple?’

’Does he want to get revenge on her disciple?’

He couldn’t help but speculate, though he quickly discarded the thought. ’No, it’s not that he wants to meet her disciple. His expression changed only after he heard the disciple’s name. So... maybe Big Brother has heard the name somewhere before? Or perhaps Nephew Xu has some connection to him?’

Hearing Li Ping’s request to meet Xu Guikai, Zhang Tie looked troubled. "Big Brother, everyone’s busy preparing for Senior Sister Meng’s wedding right now. Besides, we aren’t exactly close with Nephew Xu—in fact, we’ve had a few run-ins with him recently. It would be difficult to arrange a dedicated meeting for you, but..."

At that moment, Gumu Sheng cut in, interrupting Zhang Tie with a smile. "There are only about twenty days until Senior Sister Meng’s wedding. Big Brother, you must have received an invitation from the Meng family, right? Nephew Xu will be at the wedding. You can talk to him then."

Zhang Tie glanced at Gumu Sheng and said no more.

"That works as well," Li Ping nodded slightly.

...

Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng flew away from Immortal Peach Mountain, chatting as they went.

"Why did you stop me back there?" Zhang Tie asked, his tone puzzled. "While arranging a formal meeting would be difficult, it wouldn’t be a problem to have Big Brother ’accidentally’ run into Nephew Xu."

Gumu Sheng asked calmly, "Do you have any idea why Big Brother wants to see Nephew Xu?"

Hearing this, Zhang Tie shook his head. "I don’t. What, do you?"

Gumu Sheng sighed. "That’s exactly why I don’t dare arrange a meeting for them!"

A thoughtful expression crossed Zhang Tie’s face.

"In any case, Senior Sister Meng’s wedding is only twenty days away. If Big Brother wants to see Nephew Xu, he’ll be able to then," Gumu Sheng said with a shake of his head. "Whatever happens at that point will have nothing to do with us."

Although he believed Big Brother was a rational person who wouldn’t do anything rash,

But Big Brother’s reaction to hearing Nephew Xu’s name had been so shocking that he couldn’t help but be wary.

...

’Is it just a coincidence, or...?’

Back in the pavilion, Li Ping watched Zhang Tie and Gumu Sheng’s departing figures, his gaze gradually sharpening.

He had been secretly investigating cultivators in the Immortal City with the surname Xu because he felt the disposition of Xu Pingsheng from the Tier Three Pill Master legacy was so similar to his master’s.

After years of finding nothing, he had suddenly received a piece of truly staggering news.

’He doesn’t just have the surname Xu, his given name is the same as Master’s!’ Li Ping thought to himself, wondering if there was a connection between the two, or if it was all just a massive coincidence.

After pondering for a long time, Li Ping still had no answers.

After all, he had far too little information to go on.

’I have to meet him. If I can just meet with this Xu Guikai, I might be able to figure it out,’ Li Ping thought, his eyes sharp.

Although he felt a growing sense of urgency, he wasn’t about to cause unnecessary trouble. He would wait for Meng Qingyi’s wedding. It was only another twenty days, after all.

Li Ping returned to his training room, sat down cross-legged, and began to silently circulate his energy in a complete cycle, trying to calm his turbulent emotions.

...

「Just as Li Ping was reeling from the revelation of the name "Xu Guikai"...」

Yue Kingdom, Purple Cloud Valley.

Huang Yunzi had finished listening to the tearful plea of the Meng family’s Old Ancestor, who remained prostrate on the floor, refusing to rise.

"Rise," Huang Yunzi said, his eyes narrowing. "I am indeed interested in the matter you’ve raised. However, until I can confirm whether the news of the Tuluo People and the four sects of the Demon Dao joining forces to invade is true, I will need some time to consider."

The Meng family’s Old Ancestor rose to his feet and listened respectfully.

Huang Yunzi continued, "I have already sent men to Jixia to gather intelligence. They should return within ten days, and then the truth will be clear. I recall that Yan’Er’s wedding to the young lady of your family is in twenty days, correct? I will give you my answer then."

"This junior understands," the Meng family’s Old Ancestor replied with a respectful nod.

Huang Yunzi waved a hand. "Very well, you may go."

The Meng family’s Old Ancestor obediently turned to leave. But at that very moment, the general affairs steward of Purple Cloud Valley burst into the hall. From his hurried demeanor, it was clear he had urgent matters to report.

"Grand Elder..." the steward began urgently as soon as he entered the hall. But when he noticed the other person present, he switched to a mental transmission for the rest of his message.

As such, the Meng family’s Old Ancestor had no idea what was said.

But just as he was about to take his leave, Huang Yunzi, having heard the steward’s message, suddenly wore an expression of shock and delight.

He called out in a loud voice, "Young Friend Meng, don’t be in such a hurry to leave! I have something to discuss with you."

The Meng family’s Old Ancestor quickly halted. His gaze lingered on the general affairs steward as he couldn’t help but wonder, ’That old fox called me back because of that message. Could it be...?’

’If so, then this trip to the Yue Kingdom was absolutely the right decision.’

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