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Chapter 348 A Son-in-Law Who Will Ride a Dragon?

On a bright autumn day, with the first light of dawn, the distant sky was shrouded in white.

Ji You sat on a blue stone on the cliff of Yunwu Mountain, having quietly entered a meditative state. His chest rose and fell slightly, in sync with his breathing rhythm.

At this moment, the spiritual energy scattered around the cloud-shrouded cliffs began to continuously flow into his body.

With a slight movement of his divine sense, the vast spiritual sea within his body suddenly ignited, beginning to circulate throughout his limbs and meridians.

After several days of recuperation, his health has almost fully recovered.

So Danyangzi suggested that he start breathing in spiritual energy, in conjunction with the effects of medicine, to promote the recovery of his meridians.

At this moment, as the powerful spiritual fire surged within his body, flickering flames began to burst forth from within him.

A powerful force surged forth in an instant, condensing into a scorching physique that roared out.

Amidst the powerful energy, the soil particles on the cliff began to tremble continuously.

Breakthrough...

Ji You couldn't help but mutter it to herself.

When he entered the ruins with the six major immortal sects, his body refinement level had only reached the third level. According to his previous analysis, this physical body realm should have about nine levels.

After returning from the ruins, he first fell into a coma and then recuperated. He only dared to use his spiritual energy to ensure that it would not put pressure on his body.

When he tried to refine his body again, he found that he seemed to have overcome a major hurdle, which was the fifth hurdle he would encounter.

If judged solely by combat strength, he should now be close to the Boundless Upper Realm.

This was unexpected, but not entirely surprising.

The battle at the altar nearly cost him his life, and the Astounding Immortal Sword Formation had also honed him to an terrifying degree. It's not surprising that his physical body broke through its limitations under extreme conditions.

He's about as good as a tsundere.

You can't just make her lie down, kneel, spread her legs, or admit she's a little water tiger.
Ji You gently raised the corners of her mouth, then slowly exhaled a breath of stale air from her body, stood up from the bluestone, and turned to walk towards the pavilion behind her.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were waiting for him in the pavilion. They got up after he finished his body training.

After Ji You regained her mobility, she gradually no longer needed the two of them to stay by her side. Although the three of them often went out for walks and chatted, they became somewhat bored.

In conclusion, a son-in-law who is awake is not as fun as a son-in-law who is unconscious.

"Uncle."

"It's over. Go back and rest."

Ji You took the handkerchief handed to her by Zhuo Wanqiu, wiped her sweat, and sat down in the wheelchair that Ding Yao was supporting.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu pushed the cart down the mountain: "Young Master Kuang came over this morning. He has already written a plan for the circulation of grain and spiritual seedlings in Fengzhou and asked when the young master will return to Fengzhou."

"In five days, Elder Danyangzi said I would no longer need to take medicine after five days."

"Then I'll send someone to inform them when I get back."

The disaster was over, the arrogant ghost was safe, and Ji You's injuries had almost fully recovered.

So he decided to return to Fengzhou and continue down the path he had planned, leading the poor people to make money.

It's true that the barbarian demons are still heading south, but he can't do much on his own, so he might as well do what he can.

Actually, things are much better now than before. Ji You has no great ambitions. When he first came to Qingyun, he just wanted to join a private bandit camp and become a bandit.

As Ji You pondered, he heard Ding Yao's voice in his ear: "Young Master, your senior sister came again this morning and brought a lot of medicine."

"Senior Sister He?"

"Yes, they've come five times in the last three days. The head of the He family also came today. They're being a bit too enthusiastic."

After Ji You woke up, he couldn't stay in his room and would often go out for a stroll, so the people in the courtyard knew about his awakening.

He Lingxiu did indeed visit frequently and showed great care.

However, in Ji You's view, the reason why his senior sister, who had the world in her heart, did this was mainly because after experiencing the great calamity of the human race, she suddenly had the idea of ​​bringing him into her camp through marriage.

In fact, his idea was correct, but he targeted the wrong person.

This time, He Lingxiu wanted to introduce him to a marriage partner not from the Qiu family, but herself.

At 9:00 AM, the sun was shining warmly.

In the third house of the first row of the inner courtyard, He Lingxiu sat upright at the tea table.

His father, He Ye, and several elders of the family were sitting opposite him, drinking tea and chatting.

The Heavenly Academy has a new headmaster, which is a very important event for the aristocratic families that are affiliated with the Heavenly Academy. Naturally, they would come to offer their congratulations, and the He family was no exception.

At this moment, the aroma of the spiritual tea wafted through the courtyard, rich and fragrant.

"After the conquest, all the major families suffered heavy losses. Even two elders of my He family who were at the Divine Realm perished in that battle. Ji You, with his outstanding combat strength, is someone we absolutely cannot let go."

He Ye's voice rang out in the courtyard, causing everyone to fall silent, including He Lingxiu.

Because of her father's words, the image of Chu Xian falling to the ground and Ji You standing upright with his sword flashed through her mind, and her eyelashes trembled slightly.

When the Heavenly Dao Society ended, Ji You entered the sacred land of the ancient sages to cultivate but failed to make a breakthrough, which caused a great deal of discussion among the people.

However, some people later said that Elder Fang kept avoiding him, and that the sword wound he suffered in the Dongping Mountains might have been inflicted by him.

However, rumors are just rumors, and not many people believe them.

He Lingxiu, in particular, had been in seclusion all last year and was not very clear about these rumors. She always felt that Ji You had reached a bottleneck and would probably never shine again.

It wasn't until this campaign that they truly witnessed Ji You's fighting prowess.

He killed the evil seed of the Yingtian Realm with his fist, blocked the demon of the Shenyou Realm with his sword, seized the soul from the Heavenly Dao, and killed Chu Xian in the midst of the baleful aura.

Everything along the way sent shivers down my spine.

He Ye then looked at his daughter and said, "If Lingxiu is active in the Heavenly Academy in the future, we will definitely find him to be our son-in-law."

He Long frowned upon hearing this: "He has a secret affair with the daughter of the Pill Sect, so he might not agree."

"Although the Dan Sect is called the Immortal Sect, it cannot cultivate the Immortal Path. It can only close its mountains before major events, which already speaks volumes. In particular, the body-refining technique that Ji You is pursuing does not require many pills, which shows that it is not a good match for him."

He Ye swished his teacup and said, "In particular, the matter of the Dan Sect sealing off the mountain may be related to the six major immortal sects' exploration of the ruins."

He Long was slightly taken aback: "Is that so?"

"The ruins have always been under the guard of the six great immortal sects and have not been opened. However, they were opened when disaster struck. In my opinion, the six great immortal sects must have secretly become greedy. There were also alchemists involved in the Qiling disaster back then. Don't you think the timing of the alchemy sect's closure of the mountain is too coincidental?"

"Does the patriarch mean that the six great immortal sects forced the Pill Sect to lend them alchemists to help them explore immortal opportunities, and the Pill Sect was so afraid that it had no choice but to close its mountain?"

He Ye nodded: "That's right. So although the Dan Sect looks glamorous on the surface, it is actually unable to enter the core of power, and it won't be that attractive to Ji You."

He Long nodded after hearing this: "That's true."

"Marriage alliances between prominent families are for mutual benefit. Marrying into the He family is not a loss for him. Once Lingxiu gives birth to his child, the second child can take his surname. As for the women around him, we can turn a blind eye."

He Ye picked up his teacup: "The Dan Sect requires loyalty to their marriage alliance, and they have very strict control over sons-in-law. I don't think they would offer such good conditions."

Upon hearing this, He Lingxiu couldn't help but frown slightly.

After being rescued by Ji You during the campaign, she did indeed develop feelings for this junior brother.

Especially during this peaceful period after the disaster, every night, the figure holding a sword and guarding the front would sneak into her dreams with the wind, making her sweat profusely.

However, there are some things that she cannot accept well.

There was nothing wrong with bearing children for Ji You and letting the second son take his surname, but she was very resistant to turning a blind eye to him having other casual affairs.

The He family is one of the few remaining thousand-year-old families in Qingyun, and they are also related by marriage to the Hall Master of the Heavenly Academy, giving them a prestigious status.

He Lingxiu herself is about to enter the Yingtian Realm, and women with such cultivation are not easy to find in this world.

She had her own pride, and even though she had considered Chai Ze and Shi Junhao before, she never thought of allowing them to take concubines.

"Lingxiu?"

He Lingxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly when she heard the call. She slowly came back to her senses and looked at her father: "I was thinking about something just now. What are your instructions, Father?"

What do you think of what I just said?

“I can accept the former, but it’s a bit difficult for my daughter to turn a blind eye to the women around him.”

He Ye patted her shoulder: "For thousands of years, the marriage alliances of the Qingyun family have always been like this. It's not uncommon. I know that these conditions are a bit unfair to you, but as my eldest daughter, you should consider the family's interests."

After pondering for a while, He Lingxiu reluctantly nodded: "Let's do as Father says for now. We'll talk about the rest after Junior Brother Ji marries into the family. As for how my husband will manage things, the root of the problem lies with me."

"In that case, let's find a suitable time to formally host a banquet for him, and this will be done in my name."

"I will do whatever my father says."

After the discussion ended, He Ye and He Long got up and left He Lingxiu's courtyard.

They were not members of the Heavenly Academy. According to the academy's rules, unless they were invited distinguished guests, no one else was allowed to stay overnight in the academy.

This is especially true now that undercurrents are swirling in the political arena, with constant open and covert struggles.

He Lingxiu saw the two off from the Heavenly Academy, and on her way back to the mountain, she couldn't help but look in the direction of the Auspicious Hall.

But as she looked at it, she suddenly paused.

Because on the mountain path covered with golden leaves, she saw many senior and junior sisters from prominent families walking back and forth on the path, some of whom clearly did not belong to the Auspicious Hall.

Even Yu Shiliu, who had a good relationship with her, was among them.

Ji You had already returned to the Auspicious Palace and was with Cao Jingsong and others who had come to visit as usual, looking at a pile of visiting cards in front of them.

This is the same as when he entered the Inner Court and won first place at the Heavenly Dao Assembly, but the identity of the person who sent the invitation is completely different.

When he entered the inner courtyard, the invitations he received were mostly from families with a history of hundreds of years, but this time, they were mostly from families with a history of thousands of years.

"Things are really different now. Look, there's even a handwritten letter from an elder of the Chen Clan!"

Cao Jingsong picked up an interesting document and asked, "There is a great-granddaughter in the family, eighteen years old, gentle and virtuous... What do you think of her?"

Ji You, sitting at the tea table, said, "I dare not look."

"?"

"I've never been in control of my backyard."

Cao Jingsong nodded in agreement after listening.

In the past, Lao Cao would definitely have advised him to get married quickly.

But when they learned that the one with the big one was the Little Master of Lingjian Mountain, they dared not speak recklessly.

He could only enter the wicked disciple's courtyard if he agreed; the most powerful one had to agree first.

Moreover, those ancient families, boasting of their profound backgrounds, all want to recruit him as a son-in-law. If the young master sees this, let alone entering the courtyard, he'll probably have his legs broken and be thrown into a ravine.

"The world is bustling with people coming and going for profit. After the campaign, Junior Brother Ji's true fighting strength suddenly appeared, so naturally his door will be crowded with visitors. Even my family received an invitation. It's completely a case of matchmaking."

Wen Zhengxin took out a visiting card, still warm from his body, from his pocket and handed it to Ji You without making a sound.

Ji You reached out and took it, thinking to herself, "Senior sister, stop pretending."

You and the Lu sisters had already arranged the order without my knowledge.

After reading the Wen family's post, Ji You reached out and opened several other posts.

Although they said they dared not look, curiosity was inevitable.

Among those who sent visiting cards, apart from the elder of the Chen Immortal Clan, the most powerful backgrounds were the He family and the Yu family, a thousand-year-old family to which Elder Yu of the Heavenly Academy belonged.

Most of them hoped that Ji You would marry into their family and made many promises.

As an outsider, Ji You didn't have a deep understanding of the importance of the alliance between aristocratic families, even though he lived in the current environment. It wasn't until this series of invitations that he began to feel it a little.

A solitary cultivator in the countryside, no matter how high his combat power, is still considered a son-in-law by some prestigious cultivation families.

How can a single fighter compare to such a powerful family?
So even if they promised that the second son would change his surname and that any extramarital affairs would not be investigated, he was still considered to have married into the family.

On the other hand, that arrogant guy, from the moment they met, called her "husband" and never mentioned that he should marry into Lingjian Mountain, nor did he say that if she really got pregnant, she must take the Yan surname. Yuan Caiwei was the same.

She gave herself to him, but never mentioned it on Dan Mountain.

Unconditional intimacy means that no matter what the future holds, someone will stay with you through it all.

These conditions are all set up, and you can tell from the sound of an exchange of benefits.

"Your Highness, how have you been?"

"Is that Patriarch Xu? It's been a long time! Please come in quickly!"

"Thank you, Your Highness. I have some business to attend to in Shengjing and will need to stay for a few more days."

"Master Xu, you're too kind. Please stay here. You can also freely order my servants around the house to do whatever you need."

"I happen to have some visiting cards that I want to send to the Heavenly Academy. I would appreciate it if Your Highness could take the trouble to do so."

In the following days, Prince Chong received many guests from afar, including the Xu family of Yongzhou and the Jiang family of Yuzhou.

These prominent families were all invited by the Prince Chong to stay overnight at his residence, and they all entrusted him to deliver their visiting cards to the Heavenly Academy.

At first, Prince Chong did not know who the invitations were for or what they were for, until the servant who went to the Heavenly Academy told him that these invitations were for Ji You.

Indeed, Ji You has been frequently seen in the mountains these past few days, and news of his recovery has gradually spread to some aristocratic families who have close ties with the Heavenly Academy.

This made many prominent families want to marry Ji You into their families. Even some who had grudges against him in the past and had always called him a country bumpkin quietly lowered their stance.

With his fists, he could kill the evil beings of the Boundless Realm; with his sword, he could block and kill the demons of the Divine Travel Realm. Such combat power was enough to warrant spending everything to recruit him.

What's even more terrifying is his regenerative ability.

In just over three months, he went from being critically injured and on the verge of death to fully recovering; it's simply monstrous.

After a great calamity, these aristocratic families suffered severe losses, with only one in ten of their Divine Realm ancestors surviving. They also faced turmoil and strife that would determine the rise and fall of their families over the next century. A powerful being with overwhelming combat strength could decide many things.

It's no exaggeration to say that Ji You's involvement will likely determine how much of the pie these aristocratic families get, as well as their rise and fall over the next hundred years.

"Back during the Great Snow of the New Yuan Dynasty, I remember the Xu family came to the Heavenly Academy to force the emperor to abdicate. Why have they brought their eldest daughter with them now?"

"In the vast world of Qingyun, what real grudges exist? Everything is nothing but self-interest."

What exactly did Ji You do during the campaign?

"It is said that he killed three Yingtian and one Wujiang with his fists, and also repelled a Shenyou."

Whether they were from the aristocratic families that relied on Tianshu Academy or from other states, they all brought young women from their families to invite Ji You. Even a fool could figure out what they were up to.

As a result, discussions and rumors circulated endlessly in teahouses and taverns.

Some even mentioned Princess Chang Le of the Chongwang Mansion.

When Ji You defeated Chu He and entered the inner court, the Chongwang Mansion changed its previous attitude, and Princess Chang Le quickly sent a letter wanting to get close to him, but was subsequently rejected.

These women are now more noble than any other, even surpassing the princesses of secular dynasties.

For several days, despite the commotion, no one saw Ji You appear at the banquet, and no aristocratic family received a single word of response.

"The son-in-law's aura is getting stronger and stronger."

"Hmm, it looks like he's almost fully recovered."

As the evening glow painted the sky, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu remained in the pavilion, drinking tea and waiting.

Ji You, as always, sat on the cliff of Yunwu Mountain, replenishing his meridians through body tempering to accelerate his recovery, while exploring higher thresholds until the spiritual fire burned throughout his entire body.

This was his last dose of medication. The soreness from the swelling in his meridians had clearly subsided, indicating that he had finally recovered.

After a long while, he withdrew his energy from his body, got up, and walked towards the pavilion.

"Remember to pack your things when you get back tonight. Tomorrow we're going to Fengzhou with Instructor Cao and the others."

"Replying to the son-in-law, the luggage has already begun to be prepared."

Ji You nodded after hearing this and stepped into the wheelchair.

You know what, once you get used to sitting in this thing, sometimes it's really hard to just throw it away.

"Many people came today with invitations, including quite a few from the Heavenly Academy," Ding Yao said as she pushed him toward the Auspicious Hall, just like always.

"Before leaving tomorrow, give those invitations to the disciples in charge of affairs and ask them to return them."

"Not a single son-in-law will be spared?"

After hearing this, Ji You glanced back and said, "Why don't you keep a few copies for me, so your appraiser can take a look and ask what he thinks?"

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu exchanged a glance: "Then our Lingjian Mountain must be full of jealousy."

The three chatted as they descended the mountain, gradually arriving at the place where the five peaks intersected, which was near the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest.

At this moment, Ji You felt a gaze and turned her head slightly.

At the edge of the Zizhu Zen Forest, He Lingxiu, Yu Shiliu, and others were drinking tea. Seeing him coming down from the mountain, they turned to look.

After gazing at each other for a long time, Ji Youchao nodded slightly to He Lingxiu and Yu Shiliu with great politeness, which made He Lingxiu and Yu Shiliu's eyes look very complicated.

The invitations had been sent several days ago, and he already knew the contents of the message. However, when they met in the courtyard these past few days, Ji You always seemed not to see them and never responded, leaving them with a heavy sense of uncertainty.

This is the drawback of going straight ahead without testing the waters.

In the past, they met quite comfortably, but after the idea of ​​marriage came up, things seemed to become a bit strange.

Especially since Ji You never responded and continued to treat them with courtesy, it made them feel a sense of oppression, like they were waiting to be chosen.

However, this is not a problem for Ji You, since he is going back to Fengzhou. As time goes by, the matter will naturally fade away.

Ji You withdrew her gaze and, with Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu's help, returned to the Auspicious Palace. After packing some things to take back, she went to bed early.

"Young master, it's raining."

"As expected, when dragons move, rain comes; when tigers move, wind comes."

After a good night's sleep, Ji You dressed neatly and walked out from the back hall of the Jixiang Hall in the morning.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu were standing in front of the palace gate watching the rain outside when they heard footsteps and quietly turned their eyes: "Young master, are you sure you don't want to go to Lingjian Mountain first? Although the appraiser doesn't say it, I bet she misses you."

"I'll go there once I've finished dealing with things in Fengzhou. The weather is damp now, and it's not easy to store food. Besides, a large area of ​​fertile land was destroyed after the zombie horde, and there will probably be many refugees as well."

The two women nodded, then took out a small package and handed it to him: "This is what you originally owned, young master."

While Ji You was unconscious, the two of them took care of her closely. They kept her own storage gourd, as well as the storage gourds they had taken from others.

After taking the package, Ji You carefully put away the items inside. Then, she picked up a dark ring and examined it in the light for a while, her eyes gradually filled with doubt.

"what is this?"

"?"

Ding Yao leaned closer for a look: "It was taken off when I was washing the young master before. It was on his index finger. Isn't it his?"

Ji You frowned slightly: "How come I don't remember having a ring like this?"

"The material looks pretty good. Could it have been lost by someone else? This is the Auspicious Hall; it might belong to that Sect Leader You."

"The material is nice? Then it should be mine."

"?"

If something good is in my hands, then it must be mine.

Ji You didn't think too much about it. He held the ring in his hand and walked down the mountain. Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu held up umbrellas and followed behind him.

Two large horse-drawn carriages were already parked in front of the gate, waiting patiently in the rain.

Ji You lifted the curtain and led Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu into the carriage, where they saw Cao Jingsong and the others already sitting neatly inside.

slam-la-

Raindrops fell on the carport, gathering into thin streams that dripped continuously down the canopy.

Ji You stepped into the carriage and glanced out the half-open window at the Heavenly Academy once more.

After the disaster, many major events occurred in Qingyun Tianxia.

The earth was turning upside down, and a plague was spreading. These were the things Ji You heard after he woke up.

Then the headmaster of the Heavenly Academy ascended to heaven, and after his ascension, all the turmoil seemed to subside.

Ji You vaguely sensed that the world was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

In particular, the old sect leader was once the old doctor who came to visit him, but deliberately concealed his identity.

Add to that the legacy of the Night Watchmen, and the old man in the opera troupe's story about how the Night Watchmen were persecuted by the Immortal Sect, and everything left him with many questions.

However, given the current complex situation, we can only take it one step at a time.

Under the falling rain, the carriage slowly started moving, rolling over clear puddles towards the north city gate.

He Lingxiu and Yu Shiliu stood atop Mount Ni, the Xu and Jiang families were in the Chongwang residence, and there were also some onlookers in the teahouse.

In the misty rain, countless eyes gradually withdrew as the carriage left the city.

"He went back to Fengzhou?"

"Ah."

"What to do?"

"Go back to farming. The Wulu Trading Company in the city was just renovated a few days ago, and it seems they are planning to reopen."

Although Wulu Trading Company was near Chunhua Lane and was not destroyed when the demons from Linxian Realm attacked the mountain, the gray tiles of the shop in front were still broken by the flying brick fragments.

A few days ago, some craftsmen came to repair it; many people have seen them before.

After the great disaster, Ji You's reputation soared, and countless noble families wanted him to be their son-in-law, sending him numerous invitations.

Just when he was about to achieve great success, he left the Heavenly Academy and had to return to Fengzhou to farm.

Everyone couldn't help but recall Ji You before the final of the Heavenly Dao Tournament. At that time, everyone was preparing for the final battle, while he took some time to go home and harvest wheat.

Upon thinking of this, countless people fell silent, wondering why he was unwilling to choose even these daughters from prestigious families.

So who does he actually want to choose?

In the rain-soaked inner courtyard tea pavilion, He Lingxiu turned around expressionlessly, used her spiritual energy to dispel the raindrops, and walked towards Zizai Peak.

She thought the conditions offered by the He family were extremely good and tempting enough, but she never expected that she wouldn't even receive a single word of response.

Not responding means rejection, but there is a big difference between that and rejection.

Because a refusal allows for further discussion, but no response leaves no room for negotiation.

“Lingxiu”.

He Lingxiu looked up at the sound and saw Palace Master Zuoqiu standing in front of the Zizai Palace, calmly watching him as he climbed the mountain: "Uncle..."

"Your Daoist heart is in turmoil, and you've begun to doubt yourself. Tell your uncle what happened?"

He Lingxiu's eyelashes trembled slightly after hearing this: "My family intends to have Junior Brother Ji marry into our family, so we wrote a letter of invitation and went there, but we did not receive a response. I consider myself to be no less capable than others, so I can't understand why. My mind is in a bit of turmoil."

After hearing this, Zuo Qiuyang stroked his long beard gently: "You should have discussed it with me beforehand, then I wouldn't have let you act so rashly."

"What my uncle means is that you knew all along he wouldn't respond, and that you would tell me not to have any thoughts about it, but why?"

"He already has a first wife, isn't it normal for him not to respond?"

"You mean Yuan Caiwei of the Dan Sect?"

"No, it's that young appraiser from Spirit Sword Mountain."

"?"

He Lingxiu was startled by the sound, and after a long pause, she looked up at her uncle in disbelief.

(I've revised the ending; please vote with your monthly tickets.)
(End of this chapter)