Mortal: Junior Sister Song Yu

Li Xiao and Song Yu left Luoyun Sect and headed to Jinyan Mountain Range.

Instead of flying away immediately, the two first settled in Jin Yan City.

Jin Yan City is a cultivation city affiliated with Luo Yun Sect. It is located at the foot of Jin Yan Mountain Range and has a history of three thousand years.

The city was not large, covering an area of ​​no more than a hundred li, with streets crisscrossing and mostly paved with bluestone slabs.

Cultivators and mortals lived together in the city, and the sounds of vendors hawking their wares mingled with the fluctuations of spiritual energy, creating a unique and vibrant atmosphere.

The streets are lined with shops, including Baicaotang, which sells spiritual medicines, Tianfuge, which makes talismans, and Wanshouzhai, which specializes in trading materials for monsters.

Li Xiao led Song Yu into the Hundred Herbs Hall.

"What do you two seniors need?" The shopkeeper was a cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Seeing the profound aura of the newcomers, he dared not be negligent and quickly took out the goods.

"I need three 10-year-old calming incense sticks and two boxes of top-grade sandalwood," Li Xiao said.

"Fellow Daoist, your timing is perfect. The ten-year-old Tranquilizing Incense has just arrived."

The shopkeeper took out three purple spirit herbs and two boxes of sandalwood. "Fifty spirit stones in total."

"It's so expensive, why don't you just rob me!" Li Xiao muttered to himself, but still paid the spirit stones and put the incense box into his storage bag.

"The Li family's ancestral home is deep in the Golden Swallow Mountains, about 300 li from here. We must prepare some decent tribute when we return," Li Xiao explained.

The two left the Hundred Herbs Hall and bought a jar of spirit wine and some spirit fruits.

"Golden Swallow City hasn't changed much."

Li Xiao looked at the street. "I left when I was three years old, and it's still the same here."

"Did you live here when you were a child, Senior Brother?" Song Yu asked.

"I lived there for a year."

Li Xiao said, "At that time, my father had not yet become the head of the Li family. We had a villa in Jinyan City, where my mother and I lived. Later, my father took over as the head of the family and we moved back to our ancestral home."

The two did not linger in Jin Yan City. After buying everything they needed, they flew away on their flying mounts to the ancestral home of the Li family.

The Jinyan Mountains stretch for eight thousand miles, with peaks upon peaks.

The Li family ancestral home is located in a valley deep in the mountains, surrounded by mountains on three sides, and connected by only a small path.

Outside the valley is a peach grove where the peach blossoms never fade; it is a protective formation set up by the ancestors of the Li family.

Li Xiao held a formation plate and infused it with spiritual power.

The peach grove slowly parted, revealing a small blue stone path.

"The formation has been rearranged."

Li Xiao said, "As expected, Master sent people to repair this place."

At the end of the path was a manor.

The manor covers an area of ​​100 acres and includes a courtyard, a medicinal herb garden, and a martial arts training ground.

The house has been renovated, with its blue bricks and gray tiles giving it a brand-new look.

An old servant came out to greet them.

The old servant's surname was Chen, and he had the cultivation level of the third level of Qi Refining. He was sent by Song Zhi to clean and take care of him.

"Uncle Chen," Li Xiao nodded.

"Young Master."

Uncle Chen bowed. "You're back. Senior Song instructed me to clean the yard every day, as you may return at any time."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Li Xiao said, "I've been staying here all these years."

"Of course."

Chen Bo said, "This old servant received kindness from the Li family in the past, and being able to stay here now is also a way of repaying that kindness."

Li Xiao did not enter the main house, but led Song Yu directly to the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall is located at the deepest part of the manor and is a separate courtyard.

There is a thousand-year-old locust tree in the courtyard. Its trunk requires three people to encircle it, and its branches and leaves are lush and verdant.

The ancestral hall is a small building with only three rooms.

In the center is the ancestral hall, where the spirit tablets of the Li family's ancestors are enshrined.

There are a total of 327 memorial tablets, from the founding ancestor to Li Xiao's parents.

The hall was spotless, and three calming incense sticks were inserted in the incense burner, their fragrance lingering in the air.

Li Xiao placed the offerings he had bought on the altar.

Three calming incense sticks were lit, and the smoke curled upwards.

Two boxes of sandalwood were inserted into the incense burner, the spirit wine was poured into a wine glass, and the spirit fruit was placed on a plate.

He stood in front of the offering table, looking at the two rows of memorial tablets at the bottom.

The first row is for "Li Zhentian, the twelfth generation head of the Li family", and the second row is for "Su Wan'er, the twelfth generation matriarch of the Li family".

Those are his parents.

Li Xiao remained silent for a moment, then knelt down.

Song Yu also knelt down.

Li Xiao said, "Father, Mother, your son is back."

His voice was calm, but Song Yu could hear a slight tremor in it.

"I will always remember the blood feud of the Li family."

Li Xiao said, "Old Monster Xie of the Heavenly Fiend Sect and the Six Demonic Sects attacked my Golden Swallow Mountain Range and wiped out more than three hundred members of my Li family. I will settle this score with them sooner or later."

"Your son swears that in this lifetime he will uproot the Heavenly Fiend Sect completely, and that all the demonic and wicked people involved in this matter will be annihilated, their souls destroyed, and never be reincarnated!"

"May I be struck down by heaven and earth if I break this oath!"

boom!

As he uttered his oath, intertwined with blood and tears, the air in the entire ancestral hall seemed to freeze, and a murderous aura soared into the sky. Even the thousand-year-old locust tree outside the courtyard moved without wind, rustling loudly!

Song Yu was intimidated by the murderous intent that had almost solidified into a tangible form, but she felt no fear whatsoever.

She reached out and firmly grasped Li Xiao's cold hand, speaking each word clearly and resolutely:

"Uncle, Aunt, I am Song Yu."

"I have become Daoist partners with my senior brother. From now on, his enemies will be my enemies, and I will accompany him to the very end on the path he chooses to walk."

"Through life and death, we will never leave each other!"

Li Xiao turned his head and looked at the girl's resolute profile, her clear eyes reflecting his pupils.

He turned his hand around and gripped her small hand even tighter.

The two solemnly kowtowed three times before the more than three hundred memorial tablets.

After getting up, Li Xiao stood in the courtyard, reaching out to stroke the old locust tree he used to climb as a child, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Suddenly, Song Yu let out a soft exclamation, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

"Senior brother, touch that tree trunk again."

"Huh?" Li Xiao was puzzled, but she did as instructed.

When his palm touched the rough bark again, something unexpected happened!

The array plate at his waist, which he had just received from his master and used to activate the clan's protective array, suddenly began to vibrate on its own with a hum!

At the same time, a glimmer of light appeared faintly between Song Yu's brows.

"There's spatial fluctuation!"

Song Yu pointed to a hole in the tree root covered by soil, "No, it's not spatial fluctuation, it's... it's the reverberation of an array caused by bloodline resonance!"

Li Xiao was shocked and immediately squatted down.

Instead of using his divine sense, he directly and slowly probed the inconspicuous tree hole with his golden-red magic power, which contained the purest bloodline of the Li family.

The magical power seeped in instantly, like mercury spilling onto the ground.

The next moment, he felt his blood churning violently, as if it were being boiled!

Deep within the tree hollow, two points of warm light were illuminated by his magic.

He reached in and pulled out two simple, ancient jade pendants.

The jade pendant features a dragon and a phoenix, their heads and tails connected, yet they can be combined into one. Engraved on it is an ancient sword drawn from its sheath, which is the emblem of the Li family!

The jade pendant felt warm and smooth to the touch, as if there were living things flowing inside. A pure and extremely refined magical power surged wildly into his body from his fingertips!

"This is... an ancestral jade pendant with dragon and phoenix design!"

Li Xiao's breath hitched. This was not some lost relic at all, but the true core heirloom of the Li family!

He held the jade pendant carved with dragon patterns in his hand, feeling his blood boil with joy.

Li Xiao suppressed his overwhelming joy and personally hung the jade pendant carved with phoenix patterns around Song Yu's neck.

"Yu'er, from this day forward, you are a member of the Li family."

His voice was extremely solemn.

Song Yu's pretty face flushed red. Her fingertips lightly touched the warm jade pendant on her chest, and she felt a warm sensation flowing through her whole body. It created a wonderful feeling of connection between her and Li Xiao.

Li Xiao hung the dragon pendant on his waist; the two jade pendants echoed each other, emitting a faint halo.

He had a strong premonition.

The secrets of this jade pendant go far beyond this.

It might be the biggest trump card left to him by his ancestors and parents, for revenge!

The two stayed in the ancestral land for another half day, paying respects at the graves of Li Xiao's parents, before returning to Luoyun Sect.

Upon returning to their sect, Li Xiao and Song Yu received a notification.

Three days later, the sect selection began.

The purpose of this selection is to select elites in preparation for the upcoming Three Sects Sword Trial Tournament.

Li Xiao and Song Yu signed up for the trial.