To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Qingyun Peak, Qi Yan's Villa.

Bai Qiaoyun shook Bai Mingxuan's arm, pouting and saying coquettishly, "Daddy, you haven't come to see me in so long!"

"Father is busy with something," Bai Mingxuan said with a smile, then looked at Bai Qiaoyun's makeup and praised, "Your eyebrows are done very well today."

Bai Qiaoyun covered her mouth and chuckled, saying with a mixture of satisfaction and disdain, "Qi Yan practiced for a long time before I was satisfied. He's really clumsy."

After saying that, Bai Qiaoyun turned around and glanced at Qi Yan.

Bai Mingxuan looked at Qi Yan and comforted him, "Qiaoyun is spoiled by me at home, so please be more tolerant of her."

"Not at all, Qiaoyun is straightforward and lovely, I like her very much," Qi Yan said quickly, bowing his head.

A blush rose to Bai Qiaoyun's face, and a sweet smile appeared on her lips.

Bai Mingxuan looked at his daughter's hair in a bun, his eyes momentarily dazed, recalling what Bai Qiaoyun looked like when she was a child.

......

twenty years ago.

At that time, Bai Mingxuan, as the direct descendant of the Bai family, was not only exceptionally intelligent but also possessed a superior spiritual root, making him the envy of his peers in the clan.

But because of this, Bai Mingxuan was also targeted by his enemies, who secretly tried to assassinate him during one of his outings.

After a fierce battle, although he managed to escape with his life, he was seriously injured and his meridians were damaged. Not only was he hopeless in his life to achieve Foundation Establishment, but even his ability to reproduce was impaired.

Once a promising young man, his path to immortality was cut off, and his past glory and pride vanished in an instant, as if he had fallen from the heavens.

What hurt him even more was that his wife, who had always been obedient to him, and his brothers, who had always respected and loved him, had gradually abandoned him, and even the servants in his household dared to make sarcastic remarks behind his back.

At that time, Bai Mingxuan was already married, and his wife had given birth to a daughter, Bai Qiaoyun.

Perhaps because she was too young, Bai Qiaoyun did not understand what it meant to lose power.

In her eyes, Bai Mingxuan was just sick and would be back to being the strong and reliable father he always was after a period of rest.

Bai Mingxuan felt the only warmth he had from the innocent and lovely Bai Qiaoyun.

Just when he thought that this was all there was to his life, there was another person who did not abandon him—his mother.

Bai Mingxuan's mother tried every means to finally obtain a precious elixir for him, which repaired his damaged meridians. Although he would never be able to establish his foundation in this life, he could at least continue his cultivation.

With encouragement from his daughter and mother, Bai Mingxuan regained his spirits.

From that time on, he devoted all his energy to managing the family business and devising strategies to help the Bai family regain its prestige.

Because he was unable to establish his foundation and posed no threat to his peers, Bai Mingxuan actually gained a lot of support. He was not only able to participate in major decisions of the Bai family, but also to allocate resources within the clan.

As Bai Mingxuan's beloved daughter, Bai Qiaoyun was not to be underestimated by anyone, even though she was unable to cultivate.

Under his guidance, he even recruited a cultivator with a mid-grade spiritual root as his son-in-law.

......

"Father, why are you daydreaming!" Bai Qiaoyun's sweet voice pulled Bai Mingxuan back from his reverie.

"Oh? Oh! Father thought of something. What did you say just now?" Bai Mingxuan asked.

"I was just asking what Father has been busy with lately," Bai Qiaoyun said, her eyes full of curiosity.

Bai Mingxuan was already very familiar with Bai Qiaoyun's expression.

From a young age, Bai Qiaoyun loved to pester him and listen to his stories.

Whenever they heard about Bai Mingxuan's success, they would look at him with immense respect. Over the years, the father and daughter had become accustomed to talking and listening to each other.

"Father visited a weapon refiner today, and with a little trick..."

Bai Mingxuan recounted his visit to Gu Fan in detail, while Bai Qiaoyun listened with great interest.

After Bai Mingxuan finished speaking, Bai Qiaoyun blinked and asked, "According to Father, the method in the jade slip shouldn't be able to forge a complete set of Dragon-Trapping Stakes. Why couldn't that person notice?"

Bai Mingxuan chuckled smugly and explained, "The methods for refining each Dragon-Trapping Stake are of course correct, but the key to refining a complete set of magical artifacts lies in the fact that only by using a special incantation to refine all the artifacts can they be mobilized simultaneously in an instant. Otherwise, at most, only three to five Dragon-Trapping Stakes can be mobilized at the same time, and it is absolutely impossible to control thirty-six Dragon-Trapping Stakes."

"A master craftsman with a lineage will naturally teach the secrets of crafting complete sets of magical artifacts. However, that person comes from a poor family. According to the information I have gathered, the magical artifacts he has crafted in the past are all single mid-grade magical artifacts. There is no record of crafting complete sets of magical artifacts. Perhaps he only exchanged for 'Introduction to Artifact Crafting' and there is no record of the refining techniques in it."

"But what if he learns the refining technique on the spot?" Bai Qiaoyun asked.

Bai Mingxuan shook his head and said, "How can the refining technique be so easy to comprehend? Moreover, it also takes time to refine the magic weapon. I'm only giving him three months. Even if he discovers something is wrong, it will be too late to learn it."

Bai Qiaoyun nodded, but then suddenly felt something was amiss. Her beautiful eyes darted around, seizing on a loophole in Bai Mingxuan's words: "Father has said so much, all on the premise that the person doesn't know how to refine incantations. If he already knew them, wouldn't it all be for nothing?"

Bai Mingxuan burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Indeed, if he really did know how to refine techniques, this plan will indeed fail."

"But..." Bai Mingxuan's smile faded, and he said in a deep voice, "There is no foolproof strategy in this world; it's just a matter of doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate."

"More importantly... even if he succeeds in refining it, we will not suffer any loss. But if he fails to refine the weapon, the reason will only be that his weapon-refining skills are not proficient and he does not know how to refine a complete set of magical weapons. It has nothing to do with the Bai family."

"The finished Dragon-Trapping Stake can also be retrieved. The clan's weapon refiners can then perform a simple ritual to make it usable. This will also provide an opportunity for him to incur a large debt of spirit stones."

"There's no rush to get these spirit stones back. We can bestow some favors on them later, and they'll be much easier to control."

"I see, Father is indeed amazing!" Bai Qiaoyun praised sincerely, making Bai Mingxuan's eyes fill with pride.

"I wonder what that unlucky fellow's name is, that he ended up in Father's hands," Bai Qiaoyun said with a teasing smile.

Bai Mingxuan sighed, "That person is exceptionally talented, it's a pity he wasn't born into my Bai family. In comparison, his name is quite ordinary, it's called... Gu Fan."

Bai Qiaoyun frowned slightly, feeling that the name was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember it no matter what she did, so she simply put it out of her mind.

Qi Yan, who was serving nearby, heard Gu Fan's name and his pupils widened in shock. He immediately lowered his head.

......

The moon hangs high in the sky at night.

Bai Qiaoyun, unable to hold her liquor, had already retired for the night.

After visiting his daughter, Bai Mingxuan returned home without staying overnight.

Qi Yan sat alone in the courtyard, holding a pot of wine and drinking alone under the moon.

The bright moon cast a shadow in the jade cup, and when Qi Yan looked down, he saw his own intoxicated eyes reflected in the cup.

Years have passed, and Bai Qiaoyun has forgotten who Gu Fan is, but how could Qi Yan forget!

Scenes from the past surfaced in his mind, from their first meeting at Zixia Temple to the teaching of Qi-inducing techniques before parting. A jumble of emotions surged into his heart.

Qi Yan wanted to rush to Gu Fan's side and loudly tell him about the Bai family's plan.

But another voice rang in his mind: Gu Fan has already signed the spirit contract, and there is no possibility of going back on his word. Even if he is told the key to forging a set of magic weapons, will he have time to learn the method of refining them?

Gu Fan is destined to fall into the Bai family's trap, so why should he waste his energy?