Chapter 25 Inspection

Towering cliffs of a thousand feet, with the sound of wind howling past.

As the sound subsided, the slightly stagnant atmosphere instantly relaxed.

The eldest son had actually rushed back from the Ancient Abyss.

With the eldest son's command, there was naturally no need for the people present to continue indulging the Third Young Master in his pretend play.

The four figures suspended in the air disappeared in an instant, leaving only the woman named Ying'er still standing on the spot.

A moment of silence,

Xu Ying'er stared at the blood-colored figure at the entrance of the cave and spoke softly again:

"Third Young Master, please come with me. The eldest son is waiting for you at the mountaintop."

"....."

Xu Yuan didn't hurry to remove his hand from his neck, but still fixed his gaze on the figure standing aloof in the air, softly calling out:

"Mr. Ran, we can leave now."

"......"

Hearing his voice, Ran Qingmo slowly walked out of the cave dwelling, silently standing with her sword beside him.

The sudden sunlight outside the cave made it hard for her eyes to adjust.

Closing her eyes,

Opening them.

Underneath the overhanging cliffs,

amidst the brilliant sunlight, the clouds rolled with the wind, the vastness of heaven and earth endless to sight, yet the figure standing beside her was clearly visible.

Her beautiful eyes lowered slightly as she spoke softly:

"I'm leaving."

"Mm, take care."

Xu Yuan glanced sideways, his voice very calm, "What I said before is still valid. If you change your mind, you can find me in Jingjiang City."

His words referred to the cooperation he had proposed to her in the temple.

Ran Qingmo's red lips parted slightly, she was silent for a few seconds, and finally, she nodded slightly:

"Okay."

As the sound of her voice fell,

Ran Qingmo turned around, the Ice Cloud Step forming invisibly beneath her feet, lightly stepping upon it.

"Oh, by the way."

The voice that suddenly came from behind made her step pause.

Xu Yuan watched her graceful back and said softly:

"My name is Xu Yuan."

"....."

Ran Qingmo looked back at the man behind her, her eyes showing a hint of surprise.

Xu Yuan's eyes were smiling as he repeated:

"I said, my name is Xu Yuan."

"....."

Her terse reply was as it had been upon their first meeting: "Mm, okay, I'll remember that."

The woman dressed in black like ink left.

With a few leaps in the air, she quickly turned into a black dot that disappeared at the edge of the sky.

Only after watching the other person completely disappear did Xu Yuan slowly lower his hand from his neck.

Now, he had repaid the favor Ran Qingmo had done for him.

Turning to look at Ying'er, still standing aloof in the air, Xu Yuan gave a calm command:

"Take me up."

.....

The clouds before his eyes kept rolling forward, eventually clearing abruptly, revealing the azure sky.

In a daze, Xu Yuan had been brought back to the overhanging cliffs by that masked figure, Ying'er.

About to meet Xu Changge, his state of mind was rather calm; after all, he had now inherited the original body's memories, coupled with the refinement of the Blood Origin Heart Decree.

His identity as Xu Changtian was now unbreakable.

After bringing Xu Yuan up, Ying'er didn't say another word and walked straight ahead.

As Xu Yuan looked at the receding figure, his dark pupils suddenly shrank to the size of pinholes.

On this mountaintop, he had unexpectedly seen another giant seven-petal python head.

The reason he said 'another' was,

Compared to Ji Qingyue, this python head had its seven lotus blossoms fully bloomed, and atop the python's head sprouted an additional, enormous dark green horn.

Xu Yuan stared at it for a long time before he fully confirmed the identity of this python head.

Great, another leading lady has been chopped by Xu Changge.

Given the features, this python head should belong to Ji Qingyue's sister, Ji Fenghua.

The plot of "Cangyuan Chronicles" had just begun, and the princesses of the Serpent Monster Clan inside the Ancient Abyss were already annihilated.

The Xu Xian storyline he once played out in "Cangyuan Chronicles" had been completely nullified.

However, this thought of complaint was fleeting, and soon Xu Yuan realized the seriousness of this incident.

The direct death of two major female characters meant that the butterfly effect he brought had already started to make the plot of "Cangyuan Chronicles" run amok.

The future began to become unpredictable.

Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions, Xu Yuan's gaze began to move again.

Eventually,

His eyes naturally fell upon a handsome young man.

Xu Changge.

He sat quietly beneath the huge python head of Ji Fenghua.

Clothed in green, with dark patterned cloud sleeves, his skin faintly glowed, and his deep eyes were as serene as a cold pool, with his long hair fluttering slightly with the wind at the mountaintop.

Simply sitting there, he evoked a sense of self-deprecation in others.

It was as if some people were born like the bright moon in the night sky, gentle and not dazzling, yet making others keenly aware of their own insignificance.

But at this moment, all this was unimportant to Xu Yuan,

What was important was,

Why was such a man now holding a long, thick vine in his hand?

Connecting to the memories in his mind, an ominous premonition rose in Xu Yuan's heart, and he immediately shouted in the original owner's voice:

"Xu Changge, I warn you..."

"Crack!"

Before Xu Yuan could finish speaking, the young man's eyes narrowed, and the vine in his hand lashed toward Xu Yuan like a coiled snake.

"..." Xu Yuan.

Damn, what kind of brother is this? Playing violent discipline at twenty years old?

Xu Yuan quickly activated his cultivation technique, infusing Origin Qi into his eyes to clearly see the trajectory of the lashing vine.

He dodged with a side step.

"Snap!"

A whip struck the ground beside him, immediately kicking up a cloud of dust.

As the vine whip recoiled, Xu Yuan was astonished to see a deep gash it left on the ground.

Looking back, Xu Yuan cursed loudly:

"Xu Changge, are you serious?!"

"Snap!"

Xu Changge, with a calm expression, unleashed the second strike, his voice slow and gentle:

"If you think it's real, then it might as well be."

This time, the vine whip was even faster, and Xu Yuan barely dodged it with all his might.

And this time, the mark on the ground was so deep that it even cracked a small stone at the edge of the cliff.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan was truly angered and opened his mouth to continue cursing, but Xu Changge's third whip was already on its way.

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, his will-spirit reached out, and strands of crimson Origin Qi emerged from his hands, grabbing the incoming vine whip out of thin air.

The moment that thread of blood-colored Origin Qi appeared, Xu Changge's narrow eyes narrowed into slits.

As the crimson Origin Qi burst forth from Xu Yuan's hands, a blood-red flame also ignited on the vine whip.

The blood-red flame climbed up the whip, rapidly racing towards Xu Changge at the other end!

Xu Changge remained seated in his original place, quietly waiting for the blood-red flame to reach the end, letting the eerie blood flame dance in his hand.

Watching the flame, a hint of surprise flashed in Xu Changge's deep eyes, and with a casual pinch, the flame instantly dissipated:

"This cultivation technique... is quite good."

Xu Yuan opened his mouth, intending to say something, but before he could speak, Xu Changge across from him stood up and waved his sleeve robe at him.

In an instant, gusts of wind materialized out of nowhere from all directions, and Xu Yuan's body was tossed uncontrollably towards Xu Changge like a storm-tossed boat at sea.

Finally, he was suspended two meters away from Xu Changge in mid-air.

Xu Changge stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze steadily fixed on him.

Struggling to speak, Xu Yuan found that he was so suppressed by Xu Changge that he couldn't even move a finger.

Silence, they looked at each other.

After a long while, Xu Yuan turned away from that gaze unwillingly.

He had a nagging feeling that if he continued this staring contest, his elder brother would string him up and beat him.

As Xu Yuan's thoughts wandered, Xu Changge also looked away and said softly to Juexing:

"Master Juexing, please check on Changtian's body."

Upon hearing the name Juexing, Xu Yuan's scattered thoughts instantly recoiled, a chill running through his heart.

Juexing the monk was one of the few cultivators able to detect an incongruity between the will-spirit and the body.

To say it was a body check, Xu Changge was doubting his identity.

Why?

Was it because of his cultivation technique?

Or because of his life-threatening behavior?

But in memory, the original owner of this body had also done such absurd things before.

Before he could think more, a monk with a kind face slowly approached Xu Yuan, who was hanging in the air.

He bowed slightly, with his hands clasped together in greeting:

"Third Young Master, please forgive this humble monk's offense."

Barely raising his hand, a mysterious surge of Origin Qi invaded Xu Yuan's body from a distance.

This Origin Qi didn't travel through the meridians but followed a strange pathway inside his body.

Although he knew that Juexing would most likely not find anything unusual, Xu Yuan still started to resist the invasion of Origin Qi to better fit the original personality.

But naturally, it was futile; that eccentric Origin Qi still penetrated his body.

A silence fell over the mountain top.

As the peculiar Origin Qi continued to infiltrate Xu Yuan's body, Juexing's expression grew increasingly astonished.

Seeing Juexing's expression, Xu Changge's eyes became darker.

After a moment,

Juexing stepped back, apologizing to Xu Yuan once again.

Turning to Xu Changge, Juexing seemed to hesitate, holding back what he wanted to say.

Xu Changge, as if braced for some revelation, took a deep breath, his voice plain but with a hint of coldness:

"Master Juexing, if you have discovered anything about Changtian, feel free to speak up."

As he said this,

he also glanced sideways at Xu Yuan hanging in mid-air.

Juexing, upon hearing the Young Master's tone, was slightly startled, then immediately realized his expression might have misled the Young Master and quickly explained:

"Young Master, there is nothing wrong with the Third Young Master's body, it's just that..."

Hearing there was no issue, something seemed to settle within Xu Changge, and his eyes softened as he asked:

"It's just what?"

Juexing glanced at Xu Yuan suspended in mid-air, measured his words, and said softly:

"It's just that the Third Young Master, well..."

After hesitating for a while, Juexing finally said uncertainly:

"It seems that the Third Young Master... has become.. eh, an Innate Taoist Body."

"What?"

Upon hearing 'Innate Taoist Body,' Xu Changge, who was always the picture of a genteel, jade-like gentleman, finally showed a trace of astonishment on his face.

The next moment,

Xu Yuan felt a sudden release and began to plummet towards the ground.

However, before he could hit the ground, a gentle breeze caught him.

Subsequently, an enormous surge of green Origin Qi poured into his body like a flood.

The familiar sensation of invasion returned, and Xu Yuan didn't want to resist anymore.

It seemed like everyone he encountered could swirl some Origin Qi inside his body for a couple of rounds.

A short while later,

the green Origin Qi withdrew.

Xu Changge took two steps back, scrutinizing Xu Yuan without taking his eyes off him.

Now that Xu Yuan had regained control of his body, he met his older brother's gaze defiantly, echoing the original body's tone:

"Xu Changge, what are you looking at? Once my cultivation catches up to you, you are dead meat!"

Upon hearing this,

Xu Changge's thin lips curved almost imperceptibly, as if he wanted to laugh, but he held back.

Eventually, he waved his sleeve robe and snorted coldly through his nostrils:

"You, a waste?

"Got a bit lucky and you raise your tail to the sky. Because of the mess you made in Jingjiang City, father has to go through all this trouble to rescue you!

"...Forget it; it's pointless to talk more to you, Ying'er! Bring me my whip!"