Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

His tone was gentle, displaying the demeanor of a scholar.

On an unnamed hillside, a middle-aged scholar asked in a slow voice.

But facing him, coupled with the continuous commotion from the foot of Xiaoze Mountain in the distance, Lu Han felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

"action?"

"Do you know what you're doing?!"

"Openly attacking the territory of a Foundation Establishment family and challenging the cultivation order of the Chen Kingdom."

"You won't have a good end doing something so serious... If you know the gravity of the situation, you can still retreat now!"

The answer was irrelevant. At this moment, Lu Han, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, only wanted to escape unscathed and had no intention of completing any so-called mission.

What a joke! These bandits are all desperate criminals; who knows what crazy thing they've gone on today?

A Foundation Establishment cultivator has a lifespan of over two hundred years; he shouldn't even have time to enjoy it yet, so how could he possibly die here for a mission?

Lu Han had a good plan; he hoped that the tribulation cultivator in front of him would back down.

However, upon not receiving the answer he sought, the middle-aged scholar felt only disappointment.

"Don't you know... Never mind."

"The fact that you're here today suggests you've been abandoned... whether it's for power struggles or some other kind of conspiracy or scheming."

"Since you are the only one here, I, Mo, am grateful for your kindness."

"As a token of my gratitude, I will make your death painless, as a way of repaying your unintentional help."

With a sigh, Mo Yuanlin stepped forward, completely disregarding the Foundation Establishment cultivator before him.

In the later stages, a cultivator who has survived numerous life-or-death trials is fighting against an ordinary family cultivator; the two are simply not on the same level.

hum-

Without further delay, Mo Yuan formed a hand seal.

With a low hum, a small brown bell slid out from Mo Yuan's sleeve and headed straight for Lu Han's face.

The latter hurriedly defended himself, but failed to notice that a faint gray mark was slowly approaching from not far behind him.

Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, let alone an opponent from a family that has reached the Core Formation stage.

Therefore, despite the obvious difference in strength, Mo Yuan showed no mercy in his attack.

Today's plan concerns the path to enlightenment for the next hundred years, and it must not go wrong... I will wait until I kill this person, destroy Xiaoze Mountain, and seize the opportunity to advance to a higher level.

Then we can find a way to escape this place and hide in the Wanze Mountains for more than ten years.

……

Several days later, inside a cave in the mountainside.

Nourish your vital energy and preserve your spirit, and you will be able to see the moon palace in the darkness.

Silently cultivating the art of refining the spirit, Wang Xuan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, immersed in the joy of his ever-increasing spiritual awareness.

Quite some time has passed since I returned from the Bamboo Mountain Gathering, and the superior-grade magic weapon, the Black Arc Sword, has been successfully refined.

Considering that there were no spiritual veins in this place, Wang Xuan simply focused his time on refining his spirit cultivation technique.

At this moment, in the sea of ​​consciousness, the illusory shadow reflected by the soul is faint, bathed in the light and shadow of the incomplete moon.

Several obscure chains are wrapped around the area, with fine, small seal characters engraved in the center.

That was the legal contract that Wang Xuan had signed earlier; the smaller characters contained the specific details.

Among the various chains, the sect's legal contract, which protects the [White Sun Elixir Book] from being leaked, is the most powerful, ranking as a high-grade second-tier item.

Once triggered, it is enough to severely damage the essence of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator's soul.

Of course, these legal chains exist in normal times, but as long as the corresponding terms are not violated, they will not have any impact on the host.

But today, just as Wang Xuan was about to finish his cultivation, a faint 'click' sound suddenly resounded in the realm of his mind.

"Um?"

As his consciousness was withdrawn from his cultivation, Wang Xuan's expression shifted slightly.

Looking inward, one sees the weakest link of the Dharma contract in the sea of ​​consciousness trembling slightly, with cracks appearing on it.

A moment later, with a crisp sound, the chain slowly broke and could no longer maintain its original shape.

"That's... the retainer agreement I signed with the Han family?"

"It actually started to break at this point?"

Wang Xuan's heart skipped a beat and his mind was shaken; he recognized the true nature of the contract.

The Guest Minister's Contract is a type of contract that is prevalent among various countries and has a fixed format.

Its content roughly restricts the scope of activities of those who become guest retainers, prohibiting them from stealing or harming the faction's magic arrays, members, and resources.

The contract between Wang Xuan and the Han family is a typical example.

However, unlike the sect contracts that protect the inheritance, the knowledge that cultivators learn is still restricted by the contract even if the sect is destroyed and the family is destroyed, and cannot be easily revealed.

Conversely, if the party that signed the contract for the guest artifact is about to perish, then the entire contract will be lost.

"This is not a matter of legal contracts, but rather a customary rule within the cultivation world."

"When any cultivator or force is unable to fulfill the contract due to force majeure, the contract will become invalid."

"After all, guest advisors are not slaves, and powerful organizations are not charitable institutions."

"To control slaves, contracts are not as effective as the restrictions of the Demonic Sect; when a faction distributes salaries, it also depends on whether its retainers still have the ability to provide value."

"This just shows that... the Xiaozeshan spiritual vein is probably finished."

Wang Xuan felt a slight tremor in his heart. He knew that if the Han clan's territory were simply breached, the legal contract would not become invalid.

Because of the rampant plundering by the cultivators, they have always only looted and never occupied land. At most, they have carried out large-scale massacres, but the spiritual veins still belong to the Han family.

The fact that the contract has now broken only proves that the Han family has lost its qualification as a Foundation Establishment family.

Even if Han Changming hadn't died, they would still be just independent cultivators, not a family.

"Was the source of the spiritual vein extracted, or was the flow of the earth's veins forcibly severed?"

"Regardless of the circumstances, Xiaozeshan's second-tier low-grade spiritual vein has definitely been demoted in rank."

"Just like the Nanhua Sect, which fell from the upper-grade third rank to the lower-grade, the Han family has directly lost the foundation upon which it stands..."

"But with this, my last concern is gone."

A slight smile appeared on his face. The reason why Wang Xuan had not left the market and gotten out of the Han family's mess these days was not only because Xiao Qing's promotion gave him some support.

Furthermore, in a cultivation world where order still exists, breaking a guest elder contract without cause is a highly criticized act.

Reputation is something that can be useful or useless; it's entirely up to the individual.

Many independent cultivators scoffed at this, believing that they could survive anywhere by simply changing their identity.

Anyway, they don't plan to join any faction, can't afford to rent an independent spiritual vein, and don't have to face harsher terms and deposits and rents that are several times higher than others.

Given their lifespan, they doubted they would encounter a war of cultivation and become cannon fodder forcibly conscripted into the battlefield.

Even those who are "unregistered residents" without any upbringing can be employed as spirit farmers to cultivate the land or hunt demons in the mountains to make a living.

But in Wang Xuan's eyes, it was clearly not that simple.

Therefore, he doesn't mind waiting a while longer before terminating the contract in a relatively normal way.

As for what happens after the legal contract is dissolved...

"We'll meet again then. Whether you're friends or foes, that's up to you to decide."

With a calm gaze, Wang Xuan called out softly.

"Xiao Qing!"

"唳——"

With a clear, melodious cry and a flash of silver light, the bluebird was tucked into the sleeve.

Wang Xuan strode out of the cave and casually wiped away any traces of his presence.

Now that this matter is settled, he will not stay in Baihefang Market for long.

But before that, he had some things to deal with to avoid leaving any future problems.

For example, the aftermath of the recent interception... and certain malicious rumors.

He wouldn't step forward if he didn't have the opportunity. After all, a gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years; a sage's retribution is never too late, even after ten thousand years.

But if given the chance... there's nothing to worry about before leaving.

The saying goes, "If you don't take what Heaven gives you, you will suffer the consequences."

As the rightful heir of the Han family, for the sake of the family's future, I, Han Feiyu, have no choice but to inherit the Han family's tradition.

……