The Confucian and Taoist Sages of Mortal Cultivation

The Liu and Wang women all stared wide-eyed at Yang Qingyuan.

Yang Qingyuan nodded slightly, acknowledging, "Madam Yan is indeed very thoughtful."

"That's right, I, Yang, am indeed a cultivator."

"The technique I just used wasn't some martial arts masterpiece, Thunderclap Hand, but rather a low-level, beginner-level spell called 'Palm Thunder'."

Of course, this palm lightning was not an ordinary, low-level lightning technique.

Just now, Yang Qingyuan adapted the seven-character quatrain "New Thunder" by the poet Zhang Weiping, allowing the "True Word Calligraphy" to condense the true word "thunder", thus enhancing the power of the palm thunder.

At this moment, a pale silver "thunder" character appeared below the "learn" character in the mantra scroll within his dantian.

The "Thunder" mantra greatly enhances the power of a cultivator's thunder magic, currently increasing it by 70%, but requires the consumption of righteous energy to activate.

The "Thunder" mantra is far less powerful and less effective than the other three mantras, likely because this "New Thunder" mantra is of average quality and cannot invoke many thunder laws.

Fortunately, Yang Qingyuan had a solution: if the quality wasn't good enough, quantity would make up for it. He could write more poems about thunder when he had time, which would also enhance the power of the "Thunder" mantra.

Moreover, because Yang Qingyuan stepped forward tonight, the righteous spirit also rose to a height of three zhang and five chi.

At this moment, the women of the Mo family gasped in astonishment upon seeing Yang Qingyuan admit to being a cultivator.

Yan Ge, lying on the ground, was terrified. She remembered that she had previously held a knife to Yang Qingyuan and was very worried that she would be resented.

After all, Yan Ge had just witnessed the power of the palm thunder. Even Li Keyong, the hall master of the Five Colors Sect, could not withstand it and was instantly turned into dust, let alone him.

"I have offended you greatly before, and I hope you will not blame me, Immortal Master." Yan Ge's wound was still bleeding, but she still gritted her teeth and apologized to Yang Qingyuan first.

Yang Qingyuan waved his hand and replied, "It's alright, you should heal your injuries first."

Upon hearing this, Yan Ge breathed a sigh of relief, took out some wound medicine from her bosom, and applied it to the wound.

Fifth Madam Wang also rushed forward to untie the captured members of the Mo family.

Mo Yuzhu, now free, beamed with joy. She walked up to Yang Qingyuan, a glint of admiration in her eyes, then clasped her hands in a respectful greeting and said crisply, "Young Master Yang, my name is Mo Yuzhu. Thank you for saving my life. If you ever encounter any trouble in the future, please let me know."

"Even if I have to climb mountains of knives or plunge into seas of fire, I, Mo Yuzhu, will not even flinch."

Mo Fengwu stepped forward, bowed gracefully to Yang Qingyuan, and said, "I am Mo Fengwu, and I thank Young Master Yang for saving the life of our Mo family."

"I will never forget this kindness, and I will repay it even if it costs me my life."

The clever and mischievous Mo Caihuan rolled her beautiful eyes and moved closer to Yang Qingyuan, asking enthusiastically, "Brother Yang, you're also a cultivator, do you know my Senior Brother Han Li?"

Yang Qingyuan responded, "I have heard of Brother Han's great name very much."

"But we haven't had the chance to see such a young talent yet."

"Oh?" Mo Caihuan tilted her head and pondered, "Is Senior Brother Han that famous? And so young and outstanding."

"He had dark skin and an ordinary appearance, and was not at all associated with the word 'outstanding'."

"On the contrary, Brother Yang is not only handsome, but also highly skilled."

"You saved Caihuan's life, I really don't know how to repay you?"

Upon hearing this, the seductive Third Madam Liu chuckled and said, "Oh dear, what's with all this talk of being shattered to pieces or facing mountains of knives and seas of fire? It's simple to repay Master Yang."

"Why don't the three of you offer yourselves in return?"

Upon hearing this, the three sisters, Mo Caihuan, Mo Yuzhu, and Mo Fengwu, blushed with embarrassment, lowered their heads, and fiddled with the hem of their skirts.

The fourth wife, Madam Yan, the second wife, Madam Li, and the fifth wife, Madam Wang, all showed signs of interest and appeared to be deep in thought.

"Now that the Five Colors Sect has cultivators backing it up, the Shocking Flood Dragon Society must also find cultivators in order to have a foothold."

The four ladies did not speak, but they could read each other's thoughts with just a glance.

Yang Qingyuan guessed what the four ladies of the Mo family were thinking, and his face darkened slightly. He warned, "Ladies, you should heed my advice."

"While the Five Colors Sect is retreating, we should dismiss our servants as soon as possible, leave Lanzhou, go to other prefectures to live in anonymity, become a wealthy family, and live out the rest of our lives in peace."

"The cultivators behind this five-colored gate are not just one or two, but Spirit Beast Mountain, one of the seven major cultivation sects in Yue Kingdom."

"You absolutely cannot compete with them."

"They can easily produce a large number of martial arts masters like Li Keyong by simply taking out some miraculous medicines."

"It won't be long before the Five Colors Sect makes a comeback."

Upon hearing this, the mother and daughter of the Mo family turned pale, never expecting that the Five Colors Sect had such a powerful background.

Second Madam Li, always understanding and reasonable, spoke first, saying, "My dear sisters, if it weren't for Master Yang tonight, we would probably have perished."

"Now that you've been spared from death, don't be greedy for wealth and status anymore. Listen to Master Yang and leave as soon as possible."

Upon hearing that they would have to give up the family business accumulated over decades, both the head of the household, Madam Yan, and the fifth wife, Madam Wang, who held the reins of the secrets, looked conflicted.

After a long silence, Madam Yan sighed and said, "Alright, I'll go and distribute the family fortune and dismiss the servants. Let's pack our belongings and leave Jiayuan City tonight."

"Wait a minute," Yang Qingyuan interjected. "After Madam has packed her things, I would like to ask her to accompany me to the Yan family's ancestral home."

Madam Yan, mindful of the other party's life-saving grace and considering his identity as a cultivator, could not refuse and said, "Alright! Please wait a moment, Immortal Master Yang."

After saying that, she walked towards Yan Ge, took out a bunch of keys from her bosom, handed them to him, and instructed him, "Yan Ge, these are the keys to the vault. There are 300,000 taels of silver in it. Take the remnants of the Jingjiao Society, divide the 300,000 taels among them, and then leave Lanzhou. Don't show your face again."

Yan Ge took the key, his face contorted with pain, and replied, "Master's wife, Yan Ge wants to stay by your side, and by Junior Sister Yu Zhu's side, even if it's just as a servant."

Yan Shi naturally knew that Yan Ge had been in love with Mo Yuzhu since childhood, and immediately turned to look at Mo Yuzhu.

But then she saw Mo Yuzhu secretly sizing up Yang Qingyuan, her beautiful eyes filled with admiration.

"Alas," Madam Yan sighed upon seeing this, "He is in love, but I am not. Yan Ge, listen to your master's wife, take the 300,000 taels of silver and leave."

Upon hearing this, Yan Ge felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She asked, "Master's wife, is it only by becoming a cultivator that one can be worthy of Junior Sister Mo Yuzhu?"

Madam Yan paused for a moment, shook her head, and said with a wry smile, "Perhaps. You know that Yuzhu has very high standards, and none of the young men in Jiayuan City can catch her eye."

"Perhaps only someone like Master Yang could attract her attention."

Yan Ge was in a state of turmoil. Despite her injuries, she stood up and said, "Disciple understands, Master's wife, take care!"

He left behind a single sentence and stumbled out of the house.

While the mother and daughter of the Mo family were packing their valuables, Yang Qingyuan also walked towards the deep pit created by the palm thunder.

In the charred pit, there was a pool of molten copper, which was the result of the copper armor being melted by the palm thunder.

A blue jade box was faintly visible within the molten copper.

"Huh? What's this?" Upon seeing this, Yang Qingyuan flicked his sleeve, sending out a golden ring, also known as the Gold Locking Ring, which he used to hold the jade box in place and pull it up.

The jade box was covered in cracks, clearly damaged by the lightning in the palm of the hand, yet it remained intact. Moreover, it was completely cool to the touch in the scalding molten copper. Such a jade box could never be crafted in the mortal world.

As the box was opened, a yellow booklet and two white medicine bottles came into view.

The yellow booklet cover reads "Thirteen Protectors' Horizontal Golden Bell Cover," which is the martial art that Li Keyong previously demonstrated.

Yang Qingyuan opened the booklet and read it carefully.

This skill is specifically divided into thirteen secret techniques, including Iron Head Skill, Iron Arm Skill, Iron Palm Skill, and Iron Crotch Skill. Once mastered, it makes the entire body without any weaknesses, impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire. Moreover, it grants immense strength, allowing one to easily tear apart tigers and leopards, thus elevating the practitioner to the ranks of the top masters in the martial arts world.

However, this skill is extremely slow to cultivate. Unless aided by elixirs, it would take more than a hundred years to master.

However, at the end of the booklet, there is a recipe for a pill called "Tiger Bone Pill," which can greatly reduce the time spent practicing cultivation techniques.

In order to support the Five Colors Sect, Spirit Beast Mountain even used the bones of first-level tiger-type demon beasts to make several bottles of potent Tiger Bone Pills.

The two white porcelain bottles in this box are "Tiger Bone Pills," which are enough to allow an ordinary person to refine the "Thirteen Protectors' Horizontal Reinforced Golden Bell Cover" within a few years.

"Anyway, with the mantra of 'learning' in my possession, I can learn anything quickly." Yang Qingyuan put away the pills and booklets, preparing to explore martial arts.

This is what it means to have many skills.

Just then, Mo Yuzhu walked up to Yang Qingyuan and struck up a conversation, asking, "Immortal Master, are you also interested in martial arts?"

"I just learned my father's unique skills, 'Silver Hand,' 'Dragon Trapping Technique,' and 'Ghost Shadow Tracking Step,' from my two senior brothers."

"If the immortal master wishes to learn, this humble woman can make a copy of the manual."

Yang Qingyuan raised an eyebrow and replied, "That's fine then. Thank you for your help, Miss Yuzhu."

"I wouldn't dare," Mo Yuzhu said with a smile. "It is my honor to be able to help Master Yang."

Just then, the ladies of the Mo family finally packed up their valuables, and the silver notes alone were worth more than one million taels.

"Master Yang, I will take you to the ancestral home now." Madam Yan summoned a carriage, which then carried everyone out of the Mo residence and headed straight for the Yan family's ancestral home.

Meanwhile, Yan Ge and the remaining members of the Jingjiao Society quietly left the Mo Mansion.

Overnight, the Mo family mansion became an empty house, and from then on, the Jingjiao Society never existed in Lanzhou again...