Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

In the elegant courtyard.

Li Ping, disguised as the Crimson Thunder Old Monster, sat cross-legged, silently pondering the information he had gathered from the low-level cultivators of the Xu family over the past few days.

After Xu Dansheng passed away, his will was followed.

To prevent the remains from deteriorating, his ashes will be placed in the Tianlei Sect Cemetery for worship after cremation.

Li Ping largely agrees with this point.

A Nascent Soul cultivator's body has been refined by spiritual energy for thousands of years, and his flesh and bones are filled with a massive amount of spiritual energy. Even with special secret methods, it is hard to say that he will not turn into a corpse.

Moreover, the body of a Nascent Soul cultivator is a priceless treasure to some cultivators who practice the path of corpse refining, and they will try every means and spare no expense to steal it.

Therefore, for Nascent Soul cultivators, the best way to dispose of their remains is to cremate them, which can avoid a lot of trouble.

As for Xu Dansheng's belongings, including the whereabouts of the alchemy furnace that he cared about most, he didn't even ask about it.

After all, this kind of thing was simply beyond the knowledge of these few low-level cultivators.

If he were to ask directly, it would only arouse suspicion and vigilance from the Xu family cultivators.

……

Inside the council hall, after a heated discussion, the four remained deadlocked.

In the end, it was Xu Xingzhou who made the decision. Since everyone had no objection to Xu Zhuochen's identity and wanted to take care of him in his old age and see him off in his final days, he would personally ask Xu Zhuochen for his opinion and inform everyone of the result later.

Faced with the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Xu Xingzhou had no choice but to explain: "I have no connection with Xu Zhuochen. I will not bring him into my lineage. Everything will be done according to his own wishes."

The four nodded in satisfaction: "Everything is up to the Elder."

Xu Xingzhou looked at the elderly man with his head bowed and body hunched over: "Mo Yan, you're coming with me to see him!"

Seeing the four Core Formation elders eyeing him menacingly, Xu Moyan sighed inwardly and reluctantly agreed, "Yes, Elder."

……

Xu Xingzhou took Xu Moyan with him to see Li Ping.

There was an idea behind introducing the two people, but there was actually another layer of meaning behind it.

Although the token, bloodline, appearance, and motive for returning home all matched, he still had some doubts about Li Ping's identity. Xu Moyan had managed the Xu family's mundane affairs for many years and had the ability to judge people, so having him go along could also serve as a gatekeeper.

Upon entering the courtyard and seeing Li Ping, Xu Xingzhou immediately smiled and said, "Brother Zhuochen, I have been somewhat neglectful of you these past few days. Are you getting used to your stay here?"

Li Ping smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Elder. I'm living here very well. Seeing those little ones makes me feel much younger."

"Hahaha...that's good." Xu Xingzhou laughed loudly.

Sitting down at the stone table in the courtyard, Xu Xingzhou pointed to the old man standing beside him and introduced him with a smile: "Mo Yan, he is the head of the Xu family. While we are busy with our secluded cultivation, he is the one who mainly manages the family's mundane affairs."

Li Ping smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, while Xu Moyan quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Ancestor Zhuochen."

Upon hearing his address, Li Ping's expression remained unchanged, seemingly unaware of the detail, but a thought stirred within him.

He couldn't help but guess that, as the head of the Xu family, the title Xu Moyan might represent that the Xu family had initially recognized his identity.

Next, Xu Xingzhou inquired about Li Ping's experiences over the past few hundred years.

Li Ping then gave a brief account of the story of the rogue cultivators in the East China Sea that he had already planned.

He wasn't afraid of being exposed.

After all, the East Sea is even more vast than the Great Zhou Dynasty, and its environment is so complex that even the Immortal Alliance doesn't know exactly how many spirit islands and cultivators it contains.

It's even less likely that the Xu family will be able to find out the truth.

As expected, during his narration, Xu Xingzhou and Xu Moyan listened quietly without interrupting him.

After he finished speaking, Xu Xingzhou and Xu Moyan exchanged a glance before Xu Xingzhou sighed and said, "Brother Zhuochen, you have suffered a lot over the years. In fact, you were deceived by the demonic people back then and did not know the truth. The Ancestor's punishment for you was too severe."

Li Ping shook his head: "The ancestor was also disappointed in me. I have let him down."

"By the way, Brother Zhuochen, I wonder what your plans are for returning to the family this time?" Xu Xingzhou didn't find any loopholes, so he immediately changed the subject and started probing for Li Ping's opinion.

"Alas... my lifespan is coming to an end, what plans can I possibly have?" Li Ping sighed. "I plan to return to the East Sea to live out the rest of my days after paying my respects to the ancestor."

"Return to the East China Sea?"

Upon hearing Li Ping's words, both Xu Xingzhou and Xu Moyan were taken aback.

But then they exchanged a glance, and their suspicions about Li Ping were largely dispelled.

If Li Ping truly harbored ulterior motives, disguising himself as Xu Zhuochen to infiltrate the Xu family during the ancestor's passing...

He should have taken the opportunity to stay at the Xu family's residence, but instead he planned to return to the East China Sea after paying his respects. This was clearly not the behavior of someone with ulterior motives.

Xu Xingzhou then tentatively inquired, "Brother Zhuochen, you've finally returned to the clan. I thought you would rest there for a while longer?"

"I have already been expelled from the family by the patriarch, how can I have the face to continue staying in the Xu family?" Li Ping remained unmoved by Xu Xingzhou's probing.

Seeing that Li Ping's expression did not seem to be feigning, Xu Xingzhou was basically certain of his identity and became even more determined to keep him in the family.

The Xu family patriarch was a fourth-level alchemist. During his lifetime, he also trained two third-level alchemists, but these two third-level alchemists were his disciples, not members of the Xu family.

Ultimately, they were separated from the Xu family by a layer.

If the Xu family could have a third-tier alchemist in charge, it would undoubtedly be a great benefit to the family.

But no matter how he hinted, suggested, or persuaded, Li Ping remained unmoved and showed no intention of returning to the Xu family.

Even when Xu Moyan wanted to arrange a new residence for Zhuochen Zu in the Xu family, he refused without hesitation.

In their eyes, his trip was simply to pay respects to his deceased ancestor; he had no demands of the Xu family and did not want to get involved with them.

Such a resolute attitude left even Xu Moyan, a man who had seen countless people, with no further doubts about his identity.

After all, who would deliberately pretend to be a junior just to offer incense to a deceased elder?

It's pretty much the same as having a problem.

"After hearing the news of the ancestor's passing, Zhuochen Ancestor hurriedly returned to the Xu family to pay his respects, showing his longing for the ancestor. However, he must have always harbored resentment about being expelled from the family, so he was unwilling to have any further dealings with the Xu family," Xu Moyan silently guessed.

In fact, before coming to see Li Ping, he had already asked the elder about the low-ranking clansmen who served Li Ping.

Knowing that Li Ping had absolutely no interest in the Xu family or the Heavenly Thunder Sect, aside from being concerned about the ancestor's life, they realized that he was completely uninterested in anything related to the Xu family or the Heavenly Thunder Sect.