On the way back to the clan estate, Shen Xian gave his mother a detailed account of his time in the cave dwelling, carefully omitting his own role in the final confrontation.

After listening, Nangong Wan’s expression instantly turned grim, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

“How audacious!” Her voice was glacial, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the fabric of her sleeve. “To think a member of our own family would dare collude with the Shadow Tower! For demonic cultivators to appear so brazenly within our ancestral grounds!”

Shen Xian remained silent.

He knew this incident was almost certainly Shen Li’s doing. However, with the assassins and demonic cultivators all dead, there was no evidence. Launching an investigation would make it difficult to find any conclusive proof.

“Do not worry, Xian’er. I will investigate this matter thoroughly and see that you get justice,” Nangong Wan declared, her tone severe. She was genuinely furious.

Shen Xian gave a slight nod. His expression was calm, but a trace of coldness flickered deep within his eyes.

Repeated assassination attempts, increasingly brazen schemes…

Even a saint has his limits, let alone someone like Shen Xian. If he didn’t teach Shen Li a lesson soon, his brother would start thinking he was some weak-willed fool, a pawn to be manipulated at will.

He already had a plan forming in his mind.

This time, he wouldn’t just passively endure the assault.

Since Shen Li dared to make a move, he would have to pay the price.

…

Upon returning to the clan, Shen Xian and Ye Qingxian went back to their courtyard for the time being.

Nangong Wan, meanwhile, planned to summon the clan’s upper echelon to discuss the next steps.

The moment they arrived, Ye Qingxian headed straight for her room, intending to absorb the inheritance she had acquired.

“Wait a moment,” Shen Xian called out.

Ye Qingxian paused. As she turned, a faint, delicate fragrance wafted from her hair, and the usual aloofness in her gaze seemed to soften ever so slightly.

“What is it?” Her voice, typically cool and detached, had lost some of its edge.

Shen Xian produced the incomplete jade slip he had found. “Here, take a look at this,” he said with a casual laugh. “If it’s useful, it’s yours. I’ve got no use for it.”

He wasn’t sure of the item’s origin, and even if he was, he wasn’t particularly interested.

It was better to grant her a favor. First, it might yield a better return from the system. Second, she had already saved him once; if he ever needed her help again, he would need to offer something even more valuable.

A flicker of emotion crossed Ye Qingxian’s eyes. As she reached out to take the jade slip, her fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly.

Her eyes fixed on the blurred characters for the “True Explanation of Ten Thousand Beasts” etched into the jade, and her pupils constricted.

“This item…” Her voice remained cool, but it now carried a new weight of seriousness. “Where did you acquire this?”

“Oh, that? Just something I picked up in a corner of that stone tablet forest,” Shen Xian said, leaning nonchalantly against a corridor pillar. “It’s just a decoration to me, anyway.”

Anything placed alongside a Beast Spirit Stone was bound to be extraordinary. And from the look of it, she was genuinely interested.

Ye Qingxian fell silent for a moment before speaking. “This is indeed of great use to me. State your terms.”

She had obtained a great many treasures in the cave dwelling. If he needed something, she wouldn’t mind trading one for it.

“If you need it, just take it,” Shen Xian said indifferently.

Ye Qingxian’s beautiful eyes flickered. After another moment of silence, she finally said, “Should you ever require my aid… you may come find me.”

`[You have gifted your Dao Companion a sixth-tier, mid-grade inheritance jade slip. A twenty-fold return has been triggered. Reward: One sixth-tier, top-grade inheritance jade slip. Claim?]`

As Ye Qingxian departed, Shen Xian glanced at the system prompt.

A sixth-tier treasure was on par with artifacts from the Void Refining Realm. No wonder she had reacted so strongly—its origins were truly extraordinary.

He just wondered what this new top-grade inheritance jade slip contained.

The system provided no description; he would only know after claiming it.

Shen Xian focused his mind and chose to claim the reward.

Instantly, a brilliant purple-gold light bloomed within his sea of consciousness. A torrent of information, as vast and deep as an abyss, poured directly into his soul.

`[Sixth-Tier Top-Grade Inheritance: Mystic Essence True Congealing Art]`

This was the foundational cultivation method of the ancient Mystic Essence Sect. It specialized in cultivating “Mystic Essence True Power,” renowned for its profound depth and stability, making it suitable for cultivators with solid foundations.

Upon mastery, one’s cultivation power becomes as condensed as mercury—thirty percent more potent than that of cultivators in the same realm—resulting in lower spiritual energy consumption when casting spells. The art also automatically strengthens the user’s meridians during cultivation, reducing the risk of Qi deviation.

When cultivated to grand completion, one can briefly enter the “Mystic Essence State,” doubling their mana recovery speed…

For an ordinary cultivator, just digesting this information would likely take months, if not years.

But Shen Xian was different.

The moment he claimed it, he mastered it completely.

Hum—

Shen Xian felt his soul tremble as countless profound scriptures circulated through his mind, as familiar as if he had been born with the knowledge.

He closed his eyes and centered his spirit, his Dao heart becoming clear and bright. He felt an unprecedented sense of clarity; even the negative emotions stirred up by Shen Li’s schemes quietly dissipated, leaving his mind as still as water.

The cultivation art’s influence settled over him, leaving his mind feeling remarkably clear and serene.

Furthermore, the art came with three great divine abilities:

Mystic Essence Heart Shield: Forms a semi-transparent, mercury-like armor over the body. Its duration is linked to one’s spiritual power. It can block mental intrusions and greatly mitigate spiritual-type attacks.

Mystic Essence Meridian Suppression: By consuming a certain amount of spiritual power, one can instantly suppress rampaging energy or toxins within the body. It can forcibly stabilize a state of Qi deviation and can also be used on others.

Mystic Essence Domain: Forms a domain within a certain range. Within this domain, the user’s power is amplified while inflicting spiritual pressure on enemies.

Unfortunately, limited by his current realm, Shen Xian could only use the first divine ability. He would need to reach the Golden Core Realm to use the second and the Nascent Soul Realm to employ the third.

After absorbing all the information, Shen Xian was quite satisfied.

Although he didn’t need to cultivate and never had to worry about Qi deviation, a cultivation method that enhanced his mental and spiritual fortitude was exactly what he needed.

Especially with someone still plotting against him.

After absorbing the cultivation art, Shen Xian settled back into his lounge chair, his expression showing little joy.

He gazed up at the dusky sky, taking an absentminded bite of an osmanthus cake Xiang’er had brought him, and his mind began to race.

Although this expedition to the cave dwelling had ended perfectly, its repercussions could not be ignored.

Especially since Ye Qingxian, an “ordinary person,” had obtained the cave’s inheritance.

Countless eyes were undoubtedly watching from the shadows, filled with greed.

Most importantly, his second brother would absolutely not let this matter rest.

At the thought of him, a cold glint flashed through Shen Xian’s calm eyes.

From fanning the flames during the Ye Family’s gift-giving incident to the repeated assassination attempts in the cave dwelling, his brother’s methods were growing more ruthless and more frequent.

If he simply waited for the next attack, it was only a matter of time before he was caught off guard by some meticulous scheme and ended up in his brother’s clutches.

He had to make preparations.

Shen Xian’s hand went to the dragon-shaped jade pendant at his waist before he retrieved a communication talisman from his robes.

This talisman was a gift from Ye Mingyuan, given to him when he left the Ye Family.

He lowered his gaze. As spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips, the cinnabar patterns on the talisman lit up one by one, sealing his intentions within specks of golden light…

With a soft whoosh, the talisman ignited in his palm, burning with an azure-blue flame.

The dancing flames illuminated his face, casting it in alternating light and shadow. For a fleeting moment, a trace of chilling frost crossed his handsome features.