Chapter 307 - 152: Like Brother, Like Sister! There Is 1 Traitor Among the 3 Celestial Spirit Blade Catchers...

'Ji Wei is here? At the mansion?'

Hearing the name, Ji Xiu, who had just emerged from the Scripture Pavilion, stopped observing the Long Day Spiritual Saber in his palm and turned to Li Xuanyi.

"My sister is in Jiangyin?"

"But this is the Marquis's Mansion, not just anywhere. Bringing family along… could that be a problem?"

He was a little surprised by the news.

But then he remembered—he had rushed from Anning County to the Prefecture City for a funeral. Nearly a month had passed, and he hadn't gone back or even sent word. As his sister, Ji Wei was bound to be worried.

Besides, his sister possessed a peculiar Divine Soul that allowed for 'Divine Traveling in the Great Thousand Realms, seeing all worlds.' She was a natural-born Dao Seed for Cultivation.

The Sect she had joined was a top-tier Daoist Lineage that practiced Immortal Cultivation Techniques, with a heritage suspected to be comparable to a 'Celestial Pillar' or a 'Giant House'.

Recalling the way she had once casually referred to her master, Ji Xiu suddenly found it familiar.

After a moment of thought, he realized it was none other than the author of the *Commentary on the Art of Spirit and Soul*—a text housed in the very Scripture Pavilion he had just left!

With such a master and such talent, a small County could never contain her. Moreover, Ji Wei had Fan Nansong of the Flying Immortal Temple by her side.

Since arriving in the Prefecture City, Ji Xiu had finally gained a clearer understanding of the old Daoist who had so eagerly planted himself on their doorstep back home.

The Flying Immortal Temple Master, Fan Nansong, was a Daoist High Merit. He was a Daoist Expert who had surpassed the Three Daoist Art Realms, which in the Human Immortal Martial Dao was equivalent to the level of a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster.

Ji Xiu didn't know his specific realm, but he knew that even an ordinary Sect Leader would have to think twice before confronting him.

This caution wasn't because his Daoist Skills were so unfathomably profound.

It was because...

...of Fan Nansong's Flying Immortal Temple.

And then there was Master Huang Mi from the Little Wuxiang Temple, whom he'd previously encountered alongside Huang Chan, the bastard son from the Medicine Shop who served as a Centurion General in the Garrison Mansion...

Behind them, they each represented the will of a Daoist Lineage, or in some cases, a Buddha Land.

To put it simply: they had powerful backers.

Nearly sixty years ago, the Great Xuan had greatly relaxed its suppression of the Outer Dao.

As a result, many major powers from the Outer Dao Celestial Universe sent key members—Elders and True Inheritance disciples who had hit a bottleneck but had not yet reached a realm high enough to be suppressed by the Realm Gate—to this world. Their goal was to carve out new territories and advance their Cultivation.

Over time.

Generation after generation crossed the Realm Gate, carving out a life in this foreign land and weaving a vast network of connections.

The Flying Immortal Temple and the Little Wuxiang Temple were prime examples. On paper, their strength was merely comparable to that of an ordinary Sect Leader or one of the Upper Nine Professions, and their foundations were far weaker.

But the backers behind them, even showing just the tip of the iceberg, were enough to make anyone with ulterior motives hesitate for fear of the consequences.

Behind them stood not only the direct lineage members and elders of their own Sects.

There was also an alliance of powers from the same Celestial Universe, all part of the same system!

This was a force far more influential than the so-called Nine Lords—the nominal Captains chosen by the Thirty-Six Professions!

Ever since he had been immersed in the Beicang Marquis's Mansion and learned a thing or two about such insider knowledge…

…knowing that his sister was under the protection of such an invisible behemoth,

Ji Xiu, who had made enemies of the Grand Lineages and Daoist Schools within the Prefecture and was surrounded by foes, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

With Fan Nansong around, at least the people lurking in the shadows wouldn't dare to target his sister.

He himself currently had no fixed residence, nor had he established any sort of foundation or estate.

'She's better off staying with Fan Nansong than with me.'

As these thoughts crossed his mind,

the creak of wheels sounded on the fine gravel path. Under Granny Shi's care, Xiao Mingli was slowly pushed forward in her wheelchair. ℯℯ𝑙.

"The Beicang Marquis's Mansion is a large place. One more person is no trouble at all."

"But what is the relationship between this Flying Immortal Temple Master, Fan Nansong, and your family?"

"Your sister is always with him."

"If he isn't with her purely for her talent…"

"I can intervene, have someone apply pressure, and make him deliver your sister here personally."

Xiao Mingli's dark hair was styled in a high chignon, fastened with a hairpin carved from green jade. She wore a moon-white, narrow-sleeved dress, her hands resting on her lap. Her entire appearance was one of simple elegance.

She was the polar opposite of the valiant, silver-armored Female Martial Deity Ji Xiu had spent the better part of the last month facing in the Divine Soul Martial Domain.

Having fought against Xiao Mingli's projection day and night for so long, it was no exaggeration to say that he could, at any moment, perfectly conjure the contours of her face in his mind, flawlessly detailed down to the smallest expression.

So, hearing Xiao Mingli show such consideration for him, Ji Xiu felt a little sheepish.

He thought about how he sent out his Divine Soul every day to use the image of Xiao Mingli at her peak as a punching bag, Quenching his Sword Intent and Sword Formulas and treating her as an Experience Fruit.

In return, the price he had paid was merely a single Earth Treasure he'd chanced upon, and a Spirit Fish he had intercepted upon entering the mansion.

And on top of that, there was the Divine Talisman Fire, which was comparable to the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber…

All things considered, what he had gained far exceeded what he had given. Thinking this, Ji Xiu decided to politely decline her offer.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Young Lady Heir."

"However…"

He paused in thought before continuing.

"Back in Anning County, my sister was discovered by a Daoist Expert whose Divine Soul was wandering, and she was taken in as a disciple."

"The Flying Immortal Temple Master, Fan Nansong, was sent by that very expert to act as her guardian and guide her Cultivation."

"At the time, my sister and I were nobodies in Anning County. If his lineage had any malicious intent, it would have surfaced long ago. For them to have been so dedicated to my sister's training for all this time, they must have been sincere in accepting her as a disciple."