Chapter 327 - 159: Human Immortal’s Blood, Secrets of the Giant House, Returning to the Clan? A Thousand Gold for a Horse’s Bones, Nothing More

Chapter 327: Chapter 159: Human Immortal’s Blood, Secrets of the Giant House, Returning to the Clan? A Thousand Gold for a Horse’s Bones, Nothing More

The main hall of the Beicang Marquis’s Mansion.

The hall was spacious, with carved pillars supporting a high, domed ceiling. In front of a screen and a low table, seated across from the wheelchair-bound Xiao Mingli, was another woman.

The woman wore a scarlet dress. Its collar, corners, and sleeves were all embroidered with Red Gold thread, the very picture of extravagance.

The faintly glowing Red Jade Bracelet on her wrist swayed as she flicked her sleeve:

"Sister Xiao, Zhinan heard about your accident all those years ago. It’s just that you live here in Jiangyin Prefecture, a remote corner of the Far East. The journey is long, so I never had the chance to visit."

"I happened to be passing by with my family’s elders this time, so I thought I would come and see how you are."

Xie Zhinan’s gaze shifted to the silent Xiao Mingli, whose own eyes were distant and cold. A look of pity flashed across Xie Zhinan’s beautiful eyes:

"I still remember the first time I saw you, Sister Xiao. The magnificent figure you cut when you accompanied your mother to visit the Jade Universe Xie Clan."

"Back then, you had learned the spear from your father and mastered a Grandmaster’s Spear Intent. You had also been accepted into the Celestial Pool, one of the Ten Great Celestial Pillars, and learned their Secret Sword Dao. You were truly remarkable."

"In the entire Xie Family, the only one your age who could compare to you was my brother, Xie Wen, who had awakened his Ancestral Blood."

"My brother Xie Wen even asked me to send you his regards. If you are willing, the Xie Family can..."

Xie Zhinan’s gaze fell to Xiao Mingli’s legs and paused for a moment. Then, she clapped her hands.

The Cloud Attendants standing behind her, each holding a brocade box, understood at once. They opened the boxes, and in an instant, the entire hall was flooded with a dense Spiritual Mechanism that soared to the heavens.

"These are from my brother, Xie Wen, and the family. They were specially prepared for you, Sister Xiao."

"It is merely a stalk of the Earth Treasure, Cold Jade Coral, and a bit of Cold Jade Spirit Marrow. It’s nothing worth mentioning, but for you, Sister Xiao, it can alleviate your daily pain. Please accept it."

"The family has countless treasures like these."

"But Marquis Xiao has spent years running himself ragged over your injuries, trying to prolong your life. He must have exhausted his family’s resources by now. I imagine it’s not easy for him to procure such fine things."

"Before I came, the Third Ancestor specifically said that if you, Sister Xiao, are willing to ’return to the clan,’ change your surname to Xie, and bring the Marquis with you for a visit to the Jade Universe Xie Clan..."

"...he could personally guarantee it. He would invite a National Master to use the family’s treasured Celestial Materials and cleanse you of your impurities, allowing you to walk the path of Cultivation once more!"

"The Third Ancestor is the Stabilizing Needle of your mother’s lineage. When he speaks, his words are gold and jade; there is absolutely no room for error."

Xie Zhinan spoke with such sincerity, as if she truly cared for this distant cousin, whose shared blood was separated by who knows how many generations.

Hearing this, ripples of disgust appeared in Xiao Mingli’s eyes.

These luxuriously dressed members of the Giant Houses were all impossibly arrogant. What they considered kindness was, in the eyes of others, no different from condescension.

’Sister Xiao... heh. How affectionate she sounds.’

’Anyone who didn’t know better might actually think I had some profound connection to this Jade Universe Xie Clan.’

’But in reality, her mother had been nothing more than a young lady from a branch family. Though she was of noble birth, in a Giant House that vast, she was but a single grain of sand.’

’When her mother fell for her father, the Marquis, he was just a poor boy. Her mother was the one who refused an arranged marriage, was struck from the family records, and left with absolute resolve. Only then was she born.’

Although Xiao Mingli hadn’t been born yet, she had heard bits and pieces about it.

The casual meddling of the Jade Universe Xie Clan back then had been the greatest hardship her father had ever faced in his life.

Later, her mother’s good judgment proved true. The poor boy from all those years ago crossed vast seas, faced death time and again, and finally reached Xuanjing, where he was made a Marquis for his meritorious deeds.

She herself had made a name for herself at a young age, entering the Celestial Pool, one of the Ten Great Celestial Pillars, and was in no way inferior to the scions of the main branches of the Giant Houses.

Only then did the Xie Clan come looking for them, with a haughty, patronizing attitude and false sincerity.

But her father, naturally, was unwilling.

However, for the sake of her own future, he still had her mother take her to the Xie ancestral lands, hoping she could inherit the Human Immortal blood of the Jade Universe Xie Clan.

In the Great Xuan Dynasty, the only top-tier powers were the Ten Great Celestial Pillars and the Nine Great Families—nineteen in total.

But even factions as mighty as the Ten Great Celestial Pillars, which produced generations of talented individuals and a constant stream of experts who had mastered the pinnacle of Martial Arts, had times when they would decline and fall.

So why was it that the Nine Great Families—which were based on bloodline inheritance and were considered inferior to the Celestial Pillars—had managed to stand tall without ever falling?

It was because their ancestors had once produced a Human Immortal!

A Human Immortal.

This title was the lifelong pursuit of every Martial Artist in the world.

The Power Barrier, the Qi Barrier, and even a Titled Martial Saint at the Will Barrier... the higher and farther one walked on the path, the more one yearned for this realm!

Across the entire history of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the number of Human Immortals that had ever existed could be counted on one hand.

Legend had it that only by becoming a Human Immortal could one shatter the Realm Gate. Using their physical body as a raft and their Divine Soul as a lantern, they could follow the ancient path beyond the gate to reach other Celestial Universes and pursue even greater possibilities!

And the bloodline of a Human Immortal was, naturally, extraordinary.

Back when the Great Xuan Venerable used his Iron Fist to sweep through a Great Xuan Celestial Universe overrun by the Outer Dao and ravaged by devastation, it was precisely with the aid of the Primordial Ancestors of the Nine Great Dukes, who shone as dazzlingly as the sun, that he was able to pacify the lands and establish the Great Xuan!

Many years had passed, and that glorious Chapter of history had long since been turned.

But this hereditary nobility had been passed down from generation to generation without fail. It was said that if one could go to their ancestral lands and awaken the Ancestral Blood, they would have one foot across the threshold of a Title.

That was the first time her father had ever compromised.

But what they demanded in return was for Xiao Mingli to be married to a scion of the clan’s main branch. That scion was a true prodigy of the Xie Clan, whose name was now listed on the Juvenile Dragon Stele and who had become a Celestial Pillar True Inheritance.