Chapter 330 - 160: Master’s Old Flame, a Cry of ’Master Xie’ to Break the 3 Great Limits?

Chapter 330: Chapter 160: Master’s Old Flame, a Cry of ’Master Xie’ to Break the 3 Great Limits?

"You’re teaching this technique?"

Xie Zhinan wasn’t the only one stunned by the sudden remark.

Ji Xiu, who had resolved to hitch his wagon to Xiao Mingli—knowing it was best not to be fickle and determined to see the decision through—was also dumbfounded.

He turned his head and got a clear look at the newcomer.

The woman wore a sharply tailored, crane-adorned palace gown. With a proud, noble mien and a jade hairpin in her hair, she cut a remarkably tall figure.

A thin layer of True Qi enveloped her, circulating on its own like a great, cleansing river, leaving her utterly untouched by the mundane world.

’I don’t know what her cultivation realm is exactly...’

But Ji Xiu was certain of one thing.

He had never seen this woman before.

’And judging by her appearance, she must be quite a bit older than me.’

After a woman became a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, she could lock her Qi and Blood to slow her aging. Even in her thirties or forties, she could maintain the youthful appearance of a twenty-year-old if she so chose.

If she could advance even further and attain a Leakless Body...

Once a cultivator managed to have the Red Dragon Subdue the White Tiger, legends said they could maintain their appearance for a full sixty years. Only when their Great Limit approached, when they could no longer keep their body leakless and were no longer beyond Purity and Impurity, would their face wither and be carved with deep wrinkles.

Judging by her appearance alone, Ji Xiu knew the woman before him had to be a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster at the very least—and not an ordinary one.

’As for whether she’s a Leakless Grandmaster, on par with a Sect Leader...’

’Ji Xiu didn’t know the Key Points of a Qi Barrier, so he had no way to tell.’

But her words put him on high alert.

’This Feathered Immortal Robe... I filched it from my Master. According to him, there might be quite a few Dharma Gates in the world that allow one to cultivate to the Purple Ribbon stage and break the Three Limits.’

’But secret scrolls that, after one has mastered the Three Limits, offer a path to continue onward and forge a Treasure Body...’

’...are exceedingly rare!’

’At its peak, the Blade Dao Ancestral Court might have had a systematic method for unlocking the Grand Treasure Vault of the flesh and forging a Treasure Body.’

’But now, their school is in ruins. The Celestial Blade School isn’t even considered a proper branch anymore, so of course we don’t have that kind of Secret Skill.’

’That was why Duan Chenzhou gave me the Feathered Immortal Robe—a secret inheritance scroll from the Jade Universe Xie Clan—to practice my Cultivation.’

Memories from a few months ago gradually resurfaced in Ji Xiu’s mind.

As he recalled the crucial details...

He looked at the tall, aloof beauty before him. She carried an air of nobility that far surpassed Xie Zhinan’s, a woman in a flowing gown who perfectly embodied the ideal of a great and powerful clan.

A preposterous thought began to form in Ji Xiu’s mind.

"Could it be..."

’...that this woman is the "Miss Xie" who took a fancy to Master all those years ago?’

When his Master first bestowed the Feathered Immortal Robe upon him, he had told him a story from his past.

’At the time, I even complained that my Master didn’t know what was good for him. He should have seized the opportunity to become a "golden son-in-law." If he had, he wouldn’t have wasted the next decade or so of his life. He probably would have soared straight to the top.’

Now, thinking back on it, Ji Xiu mused to himself.

Just then, he saw the woman lift her elegant neck and scrutinize him. His heart skipped a beat. ’The more I think about it, the more likely it seems!’

But...

’It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it?’

He swallowed hard.

Xie Zhinan was the first to break the silence.

"Aunt! Didn’t you refuse the marriage alliance back then? You successfully inherited the Ancestral Blood in our ancestral lands and went into seclusion for years after that, didn’t you?"

"You’ve never left the Jade Universe Grotto Heaven, so how could you have been the one to pass on..."

Before she could finish,

The woman Xie Zhinan called "Aunt" glanced at her coolly. A purple light seemed to swirl in her eyes, and an intricate Jade Pattern flickered faintly on her forehead.

Instantly, the rest of Xie Zhinan’s words caught in her throat. She couldn’t utter another syllable.

And at some point,

Granny Shi, clad in a gray robe, had suddenly appeared beside the wheelchair-bound Xiao Mingli.

Ji Xiu had seen the old woman display the power of a Dragon and Tiger before, forcefully repelling a Dragon Tiger Water Attendant from the Water Monarch’s Mansion. She was incredibly formidable.

Now, however, she frowned slightly. She stared at the newcomer, her lips pressed into a thin line for a long moment before she finally spoke.

"The Ancestral Blood of the Xie Clan..."

"Xie Fuyao. It’s been over a decade. I never thought that I, an old woman nearing the end of her days, would see you again in this remote prefecture."

"It’s been many years. I truly never expected that you, who wasn’t considered one of the top talents in the Jade Universe Xie Clan back then, would end up as one of the very few from your generation to inherit the Xie Family’s Human Immortal Ancestral Blood."

’Xie Fuyao?’

Ji Xiu’s ears twitched. He committed the name to memory.

Meanwhile, Xiao Mingli tapped her fingers, her expression pensive.

Xie Fuyao gave a slight nod.

"After my training in Jiangyin Prefecture all those years ago, I returned to the clan and dedicated myself to my Cultivation. After more than a decade of trials, I finally inherited the Ancestral Blood and had my name recorded in the family genealogy."

"I never imagined that after all these years, upon returning to this place, the old friends I made in my youth would have already passed away..."

Her tone held a hint of melancholy, but she quickly composed herself.

"The Jade Universe Xie Clan is a world away from Jiangyin Prefecture, separated by vast distances."

"After I inherited the Ancestral Blood and achieved the Leakless state, I received a clan directive to go and preside over Cangzhou."

"I traveled on a Jade Ship belonging to a great Immortal Sect. It stopped in Cangzhou, a Vassal Town, and from there I made my way here."

"However, my purpose in coming to Jiangyin Prefecture is not for the Young Lady Heir."

"Zhinan may have brought an invitation from our clan’s elders and the main branch’s Xie Wen, but whether you, the Young Lady Heir, accept it or not is your own decision. It has nothing to do with me, and I will not interfere."