The man staring at him had long, loose robes. His long hair was tied up, and his face was handsome. He looked around thirty or forty.

Su Hongli!

He was the head of the Jade Capital’s Su Family and a legend who’d leaped into the ranks of the Ten Great Xiantian Martial Ancestors years ago. He, alongside State Preceptor Hong Shenshang, was honored as one of the Twin Ramparts of the Great Zhou.

It didn’t matter that Su Yi had the 108,000 years of cultivation experience of his past life. The moment he saw his father here, irrepressible hatred and rage rose from the very depths of his heart.

This was an inextinguishable obsession!

Even with a powerful will and great wisdom, such an obsession was difficult to resolve.

However, Su Yi’s gaze remained as cold as snow, and he was outwardly just as calm as before.

Obsession was obsession, and hatred was hatred. Still, with his current mental fortitude, he wouldn’t lose control at a time like this.

Rain poured down in buckets, and the mountain gales howled. Although it was the morning, the skies were as dim as if it were dusk. From time to time, lightning flashed overhead, illuminating their surroundings with silvery light.

Now, over a year later, father and son reunited!

However, the atmosphere was oppressive and desolate beyond compare.

“Yesterday, when I heard you’d returned to the Jade Capital, I anticipated that you would come here. Thus, I decided to come have a look at you,” said Su Hongli. His tone was casual and calm, not overbearing, and not at all emotional. This was the very pinnacle of aloof, heartless indifference. 

He had no umbrella, but when the pouring rain fell within three feet of him, it hit an invisible barrier and scattered.

But Su Yi noticed something entirely different.

There were no energy fluctuations around Su Hongli at all. Rather, he seemed to have merged into his surroundings, as if he were one with heavens and earth.

As if he were just another tree or blade of grass!

“Why not attack?” asked Su Yi. “Didn’t you say that I dared take so much as a single step into the Jade Capital, you’d execute me without mercy?”

Su Hongli’s eyes were as stagnant as an ancient well. He said calmly, “I also said that I’d give you until the fifth day of the fifth month to turn over a new leaf. I naturally won’t go back on my word.”

Su Yi laughed. “Then just wait until the fourth, when I take a stroll through the Su Family.”

With that, he walked into the distance carrying his oil paper umbrella. He didn’t so much as spare Su Hongli a second glance.

This was his father, as well as the person he hated most in this lifetime, but… It would be just as he said in his letter. Next month, on the fourth, he’d personally sever this grudge.

Su Hongli seemed a bit surprised. When he saw Su Yi simply saunter off, his brow furrowed.

In the end, he said nothing. It was only after Su Yi’s tall, lean figure disappeared into the mists and rain that he said, “Daoist Brother, we should go back too.”

Then, without the slightest ripple of emotion, he placed his hands behind his back and walked off.

An elder in Daoist robes silently appeared within the curtain of rain.

He walked alongside Su Hongli and said, “And here I thought that when father and son reunited, intense conflict was sure to follow. Instead, you were like a pair of passersby. Your words didn’t reach each other, and you turned and left. It’s truly surprising.”

Su Hongli said casually, “I didn’t come here to kill him, but rather, to confirm my judgment.”

“Which judgment?” the elder asked curiously.

Su Hongli’s gaze was deep and distant. “That unworthy child… has not been possessed. That means your initial deduction is likely on the mark. He’s almost certainly taken on some expert’s mantle.”

The elder’s expression shifted subtly, and he nodded. “I have to say, Su Yi has changed far, far too much. Earlier, I used the Pupils of Magic Discernment to examine his aura, but I couldn’t perceive anything at all…”

“The impression he gave me was that of an abyss swathed in mists, its depths difficult to discern. It’s truly strange.”

Su Hongli’s eyes narrowed. “Is that so? Then this is getting more and more interesting.”

After a moment’s silence, the elder suddenly said, “Fellow Daoist, how about I step in and test him?”

Su Hongli waved. “No need. This is my private matter, and you need not get involved.”

……

Before the northern gates of the Jade Capital.

Su Yi sat in a horse-drawn carriage. He was on his way back to the Pinewind Villa.

He borrowed the force of heaven and earth to disguise his presence so completely that not a trace of his aura leaked out. Is he worried that I’ll discern his secrets? Su Yi reclined lazily in the carriage, recalling his earlier encounter with Su Hongli. A thoughtful light appeared in his eyes.

Su Hongli was strong.

There was no doubt about that. 

The moment he laid eyes on Su Hongli, Su Yi could tell that he hadn’t yet stepped into the Origin Dao, but he could fully meld his presence into his surroundings.

This alone was enough to prove that Su Hongli’s xiantian qi was of the highest possible quality, upper first rank!

Furthermore, Su Hongli had mastered the charm of the Dao too. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly have melded his presence into his surroundings like that.

No wonder Ning Sihua said that ten years ago, Su Hongli was already the most terrifying and mysterious of the Ten Great Xiantian Martial Ancestors. Such foundations are sufficient to contend with Earthly Immortals like Li Changning….

But then, that’s just what I’ve seen so far. His true strength and trump cards can’t possibly be so simple.

He once ventured deep into the wilderness of Sifting Darkness Yao Mountain and obtained a grand stroke of fortune. Assuming he hasn’t been possessed, he has some as-of-yet-unknown inheritance, or perhaps a treasure…

As soon as Su Yi reached this conclusion, he couldn’t be bothered to give the matter any further thought.

Next month, when the fourth rolled around, he’d pay Su Hongli a personal visit. Then he’d know.

As for the Daoist elder hidden by Su Hongli’s side… He’s likely at the Origin Palace level. That’s rather surprising… thought Su Yi.

The Origin Dao was divided into three realms: Grain Avoidance, Origin Palace, and Gathering Stars.

The Earthly Immortals Su Yi had met recently had all been Grain Avoidance cultivators. 

In other words, the Daoist elder was the first Origin Palace cultivator Su Yi had seen post-reincarnation. 

Earlier, the elder had tried using a secret technique to spy on Su Yi. His attempt had seemed silent and imperceptible, but Su Yi immediately used his divine sense to obscure his presence, leaving the other party unable to pick up on any clues.

He even seized the opportunity to discern the Daoist elder’s cultivation instead.

In the Origin Palace Realm, the power of one’s spiritual origin carved an “origin palace” within the dantian. With this foundation in the Dao, you could contain the power of heaven and earth within your body and undergo metamorphosis starting from within. Such cultivators were far more powerful than those of the Grain Avoidance Realm.

Of course, no matter how strong they were, Origin Dao cultivators were still just Origin Dao cultivators.

They weren’t enough to scare Su Yi.

“Young Lord, we’ve arrived at Peach Glyph Alley.” The horse-drawn carriage rolled to a stop, jolting Su Yi from his silent contemplation. He rose, then left the carriage.

The rain had stopped, and the skies were bright and clear.

Su Yi carried his oil paper umbrella and walked toward Pinewind Villa. From a distance, he saw a group standing near the villa’s gates.

The leader was a delicately handsome youth with a purple and gold crown and brocade robes. Every inch of him emanated the characteristic air of a noble.

Three people stood by his side.

One was a white-haired, clean-shaven elder in red robes and a black gauze hat. He held a fly-whisk, and his back was slightly hunched.

One was a man with coarse hair and a bristly beard. His complexion was dark, and he carried a saber.

One was a delicate, beautiful woman in an ornate dress.

When Su Yi came into view, the handsome youth leading the group took a deep breath, smiled, and walked up to greet him. “Young Lord Su, please forgive us for coming uninvited.”

His three companions’ gazes all turned toward Su Yi as well. 

“You are…?” asked Su Yi.

“Young Lord Su, this is His Third Highness, Prince Zhou Zhizhen. He’s made a special trip just to visit you.” The red-robed elder introduced the prince with a smile, his voice high-pitched and feminine.

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “So, you’re the third prince. I remember that way back when, on my way to the Imperatorial Provincial Capital, I helped Chang Guoke kill several Grandmasters. It seems they were your retainers. Are you perhaps here for revenge?”

Zhou Zhizhen’s expression froze, but then, he smiled. “Young Lord Su, you’ve misunderstood. All of that is in the past. Besides, my subordinates were blind to have offended you. You might have killed them, but they deserved it. No need to bring them up.”

He paused, then said hesitantly, “Young Lord, might you invite us into the Pinewind Villa to speak?”

However, Su Yi refused him outright. “If you have business, you can just say it here.”

The red-robed elder and the others frowned. What kind of attitude is that?

“Young Lord Su, this is the Jade Capital, and the man standing before you is the third imperial prince. We’ve come all the way here to help you, yet this is your attitude? Doesn’t that seem a bit unreasonable?” snorted the pretty woman in the ornate dress.

“Help me? How so?” Su Yi was instantly quite surprised.

Zhou Zhizhen then cleared his throat and said, “Young Lord Su, I won’t keep this hidden. I have indeed come here today on your account.”

“Let’s hear it,” said Su Yi.

Zhou Zhizhen took a deep breath. “Young Lord Su, I imagine you’re well aware of how perilous your current predicament is. Fatal danger lurks at every corner; one wrong move, and you’re doomed.”

After saying this, he smiled with complete confidence and smug pride. “But I can help you avert disaster!”

Su Yi’s eyebrows shot up, and he smiled faintly. “You? All by yourself?”

This perfunctory, dismissive attitude made the red-robed elder and the others’ frowns deepen, and when they looked at Su Yi, their gazes were somewhat displeased. The third imperial prince has paid you a personal visit to alleviate your worries and resolve your difficulties, yet this is how you treat him? 

Zhou Zhizhen found this hard to take too, but he hid it well. He smiled, “No matter what, I’m still an imperial prince, and I have a certain degree of influence within the Jade Capital.

“So long as you agree to a certain condition, I guarantee that neither the Su Family nor the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, nor any of the others who view you with enmity will dare harm a single hair on your head!”

“What condition?” asked Su Yi, his gaze inquisitive. 

Zhou Zhizhen looked around, then said solemnly, “All I ask is that you pledge your loyalty to my imperial father, and… to me!”

The results I got for the crown the prince is wearing look like this.