Immortality begins with inheriting the myriad arts of cultivation.

Chapter 178 The Name of the Returning Guest

I learned that Li Ping had returned.

Not long after, Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng visited him together.

In the beginning, when they were both Qi Refining cultivators, the two of them were not very close, and even had some unpleasantness over who would reach the Foundation Establishment stage first.

But so much time has passed, and the two have long forgotten those unpleasant things. Instead, they join hands and unite to look forward.

In addition, their children have grown up over the years. Their marriage alliance further strengthened their already close ties.

However, they still held their elder brother in high regard.

This is not only because the elder brother helped them establish their foundation, but more importantly, the elder brother is now a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Upon seeing Li Ping, Zhang Tie smiled and said, "Brother, congratulations on breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage."

Gu Musheng also smiled and offered his congratulations in unison with Zhang Tie.

Two years ago, as soon as Li Ping made a breakthrough, he took Yan Hengchuan to capture Yan Liming without meeting with Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng and others.

But before leaving.

He specifically left a letter for Zhang Tie and others, in which he mentioned that he had broken through to the mid-stage and needed to go out for a trip.

Therefore, the remaining four cultivators of the Fellowship now know that Li Ping has broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Li Ping smiled and nodded, leading the two to sit down in the pavilion.

He then inquired about their recent situation.

Gu Musheng shook his head, unwilling to say more, but Zhang Tie sighed and complained, "Brother, we haven't been having a good time lately."

Li Ping asked, puzzled, "Didn't you two get involved with Lin Yue? Why are you having a hard time?"

The last time they met, they were happily talking about how, after Meng Qingyi left his post, the new head of general affairs in Xiancheng had a past relationship with the fifth brother, Qi Hanmo, and was also unfamiliar with general affairs.

The two worked seamlessly together and thrived in the immortal city.

What now?

Zhang Tie sighed again: "Junior Nephew Lin Yue is very good, but in the two years since you left Immortal City, Senior Sister Dai has had another disciple who has successfully established his foundation and has been appointed as an inspector by Senior Sister Dai. This kid's personality is just like Senior Sister Dai's; he can't tolerate any nonsense. Not only us, but also the Meng family and other Yuanxun families have been tormented by him."

Gu Musheng added from the side, "Cheng Yao made a mistake and was reported to Senior Sister Dai. Now she has been ordered by Senior Sister Dai to return to Yanxia Mountain to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion."

Li Ping was taken aback. He had wondered why the Meng family patriarch seemed a bit off earlier; now he understood.

Clearly, just as he had expected, Dai Sangyu was gradually taking over the entire Immortal City.

As for Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng, these nominal junior brothers, she does not trust them and they will gradually be marginalized.

As for True Person Fenglan, he has little lifespan left and rarely shows his face or gets involved in the affairs of the Immortal City.

Gu Musheng continued with some dissatisfaction, "Nominally, I am still his senior uncle, but he doesn't give me any face at all. He has repeatedly investigated the warehouses and bills of Wanfa Tower, which has affected a lot of my normal work."

Zhang Tie nodded in agreement, believing that without the interference of his newly appointed nephew, the supervisor, he would have had much less trouble handling routine affairs.

As they spoke, both of them expressed their resentment towards their junior apprentice, who was intolerant of any wrongdoing.

However, they didn't dare to actually oppose Dai Sangyu's actions; they only dared to grumble to Li Ping.

After all, the power of the cultivation world comes from oneself. As a Core Formation cultivator, Dai Sangyu's position as the Lord of Immortal City comes from her own strength, not from anything else.

Unless they are Core Formation cultivators of the same level, no one would dare to be presumptuous in front of a Core Formation cultivator.

After chatting for several hours, Zhang Tie said, "Brother, we have to go. Otherwise, if we're not here, that kid surnamed Xu might cause trouble."

"Your surname is Xu?"

Upon hearing Zhang Tie's words, Li Ping quickly recalled the third-tier alchemist inheritance he had received from Hu Feng.

The owner of that inheritance was none other than Xu Pingsheng, a Core Formation cultivator known as the "Master of Both Alchemy and Sword".

When he passed on this alchemy skill through the Tree of Inheritance, he became immersed in Xu Pingsheng's alchemy career.

At that time, he vaguely felt that Xu Pingsheng's temperament seemed to be somewhat similar to that of his master, Yan Guike.

So when he returned to the Immortal City, he tried to find out more, but found that there was no Xu family in the Immortal City, and there were no cultivators with the surname Xu among the Qinglong Mountain lineage.

But unexpectedly, a clue was discovered from Zhang Tie's words.

Out of curiosity, Li Ping casually asked, "By the way, what's the name of that disciple of Dai Sangyu who's serving as an inspector?"

Gu Musheng, without any suspicion, answered directly, "His name is Xu Guike."

"Xu Guike?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ping froze on the spot, his mind went blank, his heart pounded wildly, and his mind was filled with a turbulent storm.

"Big brother, do you know him too?" Noticing that his older brother's expression was off, Zhang Tie couldn't help but feel a little strange.

"call!"

Li Ping let out a difficult breath, his face recovering from its stiffness. He shook his head: "I don't know him, but I'd really like to meet him and have a chat."

"call!"

Li Ping let out a difficult breath, his face recovering from its stiffness. He shook his head: "I don't know him, but I'd really like to meet him and have a chat."

"Brother, do you want to talk to him?" Gu Musheng asked with a strange expression.

Although the eldest brother and Senior Sister Dai do not talk about it on the surface, they are actually very clear about the grudge between them. Now the eldest brother wants to see Senior Sister Dai's disciple.

Could it be that the eldest brother wants to take revenge on Senior Sister Dai's disciple?

He couldn't help but speculate, but he quickly dismissed the thought: "No, Brother doesn't want to see Senior Sister Dai's disciple. His expression changed suddenly after hearing the name of Senior Sister Dai's disciple. So... perhaps Brother has heard this name somewhere before, or perhaps Junior Nephew Xu has some connection with Brother?"

Upon hearing that Li Ping wanted to see Xu Guike, Zhang Tie looked troubled. He said, "Brother, everyone has been busy preparing for Senior Sister Meng's wedding lately, and we don't have a very close relationship with Junior Nephew Xu. We've even had some conflicts recently, so it's difficult for us to arrange a meeting for you. However..."

At this moment, Gu Musheng spoke up, interrupting Zhang Tie with a smile, saying, "There are only about twenty days left until Senior Sister Meng's wedding. Brother, you should have received the Meng family's invitation, right? Junior Nephew Xu will also be at the wedding that day. You can chat with Junior Nephew Xu then."

Zhang Tie glanced at Gu Musheng, then remained silent.

"That's fine then." Li Ping nodded slightly.

……

Zhang Tie and Gu Musheng flew away from Xiantao Mountain, chatting as they flew.

"Why did you stop me from continuing?" Zhang Tie asked with a hint of surprise. "Although it's difficult to arrange a meeting on my own initiative, it shouldn't be a problem for you and your nephew Xu to bump into each other by chance."

Gu Musheng asked calmly, "Do you know why my elder brother wants to see Junior Nephew Xu?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Tie shook his head: "I don't know. What? You know?"

Gu Musheng sighed, "It's precisely because I don't know either that I dare not arrange for them to meet!"

Zhang Tie looked thoughtful.

"Anyway, it's only twenty days until Senior Sister Meng's wedding. If Big Brother wants to see Junior Nephew Xu, he'll naturally be able to then." Gu Musheng shook his head: "Whatever happens then will be none of our business."

Although he believed his older brother was a rational person and wouldn't do anything irrational.

But his elder brother's reaction when he heard his junior apprentice's name was so shocking that he couldn't help but overthink it.

……

"Is it just a coincidence, or...?"

Inside the pavilion, Li Ping watched Zhang and Gu's departing figures, his eyes gradually becoming sharp.

Because he felt that Xu Pingsheng, the third-tier alchemist, had a similar temperament to his master, he had been secretly investigating the Xu family cultivator in the Immortal City.

After so many years without any results, he suddenly received some shocking news today.

"Not only is his surname Xu, but his given name is the same as his master's!" Li Ping pondered this information silently, wondering if there was any connection between the two, or if it was just a simple coincidence.

After guessing for a long time, Li Ping still had no clue.

After all, he currently has far too little information.

"If I meet him, if I meet with that Xu Guike, I might be able to figure out the reason." Li Ping's eyes were sharp.

Although he was a little anxious, he didn't want to cause any trouble and decided to wait until Meng Qingyi's wedding. After all, it would only take another twenty days.

Li Ping returned to the training room, sat cross-legged, and silently circulated his internal energy, trying to calm himself down.

……

Just as Li Ping was shocked by the name "Xu Guike".

The Kingdom of Yue, Purple Cloud Valley.

Huang Yunzi listened to the old patriarch of the Meng family's lament, and after he finished, he remained kneeling on the ground and refused to get up.

"Get up." Huang Yunzi squinted and said, "I am indeed very interested in what you have said, but before I can confirm whether the news that the Turks and the four sects of the demonic path have joined forces to invade is true or false, I need to consider it for the time being."

The patriarch of the Meng family stood up and listened respectfully.

Huang Yunzi continued, "I have already sent someone to Jixia to gather information. They should be able to return within ten days. At that time, we will know whether the information is true or false. I remember that Yan'er's wedding with your daughter is in twenty days. I will give you an answer then."

"This junior understands." The Meng family patriarch nodded respectfully.

Huang Yunzi waved her hand: "Alright, you can go back now."

The Meng family patriarch obediently turned and left, but at that moment, the head of the Ziyun Valley's general affairs department barged into the hall. Judging from his hurried appearance, he clearly had something important to report.

"Elder..." The head of general affairs of Ziyun Valley spoke urgently as soon as he entered the hall. When he noticed that there were other people in the hall, he changed his words to a telepathic message.

Therefore, the Meng family patriarch had no idea what he had said.

Just as he was about to leave, Huang Yunzi, who had just finished listening to the message from the head of the general affairs department, suddenly showed a look of surprise and joy.

He said loudly, "Young friend Meng, don't rush off. I have something to discuss with you."

If that's the case, then he can say that his trip to Yue was the right one.