Protect Our Patriarch

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

Inside the main house of the Wang's Clan.

Wang Shouzhe's small courtyard, though seemingly ordinary and unimpressive, was his home that he had been managing for over a decade. Every flower, every blade of grass, every stone, and every piece of wood were all meticulously arranged by him.

Only close relatives, trusted family generals, and important guests were privileged to enter this courtyard.

On this day, two distinguished guests visited Wang Shouzhe's small courtyard.

Inside the pavilion, a small stone table was laden with various delicacies unique to the Wang's Clan. There were fresh spirit fish from the An River, exotic beast meat from foreign lands, various local snacks, and all kinds of spirit wines produced from the Lingbao gourd.

Surrounded by clusters of flowers, the fragrance was intoxicating. Spirit bees and butterflies danced around, showcasing the unique charm of spring.

Wang Shouzhe, Liu Ruolan, and the two guests were seated around the stone table, eating and chatting.

One of the guests was a young man dressed in white, carrying a long sword, and exuding an elegant and scholarly aura. This man was Fang You'an, a direct disciple of the Xuanbing Hall of the Purple Mansion Academy.

This was not his first visit to this small courtyard, but he still couldn't help but praise, "Brother Shouzhe, as a named disciple of Changchun Valley, your courtyard, though small, is full of thoughtful touches, fully reflecting your taste in life."

"Brother You'an, you flatter me." Wang Shouzhe smiled politely, "Over the years, thanks to Brother You'an's help in selling wine, the Wang's Clan has made a lot of money. I would like to take this opportunity to toast to Brother You'an."

"Where, where~" Fang You'an also laughed casually, "I should also thank you for giving me the opportunity to make money. Cheers~"

The two clinked their glasses, chatted happily, and the atmosphere became even more lively.

Although Fang You'an was a direct disciple of the Xuanbing Hall of the Purple Mansion Academy and came from a good family, the path of cultivation was extremely resource-consuming, especially for him, who aimed to reach the Purple Mansion realm. The consumption of resources was terrifying, and the support from his family or the academy was usually not enough.

Over the years, he had made a lot of money from selling spirit wine in cooperation with the Wang's Clan, so naturally, he became closer to Wang Shouzhe.

On the other side, Liu Ruolan, the wife of the Wang's Clan, was sitting next to a woman in a green dress.

This woman in the green dress had a very casual posture and didn't care about her eating manners. Even her hair bun was quite casual, unlike other women who were meticulous. However, because of her good looks and delicate features, she didn't look sloppy at all, but rather exuded a carefree and heroic demeanor.

This woman in the green dress was naturally the direct disciple of Changchun, Little Sister Luwei.

"Brother Shouzhe, Sister Ruolan, this food is so delicious~" Little Sister Luwei couldn't help but chatter as she ate the fresh steamed spirit fish and the beast meat with special sauce, "Especially this beast meat, it's so delicious~"

Five or six years ago, Little Sister Luwei was only at the Spirit Platform realm. Now, she had reached the Heavenly Human realm, appearing to be profound and unfathomable.

However, her appearance hadn't changed much, except that she looked younger, her skin was delicate and fair, with a hint of rosy glow. Obviously, this was the result of her using the most expensive skincare products without considering the cost.

As a VIP of the Wang's Clan's skincare industry, Little Sister Luwei's products were all specially made. She used whatever was good and whatever was expensive.

The reason was simple, Little Sister Luwei was really rich.

Not to mention that she had cultivated many unique plant seeds, she had made a fortune from the further research and improvement of the insect repellent.

Unlike Wang Shouzhe, who had to painstakingly grow and secretly sell the grain seeds, all she needed to do was to give the Purple Mansion Academy the authorization fee if any large family wanted to use her grain seeds. Little Sister Luwei could live a comfortable life just by the share of the authorization fee.

For such a rich and generous customer, Wang Shouzhe's attitude was naturally as warm as spring rain: "Little Sister Luwei, you can eat as much as you want first, and I will have someone prepare more for you later, so you can slowly eat it from your storage ring."

"If Little Sister likes it, every year when we make beast meat, I will have someone send a batch to Little Sister." Liu Ruolan laughed and picked up a piece of food for Little Sister Luwei, "This meat not only can be used as a snack, but also as dry food when you go out. Besides meat, we also have other snacks at home. I will have someone pack some for Little Sister later."

Because Liu Ruolan loved snacks, Wang Shouzhe and the family's cook had jointly developed many unique snacks, not limited to fish and meat, but also many bean products made from spirit beans, such as braised spirit bean curd, five-spice bean curd, and so on.

These items were popular among the women in the family and had been included in the contribution value exchange list.

In the pavilion, the four of them were eating and chatting, the atmosphere was harmonious, and the surrounding attendants and maids were also beaming, secretly excited.

They didn't expect that the clan leader and his wife had such impressive connections, able to invite two direct disciples from the Purple Mansion Academy. This was really impressive. If this news got out, it would definitely cause a sensation.

Soon, the four of them had eaten and drunk their fill.

Wang Shouzhe had the leftover food removed and replaced with fresh spirit melons, spirit fruits, candied fruits, and other snacks, and brewed a pot of fine spirit tea.

Only then did the four of them start to discuss the main topic.

"Brother You'an." Wang Shouzhe said while drinking the spirit tea, "You already knew the cause of this matter four years ago. The Yinsha Sect has always been lingering, and I naturally cannot relax my investigation of them. It's clear that a certain force or person within the Yinsha Sect is looking for and excavating a relic of the Shenwu Dynasty in a certain place in the southern part of our Longzuo Commandery."

"Over the years, I have gradually written letters to inform you of the information I have obtained. I wonder if you have figured out some clues?"Fang You'an sipped his spiritual tea, speaking leisurely, "Based on the information you've been providing, I've been constantly researching in the academy. I can now confirm that the relic of the Shenwu Dynasty is likely related to a person from the Shenwu Dynasty known as the 'Blood Venerable'."

Even in the open-minded and tolerant Shenwu Dynasty, the "Blood Venerable" was a heretical existence.

His main proposition was to extract the bloodline of demons and graft it into human bodies, turning all the commoners of the Shenwu Dynasty into bloodline possessors.

Moreover, he didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk, doing all of this and amassing a large number of followers, taking countless disciples.

The problem was that his research methods were extremely cruel. He often created large experimental fields in some large towns, using humans as experiments, and countless civilians and warriors died each time.

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As a result, he was designated as one of the most wanted criminals by the Shenwu Dynasty.

After being active for more than three thousand years, the forces of the Blood Venerable were finally completely dismantled, and the Blood Venerable was arrested on the spot and sentenced to the extreme penalty.

However, although the Blood Venerable was executed, many of his countless disciples slipped through the net.

Afterwards, these people continued to operate secretly on the fringes of the history of the Shenwu Dynasty. Although these disciples passed down from generation to generation, no powerful figures emerged, and they did not cause too much turmoil, but they always existed.

Fang You'an continued to speak, "Based on my deductions from historical records and changes in the map environment, what the Yinsha Sect has always coveted should be one of the 'Blood Nests'."

"'Blood Nest'?" Wang Shouzhe frowned slightly, "It sounds unusual. Can Brother You'an explain in detail?"

"'Blood Nest' is an evil nest factory established by the descendants of the disciples of the 'Blood Venerable' who luckily escaped. They are specifically used to cultivate Blood Nest warriors. They have always tried to cultivate more powerful Blood Nest warriors to overthrow the rule of the Shenwu Dynasty."

"However, as you probably know, Brother Shouzhe, the Shenwu Dynasty is many times stronger than our Great Qian. Although the remnants of the Blood Venerable are ambitious, they are nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot."

"However, the 'Blood Nest' may not be a big deal in the Shenwu Dynasty, but in our era, it means something different. Once it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, it could cause a disaster."

"I've also heard of the 'Blood Nest'." The senior sister Luowei showed interest, "I saw in the academy's records that our academy has also discovered and explored several Blood Nests. Although their methods are very strange and cruel, we have to admit that their research on bloodlines has gone very deep. It is said that some of the more powerful Blood Nests can even mass-produce Heavenly Human Realm warriors."

"Mass-produce Heavenly Human Realm warriors?!" Wang Shouzhe was taken aback, "Senior Sister Luowei, isn't this a bit exaggerated?"

"In the historical records of the Shenwu Dynasty, there indeed exist such advanced Blood Nests." Fang You'an said, "However, advanced Blood Nests are very rare, even during the Shenwu Dynasty period. The few Blood Nests that our Purple Mansion Academy has discovered are all ordinary Blood Nests, which at their peak should be able to mass-produce Spirit Platform Realm Blood Nest warriors."

"However, the Shenwu Dynasty has been extinct for a hundred thousand years, and most of those Blood Nests are now energy-deficient. There probably aren't many Blood Nest warriors left in the cultivation tanks, and if there are, most of them are probably in the Spirit Platform Realm, with at most one or two in the Heavenly Human Realm."

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouzhe roughly understood what a Blood Nest was.

After some thought, he said, "Even so, we must be cautious. Brother You'an, I previously wrote a letter to Master Binglan, asking her to deal with the Yinsha Sect. Has she replied?"

Given Wang Shouzhe's cautious mindset, he naturally wouldn't rush to the Blood Nest without knowing its level.

The Yinsha Sect was a great enemy of the Purple Mansion Academy. In Wang Shouzhe's view, as long as the Purple Mansion Academy sent a Purple Mansion Realm master, the problem would be solved in minutes.

As for what good things were in the instance? Wang Shouzhe wasn't greedy. His family business was doing well now, and as long as he could live for another one or two hundred years, his family might not be rich enough to rival a country, but at least in the Longzuo Commandery, they would be among the wealthiest.

Why take the risk of going into the instance?

When Wang Shouzhe mentioned the letter, Fang You'an's face looked a bit strange.

He said helplessly, "My master did entrust me with a message for you. However, I can't say it out loud, so I'll write it down for you."

With that, he took out a pen and paper, pondered for a moment, and then wrote a big character with a flourish - "Scram"!

Yes, he just wrote the word "Scram".

"Pfft~" Liu Ruolan, who was sitting on the side, covered her mouth and laughed, "Husband, you really offended Master Binglan in the Purple Mansion Academy. The fact that she replied to you shows that she still values you."

Wang Shouzhe looked helpless.

He really appreciated her value~

Was it necessary for a master to be so petty?

"Brother You'an." Wang Shouzhe sighed, "After all, isn't it our duty as the Purple Mansion Academy to maintain world peace? Even if the master doesn't help, there's no need for her to speak so harshly, right?"

"Brother Shouzhe, you're wrong." Fang You'an laughed, "Our Purple Mansion Academy helps the world out of kindness, not duty. Besides, aren't you also a registered direct disciple of the academy?"

"Alright, alright~ Don't worry." Fang You'an said confidently, "Even if the master doesn't come, aren't Senior Sister Luowei and I still here? Don't underestimate me, I'm already in the mid-stage of the Heavenly Human Realm with a formed spirit body, stronger than the average mid-stage Heavenly Human Realm."

When he said this, Fang You'an was clearly a bit proud, which was one of the symbols of a genius.

The Qi Refining Realm was the awakening of the second bloodline, the Spirit Platform Realm was the awakening of the third, and so, once they reached the Heavenly Human Realm, they directly had the four-fold spirit body bloodline.Such figures are all destined to tread the path of the Purple Mansion in the future. As long as they don't fall or degenerate, there's a considerable chance they could become a person of the Purple Mansion realm.

"Brother You'an speaks the truth," Wang Shouzhe replied indifferently, "But even if you are at the Heavenly Human realm, with a spirit-level bloodline, you still can't defeat someone in the Purple Mansion realm. Besides, isn't everyone here a genius?"

Fang You'an's proud expression faltered, taking a moment to recover.

Indeed, geniuses were rare, but were they scarce in the Wang's Clan?

Wang Luoqing, Wang Luoqiu, and Wang Lici, who was taken as a cherished disciple by the vice-principal, weren't all these academy disciples geniuses?

And this Wang Shouzhe, along with his always low-key wife Liu Ruolan, were also geniuses.

The term 'genius' was not particularly rare in the Wang's Clan.

What Fang You'an didn't know was that Wang Zongchang had also reached the third level of bloodline when he advanced to the Spirit Platform realm. As soon as he advanced to the Heavenly Human realm, he would also have a Xun Wind Spirit Body.

And Wang Shouzhe's beloved daughter, her bloodline aptitude was even stronger, her future achievements would certainly far surpass Fang You'an.

As for his wife Liu Ruolan, there was no need to mention. Was she a genius? She was clearly a great genius!

Fang You'an took pride in reaching the fourth level of bloodline in the Heavenly Human realm, becoming a spirit body.

But Liu Ruolan, she had already reached the fourth level of bloodline in the Spirit Platform realm, a standard Yuan Water Spirit Body.

With such a high-end start, once she reached the Heavenly Human realm, she could awaken the fifth level of bloodline, which was far stronger than Fang You'an no matter how you looked at it.

Genius, huh? In the Wang's Clan, it was just so-so~

...