If that's the case, Ji Yuan doesn't mind being the oriole, taking the Secret Scripture away in advance.

To his surprise, Water Boiling left directly after waiting for a while.

Just as he said, afraid of being suspected by others.

"Damn, this young man has some style, seems like he can accomplish things."

Ji Yuan sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, watching the young man leave... He also grew a bit curious about the Shui family affairs, well, mainly about that Secret Scripture.

There definitely isn't a true dragon; if there were, the entire Cangluo Continent wouldn't be enough for it to stretch its wings.

What the Shui family inherited from their ancestors is likely the clue to that dragon aura.

If that's the case, Ji Yuan also thought to check it out, if he could find it, and if he couldn't take it himself, he could call Hua Yaoyue over.

Perhaps the master and apprentice could seize this opportunity.

Taking a hundred steps back, even if they don't take the dragon aura, it should be fine just to look.

With this in mind, Ji Yuan came out of the Cave Mansion, put away the Array, and followed.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, following a Qi Cultivation Stage Level 6 cultivator posed no problem at all. Just to be safe, Ji Yuan still stuck a Transformation Talisman on himself.

After changing form and breath, he performed the Concealing Breath Spell, and when his cultivation level dropped to the Peak of Qi Refining, he had completely transformed into a different person.

The Shui Family Manor was not far from this tidal flat. Ji Yuan followed northwards for less than an hour and arrived at the manor called "Shui Family Manor."

The manor wasn't very large, divided into front and back parts, nestled within this mountain hollow.

There was even a water village constructed at the manor's entrance.

Observing the manor's scale, Ji Yuan estimated that there couldn't be any Foundation Establishment cultivators around.

Recalling the earlier conversation between those two, a Qi Cultivation Stage Level 9 is already an elder of the clan; this was most likely a family at the Qi Cultivation Stage level.

They were probably a family that had prospered in the past.

Ji Yuan used the Invisibility Technique, sweeping his Divine Sense once, and found the young man named Water Boiling within the water village, but he didn't find the old man.

He walked further into the manor.

In the front manor lived ordinary people without any Spirit Root Cultivation.

Those with Spirit Root Cultivation were all in the back manor.

When Ji Yuan arrived there, he discovered the old man moving swiftly, who had just returned and was already discussing with his son Shui Huo.

Upon hearing he was to become the Patriarch, Shui Huo immediately agreed decisively.

He said he had long disliked the current Patriarch Shui Cang.

Now was just the right time to take his perch.

Watching the father and son successfully collude, Ji Yuan found a quiet spot within the manor to sit, observing the changes, occasionally releasing his Divine Sense to check their movements, after watching for a while, he withdrew his Divine Sense.

Long-term releasing of Divine Sense exerted some pressure on him as an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

In all his probing, Ji Yuan didn't see the "legendary" Patriarch Shui Cang.

Not until the old man went to meet other clan elders did Ji Yuan learn that the Patriarch had taken his own caravan to another market to do business and earn Spirit Stones.

Normally, the Patriarch wouldn't need to go personally.

But Shui Cang always claimed others embezzled when they went, so he had to go himself... He just didn't want others to embezzle that part.

However, this made it easier for these elders to act.

There were five clan elders in total, all later-stage Qi Cultivation cultivators—three at Qi Cultivation Stage Level 9, two at Level 8; none at the Peak was seen, which was strange.

Ji Yuan also heard about Shui Cang's cultivation level, which was the same at Qi Cultivation Stage Level 9.

Of the five clan elders, Second Grandfather Water Flame persuaded three. The last one initially disagreed, but when the other four clan elders all came to his house, he had no choice but to agree.

Water Flame also promised that after exterminating Patriarch Shui Cang's branch, the gains would be evenly divided among their five families.

So they became even more united.

One by one, they vowed to uproot Shui Cang's branch.

It was Ji Yuan's first time observing such a "coup" within a cultivation clan; it was rather lively to watch.

Aside from observing these or clan elders, he occasionally checked on the young Water Boiling's movements at the water village and found that this person... indeed had some skill.

Whenever he had time, he cultivated, and in his occasional rest time, he would use it to build good relationships with the other clan members.

So even though he was an orphan, he still got along very well with everyone in the village.

Given time, he might indeed achieve something.

After the clan elders reached a consensus, they began to plan how to deal with Patriarch Shui Cang... Ji Yuan observed for a while and felt that the Patriarch was quite a failure.

Of the five clan elders, only one was on his side, and even that one was easily "persuaded" to change sides.

Thus, four days passed.

Four days later, in a bright and sunny afternoon, Ji Yuan was hiding in a watchtower, comprehending the Sword Manual, preparing for a breakthrough to mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

Suddenly, he heard a clamor in the manor.

He immediately released his Divine Sense to perceive; the entire scene of what was unfolding in the manor came into clear view.

Oh, so Patriarch Shui Cang had finally returned.

He seemed to still be oblivious to the situation, probably made a decent profit from this business trip, as he returned cheerfully, along with his son, who appeared a bit weak in the legs, both equally jovial.

In the past few days, Ji Yuan had overheard conversations within the manor and got to know the current Water Family Young Master's behavior and character.

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