"It is an honor to have you here, Honored Guest Elder Wu. May I ask what guidance you bring to my humble abode?"

After serving tea, Tan Qingxue smiled faintly at Li An.

Since the initial probe upon their meeting confirmed that Li An was not an old acquaintance, Tan Qingxue treated Li An with the usual courtesy, without any special actions.

Li An said, "Wu Qin heard that Tan Honored Guest Elder has been tirelessly working on the matter of healing the mysterious egg. A few days ago, I found some good herbs and brought them for you to see, to determine if they might be useful."

With that, he stepped forward, presenting several wooden boxes and a bundle of miscellaneous spirit herbs.

Tan Qingxue glanced over them, paying no heed to the elaborately packed herbs in the boxes, but rather, her gaze landed on the small bundle of spirit herbs.

She noticed a "Snake Moss" amongst them.

The herb resembled a spirit snake, with tiny flowers at the tips of its leaves appearing like a tongue. It was commonly used to treat spirit beast injuries, yet what surprised her was that within this spirit medicine, a peculiar life essence was clearly contained.

This life essence was quite beneficial for the mysterious egg's injuries!

Li An looked at the bundle of spirit herbs and said, "Wu Qin dabbles in cultivation and nurturing techniques; these were self-cultivated. Although they did not result in particularly excellent spirit medicines, I thought I'd bring them along for Honored Guest Elder Wu to choose from."

A hint of surprise flashed in Tan Qingxue's eyes.

This Snake Moss was nurtured by Wu Qin himself?

Was he able to cultivate spirit medicines imbued with life essence? Or was it just a coincidence?

She didn't ask, and instead, calmly opened each wooden box, only to find that while the herbs inside were of high grade and considered treasures, none were as valuable as that single Snake Moss.

However, she said nothing more and smiled, "Thank you, Honored Guest Elder Wu. These items have been a great help to Tan Xue."

"Is there anything Tan Xue can do to assist Honored Guest Elder Wu?"

Clearly, Li An went to great effort to gather so many herbs for her, indicating some request in return.

Li An said, "I happened to see young master Ruoxu visiting earlier and initially intended to pay my respects to him, but he departed too swiftly, and I couldn't meet him..."

"Wu Qin has been with the Jiang Clan for many years without meeting him and wishes to present a humble gift as an introduction, yet fears being presumptuous. Thus, I seek guidance from Tan Honored Guest Elder..."

By offering the herbs, Li An had already laid the groundwork for his plan to "leverage the mysterious egg to command the Jiang Clan." His inquiry about Jiang Ruoxu was merely incidental.

As Tan Qingxue listened, she quickly realized that Wu Qin intended to use her as a means to ingratiate himself with Jiang Ruoxu.

What a cunning fellow.

She also knew Wu Qin had once been master and disciple with Jiang Ruoli and was associated with Jiang Ribai's lineage. Now, he sought to associate with Jiang Ruoxu as well, clearly attempting to hedge his bets.

A clever strategy indeed.

She thought for a moment, Wu Qin might be worth befriending, after all; if he could truly cultivate life medicines, he would be of great use to her in the future!

"Young master Ruoxu was here precisely concerning the treatment of the mysterious egg."

"The Patriarch and young master Ruoxu both care deeply about this matter. To aid in the mysterious egg's recovery, young master Ruoxu urgently needs a 'Taiyi Life Soul Herb.' If Honored Guest Elder Wu can find it, the young master will be most pleased."

She disclosed a piece of information.

The Taiyi Life Soul Herbs are incredibly rare and not only nourish the divine soul but also contain a large amount of life essence.

Considering Li An's connections and resources, he certainly couldn't gather them.

Unless he cultivated them himself!

If Li An could produce it... that would mean this person could continuously cultivate spirit medicines rich in life essence, which would be of great importance to her.

This was a path for Li An to approach Jiang Ruoxu, but it was also a way for her to test Li An.

Upon hearing this, Li An was overjoyed, "Thank you for the guidance, Honored Guest Elder! Wu Qin will certainly strive to find it!"

After saying this, he stood up to take his leave, and before leaving, he added, "Oh, regarding this matter, please keep it confidential, Honored Guest Elder—"

...

Walking out of Tan Mansion, he returned to his own residence.

Li An thought repeatedly.

The Taiyi Life Soul Herbs; this isn't the name of a specific species.

It's actually an evolved form of Fetal Soul Herbs!

When Fetal Soul Herbs grow in some special terrains, blessed by the essence of creation, and contain pure life origin, they are called Taiyi Life Soul Herbs, concurrently possessing both the effects of nourishing the divine soul and nurturing life essence.

He was confident he could cultivate it.

What he was considering was that if it was merely to save the mysterious egg, using ordinary spirit herbs infused with the essence of life would suffice!

For instance, his Snake Moss, in sufficient quantity, would surely save the mysterious egg.

There was no need specifically for the Taiyi Life Soul Herbs.

"Could it be... the Primary Beast Fusion Ceremony?"

Li An couldn't help but be startled.

He had already obtained the Jiang family's core "Profound Beast Taming Skill," and after years of meticulous study, he was very familiar with it.

The Primary Beast Fusion Ceremony involves nurturing a spirit beast with the owner's blood when the beast's spiritual sense is just beginning to form. Once its spiritual sense is embryonically discernable, the owner uses their divine sense to forcibly invade the spirit beast's spiritual sense, creating a mutually integrated state.

During this process, the Taiyi Life Soul Herb is essential.

The Primary Beast Fusion Ceremony is generally only used on extraordinarily powerful young spirit beasts.

Because spirit beasts with potent bloodlines become very difficult to tame once fully grown, their juvenile periods are the most opportune time to act.

...And within the entire Jiang family, the only one qualified to undergo this ceremony is the Cyan Flame Divine Sparrow egg brought back from the Ten Thousand Miles Abyss!

The Cyan Flame Divine Sparrow holds an extremely high status within the Jiang family, and its numbers are incredibly scarce. It's said that one Rank Four Divine Bird is secluded with an old ancestor at the Nascent Soul stage, while apart from that, there remains only one Cyan Flame Divine Sparrow at the Core Formation Stage.

No other eggs or fledglings exist.

"If it's indeed aimed at the egg from the Ten Thousand Miles Abyss, then everything makes sense. The egg is now precarious, and blood feeding will enhance future beast-taming results..."

"Jiang Ruoxu must have come to Tan Qingxue to clandestinely transfer his own essence blood to the egg because the ownership of the mysterious egg hasn't been determined within the Jiang family yet. Ostensibly, Jiang Ruoxu doesn't have the qualification to claim the mysterious egg and can't directly conduct the fusion ceremony."

"And seeking the Taiyi Life Soul Herbs is preparation for the eventual formal ceremony."

Li An conjectured repeatedly, feeling this was highly possible.

"All I need to do is observe if Jiang Ruoxu continues to visit!"

"Because feeding with blood is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it needs to be sustained. Moreover, drawing the essence blood requires him to be present to refine the essence blood into other medicines on the spot."

Li An was well aware in his heart.

"Something's not right..."

But suddenly, an ominous premonition crept into his heart. He repeatedly pondered, as if something was wrong...

"Patriarch!"

He was suddenly startled!

Because he finally remembered where the problem lay.

The main beast fusion ritual, within the Profound Beast Taming Skill, is core content!

And the Profound Beast Taming Skill itself is of such high rank, even more so the unspread secret of the Jiang family, that the younger generation, including Jiang Ruoli, does not yet have the qualification to learn it, only learning some other low-level Beast Taming Skills!

Only those whose cultivation has reached the Pill Level can completely control it.

Because without sufficient cultivation and a vast foundation in beast taming, it is impossible to control the Profound Beast Taming Skill.

Even if Jiang Ruoxu privately knew the method of the main beast fusion ritual, he still couldn't do it.

It must be presided over by a True Core Great Cultivator!

The True Core Great Cultivator behind Jiang Ruoxu...

There is only one.

His grandfather, Patriarch Jiang Ruolan.

Jiang Ruolan is secretly helping Jiang Ruoxu to carry out the main beast fusion ritual.

All of Li An's suspicions were confirmed, then this is for sure!

But, since a few years ago, didn't the Patriarch have a major issue with his cultivation, went into closed cultivation, the great power even slipped away to Jiang Ribai's hands...

In a situation where the Patriarch had major issues with his cultivation, was in closed seclusion without the ability to personally grasp great power, still could spare himself to waste cultivation, to preside over the main beast fusion ritual for his descendant?

Something's off!

The two are in conflict.

Unless...

"Fake closed cultivation!"

Li An felt a slight chill in his heart.

Why would Patriarch Jiang Ruolan fake closed cultivation, why would he deceive everyone?

These years, the family has been full of undercurrents, many people thought the Patriarch had major issues, which was also why Jiang Ribai could seize the great power.

"Feign weakness to capture, to deal with Jiang Ribai?!"

Suddenly, he had an inexplicable and terrifying conjecture!

If this is really the case, then Jiang Ruolan is too horrifying...

Jiang Ribai and his sister Jiang Rihua already have not insignificant influence in the clan, also have the merits of winning Lihua over and retrieving the God egg, making them extremely popular—they might even carry significant weight in front of the Nascent Soul ancestors.

If Jiang Ribai were to further win back the Ten Thousand Miles Abyss for the Jiang family, and in this war cause Jiang Ruoxu and Jiang Ruohong to die, leaving only Ruo Li, then even if Jiang Ribai wants to become the Patriarch... it probably isn't impossible anymore.

Would Jiang Ruolan sit by and watch all this?

Could it be that all this is the result of Jiang Ruolan deliberately indulging, waiting for the opportune moment to eliminate dissidents?

Li An couldn't be sure.

But now, there is a great chance.

Then it is necessary to be well prepared!

"If this is indeed the case, then it isn't just the Jiang family that will suffer a simple defeat in the Great Li; Jiang Ruolan will surely make a move, with great momentum, to overthrow Jiang Ribai..."

"At that time, I would also be implicated!"

Li An frowned, generally following the rules within the clan, handling matters flawlessly, even if the Patriarch reclaims power, there's no reason to kill him, only his treatment, status, etc., would surely decline.

Though bothersome, he still has the plan of 'commanding the Jiang Clan with the God egg' in reserve. By then, getting the Jiang family to support his Core Formation wouldn't be hard!

But there is one point... you must guard against!

The Rank Three talismans he once crafted for Jiang Ribai and others!

Those talismans are definitely used for shady purposes.

If discovered, could they become his life-ending talismans...

Li An pondered deeply.

The next day, he sent a letter to Feng Yuancheng.

That night, Feng Yuancheng came to pay his respects.

Just over a year had passed, during which Feng Yuancheng had challenged Li An, full of confidence, yet now he was extremely humble, bowing respectfully to Li An, not daring to show any arrogance.

"Honored Guest Elder is calling this humble one, is there any important matter?"

Feng Yuancheng asked anxiously!

Now... Li An could suggest to the family at any moment to have him expelled.

The ambition to compete with Li An had already completely vanished. Now he lives in constant anxiety, fearing and worrying every day.

"Guest Elder Feng,"

Li An calmly, went straight to the point: "Do you still wish to remain with the Jiang Clan?"

Feng Yuancheng's face immediately stiffened. He was utterly despondent, thinking the day had finally come.

But he thought again, no, if Li An wanted to expel him, he wouldn't have summoned him tonight!

There's still hope!

"I beg the Honored Guest Elder to give me a way to live!"

He gritted his teeth and directly knelt down!

...

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