CHAPTER 191: 191- PETTY OLD SONG.

Tomb exploration. The words were hardly novel to Fang Yuan.

In his years as clan head, he had led and joined more than a few himself.

Tombs or inheritance caves left behind by powerful cultivators were rarely as glorious as they sounded.

Often, they were nothing more than elaborate deathtraps, empty of treasures, or worse, bait designed to drag the living down into the grave alongside the dead.

Which was why information was everything.

Before risking lives, one had to weigh the worth of entering.

And names, if they could be traced, usually meant the tomb had likely been made by a renown cultivator.

Even so... he had never once heard the name. Pill King Shan Yifeng meant nothing to him.

Shaking his head, Fang Yuan replied evenly, "I don’t know who he is, Elder He."

The old man froze.

Slowly, stiffly, Elder He lowered himself back into his seat, staring as if trying to pierce through Fang Yuan’s skull to see if he was joking. "You... really don’t know?"

"I don’t," Fang Yuan answered, unbothered.

At that moment, soft footsteps entered the courtyard.

Felicia returned, carrying a tray with a steaming kettle and two cups, her movements quiet and graceful as she set them on the stone table between the two men.

Felicia placed the tray down with practiced grace, poured the tea without a word, and then bowed lightly before withdrawing.

She left as swiftly as she came, a fleeting presence that left only the rising fragrance of the brew behind.

Elder He Song eyed the cup with the suspicion of a man expecting poison.

After a pause, he lifted it, sniffed, and finally took a sip.

The warmth spread across his tongue, mellow yet invigorating, the kind of taste that lingered pleasantly at the back of the throat.

For the briefest moment, his brows eased in satisfaction.

Then, catching himself, he set the cup down with a faint clack, wearing his usual mask of discontent.

"Hmph. Barely passable." He tapped the rim of the cup with a crooked finger, pretending to find fault. "Now then, Clan Head Fang—tell me truthfully. You truly don’t know who Pill King Shan Yifeng was?"

His gaze bore into Fang Yuan, equal parts disbelief and indignation, as if ignorance itself were an unforgivable crime.

Fang Yuan calmly lifted his cup, the steam curling softly against his face.

He took a slow sip, savoring the warmth, and nodded in quiet approval before he set the cup down gently.

His gaze turned back to Elder He Song, calm and unhurried.

"No, I don’t," he admitted with complete honesty.

"But Elder He, you are the oldest person I’ve known in my life. Surely you would know better than anyone who this Shan Yifeng was. Would you please enlighten me?"

There was no mockery in his tone, no hidden edge.

But Elder He Song’s ears rang with only one phrase..."the oldest person I’ve known in my life."

His smile stiffened as curses ran wild in his head. Oldest person? Oldest?! I’m still in my prime! These young brats with their sharp tongues—no, he’s doing this on purpose, he must be!

Outwardly, however, he forced a genial grin, stroking his beard with mock dignity. "Heh, well... since you insist, I shall educate you."

Elder He Song straightened his back, eyes narrowing with the air of a sage about to unveil cosmic truths.

His voice carried the weight of a storyteller who believed his every word should be carved into stone.

"Great Pill King Shan Yifeng... he was no ordinary cultivator. It was said he once walked the void itself to descend into our world. He came, he saw, and then he conquered. For a thousand years, the world stood under one pillar—his."

His hands moved as he spoke, tracing the image of a vast pillar holding up the heavens. "And during that millennium, he reshaped everything in the world. Among his bountiful gifts, the greatest gift he left behind was knowledge, knowledge of realms beyond Golden Core.

Because back in those days, Golden Core was the peak they could achieve. Flight through qi was a rare miracle, mastered only by the heaven’s chosen.

Shan Yifeng changed all that. He revealed the path to Nascent Soul. He even spoke of the Hollow Spirit realm above it. Not only that, he shared to the common people on how to cultivate, secrets became common knowledge and the impossible became attainable."

Elder He paused, stroking his beard, clearly savoring the gravity of his words.

"With his teachings, cultivators everywhere surged forward. The world itself seemed to quicken."

Then his tone shifted, lower, darker. "But with growth came hunger. And hunger..." his eyes flickered knowingly, "breeds madness. Resources began to grew scarcer. The great mines and spirit springs were locked and claimed by the sects and were hidden behind the sect walls.

So the desperate turned to the next resource within reach, young and innocent cultivators from the said sects.

Their bodies were carved apart, their blood used as spiritual energy... it was the birth of blood demon cultivators.

Shan Yifeng’s brilliance brought not only progress but also calamity. A world uplifted... and a world undone."

He let the silence hang, leaning slightly to study Fang Yuan’s face.

To his irritation, Fang Yuan was not only listening, he was completely absorbed, gaze steady, thoughtful.

No feigned interest, no mockery. The boy was actually paying attention.

Elder He coughed, embarrassed by his own dramatic pause, and hurried on.

"The truth is this, the arrival of great Pill King Shan Yifeng marked both the golden age of cultivation and the darkest scourge mankind had ever known."

Fang Yuan tilted his head slightly, his voice calm, measured, yet carrying a quiet edge of doubt.

"Elder He, I fail to see the logic. If this man’s legacy birthed so much disaster, why is he remembered with reverence as the Great Pill King?"

"And if he was truly so lofty, so mystical, would such a figure even leave behind a tomb to be discovered by the likes of us? More importantly..."

his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "...why would the Wu Alliance so readily share this so-called opportunity with my clan? If you were in my position, surely you’d find all this rather suspicious as well, wouldn’t you?"

The question struck with polite precision, like a needle through silk.

Elder He’s expression froze for the briefest moment before he forced a smile, clearing his throat.

With a dismissive wave of his hand, he replied, "If I were in your position, I wouldn’t waste time with suspicion. I’d seize the hand reaching out and take the opportunity before it slips away."