The Gu Family, the Hidden Moon Sect

"Misfortune has befallen the family; the patriarch is seriously injured. Return immediately!"

Upon hearing the contents of the transmission talisman, Li Yunfan's expression changed drastically. He immediately turned and left the cave, flying rapidly towards Qingmu Mountain.

He had already recognized the voice in the transmission talisman as one of the two Foundation Establishment stage elders of the Li family.

"What exactly happened to the clan? The Li family has always remained hidden in Qingmu Mountain and has never offended any powerful enemies. How could Father be so seriously injured?"

Li Yunfan frowned, his heart filled with doubt and unease. Although the Li family's strength was not particularly great, they still had three Foundation Establishment stage cultivators in charge.

The fact that the other party could severely injure his father indicates that they were at least a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, or even a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Although he didn't know what had happened, Li Yunfan, concerned about his father's safety and the family's situation, took out a mid-grade spirit stone, held it in his hand, and continuously absorbed its spiritual energy to fly away at full speed.

Qingmu Mountain is located in the southeast of Jianzhou, adjacent to the border of Yunzhou. The entire mountain is shrouded in a light mist all year round, which not only makes it easy for people to lose their way, but also contains a trace of poisonous gas.

It is precisely because of this that ordinary people in the surrounding area rarely come to this mountain, and it was precisely because of this that the Li family established their family in Qingmu Mountain.

Li Yunfan sped along without stopping, using up seventy or eighty percent of his mid-grade spirit stones before finally returning to Greenwood Mountain. As for the poisonous mist, it did not cause him any harm whatsoever.

After taking out his Li family identity token and activating the protective array, Li Yunfan went straight to the main hall at the top of the mountain.

"Greetings, Young Master!" The two Qi Refining disciples of the Li family who were guarding outside the main hall immediately showed joy upon seeing Li Yunfan and quickly bowed to him.

Li Yunfan was very worried about his father's condition, so he just gave a soft "hmm" and quickly walked in with a worried expression.

As soon as he entered the hall, he saw two elderly men in their sixties or seventies with gray hair sitting in chairs with worried expressions.

"Elders, what exactly happened to the Li family? How did my father get so badly injured?" Li Yunfan stepped forward and asked.

Upon seeing Li Yunfan, the two elders of the Li family immediately lost their worries and put on smiles, though the sorrow in their eyes remained undiminished.

"Yun Fan is back! I never expected that you would reach the Foundation Establishment Realm so quickly after joining Huangfeng Valley. This is a great joy for our Li family..." one of the elders, dressed in a black robe, said with a smile.

"Yes! With Yun Fan's talent, perhaps my Li family can become a great family like the Chen and Qin families in the future..." Another elder chimed in with a smile.

Li Yunfan frowned, not understanding what the two meant, so he lowered his voice and asked in a somewhat cold tone.

"Elders! I'm asking why my father was so badly injured. Who attacked him? Please tell me the truth!"

Upon seeing this, the two exchanged a glance, their smiles fading, but they still did not answer Li Yunfan's question.

Just as Li Yunfan's face grew increasingly gloomy, and he was about to go directly to his father's room to investigate, the elder in black robes finally sighed and said...

"Yun Fan, Qing Zhou's injuries have damaged his foundation. Even if he recovers, he will have no hope of breaking through to the mid-stage. As for the two of us old folks, we don't have many years left to live. The entire Li family will depend on you from now on. So you must stay calm and absolutely must not seek revenge!"

"Whether you can kill the opponent or not, the Li family cannot afford the consequences. If you win, the forces behind the opponent may take their anger out on the Li family, and the entire Li family will be wiped out."

"And if you are defeated and your foundation is destroyed, then my Li family will have no successor. Once the two of us pass away, how long can your father support the Li family on his own?"

Upon hearing the elders' words, Li Yunfan immediately understood the two men's intentions for the sake of the entire Li family.

But he was not only a member of the Li family, but also his father's son. Now that his father had been seriously injured and his path to advancement had been cut off, how could he not be furious?

However, he knew he couldn't blindly seek revenge, so he took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed his anger.

"I understand. I won't seek revenge easily. Now you can tell me the truth!" Li Yunfan nodded calmly.

The two looked at each other again, hesitated several times, and finally told each other what had happened.

"The story begins a year ago, when..."

After listening to the black-robed elder's explanation, Li Yunfan finally understood the whole story and why his father had been severely injured by the other party.

It turns out that a year ago, several disciples of the Li family at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining accidentally stumbled into a hidden cave while chasing a mid-level level one demon beast, and discovered a large number of scattered red copper stones inside.

Although this red copper stone is not a rare material, it can be used to refine various magical artifacts and array-setting tools. It can be said that it has a wide range of uses and its value is not too high, so the demand is huge.

After his father and the two elders learned of this, they suspected that there might be a copper mine there. So the elder in black robes led a group of people to investigate and finally confirmed that there was indeed a copper mine buried in the cave, and that the reserves were extremely rich.

This was absolutely fantastic news for the Li family, so after discussing it, the three decided to keep the news under wraps and secretly arrange for people to mine red copper stones. After a year of mining, the Li family earned a large amount of spirit stones.

However, just half a month ago, the Li family's mining workers actually broke through the ore vein and encountered miners on the other side.

Both sides claimed the mine as their own property, leading to a fight that resulted in injuries to both sides, forcing them to retreat.

Upon learning of this situation, Li Qingzhou led his men to negotiate. After all, they hadn't expected this to happen. They originally wanted to discuss with the other party that the Li family would only mine a small portion of this area and would never overstep their bounds.

However, the other party completely refused to listen to their explanations, insisting that they had illegally mined the stones and demanding that the Li family hand over all the remaining red copper stones, as well as the large amount of spirit stones they had obtained.

Li Qingzhou naturally could not agree, and the other party actually attacked and injured him. Fortunately, the two clan elders arrived in time, which made the other party retreat with some reservations.

"What is the origin of that cultivator?" Li Yunfan's eyes narrowed slightly, a murderous intent rising in his heart, and he asked in a somewhat sinister tone.

"Yun Fan, you absolutely must not seek revenge against them! We only found out later that the other end of that mine was actually within Yunzhou, and the other party was the Gu family, a cultivation family in Yunzhou, whose strength was far greater than our Li family!" The black-robed elder saw that Li Yun Fan's expression had changed and couldn't help but dissuade him again.

"That's right! According to the information we've gathered, the Gu family has been affiliated with the Hidden Moon Sect for hundreds of years, and most of their disciples have joined the Hidden Moon Sect. Even if you are now a disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley, you are no match for such a behemoth. Do you think the Yellow Maple Valley would offend the Hidden Moon Sect for your sake?" Another elder chimed in.

Li Yunfan frowned, not expecting the other party to have such a background.

However, what the elder said was true; the Hidden Moon Sect was indeed not something he could afford to provoke at present.

"I understand! I'll go check on my father's injuries first!" He took a deep breath, concealing the murderous intent in his heart, and said calmly.

After saying that, he walked towards the inner hall.