Chapter 420: Personal Enemies


    In the vast desert, a man and a woman, two cultivators, rode separate Red Feathered Eagles, traveling under the scorching sun.


    These two cultivators were An Xiaoran, the second disciple, and An Moran, the third disciple, both of whom belonged to Meng Zhang.


    Meng Zhang had been away from Taiyi Sect on his wandering journey for nearly ten years. For a Foundation Building cultivator, ten years was not a long time. Before leaving, Meng Zhang had made arrangements within the sect. During these ten years, the daily affairs of Taiyi Sect were well-managed by Niu Dawei, the eldest disciple of the Sect Master, and everything was in excellent order, pleasing to everyone.


    During this period, Taiyi Sect had thrived and grown stronger, producing several Foundation Building cultivators from among its members. Especially after Zhang Yingying, the Pill Hall Master, sessfully advanced to Foundation Building by consuming the Lesser Foundation Building Pill, she smoothly ascended to be a Second Rank Alchemist. Now, besides supplying Shi Changqing''s dependents, Taiyi Sect had the ability to refine Second Rank pills themselves.


    Although they currently couldn''t collect the materials to refine Foundation Building Pills, the materials for the Lesser Foundation Building Pill could still be obtained with some effort. Therefore, Taiyi Sect not only provided Lesser Foundation Building Pills to their disciples but also sold a small quantity to closely affiliated vassal families.


    As for the defect of being unable to advance to the Gold Core stage after consuming the Lesser Foundation Building Pill, very few cultivators would care. In the vast Endless Sea of Sand, the chance to advance to the Gold Core stage was rare. For the majority of cultivators, reaching the Foundation Building stage was a lifetime dream.


    Meng Zhang had long made the defect of the Lesser Foundation Building Pill known to all, but cultivators seeking its benefits still kepting.


    Within Taiyi Sect, ording to the rules set by Meng Zhang, only cultivators with low-grade spiritual roots were allowed to exchange for the Lesser Foundation Building Pill. Middle-grade and above spiritual roots were strictly prohibited from using the Lesser Foundation Building Pill to advance to the Foundation Building stage.


    This seemingly harsh rule was actually for the long-term development of the sect. Moreover, although Taiyi Sect had numerous disciples, the number of middle-grade spiritual root cultivators was few, so the impact was minimal.


    This time, An Xiaoran and her younger brother, An Moran, were venturing out to explore a legacy left behind by a senior cultivator. The connection between An Family and these senior cultivators ran deep. Before the senior passed away during meditation, they had informed the An Family patriarch of the location of their legacy, which led to many outstanding cultivators from An Family generations attempting to obtain the inheritance.


    The senior cultivator had high standards and did not want their heritage to fall into the hands of mediocre individuals. Thus, they set up numerous trials within the legacy. Only those who passed these trials would be deemed worthy of receiving the inheritance.


    Previously, several cultivators from An Family had gone to this legacy, but their gains were limited. During the upheaval of An Family in the past, An Lei, the family head, sent away some promising An Family cultivators before things spiraled out of control. Before An Xiaoran and An Moran were sent away, An Lei personally disclosed the secret of this legacy to An Xiaoran.


    Since then, An Xiaoran had kept this secret to herself and had never revealed it, not even to the sect, as it was a family secret.


    Recently, An Xiaoran hadpleted the Refining Qi stage and began preparing to break through to the Foundation Building stage. With her talent, even without consuming the Foundation Building Pill, she had a great chance of sessfully reaching the Foundation Building stage. However, to be fully prepared, she wanted to umte enough sect contribution points to exchange for the Foundation Building Pill.


    Taiyi Sect had grownrger, and its rules had be stricter. Even as the Sect Master''s direct disciple, An Xiaoran needed to contribute enough to the sect to exchange for the Foundation Building Pill.


    However, the sect contribution points An Xiaoran had umted were far from sufficient, and her pride prevented her from epting assistance from her senior brother, Niu Dawei.


    In desperation, she remembered the legacy left by the senior cultivator.


    If she could obtain substantial gains from the legacy, she might be able to exchange them for enough sect contribution points.


    So, An Xiaoran asked her younger brother, An Moran, to join her in exploring the legacy.


    The legacy was located west of the Endless Sea of Sand, within the territory of Flying Swan Sect.


    The siblings rode their Red Feathered Eagles and traveled thousands of miles, expending a lot of effort before finally finding the legacy left by the senior cultivator.


    After entering the legacy, they relied on their extraordinary talents and understanding, facing several trials and challenges, and eventually passed the tests left by the senior, obtaining the inheritance.


    Through this experience, the siblings matured significantly, especially An Xiaoran, who approached thepletion stage of her cultivation, drawing closer to the Foundation Building stage.


    They spent a month inside the legacy and finally left with a full load of treasures. However, as they were just about to summon their Red Feathered Eagles to leave the area, a flying boat descended from the sky,nding before them.


    A middle-aged cultivator with a refined appearance and gentle temperament emerged from the flying boat and hovered above them, looking down at the siblings.


    "Zeng Jiexiong," An Xiaoran uttered the name with a hint of resentment in her tone.


    "It''s been quite some time, dear niece. In the blink of an eye, you''ve grown so big," Zeng Jiexiong said with a smile.


    In the past, during the upheaval of An Family, Zeng Jiexiong took control of the family, forcing An Xiaoran and her brother to flee. Later, he even ordered bandits to chase after them. If it weren''t for the timely appearance of Meng Zhang, the consequences would have been dire. An Xiaoran hadn''t forgotten this grudge over the years. Her n was to return to An Family once she had achieved sufficient cultivation and defeat Zeng Jiexiong, taking back everything from the family.


    However, she had never expected that she and her brother would be intercepted by Zeng Jiexiong at this time and ce. This location was a major secret of An Family, known only to the direct descendants of the family. Could it be that someone among the direct descendants had betrayed the family and joined forces with this man?


    Zeng Jiexiong seemed to understand what An Xiaoran was thinking. He made a gesture toward the flying boat, and several cultivators whom An Xiaoran was familiar with jumped out from it. They looked at An Xiaoran and her brother with a slightly evasive gaze, unable to meet their eyes.


    "Dear niece, the wise know when to seize the opportunity. These uncles of yours have been working faithfully for me. As long as you hand over what you obtained from that legacy, I promise you will not be treated unfairly."


    "You can forget about it," An Xiaoran immediately refused without hesitation.


    The senior cultivator who set up this legacy was highly skilled, making it difficult for outsiders to forcefully enter, and even An Family members couldn''t obtain any gains from it unless they passed the trials. If powerful cultivators wanted to forcibly break into the legacy, everything inside would be destroyed, turning into ashes.


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