The four companions were all somewhat fearful of Li Genmiao, now that they knew his true identity.
Er Ya practically had "scared" written all over her face. When Li Genmiao glanced at her, she would flinch.
Tie Zi behaved the most normally, but he harbored deep hatred for Li Genmiao in his heart.
Although becoming a Heavenly Fiend Corpse Puppet felt exhilarating, Tie Zi seethed with anger at the thought that Li Genmiao, too afraid to try it himself, had casually used him as a test subject.
All four companions kept their distance from Li Genmiao.
At this moment, Uncle Weng beckoned to Shan Pao, "Pao, come here for a moment."
Shan Pao and the others exchanged glances and reluctantly slowed their steps, walking alongside Uncle Weng.
Li Genmiao, however, moved forward with practiced ease, requiring no guidance.
Ever since the Imperial Tutor emerged from the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang a thousand years ago, he had retreated to the Changbai Mountains to refine elixirs, residing there for over a millennium.
He had employed some secret technique, paying a terrible price, to evade the clutches of death and gain the ability of "immortality."
For a thousand years, he had remained in the Changbai Mountains. Taoyuan Village was his second home, and he was intimately familiar with every blade of grass and tree by Tianchi Lake.
Seeing Li Genmiao walk ahead, Uncle Weng then lowered his voice and began to instruct Er Ya and the others.
"You four listen to Grandpa. This time, you must do as Grandpa says, no matter what, or you will surely invite a fatal disaster!..."
...
Beside Tianchi Lake, outside a small wooden house, Jiang Qingxue pinned up her hair with a wooden hairpin.
Two wisps of dragon-whisker hair fell along her temples. Jiang Qingxue was immaculate, appearing like a celestial maiden descended to earth.
From afar, she saw Li Genmiao's figure, and Jiang Qingxue couldn't help but hold her breath.
Even after twenty years, even though her master had changed his appearance, Jiang Qingxue could still recognize him at a glance. The image of her master's stern presence was indelible in her memory.
However, for the sake of Yan Shouyi, Jiang Qingxue no longer harbored fear. She took a deep breath, her heart calming down.
As Li Genmiao approached, Jiang Qingxue made no move.
This greatly displeased Li Genmiao. He said in a cold voice, "Good disciple, twenty years have passed since you last saw your master, and you've completely forgotten the etiquette between master and disciple? When you see your master, why don't you pay your respects?"
Jiang Qingxue replied indifferently, "I was young and ignorant back then, unaware of your true face. Now that I know your intentions, I will no longer call you 'Master.'"
"You know about my affairs?" Li Genmiao revealed a cruel smile.
"I didn't know originally. It was only when Ah Chou came up the mountain last time that he told me everything. The original Li Genmiao, has he already been reduced to ashes?"
Jiang Qingxue said softly, "Shouyi probably doesn't know about this... The real Li Genmiao was actually a shadow cultivated by Ah Chou. Li Genmiao had been working for Ah Chou for many years. Although his name wasn't among the Thirteen Protectors of Xuan Shan, and even the Dog Priest and others didn't know of Li Genmiao's existence, he was a core figure of Xuan Shan!"
If Yan Shouyi were present, he would be extremely surprised to hear Jiang Qingxue's words.
He had never known Li Genmiao's identity, nor what grievances Li Genmiao had with his father.
Li Genmiao's identity already cast doubt in his mind. Whether it was his claim that the Northeast was his hometown, or his mysterious relationship with Jiang Qingxue, Yan Shouyi was already very close to the truth.
The appearance of Pan Shiyi, Zheng Youqian, and Lan Qihuan in Taoyuan Village also made Yan Shouyi suspect that Li Genmiao was connected to the old Xuan Shan sect.
However, Yan Shouyi had never imagined that Li Genmiao would be his father Yan Chou's shadow!!
A shadow was a tradition of the Luban inheritors.
Every Luban inheritor was a chosen one, and simultaneously a person of great evil in their past lives. In this life, to atone for their sins, they had to perform many good deeds while causing as little karma as possible.
Therefore, Luban inheritors would cultivate shadows to perform certain "dirty deeds" for them.
Yan Shouyi's shadow was Xue Kai, but as Yan Shouyi's followers gradually grew, and Xue Kai's cultivation could no longer keep up, Yan Shouyi gradually distanced himself from his shadow.
Yan Chou's shadow was Li Genmiao. The two were once very close brothers, and Li Genmiao had done much for Xuan Shan. However, to maintain his shadow status, even his closest confidantes, the Dog Priest and Monk Miaoji, were unaware of Li Genmiao's existence.
But later, Li Genmiao defected.
Strictly speaking, Li Genmiao was possessed by the Imperial Tutor, and then he defected.
"Jie jie jie jie jie..."
Li Genmiao let out a hoarse, unpleasant laugh from his throat.
He mocked, "Yan Shouyi is already very powerful, but you have kept too many things from him, causing him to still not know my identity... Honestly, I am eagerly anticipating Yan Shouyi's reaction when the truth is revealed."
Jiang Qingxue did not rush to shift the conversation to Yan Shouyi, but continued to focus on Li Genmiao.
She said, "Counting the time, it was a few months before I returned to the mountain that you faked your death and escaped. Had you already possessed Li Genmiao then?"
Li Genmiao shook his head. "I possessed a wealthy businessman who came to explore the Changbai Mountains. I used his identity to leave the Changbai Mountains, then made many preparations and searched for many potential targets, but it still took me a considerable amount of time to finally choose Li Genmiao."
He wanted to set up his plans, and without connections, money, and power, nothing would be complete. Thus, Li Genmiao spent a long time preparing.
Not long after Yan Chou was imprisoned, Li Genmiao set his sights on his current identity and found an opportunity to possess him.
After taking control of Li Genmiao, he潜伏ed within the Xuan Shan sect for a period. Once he confirmed that Yan Chou would not be released from prison, he began to implement his plan.
At that time, the Xuan Shan sect was the most promising force among the folk sects. While Yan Chou was absent, Li Genmiao privately chatted with the members, expressing his ideals.
His ideals were recognized by Pan Shiyi and others. Gradually, they no longer supported the self-abandoning Yan Chou and instead pledged their allegiance to Li Genmiao.
From that moment, the New Xuan Shan sect was born.
Li Genmiao, along with a group of former Xuan Shan sect members, founded the current New Xuan Shan sect. Relying on his previous preparations and groundwork, they rapidly developed and grew stronger.
Many powerful members of folk sects were recruited by Li Genmiao.
As an ancient monster who had lived for thousands of years, Li Genmiao was also skilled at manipulating people.
Just as Yan Shouyi had discovered before, he controlled the upper, middle, and lower echelons of the folk sects through greed, hatred, and faith, inciting them to serve him.
These ignorant and greedy members of the folk sects, for their own selfish desires, joined the New Xuan Shan sect, thereby committing all sorts of grave mistakes.
It was not until later, when Yan Chou was released from prison and began to face life anew, that he discovered the Xuan Shan sect had long been deserted, and the powerful New Xuan Shan sect stood before him like a colossal mountain.
Later, Li Genmiao even orchestrated the incident at Longhu Mountain that led to the Heavenly Master's death, thus fully revealing the New Xuan Shan sect to the Xuanmen practitioners...