Chapter 1278: Tales of the Sword Furnace (Part 1)

Chapter 1278: Chapter 1278: Tales of the Sword Furnace (Part 1)

Pei Yan poured wine into his own cup and continued, "Hongjun Daoist gained great fame in the Daoist Plane with that battle and was chosen by the Spirit Lord to take on important roles in the Immortal Palace. In his later years, after retiring, he accepted disciples from five families: Mo, Liu, Li, Wei, and Zhangsun. These disciples were also exceptionally talented, and after Hongjun Daoist’s immortal departure, they inherited his legacy and expanded the sect into one of the leading Sword Sects in the Daoist Plane, often frequenting the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace over the years. To date, the Hongjun Sword Furnace has been selected into the Six Mansions more than twenty-one times, spanning over ten thousand years, surpassing Celestial Sword Manor’s seventeen times! The descendants of these five disciples now each form a lineage within the Hongjun Sword Furnace, though I have heard that only four of the five lineages remain today. Could it be that Jue Liunian is a descendant of the lost lineage?"

Liu Xuanji laughed and waved his hand upon hearing this, "You are quite impressive to know so much as someone from the Foundation Plane. The Li Family lineage’s bloodline was severed many years ago. I, Liu Xuanji, consider myself a Sword Fool but am far inferior to the Li Family. Their lineage was so obsessed with swords that they achieved great heights but neglected the matter of inheritance. Eventually, with no male offspring left, the bloodline died out. Even though the Li Family ceased, their Cultivation Technique did not end. The last Patriarch of the Li Family had two daughters. As the family’s final legacy, the Patriarch transferred the lifetime’s learning of the Li lineage as dowry to these daughters. The families that married these two talented daughters gained a substantial increase in power. Thus, to win over these two distinguished daughters, fierce competition ensued in the Hongjun Sword Furnace."

"The Liu Family must have married one of them?" Pei Yan nodded, recalling the Liu Family’s current dominance within the Hongjun Sword Furnace.

"Indeed! One of the sisters is my mother."

"Oh! I see!" Hearing Liu Xuanji’s solemn revelation, Pei Yan also subdued his jest, mindful that this person was generations older than even his great-grandfather and thus deserved respect.

"Originally, my father married the younger of the two sisters, and the one who married my aunt is the previous Patriarch of the Mo Family, the father of the current Sect Leader Mo Baiqi."

"Oh! So that makes you and Elder Mo cousins?" Pei Yan became intrigued upon hearing this secret and pursued further questioning.

"Hahaha! Cousins, indeed!" Liu Xuanji laughed loudly at Pei Yan’s inquiry, then showed a touch of melancholy, reflecting, "Cousins—once when we were young and our mothers were still around, we did refer to each other as such. But as time passed, our personalities diverged greatly, and with the elders’ passing and some estrangement occurring over time, it has been long since we addressed each other that way. Now we greet as senior and junior disciples, to the extent that the younger generations of both families have forgotten there was ever such a relationship among their ancestors."

Pei Yan nodded, feeling a sense of melancholy himself. No relationship can withstand the erosion of time. He wondered if he could still maintain the same intimacy with his current friends after living for thousands of years. As he pondered, Pei Yan grew wistful and curious, "Does Jue Liunian have a connection to this matter?"

"If there wasn’t a connection, I wouldn’t have shared this hidden story with you." Liu Xuanji took a sip of wine, ate a bit of food, and gazed out the window, reminiscing about the past. After a long while, he continued, "Back then, excluding the Li Family, the four other families in the sect had equal strength, though my Liu Family was slightly stronger. The Mo Family was inferior to the other two, so marrying a Li Family daughter was crucial for the Mo Family’s future development. To stand out among numerous suitors, Mr. Mo cunningly plotted and used his skills to gain the Li Patriarch’s favor, and through... ."

At this point, Liu Xuanji seemed rather embarrassed, unsure of how to proceed. Sensing his discomfort, Pei Yan timely prompted, "Crazy pursuit with personal charm?"

"Well... you could say that! Ultimately, he won my aunt’s admiration and successfully married her. With the Li Family’s assistance, the Mo Family became the leading family within the Hongjun Sword Furnace. This enabled Elder Mo to surpass the others and become the previous Sect Leader of the Hongjun Sword Furnace."

Pei Yan detected a hint of sourness upon hearing this. "To surpass and suppress others? Who did he surpass?" Liu Xuanji’s father was one of those others. From Liu Xuanji’s expression, it was clear he didn’t hold much admiration for his former Sect Leader’s great-uncle.

Indeed, Liu Xuanji shifted his tone and lamented, "Alas, one reason my cousin Mo Baiqi and I are not close is that he bears too many similarities to his father. Outsiders see him as charming and unrestrained, but in truth, he indulges wholeheartedly, leaving emotions everywhere and often impulsively forming friendships while also causing trouble. Ultimately, it’s the sect that ends up dealing with his aftermath."

Seeing Liu Xuanji’s distressed demeanor, Pei Yan could imagine that Liu Xuanji was often involved in dealing with these aftermaths—no wonder he ended up having a falling out with his cousin Mo Baiqi and left the sect to guard the side hall here! Apparently, he wanted to stay far away from this troublemaker.

Noticing Pei Yan’s gloating expression, Liu Xuanji smiled wryly, "My cousin is much better than his father. In recent years, as he’s gotten older, he’s matured significantly! Whereas the former Mo Sect Leader lacked self-control and, in his later years, succumbed to worldly desires, leaving a grave threat to our Hongjun Sword Furnace that has now engulfed our sect in peril."

"Are you saying Jue Liunian is Mr. Mo’s...?"

"That’s correct! Jue Liunian is the illegitimate son of the former Mo Sect Leader and Mo Baiqi’s half-brother. When he first arrived at the Hongjun Sword Furnace, his surname was Liu, as he took his mother’s surname. He was named Liu Yunpeng, with the intention of soaring thousands of miles." Liu Xuanji picked up Pei Yan’s words and disclosed the full details of Jue Liunian’s background.

Pei Yan clicked his tongue in surprise upon hearing this, then pondered and questioned, "Is there a problem with that? While such a situation would be newsworthy in our Foundation Plane due to our monogamous practice, I’ve spent some time here in the Daoist Plane and learned that this place does not adhere to monogamous relationships—having multiple wives is common. It’s surely not an issue for a former Sect Leader of the Hongjun Sword Furnace like Mr. Mo to have a concubine, right? Does this violate a sect regulation?"