At dusk, in a brightly lit luxury villa in Five-Star Village, the wedding banquet was in full swing, filled with laughter and cheer below the stage.
Yet Qin Kun couldn't shake a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.
That brat!
Just because he's the only son, he doesn't give a damn about his old man anymore!
Every time I have a celebration, he takes off in his Toyota Land Cruiser, who knows where he's gone!
His mother passed away early, and I was just trying to give him a little brother!
Not understanding my good intentions is one thing, but...
Does he have to sulk at me all day?
He won't answer my calls, and now he's even turned off his phone!
That ungrateful son!
Qin Kun's wedding banquet invited the entire village, but those who disliked him all declined with excuses like "my sow is about to farrow."
Thus, only four tables were occupied in the banquet hall.
Qin Kun glanced at Tao Bai, who was buried in her food, a puzzled look crossing his face.
Dressed in a crimson robe, her shoulder-length black hair pinned up in a bun, a pale yellow wooden hairpin running through it—she looked to be about twenty...
Did our village have a young Taoist priest?
Her features were delicate, but she was completely unfamiliar...
Qin Kun raised his wine cup and walked over to Tao Bai's table, intending to offer a toast.
He'd invite him later to assess the feng shui and gauge his abilities.
If he were truly skilled, he'd have him adjust the feng shui.
Qin Kun had always believed that his subsequent marriages to three wives, resulting in eleven daughters and not a single son, must stem from feng shui issues.
"Master Taoist, you seem unfamiliar. May I ask which family you're related to?"
"Just crashing the meal. Not welcome?"
" All visitors are welcome guests. I, Qin, am delighted to have you. Your straightforwardness suggests you're a truly enlightened master. Allow me to offer you a toast."
Seeing Tao Bai focused solely on serving himself food, Qin Kun raised his wine cup.
After downing it in one gulp, he cut straight to the point:
"Master Taoist, might there be something amiss with the feng shui of my humble abode? Why is it that since I've lived here, I've been unable to have a son?"
Tao Bai had already eaten three pieces of Liupu taro pork belly and was reaching for the stuffed bitter melon with perilla leaves.
By then, Qin Kun had approached him with his wine cup raised.
Tao Bai didn't even lift an eyebrow.
He simply tapped his bowl rim with his chopsticks and said,
"It's not a feng shui issue. It's because you've committed too many immoral deeds."
"You... What did you say?!"
Qin Kun stammered in shock.
"Heh heh, Master Taoist must be joking. Everyone here knows my character—
I would never commit such immoral acts. Surely you've been misled by some villain's words?"
Qin Kun, recovering from his shock, calmly defended himself.
"Do more good deeds. Perhaps you'll be blessed with a son or two in the future, sparing you the shame of having no heir."
"Master Taoist, watch your words!"
Qin Kun's displeasure was palpable. He then declared loudly,
"I, Qin, have three wives and four concubines.
Why should I fear having no heir?
Which Taoist temple do you hail from, that you dare spout such nonsense at my wedding banquet?"
"Alright. I am full."
Tao Bai spoke, setting down his bowl and chopsticks before rising to his feet.
With a sharp crack, he flipped the table upside down.
Those seated with him, laughing and chatting moments before, now froze with chopsticks mid-air.
Their expressions shifted from astonishment to fury.
Several men had already grabbed chairs.
At Qin Kun's command, they would not hesitate to make Tao Bai taste the chair.
"Mind your own business. I'm the fifth son in my family. Since childhood, everyone has addressed me as 'Fifth Young Master'."
"Fifth Young Master?"
Qin Kun scrutinized Tao Bai—
A well-built man standing 5'9" tall—
His expression turned grave.
He chewed on the title, searching his mind for any connection, but came up empty.
"Which family's Fifth Young Master?"
Qin Kun clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he demanded.
"The one you can't afford to mess with."
With that, Tao Bai swept his robe and strode confidently toward the door.
Seeing Tao Bai so brazenly defiant, Qin Kun dared not make a move.
He gestured for the furious guests to lower their chairs.
"Gentlemen, please calm down. We have plenty of food. Another table will be served shortly to accommodate you all."
He beckoned to a man in the crowd—a shifty-eyed fellow wearing a collared shirt beneath a suit jacket—who promptly approached.
Qin Kun felt he needed to verify Tao Bai's identity before he could relax.
Once upon a time, the Tao clan, as reclusive cultivators, held sway over Gui City.
How many families dared cross them?
His father, Tao Shinan, was a formidable figure in Gui City, having reached late Foundation Establishment cultivation at just fifty-seven.
The clan also boasted two elders over seventy who had attained mid-Foundation Establishment.
His eldest brother, Tao Shi, possessed a Heavenly Spirit Root and extraordinary talent.
Through relentless cultivation, he successfully established his Foundation by the age of thirty.
His second elder brother, Tao Yu, born to his father and a northern woman, possessed strength capable of lifting a tripod—
A rare talent in physical cultivation.
Seven years ago, his second elder brother was merely twenty-seven...
His twin, third, and fourth elder brothers had departed for the USA with their mother shortly after birth.
Tao Bai only vaguely recalled seeing their photos in childhood; his impression of them was faint.
He dimly remembered their names: Tao An and Tao Ning.
If they shared their father's bloodline, yet even the Three Realms Origin Array couldn't trace their whereabouts, only three explanations remained:
One, they were captured and imprisoned within an area of profoundly complex restrictions;
Two, they perished, their souls utterly scattered;
Three, they were never Taoshinan's bloodline at all!
Tao Bai leaned toward the second possibility.
His sixth brother was named Tao Mu, and his seventh sister, Tao Xiang.
Of the seven siblings, only their eldest brother, Tao Shi, was identified from childhood as possessing spiritual roots.
The other six were ordinary mortals.
But the story of how Tao Bai came to cultivate must begin with his abduction by Hei Feng and his subsequent captivity at the Yin-Yang Sect.
That, however, is a long tale.
Though he shared only his father and mother with Tao Shi, he maintained good relations with the others.
Their father, Tao Shinan, once mentioned that the Tao clan lineage could be traced back to Tao Ying of the Warring States period.
Before the turn of the millennium, the Tao clan was undoubtedly a force capable of stirring up regional turmoil.
Yet now, it seemed as if Tao Bai was the sole remaining member of the Tao clan...
The rise and fall of a clan is a common occurrence, yet the Taos had never committed any heinous crimes.
Their herbal medicine conglomerate genuinely benefited the nation's populace.
Their herbal decoctions and health supplements were priced affordably, earning strong market reception.
Tao Bai couldn't fathom how the Taos had fallen into such a wretched state—
Deep within the gourd-shaped valley at the northern foot of Que Mountain,
the solitary villa nestled beneath the intertwining bamboo groves had been utterly razed to the ground.
Scattered across the earth were a dozen crisscrossing gashes carved by sword energy, the deepest stretching over ten feet.
It appeared a cultivator at the Core Formation stage or higher had struck, most likely a sword cultivator.
How could the Tao clan have provoked a sword cultivator at the Core Formation stage or above?
Tao Bai recalled his seven years of cultivation at the Yin-Yang Sect, where he too seemed inherently at odds with sword cultivators...
The villa, once protected by a defensive array, was now gone, replaced by bamboo and trees growing wildly amidst the ruins.
Que Mountain, the first mountain range recorded in the opening of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, was also the name the Tao clan had always used.
Nowadays, the world calls it Great Cat Mountain.
Located north of Gui City, it stood over two thousand meters high, earning the title "The Summit of South Hua Xia."
Tao Bai strolled leisurely toward a stretch of wilderness.
He noticed two "little tails" following behind him, yet acted as if completely unaware, humming an unknown tune cheerfully as he walked on.
Half a quarter later, Qin Kun realized he'd been played.
Within ten miles, there wasn't a Fifth Young Master he couldn't handle!
Furious, he rallied Wei Zhanxi and other village ruffians, along with a group of enforcers.
Armed with wrenches, shovels, machetes, and assorted tools, they mounted their bent-frame motorcycles and raced toward the wasteland outside the village.