The black luxury car raced through the old city district, vibrantly transforming the surrounding streetscape as if gradually transitioning from the 80s and 90s to the new century.
One skyscraper after another rose from the ground, with the environs and the passerby presenting a stark contrast to the old city district.
In the car, Bai Xue emerged from Shen Yuan's arms, curiously gazing at the scenery outside the window.
Despite having a profound understanding of human-made cars, this was her first time in one on the move, which made her extraordinarily curious about these man-made modes of transportation.
The cute kitten completely drew Fu Yu's attention. Even when Fu Hua in the front seat tried a few times to prompt a conversation between her and Shen Yuan using an eye signal, she tacitly ignored him.
Driving the car, Fu Hua gritted his teeth in frustration at her lack of response. He tried many times to initiate some conversation, but Shen Yuan paid him no mind.
Leaning back in his seat, Shen Yuan half-closed his eyes to refine the Essence Elements accumulated from absorbing a large amount of Spirit Energy yesterday. His cultivation realm was slowly advancing towards the late stage of Essence Refining.
Half an hour later, the car entered a district filled with villas.
The security guard on duty at the front gate was about to step forward for a check. However, he was startled when he caught a glimpse of Fu Hua driving the car.
The residents of this villa district were overwhelmingly wealthy and influential. Yet, among them were prominent figures who outshined the rest.
Without a doubt, Fu Hua, the current president of the Tianhua Group, was such a high-profile figure.
Just the sight of Fu Hua behind the wheel made the security guard even more curious about the identity of the passengers in the back seat.
As he opened the barrier, the guard sneakily glanced at the back seat, only to find a surprisingly young man who seemed to be in his early twenties.
Before he could think more about it, the car had sped away into the distance.
The car eventually slowly stopped in front of a villa. Fu Hua got out and eagerly opened the car door for Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan carrying Bai Xue got out of the car, his gaze immediately locked onto the villa in front of him.
It wasn't the luxury of the villa that attracted Shen Yuan. Instead, it was the villa's discord with its surroundings that caught Shen Yuan's eye.
Under the clear daylight, the entire villa exuded an unexplainable feeling of gloom. The sunshine falling on it seemed diminished somewhat, the originally warm and genial sunshine now presented a sense of cold, bleak desolation on the ground.
"To put a person who is halfway into the cultivation realm on his deathbed in just a few days, it can't just be any illness. Such heavy Yin energy, is it really due to ghosts?"
A look of doubt appeared in Shen Yuan's eyes.
However, Shen Yuan failed to notice; when Bai Xue in his arm saw the heavily Yin energy permeated villa in front of her eyes, a hint of ecstatic emotion flashed across her heterochromatic iris.
Seeing Shen Yuan hesitating in his spot, Fu Hua quickly extended his hand and guided him, "Teacher Shen, this way, please!"
Shen Yuan recollected his thoughts, stepped forward, and entered the villa with Bai Xue in his arms.
As soon as he stepped into the villa, the chilling Yin Cold Qi that seemed to blot out the sunlight swiftly rushed towards Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan, calm and composed, operated the Refining Elemental Qi law, and his body instantly transformed into a furnace with the Essence Elements in it turning into the firewood.
The furnace fiercely burned, and in an instant, the boiling blood erupted, and the rolling heat wave completely banished the Yin Cold Qi within a few meters of his radius.
Walking in front, Fu Hua and Fu Yu only felt a surge of heat that expelled the hidden coldness in their bodies, leaving them with an indescribable sense of comfort as if they were bathed in a hot spring.
Immediately startled, Fu Hua turned around to look behind him. In his vision, Shen Yuan seemed to have transformed into a walking furnace, his aura so overwhelming that he did not dare to look straight.
At that moment, Fu Hua immediately recalled the time he threatened Shen Yuan, the ghastly sight he saw at that instant.
"This is no coincidence. Teacher Shen really is a master!"
Fu Hua was absolutely flabbergasted.
The changes brought about by the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge resulted in worldwide public opinion. As a well-known wealthy businessman throughout Yun Province, Fu Hua knew some related news in advance.
After his father, Old Master Fu, fell seriously ill and the best doctors couldn't diagnose him, he had considered seeking some wise men for help.
However, all the temples and pavilions in the prominent mountains and rivers had closed months ago. The remaining tourist attractions are all man-made, and visiting them brought no encounters with any wise men.
Helpless, Fu Hua had to give up the idea of seeking help from these wise men.
What he never expected was that his father's old friend happened to be the wise man he sought, which made Fu Hua both excited and regretful.
If his demeanor had been more respectful at the time, if he hadn't offended Shen Yuan and instead invited Shen Yuan to his home, the position of inheritor would certainly have been his.
Regrettably, because of a momentary lapse, he missed this opportunity.
Ignoring Fu Hua's thoughts, Shen Yuan strode into the villa.
At this moment, quite a few people were gathered within the villa, most of them dressed in luxurious clothing, looking very impressive. As soon as Shen Yuan arrived, someone rose to question him.
"Who are you? Why have you intruded into our Fu Family's..."
Before these words had finished, Fu Hua, who was following closely behind Shen Yuan, reprimanded firmly:
"Little brother, this is Teacher Shen, watch your manners!"
The man Fu Hua referred to as 'little brother', Fu Jian, didn't fear his elder brother and sneered:
"Fu Hua, don't put on airs of the family head just because you are the oldest. With father critically ill, you left on your own and brought a stranger here. Do you really regard father at all?
If this is how you behave when father is merely ill, I really cannot imagine what you would do if father were to pass away..."
Being blasted so bluntly by Fu Jian, Fu Hua responded, face pale:
"Teacher Shen is a close friend of father's, he came to see father specially when he learned of his serious condition."
"Given father's critical condition, he should not be disturbed by any visitors, even if they are father's close friends."
In Fu Jian's view, Fu Hua bringing someone over at such a critical juncture must have something to do with the inheritance. No matter what Fu Hua tried to do, he must object to it.
Shen Yuan continued to follow the flow of the Yin Cold Qi with his eyes. As for the brothers' arguing and the overt and covert struggle for inheritance, he couldn't even bother to glance at it.
His gaze finally landed on the second floor. Shen Yuan proceeded towards the stairs.
His action startled Fu Jian who quickly stepped forward to stop him.
"What are you trying to..."
"Boom!"
Before Fu Jian could even approach Shen Yuan, the Yin Cold Qi enveloping the mansion suddenly intensified. Blood energy surged around Shen Yuan and turned into a raging heat wave, instantly sweeping the entire mansion. This tangible blood energy made Shen Yuan appear like a Great Sun descending upon a cold region.
Fu Jian's movement came to an abrupt halt, and those of the Fu Family who had been chattering, were now silent, eyes wide open, stunned by the spectacle before them.
However, Shen Yuan remained composed, ignoring their thoughts, and ascended to the second floor amidst the increasingly heavy Yin Cold Qi.
After stepping onto the second floor, the Yin Cold Qi became even more intense, but behind it was a feeling of emptiness, as if it were a rootless duckweed.
Pushing open the doors to the source of the cold air, it was Old Master Fu's bedroom. At this moment, he was lying unconscious on the bed, his face withered, his body like a tree on the verge of dying, emitting a sense of decay.
Shen Yuan's eyes were sharp, and his gaze immediately landed on a Bronze Ancient Sword hanging on the wall of the room.
"I've found you!"