Zhou Xuan returned to the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion with Qingluan.
Huang Youwei was already waiting for him.
"Martial Uncle, this is Qingluan. Zhuge Changfeng gifted it to me."
Huang Youwei, with unusual excitement, walked over, opened the box, and took out Qingluan.
Qingluan remained motionless.
Zhou Xuan thought, "As expected, Qingluan only behaves like this in my hands. Could it be resonance between magical artifacts?"
If that were the case, would he have a similar reaction if he found the stolen gourd artifact from the Sun family?
And after half a year, when he advanced in cultivation and went to the Dragon Ridge ruins, would the other half of the ring also respond to him?
"Good, good!"
Huang Youwei excitedly patted Zhou Xuan's shoulder, "Now that Zhuge Changfeng has given it to you, it means he recognizes your abilities."
"Zhou Xuan, you don't need to return to Cangyun. In Shangjing, finding the other two magical artifacts is enough to avenge the blood feud of the Zhou family."
With Qingluan in hand, the Qiankun Mirror with Li Xuan, one ring remaining, and the gourd artifact not yet acquired.
Zhou Xuan nodded and said, "Your disciple respectfully obeys Martial Uncle's command!"
"Yes, good!" Huang Youwei said, "Follow me. I still have two people for you to meet."
Thus, Huang Youwei led Zhou Xuan and Qingluan towards the rear hall of the Celestial Mechanism Pavilion.
In the main hall, Lü Qixuan was already seated in the head seat.
Upon seeing Elder Huang arrive, he hurried to greet him.
Zhou Xuan was wondering why this person's attitude had changed so much.
Then he saw, below Lü Qixuan, two young men in white robes standing respectfully.
Seeing them, Zhou Xuan's eyes immediately lit up.
"Zhou Xuan, these two are the children of your master's colleagues whom he previously saved. They are called 'Jing Chen' and 'Ming Yan'," Huang Youwei introduced with a smile.
"Greetings, sirs."
Zhou Xuan quickly bowed in respect. He was familiar with these names.
Although these two youths were young, their cultivation aptitude was extremely high. In just ten years, they had become experts in the Transcendent realm.
Therefore, Zhou Xuan held them in high regard.
"Are you Zhou Xuan?"
Jing Chen looked up at Zhou Xuan, his eyes flickering.
Zhou Xuan looked at him and was slightly stunned.
Although Jing Chen had a face that had not yet shed its childishness, there was a hint of composure in his demeanor.
Elder Huang smiled and said, "They heard from me that your master had sent you down the mountain and rushed to find you, intending to repay their benefactor."
"Repay a benefactor, but my master's whereabouts are currently unknown, perhaps he is not on the mountain," Zhou Xuan explained.
"So I had them come to help you. Don't underestimate them because of their age; they each have their own capabilities, which you will come to know in time."
"No, I am not their subordinate, and I do not accept rewards without merit."
"Ah, Brother Zhou, don't be so quick to refuse us."
"Yes, if you knew who our current guards are, you would understand."
Zhou Xuan then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who?"
"We are with the Highest Command Headquarters."
Zhou Xuan's heart trembled.
Highest Command Headquarters.
He already knew that his master, Xu Tianhua, had caused a commotion at the Highest Command Headquarters for his wife, Li Huihui.
What did this mean now?
It meant he could find out why his master retired from the forefront and lost his desire to enter the secular world, and what exactly happened back then, and what humiliation his master had suffered.
Ming Yan said, "Brother Zhou, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear?"
"The good news," Zhou Xuan said in a deep voice.
"The good news is that after our father died, Uncle Xu entrusted us to the high-ranking officials of the Highest Command Headquarters when he left."
Zhou Xuan was stunned.
"We were raised by people from the Highest Command Headquarters."
"Later, we learned a clue about what happened back then."
"So we investigated and have now been marginalized."
"And in Shangjing, you have already been noticed by people from above."
This meant his identity had already been exposed, and therefore, his own identity would have no secrecy.
"What about the bad news?" Zhou Xuan asked again.
Ming Yan said, "The bad news is that back then, at the Headquarters, Uncle Xu knew someone, someone from the Qin family, named Qin Yuan."
Qin Yuan!
Someone from the Qin family!
Zhou Xuan's heart pounded violently.
He vaguely felt like he had grasped something.
But it flashed by, and he couldn't hold onto it.
"Back then, Qin Yuan held a position in the Highest Command Headquarters. Our father visited him several times when he was alive."
"We also know that Uncle Xu and our father were both acquainted with him."
Furthermore, Qin Yuan's cultivation aptitude was rather special, and he had always been the weakest among the three.
Zhou Xuan immediately felt that Qin Yuan was a source of worry for his master.
"Brother Zhou? Brother Zhou?"
"Oh, the good news is..."
Zhou Xuan was somewhat distracted.
As soon as Ming Yan finished speaking, Huang Youwei interrupted, "Your Brother Zhou's cultivation has already advanced to the late stage of Creation, and now that the Qingluan artifact is in hand, the other three artifacts have also made new breakthroughs."
Ming Yan and Jing Chen's eyes widened.
"Really? That's amazing! Uncle Huang, you are truly a divine being!"
Ming Yan exclaimed excitedly.
"Is that so? Then that's great, and I can finally rest easy."
Zhou Xuan smiled, but his heart felt a pang of bitterness.
It seemed that his master was harmed by Qin Yuan?
"Who is this Qin Yuan? I haven't heard of him in the Qin family."
Zhou Xuan asked.
"He is the eldest grandson of the Qin family's second branch, the son of Qin Wen. He is of the same generation as Qin Zhantian," Jing Chen replied.
It seemed that Qin Yuan was the key figure.
"Qin Wen? I know of him too."
Jing Chen pondered and said, "This Qin Wen ranks eighth in the entire Qin family. His father is an elder of the Qin family, also the clan leader, and is extremely powerful, reportedly having broken through to the peak of the Saint Entry realm."
"And his son, Qin Yuan, is even more exceptionally talented," Jing Chen said seriously.
Zhou Xuan nodded, but a hint of worry arose in his heart.
"Then how is Qin Huaiyu the current head? By right, it shouldn't be them."
"That's because Qin Wen died unexpectedly, and Qin Yuan seemed to have some issues at the Highest Command Headquarters, and his position was directly revoked."
No wonder.
It seemed the problem still lay in what had happened back then.
He hadn't expected his master's grievances to be related to the Qin family.
Zhou Xuan fell silent, his mind racing with thoughts, constantly speculating.
Huang Youwei and Ming Yan, along with others, sensed Zhou Xuan's distraction.
They exchanged glances, all somewhat surprised.
"Zhou Xuan, I know your concerns. We will do our best to help you," Huang Youwei said in a deep voice.
Zhou Xuan looked up and smiled, "Thank you. Your arrival is very timely, and it has helped me clarify many things."
"You don't need to worry. I have already concealed your identity from the people at the Highest Command Headquarters. As long as the two of us are willing to put in the effort, we can help you smoothly uncover what happened back then. It is inconvenient for us to investigate, but it's different for you," Ming Yan added.
Zhou Xuan's heart was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Huang Youwei and Ming Yan also smiled.
It seemed Zhou Xuan's worries were unfounded.
Zhou Xuan then asked Ming Yan a few more crucial questions, and Ming Yan patiently answered them all.
"The main reason for coming in such a hurry is that there's an excellent opportunity."