To confirm his guess, Qin Xuan led the way from the Lie family's main hall to Lie Feng's room.
Upon seeing the person who had humiliated him at his wedding, Lie Feng abruptly stood up, his eyes blazing with fury.
"Qin Xuan! I know I have no cultivation to resist you, but don't think for a moment that I, Lie Feng, am a pushover for you to trample on!"
"If you dare to continue shaming me, I'll bite off a piece of you even if it costs me my life!"
"Feng'er, silence!"
Following a step behind, Lie Quan and Lie Xin Yuan entered from outside the door.
Lie Feng was stunned to see his father siding with the other party instead of him.
However, he knew his father would never harm him, so despite his unwillingness, he closed his mouth, only showing his defiance through his gaze.
"Qin Xuan is now the master of our Lie family. He's here to investigate the reason for your inability to cultivate over the years."
"Rest assured, Master's strength is immense; even the Old Ancestor couldn't defeat him. Perhaps this time, he can truly restore you to your former self and allow you to embark on the path of cultivation once more!"
Upon hearing his father's words, Lie Feng's first reaction was that he was still dreaming.
What was this about being the master of the Lie family?
What was this about being stronger than the Old Ancestor?
Wasn't their Lie family's Old Ancestor his grandfather, Lie Qing?
How did he turn into this old man in the red robe standing beside him?
Countless questions swirled in Lie Feng's mind.
Meanwhile, Qin Xuan's lips curved into a smile, and his gaze fell upon the black ring on the other's hand.
Bone Ring: Why are these people so annoying? They're simply delaying young Lie Feng from absorbing spiritual energy! Master was supposed to recover these past two days, but it's all because of this wedding that young Lie Feng put aside his cultivation!
As the inner voice reached him, Qin Xuan was immediately stunned, then burst into laughter.
As the ancients said, coincidence makes a story.
But this situation now was simply too coincidental!
In the popular novel "Battle Through the Heavens," the protagonist Xiao Huo was a natural genius whose cultivation was drained to support Yao Zun.
And Lie Feng was clearly experiencing the same thing!
However, Yao Zun in the novel was wise and kind, maintaining a positive attitude despite experiencing countless betrayals and hardships.
The owner of this ring on Lie Feng's hand, however, might not be the same.
After all, Lie Feng and Xiao Huo only shared similar experiences, not a hundred percent replication.
Even if a great demon was possessing this Bone Ring, Qin Xuan wouldn't be surprised.
Seeing Qin Xuan suddenly laugh, the grandfather and grandson trio, who were conversing, stopped their actions and turned their gazes towards him.
Qin Xuan didn't play coy. He immediately stepped forward and took the ring from Lie Feng's hand.
Seeing this, Lie Feng tried to snatch it back.
But what Qin Xuan said next made him freeze on the spot, then exclaim in disbelief, "You're saying that the vital energy I've painstakingly cultivated for over a decade was all absorbed by this ring?!"
His tone rising, Lie Feng's eyes immediately turned from flesh-colored to crimson red.
How many years had it been since his cultivation suddenly vanished, and how many years had he been mocked by others?!
Although he was the son of the family head, others dared not say anything to his face, but he knew perfectly well what they said behind his back!
Mockery, ridicule, contempt.
All sorts of gossip had washed over him like a tide for over a decade.
And in the end, it was all because of a ring?
A black ring left by his deceased mother?!
With a roar, Lie Feng immediately wanted to vent all his pent-up resentment.
But to his surprise, Qin Xuan suddenly stepped out and blocked his path.
As a result, all the words he wanted to vent were stuck in his throat, but he was forced to suppress them.
"I know you're anxious, but don't rush."
"We don't know if the person inside is good or bad, so your first reaction upon their awakening is very important."
"Hold back the words you want to vent, and don't speak them. Now, I will make this mysterious guest who has been residing within you for over a decade reveal themselves!"
With a smirk, Qin Xuan directly put the black Bone Ring on his own hand.
As his immense spiritual power poured into the Bone Ring, the consciousness within the ring finally began to awaken gradually.
"Come out, esteemed guest."
"Having absorbed someone's efforts for over a decade, do you intend to hide forever?"
Hearing the Bone Ring's inner voice change from the owner not being awake to being awake, Qin Xuan immediately stopped supplying spiritual energy and issued an invitation for the person in the ring to appear.
The soul within the ring, however, did not react at all to Qin Xuan's words.
It wasn't until Qin Xuan spoke again, stating that he was fully aware of the Bone Ring and the matter of absorbing cultivation, that the soul sighed and slowly revealed its true form.
In mid-air, a white figure, ethereal like mist, slowly floated out of the ring.
The figure was clad in white, with white hair, and possessed the handsome, dashing appearance of a young man in his late twenties or early thirties.
Seeing the four people present, he showed no signs of panic.
On the contrary, he simply floated gently to Lie Feng, whose face was flushed red, and apologized softly, "Young friend Lie Feng, I truly apologize for absorbing your cultivation for so long."
"But rest assured, I, Chen, am not an ungrateful person. If you are willing, I, Chen, am willing to take you as my disciple and teach you peerless cultivation techniques that can lead to becoming an immortal or a god."
"Then, whether it's heaven or earth, even the ends of the universe, you can go anywhere."
"How about it?"
"I..."
The sudden apology and offer of discipleship completely bewildered Lie Feng.
He had originally intended to vent all his accumulated grievances after the other party appeared.
But after Qin Xuan's intervention and the apology from the soul surnamed Chen, he became somewhat flustered.
He looked at Qin Xuan and the others with a confused expression.
"Didn't you have something to say to him earlier?"
"You can say it now."
Seeing Lie Feng suddenly falter, Qin Xuan quickly reminded him.
Perhaps the soul surnamed Chen was only saying those flattering words now because they were present.
Lie Feng should not agree easily; instead, he should express how much he had suffered humiliation over the years.
Otherwise, if this soul remained unaware of Lie Feng's hardships, it would inevitably develop a sense of rejection towards him.
Only when they truly connect heart-to-heart could their master-disciple relationship go further in the future.
As for the soul's character in life, Qin Xuan had some understanding from the Bone Ring.
Although he didn't know the details of his youth, judging by the Bone Ring's loyalty from his life to his death, this soul was definitely no less than Yao Zun in the novel.
"I, well..."
"Do you know that because of you, all my hard work over the years has been in vain?"
"Not only that, but I've also endured ridicule from many people, both openly and secretly. Do you know that?"
"And also..."
Hearing Lie Feng's emotionless questioning, which sounded like reciting lines, Qin Xuan couldn't help but slap his forehead and shake his head.
In contrast, the cultivator surnamed Chen nodded gently, indicating that he understood everything.
His soul had always been attached to the Bone Ring, and while he couldn't fully comprehend Lie Feng's thoughts, he could sense some of them.
He completely understood how difficult it was for Lie Feng to provide him with spiritual energy, which was why he immediately offered to take him as a disciple upon his appearance.
He wanted to repay this little benefactor and, at the same time, compensate him.
However, besides Lie Feng, he was even more interested in the person who had provided him with immense spiritual energy last.
This was because, from that person, he seemed to have sensed a power he had never encountered before.