This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable

Lu Qingshan had actually begun to suspect the truth behind the Mo Family's sudden destruction when he discovered that Mrs. Mo's relationship with the Mo Family was profound, yet she refused to disclose anything about the Mo Family to Mo Yan.

Later, Mo Yan arranged for someone to use the Dragon Slaying Saber according to his instructions and found information about Xue Zhuyong.

According to the records, Xue Zhuyong's woodcarving shop had been operating in Jiaolong City for over thirty years.

However, the problem was that Xue Zhuyong, as the Family Head of the Mo Family, only left Dragon Spring Island after the Mo Family was destroyed by the Jiao Clan twenty years ago.

So, how could Xue Zhuyong manage a woodcarving shop on Jiaolong Island while residing on Dragon Spring Island before that?

Unless it was a case of using the ability to create a doppelgänger.

Moreover, according to the tailor shop owner next door, Xue Zhuyong even had a wife who had passed away from illness about twenty years ago.

The timing of Xue Zhuyong's wife's death coincided precisely with the point in time when the Mo Family fell to ruin.

The Three-feet Edge in the woodcarving shop had already indicated that Xue Zhuyong was part of the Mo Family, but he was also undoubtedly the straightforward owner of a woodcarving shop on Jiaolong Island, a man with a clear history, even having had a family early on.

Under such contradictory circumstances, there's only one explanation that could make sense of it all.

Xue Zhuyong must have established the identity of the woodcarving shop owner on Jiaolong Island long before any of the events.

There's always a reason for everything.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The most likely reason for Xue Zhuyong to have set up another identity so early might be that he knew the Mo Family was going to encounter a disaster or he was preparing to leave the Mo Family and wanted to create a faultless retreat and identity for himself.

Over thirty years ago, the Mo Family was prospering like never before, reaching an unparalleled zenith in its development.

As the contemporary Family Head of the Mo Family, Xue Zhuyong was not full of ambition, but rather, he was quietly arranging a way out for himself. Was this foresight, preparing for the worst, or were there other internal reasons—like was he personally planning the downfall of the Mo Family?

The Mo Family of Dragon Spring, a grand Sword Casting Family, might not have been as powerful as the Jiao Clan, but would the Jiao Clan overturn the Mo Family simply because of the claim that the Three-feet Edge could "slay a Jiaolong in the presence of a Jiaolong"?

Lu Qingshan had always been skeptical of this claim, but very few knew the real reason the Jiao Clan had acted against the Mo Family.

On one hand, there was the Jiao Clan, from whom information was naturally unattainable.

On the other hand was the Mo Family, but most members of the Mo Family had sunk to the bottom of the sea along with Dragon Spring Island, making it difficult to find an entry point. The only two remaining insiders, Xue Zhuyong and Mrs. Mo, were unwilling to revisit the past.

Only after discovering the images hidden in the Jiaolong woodcarvings and seeing the footage of Xue Zhuyong's interaction with the Jiaolong Demon King did Lu Qingshan truly understand the cause of the Mo Family's destruction. Explore stories on empire

Everything had a precursor.

Xue Zhuyong on numerous occasions entered the Dragon Pool alone to provoke the Jiaolong Demon King. That couldn't have been just for the thrill, could it?

As shocking as the answer might be, when combining all the evidence, it seems the most likely truth is that the downfall of the Dragon Spring Mo Family by the Jiao Clan was a grand scheme orchestrated by Xue Zhuyong himself.

"Mrs. Mo, you know about Mo Yan's enmity with the Jiao Clan and his plans to slay the Jiaolong Demon King," Lu Qingshan said seriously, without explaining the reasons for his suspicions, "You must be aware of how powerful the Jiaolong Demon King was when it destroyed your Mo Family.

Even if Mo Yan and the others are fully prepared, the chances of failure in slaying the dragon are still exceedingly high, and you understand what would happen to Mo Yan if they fail.

However, if the Family Head of the Mo Family were willing to take action and assist Mo Yan and the others in their dragon-slaying endeavor, it would undoubtedly reduce many risks and add a significant edge to the plan.

We have already found the Family Head of the Mo Family, but no matter what we do, we cannot persuade him to lend a hand.

Therefore, only by understanding exactly what happened within the Mo Family all those years ago might we be able to convince Xue Zhuyong to act, and for Mo Yan's sake, Mrs. Mo, it would be best if you no longer kept those events hidden from us."

With Lu Qingshan's speech, all color drained from Mrs. Mo's face.

With that said, Lu Qingshan quietly awaited Madam Mo's response.

Madam Mo's face turned green and white for quite some time before she exhaled a soft breath and lamented sorrowfully, "All of this is a disaster..."

...

...

As a sword-casting family of a millennium, the Mo Family's development and heritage had been so extensive that the factions within the family had become intricately complex and entangled. Under the crush of competing interests, there was already a hint of decay.

In the later years of the last Family Head of the Mo Family, a covert struggle erupted over power and the position of the Family Head, a complex affair that changed the fate of many.

And the origin of this struggle could be traced back to a once-withering and weak faction of the Mo Family—the Eighth Branch.

The helmsman of the Eighth Branch, Mo Yinfeng, was fond of pleasures and indulgences. However, his jealous Dao Companion came from a powerful background, forcing Mo Yinfeng to submit and indulge in his affairs secretively.

Under these circumstances, a male infant was born from the union of Mo Yinfeng and a common woman.

Fearing that Mo Yinfeng's Dao Companion would discover the child and kill him, the mother took the child into hiding and did not dare to give him the Mo surname. Instead, she gave her own surname to the child.

The woman's surname was Xue, and the babe in swaddling clothes was named Xue Zhuyong.

After relying on one another for five or six years, the existence of Xue Zhuyong and his mother still came to light by Mo Yinfeng's Dao Companion.

That year, Xue Zhuyong's mother "committed suicide," and due to her suicide, Xue Zhuyong's life was spared, but his fate was hardly any better as he was locked away in the Mo Family's Clan Prison.

In the prison, there was a jailer with the surname Liu, who was from another clan.

Liu the Jailer, disapproving of Mo Yinfeng's inaction and his Dao Companion's cruelty, especially despised the way these cultivators treated a five-year-old child. Thus, he took extra care of Xue Zhuyong and would often secretly take him to his home.

Liu the Jailer's family treated Xue Zhuyong exceptionally well, as if he was one of their own, allowing the young Xue Zhuyong to feel the warmth of a family.

There was also a daughter in the Liu family named Liu Zijun. She and Xue Zhuyong were of the same age, grew up together like childhood sweethearts.

About ten years later, when Xue Zhuyong was around fifteen, Mo Yinfeng's Dao Companion perished in an accident. Seizing this rare opportunity, Liu the Jailer reported to Mo Yinfeng, hoping to give Xue Zhuyong his freedom.

Only then did Mo Yinfeng remember he had a child in the Clan Prison. Exuberant from his release from his Dao Companion's domination and giving little thought, he brought Xue Zhuyong out of prison and recorded him in the clan register under the name Mo Zhuyong.

After leaving the Clan Prison, Xue Zhuyong was permitted to learn the sword-crafting skills of the Mo Family.

But due to his mother's tragic death, Xue Zhuyong had always been repulsed by the Mo Family and naturally despised the study of sword-crafting, refusing to put his heart into it.

This might have just been another common family entanglement, but a turn of events quietly took place.

Over the years, Xue Zhuyong and Liu Zijun developed a deep affection, childhood friends devoid of guile. However, knowing his own lowly status and uncertain future, Xue Zhuyong never dared to confess his feelings to Liu Zijun.

Unexpectedly, in the second year after his release, the fair-faced Liu Zijun caught the eye of a member of the Mo Family with high status, Mo Cheng, and a betrothal letter arrived at her door.

Liu the Jailer, just a jailer of the Mo Family from an external clan, dared not openly defy the order. Reluctantly, he prepared to marry off his daughter to him.

Xue Zhuyong and Liu Zijun both became dejected, a pair with mutual affection seemingly destined to be kept apart.

Fortunately, as the wedding approached, Mo Cheng perished at sea in a chance encounter with a Sea Demon, and the marriage arrangement had to be annulled.

This incident was an epiphany for Xue Zhuyong, who felt it was heaven giving him another chance to cherish the person before him. Resolutely, he went to ask for Liu Zijun's hand in marriage.