Mu Jinyu was unaware of the upheaval taking place in the Yan Kingdom.
After instructing the elders of the Heavenly Sword Faction to mobilize and assist Ji Li in searching for the surviving disciples of Mingyue Valley,
he himself entered closed-door cultivation once again.
This time, he entered seclusion not to enhance his cultivation.
For now, he does not have enough substantial cultivation resources to allow him to advance further into the Fourth Layer of the Fanxu Realm.
This seclusion was primarily aimed at cultivating the supreme-grade Earth-level movement technique "Fleeting Light Shadow" and the "Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Scripture" obtained from the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion of the Blood Sword Sect.
Although he lacked resources to enhance his cultivation, by relying on these two secret manuals, his peak Third Layer of the Fanxu Realm strength could still see improvement.
After inspecting the storage bags of the high-ranking elders from the Blood Sword Sect and Liuyun Sect, he found a lot of spiritual materials suitable for body refinement, leading Mu Jinyu to decide to cultivate these two manuals first.
Half a month passed in a blur.
The noble family youths and imperial princes who originally arrived at the Heavenly Sword Faction, eager to invite Mu Jinyu to visit their families and royal mansions, mostly left after failing to hear of Mu Jinyu's emergence from seclusion.
Only a few attendants remained, waiting to greet Mu Jinyu once he emerged.
Ultimately, only Third Prince Yan Ran, with his distinguished status, insisted on staying.
During this half-month period,
Ji Li, with the help of the Heavenly Sword Faction, found over a hundred Mingyue Valley disciples who narrowly escaped death and reestablished Mingyue Valley.
However, at this moment, Mingyue Valley's strength was naturally far from matching the Four Great Sects, only serving as one of Heavenly Sword Faction's affiliated sects.
Nevertheless, the reconstruction of Mingyue Valley occupied the original mountain gate of the Blood Sword Sect.
This was because the original site of Mingyue Valley had been destroyed by the battle between Mu Jinyu and Liuyun Sect, making it unsuitable to serve as a sect location again.
Though the Blood Sword Sect no longer had the Blood Essence Pool, the mountain region was rich in spiritual energy, making it still a good place for a new mountain gate.
They only needed to retrieve and relocate the core of Mingyue Valley's Heaven Cave Blessed Land to the Blood Sword Sect's site.
Of course, due to the core of the Heaven Cave Blessed Land being taken out and reestablished, a lot of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy was lost, and the level of the Heaven Cave Blessed Land naturally couldn't compare to before, preventing Mingyue Valley from ever becoming a first-class sect in the Yan Kingdom again.
Heavenly Sword Faction, out of respect for Mu Jinyu, did not seize the core of Mingyue Valley's Heaven Cave Blessed Land.
Everything went smoothly.
The reconstruction of Mingyue Valley continued to develop positively.
Yet amidst the many rebuilding needs, Ji Li also anticipated Mu Jinyu's emergence from seclusion to return the secret manuals to Mingyue Valley.
Mu Jinyu had promised her this before entering seclusion.
However, at that time, Mu Jinyu didn't expect her to rebuild Mingyue Valley so quickly, and since he couldn't identify the differences between the Mingyue Valley's secret manuals, Liuyun Sect's manuals, and the legacy in relics, he went into seclusion.
As a result, even though Mingyue Valley was rebuilt with the help of Heavenly Sword Faction, lacking cultivation methods and various secret manuals, they couldn't recruit disciples on a large scale.
They could only wait for Mu Jinyu to emerge from seclusion.
...
Another half-month passed in the blink of an eye.
Mu Jinyu was still in seclusion.
Tianlan Peak's first courtyard.
Yan Ran once again came from the guest room to visit Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan, asking for news of Mu Jinyu's emergence from seclusion.
"Misses, has Mu Country Knight emerged from seclusion yet?"
Yan Ran asked somewhat anxiously.
During a month in which he hadn't been in the Imperial Capital, the situation had become precarious, and there was news that the King of Yan wouldn't hold on much longer. If Mu Jinyu didn't come out of seclusion soon, he couldn't stay here much longer.
He had to hurry back to the Imperial Capital, or else if the King of Yan died en route and Yan Hua ascended the throne, given their enmity, Yan Hua would target him with various accusations to eliminate him!
"I'm sorry, Third Prince, he hasn't emerged from seclusion yet."
Wen Rou replied apologetically.
As for the Third Prince, Wen Rou had a rather good impression of him.
He was courteous and polite, without a hint of arrogance, and during this month, noble family youths and imperial nobles from various parts of Yan Kingdom came to visit. However, most stayed for three to five days, or a week, and left when they couldn't meet Mu Jinyu, suspecting he didn't want to see them.
Only Yan Ran, esteemed as the Third Prince, persisted until now.
Moreover, there were rumors that the Third Prince's current situation was quite poor. The longer he stayed here, while all his confidants remained in the Imperial Capital, the greater the danger he'd be in if the King of Yan passed away. Still, he insisted on staying, showing true loyalty.
Wen Rou even felt sorry for him and considered whether she should seek Mu Jinyu out, seeing if he could emerge from seclusion early.
However, even though Yan Ran had left her with a good impression, Mu Jinyu's seclusion was of paramount importance, and she certainly couldn't rashly decide to call Mu Jinyu out.
"Alas..."
Yan Ran sighed lightly upon hearing Wen Rou's words, his eyes showing regret, "It's a pity, not long ago a message pigeon from the Imperial Capital informed me that the Father King is in increasingly poor health, and I must return to stay by his bedside..."
Upon hearing this, Wen Rou sighed as well and softly said, "Then, Third Prince, you should return, and after my husband emerges from seclusion, I'll tell him about your situation."
"Thank you for the trouble."
Yan Ran nodded, stood up, and could not help but sigh, "We missed the chance to meet, which is regrettable..."
Afterward, Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan also stood up and escorted Yan Ran to the courtyard entrance.
Once Yan Ran reached the courtyard entrance, he suddenly thought of something and turned back to Wen Rou saying, "By the way, Miss Wen, could you take me to the place where Mu Country Knight is secluded..."
Seeing the expressions of Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan change slightly and grow colder, he hurriedly explained, "I have no other intentions, nor would I dare disturb Mu Country Knight's seclusion. I merely wish, after being here for so long without seeing Mu Country Knight, to at least stand aside and see him from afar."
Hearing Yan Ran's words, Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan's expressions softened.
Wen Rou thought of how Mu Jinyu had arranged a defensive formation around his seclusion, ensuring no disturbance was possible, though he also set up a formation to block surveillance, making it unlikely Yan Ran could see Mu Jinyu.
She informed Yan Ran of this.
Yan Ran, hearing the words, showed regret, sighed, "Though I can't see Mu Country Knight's divine presence, merely standing nearby satisfies me. Please, allow it."
At the end, Yan Ran even bowed to Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan.
Wen Rou furrowed her brow slightly, glanced at Jian Ruyan, and then finally nodded, "Alright, we'll take you there, but you mustn't have any other thoughts."
"I wouldn't dare, thank you both." Yan Ran promptly responded.
Afterward, Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan led Yan Ran to the rear mountain of Tianlan Peak where Mu Jinyu was secluded.
A dense bamboo forest lay ahead.
With the isolating formation present, Mu Jinyu's figure was wholly obscured.
Yan Ran, seeing this, closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, then opened them and said to Wen Rou, "Thank you both, I shall return now."
"Boom!!"
Just as his voice fell.
A sudden change occurred.
The nearly a thousand-meter-high Tianlan Peak suddenly shook violently, as if it were about to collapse.
"What's happening?!"
Yan Ran's complexion changed slightly.
Whereas Jian Ruyan and Wen Rou steadied themselves, exchanging glances, both had sparks of surprise in their eyes.
Both knew that Mu Jinyu's current seclusion was majorly for cultivating the "Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Scripture," and now with such a severe tremor at Tianlan Peak, it's highly likely Mu Jinyu was about to emerge.