"Dao Friend Zhu Jue is widely learned and deeply experienced — Hongde is thoroughly impressed."

In the Lizhou artifact-sect, within a great hall that remained more or less intact.

Xu Hongde clasped his hands in salute, and behind him, the Xu family's Sixth Ancestor was likewise flushed with delight, doing his best to conceal his elation.

Who could have thought that after the Xu family's many years without emerging, even an existence as exalted as Great Qian would be so well acquainted with their deeds.

"I've traveled a good deal, so I've seen a bit more — it hardly counts as any real skill."

Zhu Jue returned the salute, a smile playing at his lips.

Wu Dao'an quietly rolled his eyes behind him. Thousands of years holed up in the armory, poring over those tattered books all day long, everything he read outdated by ages — how could he not be familiar? "Traveled a good deal," indeed — Wu Dao'an had never once seen the man budge from his spot.

"Rest assured, all of you — as for our Xu family's formations, never mind dealing with some expert, so long as you give us time, holding off an ordinary Spirit-Transformation cultivator's assault for three to five days is absolutely no problem at all."

The Xu family's Sixth Ancestor lifted his wine cup and drained it in one go, and began to speak rather unguardedly as well — actually going over the head of Xu Hongde, the clan head, to broach the matter of the alliance between the two sides.

"You'd best watch out the Fifth Ancestor doesn't thrash you when we get back."

Xu Hongde looked toward the crowd with a smiling squint, and by the by used a pebble to transmit a reminder to the Sixth Ancestor, whose face was nearly split from grinning.

Truly it was from coming out too seldom — when it came to the skill of dealing with people, they were weak nearly to the point of nonexistence.

Fortunately this Great Qian Dao Brother Zhu Jue seemed to be showing their crowd some consideration, and…