Seized

Li Tongya waited upon the surface of the lake for a while. Seeing a streak of white light rise from the center of the lake and ride the wind south from the north, he practicedly drew out a piece of spirit cloth from his storage bag, wrapped it around his face, rested his left hand on his sword, and soared into the sky to meet the newcomer. "Fellow friend!" Riding the wind and meeting Li Tongya head-on, that person did not reply, immediately pulling upward and shifting angles without a second thought, intending to bypass Li Tongya. The Lunar Crescent Sword Arc in Li Tongya's hand was already prepared. Seeing this, he drew his sword and swept up a white sword light, hacking straight ahead to intercept the person before him. "Audacious!" That cultivator was forced to stop abruptly. With a sharp shout, the figure drew a sword to parry. The voice was melodious and pleasing to the ear—it was unexpectedly a female cultivator. Urging her magical power to fly swiftly, this female cultivator took the Lunar Crescent Sword Arc head-on. The longsword in her hand nearly flew from her grip. As the two forces collided and canceled out, her internal organs were severely shaken. Her face turned green and red in alternation, and she almost failed to maintain the hand seal for wind-riding. She lowered her head and glared resentfully at Li Tongya. Li Tongya, however, fixed his gaze on the verdant longsword in her hand. Its surface bore intricate patterns, marking it as a fine dharma sword at a glance. Seeing the female cultivator's unsightly complexion, his heart stirred greatly. In a raspy voice, he said, "Young lady, you are no match for me. Leave behind your storage bag and dharma artifacts, and I can still spare your life." The female cultivator sneered coldly. A white sword ray instantly burst from her longsword. Slashing back at Li Tongya, she barked, "Dream on!" Li Tongya calmly raised his sword to meet her attack. With two strokes, he parried her blade, calculating the time it would take to defeat her. *This female cultivator is only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement. Although her cultivation method and true essence are both remarkable, defeating her in an ordinary clash would still take between a hundred and twenty to a hundred and forty moves. But people come and go across this lake; drawing others here would only invite trouble. It is best to resolve this swiftly.* Although Li Tongya was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, bolstered by the Vast Ocean Leviathan and his sword path cultivation, his combat strength far surpassed ordinary cultivators. Let alone the sixth layer, even orthodox cultivators of the seventh or eighth layers of Qi Refinement were no match for him. If pitted against small fry who had hastily swallowed pills to refine qi, even those at the peak of Qi Refinement would not be his equal. The sword qi from his blade grew increasingly sharp and brilliant, forcing the female cultivator into a cold sweat as she retreated repeatedly. *This man is definitely no ordinary figure! Never mind rogue cultivators—not even those five or six prominent clans could nurture such a disciple. He must surely hail from the Three Sects and Seven Gates!* Facing Li Tongya's full might, after parrying a mere few dozen moves, the female cultivator felt the sword ray on her blade nearly collapse. Each blast of sword qi was heavy and forceful, and the true essence within her body was about to run dry. *His true essence is profound and luminous, devoid of sharp aggressiveness, neither hot nor cold... Is he from the Qingchi Sect? Or the Changxiao Gate?* Seeing that she was on the verge of defeat, the female cultivator bit her pearly teeth, yet she could not bear to part with the goods in her storage bag. Raising her voice, she called out, "I am of the Wu clan of Commandery South. If Fellow Daoist gives my Wu clan face today, I shall remember this kindness in my heart..." Li Tongya shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Could I possibly go to your Wu clan in Commandery South to demand rewards? Fellow Daoist, do not try to brush me off with such useless words. I, Wan, hold to the same condition! Lay down your storage bag and dharma artifacts, and I can still spare your life." Li Tongya had encountered members of the Wu clan of Commandery South before. He had also seen people from the Wu clan during his first visit to Guanyun Peak. They had no ties with one another, yet unexpectedly, they crossed paths today. "Fellow Daoist, you push people too far! My Wu clan is an eminent clan with a Foundation Establishment ancestor, and I am his fifth-generation granddaughter. If you harm me, you will make an enemy of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. You had best think this through!" The female cultivator ground her teeth, putting up a brave front to mask her inner dread. Li Tongya shattered the sword ray upon her longsword with a single strike and said coldly, "Never mind a Foundation Establishment cultivator—even if a Purple Palace cultivator sought you out after I slay you here in the wilderness, there would be no trace to find. So what if you are his fifth-generation granddaughter? It would make no difference even if you were his direct daughter!" With that, he spoke no more. Each strike drove the female cultivator surnamed Wu into retreat. Li Tongya flicked his sword upward, and with a crisp clatter, the verdant longsword slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the ground nearby. Just as Li Tongya thrust his sword forward, a pale yellow talisman suddenly flew from the female cultivator's hand. Li Tongya raised an eyebrow, pulled back without hesitation, and drew his sword to store power. Red light flashed across the talisman, bursting into five sparrow-like flames that hurled themselves at Li Tongya. The Lunar Crescent Sword Arc surged vigorously, barely managing to shatter two bursts of flames, exploding them into scattering red sparks. The other three fiery techniques had already reached his face. Li Tongya had no choice but to block with his sword held horizontally. His entire body of true essence converged into the blade, causing it to blaze with brilliant light. The three fiery attacks struck one after another, driving Li Tongya back three steps. The grayish-white longsword turned bright red, sizzling and throwing off sparks. He hurriedly sheathed the sword. Meanwhile, the female cultivator had already retrieved her blade and was riding the wind eastward. Li Tongya likewise took flight upon the wind, urging his true essence forward regardless of the drain. Within a dozen breaths, he caught up to the female cultivator. The sword qi erupting from his blade caused her back to tingle with numbness. *How can he be so fast! How could this be the speed of the fifth layer of Qi Refinement?!* The female cultivator trembled in sheer terror. Her slender hand reached toward the storage bag at her waist once more. Li Tongya's longsword was still scorching hot; he dared not let her struggle any further. Lunging forward, he slashed directly at the hand reaching for the bag. Pale white miniature shields materialized at her neck and over her heart, but she had never expected Li Tongya to be so cautious. Her schemes came to naught as her left arm was lopped off, falling to the ground. She screamed in agony, cold sweat instantly drenching her forehead. Faltering, she struggled to maintain her wind-riding art. Li Tongya gave her no quarter and brought down another strike upon her body, nearly cleaving her in two. The female cultivator wailed in pain and plummeted headlong toward the ground. The Wu clan of Commandery South was indeed a great family, and this female cultivator possessed exceptional composure. Even as her magical arts dissipated and she was about to smash flat against the earth, she managed to right herself shakily. Li Tongya pursued and decapitated her with a single swipe of his sword, finally sending her on her way. Looking at the pool of filthy blood on the ground, Li Tongya furrowed his brows slightly. Shaking the blood from his blade, he let out a low sigh and drew the storage bag at her waist to his hand. "Fellow Daoist, you could have taken a path to life, or even a swift and dignified death. Yet you had to choose such an ugly way to die..." Using an art to part the soil, Li Tongya buried her corpse along with the bloodstains, then hastily rode the wind into the air. Thunder was already roaring violently across the distant Lake Heart Islet. Far away, Li Tongya heard a booming laugh, followed by a furious shout: "There is another array beneath this?! How cunning!" "I have accumulated resources on Lake Wangyue for two hundred years. No matter what, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. The three of you may taste my Restricting Severance Art!" The aged voice was slightly raspy, laced with a touch of ruthlessness. Thunder and fiery rain crashed down abruptly. For a time, the islet in the lake was illuminated by the interplay of array formations, lightning, and rain of fire. There was no telling how many petty Qi Refinement cultivators who had come to loot were caught in the crossfire. Quietly alarmed by the sight, he watched as the fiery sunset clouds in the sky gradually faded and the light of the thunder and arrays slowly dissipated, leaving the lake islet a scorched wasteland. Li Tongya felt uneasy in his heart. Turning, he flew across the lake for a while until he spotted a small islet. Chanting the Water Avoidance Technique, he dove into the water, landing upon the riverbed, and vanished from sight. The Li family had sent many people to explore and tidy up the serpent demon cave dwelling the year before. Several hundred mortals and three Embryonic Breathing cultivators now lived within it. The skeletons and corpses had already been cleaned away, and over a dozen courtyards had been constructed at the entrance. The pale blue crystals on the ceiling provided illumination, giving the place a distinctive charm. Li Tongya waved off the approaching Embryonic Breathing cultivators and sought out a room. Just as he prepared to regulate his breathing, he realized his true essence was nearly full. *Vast Ocean Leviathan... truly marvelous!* Taking up the female cultivator's storage bag, Li Tongya poured out a pile of glistening spiritual items. Summoning a flame art, he burned away her clothes and miscellaneous items, then inspected his spoils: "Between twenty and thirty Embryonic Breathing talismans, fifteen spirit stones, three Qi Refinement-grade talismans, three Embryonic Breathing dharma artifacts, over a dozen bottles of Embryonic Breathing pills..." Moving these odds and ends aside, Li Tongya retrieved a man-sized, blood-stained cauldron from the storage bag. His eyes instantly lit up with pleasant surprise. "So it was a pill cauldron! No wonder she was so reluctant to part with it. The price of a pill cauldron has always far exceeded ordinary dharma artifacts, not to mention that this one is of fine quality. It must be worth several hundred spirit stones!" Looking at the blood on the cauldron, he could tell that the female cultivator had possessed decent strength. There was no telling how many people she had killed when seizing this cauldron. Li Tongya performed a Clothes Cleansing Technique to wash away the blood, put it away with great satisfaction, and examined the three talismans. *One is that remarkably powerful Fire Sparrow Technique. If caught unprepared, even a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would suffer greatly from it. The other two are much more ordinary: one art shield and one needle-rain art, likely carrying only the power of the early stage of Qi Refinement.* Putting away the talismans, Li Tongya picked up a token forged from cyan crow ore, inscribed with the character "Wu." It appeared to be an identity medallion. Casually stowing it away, Li Tongya sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.