"Has the Li family gone mad? The Qingchi Sect and the Shanyue drew boundaries between them, yet they dared to march troops across the border so brazenly... Even if the Shanyue's Purple Palace cultivator has been in seclusion for years, are all those Foundation Establishment cultivators on Mount Wu made of stone? How could they just stand by and watch?"
Yu Mugao rubbed the bridge of his nose, his mind fraught with bewilderment. Looking at the two subordinates at the peak of Qi Refinement standing below, he asked in a heavy voice, "Did you verify this thoroughly?"
"Reporting to the Clan Head, the Li family acquired an heir of the former King of the Eastern Shanyue and marched under the banner of reclaiming the throne... Perhaps because of this... Mount Wu failed to see through their intentions and intervene."
One of them stepped forward, cupping his hands to explain. Yu Mugao shot him a glance and replied:
"Do you think I cannot see through the Li family's methods? You don't understand. Doing this is almost certain to offend Mount Wu. It is a reckless gamble—not at all the kind of thing Li Tongya would do, given his temperament!
"Those figures on Mount Wu are hardly magnanimous. Though they are not adept at head-on combat, their shamanic curses are notorious for being insidious and uncanny. Back then, that Li Xiangping was unaware that Mount Wu guarded the Shanyue and led men deep into their heartland, only to be cursed to death by someone from Mount Wu. With such a stark warning not long in the past, Li Tongya is cautious by nature—how could he act so rashly?"
Yu Mugao's words left everyone below speechless, heads bowed in deep thought. He stroked his chin. Over the past few years, the Yu family's Milin Commandery had faced no shortage of troubles. Yu Mugao knew someone was making mischief behind the scenes to disperse the Yu family's focus, yet he had no choice but to maintain stability. Before he knew it, the Li family had stirred up another storm, leaving him utterly vexed.
"Could it be that something went wrong with Mount Wu...?"
Eliminating various possibilities, Yu Mugao finally arrived at an improbable conclusion. He said in a deep voice:
"Bring pen and paper. I will write a letter to ask Muxian."
His subordinates hurriedly presented pen and paper. After Yu Mugao finished writing the brief missive, he noticed his eldest son cautiously step forward and murmur:
"Clan Head, the Eastern Shanyue were already compelled by sheer survival to pay tribute to the Li family, using their people to sustain the Li family's towns. By doing this, the Li family merely replaced the Shanyue ruler with a loyal puppet, but they gain little beyond that..."
Yu Mugao froze, his chest tightening in irritation as he snapped:
"Idiot! Previously they merely paid tribute to the Li family, but henceforth the Eastern Shanyue will be their vassal! The spirit fields and spiritual resources will fall entirely under the Li family's control! The difference between the two is vast—how could such nonsense come out of your mouth?!"
The youth turned pale and stepped back. Yu Mugao slammed his hand against the tabletop in fury, shouting:
"Listening here has done you no good at all! Get out of my sight! Tomorrow, have your younger brother come in your place!"
Watching his eldest son slink away in dejection, the frustration in Yu Mugao's chest refused to subside. Narrowing his eyes, he said coldly:
"Still, we cannot simply indulge the Li family and let Li Tongya grow too powerful. We must find a way to suppress them."
***
As the capital of the Eastern Shanyue, Mulu Town possessed a population of fully twenty thousand, rivaling one of the Li family's four towns. Mu Jiaoman had been relatively diligent during his reign, constructing four roads leading in all directions. This proved immensely convenient for the Li family's forces, allowing them to reach Mulu Town in just a single night.
The gates of Mulu Town were thrown wide open. A swarm of Shanyue nobles knelt before them, among whom stood two Qi Refinement cultivators bowed in deference. Yet the pitch-black carriage paid them no heed at all, driving straight into the city toward the palace.
The carriage led the contingent of troops into the palace and halted before the main hall. Outside the bloodstained hall, a host of Shanyue ministers knelt on the ground. Li Yuanxiu stepped down from the carriage with Chen Donghe following silently behind him, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before coming to rest on the woman at the very front.
Li Yuanxiu took two steps forward and helped Li Feiruo to her feet, smiling as he said:
"Aunt, you preserved the palace's formation for our family, which is enough to ward off ordinary Qi Refinement cultivators. You are the greatest contributor to this battle!"
Li Feiruo smiled faintly and rose with his support, saying gently:
"When the nobles heard that an elder of our family was arriving, they were scared out of their wits and clamored to surrender. I did nothing of great consequence; I merely pulled a few strings and acted as an intermediary."
After a few modest words, Li Feiruo clapped her hands. Several Shanyue men carried out two corpses and dumped them with a thud before the steps. Li Feiruo explained:
"These two are Qimu's shaman-priest and his lapdog, Zhong Yudai. Both have been executed."
Li Yuanxiu nodded gently, and two men stepped forward from behind him to verify their identities. Li Feiruo then had Qimu's three children brought forward and said in a clear voice:
"Qimu slaughtered all his brothers. Mu Jiaoman's line now has only Shamoli and these three children left. Thinking the main family might have some use for them, I detained them beforehand to await the Young Patriarch's disposal."
"What use could they have? Kill them."
Li Yuanxiu smiled faintly, bypassed the crowd, and entered the inner hall alongside Li Feiruo. Behind them came the loud wailing and screams of children, yet both seemed not to hear a thing as they came to a halt. Within the cleanly swept inner hall, clan soldiers filed in swiftly, spacing themselves along both sides to lend the hollow hall an air of solemnity.
"What is this?"
Li Yuanxiu looked up toward the throne above. A spherical object with a brown center hung suspended over it, swaying gently as though staring down at everyone below.
"The Eye of Jianixi," Li Feiruo answered nonchalantly, causing Li Yuanxiu to pause slightly. She then continued, "Mu Jiaoman obtained Jianixi's mutilated corpse and refined his Foundation Establishment eyeball so that it would never rot, hanging it above the throne to gaze down upon everyone..."
"The customs of the Shanyue are rather ghastly."
Li Yuanxiu stared at the brown eyeball, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Without dwelling on it, he gave a quiet order:
"Take it down and use it as a sacrificial offering to Duke Xiangping."
"Understood!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, two clan soldiers stepped forward and took down the eyeball. Li Yuanxiu took another glance before turning to Li Feiruo.
"Aunt, you never had children..."
"I once did, but Mu Jiaoman murdered it."
Li Feiruo stroked her abdomen, a weary look crossing her expression. Li Yuanxiu fell silent, feeling rather apologetic, and said softly:
"Aunt, you have suffered greatly all these years. Is there anything you desire...?"
The corners of Li Feiruo's mouth curled up, and she bowed slowly, replying:
"Indeed, there is one matter. I am only in my thirties. I hope I might be permitted to choose a cultivator from our family to marry in as a matrilocal husband, so that I may bear a child to comfort the rest of my days."
Her answer caught Li Yuanxiu off guard, yet it made complete sense. As he nodded in assent, the hall doors swung wide open of their own accord without any wind. The clan soldiers on both sides bowed in unison as a middle-aged man riding the wind touched down in the hall. Bearing a sword on his back and another hanging at his waist, his demeanor was grand and imposing as he strode forward.
"Xiu'er greets Granduncle!"
Li Yuanxiu's expression turned solemn as he immediately knelt in greeting. Although Li Feiruo did not recognize the man before her, she could tell from everyone's reaction and knelt as well, saying respectfully:
"Feiruo greets the Old Ancestor!"
"No need for such formality."
Li Tongya nodded approvingly, looking at Li Feiruo before speaking in a warm voice:
"You did well. You spared our family a great deal of trouble. Which branch are you from?"
"My father was Li Yesheng, who served as manager to Duke Xiangping... and Li Xiewen is my elder brother!"
Li Feiruo answered respectfully. Li Tongya clapped his hands and laughed.
"So you are Yesheng's daughter! That explains it—you have your father's bearing! Back then, I told Xuan'er to send a clan woman over, but I never expected it would be you."
Li Feiruo smiled and offered her thanks. Li Tongya raised a hand and beckoned, causing the eyeball to lift from the attendant's hand and float over before him.
The brown eyeball, which had once brimmed with ferocity and cunning as it looked down on all living beings, was now left with only a dull, lifeless stillness. Li Tongya scrutinized it closely and sighed:
"Jianixi... Back then, he drove our family into dire straits. He truly was an extraordinary talent. Fortunately, he died at the hands of the Shanyue Purple Palace cultivator..."
Li Yuanxiu was young and knew little of that chapter of history. Li Feiruo, having lived among the Shanyue for years, was fairly familiar with it. Raising her head slightly, she explained in a gentle tone:
"I heard that Jianixi was Mu Jiaoman's concubine-born half-brother, born to a slave woman. He obtained an ancient secret art to attain Qi Refinement, and when he finally achieved Foundation Establishment, he was barely forty years old. He truly was a genius."
Li Tongya knitted his brows, musing inwardly:
'What ancient secret art? Even if he acquired the art, where would he get the qi to cultivate it? Nine times out of ten, it was an opportunity deliberately arranged by the Shanyue Purple Palace cultivator...'
Raising an eyebrow, he said in a low voice:
"Do you know what manner of immortal foundation Jianixi forged?"
"When Mu Jiaoman wept in his cups, longing for Jianixi, he once mentioned it. That immortal foundation was overbearing and magnificent, yet mysterious and unfathomable."
Li Feiruo pondered for a few moments, paused slightly, and said in a grave voice:
"It was called 'Fit for Emperors and Kings'!"
Chapter 183