An Zheyu kowtowed repeatedly, scraping against the floor until his robes and cap were tangled into a disheveled heap. In sheer terror, he stammered, "This humble one... this humble one heard that geniuses possess great miraculous qualities, and that consuming them allows one to absorb a measure of it. A momentary lapse of greed possessed me, and so..."
Seeing Li Tongya's expressionless face on the raised seat above, An Zheyu's eyes lit up as if struck by sudden inspiration. He cried out, "There's still some left! There's still some left! Wait a moment, my lord, I cured..."
He scrambled up eagerly, fumbled around the ornate seat above, and produced a gold-inlaid jade box. Dropping to his knees before the three men, he opened it to reveal translucent, dark-red slices. An Zheyu gave a fawning smile and said, "This—"
Before the words could leave his mouth, Li Xuanling drew his sword in fury and lashed out with the scabbard. The metal sheath struck An Zheyu squarely across the jaw, leaving his head spinning and blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, choking off the rest of his sentence.
The hand Li Tongya kept on his sword hilt was clutched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His countenance remained composed, yet his eyes narrowed slightly, glinting with a vicious cruelty akin to a serpent-dragon. His lips trembled for a single breath before he barked:
"Absurd!"
The moment his voice fell, a piercing drone rang in everyone's ears. The shrieking vibration forced a scream of agony from An Zheyu as blood streamed from both his ears. Strapped to Li Tongya's back, the longsword—tightly swaddled and never once unsheathed—throbbed and hummed violently, causing the dharma swords at the waists of Li Xuanling and Li Xuanxuan on either side to tremble in terror.
*Clatter!*
The exquisite jade box spun across the floor, chipping off a corner as the greasy, translucent, dark-red contents spilled across the stones. A dark fury hung over Li Tongya. Having kept his composure for decades, he kicked the jade box aside, took the Green Ruler Sword from his back into his embrace, and stroked it soothingly. Only when the sword's humming ceased did he say in a low voice, "Tie him up. We will deal with him when An Zheyan arrives."
"No, my lord! By no means! Spare my life!"
An Zheyu knew full well that falling into An Zheyan's hands would mean a fate worse than death. Gripped by terror, he pushed himself upright and wailed. Yet he was merely an Embryonic Breathing fifth-layer cultivator at the Yujing Wheel stage. Li Xuanling struck his Shengyang Mansion with a single palm strike, sending him slumping limp to the ground.
***
Mount Huazhong fell in mere moments. On the other front, Li Xuanfeng led his men in flight for a while before Mount Yuting gradually came into view. The array atop the mountain gleamed with shimmering light, appearing fairly sturdy.
Mount Yuting was narrow in front and broad in back. Its spiritual ley lines were feeble, unable to sustain many cultivators. The terrain was also steep and rugged, poorly suited for mortal settlement. Thus, when the An family conquered Mount Huazhong, the entire clan had relocated west. Today, only a handful of Embryonic Breathing cultivators remained on the mountain, gazing anxiously through the barrier at the outside world.
Li Xuanfeng and his companions halted before the formation. Unlimbering the Jin Geng bow from his back, he nocked a Qingwu arrow, pulled the string taut, and loosed it at the defensive array.
*Boom!*
A dazzling golden light closed the distance in a flash and slammed violently into the barrier with a resounding blast, rattling the surrounding woods. The Embryonic Breathing cultivators shrank back in fear as the array rippled with distortions, though it managed to hold.
Li Xuanfeng had never expected to shatter it with a single shot. Nocking another arrow, he drew his bow again. A barrage of golden arrows rained down like shooting stars, crashing relentlessly into the barrier and sending endless rumbles echoing through the valley. The array flickered unstably. The formation atop Mount Huazhong had been reinforced by the Yu family after their conquest, but Mount Yuting's array had been built by the An family long ago. Far inferior to Huazhong's defenses, it trembled under the onslaught, sending the cultivators inside crying out in panic and weeping for mercy.
With that demonstration of force finished, Li Xuanfeng lowered his bow, straightened, and tilted his head slightly toward An Zheyan. Li Xuanfeng had no desire to wreck the array if he could help it; it was, after all, an upper-middle Qi Refinement formation that would cost seventy to eighty spirit stones to construct. Since only a few An family Embryonic Breathing cultivators defended it, having their former clan head urge them to surrender would allow the Li family to repurpose the barrier.
Taking the hint, An Zheyan hurried forward and bellowed, "Are your dog eyes blind?! How dare you bar my path!"
The Embryonic Breathing cultivators below clearly recognized An Zheyan. A commotion broke out as they argued frantically amongst themselves. A dozen breaths passed before another warning arrow from Li Xuanfeng cut short their dispute. A white-haired elder was pushed forward, trembling as he approached the edge of the barrier and called out:
"Is that... An Zheyan?!"
In the past, had anyone dared address An Zheyan so bluntly by name, he would have flown into a thunderous rage and struck back without hesitation. Now he paid it no heed. Delighted, he shouted through the barrier, "Since Uncle recognizes me, open the formation at once and let us in!"
The white-haired elder was indeed An Zheyan's uncle. Hampered by poor talent, he had only reached the third layer of Embryonic Breathing after all these years. Yet he had lived a remarkably long life, having surpassed a hundred years of age—a rare longevity. His aged face remained calm as he stared directly into An Zheyan's eyes and asked, "How has the Yu family responded?"
"Yu Yufeng is dead! Li Tongya has broken through to Foundation Establishment, and Mount Huazhong has likely already fallen by now! Cease this futile struggle!"
An Zheyan shouted with wide eyes. His words plunged the wavering Embryonic Breathing cultivators into utter terror. They shoved against one another, shouting in shock:
"Yu Yufeng is dead?!"
"How is that possible?! A late Foundation Establishment cultivator... dead just like that!"
"Why couldn't it be possible?! If Yu Yufeng weren't dead, how would the Li family dare be so bold! Bah, bah, bah—the main clan... it's the main clan..."
Several voices were already clamoring for the elder to drop the barrier. Hearing the news, the old man sighed softly. He looked up toward Li Xuanfeng hovering in the sky with his bow, his expression a mix of grief and indignation. In a low murmur, he said, "You must think this through. Once this formation opens, the An family will cease to exist. From this moment on, you and I will be meat on someone else's chopping block!"
A fleeting flicker of sorrow crossed An Zheyan's face before hardening into resolve. He gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle! What An family is left?! An Zheyu is nothing more than Yu Mugao's running dog! Stop deceiving yourself..."
"Ever since Yu Mugao stormed Mount Huazhong, my son took his own life in despair, and An Zheyu took charge, there hasn't been an An family! It was all our wishful thinking. By submitting to the Li family, we might at least have a future. But if the Yu family takes over, you'll see whether that viper Yu Mugao ever dares employ cultivators with foreign surnames!"
The white-haired cultivator let out a soft sigh, recognizing the truth of his words. He tapped lightly on the formation disc before him. The defensive barrier shielding the mountain wavered, dissolving into specks of white light that drifted into the air. Cheers erupted from below as Li family armored warriors and clan troops surged forward, swarming the mountain paths like an army of ants.
Overjoyed, An Zheyan dropped down from the air, carefully collected the formation disc, and turned with a broad smile to the white-haired elder. "Uncle has rendered great service today! I will surely submit a memorial to the main clan on your behalf!"
The surrounding An family cultivators looked on with envy and jealousy. Yet the white-haired cultivator remained expressionless. Two streams of tears traced down his weathered cheeks as he wept, "I... have no face left to see our descendants!"
With that, he drew his sword and whispered, "I should have died the day the Yu family invaded. I preserved this useless body only out of concern for the safety of our main bloodline. Now that you have submitted to the Li family, it is time for me to die!"
Shocked, An Zheyan lunged forward without thinking, but he was far too slow to stop a man determined to move his hands. A white-haired head tumbled to the ground with a dull thud. An Zheyan recoiled as though scalded, muttering in dazed disbelief, "How... how could it come to this... why did it have to come to this!"
The severed head bounced twice on the earth, its desolate eyes staring blankly at the sky before rolling lightly to the feet of the young man standing nearby. Li Xuanfeng looked down with an inscrutable gaze, nodded faintly, and murmured, "An Zheyan, you ought to bury him with honor."
Any joy An Zheyan had felt upon returning to Mount Yuting vanished entirely. Exhaustion washed over his face as he continued to mumble, "Why did it have to come to this..."
Li Xuanfeng arched a brow, his sharp gaze cutting into him like a blade. In a low voice, he said, "The annexation of great families was never a gentle, pleasant business. At your advanced age, you've somehow reverted to the naive sentiment of a sheltered maiden! Do you not realize what lies beneath the five immortal mountains and spirit veins of the south bank?"
Li Xuanfeng paused, his brow furrowing slightly. In his mind's eye surfaced the bloody memories from when he was seven—the year his father, Li Xiangping, went missing, leaving him clutching a small wooden bow as he crawled and fought among mounds of corpses. Every word came through clenched teeth, his eyes blazing.
"Through these rugged crags and rustling woods, what waters the earth are the weeping tears of countless talents and heroes! And what flows endlessly... is the damn flesh and blood of the six great families!"
Chapter 243