Retreat

Silence. On Hanyun Peak, it was so quiet that only the faint friction of falling snowflakes mingled with the patter of raindrops. A cyan-white light flowed past, filling everyone's eyes. Yu Mugao's face was as pale as a sheet of paper; he uttered not a word. The shock of the scene before him was immense. The Yu family's ancestral treasure, the Foundation Establishment magical artifact Jade Smoke Mountain, hovered in midair, reverting dispiritedly to its original form and spinning in silence. Yu Xiaogui had ceased his wails, his eyes squeezed shut, his face as sallow as golden paper. Yu Mugao channeled magical power that glowed between his palms over the horrific wound across his father's waist. The cut left by the sword qi was smooth and even. As Yu Mugao sustained his father's spark of life, his lips trembled, not daring to look up. In midair, Li Tongya stood holding his sword, his gaze sharp as a blade, utterly silent. Below him, none of the Yu family could speak either. Only after several breaths did a crisp, melodic clatter ring out. It turned out that the Embryonic Breathing cultivators on the ground had finally shaken themselves free from the sword light's daze. In their panic, they dropped their magical instruments. The mortals fared even worse, tossing aside their weapons and dropping to their knees to kowtow. For a time, a clamor arose, descending into utter chaos. Li Tongya's gaze remained calm. He quietly swallowed down the blood surging up his throat, still not moving an inch. Delivering that strike had taken a heavy toll on him as well, and he could only stand there in place, silently absorbing the backlash, not daring to show any sign of fatigue. The suppressive power of the Jade Smoke Mountain roiled in his wrists, while within his sea of qi acupoint, turmoil raged unabated. His cultivation leaked away like water through a shattered vessel, leaving his limbs rigid and unable to move. The magical power infused into his sea of qi by the Huashang Fruit constantly clashed with his true essence. Vast Sea churned with terrifying waves, and blood surged into his mouth time and again. Li Tongya's vision blurred slightly, and his chest felt so stifled he could not utter a word. Right at that moment, several beams of light rose from the bottom of his sea of qi, and a white pill-like orb bounded out. Luminous and round, it shone with brilliant splendor, illuminating the entire sea of qi acupoint. "The Xuanzhu talisman seed..." The talisman seed flared with radiant light, suppressing all the turbulent waves within his sea of qi. Only after a long while did Li Tongya relax slightly. A glimmer of strange light flitted across his eyes as he reversed his cyan blade and sheathed his sword. *Clang!* As the Qingchi Sword returned to its scabbard, the gathered cultivators finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking like survivors of a calamity, they exchanged glances, only then realizing they were all drenched in cold sweat, shuddering to the bone. With his black hair draped over his shoulders and his handsome features composed, Li Tongya looked as if that sword strike had been nothing more than a casual flick of his wrist. Still cradling the cyan blade in his arms, he spoke politely and gently: "Out of consideration for Yuanwu Peak and Yu Muxian, Tongya will not hold your esteemed clan's transgression against you." His eyes were bright and clear, devoid of any harshness, yet not a single person in the Yu family dared raise their head to meet his gaze. Li Tongya said gently, "I must ask your esteemed clan to withdraw your forces." Yu Mugao carefully lifted his unconscious, eyes-closed father. His gaze swept over Li Tongya's white robe fluttering in the wind, the cyan-white sword light still darting through his mind. Riding the wind upward, he stopped before Li Tongya. "Many thanks for Senior's mercy." Yu Mugao seemed to have already digested the shock from before. With tear stains still lingering on his face, he took a deep look at Li Tongya, then commanded in a low voice: "Go!" As if granted an imperial pardon, the Yu family cultivators did not dare raise their heads. They trailed dejectedly behind him, retreating toward the south. On Hanyun Peak, cheers erupted, men and women weeping in one another's embrace. Yu Mugao merely looked down at his pale-faced father in his arms. Only after they had completely left the Fei family's territory did Yu Xiaogui open his eyes and rasp, "A fine idea you came up with." Looking at the feeble, dying Yu Xiaogui, Yu Mugao knew that whether his father could even survive was uncertain; at the very least, his cultivation path was severed, and his days were numbered. He lowered his head at once, saying nothing. Yu Xiaogui struggled to stand, shaking off his eldest son's hands. Yu Mugao gave a bitter smile and sighed deeply. "Li Tongya likely had only enough strength for a single strike, yet I dared not gamble!" His figure looked desolate and forlorn, like a gambler who had lost every penny at the table. Hearing this, the surrounding Yu family members felt a cold chill run down their spines. They exchanged glances, maintaining a stunned silence. — — — — "What a pity." Inside, Li Tongya was already a chaotic mess, barely managing to maintain an equilibrium. Fortunately, the Xuanzhu talisman seed shone brilliantly, forcefully holding his condition together. Cradling his sword, Li Tongya drifted slowly downward. Watching the retreating figures of the Yu family, he murmured, "Yu Mugao is a grave threat to our house. It is only a pity that I have no strength left to strike. Otherwise, I would have killed him without hesitation... even if it gave Yuanwu Peak and Yu Muxian a pretext against us." He was already at the end of his rope, merely clinging to life inside his secluded cave. When Li Yuanjiao reported the news upward, Li Tongya understood that he had no choice but to take action. *If we leave the Fei family to their fate, the next will surely be the Li family. Once Yu Mugao has no misgivings, combined with his ruthless cunning and unpredictability, an even greater catastrophe would surely follow.* When Li Tongya emerged from his cave, he had deliberately gathered his momentum and arrived riding flood dragons and sea beasts, hoping to intimidate the Yu family and avoid having to strike if possible. Initially, the weather, terrain, and timing were all on his side. The celestial phenomenon provoked by his cultivation had already cowed the crowd, and even Yu Xiaogui had been frightened by his renown for slaying the Maha with a sword strike, developing thoughts of retreat. Yet Yu Mugao's sudden shout had forcefully jolted everyone awake, prompting Yu Xiaogui to test him with a strike. Li Tongya's cultivation was fine so long as it remained still, but once unleashed, it poured out like a raging river, plummeting dozens of times over. Li Tongya watched until the Yu family vanished over the horizon. Only then did he withdraw his gaze and turn toward the Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array before him, admiring its intricate patterns in silence. The Yu family had fled in disarray, allowing the Fei family to finally heave a sigh of relief. Little did they expect the lethal presence in the sky to turn his gaze toward them. In an instant, their hearts leaped into their throats once more, and they exchanged apprehensive glances. Fei Tongxiao's heart was gripped by shock as he stared unblinkingly at the youth in the sky with draping black hair, holding a cyan-white longsword. The Cloud-Gathering Southern Sky Array isolated the interior from the outside world; though he had caught a few faint words, he still dared not believe it. "The Yu family said... this is Li Tongya?" The youth had bright eyes, handsome features, and a tall, straight posture. The sword qi radiating from his hand stung Fei Tongxiao's eyes so sharply they ached. With tangled emotions, Fei Tongxiao muttered: "Who is that?" "Li Yuanyun?... No... Li Yuanyun has no spirit aperture... This really is Li Tongya!" Fei Tongyu had once caught a glimpse of Li Tongya from afar at the Li family, but by the time Li Tongya gained some renown, he had already looked middle-aged. Fei Tongyu could not recognize him right away either, and could only speculate: "Perhaps when Li Tongya cut down the Maha with his sword, he gained some unknown boon? A tremendous surge in cultivation, reverting to youth... this is not unheard of in Jiangnan." While the two were at a total loss, Li Tongya stirred his magical power and called out in a gentle voice: "Tongya comes to pay a visit. I ask that you please open the array!" Both brothers froze. They stared at each other for a few breaths, each seeing the unease in the other's eyes. The exact same dilemma surfaced in their minds, and they spoke in unison: "Open it?" "Or keep it closed?"