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Seeing Zhang Huaide's demeanor, the demonic cultivator surnamed Qiu had no idea what the man was truly capable of. He thought to himself: ‘We both came here on orders from Ancestor Di Fu. Who knows what tricks this fellow actually has? But judging by the Ancestor's attitude, he must have some backing. Perhaps he really does know a way to break the enemy!’ Gritting his teeth, he thrust out both palms. White vapor surged as he took the thunder talisman Li Qinghong had hurled with a sharp cry head-on. A grating, annihilating screech erupted between his palms; as if holding a scalding potato, he forced it away with great effort. *Rumble!* Li Qinghong’s Purple Talisman Origin Light Secret Method was arguably the highest-grade spell currently possessed by the Li family. The Three Sects and Seven Gates strictly regulated magical techniques, and aside from this method, the Lis possessed no other graded secret technique. Detonating before Qiu, it sent purple lightning churning and thick white smoke billowing into the air. "Ah!" The demonic cultivator cried out in pain, his hands blackened and charred. Before he could even catch his breath, a brilliant sword light rose through the dust and slashed toward his neck. Qiu had no choice but to throw up his hands to parry. *Slash!* His spell had already been shattered by Li Qinghong’s thunder talisman, and Qingchi was a Foundation Establishment dharma artifact. In a single flash, the blade sheared off five fingers, sending them tumbling through the air. Blood spurted like a fountain. His eyes turned blood-red, and he roared: "Damn you, Zhang Huaide! I, Qiu Ji, am not playing around with you anymore!" Meanwhile, the radiance in Zhang Huaide's hand grew increasingly intense. Li Yuanjiao had already pinched the family’s sole remaining Foundation Establishment talisman inside his sleeve while guiding Qingchi with his other hand, his gaze locked dead onto Zhang Huaide. Under Li Yuanjiao's stare, Zhang Huaide felt a sharp pricking between his brows. Yet his expression remained calm and utterly fearless as he sneered: "Vermin! Let me show you the secret arts of demonic cultivators!" At these words, the remaining demonic cultivators felt a surge of excitement, eagerly waiting for him to strike. They saw him raise a blood-suffused magical mirror high into the air as five jade rings materialized around his body. In a deep, resonant voice, Zhang Huaide intoned: "High Heaven have mercy, preaching the Dao across the ten directions; Nether Realm deep and dark, seeking the Law through the Great Void of the four seas... Ridge Blood Void-Sailing Escape Method, edict!" The magical mirror flashed, and his body dissolved into a fist-sized streak of bloody luminescence trailing a long crimson wake, vanishing into the far distance in the blink of an eye. The battlefield fell deathly silent. The demonic cultivators were so stunned that they could not even get a curse out. The one being besieged by the Li family's external retainers had wanted to flee from the start; knowing well how shameless Zhang Huaide was, he reacted the quickest. *Crack!* Taking advantage of the general distraction, this cultivator seized a momentary gap and swung his hammer, smashing through the protective barrier of Tian Youdao—the weakest among them—and striking him squarely in the chest with a sickening crunch of shattered bone and flesh. "Uncle!" Tian Zhongqing's grief-stricken cry echoed through the air. Qiu Ji moved at the same moment, streaming scarlet light as he forcefully withstood Li Qinghong's lingering lightning spell and fled in a direction completely different from Zhang Huaide's. Li Yuanjiao and his sister naturally refused to let him escape and rode the wind in pursuit. Unbeknownst to them, Qiu Ji's flight path carried him straight toward Xu Gongming, who was brandishing his dharma artifact. Xu Gongming had been besieging the demonic cultivator with ease. Seeing Qiu Ji flying toward him on the wind, his eyes lit up, and he thought: ‘If I block him for just a moment, wouldn't that be free merit to claim?’ Thus, Xu Gongming drove his dharma artifact forward to intercept. He was originally a saber user, but since the family lacked relevant arts, he had not even condensed saber qi. He could only maneuver his Embryonic Breathing dharma artifact, the Qingwu Saber, to block the path. Qiu Ji was furious. To think that an ant he could have swatted to death in the past dared to act so brazenly before him! He bellowed: "How dare an ant presume!" Without pausing in the slightest, he exhaled a stream of white vapor that swirled like fog. In an instant, it blasted Xu Gongming's Embryonic Breathing artifact to pieces. The remnant force shattered Xu Gongming's protective magical power and struck him across the face. As flesh and blood dissolved, Xu Gongming lost his footing on the wind, tumbling down with a miserable wail. Lady Dou had no choice but to disengage and catch him, swiftly neutralizing the wicked evil qi eating away at his face. The Li siblings could not afford to dwell on it and pursued on the wind. Over on the other side, An Zheyan, having been thoroughly suppressed by Zhang Huaide earlier, now found an opening. He wheeled around to intercept the hammer-wielding early Qi Refinement cultivator. He had been close friends with Tian Youdao. Seeing what had happened, his eyes nearly tore at the corners, and he roared: "Scoundrel!" Possessing eighth-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, An Zheyan forced him back with a single palm strike, instantly establishing overwhelming dominance. The demonic cultivator could not even mount the wind; a heavy blow sent him vomiting blood. *Boom!* Combining their strength, the group reduced the demonic cultivator to paste in a few breaths, then cast several fire spells over him, burning the remains into charred, blackened fragments. Tian Zhongqing had already landed to cradle his uncle. Tian Youdao had long stopped breathing, his chest soaked in blood and his face ashen. The hammer blow had landed directly over his heart, bulging his eyes until the skin around them turned bruised purple. The fall had broken countless more bones. The rigid old man of days past now lay limp and broken in his nephew’s embrace, blood pooling beneath him. On the other side, one of the two besieging Kongheng shouted: "A'gan, the Zhang bastard ran!" "Damn it, let's get out of here too!" The two brothers had never put real effort into the fight, merely staying locked in a stalemate with Kongheng. They even found time to offer Kongheng a quick apology before each fleeing for their lives. The final demonic cultivator, Zhang Mutong, had the worst luck. The moment he conjured his blood wind, Shamoli’s lightning struck him out of the sky. Lacking Qiu Ji’s profound demonic cultivation, he failed to take flight several times in succession. The Li cultivators swarmed forward, each unleashing their dharma artifacts. A barrage of multi-colored artifacts and spells converged upon him, only to be deflected one after another by the spell emitted from the red-glazed bead in his hand. Fortunately, Shamoli hovered on the perimeter, repeatedly knocking down Zhang Mutong's blood wind and cutting off any avenue of escape. Zhang Mutong held out only a few dozen breaths longer than the earlier Qi Refinement cultivator. In his dying struggles, he managed to injure two or three people before being severed into pieces. Scorched by fire and battered by thunder, he soon breathed his last. The cultivators regrouped and settled down as Li Yuanjiao and his sister finally returned on the wind. Li Yuanjiao’s expression was dark, his hands empty. Qiu Ji had been extraordinarily decisive, sacrificing various parts of his body to secret arts as he fled—from internal organs to limbs, eyes, and ears. Although the siblings possessed the River-Crossing Torrent Steps, the movement technique was far better suited for evasion and sudden pivots than long-distance pursuit. Qiu Ji had forcefully torn open a path of survival. As the chase carried them further from home, fearing an ambush, they had not dared pursue any deeper and quietly rode the wind back. "Master..." All the cultivators bore injuries of varying degrees. Li Xuanxuan and Tian Zhongqing were the most severely wounded; supported by the old ape, the former still looked passably well, while the latter simply clutched Tian Youdao’s corpse, head bowed in weeping. Xu Gongming had long since passed out. Half his face was reduced to bare white bone, a gruesome sight. Yet because Qiu Ji had been injured and Xu Gongming's artifact had absorbed some of the impact, aside from his ruined visage, his wounds were not fatal. Among the retainers, Li Qilang and An Zheyan had sustained the lightest injuries and were standing guard. With Xu Gongming unconscious, Lady Dou held the aged Li Xuanxuan, looking more like a daughter supporting her father. "Elder Tian has fallen!" As everyone sat cross-legged to nurse their wounds, Xiao Guiluan stepped forward and delivered the news in a gentle whisper. Great-Uncle Tian Youdao lay sprawled on the ground like a puddle of mud. Li Yuanjiao tightened his grip on the Foundation Establishment talisman in his sleeve. He did not look at Tian Zhongqing’s expression, merely bidding Li Qinghong to step up and console him while he stood quietly with his sword in his arms. Barely half an hour passed until dusk gently fell. Li Qilang collected two storage bags and brought them to Li Yuanjiao. The crowd stepped forward to offer Tian Zhongqing a few words of comfort, then left him to his quiet grief. Kongheng walked up silently, carrying his monk’s staff, the bronze rings clinking softly. Li Yuanjiao's heart was a tangled knot of complex emotions. Unable to shake his suspicion of the monk, he lowered his eyelids and simply said: "Thank you for your assistance, Bhikkhu." Kongheng shook his head slightly and walked over to Tian Youdao’s limp corpse, softly chanting a few lines as if performing rites for the deceased. Tian Zhongqing suddenly looked up, letting out a burst of grief-stricken wails and cursing: "Dog bald donkey... you jinx! Get the hell away from him!" Neither hurried nor angered, Kongheng took several paces back, turned toward Li Yuanjiao, and said warmly: "This humble monk will cultivate on the small island by the lake. Should your clan have any need, you may find me there." With that, he rode the wind away. The remaining group stood in silence for a moment before taking their leave one by one. The crimson sunset mirrored the blood on the ground. After a few gentle words of comfort from Li Qinghong, Tian Zhongqing gathered Tian Youdao into his arms, apologized to Li Yuanjiao, and departed on the wind. Only the core members of the Li family remained in the woods. Li Yuanjiao stood alone. Li Xuanxuan coughed twice, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said: "There was no fault in your weighing of choices." Li Yuanjiao nodded gently, his fingers tightening around the pale cyan Qingchi. He replied: "I understand. Since I wield this sword, I must prioritize the clan’s interests. Bearing blame and resentment comes with the duty." *** Tian Youdao was Tian Yun’s younger brother, the maternal uncle of Li Xuanfeng and Li Jingtian. He was a senior elder within the Li clan, and having finally broken through to Qi Refinement with great difficulty, he had ultimately fallen to demonic cultivators. The funeral rites were kept strictly simple. Aside from the Li main line and the Tian family, few guests showed genuine sorrow, and some families even felt fortunate. Two demonic cultivators had been slain in this battle, one of whom was in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. The spoils were substantial. The various Qi Refinement cultivators looked on eagerly, their hearts stirring with excitement; none had the leisure for mourning. Lijing Town, the Central Hall. The Central Hall was the administrative seat of the family head, Li Yuanping, and the secular center of power for the entire Li family. It had been quite grand when first built, but after years of use, the stone steps and blue bricks showed visible signs of wear. The Li family rules included an offense for coveting vanity and luxury, so Li Yuanping had never renovated it, choosing to make do. Today, however, it was Li Yuanjiao who sat at the head of the hall, dressed in mourning white with two storage bags resting before him. An ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator typically carried around ten spirit stones, with a total net worth of only thirty or forty. Yet from these two demonic cultivators alone, forty-six spirit stones had been recovered. Gathering such an amount of liquid capital would have strained even the Li family's reserves. Eleven cultivators had taken part in the battle that day. Excluding the five direct Li family members, five non-kin remained. The early Qi Refinement cultivators Xu Gongming and Tian Zhongqing had been severely wounded and contributed greatly, earning three stones each, while Li Qilang received two. The mid-stage cultivators—the old ape and Shamoli—were allotted four stones each, while An Zheyan, at late Qi Refinement, received six. Another ten stones were set aside as a bereavement payment for Tian Youdao, leaving the remaining eighteen to be absorbed into the clan treasury. The external retainers stepped forward joyfully to receive their shares, offering profuse thanks. Xu Gongming's face was ruined, yet he showed no despondence; wearing a mask to conceal the scars, he grinned widely. When Tian Zhongqing stepped forward to collect the substantial sum of thirteen spirit stones, Li Yuanjiao separately produced several bottles of pills to subsidize him, asking softly: "With Granduncle's passing, will this bereavement payment be received by his only son, Tian Rong?" Tian Zhongqing had composed himself and replied respectfully: "To answer the master: Tian Rong has always indulged in abusing bondmaids. He was drinking during the mourning period and fell dead drunk. In the dead of night, several maids secretly stabbed him to death with hairpins. I fear this payment will have to be received by his legitimate grandson, the spirit aperture bearer Tian Ling." "I see." The retainers and external cultivators showed no surprise, their expressions growing meaningful. Tian Youdao's only son had been utterly worthless. Unaware of his own standing, he had clashed with multiple families, to the point that even Li Jiman, King of the Shanyue, had wished to devour his flesh and sleep upon his pelt. Tian Youdao had shielded him purely out of blind parental devotion. That Tian Rong had survived half a month after Tian Youdao's death was already thanks to the goodwill Tian Youdao had accumulated in life. As for how unsightly the death was, or whose hand had guided it, even Tian Zhongqing could not be bothered to pursue the matter. Li Yuanjiao stroked his beard and sighed: "Granduncle died in service to the clan, leaving behind this orphan. Send the boy up the mountain to cultivate; the main line will bear all his cultivation expenses henceforth." "Understood!" Tian Zhongqing bowed in assent. The external retainers withdrew one by one, their low cheers drifting back as they pulled each other toward the taverns in town. Li Qinghong, watching from the side, saw through it clearly. Li Yuanjiao's gesture was both compensation and a test. Feeling a lingering melancholy, she said: "We should also send word west to Aunt Jingtian." "Someone has already been dispatched," Li Yuanjiao replied. He set aside the lingering blood qi, resentment, and cultivation manuals on the table and picked up the large hammer and the glazed bead. Both were low-grade Qi Refinement dharma artifacts. The former was unremarkable and could be sold off. "This red-glazed bead, however, is quite a fine treasure. The talismanic script inside is rather profound and can project protective light. It would serve our juniors well." With a flick of his wrist, beams of scarlet light issued from the red bead, radiating a steady dissolving force. Li Yuanjiao gauged its power; it could neutralize most early Qi Refinement spells. "Why not call it..." As Li Yuanjiao pondered, Li Qinghong, dreading that he might propose something crude like Red Light Bead or Scarlet Glow Bead, hurriedly smiled and interjected: "I see this glazed bead is forged entirely from Rouge Glaze and inscribed with various runes, resembling the evening glow across the sky. Why not call it Evening Red Glaze?" Li Yuanjiao paused, considered it, and nodded: "Very well. Send it to Xijun." The rest consisted mostly of spiritual materials and Embryonic Breathing artifacts plundered from who knew where, worth a dozen or so spirit stones in total. Since Li Yuanjiao had just sold off a batch of such items from the treasury, these were deposited directly to replenish the stock. Pooling the spirit stones on his person, he finally gathered a full hundred and twenty stones. Handing them to Li Qinghong, he breathed a sigh of relief: "I must trouble you to make a trip to the Yuan family, Little Sister." Li Qinghong nodded. Li Yuanjiao hesitated a moment, then retrieved the gray-green Immortal Mirror, reverently placing it in her hands alongside the Foundation Establishment talisman. He said: "I fear Zhang Huaide and Qiu Ji might harbor ill intent and lay an ambush along the way. Take the magical mirror with you, just to be safe." Watching Li Qinghong ride the wind gracefully into the distance, Li Yuanjiao finally let out a long breath. Calculating the days, he produced a Yuya Pill and murmured: "I must enter seclusion immediately to break through to the eighth layer of Qi Refinement!" Riding the wind back to Mount Wutu, he found Xiao Guiluan standing in the courtyard with a bright smile, her gaze meeting his. Just as Li Yuanjiao was wondering what had happened, she blinked her phoenix eyes and teased: "It seems we'll need to choose another name!" Having been married for years in harmonious affection, they shared a deep mutual understanding. Seeing Xiao Guiluan rest her hand against her lower abdomen, he realized at once. "What!?" Li Yuanjiao was overcome with astonishment and joy. He had fathered a son while still an Embryonic Breathing cultivator; after both husband and wife attained Qi Refinement, the chances of conceiving had become exceedingly slim, so he had ceased hoping for it, treating their intimacy merely as private pleasure. He had never expected Xiao Guiluan to conceive again. Laughing heartily, he pulled his wife into his arms and planted two kisses on her cheek, saying: "I wonder whether it will be a boy or a girl, but this child has certainly arrived late." After lingering in tenderness with his wife, Li Yuanjiao, in soaring spirits, entered seclusion to make his breakthrough.