Li Xijun spent several years in secluded cultivation, refining his divine arts and consolidating his immortal foundation. By the time he emerged, Yuting Peak had been transformed by the influence of his immortal foundation, Snow upon Pine: the snow that had once capped only the mountain peak had spread downward, blanketing the slopes in a vast expanse of gleaming white frost and snow.
When he came out of seclusion, the sun was shining bright and all the trees were bursting with vitality. Sure enough, subordinates brought up several letters sent by Li Xizhi. Before Li Xijun could even read them, word reached him that Li Xuanfeng was already waiting on Mount Qingdu.
He had no choice but to hurriedly ride the wind over, quickly pulling out two of the letters to examine them closely on the way. One detailed the shifts in the spiritual dynamism of heaven and earth, while the other spoke of rising turmoil across the Eastern Sea.
'Direct descendants from both Chunyi Dao and Dushan Island have perished, and several members of the Guo family from Chijiao Island met sudden, violent deaths...'
He gave them only a fleeting glance before stuffing them back into his sleeve and stepping forward to fly up to the mountaintop.
'Granduncle Xuanfeng has certainly been returning frequently! It seems the Ning family has either loosened their hold on him... or given him some mission.'
Li Xijun kept careful track of the timing of these events. Keen-witted by nature, he had noticed that each of Li Xuanfeng's recent returns carried the tone of repeated parting instructions. Having subtly tested the waters, he dared not pry further.
Passing through the azure blue Five Waters Ward the Heavens Array and descending onto Mount Qingdu, he found Li Xuanfeng standing with folded arms in the main hall, with Li Chengliao standing below. Li Xijun took one look and exclaimed in shock, "Patriarch, what happened to you?!"
Li Xuanfeng had already broken through to late Foundation Establishment. His expression was no longer the heavy, frowning demeanor of old, but had hardened like cold iron. Yet his breastplate was covered in glowing white blade scars, and two plates of the golden armor on his left arm had shattered, revealing the silver-sheened cross section beneath.
A deep scar now marked the side of his face, running all the way from his jaw down to his collarbone. The mark shone with a translucent blood-red gleam beneath the sunlight, appearing newly joined and thoroughly gruesome.
Li Xuanfeng paused, then gave a slight wave of his hand. He had originally concealed the wound with an illusion, but this junior possessed ocular arts and had seen right through it. Left with no choice, he said casually, "Left behind from dealing with a demon beast. Nothing more than a flesh wound."
For decades, Li Xuanfeng had slaughtered demons on the Southern Border, and in the past decade he had taken countless human lives as well, coating his hands in blood. Though most were enemies or those deserving of death, innocent lives were not absent among them. Yet bound by circumstance and beyond his own control, he had ultimately closed his eyes and killed them all the same.
On that target list, only a handful of families had survived—such as the cunning Xiao family, who had prudently sealed their mountain early, and that dissolute scion of Chijiao Island, whose head had already been severed by someone else. Almost all the rest had fallen by his hand. Packed densely onto jade talismans, piles of storage bags now sat heaped inside his cave dwelling in the Eastern Sea.
Fortunately, those jade talismans were indeed extraordinary, and the targets had been carefully chosen, leaving no trail back to him. Instead, the assassinations had sparked fierce feuds among several Foundation Establishment clans, who believed the deaths were blood vengeance and fought one another until their heads were battered senseless.
'In the end, my hands are stained with filthy blood!'
Li Xuanfeng's temperament was unlike his elder brother Li Xuanxuan's. The more blood and grudge he faced, the more he exhibited a cold, iron-like hardness. His will was cast in iron, having buckled only once upon Li Tongya's death; now, the more it was hammered, the more unyielding it grew.
He was not one to wallow in self-pity. He etched both vendettas and debts deep into his heart, to the point where the outward fastidiousness and inward pride of his youth had been scrubbed completely clean, giving way to a somber, hard-won enlightenment. Beneath it lingered a faint, sinister detachment, stripping him of any gentle refinement.
Seeing Li Xuanfeng's guarded silence, Li Xijun dared not inquire further, sensing only that something about him had changed. Li Xuanfeng shifted the topic and said, "The Ning family ran the calculations several times. After all this upheaval, Jiangnan has become an Upper Evil Spirit Repository. It is conducive to the cultivation of Earth Virtues, demonic arts, Mansion Water, blood qi, and the like. It offers neither harm nor benefit to our family, so keep it in mind and nothing more."
Li Xijun nodded, figuring that Li Xizhi's letter likely contained the same report. Li Xuanfeng continued, "Go out less over the next two years. Zhouwei is exceptionally gifted, so there is no need to rush to meet the sixty-year deadline. Do not let him spend every single day grinding through cultivation without pause. Have him observe worldly affairs more and see real blood, lest he grow crooked and turn into a reckless braggart who knows only brute force."
Li Xijun naturally nodded in agreement. Li Xuanfeng then retrieved a jade slip from the beast-head buckle at his waist and said softly, "This is a halberd art I selected after long deliberation. Chosen out of countless options, I traded treasures obtained from a cave dwelling in the Eastern Sea with an Eastern Sea faction to get my hands on it. The more one trains in this halberd method, the more domineering it becomes. It seems well-suited for Zhouwei. Pass it to him."
Li Xijun took it. Before he could inspect it, someone arrived from below to report, "Reporting to My Lord, Patriarch Fei Luoya has arrived to pay a visit."
Li Chengliao, who had been listening attentively by the side, seized the opportunity to chime in and remind them, "Eighth Uncle, this person has come several times already... On the previous occasions, you were in seclusion, so we could only turn him back. The Shanyue have never had good tempers, and he was beginning to show signs of impatience."
Li Xijun finally recalled the man. This Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivator had long yearned to attach himself to the Violet Palace backer behind the Li family. The clan had strung him along since Li Yuanjiao's time. Now, counting on his fingers, decades had slipped by, and this old Shanyue had actually managed to reach late Foundation Establishment.
Li Xijun turned toward Li Xuanfeng and said softly, "Regarding this matter..."
Li Xuanfeng naturally understood. In the Li family today, he was the only one who truly possessed a Violet Palace background. He nodded and said, "Let us go and see."
***
Li Xijun left Mount Qingdu and arrived at the hall. In the courtyard stood that Shanyue cultivator with hands clasped behind his back. His hair was disheveled, yet he wore a Daoist robe; his visage was fierce and ferocious as he stood coldly in the courtyard.
Catching sight of Li Xijun, his expression eased slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "Are you the one in charge now?"
Fei Luoya's demeanor softened a bit. He had met both Li Tongya and Li Yuanjiao in his time. Over the course of a century, the Li family had gone through several patriarchs, every one of whom was rumored to have died for their clan. Though he could not comprehend such devotion, he felt a measure of respect. He asked, "The matter your noble clan promised me years ago—has there been any progress? I can no longer remain around this lake. I intend to leave within the next few days."
Li Xijun acknowledged his greeting first, then asked in puzzlement, "Senior, why such sudden haste?"
If he had not asked, it might have been fine, but the question made Fei Luoya's eyes bulge as he replied, "Zhu Xian is dead! Not even a corpse could be found—struck down while out traveling!"
This Zhu Xian was Fei Luoya's subordinate, possessing an early Foundation Establishment cultivation. Back when the hook snake Li Wushao had yet to form twin hooks upon his tail, his strength had been comparable to this man's. Though at the bottom tier of Foundation Establishment, Zhu Xian had still been a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator—yet he had vanished without a sound.
Fei Luoya continued, "Just look around! Tangjin Gate lost its young master; Chijiao Island and Daxiukui Daoist Temple have come to violent blows; Xiuyue cultivators no longer step outside; Jinyu and Changhuai quarrel repeatedly; and the Xiao family has sealed its mountain in seclusion! This place seems calm on the surface, but it is already caught in the whirlpool!"
Though Fei Luoya spoke thus, he silently added in his heart, 'Your damn Li clan broke ties with the Yuan family, dismembered the Yu family, broke through to Foundation Establishment one after another, and is growing more powerful by the day within the sect. Any moment now, you will reach your hands out across the lake... If I leave early, at least we won't have to tear apart our amicable relations!'
He paused, then spoke again, "Furthermore... do you know what kind of spirit beast flew over the lake a few years ago?"
At the mention of this, Li Xijun's interest was piqued at once. He asked, "Our family inquired in all directions, but found nothing at all. It seems when it comes to ancient beasts and monsters, Mount Wu truly has the heritage! Please enlighten me, Senior!"
Though Fei Luoya was a Shanyue, he had lived over a century after all. Lightly flattered, he remained impassive on the surface and merely answered, "That was a Weihao, an offspring of the Hongluan. It dwells upon the Tongxin Chi on Mount Taishi. To catch sight of it heralds great calamity—the tearing apart of wives and children, and exile across ten thousand li. You had best leave early too!"
The Shanyue had always been deeply superstitious about such omens. Even after achieving Foundation Establishment, Fei Luoya believed in them all the more. Full of worry, he continued, "It is not just me, Fei Luoya. Jiao Zhongzi of the Northern Shanyue has not been seen for years either—I fear he met foul play... Only Huo Luo'e to the south remains, holed up day after day in secluded cultivation just like me..."
Li Xijun listened intently. When Mount Wu had fragmented in those years, four forces remained on the southern bank. Among them, Jiao Zhongzi had been the strongest; occupying Mount Wu, he founded the Northern Shanyue. Fu Daimu had occupied Dajueting, but was later eliminated by Fei Luoya in alliance with the Li family, and Dajueting subsequently fell into the Li family's hands.
'Looking at it this way... of all the Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivators the elders once feared, only Huo Luo'e at mid Foundation Establishment remains. Gathering all the Shanyue territories into our grasp... no longer seems difficult at all!'
Even as he pondered the population and spiritual goods of the Shanyue lands, his greatest covetousness was directed at Mount Wu itself. Even if the various Violet Palace experts had stripped it completely clean, it had still been the temporary palace of Duanmu Kui, a Violet Palace cultivator who once dominated an era! Setting foot upon it might help unravel many a mystery.
While his thoughts drifted, Fei Luoya could no longer contain his impatience and pressed, "Will your noble clan give me an answer or not?!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he saw Li Xijun suddenly look behind him and bow respectfully, murmuring, "Xijun pays his respects to Patriarch!"
Fei Luoya's heart skipped a beat. The first thought flashing through his mind was actually that Li Tongya had not died. But with a stir of his spiritual sense, he saw a figure slowly descending before the hall.
The man had a cold face and a white beard, with brows sharp as blade edges and broad, thick shoulders. A magnificent suit of dark gold spiritual armor gleamed brilliantly upon him. Fei Luoya's immortal foundation, Do Not Investigate Me, was most perceptive of the emotional shades in others' eyes; to him, the old general's gaze stabbed toward him like swords, as though he had only just slaughtered some sea-churning monster or slain direct disciples of an immortal sect, still reeking of raw bloodshed.
Li Xuanfeng cast him merely a quiet glance. Fei Luoya hurried to turn around, cupping his hands in salute, "So it is the Jingeng Astral Cord, Li Xuanfeng! I am Fei Luoya, greeting the General."
Li Xuanfeng's renown was blazing bright at present. While peers of his generation among the direct descendants of Jinyu and Qingchi were in seclusion seeking breakthroughs, he had established the awe of his single arrow at the Song family, subtly acquiring the reputation of being the foremost figure below the Violet Palace realm, with only a scant few such as Tang Shedu, Shen Xi, and Yuan Chengdun standing as comparisons. Though Fei Luoya was an elder by a generation, he dared not act superior, addressing him purely as an equal.
While Fei Luoya observed the old general, Li Xuanfeng was sizing him up as well, pondering internally, 'I have heard his immortal foundation is Do Not Investigate Me. If he were more than a hundred li away and dodged my first arrow, he should have the ability to flee with his life. If not, within twenty arrows, I can take his head.'
Li Xuanfeng's combat style was starkly different from that of ordinary cultivators; he rarely dragged an engagement out to a hundred exchanges. His bowstring arts prioritized breaking techniques and sheer slaughter, injuring the enemy as well as himself. If a fight were drawn out to a hundred rounds, he would be the first to falter.
Fei Luoya felt a chill creep down his neck. Silently swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he thought to himself, 'This is what someone at the level of an immortal sect's direct descendant is like. Even if Jiao Zhongzi came... he would only be fleeing for his life in his hands. Word has it he serves under True Person Yuansu—no wonder...'
Li Xuanfeng paced forward two steps until he stood before him, then asked, "I hear you seek patronage and wish to depart this place."
"Indeed."
Fei Luoya was overjoyed and bowed down, saying, "I hope the General can make the introduction... I am willing to follow the General and guard the Southern Border."
"Rise first," Li Xuanfeng said simply. "There is no rush on that matter. Let me ask you: where has that Jiao Zhongzi gone?"
Fei Luoya blinked, slightly taken aback, and answered, "He ought to have fled to the Eastern Sea. I have gone to check multiple times; there is no trace of him in the Northern Shanyue, only an early Foundation Establishment cultivator left behind to watch the place..."
Li Xuanfeng knew Jiao Zhongzi had reached late Foundation Establishment many years ago, and asked dubiously, "Could he have broken through to the Violet Palace?"
Fei Luoya shook his head and whispered, "Duanmu Kui left no Violet Palace teachings behind at all, passing down only Foundation Establishment methods. Otherwise, Jiao Zhongzi wouldn't have grown restless here. If he wants to seek further progress along his path, he has no choice but to head for the Eastern Sea."
Li Xuanfeng nodded, and finally said, "Write out your cultivation method from memory."
Beside them, Li Xijun hastily took out a blank jade slip. Fei Luoya hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. Taking the jade slip, he closed his eyes, concentrated his mind, and meticulously etched the text into it.
A Foundation Establishment cultivator's spiritual sense was swift after all. In merely a brief moment, Li Xijun received the jade slip from his hands. Brushing his spiritual sense lightly over it, he saw written at the top:
*Scripture of Evading Scrutiny and Concealing Qi*
It was a third-rank method, expounded over more than a hundred thousand words with a distinctly archaic phrasing. Mount Wu's legacy was indeed out of the ordinary, even appending a saber art:
*Reflections on Contemplating the Blood Palace*
This saber technique seemed to be drawn from personal insights and experience, profoundly deep and well-suited for close study by someone cultivating the *Scripture of Evading Scrutiny and Concealing Qi* who had already achieved considerable mastery in saber arts. Since none of his own family touched saber arts, he could only put it away silently.
Li Xuanfeng had originally intended to casually shoot down a few Shanyue cultivators while Yuansu had not yet fallen, doing what he could to aid the clan over these few years. The only one among the Shanyue who gave him pause had been Jiao Zhongzi; seeing that the man had already fled, he said softly, "Since you have this intention, follow behind me for now. Accompany me to the Southern Border."
Fei Luoya nodded repeatedly. Li Xuanfeng allowed him to return to his cave dwelling to pack his belongings, then took his seat once more. Li Xijun said, "Our family has dealt with this Fei Luoya for many years. He has a shrewd mind; following Granduncle Xuanfeng, he won't be a liability."
Li Xuanfeng nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Qinghong is cultivating in the sea, so summon Kongheng back. My assigned duties are nearly complete, and it is troublesome for me to take action now. Those few petty Shanyue I leave to you and the others."
"Understood!"
Seeing Li Xijun agree, Li Xuanfeng said, "Changes will follow hereafter, and it will no longer be wise for me to maintain contact with the family. I cannot look after everything at once. I will merely watch from the shadows; should there be matters where I can lend aid, I will intervene."
Li Xijun thought once more of the scar across his face and said softly, "Take care, Granduncle."
Li Xuanfeng paid it no heed. Li Xijun cupped his hands to see him off and was about to summon Li Xuanxuan, but Li Xuanfeng waved a hand to stop him. The old general said, "There is no benefit in calling him. It would only disturb his state of mind for nothing. Remind my elder brother to take good care of himself."
Decisive and brisk in his actions, brooking no lingering delays, he immediately boarded his jade skiff and departed. Li Xijun returned to the hall, looked toward Li Chengliao, and asked, "How is Wei'er? Has he emerged from seclusion?"
Li Chengliao replied, "He has already exited seclusion and reached the fourth layer of Embryonic Breathing."
Li Xijun gave a slight nod. Dipping a brush in ink, he began to write upon the paper, saying softly, "Let the clan make all preparations for the Shanyue matters first. As soon as Kongheng returns, we strike. A month or so will be just enough time to weed them out thoroughly by the roots."
Chapter 501