The two descended back onto Mount Qingdu and tossed the two captured cultivators to the ground. First, they sealed the six senses of the white-robed old Daoist, casting him aside like a piece of rotting wood, before undoing the restriction on the black-robed cultivator.
The black-robed cultivator immediately rolled over and prostrated himself, saying respectfully, "Greetings, Seniors. This junior is He Yitao, a cultivator from Daxu who practiced on Mount Bianyan. With the Shakya cultivators pushing south, we had nowhere left to stand, leaving us no choice but to cross the border into the State of Yue. If there has been any offense, junior is willing to do everything in his power to make amends!"
Li Xijun merely waved a hand and asked, "How is the situation in Daxu at present?"
The black-robed cultivator hurried to reply, "The Shakya sects have pushed south all the way to southern Daxu, clashing fiercely with Mount Bianyan as the boundary. Even the great monster Sanjun of Mount Bianyan could not sit still; his subordinate monster generals were captured and eaten, while the great monster himself rode the wind and fled to Mount Dali, leaving total havoc in his wake...
"Moreover, mountains have collapsed and the earth has split all across Daxu, with countless strange omens. It is said that in northern Daxu, an enormous boulder a thousand zhang tall fell from the sky, the rivers to the east have dried up, and fish and prawns sang at the bottom of the riverbeds... Strange occurrences like these are beyond counting."
"Did Violet Palace or Maha make a move?" Li Xijun inquired closely.
The black-robed youth answered, "I have never seen them do so. Only two Lianmin hold the rear. Jinyu and Qingchi have dispatched a host of Foundation Establishment cultivators, and no Maha has been seen taking action in the north either."
"Which lineage of Shakya cultivation dominates?"
Before them, He Yitao froze for a moment, racking his memory while gritting his teeth, and could only say, "I have only heard of the Compassion Phase and the Great Desire Phase... as well as another called the Emptiness and Existence Phase. As for which lineages the two Lianmin belong to, this humble one's standing is too low to truly know."
"Is there any trace of the Wrathful Phase?"
"Milord may not know, but the Wrathful Phase once reincarnated. Back then, his physical body was cleaved by the sword of Yueque Li Tongya, and his true phase was besieged and slain by various Violet Palace masters. His lineage was severely damaged, and petitions to his dharma go unanswered; he is rarely seen nowadays."
Li Zhouwei observed that the pure qi upon the man was not poor; in a chaotic land like Daxu, that was already commendable. Having no intention of making things difficult for him, Li Zhouwei stood tall and nodded gently, about to speak. Without waiting for the man to say more, he flipped his hand to toss him aside, then unsealed the white-robed old Daoist's restrictions.
The old Daoist dropped to his knees with a thud, trembling as he cried, "Milord! Milord! My martial uncle possesses a fortuitous opportunity! It is by no means ordinary! My martial uncle has also cultivated on the lake for many years! This humble one came here precisely to seek refuge with him! Pray show mercy, Milords... We might even be on the same side!"
Seeing that they had not struck immediately, the old Daoist grew hopeful. A flattering smile surfaced on his face as he murmured, "Milords..."
With downcast eyes and submissive posture, he quietly observed them, thinking to himself: *The old man is kind-hearted; this handsome young lord is the harsher one.*
"Old man, where are you from, and why did you come here?" Li Xijun asked twice, before adding, "How did you manage to escape from the Lianmin and the Masters?"
Daoist Fu Yuan was terrified to the extreme. Shaking his head repeatedly, he said in a hurry, "Milord may not know... The four-eyed Lianmin of the Emptiness and Existence Phase and several Masters descended near Mount Dashi. All eighteen families of us scattered in panic... Those who were too slow either took their own lives or severed their limbs, ears, and noses before jumping off the cliffs...
"This old Daoist has cultivated for over a century and only managed to flee quickly, escaping with my life from the hands of Master Xumu... and so I fled all the way into this realm. I am a rogue cultivator from Floating Cloud Cave on Mount Dashi..."
"When did he come, and what is his Daoist title?"
"This humble one is Fu Yuan. My martial uncle's Daoist title is Lingguizi... He broke through to Qi Refinement about a hundred and eighty years ago and came to this lake to seek his fortune. I do not know if he has reached Foundation Establishment by now..."
"You must have lost your mind to utter such nonsense here!" Li Xuanxuan scoffed, no longer inclined to believe him. "Does a rogue cultivator not need eighty years to break through to Qi Refinement? To have come here a hundred and eighty years ago—he has probably died in some unknown corner by now!"
Fu Yuan stammered, unable to speak clearly: "When my master was on the verge of death, he was still thinking of him, repeatedly telling me that our grandmaster had passed the fortuitous opportunity to him before dying..."
"What sort of opportunity?"
Fu Yuan could only stammer, "Milord..."
He paused for a breath, uncertain, and pleaded desperately, "Milords, wait! Milords, wait!"
He could not describe it, and indeed, what great thing could a Qi Refinement rogue cultivator's fortune be? Fu Yuan understood this in his own heart and could only knock his head against the ground repeatedly, unable to produce a coherent answer.
He lamented, "I have nothing of value on me, and Milords would surely disdain such petty things. But for the sake of causing no offense, please spare my life! I will obey all Milord's commands and harbor no second thoughts!"
Li Xuanxuan stepped forward slowly, untied the storage bag from Daoist Fu Yuan's waist, examined it carefully for two breaths, and whispered, "How very familiar!"
Suddenly, the elder blurted out, "Aiyo... I completely forgot!"
This small pouch differed from the styles prevalent in the State of Yue and looked quite delicate. Li Xuanxuan examined it for a time, a look of reminiscence surfacing on his face as he said softly, "My family's... very first storage bag... looked just like this!
"Back then, Uncle Xiangping went to rescue the Wan family, never expecting that the Ji family would borrow the might of the Tangjin Gate and destroy the Wan family with overwhelming force... Yet Uncle ran into an old Daoist who tried to take his life. That old Daoist had waited on the lake for eighty years to seek a fortuitous opportunity, only to be slain by Uncle, who brought back his storage bag... It seems... he was the very martial uncle this man speaks of."
Having said this, Li Xuanxuan grew even more certain. He turned the pouch over in his hands twice and murmured in an ethereal tone, "How can it be that all who come to cultivate in this land share such a fate!"
Li Xuanxuan put away the storage bag, his expression slightly dissatisfied, and said, "If there is an opportunity, we might go and look at Floating Cloud Cave on Mount Dashi."
Fu Yuan grew increasingly terrified. Looking up in fear and trepidation, he dreaded that they would question him further and execute him on the spot. But Li Zhouwei merely took the pouch, inspected it for a breath, and shook his head upon seeing that it contained only blood qi and rice flesh.
Li Zhouwei nodded slightly, looked him over, and asked three more times before channeling dharmic power into his body. The man was indeed a demonic cultivator.
Though Fu Yuan was an early-stage Qi Refinement demonic cultivator, he had no time to react. The next instant, an iron halberd tore through his chest, its shaft held firmly in the youth's hand. Fu Yuan felt a scorching pain in his chest as hot, churning gore surged from his nose and mouth. Bleeding from his orifices, he let out a scream of agony, and his body crashed to the ground like a fallen bundle of firewood, perishing without another sound.
The demonic fetus nurtured in Fu Yuan's abdomen instantly awakened. The little rat-like mass of flesh struggled several times in his belly, but before it could burst through the belly or conceal its breath to hide, a hand plunged into the abdomen.
With one hand bracing the halberd, Li Zhouwei reached in with the other, fished out the demonic fetus, observed it for two breaths, and crushed it into paste.
Li Xijun took a step back and flipped the corpse over with dharmic power. Fu Yuan's face was pale and his skin icy cold. Li Zhouwei formed a sword with two fingers and slit the corpse's belly open, revealing a pitch-black cavity where the internal organs had vanished without a trace, leaving only a plump, dead maggot.
Watching this, Li Xuanxuan was momentarily dazed, while Li Zhouwei held his halberd in thought. Li Zhouwei then pinched out a spark with two fingers and dropped it onto the corpse's skin. With a crackling flurry, the well-nourished flesh caught fire easily, flaring dull for an instant before turning to flying ash. Golden flames surged from his hand, drifting with white smoke as they engulfed the remains in golden motes, incinerating them completely in an instant. Retracting his halberd, the youth nodded and said, "The path of Mingyang also dissolves demonic cultivators... Though not equal to Taiyang or Xuanlei, it holds its own reputation."
At the side, Li Xuanxuan still stared blankly at the ashes of Daoist Fu Yuan. Li Zhouwei turned back, saw the elder lost in thought, and called out with concern, "Grand-Uncle..."
Li Xuanxuan twirled his beard, asking uneasily, "The situation across the lake is utterly chaotic after all, with the Fei family holding the front. We should discuss this carefully; after all, their Foundation Establishment grand array is a rare asset. If utilized well, our family can spare ourselves many losses. Yet even at this stage, they are still unwilling to send anyone to ask for help."
With the biting wind and snow swirling about him, Li Zhouwei replied gently, "Qingchi Sect is ten thousand li away, far at the edge of the sky; coming and going takes over a month. Our family is merely across the lake, right before their eyes, only half a cup of tea's flight away. Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire; they will see it clearly sooner or later."
Both elders nodded, and the three arranged the defensive postings. Li Zhouwei soon took his leave, riding the wind across the peaks and drifting down toward the side courtyard of the central hall.
Chen Yang followed closely behind, saying respectfully, "Your Highness, Father has already been waiting in the hall for a long time."
Li Zhouwei nodded and set foot on the ground. Sure enough, the middle-aged Chen Mufeng was waiting in the great hall with great deference, holding a young maiden by the hand.
Chen Mufeng stepped forward with a beaming smile. Having married Li Xicheng's sister, he was also Li Chengliao's uncle-in-law. He spoke warmly, "Your Highness, this is my youngest daughter, Chen Shao... born of my concubine. As she is coming of age, I have brought her for Your Highness to meet..."
Li Zhouwei understood full well what he was scheming. Glancing at the girl who kept her head low and eyes downcast, he deliberately avoided meeting her gaze, swept his robe, and strode into the inner room, leaving only a voice echoing in the courtyard:
"Go ask my father!"
Rebuffed completely, Chen Mufeng exchanged a glance with his eldest son, having no choice but to offer a low bow and take his leave. He bowed slightly, shook his sleeves, and departed.
Father and son left the courtyard. Chen Shao seemed to let out a sigh of relief, her steps becoming much lighter. Chen Mufeng sighed softly, while only Chen Yang maintained a dark, sullen expression, slowly pacing all the way back.
His features were sharp and mean, and though he wore a smile, it carried a chilling, sinister deceit. The eldest son said softly, "Father, tomorrow you and I should pay a visit to the family head."
As if under a spell, Chen Mufeng nodded. The eldest son chuckled, hooked both hands around the doorframe, stepped backward out the door, and pulled both leaves shut with two crisp creaks.
Upon arriving at the Chen residence, Chen Shao bowed and slipped away as though fleeing. Chen Mufeng managed to compose himself and led his eldest son forward.
Father and son walked in silence to the rear courtyard, where Madam Li was reading a book. Looking at their expressions, she asked quietly, "It seems it did not work out?"
Chen Mufeng stood awkwardly in the courtyard.
Madam Li sighed, "If it did not work, then it did not work! We only took her there to see if anyone took a liking to each other... I had no intention of blaming you."
She looked at him in a daze, sitting quietly at the head of the room for a long moment before saying in a low voice, "How did he end up taught into such a state! In his youth, I never saw him so cold-blooded and unfeeling, so harsh and ungrateful!"
Chen Mufeng's expression was not merely embarrassed, but edged with anger. Thinking it over, he swallowed several mouthfuls of tea from his cup before finally losing control, his voice muffled with repressed emotion: "I wonder who he takes after... The more he is taught, the more adept he becomes at scheming and using people!
"Back then, I thought sending him to the main family would hone his temperament, teach him humility and restraint, and show him that there are always mountains beyond mountains... But now I feel that sending him to Mount Qingdu to lead troops, kill, and suppress the Shanyue has only sharpened his claws and fangs! In the past, he merely possessed the hollow look of malice; now it has seeped into his very bones!
"Look at the way he acted—as if he would draw his blade and threaten violence if his younger sister did not marry into Qingdu!
"He only respects those few on Mount Qingdu... He views only them as his peers, answering only to Zhouwei... As for you and me, we are nothing more than tools in his hands to rely upon! He... his heart is entirely full of suspicion and venom!"
Hearing these words, Madam Li felt a jolt of astonishment and terror. She jerked her head up to look at this husband who had seemed foolish before her for the better part of his life, and a strange premonition suddenly rose within her.
Though he favored his eldest son above all the rest, he was, after all, a father, and he possessed affection for each of his children.
Yet when she went to question Chen Mufeng further, the man fell silent.
Chen Mufeng sat in a daze for over a dozen breaths, a cold emptiness gnawing within him.
Madam Li lowered her eyes, momentarily at a loss for how to console her husband.
Chen Mufeng faintly felt sweat on his brow. He picked up his cup and took several deep gulps of tea, then stared at his wife.
Suddenly, a crisp creak echoed as the courtyard door was pushed open with one hand. A pale, lean, and capable arm came into view, and their eldest son, Chen Yang, stepped inside silently, his face adorned with a broad smile.
A chill ran down the backs of husband and wife, leaving them momentarily speechless. Clearly, the courtyard gate possessed restrictions that sealed away sound; the eldest son could not possibly have overheard their conversation. Yet under his eldest son's gaze, Chen Mufeng felt a wave of icy dread and guilt wash over his heart.
Watching the two of them, Madam Li felt a profound chill sink into her thoughts: *So... the son is ferocious and cunning because the father is no simple man either.*
Chapter 536