The torrential rain over Salt Lake had just ceased, leaving behind a clear sky and a gentle breeze. Li Qinghong stood atop the lake, treading on lightning. There was scarcely any trace of mortals or cultivators across this expanse of water, with Li Xuanxuan and the White Ape standing quietly to one side.
Lake Wangyue had far too many prying eyes and loose tongues, so the group naturally would not exchange blows there. They had instead chosen an out-of-the-way spot on Salt Lake to settle down. This stretch was the quietest within the surrounding waters; only two lake beasts patrolling the surface swam past, but having glimpsed several Foundation Establishment cultivators, they dared not interfere, feigning ignorance as they steered the water and slipped away.
Two small boats did drift by from afar—disciples of the Kong family. After making a wide arc, they recognized Li Qinghong in the distance, offered a respectful bow from afar, and departed.
Li Zhouwei raised his hand, palm turned upward. Blazing bright light erupted from his hand, congealing beside him into two armored warriors. Their scale armor shimmered white, their feet were clad in silver boots, and their faces bore neither visors nor facial features—only a blank, stark white.
Both held spears and bore bows across their backs, imposing and majestic.
Li Zhouwei himself stood with his halberd leveled. Bright light gathered in the curved crescent at the center of the halberd head, flanked by two sharp, piercing blades that joined the crescent—intimidating and razor-sharp.
Kongheng pressed his palms together before his chest, his narrow eyes squinted almost to slits. Murmurs rose from his mouth, and faint golden runes flew forth one after another from between his white teeth and red lips, circling around him.
Li Zhouwei flipped his halberd upward. The bright light at its center rippled, releasing an invisible, colorless radiance that instantly engulfed an expanse of the lake's surface, causing white steam to hiss and billow from the water.
Opposite him, Kongheng fared better, merely feeling the piercing light rush at his face like a roasting fire, making it hard to look up. As a Shakya cultivator, he did not fear such heat and remained largely unharmed.
Yet this sudden blistering aridness proved miserable for the lake beasts peeking from afar. Sweating profusely, their minds shaken with unease, they exchanged glances and lost all desire to watch the spectacle, scattering to either side.
"Dasheng!"
Li Zhouwei did not stop there. With a single command, a stream of flames surged from the crescent and draped over his body. Radiant light rolled over his armor, and flames coiled beneath his feet.
*Boom!*
A sonic boom detonated over the lake. An instant later, the long halberd was already thrusting directly before Kongheng. The monk finally slit his eyes open, suddenly parting his palms as a burst of golden runes surged forth.
In midair, the golden runes transformed into chains, clattering and ringing chaotically as they coiled like snakes around Dasheng. Li Zhouwei exerted strength through his forearms, and the long halberd shook violently, knocking aside most of them.
At the same time, Kongheng shifted his hand seal, opening his eyes slightly.
The golden light behind him coalesced into an enormous golden orb. With a crack of thunder from the flat ground, a colossal entity stretched out from within, revealing a golden upper torso. Six arms swung and reverberated across the void, densely covered in golden incantations, while red light flickered across its broad golden face marked by two massive horizontal ridges, exuding immense majesty.
A gargantuan, golden-armored, six-armed vajra straightened up from within that golden light.
"Order!"
The vajra widened its round eyes. Every single one of its six hands gripped those golden chains, pulling in unison. A heavy clanging of shifting metal rang out as all the golden chains snapped taut simultaneously, detonating into a flash of golden radiance.
This golden-armored vajra was as massive as a palace hall, its two eyes large as windmills, casting an enormous shadow over Salt Lake. Before it, Li Zhouwei looked like a small colt tied before the gates, and the magical artifact in his grasp was instantly yanked taut.
Kongheng had gone all out from the very first move, employing a Shakya secret art that drew nods of approval from Li Qinghong and the others.
Stroking his beard, Li Xuanxuan raised his white brows in surprise, then turned and said with a smile, "Monks cultivate the mind and disregard the mortal world. When he strikes, it is with full force, holding nothing back."
Kongheng would never feign modesty or flatter Li Zhouwei by pulling his punches. This single strike was enough to disarm most Foundation Establishment cultivators. As the dense cluster of golden chains coiled around the Dasheng halberd, Li Zhouwei felt a sudden heaviness in his hands.
Without the slightest hesitation, he opened his mouth and spat out a beam of white light.
The white light surged skyward like a white rainbow, heading not for Kongheng himself, but directly toward the face of the golden-armored vajra behind him.
*Huangyuan Pass.*
A white pass piled up in the air, instantly scattering the golden light. Huangyuan Pass was best suited for suppression, let alone suppressing bodiless spells. In an instant, the vajra was crushed into a blurry silhouette.
Seeing Li Zhouwei seize the chance to yank his magical artifact free, Kongheng nodded slightly.
By all reason, using Huangyuan Pass to suppress an enemy's true body was the most correct choice in a duel, just as Li Ximing did. As long as one could pin down the enemy, casting spells and chanting incantations became exceedingly difficult, and their Dharmic powers could be worn away, steadily turning the tide in one's favor.
Using this immortal foundation to suppress an enemy's spell might seem like putting the cart before the horse. Deploying and retracting it consumed vast amounts of Dharmic powers, while the enemy could simply disperse the spell and cast it anew...
Yet the opponent Li Zhouwei faced was Kongheng.
*Kongheng's cultivation is geared toward defense, and his cultivation base is far higher than mine. If I used this immortal foundation to suppress him, it would be pitting strength against strength and weakness against weakness. Even if it rescued me this once, I would inevitably be tangled tight by the golden chains next time!*
Li Zhouwei had immediately seized upon his opponent's weakness in offensive combat, using his immortal foundation to grind down the other's spell so that it struck in vain, first ensuring his own safety. As for the consumption of Dharmic powers...
*If I can turn the battle into a contest of Dharmic powers, that is all for the best!*
Huangyuan Pass flickered for a time, battering the phantom in the sky into a shower of golden radiance. Kongheng flicked his sleeve, shattering the armored soldiers charging toward him, and said softly, "Come."
A bronze khakkhara staff materialized in his hand. With a raise and a tap, exuding formidable might, it smashed downward with a crash. Opposite him, Li Zhouwei raised a brow, thrusting his long halberd upward to meet it.
*Clang!*
What Li Zhouwei held was an ancient magical artifact from a grotto-heaven. The weapon in Kongheng's hand was a Dao-protecting treasure he had carried throughout his cultivation since his days as a mortal; though tempered over decades into something exceedingly sturdy, it could never match such a relic.
The sharp branches on the crescent shimmered with piercing light, catching with a metallic ring inside the curved crest of the staff. Li Zhouwei had long been waiting for him to strike with the staff; twisting the halberd's shaft, he detonated a burst of radiant flame.
Caught by the hook, the staff could not be freed in time, taking the full brunt of the radiant flames. It groaned and screeched under the strain, trapped upon the halberd. The flames blasted directly into Kongheng's face, forcing him to retreat temporarily, though he chuckled, "Good!"
His bronze staff suddenly twisted and jerked twice like a snake, slipping free from the halberd's hook. Knowing this trick would not incapacitate him, Li Zhouwei had already thrust forward in stride.
With a whoosh, Kongheng discarded his weapon, clasped his palms together before his chest, and let out a low bark, forcefully clamping the halberd in place.
*Catching a Foundation Establishment magical artifact with bare hands?*
A flicker of astonishment crossed Li Zhouwei's eyes. He knew this monk's Dharmic body was formidable, but had not expected it to reach such a degree. With a thought, a burst of bright light exploded from Dasheng.
"Cough, cough!"
Kongheng had only caught it for a moment, yet his palms felt scorching hot, searing with intense pain. The instant he recovered, he cast the weapon aside, letting the blazing bright light slam into his body as he scrambled out, looking rather disheveled.
Bending his waist and lowering his brows, he swept out a sleeve of golden runes.
Before these runes could fully take shape in midair, Huangyuan Pass, which had been watching like a tiger stalking its prey from the sky, slammed down with a roar. Kongheng, however, paid it no mind.
*The heir has only just broken through, so his mastery of his immortal foundation is bound to be unpracticed. Unlike other techniques, Huangyuan Pass is the external manifestation of an immortal foundation; its rising and falling inevitably causes the Dharmic powers within his body to surge and ebb!*
Taking advantage of the moment Li Zhouwei mobilized his immortal foundation, golden light flared in Kongheng's eyes. Bringing his palms together, he roared in a resounding Sanskrit tone:
"Halt!"
The sound was like splitting bamboo and tearing silk, stirring waves across the lake. Having been a Master for many years, Kongheng timed this shout to utter perfection, catching the very crux of his opponent's Dharmic flow. Not only did the immortal foundation in the sky sway, but Li Zhouwei's face flushed crimson, nearly spitting up blood.
Kongheng, however, had already moved.
The instant Huangyuan Pass wavered, not only did a shower of golden runes pass through it, but the golden figure that had been battered into near extinction also straightened its torso once more. Six arms stretched across the void, lowering countless golden chains.
Li Zhouwei settled his turmoil in an instant, yet the other had already slipped completely free of his rhythm. Golden light flickered in Li Zhouwei's eyes, while Kongheng's expression remained resolute, entirely unshaken.
One had to admit that apart from his lack of offensive power, Kongheng had virtually no weaknesses. Li Zhouwei's ocular technique, augmented by the Dawen Golden Pupils, was terrifyingly intimidating, yet it produced no effect on him. The bright light's properties of purging evil, dissolving calamity, and suppressing and grinding down were likewise of little use against Shakya radiance.
*I have yet to master the Shangyao Fuguang... otherwise I would not be so utterly helpless...*
He exhaled deeply, having no choice but to fall back.
Yet his strength was far inferior to the monk's to begin with, and this retreat instantly placed him under his opponent's control. Kongheng's golden chains swayed through the air, and that cluster of golden incantations transformed into a small golden wooden fish to ward off Huangyuan Pass.
Huangyuan Pass could not be dealt with by a single spell, but while the Li family was familiar with Kongheng, could Kongheng's understanding of the Li family be any less? He let the wooden fish be crushed; whenever Huangyuan Pass rose and fell, it was met immediately with a resonant burst of Sanskrit chanting and the menacing press of golden chains, penning Li Zhouwei in.
Kongheng was exceedingly earnest in his actions; even while holding the upper hand at every turn, he did not go easy, cautiously drawing the golden chains shut bit by bit. After the two had clashed for nearly a hundred exchanges, Kongheng finally stopped and began chanting, while Li Zhouwei planted his halberd and caught his breath.
There was no helping it; continuing any further would turn it into a life-or-death battle. Though the golden chains could not trap Li Zhouwei to death, breaking free from them would cost him considerable vitality. They were merely sparring, and there was no need to strain sinew and bone.
Li Zhouwei handed the halberd to an armored soldier, drifted over with the wind, pondered for a long while, and nodded. "I have gained much."
Kongheng shook his head with a bitter smile, only now realizing he had shown little leniency, and said softly, "This monk used his senior standing to bully the junior... It was truly improper."
"Ah, no."
Little did they know that Li Xuanxuan had watched with sheer delight. Li Zhouwei had once managed to breach his way right to Kongheng's side; had it been any other Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would have had quite a headache. It was only because his opponent was Kongheng. The old man laughed and said, "Good... good!"
Li Qinghong had maintained a faint smile throughout without saying much. The group rode the wind back to the islet, and only then did Li Qinghong speak in a gentle tone:
"Zhouwei, though your cultivation base is still shallow, your strength has already begun to show its sharp edge... Leaving the affairs on the lake to you in the future sets my mind at ease."
Li Zhouwei seemed to grasp her meaning, nodding heavily. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Kongheng, the White Ape, and the others. Li Qinghong patted his shoulder and smiled.
"Do not forget that you have yet to refine the Yuane armor; you have merely donned it. Once you fully refine it, your strength will grow a bit more."
Li Zhouwei naturally nodded. Li Qinghong continued softly:
"Everything the family could offer you—armor, the long halberd, cultivation methods and spells, spiritual pills and marvelous medicines... we have done our utmost. Yet you were born into our clan, and we can offer you nothing better..."
Li Zhouwei was perceptive, sensing something unusual in her tone, and said solemnly, "Rest assured, Senior. I only feel that I have received too much, never that it is lacking. The ancestral oaths and many restraints of our family—Minghuang bears them firmly in mind and would never dare transgress!"
Hearing him say this, Li Qinghong let out a soft sigh, sounding both relieved and sentimental, and murmured, "I know... There is just one matter I wish to discuss with you."
She paused, then spoke warmly:
"For our clan's lesser branches and those of different surnames, so long as their talent is sufficient, we have always nurtured them with spiritual resources. The most talented among them, Chen Yang, was even granted the same treatment as those on Mount Qingdu... I once discussed with my elder brother that if anyone has the potential to attain Foundation Establishment, our clan would also provide them with full cultivation methods.
"Yet the families from Mount Lijing who followed us from the very beginning, though they are now prominent and wealthy households, were originally of peasant stock after all, and ultimately lacked the aptitude for Foundation Establishment... Those methods have hung there all this time, never put to use."
She looked toward the lakeshore and murmured:
"Now the shores of the lake are united, and all the clans have submitted under our banner. Men like An Siwei and Chen Yang all have hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment. We must give these people their chance; by no means should we look down on them out of sectarian prejudice.
"Once these people attain Foundation Establishment, if they are willing to take up an office in our household, let them stay. If they are unwilling to remain on the lake and wish to seek better prospects elsewhere, then let us preserve this bond of goodwill and allow them to depart with their kin."
Hearing Li Qinghong's words, Li Zhouwei fell silent. Their clan could not compare to the Qingchi Sect and held little genuine appeal for Foundation Establishment cultivators. Unless true affection bound them, would choosing a place of their own to close their doors and act as master—becoming a cultivation clan in their own right—not be far more joyful than living under someone else's roof?
Only the old man beside them furrowed his brows slightly upon hearing this, murmuring, "Qinghong, this is..."
Li Qinghong said softly, "Our family has no real need for manpower at present. For any cultivator who breaks through to Foundation Establishment, it is best to advise them to roam freely. Were they to remain on the lake, I fear they would fall prey to the schemes of the Violet Palace.
"Our family has never wronged them. As for cultivation methods, so long as their talent is sufficient and spiritual energy is available, everything except our family's secret arts is open for their perusal. Spiritual resources and items are distributed by every manor and peak year after year. Those with good talent receive additional provisions and can even cultivate on the islet... Whenever danger arises, our own kin step forward first... The various clans revere us as well; this is goodwill.
"Yet those are things we can afford to give. Once they reach Foundation Establishment, there are things our clan's forebears paid for with their lives, or that I fought for with my own. We can give those away entirely because it is to our own blood, but we can no longer afford to give them to outsiders... If they cannot obtain them, resentment will breed instead, ruining that goodwill."
The woman said softly:
"What I mean is... our family must prioritize the Violet Palace above all else. We must never create complications where none need be. A single provocation from a Violet Palace divine ability could stir up untold trouble. It is best to urge them to leave first and preserve our goodwill. Why covet an extra Foundation Establishment cultivator or two?"
Li Zhouwei finally nodded and said softly, "I understand. As long as our family has no Violet Palace cultivator, should anyone from an outside surname or a lesser branch attain Foundation Establishment, we will first urge them to take their kin and depart for other lands."
Li Qinghong looked at him with a smile, then turned to gaze upon the scenery over the lake. Li Xuanxuan beside them said nothing more. After a long silence, she turned her face and said:
"Uncle, take care of your health."
Chapter 655