Gleaming white specks of light flickered, rapidly swelling and shifting. A cataract of lightning cascaded downward, holding the gray cable at bay, only for the deafening roar of thunder to follow:
"Rumble!"
The Purple Talisman Origin Light Secret Method belonged after all to a lineage that commanded thunder and moored clouds. Thick lightning and violent shockwaves radiated in tandem, far outstripping the power of his earlier magical weapons; the gray cable visibly slowed to a crawl and was even sent tumbling backward.
Yet this torrent of lightning did not flaunt its prowess for long. The patterns of mountains and rivers on the gray cable lit up one by one. In the center of the lightning, a hole seemed to tear open, causing it to suddenly collapse and wither. The purple lightning slurry surged into the gray cable like a whale drinking up the sea, vanishing completely in an instant.
'A spirit artifact of the Earth or Metal Virtues! Earth suppresses surging thunder, and Metal extinguishes residual lightning—it counters my lightning best!'
Li Chengkun recognized it at once. For years, his lightning had suppressed foes with its tyrannical speed and demon-slaying fury, yet now he was finally the one being kept in check. Pulling back his spear, he turned and retreated upon the thunder.
To the side, Ding Weizeng had already rushed in to assist. Two strikes of his staff clanged against the gray cable, but the cable did not panic in the least; it slipped away into the Great Void. Situ Biao and the others pressed forward in unison to cut him off, while Situ Mo stepped upon the wind with a cold face to give chase to Li Chengkun.
Two escaping lights, one gold and one purple, soared into the sky. Without a second thought, Li Chengkun fled eastward. A dark azure glow rose above his head as the screens unfolded one after another; the brilliance of Chongyuan gushed forth, hurtling toward Situ Mo.
Yet Situ Mo's escaping light came purely from his own cultivation rather than any magical artifact, making it difficult to shoot down. Moreover, this man had long understood the purpose of the Chongming Dongxuan Screen in the sky, having already drawn his golden needles and golden blades back into his sleeves; facing the oncoming azure luminescence, he merely paused for a fraction of an instant.
Fortunately, Li Chengkun's escaping light was a notch faster, keeping him temporarily ahead. As the light of the Chongming Dongxuan Screen swiveled back, a sheet of gold suddenly materialized before him, pinned right in his face—it turned out his opponent's spell had stealthily circled around ahead of him.
Thunder gathered in Li Chengkun's palms. With a push of both hands, he shattered the spell. As he sped atop the lightning, a thought flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning:
'Situ Mo possesses a spirit artifact—the Violet Palace has definitely intervened!'
There was little panic in Li Chengkun's heart, only heavy, sober gravity:
'Who is behind this? Situ Huo? Jinyu? Duxian? Changxiao... Perhaps even more than one—the shared will of several Violet Palaces...'
'It's for our young lord... Why would they ever mount such a grand spectacle for me, a lightning-method cultivator whose path is already severed?'
'It's to force Minghuang to show himself! This isn't just about Changxiao. I knew long ago that none among the Violet Palaces would wish to see Minghuang break through to the Violet Palace, yet I never imagined their moves would be so ruthless!'
Li Chengkun had always felt a deep bewilderment at Changxiao's abrupt attack and blatant enmity unto death. Reaching this point, he finally understood:
'Earlier, we suspected Changxiao had repeatedly targeted children of destiny and harbored sinister designs on Minghuang, but we never expected it to come so decisively and swiftly. It seems we underestimated the malice the various houses bear against our family. Changxiao was merely answering the common wish! Whether the various cultivators want Minghuang to fall into Changxiao's hands or not, on the single point of forcing our family's young lord to reveal himself... too many interests have aligned...'
As for what happens once he appears, some hope to capture him in their grasp, while others hope for his death... Changxiao saw right through this. So long as he drove Li Ximing out to sea and tied his hands, even if Ye Gui refused to make a move, there were far too many Violet Palaces eager to add fuel to the fire. Setting aside Jinyu and Chijiao—could even the Qingchi Si family behind the Li clan be free of thoughts to drive the Li family into a corner?! If they wanted the Li clan to throw themselves fully into Qingchi's fold, now was the perfect opportunity!
Though Li Chengkun knew nothing of what transpired on Mount Luoxia, seeing this persecution as dread toward their family head led to essentially the same conclusion, and things gradually sorted themselves out in his mind.
Thoughts flitted through his mind. Behind him, Situ Mo wore a ferocious expression. Grasping at empty air, he caught a gray cable out of midair, its luminous patterns of mountains and rivers flashing. His voice rolled like thunder as he bellowed:
"Li Chengkun! Die!"
That shout jolted him awake:
What kind of situation was Situ Mo in?
As for this man Situ Mo, the clan records detailed him clearly as a cunning and vicious figure. Li Chengkun's elder sister had dealt with him as well; he was truly a formidable overlord of the shadows. A person like that, even if he were to cast a spell or unleash a magical weapon, would naturally remain silent and keep a calm expression so as not to put his target on guard. Why would he wear such a ferocious look and roar like thunder, as though terrified that Li Chengkun wouldn't notice!
In that instant, light dawned in Li Chengkun's heart, and he grasped the truth:
'Even if he appears aggressively intent on killing me, my continued flight and the escalating commotion are what truly serve his interests! He wants to force Minghuang out... He needs chaos! Only when everyone's eyes fall upon our family head and the Violet Palaces are satisfied will he have a slim chance of survival!'
At this moment, he, Li Chengkun, was like a black moth on a spiderweb, fluttering its wings and struggling to survive. Yet was not that golden-skinned venomous spider opposite him likewise trembling with fear, trapped in the very same web, grasping for a way to live?
"Rumble!"
A torrent of purple lightning erupted and crashed backward, detonating a wash of thunderous glare. The golden needles scattered in retreat, yet out from among them darted the gray cable, striking like a venomous serpent.
Though Situ Mo appeared desperate and furious—his harsh words carrying a subtle warning—he knew even better what must and must not be done. He did not relent in the slightest, sending the spirit artifact that suppressed thunder sweeping forward to bind him.
Li Chengkun seized the moment to swallow a pill. A crimson light flared across his body as both his cultivation and lifespan depleted in tandem, and he sped frantically eastward.
At the other end of Funan lay the battleground where Li Minggong and the others were clashing with Duxian Dao. Though the situation there was hardly optimistic, it seemed to be his only turning point now!
'How ridiculous... After our family advanced to the Violet Palace, Duxian Dao became our prime enemy in the open, while the other houses were all polite and smiling. To think that today... I must pin my hopes on the goodwill of Duxian Dao!'
The workings of the world were wondrously fickle; overnight, everything had turned on its head. Li Chengkun tore through the sky, but no sooner had he stepped upon the thunder than Situ Mo roared frantically behind him:
"Flee! Can you escape?!"
Driven by magical power, the roar resounded through the sky and pierced straight into Li Chengkun's ears. A momentary hesitation crossed the young man's expression as thoughts raced through his mind:
Can I escape?
If the pursuit of Li Chengkun by Situ Mo was solely to force Li Zhouwei into the open, was this small realm of Funan—barely the size of Lake Wangyue's northern shore—not too short a span? Lightning was swift; if an opening slipped by and Duxian Dao wished to help, wouldn't time and opportunity be wasted for nothing?
'It's not about the pursuit... it's about my life... Situ Mo likely means he has more than one spirit artifact... there is more... If pushed too hard, he will strike first.'
Li Chengkun's lightning dissipated as the gray cable swept down, blocking the path ahead. He barely managed to take a step, feeling his entire body grow a measure heavier, and veered his course toward the river.
Across the river lay Lake Wangyue, the very place of Li Zhouwei's secluded cultivation!
The moment he veered, Situ Mo knew the young man had caught on. Feeling extraordinarily fortunate, he nonetheless broke out in a cold sweat:
'Thank heavens the Li clan is smart!'
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine such a thought would surface in his mind, yet there it was, vivid and real.
'Head south, go to the lake to force Li Zhouwei out! Then both of us have a way out. Otherwise, you die... and I will be boiled alive!'
Situ Mo's face remained fierce and agitated, the anxiety in his eyes undiminished, yet the hand seal he held paused for an instant. He clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and even the gray cable slowed down.
Li Chengkun took several strides atop the lightning, while Situ Mo pressed him with the spirit artifact, herding him across the river.
"Rumble!"
The broad waters of the river had barely appeared before them when the Tangjin Gate master slowly raised his brows. The gray cable flared with brilliant light, runes streaming forth from its mountain-and-river engravings to coalesce in midair into cascades of pale gold luminescence, clearly activating some profound wonder.
Foundation Establishment cultivators holding spirit artifacts to fend off enemies were not exceedingly rare; Ning Heyuan back then had been one, and he had even held an ancient spirit artifact. Yet whether in cultivation, combat prowess, or the artifact's harmony with his lineage, Ning Heyuan clearly could not compare to Situ Mo.
Now, as this wonder was unleashed, Li Chengkun distinctly felt the surrounding space grow murky and sluggish, as if he were trapped amidst mountain gorges. The gray cable expanded and unfurled continuously, casting pale golden luminescence from the sky and locking onto him through the Great Void.
Situ Mo was no easy opponent; now there was only moving forward. The Tangjin Gate master grew increasingly confident and was already pondering his next move:
'The Shanming Dongyue Cable must never remain in my hands. Once we reach the lake, Li Zhouwei can never sit by and watch. Even if he truly entered secluded cultivation, Li Xuanxuan will be frantic enough to force him out.'
'The moment he appears, I will immediately cast the Shanming Dongyue Cable onto Li Zhouwei, strike Li Chengkun with the Violet Palace talisman, and abandon the spirit artifact to flee!'
Situ Mo was certain that as long as the Shanming Dongyue Cable was not in his hands, ninety percent of the gazes from the Violet Palaces upon him would fall away!
"As long as I don't flee with the spirit artifact, nor hide in the Violet Palace grand formation on Mount Tangdao to the north, but instead plunge straight toward the East Sea, I will definitely survive!"
"Because—I can still be used as bait to lure out Li Ximing!"
"So long as I am useful, I can live!"
Truly, Situ Mo was a man who had clawed his way up step by step from the son of a concubine to the seat of gate master; in such a fatal trap, he had actually carved out a path to life in one breath!
He did not fear what Li Chengkun might do, only staring faintly at his back:
'Li Zhouwei will have to reveal himself sooner or later anyway, and his appearance might not necessarily spell disaster, but doing this will preserve your own life. No one under heaven does not cherish their own life, not to mention this does not require exchanging Li Zhouwei's life for yours!'
Situ Mo's eyes lingered on Li Chengkun. Even with the spirit artifact suppressing him and a talisman guaranteeing leverage, and even though Li Chengkun surely knew stopping meant certain death, Situ Mo's suspicious nature welled up once more as he thought:
'Yet the Li clan binds its scions with ancestral blood and ancient virtues, and Li Zhouwei is the family head. How do I know whether Li Chengkun is a stubborn fool who holds his life cheap?'
Thus in the very next instant, he silently concealed a cluster of golden needles in his sleeve, pouring magical power into them, and his chilling voice rang out abruptly:
"Li Chengkun! If you dare to die, I will turn around and slaughter Li Minggong!"
Li Chengkun's figure flickered like lightning across the river's surface for a moment before coming to a sudden halt. Situ Mo's cold voice trailed right behind:
"Don't think I won't do it—the Real Persons will only think I know my place!"
Li Chengkun's eyes opened slightly, his jet-black gaze staring straight at him. He held one hand with fingers joined two inches before his chest, while his other hand reached back against his spine, fingers similarly joined. Pinched between the fingers of each hand was a gleaming golden talisman.
The talisman before Li Chengkun blazed to life, surging with a plume of deep azure radiance, heavy as stone and solemn as an ancestral temple—the exact Prayer Technique of the Earth Virtue's Qingxuan path!
Meanwhile, the talisman behind him lit up with an intense black glow, secluded as deep forest shade and eerie as a shamanic shrine—the Concealment of the Binggu shamanic talisman path!
Shaman talisman golden slips!
The stack of shaman talisman golden slips Li Xuanfeng had brought back from Daning Palace was among the Li family's fine treasures; several direct-line scions carried them. Li Xijun had once used the Transformation shaman talisman to disguise himself as Guo Hongyao, and now the remaining two varieties finally came into use.
Once the Earth Virtue Qingxuan Prayer Technique was activated, it immediately turned into a heavy golden stream that flowed over his body, bringing little outward change. But when Concealment of the Binggu shamanic talisman path took effect, black light surged over Li Chengkun, freezing the gray cable in the sky in place!
When a spirit artifact locked onto a Foundation Establishment cultivator through the Great Void, escape was normally impossible until death. Yet at this moment, Li Chengkun seemed secluded from the mortal world; slipping free from the golden radiance, he rose upon the thunder.
'Good! It truly broke the lock!'
Li Chengkun clearly remembered the purpose of these shaman talismans. When Li Xizhi brought them back in the past, he had explained that Concealment seemed to be the crystallization of the Violet Palace divine ability 'Do Not Investigate Me', with its greatest effect being the evasion of Violet Palace divination.
'They cannot divine me either!'
Li Chengkun understood clearly in his heart: this current situation had come about because the various houses nudged and spurred one another on, adding fuel to each other's flames. In other words, no Violet Palace would personally cast a divine ability to link Situ Mo or himself!
'Our family's Violet Palace is outside, and under the watchful eyes of all, no one wants their own lineage to know no peace for four hundred years! If they cannot divine what I will do next, I have room to act on my own!'
The moment his figure slipped out of the golden radiance, Situ Mo was startled. Yet his eyes had already turned gold long ago. Stepping forward, he released that golden needle from his sleeve, sending countless golden bristles shooting in all directions like rays of light.
His reaction was astoundingly fast. Having already hidden the magical weapon in his sleeve, he had begun casting the moment Li Chengkun drew the talismans—so fast it was virtually in sync with his foe!
Li Chengkun's move had been unexpected. Any other Foundation Establishment cultivator might have lost track of him for a split second, creating an opening for a subsequent escape. But the blade chosen by the various Violet Palaces, Situ Mo, had been forged under hammer and flame, harboring hatred and swallowing resentment; he was simply too sharp and too swift!
"Clang!"
The tens of thousands of rays released by the golden needle stretched several li away in an instant, and a crisp sound of impact rang out to the east.
Before the sound could even travel back, Situ Mo had already sensed it through his connection to the weapon. Before his body could even move, his head snapped around, those sinister, bloodshot eyes brimming with concentrated gold that pierced forward like two arrows loosed from a bow.
A chill gripped the back of Li Chengkun's heart.
All at once, he abruptly recalled the days during his Qi Refinement years when he had guarded that small island in the East Sea. Back then, the sea billowed and the setting sun shone wax-yellow. He had held the clan history to read, and every passage was etched so clearly in his memory:
"Thereafter, Jin Geng arrived at the East Sea. Mo held the island and did not venture forth. When Situ Chen arrived, Chen was lured to his death on his account, never to return. When the letter reached home, Cheng looked to it and said: 'When Uncle was with us in earlier years, he worried about this man many times yet could not rid us of him. He once warned me with a single remark, which I keep vigilantly in mind.'
"Liao said: 'I would hear the details.'
"He replied: 'Judging by his ambition and bearing, he will surely become a future menace!'"
Chapter 768