Milin Commandery.
Li Suining stepped out of the pavilion. After waiting a short while, he saw an ordinary-looking man descending on the wind, accompanied by two attendants. They seemed to be in the middle of a discussion, and faint snippets drifted through the air:
"A genius has emerged from the Pu family. Has the Protector heard of it..."
"Indeed... He has already arrived in the mountains. I saw him some time ago..."
Li Suining waited quietly beside the palace until the three walked up before the hall. The man in the middle glanced at him, furrowed his brow, and quickly recognized him. Stopping in his tracks, he turned around:
"Suining?"
Li Suining bowed immediately and greeted respectfully, "Junior pays respects to Granduncle!"
The man before him was Li Zhoufang, the eldest brother of the Li clan's Zhouxing generation. He had gradually stepped out from the shadow of the deaths of his uncles and brothers, and by now had become a senior elder himself. Stroking his beard, he studied the youth intently, remarking in mild surprise, "It really is Suining, isn't it? You look quite different now..."
Li Suining felt his heart tighten.
This eldest granduncle had never been regarded with much importance among the elders. In his early years, he had bustled about handling clan protections alongside Second Granduncle Li Zhouyang. Later, after Li Zhouyang perished, Eldest Granduncle Li Zhoufang remained a reliable pillar for the clan's younger generation, deeply beloved by the juniors on the isle. Behind him, naturally, stood the venerable elder Li Xuanxuan.
Because of this, Li Zhoufang remembered every single one of the children and had clearly seen Li Suining before!
Seeing the marked difference in Li Suining's bearing, Li Zhoufang was naturally taken aback. Yet the middle-aged man's heart was filled with affection. Brushing his two subordinates from his mind, he smiled and said, "You've truly grown up; completely different from before!"
Li Suining smiled and said respectfully, "Having reached the fifth layer of Embryonic Breathing, I came at once to pay my respects to Granduncle."
"I've heard! You have truly brought honor to the Eastern Residence! The True Person holds you in high regard; you must never let him down!"
Li Zhoufang dismissed the two attendants, warmly drew him into the courtyard, and chatted smilingly about recent events before soon asking, "What brings you here today?"
Li Zhoufang had helped many clan members over the years and knew that juniors only sought him out when they needed something. Not minding in the least, he prompted him right away.
Li Suining's eyes reddened slightly, and he murmured, "It is about my father... He perished in the Wilderness, and I have kept it in my heart ever since, yet I still do not know who the culprit was... Before she passed away, my mother mentioned that Guest Elder Ding and the Third Young Master had aided him greatly. I thought to come both to pay my respects to Granduncle and... to inquire about the killer... so that I might one day seek vengeance."
Li Zhoufang was stunned on the spot, his face flushing and his eyes instantly turning moist.
His own brothers had fallen in the Wilderness, which had once cast him into utter despondency. Hearing these words now, how could he not feel both grief and rage?!
Li Suining's words struck squarely at his sorest spot, causing him to rise abruptly. Pacing back and forth across the room twice, Li Zhoufang lowered his head, closed his eyes, and sighed, "Good child!"
Those words made Li Suining lower his head, a pang of guilt stirring within him for exploiting the man's grief.
In truth, the turmoil in the Wilderness was almost insignificant amid the broader grudges of the Li clan, barely lingering in the minds of the clan leaders. Even Li Suining, whose father had perished there... on one hand, finding the culprit in all that chaos was impossible, and on the other, he had never even met his father in this life or the last. With far more important and pressing matters before him, he harbored no real obsession...
Yet to Li Zhoufang, whose brothers and nephews had died across the successive conflicts, it was a visceral, bloody grudge!
Seeing that scarcely anyone in the clan seemed to care except him, this granduncle had kept silent, but his heart had surely suffered. Hearing Li Suining speak of it now moved him beyond measure. Turning back, he said in a solemn voice, "Though my cultivation is modest, I have accumulated some merit over the years and oversee the Wilderness alongside Guest Elder Ding. I will certainly invite him here for you! I will make sure we get to the bottom of this for you!"
Li Suining breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the matter was settled.
The reason he had approached Li Zhoufang was, first, that this granduncle would surely help him, and second, because of Li Zhoufang's status!
It was not that Li Suining could not see Ding Weizeng on his own—but with his cultivation and the people he had access to, even if he managed an audience, he would nine times out of ten have to travel to the front line in the Wilderness to see Ding Weizeng. That would lead to the exact opposite outcome: not only would he fail to save the man, but he would also get himself dragged into the disaster.
'Granduncle's cultivation might not be high, but he is the direct eldest son of the Yuandu lineage and the firstborn of the Zhouxing generation, and he oversees the civil administration of the Wilderness. In both rank and status, he has the clout to summon Guest Elder Ding!'
Even if Li Zhoufang had contemplated dropping his current duties to fly to the Wilderness frontline, Li Suining had plenty of ways to dissuade him—after all, many direct descendants had already perished in the Wilderness, Li Zhoufang was merely in Qi Refinement, and the riverbank was hardly a safe place.
Now that the matter was arranged, he offered his sincere gratitude. Li Zhoufang merely waved his hand, gave orders for someone to fetch Ding Weizeng, and lowered his voice to advise, "Guest Elder Ding is an honorable, forthright man. This matter carries a slight whiff of currying favor, so we cannot claim we invited him specifically for your sake. Remember, the pretext is that I have clan affairs to discuss with him, and your matter just happens to be brought up in passing..."
Having managed affairs around the lake for so many years, Li Zhoufang naturally had his methods. Li Suining understood completely and nodded in comprehension. Then he heard the middle-aged man sigh, "Life by the lake must not have been easy. They don't know how to live properly, but do not hold a grudge against them. Get along well with Suikuan..."
"Yes!"
Li Suining had anticipated that he would say something like this.
This was where Li Zhoufang differed from Li Xuanxuan. No matter how inept or wretched his kin were, Li Zhoufang always harbored a private softness: *after all, they are my clansmen.* The old master, by contrast, truly scolded and struck them; had it been the old master who investigated the matter in his past life, he would never have smoothed things over by telling him not to hold a grudge.
Yet Li Zhoufang had always been like this, trained by Li Chengkun to be thoroughly self-sacrificing. No matter how soft-hearted he was, he was still infinitely better than that beast who defected to the Buddhists!
At the thought of that person, Li Suining's breathing hitched slightly, a trembling wrath simmering at the bottom of his heart:
'Li Chengpan...'
He remained extremely vigilant. Buddhist cultivators were always attuned to karmic mandates; even if the man's cultivation was not high at this stage, Li Suining quickly discarded the thought. As he waited anxiously, hesitation crept into his mind:
*It is almost noon... It shouldn't be...*
With the memories of his past life, Li Suining knew full well that countless great figures were watching Lake Wangyue like tigers stalking prey. He dared not act out of turn, let alone voice any warnings. He could only do his utmost within his modest capabilities. Feeling uneasy, he gave absent-minded responses to the elder before him, when suddenly a drone rang out:
*Buzz!*
A cascade of crimson-gold light descended from the sky, and a man materialized within the pavilion.
He possessed a swallow-like jaw and a tiger's beard, handsome in countenance, his gaze sharp as a blade. A baleful aura seeped from him involuntarily—an unmistakable, bloodthirsty martial majesty. He wore brilliant crimson armor, two short batons tucked at his waist, flickering faintly with arcane light.
Merely standing there without uttering a word, he radiated the ruthless, dignified presence of a seasoned general. Lowering his eyes slightly, he spoke in a low, husky voice, "The young master summoned me?"
Li Zhoufang smiled and replied, "Indeed! Thank you for making the journey, Guest Elder!"
'This is the Dianyang Tiger!'
Li Suining's heart shuddered, struck by both joy and astonishment. Straining to suppress the surging elation within him, he thought:
'I really... I really made it in time!'
Naturally, he had never seen Ding Weizeng in his past life. Back then, while Li Suining was still in Embryonic Breathing, Ding Weizeng had already been incinerated by Combined Fire. He had only heard that the family once had such a Dianyang Tiger—an exceptionally formidable subordinate of the True Person, whose loss had been an immense sorrow.
Now that he had laid eyes on him, how could his heart not overflow with joy!
'He truly is a fierce general... and I really saved him!'
His wild delight knew no bounds. Previously, though burning with the resolve to alter his past life, he could not help but harbor latent fears that fate might be immutable. Now that everything had truly come to pass, he was certain of his ability to change the future, leaving him feeling almost as though he were in a dream.
The surging joy and complex emotions within him were beyond anyone else's understanding. Li Suining simply kept his eyes lowered, feeling the wave of heat radiating from the arcane light on Ding Weizeng's body. His heart was scorching hot, his throat choked with emotion:
'Guest Elder Ding is the first, and he will never be the last!'
Ding Weizeng turned his blade-sharp eyes toward him, looking at the youth with a hint of doubt.
The Dao Foundation of the Dianyang Tiger struck opponents through the gaze, an inheritance with profound mastery in ocular arts, exerting immense pressure through its stare. Seeing the boy lower his head, he was not surprised, asking instead, "Is this regarding the families on the East Shore?"
As Li Zhoufang began to explain the details, Li Suining quietly kept his eyes down, his gaze drifting toward the slanting sunlight outside the window, counting down second by second.
'Three, two, one...'
As the countdown in his mind reached zero, his tension crested to its absolute peak. A gust of wind swept past, and Ding Weizeng snapped his head up, a ferocious look surfacing on his face as he stared into the distance—at that very instant, a billowing torrent of Combined Fire erupted with a deafening roar from the north, sweeping across heaven and earth, turning the entire firmament into an expanse of ashen black!
"Not good!"
Without the slightest hesitation, and before Li Zhoufang's stunned and bewildered eyes, the man sprang to his feet. His figure flared with scarlet light, transforming into a streak of radiance that shot into the sky!
'Having avoided the initial Combined Fire and ambush... he is likely just flying over to assess the situation. He should be completely safe...'
Li Suining rose as well, suppressing the urge to chase after him. With a look of shock on his face and hope in his eyes, he slowly lifted his head.
Over the lake to the west, a blazing heavenly radiance was rising, churning vast banks of iridescent clouds that rapidly swept away the ashen-black haze across the sky. A heavy yet majestic pressure quickly rippled outwards:
'The True Person has taken action!'
……
"Lake Wangyue..."
Karmic fire surged through the sky, swirling like dark mist, while numerous golden bodies emerged one after another, casting blossoms of variegated light into the air.
A Mohe with the head of a horse and dark eyes hovered in the air, seated upon a lotus pedestal that shone with brilliant hues. Raising his golden head, he looked toward the nearby lake as Sanskrit chanting arose:
"Nvxiao!"
A Buddhist nun at his side rose and bowed respectfully. Daixi spoke leisurely, "Go and test the waters."
'Why the hell don't you go yourself? Sending me to fight the White Qilin?'
The nun rose with a smile, her expression serene and peaceful, her delicate, porcelain-like face shimmering with radiance. Though seething with fury inside, she could not disobey his command, and cautiously rode the wind upward.
Nvxiao was truly unlucky. Endowed with some karmic affinities, she was a Lianmin under Queliyu and a strong contender among his disciples, holding considerable status. Even though she had blundered in several previous tasks, she had remained secure thanks to that relationship.
She had recommended Lingci, expecting to share in the credit, but never imagined that Lingci would outshine everyone and become Queliyu's favored disciple. Instead of helping her, it had stripped away her usefulness—and her past failures instantly became glaring eyesores. Sure enough, when Daixi found himself shorthanded, she was immediately dispatched to him.
Not belonging to his faction, how could she possibly get an easy task? Only because Daixi was not her direct superior and did not hold her karmic mandate did she dare curse him in her heart—though cursing was all she dared do... Completely powerless to resist, she flew across with a trembling heart.
The moment she crossed the river, an intricate, bright-white Heavenly Gate rose tall amidst iridescent clouds, casting down boundless heavenly light. Terrified, she shrank her head back at once, only to freeze when she saw that the person seated atop the Heavenly Gate was a man clad in white-and-gold robes.
It was none other than Li Ximing!
"Ha!"
Her spine instantly straightened, her brow smoothed out, and a look of ease returned to her face. She smiled and said, "So it is Fellow Daoist Zhaojing!"
How could Nvxiao not know what Li Ximing was capable of? When they had clashed over Bai Yinzi some years ago, they had already crossed hands: Li Ximing had a knack for suppressing Lianmin, and the Huayang King's Battle-Axe was formidable indeed, but she had not come alone this time!
'Besides... having laid eyes on the White Qilin, how could the Huayang King's Battle-Axe ever stay with him? The White Qilin is tyrannical and never spits out what he swallows. Would he have left him the Qianyang Bracelet?'
It was not just Nvxiao who felt reassured; the few Lianmin behind her also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Daixi, whose eyes had been flickering with dark uncertainty, grinned as well. Yet the cunning old fox still remained on guard:
'Li Ximing amounts to little, but the White Qilin is most likely still on the lake. The master took our main force to the Wilderness; if I get struck several times by the White Qilin's bracelet and suffer injuries, it wouldn't be worth it... Shilou Yingge did use his injury as an excuse to retreat... but by his account, that Qianyang Bracelet does possess real power.'
Li Ximing looked down at them with cold detachment, fury boiling within his chest.
'Good... attacking all the way to the lake without a word of warning... Had I not delayed my departure for the West Sea, Zhouwei would have been left defending the lake all alone!'
These few figures were troublesome enough, not to mention the multiple powerful auras lurking in the Wilderness. The peace between north and south had been torn to shreds like flimsy paper. The north had moved with an overwhelming killing array, leaving him caught between lingering dread and fury, turning his gaze ever colder.
Without the slightest hesitation, heavenly light flared between his brows, and a round, crimson bead resembling a Golden Core surfaced before his forehead. Five rings of golden threads wound around it, surrounded by circling birds of crimson flame, releasing waves of misty, variegated radiance.
The Chonghuo Liangming Instrument!
A majestic flood of Li radiance surged forth from it, intricate and mesmerizing. The crimson hues dragged streaks of intersecting, multicolored light, instantly engulfing the entire firmament and pulling the three Lianmin and the one Mohe into its domain!
The tangled Li radiance darted in all directions, instantly scattering their spiritual sense and pinning down Nvxiao, who took the brunt of the onslaught. Yet bright illumination burst forth from within like the founding of a Buddhist Land, accompanied by solemn, resonant Sanskrit chanting:
"Heretical fiend, petty tricks!"
Daixi's figure had already vanished from the lotus pedestal. Thick golden light enveloped his body, the brilliance dispelling the chaotic colors one by one to reveal this Mohe's golden form. His eyes gleamed, already locking onto Li Ximing's position!
Yet the True Person in white and gold did not yield an inch. Standing quietly in place, his eyes half-closed, he brought his palms together before his chest. Instantly, three blazing flares of light danced beside him.
To his left, an apricot-red Lihuo burned vibrantly, roiling ceaselessly and brimming with the Qi of Chongping Dongxuan. To his right, a true fire shone white within and golden without, etched with crimson arcane runes as golden flames bloomed fiercely, embodying the wondrous Dao of artifact-refinement. They were remarkably two distinct Violet Palace spiritual flames.
Yet what truly caused the Mohe's pupils to dilate was the roaring, brilliant glow nestled between the two spiritual flames—encased within was a pale gray, nearly invisible flame, radiating terrifying, savage malice!
'This is... the Combined Fire of the Great Sun!'
Bewilderment instantly flooded Daixi's eyes, and his mind went blank for a heartbeat:
'Early Violet Palace? A Violet Palace with only one divine ability... possessing three Violet Palace spiritual flames?!'
Yet the blazing fire had already reflected across his pupils. The three spiritual flames rested in Li Ximing's hands as docile as lambs, free of interference, intertwining as they plummeted downward at an appalling speed, hurtling straight toward his face!
Chapter 991