Chapter 1124: Chapter 1118: Li Clan’s Secrets
Northern Border, Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain.
Descendants of the Qiu Clan at or above the Qi Condensation realm gathered together.
Densely packed and numbering roughly thirty thousand, they listened to the teachings of the Supreme Ancestors at the Void Refining realm, whom they rarely had the chance to see on ordinary days.
Such a grand occasion would typically only occur when the Demon Race invaded.
The Ancestors spoke with impassioned fervor.
They were going to march beyond the mountain to seek out the enemy, pursuing a ten-thousand-year destiny of prosperity for the Qiu Clan.
The four Supreme Ancestors of the Qiu Clan:
Ancestor Naihe, rumored to have crossed the Naihe Bridge, had already reached the realm of a divine being.
Ancestor Xundao, the Second Commander of the Northern Border’s Asura Army, enjoyed the supreme merit of protecting the Human Race under the Imperial Dynasty’s blessing.
Ancestor Xunfa, whose Dharmic shadow scattered across the world, was feared by immortals and gods alike.
Ancestor Chuhui, possessing boundless Spiritual power, deterred the external enemies of the family.
However, the other day, a man engulfed in black fog had arrived outside the Immortal Mountain.
He was an otherworldly demon from the Li Clan of the Southern Border, threatening to slaughter their entire Qiu Clan.
Thus, united in heart and mind from top to bottom, the Qiu clansmen’s eyes burned with fervor.
To annihilate the Li Clan and seize their destiny, they would march forward even if it meant dying ten thousand deaths.
“Today, the Li Clan has committed ten deadly sins, striking at the very foundation of our Human Race.
They have committed high treason, and everyone has the right to execute them.”
Qiu Xundao’s voice was deep and resonant.
Snow fell over the Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain, snowflakes landing on the shoulders of the clansmen as they listened to Qiu Xundao’s Dharmic decree.
“I have divined and calculated deeply.
Although their clan’s power is great, they will hardly be able to withstand the encirclement and suppression by the various factions of the Imperial Dynasty.
Our Qiu Clan can head to the Northguard City to suppress the demonic Li Clan, passing through the Silver Moon Li Clan along the way.”
“We can obtain the Li Clan’s Beast Taming Art and their Silver Moon Spirit Mineral Vein.
From there, we will march straight to the Azure Cloud Prefecture and occupy its territory to supply troops for our Northern Border.
This would be tantamount to a grand victory for the Northern Border over the Demon Race—an unparalleled merit.”
“…”
After speaking for half a day, the clansmen who had gathered from all directions arranged their trump cards in an orderly manner and unleashed their techniques.
A sudden blizzard rose within the Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain, sweeping towards the Northguard City.
At the forefront, Qiu Naihe rode a White-Feathered Snow Eagle great demon, leading the clansmen through the wind and snow toward the Northguard City.
He cast an almost imperceptible glance at the brothers beside him, Qiu Xundao and Qiu Xunfa, sighing inwardly, “It had better be exactly as Xundao says.”
Previously, when the Li Clan’s Ancestor came, the other party’s Half-Step Body Integration realm cultivation and the Li Clan’s formidable strength in the Western Border had truly left Qiu Naihe trembling with fear.
Who knows how many times he had violently cursed the troublemaking Qiu Xunfa when he was alone.
Even if the Li Clan didn’t possess such strength, for Qiu Xunfa, an elder, to attempt to murder a junior to silence her was utterly unjustifiable.
Most importantly, he still let the person escape.
Fortunately, a few days ago, the Li Clan’s Ancestor had not entangled them too much, merely demanding an explanation.
Qiu Naihe had pondered bitterly for days; for a matter like this, an apology would suffice.
At worst, Qiu Xunfa would lose some face, and the family would have to sacrifice some flesh to pay a hefty compensation.
But no matter how carefully he thought it through, he couldn’t withstand the barrage of unexpected accidents.
When Qiu Xunfa’s deeds were exposed, instead of returning to the family to discuss it with him, he went to Qiu Xundao to beg for his life.
Who exactly was Qiu Xundao? These two brothers were originally orphans who had crawled their way out of the mud. They had never trusted him as their Ancestor.
Furthermore, Qiu Xundao had climbed step-by-step to the high position of Second Commander of the Asura Army.
He was an arrogant and haughty individual; in his eyes, only Grand Tutor Lin Jiu could make him bow his head. As for anyone else…
Qiu Xundao’s method was simply to kill.
Amidst his thoughts, Qiu Xundao seemed to notice the worry in Qiu Naihe’s eyes.
His black robes fluttered as he shifted his position to the back of the white eagle, looking down at the cross-legged Qiu Naihe.
“Ancestor, is there anything inappropriate about this child’s actions on this trip?”
“No.”
Qiu Naihe casually replied.
Since the establishment of the Qiu Lineage until now, their clansmen had spread across the world, and power had shifted through the generations. But ultimately, might made right.
With the halo of being the Second Commander of the Asura Army, Qiu Xundao’s prestige in the family had long reached its peak.
But this was exactly how an Immortal Clan like theirs operated: they shared in both glory and ruin.
This was the biggest reason they had endured through the ages, and it was also the deepest bond within their bloodline.
Although the Ancestor had replied casually, Qiu Xundao still saw his displeasure.
He said in a mild tone, “Ancestor, I know you harbor resentment in your heart. That younger brother of mine is truly incompetent.”
Qiu Naihe’s expression turned cold.
The two brothers of the ‘Xun’ generation were both individuals of extraordinary talent, yet they possessed two entirely different temperaments.
Qiu Xundao was decisive in killing, while Qiu Xunfa was a troublemaker.
Qiu Xundao had spent his entire life cleaning up Qiu Xunfa’s messes.
Sure enough, Qiu Xundao added another sentence, “But he is my last remaining blood relative.”
“After this is over, I will have him cultivate in seclusion. Once I break through to the Body Integration realm, I will be able to be promoted under the Grand Tutor, and the position of Second Commander can be taken over by Chuhui.”
Qiu Naihe’s eyes lit up, and he looked towards a woman in the distance.
The woman was dressed in a white skirt with a longsword on her back; this blizzard domain of the Qiu Clan was unleashed primarily for her.
Through the generations of the Qiu Clan’s reproduction, the family had derived the ‘Snow Spirit’ bloodline.
Qiu Chuhui was an outstanding figure among them, highly valued by him as an Ancestor, and regarded as the future hope of their Immortal Clan.
“Xundao, are you certain the Azure Cloud Li Clan has already fallen into disaster?”
A hint of vitality finally appeared in Qiu Naihe’s eyes.
If Qiu Xundao broke through to the Body Integration realm, the family’s future could be planned around him alone, and the Qiu Immortal Clan could greatly prosper.
“Why does the Ancestor think this child wants to move against the Li Clan?”
The corners of Qiu Xundao’s mouth curled up.
“The Grand Tutor has viewed the Li Clan as a thorn in his side since hundreds of years ago.
When he gifted the Human Emperor’s Blood to Tian Xing, how could he not have known of Tian Xing’s talent? Even I am well aware of it.
Yet, a person with the potential for the Great Mahayana realm lost his life at the hands of the Li Clan while he was still accumulating his foundation.
A pawn of the Grand Tutor was thus destroyed.”
“It was just that in the past, the Imperial Preceptor and the Human Emperor protected the Li Clan, and the figures of numerous Azure Cloud ancestors appeared upon Li Tianyi.
Even when the Grand Tutor went to the Azure Cloud Prefecture, he had many reservations.”
“Therefore, he cultivated Li Xinghuo, taking him as an adopted son to keep him constantly by his side.
It looked like appreciation, but in reality, he wanted to use Li Xinghuo to probe the Li Clan’s secrets.”
“Now the Li Clan is so formidable, shocking the world overnight, yet they cannot be used by the Grand Tutor.”
Qiu Naihe’s expression sank.
Their family had multiplied in the Northern Border for tens of thousands of years, acting like immortals and gods only in this little corner of the world.
In the face of true experts, what he had glimpsed and probed was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Qiu Xundao continued,
“If they cannot be used by the Grand Tutor, they can be killed.
This is true for the Grand Tutor, and it is true for other almighty experts as well.
Therefore, numerous factions will encircle and annihilate the Li Clan.
We are merely a knife to force them into a corner until they have no choice but to submit.”
Taming fierce dogs, breaking eagles!
Qiu Naihe stroked the white eagle, suddenly feeling the cloudy sky turn cold today.
“Are we… also unable to escape this kind of fate?”
“We cannot escape it,” Qiu Xundao smiled bitterly.
“We are all guardians of the Emperor Realm, and we are also the walls they place in front of their opponents.
They want to tame the most loyal eagles and hounds; invisibly, we are already selling our lives for them.”
His tone shifted, his voice turning cold.
“Ancestor, I want to resist. Seizing the Li Clan’s destiny and snatching their secret treasures for rapid growth—that is my true purpose.”
“The Li Clan’s experts are in the Western Border…” Qiu Naihe clenched his fists.
The hot blood of his youth seemed to cross through time and space, making his heart boil.
“They are the ones hiding the greatest secrets. Lure them here, and the major factions of the Northern Border will execute them together.”
“They won’t be able to come.”
Seeing the Ancestor’s excitement, Qiu Xundao was taken aback for a moment, then sighed,
“There are already others who want the lives of the Li Clan members in the Western Border.
What we can do is to the greatest extent possible annihilate the Demon Suppression Lineage and the Silver Moon Lineage, and then swiftly strike at the Li Clan’s homeland in the Southern Border.”
“In other words, apart from their clan’s Ancestor, the Li Clan has no strong experts.”
Qiu Naihe stood up. If that was the case, what was there to fear about the Li Clan?
He completely understood Qiu Xundao’s actions now.
What Qiu Xunfa had done was not a bad thing; on the contrary, it was a fortuitous opportunity for the family!
“Correct. The Li Clan can only struggle bitterly beneath us. As for the Li Clan’s Ancestor…”
A sharp glint flashed in Qiu Xundao’s eyes.
“Half-Step Body Integration, spatial rules. This person possesses immense capabilities, but someone will naturally deal with him.”
“You mean…” Qiu Naihe looked toward the Northern Border battlefield, where the Grand Tutor was located.
“Yes.”
Qiu Xundao nodded slightly, stroking the spatial ring on his hand.
Hidden within the ring was a piece of plain paper—the calligraphy the Grand Tutor had left behind without uttering a single word.
Over these past few days, he had pondered bitterly for a long time.
The Grand Tutor was profound and unfathomable; the blank paper was untainted by karma, yet it had made him understand many things.
Whether it was the Li Clan in the Western Border or their Azure Cloud Prefecture, the most troublesome one was none other than their Li Clan Ancestor.
His spatial rules were bizarre and unpredictable.
As long as they resolved him, they could resolve the Li Clan.
Such high-level rules were not without methods to counter them.
“Good, good, good!” Qiu Naihe instantly lost all his reservations and laughed loudly.
“Since someone will deal with the Li Clan’s experts in the Western Border, and there is a method to counter the Li Clan’s Ancestor, what does our Qiu Clan have to fear?
The Li Clan is nothing but paper tigers!”
Amidst his loud laughter, Qiu Naihe could already foresee the vision of their Qiu Clan seizing the Li Clan’s foundation after this battle, their family’s destiny rising dramatically.
Right at this moment, a message flew over in the cloudy sky.
Qiu Xundao reached out and caught the message. Upon receiving the intelligence, his brows furrowed.
Seeing Qiu Xundao’s expression, Qiu Naihe’s heart skipped a beat. “What happened?”
“It’s a message from a friend in the Imperial Capital. Zishu Ling took two almighty experts to the Southern Border but was intercepted.
The Li Clan members are hiding within the major factions.”
Qiu Xundao said in a deep voice,
“The Li Clan has countermeasures. We must act swiftly.
Once we annihilate the two branches of the Li Clan, we can head to the Imperial Capital to rendezvous with our fellow Daoists and strike at the Azure Cloud Prefecture together.”
“Time waits for no one, let’s go quickly!”
Qiu Naihe couldn’t care about anything else anymore.
His mind was entirely focused on the meat on the chopping block that was the Azure Cloud Li Clan; in fact, he was afraid that someone else might beat them to the punch in the Azure Cloud Prefecture.
But right at this moment, every single Qiu clansman amidst this blizzard suddenly felt their heart skip a beat.
An intense sense of sorrow transmitted through their bloodlines.
In an instant, they felt a profound sense of loss, feeling an urge to shed tears.
As an Ancestor, Qiu Naihe felt this sensation even more intensely.
He couldn’t help but press his hand against his heart. “What… is going on?”
In that instant, the thirty thousand clansmen who had come here all turned to look toward the Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain in telepathic unison.
Amidst the blizzard, the clansmen unknowingly had their faces covered in tears.
Qiu Chuhui felt dizzy, her body swaying a few times.
She grabbed onto Qiu Xunfa beside her, her eyes bloodshot, her voice choking with sobs.
“I feel in my heart that something has happened to the family. We only just came out, how could this happen… Tell me, how could this happen?”
Only the death of one’s closest blood relatives would cause this!
But at Qiu Chuhui’s age, her closest blood relatives had long since mostly perished to the passage of merciless time. Unless…
Qiu Chuhui didn’t dare to think about it.
“Whoosh!”
But at this time, Qiu Naihe couldn’t care about anything else.
The sense of urgency deep within his soul made him rush back toward the family like a madman, shattering the void and disappearing without a trace in an instant.
Such a sudden change caused Qiu Xundao’s heart to lurch.
“Impossible. Under these circumstances, how could anyone dare to make a move against my clansmen? Unless it’s the Li Clan…”
“Absolutely impossible! They have already been suppressed by the Imperial Dynasty and are hiding like snakes and rats. How dare they make a move against my Qiu Clan?!!”
Among the Qiu clansmen.
A beautiful woman no more than three hundred years old had a flash of pity in her eyes and let out a sigh.
“You harmed Li Zhijing. Instead of letting the matter rest, how dare you move against the Li Clan. Everything is under the surveillance of the main body.
It’s just a pity for me; I too will perish because of your Qiu Clan, forever losing the qualification to become part of the main body.”
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