[Ancestor Time, concluded!]
[Incense Value consumed: 20,000!]
In a daze, Li Wei found himself back in his familiar room. Beside the incense burner in front of the 500-inch screen, offerings from two grand rituals were neatly arranged.
Li Wei was still lying on his bed, his back resting on a pillow, legs bent, a keyboard on his stomach, and a mouse beside his waist.
He seemed dazed, stiffly glancing at the time.
Twenty years in the game world, yet less than a day had passed in reality.
But he knew with certainty that the past twenty years, spent cultivating like a phantom, were real. The Divine Core in his dantian still shimmered brilliantly, engraved with the two layers of cultivation techniques represented by the Yin-Yang Diagram.
Moreover, the joys and sorrows he experienced alongside his family all those years were also real.
Finally, he came back to his senses.
On the screen, the Li family residence was vividly displayed. The Li family descendants were still kneeling before the Pig Demon King's tomb, the red snow still falling, landing on the shoulders of these animated characters, yet lacking the same sense of reality as in the game world.
A notification window popped up.
[Special Event: The Sacrifice of the Pig Demon King]
[The Pig Demon King, who had cared for the third, fourth, and fifth generations of the Li family, has sacrificed his life. Your entire family is consumed by rage, determined to avenge the Pig Demon King, no matter the cost!]
[Grief is spreading, and the flames of vengeance for the Pig Demon King are burning. Your family gains the collective trait—]
[Year of the Red Snow!]
[Future descendants will cultivate even more diligently, driven by their boundless rage. Cultivation speed increased by 30% until vengeance is achieved. Increased possibility of mental state changes, which may have both positive and negative effects.]
[Your descendants will never forget this day. They will warn future generations and recount this event, permanently increasing the cultivation speed of future descendants by +5%.]
If it were in the past, Li Wei would certainly have rejoiced at the emergence of group traits, but now...
For twenty years, Li Wei had watched the Pig Demon King carry children back and forth around him. He has even grown somewhat accustomed to the Pig Demon King's constant noise. It goes without saying that the Li family is furious, but he himself also harbors an inextinguishable fire within his heart!
He feels as if he has grown wolf-like fangs, wanting to tear apart the unknown enemy.
Yet, the passage of many years has also made Li Wei more composed.
He let out a long breath and dialled a number. "Hello, Boss Qi, could you possibly get hold of a nuclear bomb?"
"Huh? Are you planning a rebellion?"
...
Li Wei looked at the screen. He had originally asked Yuexian to send him delicious food at the scheduled time, but now, looking at the roasted rabbit beside him, he had no appetite.
The Li family's hundred-mile pigeons soared through the sky, delivering messages in all directions.
Soon, the image switched to where Li Yaowen was located.
It had been twenty years since he had last seen Li Yaowen.
Seeing her again, Li Wei felt a pang of heartache. This woman was 68 years old, a mortal with a frail body, inevitably approaching the end of her life. She aged more quickly than ordinary old women, her sparse white hair like withered grass, her body like a dried corpse, her skin so loose it seemed about to fall off. Sitting in a wheelchair, her breath was faint, only a pair of cloudy eyes gazing up at the sky in the courtyard.
Li Wei sent her a surge of 'Ancestor's Warmth.'
Feeling the sudden surge of spiritual energy within her body, Li Yaowen was like a withered grass revived, her voice hoarse and weak but filled with excitement, "Ancestor... cough, cough, cough... after so many years, Yaowen... can sense your presence again."
Even speaking a few words caused Li Yaowen to cough incessantly. A puppet sent by the family stood beside her, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief. Despite her frail condition, she still smiled. "Ancestor, do not worry, This child... will surely succeed on the path of literature!"
Hearing this, Li Wei still did not seem relieved.
He knew Li Yaowen. She was always like this. Even when sending messages back home, she would say that everything was fine, but no one believed her. Li Yaowen was the kind of person who silently endured suffering, not wanting her family to share her burdens.
Even if she fell and was covered in blood, she would send a message home telling her family that she was fine, that she had eaten well and was in good health. Her family would be relieved, but perhaps everything she said was just her wishful thinking.
"I already know about what happened at home."
Li Yaowen's smile faded. Perhaps the passage of time had given her a broader perspective on things. There was no trace of sadness in her eyes, only a cold glint. "Dawn is already investigating. Now that I have gained some influence, I should be able to find some clues."
"I can see it too. Someone wants to destroy our Li family. Well, let them see whose path is truly superior!"
"One thousand members of Dawn's intelligence-gathering team have already converged on the Goldleaf Forest."
Li Wei nodded slightly and used his ancestral tablet to write the character 'well-being' {Li Xiang's concern for Li Yaowen's well-being and his wish for her safety and good health.} in front of Li Yaowen.
...
Li Wei also checked on Li Yunlin, but the Li family ultimately decided not to send him any messages. He was in seclusion, with the Nine Nether Daoist helping him refine a Heavenly Core so Li Wei didn't disturb him.
Soon, the image shifted to the Thunderfire Demonic Cave.
Time had left no mark on Li Yaoqing's face. Everyone in the Li family was gradually changing, but Li Yaoqing remained the same as she was many years ago. Only when refining medicine, saving lives, tending to her flowers and plants, or interacting with her family did she not appear lazy and listless.
It was now nighttime.
Li Yaoqing sat deep within the Thunderfire Demonic Cave. Before her was the place where heavenly thunder and earthly fire converged. Magma flowed, and bolts of lightning, seemingly originating from an unknown source, pierced through the earth and struck the lava, causing the entire lava river to shimmer with electric arcs.
Beneath the waterfall-like lava, the Li family's guardian beast, the Violet Tempest Python, was undergoing molting!
Its newly molted body was incredibly dark. Its head began to transform, with two somewhat soft, backwards-facing horns sprouting from its crown and two long whiskers, crackling with thunder and fire, emerging from the sides of its mouth. Most notably, although it was a serpent, its back had grown armor-like scales, resembling those of a crocodile.
Soon, it would transform into a python!
Li Wei also sent Li Yaoqing a surge of warmth. The young woman immediately straightened up, took out her ancestral tablet, and began spinning around with joy. "Ancestor, you have finally manifested! Yaoqing can hear your divine voice once more!"
It took a long time for Li Yaoqing to calm down.
"Ancestor, please rest assured. Although I am not very familiar with the old Pig Uncle at home, I know that the children all treat him as family. Since you have also come to find me, it proves that you also consider him a relative, so he is also my relative."
"The demonic cultivators have many tricks up their sleeves. I have already ordered my people to investigate. There is a Stargazing Hall in the Demonic Subduing Sect, with six old Daoists who are skilled in divination. They should also be able to find some clues."
Having said that, Li Yaoqing knelt before the ancestral tablet with an expectant look on her face, her hands clasped together under her chin. Her dirty little face stared at the tablet, filled with anticipation.
Li Wei sent her another surge of warmth.
Li Yaoqing immediately jumped to her feet, bouncing up and down.
Watching this, Li Wei rubbed his face with a helpless expression. This girl... she was already 76 years old. She didn't look like a Demonic Sect Saintess and elder at all.