Inside the room.
Li Wei was looking at the scene in the ancestral hall.
He saw Li Yaoqing kneeling and bowing towards his spirit tablet.
"Ancestor, please manifest your spirit quickly! Only you can stop Father now. Obtaining the Heaven-Defying Grand Array is too dangerous; we should just go kill You Baiyin instead…"
Tears streamed down Li Yaoqing's face like pear blossoms in the rain.
This time, Li Wei didn't manifest. His expression was solemn. What Li Yaoqing was breaking through was the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and furthermore, this fellow had expended nearly two hundred years of his lifespan for the three little ones back in the Thunderfire Demon Cave. Now, Li Yaoqing only had a little over a hundred years left!
Should this chance slip through their fingers, neither the Li family nor he himself had any chance of ensuring Li Yaoqing could safely overcome the Heavenly Tribulation!
They had to fight for it!
Li Wei sent Li Yaoqing a surge of warmth. His spirit tablet drew a gentle arc in mid-air, and a line of text entered Li Yaoqing's eyes.
[This time, let the family help you, okay?]
"Ancestor!"
Looking at the mysterious shadow word in mid-air, Li Yaoqing burst into tears. In the end, she fell asleep in front of Li Wei's spirit tablet like a child, a faint smile on her dirty face.
Tonight, the full moon hung high.
Li Dalong and his wife embraced, gazing for a long time at the Primordial Blood Tree. They did not ask the Primordial Blood Tree about their future prospects. This old tree had been with the Li family for generations and was also awaiting its own opportunity for breakthrough. Any slight damage could cause the old tree to perish under the Heavenly Tribulation.
Footsteps sounded from behind them.
"Brother Dalong." Chen Qingtian arrived, led by Huang Xiujin. He bowed slightly towards the incongruous couple, and got straight to the point, "Brother Huang and I have discussed it. Based on the current strength of your Li family, even if you gather all the experts from the Azure Cloud region, the chances of achieving your goal remain slim. I propose…"
"Thank you for your kind intentions, Mr. Chen."
Li Dalong looked at his wife tenderly, and smiled, saying, "It's just that this time, even if I have to risk my life, I must seek a chance of survival for my silly daughter."
Chen Qingtian frowned, puzzled. He had already made it very clear – it was a matter of life and death, and there was truly no need for a large family to take such a great risk for a single cultivator. Only Huang Xiujin behind him unconsciously chuckled, a smile of relief spreading across his face.
Li Dalong simply pointed at the old tree before them.
He said softly, "Brother Chen, the world says that my Li family is no different from demonic cultivators, and some of our old friends sometimes joke about it too. I remember when our family was very poor, my silly daughter would stay by this old tree all day long, using every means possible to make it bloom and bear fruit. She knew that our family only had this way to obtain some decent natural treasures. Thanks to her, our family's old tree is growing very strong."
Upon hearing Li Dalong's words, the Primordial Blood Tree did not conjure a human face, but its branches swayed gently in the night.
Chen Qingtian still frowned.
Li Dalong continued, "Ah, my foolish girl... she would stay in the herb garden for over a decade at a time, always looking so dirty, ignored by everyone. But from then on, Green Valley Village was free from disease and disaster, and our family never lacked spirit herbs again. Later, when times got tough and our family had an old serpent about to undergo tribulation – everyone knew the future was perilous – she, who had been a quiet soul her whole life, spoke at length for the first time that day, with such reason and evidence, when we were all scrambling to go."
"Your Heavenly Secret Pavilion should know many of her identities: Demon Cave Saintess, the Deadly Pharmacist... But do you know that beneath these glorious titles, she didn't keep a single treasure for herself? Everything went back home. What you don't know is, in my heart, she has only one identity."
"And that is she is my daughter!"
"She has dedicated her whole life to our family. As long as a single member of our lineage yet breathes, no one can even think of hurting her, not even the Heavenly Tribulation!"
Li Dalong spoke each word, one by one, as if striking directly at the soul on this night.
Chen Qingtian was dazed for a while, and then a hint of warmth flashed in his eyes. He cupped his hands towards Li Dalong and said, "Brother Dalong, then I will not try to persuade you anymore."
Then, he shook his head, and left the Li family accompanied by Huang Xiujin, heading towards the border.
Huang Xiujin asked with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Mr. Chen, why did you stop persuading him?"
"With what should I persuade him?"
Chen Qingtian shrugged his shoulders, and sighed deeply, "I might sway a clan's patriarch, but I cannot persuade a father. Let's go, Mr Huang. Once we reach Border City, we still have many things to do."
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiujin's eyes lit up. "Mr. Chen, are you going to help us?"
"With what shall I help?"
Chen Qingtian rolled his eyes. "Do you think the Heavenly Secret Pavilion Leader controls a vast force? The members I brought are only good for petty theft and scheming tricks. If we're really going to fight a major battle against the Three Division, they won't be of much help."
Saying this, he stepped forward, his eyes slightly narrowed. "However, it has been a long time since I encountered a truly sincere Daoist friend like Brother Dalong. I suppose I could at least give it a shot!"
"It's also good to have a clear conscience!"
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