Nangong Yazhi suddenly felt the wind inside the Tian Xing Abode turn bone-chillingly cold, a dreadful ice spreading from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head, making her entire body tingle numbly. "How... how can there be more Li family members here?!" she thought in panic. "Didn't the Li family only dispatch Li Yunlin for this venture?! And aren't the other experts dispatched from the Azure Cloud region already trapped back outside the Seren Hill?!!"
Her thoughts descended into chaos.
Then, in barely the time it takes to snap one's fingers, a mocking voice drifted up from the ground below.
"Nangong Yazhi, this Tian Xing Abode is only so large," the voice drawled. "Where exactly do you think you can run?"
"Surrender. I guarantee you'll be treated well."
"You had best think very carefully," the mocking voice continued. "Life offers many paths, but sometimes, just one misstep... means utter and eternal ruin!"
"..."
The speaker was an exceptionally handsome young man seated in a wheelchair, pushed by a young woman who, apart from the large pink longbow slung across her back, seemed entirely unremarkable. Plainly, one of the pair was merely at the Qi Refining stage, while the other had only recently reached Golden Core – yet they dared to meet her gaze directly, a cultivator of the esteemed Nascent Soul realm! It was particularly the young man, the calm composure with which he uttered every word, that caused Nangong Yazhi's expression to become exceptionally ugly.
Were these not the very words she had used to taunt Li Yunlin over the past half-month? And now, those exact same words were being hurled back in her face!
No. Worse than anger, a deeper terror gripped her: the man's words implied that everything she had done over the past half-month... all of it... had been monitored!
Just as anticipated, a breathtakingly beautiful woman appeared, clad in blood-red armor and wielding twin swords. Behind her hovered a blood-colored moon wheel, its presence causing the very space around her to visibly freeze – an exceptionally striking sight.
One couldn't help but marvel at the audacity of the Li family. This woman, though only at the pinnacle of Golden Core and approaching the critical juncture of Nascent Soul formation, dared to position herself less than a thousand meters from Nangong Yazhi! Her crescent-moon eyes stared icily at Nangong Yazhi, regarding her as one might a dead body. "Nangong Yazhi," Li Tianyue's voice was chilling, "There was a time my Li family actually cooperated with yours. We understand the Nangong are merchants to the core... but you insisted on walking this path to ruin."
"The Red Widow... General Li Tianyue!"
Although Li Tianyue was still technically only a Golden Core, Nangong Yazhi, upon seeing her appear, dared not lower her guard even for an instant. The vigilance within her surged ever higher. Throughout these long years of the Wu Clan's invasion of the Azure Cloud region, among all those who had risen to fame across the lands, Li Tianyue undoubtedly ranked among the absolute top three!
Her formidable reputation as the Red Widow wasn't just sufficient to intimidate the Wu Clan beyond Azure Cloud region's borders; word of her exploits had reached as far as the Imperial Capital itself. The 'Ever-Victorious General' Wang Jinhu had reportedly sent correspondence back to the Imperial Capital praising her. Even Grand Tutor Lin Jiu, occupied far away with the Northern Expedition, had somehow learned of Li Tianyue and expressed great admiration. Rumor even had it that should Li Tianyue ever visit the Capital, the Grand Tutor's entire political faction would spare no expense in nurturing her talent.
Therefore, Nangong Yazhi simply could not believe that Li Tianyue would be so foolish as to attempt to block her escape route, accompanied only by her Golden Core cultivation and two utter ants [Li Changsheng & Li Changyao]. Besides which, those ten other Spirit Tablets were still present, presumably representing ten more hidden Li family members.
[Her mind raced:] Li Dalong, Xu Cuihua, Li Yaozu, Li Yaoqing... Every single one of those Li figures was at the Nascent Soul realm or above, and who knew if they possessed hidden cards just as terrifying as Li Yunlin's?! She frantically scanned her surroundings, desperately seeking any possible escape route, yet remained frozen, daring not move even an inch. Dealing with Li Yunlin alone would soon become overwhelming, let alone those other Li family members who hadn't even shown themselves yet – they were certain to be truly dreadful opponents...
But just as she was lost in these fearful thoughts,
Nangong Yazhi froze. Before her eyes, Li Tianyue's storage ring pulsed with a crimson light, and seven figures materialized from within it.
These seven individuals possessed exceedingly bizarre appearances. All were encased in thick, heavy plate armor, which made their already robust, bear-like frames seem even more massive. Wherever their skin showed – even on their faces – intricate demonic patterns were deeply etched. Beyond that, there was something distinctly abnormal about the physical form of each one.
If the intelligence reports held true, then Yun Dou sprouted broad, blood-red wings from his back; Yun Zhe manifested a vertical eye upon his forehead; Yun Jie wielded six different weapons with his six arms; Yun Zhen had multiple slender tentacles swaying from his back; Yun Lie sported twin horns and a long tail; Yun Zai was covered head-to-toe in black scales; and Yun Qian stood fully five meters tall, a veritable giant!
Their physical forms were akin to those of 'Spirits Besat', yet they lacked any demons Qi. Instead, they were suffused with a dense aura composed solely of Demonic Qi () and Wu Qi. In their presence, even the totems previously seen wielded by Wu Clan priests began to inexplicably glow, while nearby demonic artifacts pulsed, radiating their own distinct auras.
"The Li family..." Nangong Yazhi recoiled slightly. "How do they possess monsters like these?!" Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Nangong Yazhi couldn't help but be startled by the sudden appearance of the Seven Ironclads. However... that momentary shock was all it amounted to.
"She quickly assessed them. Without exception, they are merely at the peak of the Golden Core stage, still separated from the Nascent Soul realm by a vast, unbridgeable chasm. Rumors might claim they're undying and indestructible, but given their realm, there's little cause for genuine concern."
Besides, Nangong Yazhi had no spare attention for these seven creatures right now; her vigilance remained absolute. "There are still three more unaccounted for," she reminded herself.
And soon enough, the remaining three figures entered her field of vision.
"Three..."
"'The Li family members who came... It's just you three?!'"
Gazing at the three small figures perched on the shoulders of Li Yunzai (the scale-covered giant), Nangong Yazhi froze momentarily, then burst into furious laughter. "Ridiculous!" she seethed. "Absolutely laughable! And you think you can stop me?!"
Moments before, she had practically resigned herself to her fate, suppressing her power while seeking another means of escape. Now, seeing only these three, her suppressed aura erupted outwards violently! "Courting death!" she snarled.
She had braced herself, assuming those final three hidden opponents would be the truly terrifying Nascent Soul masters like Li Dalong. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined they would simply be... Li Tianyue's generational peers!
These three... according to common street gossip back in the Azure Cloud region, they were widely considered the Li family's three greatest embarrassments.
All they supposedly knew was how to swindle and deceive; they had never behaved respectably in their lives.
Even Li Tianyi, supposedly the most capable of the three and rumored to have received the true inheritance of the Azure Cloud Pavilion, reportedly lacked any drive to advance. His only known pastime was desecrating ancestral graves while completely neglecting any duties associated with a major sect.
Li Tianqi was apparently even more absurd – a mere jumping clown who would commit reckless outrages right in front of his superiors, constantly needing to be disciplined. If the Li family hadn't been propping him up, he surely would have met a violent end years ago.
And Li Tianming? All he knew, his entire life, was how to bully those weaker than himself!
"Hahaha! You think you lot can stop me? YOU lot?!!"
It was hard to say whether Nangong Yazhi felt the giddy relief of surviving disaster or merely found these jumping clowns utterly absurd, but she actually pointed towards the Li family members before her and exploded into uproarious laughter.
"The thirteen Li," she gasped between laughs, "so it was just trash like you behind it all? You people are simply..."
"Bullying me far too excessively!!!"
The laughter vanished from Nangong Yazhi's face, instantly replaced by boundless, searing fury! The terrifying aura of a cultivator whose power level is comparable to those ranked on the Nascent Divinity List erupted violently from her! She could sense Li Yunlin drawing rapidly closer from afar, but... no matter! This power was more than sufficient!
Nangong Yazhi fixed a baleful stare upon Li Tianyue, who stood opposite her, her own brow slightly furrowed. "Apparently," Nangong hissed, "you genuinely mistook me for some common Peak Nascent Soul! You clearly have no concept of what power level those ranked on the Nascent Divinity List stage entails! Unless all of you," her gaze swept over the others, "can pull out trump cards as endlessly as Li Yunlin seems to, otherwise..."
"By this day next year, the Li Clan will indeed have thirteen new spirit tablets to worship!!!"
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