"Get lost! Get lost!"
Inside the trapping array, Nangong Yazhi's power, fueled by her techniques, surged monstrously.
Her cultivation was profound, her strength immense, yet still, she seethed with uncontrollable fury.
While this current trapping array, bolstered by thirty-odd array discs, was indeed powerful – likely requiring considerable effort for a typical Nascent Soul expert to overcome – Nangong Yazhi knew that, provided she kept her composure, she herself could shatter it in mere moments.
And the Seven Ironclads? Each one had reached power nearing the Nascent Soul threshold, yet not a single one could even get near her. She was confident that a mere flick of her wrist, a minor exertion of power, could annihilate any of them instantly.
Then there was the Blood-Clad General, Li Tianyue. Her killing intent was palpable, almost forming a rudimentary Divinity Transformation-level Domain. Still, at most, that murderous aura could only marginally affect Nangong Yazhi herself.
If she could just free herself up for a moment, Nangong Yazhi was confident she could dispatch Tianyue without difficulty.
And yet... somehow, it was precisely the combination of these seemingly inferior opponents that rendered Nangong Yazhi so utterly helpless she felt like just giving up and undergoing reincarnation on the spot!
Thinking of these Li family members, the Seven Ironclads were like maggots burrowing into bone, impossible to shake off, while the rest were like buzzing flies, endlessly annoying.
"If only I specialized in body cultivation," she thought bitterly, "handling this would be simple! I could just charge out and crush those flies!"
But alas, her path was the Way of Wealth; if her protective golden aura were somehow breached, to be killed by mere Golden Core stage opponents... the shame would follow her for ten thousand years!
But fortunately...
Kacha! Kacha! Kacha!
The sharp sound of shattering metal echoed. Nangong Yazhi whipped her head towards the direction of Li Yunlin, only to see a black radiance flaring high in the distant sky. "Li Yunlin!"
Previously, when Li Yunlin had been hunting her, Nangong Yazhi had felt absolute terror. Now, however... strangely, she felt a sense of profound relief.
If she were forced to remain entangled indefinitely with these seemingly unkillable Golden Core opponents, she calculated that within half a year, she would inevitably perish in utter humiliation.
Far better, perhaps, to fall at the hands of someone like Li Yunlin – a cultivator poised for the Nine-Nine Tribulation, already at the Nascent Soul stage. At least that death would hold more 'value'.
....
A short while later, the Li family members inside the Tian Xing Abode gathered together once more.
The Seven Ironclads, along with the Tian-generation and Chang-generation members, all looked at Li Yunlin with undisguised admiration.
He had already returned to his usual appearance — the horsetail brush draped over one arm, the Skyveil Hall cradled in his palm — once again resembling a lofty, transcendent Daoist master.
But they had all seen it with their own eyes: just moments earlier, when Li Yunlin struck back, he had been terrifying beyond words.
His entire body had turned pitch black, like the void of the night sky, and that halberd in his hands looked as if it could split even Nangong Yazhi's near-indestructible Millstone Dharma Body clean in two!
Li Yunlin, for his part, gazed back at the group — and found himself equally impressed by the Seven Ironclads and the younger generation.
The Old Ancestor had already assured him that Nangong Yazhi wouldn't escape. But even so, Li Yunlin hadn't expected this particular group would be the ones to actually bring her down.
He couldn't shake the scene he'd witnessed upon arriving:
Nangong Yazhi trapped inside a fearsome spiritual array…
His seven "younger brothers" revealing their monstrous true forms…
And the four Tian-generation juniors each unleashing their own deadly techniques.
Every single one of them possessed power far exceeding his own when he had been at the Golden Core peak.
The idea that Golden Core cultivators could successfully trap a Nascent Soul expert – even exceptionally heaven-defying Golden Core cultivators – would be utterly unbelievable if spoken aloud. And the one they had trapped was the formidable Nangong Yazhi herself!
For a moment, all the assembled Li family members simply stared at one another, an unspoken thought seeming to pass between them:
"So! You had this much capability hidden away from the rest of us all these years!"
Only Li Changsheng and Li Changyao stood silently to one side, gazing up in awe at these truly 'miraculous' elders.
They finally understood why the Li family had been able to maintain its dominance over the Azure Cloud region for all these years, and why even the arrival of the powerful Jiang clan hadn't shaken the Li family's core position in the slightest.
As for Nangong Yazhi?
[Congratulations! Your descendants, working together as one, have successfully captured Nangong Yazhi, obtaining abundant spoils of war!]
[Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact: 'Golden Coin'.
Effect: Can manifest as a sky-filling rain of projectiles capable of gradually penetrating all manner of defenses. When aggregated, it forms a nigh-impenetrable shield resistant to all techniques.]
[Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact: 'Treasure Gathering Wealth Pot'.
Effects: Can generate trapping formations; capable of storing living beings; can gently nurture both Ordinary grade artifacts and spirit artifacts, slightly enhancing their innate spiritual Qi.]
[Synergy Effect: When deployed in tandem, the Coin and Pot manifest a protective Domain around the wielder, rendering them nigh-impervious to techniques. Furthermore, when the coins generated by the Rainfall Golden Coin fall into the Treasure Gathering Wealth Pot, the user's own power level is enhanced.]
[Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact: 'Golden Thread Clothing'.
Effects: Provides bodily protection; Enhances ambient Spirit Qi interaction (enhances the user's ability to absorb, manipulate, and recover Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi)...]
[Obtained Spirit Object: 'Rank 7 Gold Ingot'.]
[Obtained: Nangong Yazhi's storage ring x1 (Contains the accumulations of her entire life...)]
"Hiss~"
Li Wei crouched beside the subdued Nangong Yazhi, examining the spoils obtained this time.
In their long history, the Li family had fought countless battles, slaying enemies of every description.
Li Wei himself had personally taken the lives of Divinity Transformation stage experts. Yet, an enemy as staggeringly wealthy as this one... that was truly a first.
Compared to her, those other two Nangong Elders seemed positively Poor.
Currently, this Nangong family's 'Big Boss' was thoroughly subdued, controlled collectively by the ancient seniors channeled through Li Tianyi, as well as by Li Tianming and Li Tianqi directly.
They hadn't merely suppressed the Nascent Soul within her soul sea; over three hundred distinct spiritual arrays had also been layered onto her physical form.
Furthermore, upon her frame, approximately fifty different spirit artifacts had been piled, actively suppressing her power, almost crushing her under their weight, leaving only her head visible.
Still, Nangong Yazhi was ultimately a key figure within the Nangong hierarchy; alive, she possessed far greater value.
At a minimum, she held knowledge of numerous Nangong clan secret techniques and undoubtedly had intimate familiarity with all manner of their internal intelligence.
"Ahem." Li Yunlin and the assembled clan members exchanged glances for a long moment. Finally, Yunlin cleared his throat, looked down at the vacant-eyed Nangong Yazhi lying defeated on the ground, and broke the stunned, awkward silence.
"Fortunately, you all arrived this time," he said. "Otherwise, I fear Nangong Yazhi might genuinely have slipped away."
Hearing this, the assembled group turned their gaze towards the figure standing beside Li Yunlin.
When Li Yunlin was first trapped, they had received word from the Old Ancestor and had immediately begun monitoring the situation from afar.
They naturally recognized the man as one of the Nangong Elders attacking Li Yunlin.
How, then, they wondered, had this same Elder ended up standing with Li Yunlin? And more bafflingly, hadn't he just participated moments ago in the assault against Nangong Yazhi – fighting more viciously than almost anyone else?!
"Ah, Big Brother," Li Tianming interjected aggressively, "cut the polite formalities! If Tianyue and Changsheng hadn't been holding me back, I'd have charged out there ages ago and finished off that Bastard myself!"
Li Yundou gave the bound Nangong Yazhi a kick; the wings on his back fluttered slightly.
He then turned his attention to the surviving Nangong Elder. "Right then, what's the story with this bastard here?" he growled.
"Heh heh..." The Nangong Elder, who outwardly resembled a young man, met the fierce stares of the assembled Li family. His own gaze flickered nervously away as he gave his head an awkward scratch.
"He's on our side now," Li Yunlin explained with a smile, producing a small token.
"It appears there was some internal disagreement within the Nangong ranks. This is Nangong Qingshan. Nangong Yazhi chose defiance, but Brother Qingshan here... he proved to be quite an Interesting individual. And, to put my own mind at ease,"
Li Yunlin added, showing the token, "he has 'entrusted' me with a certain spirit artifact – a 'Nascent Soul Command Token'. This token is intrinsically linked to his core Nascent Soul. Henceforth, consider him a friend."
These words were skillfully phrased, allowing Nangong Qingshan to retain a modicum of face.
He hastily offered a cupped fist salute to the assembled Li members, his expression instantly shifting to one filled with the ingratiating flattery typical of a Nangong merchant.
"I see." The Li family members nodded slightly in understanding, faint looks of satisfaction appearing on their faces.
They recognized that a living Nascent Soul expert – especially one now compelled to serve the Li family – was infinitely more valuable than a dead one. Moreover, should they eventually escape the Tian Xing Abode, Nangong Qingshan could potentially act as an inside agent within the Nangong family. A brilliant prospect!
"Nangong Qingshan!" Nangong Yazhi, previously lost in despair, now struggled violently against her restraints, roaring in fury at the obsequious Nangong Qingshan.
"You treacherous dog! I spared your life, yet you disgrace the Nangong family name! Conspiring with our enemies to take me captive! May you meet a gruesome end!"
"Hahaha! Absurd!" Nangong Qingshan shot back. "Me, meet a gruesome end? If you hadn't stubbornly insisted on going after Li Yunlin, insisted on targeting the Li family, how the hell would we have landed in this mess?!"
Nangong Qingshan roared in fury, "The only reason I surrendered control linked to my Nascent Soul was entirely because of you, you despicable bitch!"
"You..." Nangong Yazhi began, choked with rage.
---
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