He could restrain himself no longer. "Cuihua," he murmured, "We've been married for two centuries. You know you can't truly hide things from me. You are still planning to go to the Fox Clan, aren't you?"
"...."
After a long hesitation, Xu Cuihua looked at Li Dalong, her face breaking into a gentle smile. "My dear husband," she said softly, "it seems I truly can't keep anything from you."
"Ai..." Li Dalong sighed deeply. "We've shared two centuries as husband and wife; how could I not understand your heart?"
Xu Cuihua didn't try to conceal it any longer. She laid bare the thoughts she had been harboring.
"Husband," she began, "It has taken so much effort for our family to achieve what we have; we are now blessed with a hall full of descendants. Years ago, I truly believed that if we could just conquer Talin Town, our family could then live out the rest of our days in peace. How naive I was to think the world's affairs were so simple! Once you embark on the path of cultivation, your destiny is rarely your own to command!"
"We might have conquered Talin Town, but we could never conquer the entire Great World itself. Our mortal forms were simply too fragile. After Talin, there was the major war involving the Skyveil Sect and the Black Tortoise Sect, followed by the conflicts of the Hundred-Year Drought. We survived that period, only for Daoist Zhen (Skyveil Sect) to relentlessly pursue us. And then it was the struggles in the Azure Cloud region, the war with the Wu Clan... it never ends."
"Our children are grown now," she said, her voice softening but firm. "And they have their own ambitions, their own need to strive. They are not like us. You and I, we hail from humble, rustic roots; we could find contentment in a simple, ordinary existence. But our children? They were born into what has become a renowned Immortal Clan! From their earliest years, the 'Chang' generation has been hailed as 'Qilin Progenies of the Li Clan'. They possess ambition; they will never settle for an ordinary existence. They are fated to contend with all under Heaven!"
"You and I... there's no escaping this path for us. Our children depend on us. The Wu Clan won't leave us in peace, and Eternal Sun Prefecture, lurking behind us, is a den of ravenous beasts. Even when our children sought opportunity in the Tian Xing Abode, they landed right in peril. And now, we are reduced to petitioning some blasted Azure Mist Mountain that we barely know exists!"
"Once you have people you care for, responsibilities you cannot shirk, you often have no choice but to be swept along by the greater currents of the world. My dear husband, I see things clearly now. Since we cannot escape the trials of this Great World, then it's simple: advance, or be left behind! I am going to the Spirit Beast Clan. If I can secure the Spirit Beast Saint's inheritance, then let's just see – no matter how boundless my children's ambitions may grow – who then would dare to lay a hand on my children!'"
Her every word, spoken with such conviction, rendered Li Dalong utterly speechless; Li Wei, observing, felt exactly the same.
Neither he nor Li Dalong had perceived the truth as acutely as Xu Cuihua. While the path of cultivation itself might not inherently demand constant advancement for all, the inescapable bonds with people and the weight of events often force one's hand.
Xu Cuihua had always seemed the most tranquil of souls; for years, she had kept her simple habit of visiting the Silver Iron Forest to care for spirit beasts in her leisure. Even when numerous crises struck the family, she had rarely taken a direct hand in managing them. Yet, Li Wei now realized, perhaps deep down, her heart had never been as serene as her outward demeanor suggested.
After pondering for a considerable time, Li Dalong suddenly smiled at Xu Cuihua. "My wife," he said, "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll hold down the fort here at home. You go on to the Northern Border. If any danger arises, then, just send word back, and This Old Man will personally lead our children to carve a bloody path to your side!"
Seeing her husband's ferociously protective declaration, Xu Cuihua couldn't help but be momentarily amused by his almost 'bandit-chief' swagger. "Just listen to you, all puffed up," she chuckled.
Witnessing this tender moment between the couple, Li Wei beat a hasty retreat from the Heaven-Piercing Coffin. One didn't need to be a genius to imagine the kind of 'ferocious farewell engagement' that would transpire between those two before Xu Cuihua's departure.
...
Seven days later.
A letter from the Li family was dispatched towards the Fox Clan's primary stronghold.
The journey was exceedingly long, and it was understood that the Fox Clan would need to arrange an escort for her arrival. Indeed, one might suspect the Fox Clan was even more on edge about Xu Cuihua's safety than the Lis themselves.
Meanwhile, the war effort back in the Azure Cloud region proceeded as usual; likewise, the Li clan members trapped within the Tian Xing Abode maintained their typical composure.
Li Wei himself was now waiting at the foot of Azure Mist Mountain.
Bai Rourou was still there too, continuing her kneeling posture, imploring the Elder Baimei Daoist residing on the peak to emerge from his seclusion.
He was, after all, Venerable Tian Xing's master; Bai Rourou surmised that he must know secrets concerning the Tian Xing Abode, and might perhaps even possess the means to reopen it, potentially freeing her 'children'.
Following the Li family's dissemination of the news, ever-increasing numbers of cultivators began rushing towards Azure Mist Mountain.
Upon arriving, they would typically glance first towards Bai Rourou, before joining her in kneeling at the mountain's base to petition the Elder Baimei Daoist.
Though these various factions normally harbored rivalries, the reality that their own strongest disciples and kin were trapped within the Tian Xing Abode meant there was no impediment to them presenting a united front for this specific cause.
Just as Xu Cuihua and Li Yaowen had anticipated, it was the representatives from the True Yang Faction who were causing the greatest disturbance.
They remained outside the Azure Mist Mountain gates, shouting volleys of abuse, and while perhaps avoiding truly base language, their invective still sounded utterly vicious.
Hearing the scholars' tirade, Li Wei broke out in a cold sweat.
"If anyone dared make such a scene outside our Li residence," he thought grimly, "their heads would be rolling the very next instant."
"Master!"
High on Azure Mist Mountain, within an utterly unremarkable cultivator's abode, a disciple materialized in an instant.
Frowning briefly as he took in Venerable Elder Baimei's perpetually ordinary, mortal guise, the disciple reported in a low tone, "Master, it is just as you foresaw. Li Clan's Bai Rourou has indeed managed to gather numerous major factions here. How she discovered that the scoundrel Tian Xing was once your disciple remains unknown."
As he spoke, the disciple's frown deepened.
"Master," he pressed, "This humble one desires to understand – why precisely did the Tian Xing Abode seal itself shut? Didn't that scoundrel Tian Xing exhaust his lifespan thousands of years ago? Why would his final resting place suddenly seal itself off autonomously now? It defies all logic and has led to this present state of affairs!"
"Do not inquire into matters that do not concern you."
Venerable Elder Baimei sighed once more.
With a slight wave of his hand, he spoke again, and his next words truly made the disciple's face fall. "A gaggle of fools," Elder Baimei stated dismissively. "It was their own avarice that drew them into the Tian Xing Abode – an affair that fundamentally had no connection to our Azure Mist Mountain. Yet now they insist on gathering here, pestering us unreasonably. Such behavior is simply asking for death."
"Go, Ah Xiu," Elder Baimei. "Simply make an example of them – kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. Let them understand clearly that creatures of their ilk are not even worthy of kicking up a fuss at the foot of our Azure Mist Mountain."
Xiu's expression became pained. He had cultivated upon Azure Mist Mountain for centuries; never once had he engaged in the wanton slaughter of innocents.
Here, in this sacred place, the accepted path was always one of seeking the Dao in detachment, ignoring the mundane world, just as his Master had always instructed. And yet now... that same Master was ordering him to massacre those pitiable souls down below, people who were simply asking for answers?
Xiu agonized internally. Clearly, all Master needed to do was clarify the relationship between Tian Xing and the sect, and perhaps the situation could be resolved peacefully! But... The master had chosen secrecy instead!
"Master, I..." Xiu began to object.
"I ordered you to GO!" Venerable Elder Baimei snorted coldly again. "Kill the chicken to warn the monkeys – I didn't order a massacre. This entire incident was instigated by the Li family anyway. Therefore... just kill the woman, Bai Rourou. That will suffice."
---
2/2
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