North Sea City • Fishermen's Village
At that same time, the contingent of black-robed figures, with Gu Donglai at their head, was making its way into the small fishing village. And their destination – was it not, indeed, that very same small tavern where Qingyu and her family had made their home?
But the little tavern they now approached had clearly been abandoned for some time; its doors and windows were firmly barred, and a thick layer of dust coated every piece of furniture within.
Employing array discs, talismans, and formations in their search, these black-robed investigators soon uncovered numerous traces. Their findings brought them immense, uncontainable joy!
"Over here! The lingering scent of Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi!"
"I've performed a technique on this bed – I can faintly discern the afterimages of Li family members."
"I conducted a soul-search on a nearby household," another reported.
"I was able to retrieve a clear image of this tavern's previous occupants. There's no mistaking it – that father and son bear a strong resemblance to the main Li lineage! Furthermore, it's said another individual arrived at this village later on. This part... well, the Li family must have employed some obfuscating techniques, as the locals' recollections are hazy. Nevertheless, it seems highly probable they all departed towards... the Imperial Capital!"
"The Imperial Capital, you say?" one of the black-robed figures confirmed.
'Hall of Heavenly Principle's investigation also shows that 'The Extremist' – the one who successfully challenged the 25th master on the Nascent Divinity List – was indeed last seen heading in that very direction! It has to be them – definitely our Li family members! Just as we suspected, they are making for the Imperial Capital!
"We've got a solid lead!" another exclaimed joyfully.
"Hahaha, we've finally found their trail! To the Imperial Capital, quickly!" And so, the company of black-robed figures set off towards the Imperial Capital.
Three months had elapsed since those events.
Ye Xiu, who had personally witnessed Li Kuanghua's transformation near Dawn City that day, now feigned complete ignorance, reacting with the same apparent joyful surprise as the others in Gu Donglai's group upon hearing this 'new' intelligence.
Beyond this outward display, however, his eyes subtly scanned the faces of his numerous 'fellow Daoists' in their company, as if attempting to glean some hidden truth from their reactions.
Lost in thought, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "How can such a fearsome prodigy possibly exist in this world? Truly, the immensity of all creation... my own horizons have been far too limited."
He had never truly grasped the nature of the foe the Li family confronted.
Even when he had rushed to their emergency aid on that devastating day and witnessed the iron-masked assailants, he had simply presumed the Lis had somehow angered yet another formidable power bloc.
It was only in the last few days that the truth had become clear to him: all those figures, they were manifestations of a single entity. And that entity... was an absolute, terrifying monster!
He had always considered the Li family's collective power to be already pushing the boundaries of what was naturally possible. But recent events had taught him that beings whose might truly defied the heavens were not as rare as he'd imagined – indeed, some were far beyond even the Lis.
"Senior Ye," a voice interrupted his reverie. "What occupies your thoughts?"
The voice shattered Ye Xiu's contemplation.
He looked up; it was Gu Donglai. "Once we locate the core members of the Li household," Gu Donglai was saying, his voice fervent, "then I shall finally learn the full truth, and I will avenge my father!"
"Mm."
Ye Xiu's brow furrowed slightly, but he offered no further comment, merely continuing onward with the rest of the contingent.
He observed that in the eyes of each member of their party, a fervent hope burned brightly.
They were completely oblivious, he realized, to the true, terrifying magnitude of the foe the Li family had actually confronted.
But there was something more, something far worse...
"Among this very group, among those traveling with me now... one of them is Venerable Tian Xing!"
"But who?" his mind screamed. "Which one of them is it?!"
It was only after his recent encounter with Li Kuanghua that Ye Xiu had come to this chilling understanding: all along, every single move made by their company of one hundred and eight had been under the direct observation of Venerable Tian Xing!
They had explicitly departed from Eternal Sun Prefecture, their subsequent operations shrouded in the utmost secrecy; how then could Venerable Tian Xing have possibly known their every move?
What could this possibly mean?
It meant one thing: amongst their own ranks, there was undoubtedly an avatar of Venerable Tian Xing concealed!
No, his thoughts spiraled further; it wasn't just their group.
It was conceivable that the entirety of Eternal Sun Prefecture, perhaps even the vast Azure Dynasty itself, might be riddled with Tian Xing's avatars.
That was the true, horrifying nature of Venerable Tian Xing: he was omnipresent!
The only reason their group had been allowed to continue its operations, he now suspected, was because Venerable Tian Xing intended to use them as unwitting hounds to track down the remaining Li family members.
That incident three months prior, when Li Kuanghua had appeared – that must have been because Tian Xing had decided it was time to eliminate their little band.
Their only path to continued survival, their only way to avoid being summarily annihilated by Tian Xing himself, was to prove their 'usefulness' by locating other Li family members for him!
....
Time flowed by swiftly.
[Year 226]
The Imperial Capital, Azure Mountain.
It was an utterly unremarkable little hill. The Imperial Capital itself was immense, and like any such metropolis, it also housed a significant population of ordinary mortals. The area surrounding this particular mountain was, in fact, primarily inhabited by common folk.
On this particular day, after six months of arduous travel, during which they had relentlessly searched for any sign of Li family survivors while simultaneously pressing onward, Gu Donglai's company of black-robed figures at long last arrived at Azure Mountain.
Taking to their swords, they flew to the mountain's summit. It was not long before a simple thatched cottage came into view.
Outside the cottage, they observed a young man seated in a cross-legged meditative posture, his hands moving through the intricate gestures of a cultivation art.
Nearby, a woman was hauling buckets of water on a shoulder pole, pausing occasionally to wipe the perspiration from her brow. She appeared like a common village woman engaged in her daily chores.
Also present was a young woman garbed in rich, expensive attire, who was engaged in a playful chase with a nearby mist-wrought phantom – quite the impish scene. And were these people (Kuanghua, Qingyu, and Xinghuo) not the very same three Li family members who had escaped years ago by blending in with a column of refugees!
This trio (Kuanghua, Qingyu, and Xinghuo) had, in fact, already detected the approach of Gu Donglai's group.
Initially, they had straightened up, their faces etched with extreme caution. But as they recognized the newcomers, an expression of utter astonishment spread across each of their faces.
"Kuanghua? Is that truly you, Kuanghua?!" Ye Xiu cried out, his voice thick with emotion.
"Your Master... I've finally found you!" Ye Xiu reacted as though he were discovering Li Kuanghua for the very first time since her long absence, and he was utterly, deliriously overjoyed!
Yet, even in the midst of this exuberant, emotional reunion between the two parties, from within the ranks of those who had journeyed from the Azure Cloud region, a pair of dark, cold eyes suddenly gleamed with a chilling light.
The faintest of smirks played upon unseen lips, followed by a soft, almost inaudible, cold laugh.
"Oh yes, indeed," the sinister voice from within Gu Donglai's group echoed softly. "Found them at last. Heheh... yes, finally found them."
---
2/3