The Lai Residence.
A blood-drenched puppet was escorted into the estate.
There, upon the seat of honor in the main hall, sat Lai Teng!
As the puppet entered, Lai Teng's fury became palpable, almost uncontainable.
"This marks the fourth occasion!" he thundered. "In the span of these last two years, this is now the fourth time you Li's have dared to intrude upon my Lai Estate! Even a Bodhisattva would lose their patience by now! What in the hell do you want from me this time?!!"
Streaks like bloody tears stained the puppet's face as it offered a ghastly, fixed grin. "As before," its eerie voice rasped, "you will escort me to your treasure vault. And, just as on the three prior occasions, I shall select but a single item."
"Scoundrels! VILLAINS!" Lai Teng roared again.
Lai Teng shot to his feet, a furious roar tearing from his throat. Yet, despite his rage, he made no move against the puppet.
Instead, he turned and strode out. The puppet trailed after him. The one pulling its strings (Li Wei) understood perfectly: Lai Teng's decision not to destroy the puppet on the spot signified yet another reluctant capitulation!
Once the treasury doors creaked open, the puppet selected a single portion of Rank 6 spirit material from the riches within.
Glancing at Lai Teng's thunderous countenance, it let out a chilling, mocking laugh.
"You know," it said, "for avatars of the same Tian Xing, you and that Lin Wudao are cut from remarkably different cloth. Lin Wudao? He never yields. But you? Again and again, you throw open your vaults for our Li family, all just to preserve your own miserable existence."
"You..." Fury utterly consumed Lai Teng, yet the bitter truth of the puppet's words stuck in his throat, unspoken.
But Lai Teng understood with chilling clarity: the moment he perished, all his five centuries of painstaking effort, every ounce of power and status he had accumulated through his long ascent – all of it would merely become a 'gift' for some other avatar to inherit!
He desperately wanted to survive. He still harbored countless aspirations, chief among them the burning desire to become the true primary consciousness, the ultimate vessel for Tian Xing.
His only crime, he felt, was having been manifested somewhat later in the cycle!
If that pompous Lin Wudao had come into being as late as he, Lai Teng, had, would Lin Wudao now be lording it over Eternal Sun Prefecture, complacently tending to his collection of 'caged birds'?!!
Yet now, those other avatars over in Eternal Sun Prefecture, like Lin Wudao, they could rest easy, sleep without a care in the world!
Meanwhile, his one hundred and some odd avatars here in the Imperial Capital had become nothing more than 'caged birds,' playthings for the Li family!
Yet those same avatars in Eternal Sun Prefecture, all they ever did was whine and point fingers, blaming his Imperial Capital forces for walking into the Li family's snares!
"A single blunder brings a thousand years of regret," they'd parrot, as if that explained this mess! How could they possibly be blamed for falling for a trap?
It was obvious! The Main Consciousness itself had been outmaneuvered, targeted by someone else's cunning!
.....
[System Notification: Congratulations! Your clan has successfully captured another avatar of Venerable Tian Xing. It has been secured within the Top-Grade Spirit Artifact, the 'Painting of Locked Life'. Total Tian Xing avatars captured to date: 136.]
[System Notification: Your clan has acquired an offering from Venerable Tian Xing's avatar, 'Lai Teng' – 500 kilograms of the Rank 6 mineral, 'Nether Balance Spirit Iron'. This material is imbued with a measure of spatial elemental energy.]
Within the Ancestor Space.
As he reviewed this latest information on his system panel, Li Wei's face broke into a wide, beaming smile!
They had finally identified some of Venerable Tian Xing's vulnerabilities!
For starters, with over a hundred of his avatars now securely imprisoned, those particular manifestations could no longer develop their strength.
Furthermore, through these captives, they could now inflict significant pain upon Tian Xing's remaining active avatars.
The Li Clan was no longer utterly without recourse, no longer completely powerless against the might of Tian Xing.
Perhaps these recent successes offered no way to inflict genuine, lasting harm upon Venerable Tian Xing himself.
Yet, for the clan, it was undeniably a victory – the first time in countless years they had savored the sweet taste of outmaneuvering 'Tian Xing.'
Such a triumph was as sweet as the finest nectar to the beleaguered Li clansmen; at the very least, it allowed them to glimpse a ray of hope!
"This is but the first step. We have a long road ahead of us." A serene smile touched Li Wei's lips.
He understood with absolute clarity: only by cultivating true, unassailable power could they ever hope to genuinely challenge Venerable Tian Xing.
With that, he immediately turned his attention to the progress reports of his other descendants.
[System Update (Li Yaozu): Your descendant Li Yaozu's injuries have healed by an additional 5%.]
[Descendant Update (Li Dalong): Since the loss of his Heaven-Piercing Coffin, Li Dalong has gradually recognized his previous over-reliance on the artifact.
Through observing the Wu Clan's Great Priest draw strength by communing directly with Heaven and Earth, he has come to understand that genuine power must primarily stem from within, not from external aids.
He has now commenced an independent effort to grasp the deeper principles of Death Qi and the true essence of the Way of Corpse Control.]
[Through Apostle Lei Dong's introduction, Li Dalong has set aside his pride to learn from You Baiyin of the Ghost Clan – a prodigious talent who also survived a Nine-Nine Tribulation and specializes in manipulating Death Qi and commanding the undead.
After several years under his tutelage, Dalong has forged his own unique insights into the Rule of Death.
Drawing inspiration from Wu Clan shamanistic techniques as well, he has successfully conceptualized a Profound grade technique: the 'Soul-Commanding Movement Technique'.]
[Technique Effect: 'Soul-Commanding Movement Technique' – Allows command over all dead souls within a 3-mile radius. These souls can serve as his extended senses (eyes and ears). He can imbue any chosen soul with up to ten percent of his own power to combat foes remotely.]
"Excellent, excellent!" Li Wei thought, thoroughly pleased. "He has finally moved beyond his dependence on the Heaven-Piercing Coffin."
A smile touched Li Wei's lips. Without his Heaven-Piercing Coffin, Li Dalong was, at best, merely a slightly more powerful Early-stage Nascent Soul.
Still, the loss of the Coffin was not entirely a misfortune for Dalong; it could, in fact, prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Concurrently, intelligence arrived from within the Tian Xing Abode – news that was a mixed bag, partly encouraging, partly deeply unsettling.
[Descendant Update (Li Tianming): Your descendant Li Tianming, having been concealed deep within the Tian Xing Abode for an extended period, was unable to fulfill the requirements of his innate trait, 'A Kill Per Day'.
In an attempt to satisfy this urge, he began 'killing' one of the Seven Ironclads each day. However, this ritual gradually failed to sate his perverse need for stimulation. His inner darkness has now reached 100%.
New Trait Acquired: Thoroughly Corrupted.]
[Trait Effect: 'Thoroughly Corrupted' – He can no longer restrain the wickedness in his heart; malevolent thoughts now consume his mind. As a result, he has broken through to the Nascent Soul realm!]
[Additional Consequence: His accumulated karma of slaughter over many years has provoked the profound wrath of the Heavenly Dao.
A Nine-Nine Lightning Tribulation is now gathering for him, one that will be manifold times more potent than that faced by an ordinary cultivator.]
"Fortunately for him, Li Tianming is still within the Tian Xing Abode for now... where his clansmen are currently keeping him restrained with various techniques.
That boy, now utterly consumed by darkness, is constantly bellowing his intent to go out and massacre every single person within the Abode. If he were to get loose, Heaven only knows what catastrophe he'd unleash!"
"Still, there's some small comfort in this: even though he's truly fallen to this darkness, he yet manages to restrain himself from harming his own kin."
Gazing upon Li Tianming within the Abode, bound fast by chains forged from spirit artifacts, his eyes shut tight in evident suffering, Li Wei finally allowed himself a small sigh of relief.
The other Li family members trapped there with him were, for their part, constantly trying to reason with Li Tianming and attending to his needs with great care despite his state.
Meanwhile, far out in the ocean territories, another breakthrough was occurring.
[System Update (Li Xingchen): Your descendant Li Xingchen, following two years of intensive, secluded training in the company of the pirates, has successfully advanced to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.
He has, in the process, purged all but one of his spiritual affinities, thereby becoming a cultivator purely of the Earth single-spirit-root!]
Presently, this father-son pirate pair had risen to become chieftains in their own right, leading their crew of pirates as they sailed the high seas, braving the wind and waves...
The pair of them clearly possessed a knack for this life; starting with just three ramshackle vessels, their fleet had now grown to a respectable eight ships.
Though both his eyes were perfectly sound, Li Chang'an now sported an eyepatch.
Dressed out in outlandish pirate attire, he clung to the ship's railing, body canted against the invisible wind, ocean spray dramatically misting his face.
"Ancestor, have no fear!" he declared with gusto. "Xingchen and I are out here, tempering ourselves in these vast sea domains! Once we've carved out our own little empire and unearthed some legendary treasures, we'll definitely be able to make a proper contribution to the clan!"
"...."
Li Wei felt an eyelid begin to twitch. "Who do these two think they are?" he grumbled internally. "Captain Jack and his first mate, off on a Pirates of the Caribbean adventure, is it?"
One month later.
[System Update (Li Chang'an & Li Xingchen): Your descendants, Li Chang'an and Li Xingchen, were caught in a ferocious ocean tempest; their entire crew was lost.
Subsequently, by a stroke of fortune, your descendants stumbled upon a Rank 8 Spirit Object – the 'Undead Pirate Ship'. The spirits of their departed crewmen have now become soul-tethered to this ship; as long as they remain aboard it, they cannot truly perish and will serve as an undying crew.]
"...."
Li Wei could only stare, utterly dumbfounded.
To see this father and son pair now setting sail once more, leading a full complement of undead sailors... it was beyond belief.
---
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