"Kuanghua... the Li family... everyone from Azure Cloud Region..."
Thunder rumbled and surged. Ye Xiu gazed at Li Kuanghua's retreating figure; this was the first time in many years he had sensed her aura. Yet, beyond the gratification he felt for his disciple's growth to this stage, what filled him even more was a profound gratitude towards the Li family, and with it, a sense of deep comfort.
Inexplicably, his initial uncertainty about whether he could break through to the Divinity Transformation realm transformed into a gaze of unwavering resolve.
"I will break through to Divinity Transformation—I absolutely must!"
He knew it. The Li family, along with many Daoist friends from Azure Cloud Region, had already made all the necessary arrangements; they were right here, in the vicinity of this very Mountain!
They didn't even know how powerful the enemy was, nor what preparations the enemy might have made; his breakthrough this time had been too abrupt.
Yet, they had still stood by his side without the slightest hesitation.
It was just as it had been back in the Azure Cloud Region, when they had faced countless unknown dangers together.
For nearly a thousand years—he had lived for almost a millennium—and yet, this was the very first time he had so intensely yearned to accomplish something. Because his disciple and his friends, all of them, hoped he would succeed; all of them hoped he would survive!
"BOOM!"
As the thunder in the sky rolled and rumbled, it coalesced into a thunder dragon that then collided with his Nascent Soul.
He slowly rose to his feet, clenching both his fists. Despite the terrifying might of the lightning punishment, a smile touched his face, which was illuminated crimson by the purple thunder.
"My friends," he declared, "Wait but a moment for me to shatter this Divinity Transformation lightning punishment, and then we shall face the approaching enemy together!"
...
Meanwhile, high in the sky, figure after figure was gazing intently at the Mountain!
These were the avatars of Venerable Tian Xing, arriving one after another from the Imperial Capital. Foremost among them stood Tian Xing's Divinity Transformation stage avatar from Eternal Sun Prefecture, alongside Lai Teng, who was ranked third on the Nascent Divinity List.
However, Lai Teng maintained a subtle, almost imperceptible distance from this Divinity Transformation avatar.
Indeed, all the Tian Xing avatars who had arrived from the Imperial Capital were positioned closely behind Lai Teng, clearly indicating a division into distinct factions.
"It appears this time that Ye Xiu is indeed set to break through to the Divinity Transformation realm, and the Li family must surely have made some preparations."
That Divinity Transformation avatar gazed at Li Kuanghua's colossal form standing before the Mountain, then shot a sideways glance at Lai Teng. "Well then, I truly must congratulate you, Lai Teng. The Li family is unlikely to be unprepared; I suspect a great battle is brewing. As the most powerful avatar in the Imperial Capital, it's quite possible that after this engagement, you too will be able to break through to the Divinity Transformation realm."
Upon hearing this, a flicker of anger crossed Lai Teng's face.
He glanced back at the other avatars from the Imperial Capital standing behind him, only to see a measure of wariness flicker in each of their eyes.
Though this Divinity Transformation avatar spoke words of congratulations, Lai Teng knew that in reality, he was being set up.
This was going to be a great battle, and in any great battle, people would inevitably perish. Thus, only by inheriting a portion of the power from those who died could he, Lai Teng, hope to break through to the Divinity Transformation realm!
Among these avatars, while they were unable to refuse the commands of the main consciousness, it did not prevent them from making subtle maneuvers against one another.
Lai Teng could sense that these avatars behind him all harbored their own ulterior motives. He feared that after the impending great battle, these very avatars, instigated by the old fellow's words, would seek to put him in a lethal predicament!
"Don't even think of trying to sow discord among our Imperial Capital-based avatars!"
Lai Teng scoffed, "I fear the one who will perish is you, Old Daoist Qu Yang! Why do you suppose that out of all the numerous avatars in Eternal Sun Prefecture, it was you they specifically dispatched? It's because you're the most useless among them! Despite having clearly lived for eight thousand years, you're still merely at the mid-stage of Divinity Transformation. That strength of yours would be far better off to be distributed to us, other avatars!"
"You..."
The moment these words were uttered, Qu Yang's expression changed, and the numerous avatars from the Imperial Capital all narrowed their eyes. It truly had to be said that Lai Teng, having survived in the Imperial Capital, risen to become the leader of its many avatars, and even secured a minor official post, was no simple character.
With just a few words, he had shattered Qu Yang's attempt to sow discord, uniting the numerous Imperial Capital avatars as one.
These avatars not only operated with a degree of autonomy, but they also held regional distinctions.
They had originated in Eternal Sun Prefecture, gradually spreading outwards in all directions across the Azure Dynasty.
Naturally, the avatars from Eternal Sun Prefecture had been in existence the longest. In contrast, the oldest avatars in the Imperial Capital, being no more than two thousand years of age, had long since perished, their lifespans exhausted!
Yet, this did not signify that the Eternal Sun Prefecture avatars held the most honored status; none of them particularly respected any other.
Lai Teng, for instance, certainly looked down on the avatars from Eternal Sun Prefecture. At a mere five hundred years of age, he had reached the apex of the Nascent Soul stage and was but a single step away from breaking through to Divinity Transformation—an endeavor in which he possessed immense confidence!
"Heh."
Qu Yang, too, was a seasoned veteran. He sneered, "Lai Teng, Lai Teng, do you truly believe your innate talent is so exceptional? If not for that battle at Merit City back then, where a Divinity Transformation expert perished in combat and over twenty Nascent Souls died, how could you have possibly been allotted so much Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi? And how could you have acquired a Phoenix Blood Physique? Would you have ever reached this stage?"
Lai Teng was on the verge of retorting.
Just then, the numerous avatars in the sky all turned their gazes in unison towards the Mountain.
"BOOM!"
The sky was now densely blanketed with thunderclouds, torrential rain poured down, stretching for 300 miles, and bolts of lightning had already begun to crash down towards the Mountain!
In an instant, they surged forward with sudden ferocity.
They held no fear of the lightning punishment, for the main consciousness had issued a command: they were to prevent Ye Xiu from transcending his tribulation, even if it meant their own deaths!
They understood clearly: this was the main consciousness's strategy to force the Li family members into the open and then annihilate them.
And sure enough.
Scarcely had they surged forward when, from all directions, figure after figure materialized!
Upon seeing these newly appeared figures, an intense fury surged within all the avatars simultaneously.
"So, you've finally shown yourselves, you rats! You wretched RATS!!!"
Li Kuanghua, Daoist Shanchen, the Heavenly Star Sword Saint, Liu Wuhuan...
It was precisely these ants who, for all these years, had been relentlessly capturing their weakest avatars, playing a game of hide-and-seek with them right here in the Imperial Capital.
It was these very ants who, day and night without respite, had tormented those captured avatars, thereby forcing all the other avatars to share in those agonizing memories.
They glared furiously at this group of fellows from the Azure Cloud Region.
The dozen or so demonic cultivators among them, in particular, caused their killing intent to seethe; these demonic cultivators were capable of any atrocity!
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