"He still hasn't used his full strength."
Li Kuanghua gritted her teeth, her form instantly vanishing from its original spot. Yet, as Lai Teng, still standing in place, casually brandished his spear, by the time she reappeared, several fresh wounds had nevertheless materialized upon her body. A faint, almost leisurely smile played on Lai Teng's lips. This was... he was toying with her!
No.
Then, abruptly, Li Kuanghua narrowed her eyes. She saw it: a faintly relaxed, almost gratified smile had appeared on Lai Teng's face, and his strength had, once again, subtly increased! Her gaze shot outside the confines of the trapping array, and she saw it: her companions from Azure Cloud had just slain one of Tian Xing's avatars!
This was no cause for celebration; rather, it was a terrifying truth that Li Kuanghua and all her companions had to confront: these enemies were already dreadful, yet for every Tian Xing avatar that perished, the remaining ones would only grow stronger!
"Do you see now?"
A look of vindictive satisfaction flickered across Lai Teng's face.
For the past twenty years, he had been constantly played for a fool by the Li family.
The Li family had tormented those hundred-plus captured avatars for years on end, and he, too, had endured that agony for two decades.
Now was precisely the moment to show these contemptible jumping clowns just how utterly laughable their efforts had been.
He taunted, "You Li family members, whatever you try to do to us is utterly useless! You are no different from all those in the past who dared to oppose us—every last one of you is merely a stepping stone for us, for Tian Xing!"
"Damn you motherf..!"
Li Kuanghua roared in fury as heavenly lightning once again crashed down upon her body. The "Buddha-Demon Disc" and the "Lightning Punishment Body" activated anew, causing her strength to surge once more.
And this time, she had already endured sixty percent of the absolute limit of the lightning punishment she could withstand!
This was an extreme state she had never pushed herself to, not even when she confronted the eighteenth-ranked expert on the Nascent Divinity List. To employ such an excessive degree of this ultimate power would be more than she could withstand.
"I don't give a damn what 'Tian Xing' you are, nor how heaven-defying your power may be! I demand you pay with your life for what you've done to my clansmen!"
This time, Li Kuanghua's speed was even greater, her physique even more resilient and powerful.
Lai Teng's expression also shifted.
He, who could originally injure Li Kuanghua with casual ease, now found that... this previously unremarkable young lass had actually managed to dodge his spear!
...
[Special Event—Guarding the Mountain]
[Your descendant, Li Kuanghua, along with numerous fellow Daoists from Azure Cloud Region, is currently engaged in "Dao Protection" for Ye Xiu. They are facing a siege assault by a multitude of Tian Xing avatars from the Imperial Capital.]
At this moment, Li Wei was staring at the pale blue screen before him, his expression grave. Even though he was not physically present at the Mountain, he knew full well the kind of dire predicament Li Kuanghua and her numerous allies from Azure Cloud Region were about to confront.
They were shorthanded, their collective strength was inadequate, and the enemy they confronted seemed all but invincible.
Meanwhile, in other locations, his other descendants were also striving tirelessly towards this same end!
[Heavenly Light Sect]
[Your descendant's wife, Qingyu, is currently taking advantage of the fact that the powerful nobles of the Imperial Capital are engrossed in watching the spectacle, all eyes being fixed upon the Mountain. She has contacted Wang Jinhu, entered the Heavenly Light Sect, and is preparing to covertly escort Li Yaotie out!]
That was the Heavenly Light Sect. After being escorted into the Sect by Wang Jinhu, Qingyu, already disguised in the likeness of a maidservant, had rendezvoused with Li Yaotie!
"Great-Granduncle!"
Qingyu bowed deeply in salute towards Li Yaotie. Yet Li Yaotie, at this very moment, was engaged in the most menial of chores, holding a dung fork within the Spirit Beast Garden...
Observing her Great-Granduncle in such a wretched and dejected state, a flicker of anguish crossed Qingyu's eyes. Back in the Azure Cloud Region, when had her Great-Granduncle ever endured such indignities?
She gritted her teeth. "Great-Granduncle," she urged, "please, depart with this child. We mustn't remain in this godforsaken place a moment longer!"
"We can't get out."
Li Yaotie offered a faint smile, then decisively tossed the dung fork to the ground and led Qingyu elsewhere. "It was no simple feat for General Wang to get you in here," he said. "Those scoundrels set up formidable countermeasures outside the Heavenly Light Sect long ago. The instant I step out, they will know my whereabouts."
Before long, Li Yaotie led Qingyu to the puppet refining site within Heavenly Light Sect.
Gazing at the heavily guarded pavilion before them, Li Yaotie's voice became low and somber.
"This," he said, "is the very place where Heavenly Light Sect forges the Iron Army for the Azure Dynasty. Within this pavilion lie countless puppets; they have been sealed in dust for ages. You are an Array Master genius. Within the span of a single incense stick burning, the defensive formation will be breached, the window of opportunity left for you will be but a few fleeting moments—the time of a few finger-snaps. You must seize that chance to take away as many puppets as you possibly can."
"As for everything that follows, leave it to me."
Li Yaotie turned, his gaze sweeping across all corners of the Heavenly Light Sect. Hidden in the shadows, points of light winked in and out of existence. His bald head shone brightly, and a savage grin spread across his face.
"All these years," he snarled, "those scoundrels have treated me like dirt! I'm going to blow every last one of them to smithereens!"
Meanwhile, within Eternal Sun Prefecture, just outside the estate of the Qilin Mountain Lin family!
Li Xinghuo, who for these many years had relentlessly scoured distant lands in search of fortuitous encounters, had now erected a sacrificial altar at the foot of Qilin Mountain. Upon this altar rested the spirit tablet of the Ancestor.
Positioned behind him stood a young man, bare to the waist, his entire torso covered in intricate demonic tattoos. Strapped to his back was a great saber that pulsed with an aura of demonic Qi!
"Junior, let us begin."
The Blood Demon Lord's voice was low and somber, his right hand already gripping the hilt of his saber!
Upon hearing this, Li Xinghuo gave a slight nod.
He glanced up; the Lin family's gate-keeping cultivators on Qilin Mountain were already rushing towards them, shouting in anger. Ignoring them completely, Li Xinghuo focused, as the Blood Demon Lord behind him erupted with demonic Qi and charged forth to engage the oncoming cultivators.
He hastily dropped to his knees and kowtowed before the spirit tablet.
"Oh, Great Ancestor! Today marks the clan's 250th Year Great Ceremony! This unworthy descendant implores You to bestow Your divine grace and descend unto this realm!"
Gazing at the characters that had materialized upon the semi-transparent panel before him, Li Wei narrowed his eyes.
[Your descendant is presently making sacrificial offerings unto You...]
[Will You bestow a divine boon upon Your descendant?]
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