High in the vast sky, a phantom mountain range collided with surging, violent torrents; that was Qu Yang, one of the Divinity Transformation avatars of Tian Xing, engaged in a battle of techniques with Daoist Shanchen.
At this very moment, however, even as the power within his body surged, a result of another avatar's demise, Qu Yang's face was as black as ink, his expression even more grim and somber than the storm clouds above!
"We've fallen into their trap."
Although Qu Yang was personally engaged in a battle of techniques, he was still able to share the senses of his other avatars and see everything they saw.
He saw the current state of Qilin Mountain, and he saw how that idiot Lin Wudao's bizarre eccentricity, cultivated over thousands of years, had finally culminated in this great catastrophe.
He, too, felt the sting of humiliation!
"How could we have been out-schemed by these ants?" he raged internally.
He roared in fury, yet he was utterly helpless.
This time, he had well and truly fallen into the Li family's trap.
And then there was Daoist Shanchen in the distance. Daoist Shanchen, who clearly, in just a little while longer, would have been thoroughly defeated at his hands, the very same man who would have been forced to flee with his tail between his legs, was now, to his astonishment, smiling mockingly at him.
Qu Yang drew a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He abruptly retracted his spiritual power, intending to flee the field.
His expression changed drastically!
The lightning tribulation on the Mountain had already concluded. Through the curtain of lightning arcs still rampaging across the mountain, he saw Ye Xiu's eyes abruptly snap open.
In the mere blink of an eye, a powerful aura, crackling with the might of thunder, materialized right beside him!
The one who now blocked Qu Yang's escape route was it not precisely Ye Xiu, having just successfully broken through his Divinity Transformation tribulation?
Daoist Shanchen had fought Qu Yang for the better part of a day.
Initially, he had been evenly matched with the mid-stage Divinity Transformation expert.
He had never expected, however, that this fellow Qu Yang had been concealing his true strength all along, and worse, as other avatars perished elsewhere, his opponent's power had only grown ever stronger.
This had caused Daoist Shanchen to feel exceptionally stifled and aggrieved throughout the entire battle.
Now that reinforcements had finally arrived, Daoist Shanchen roared with laughter. "Young friend Ye Xiu," he bellowed, "join me, and together we shall slay him!"
"Alright!"
Ye Xiu offered no further words. His Primordial Spirit left the body, and the phantom of the colossal, primordial elephant, the very one formed from his tribulation, rose into the air, causing the entire sky to feel as if it were being crushed under an immense weight!
Qu Yang narrowed his eyes to slits and once again unleashed his surging, violent torrents.
He knew that these two ants had already blocked his escape route; his only recourse now was to carve out a bloody path to survival.
His spiritual power grew even more vigorous and profound as he sneered ferociously at the pair.
"You think you can stop me? Just the two of you ants? One of you is a mid-stage Divinity Transformation expert from who-knows-what forgotten corner of the world, and the other is a fresh Divinity Transformation cultivator who has just barely broken through his tribulation, with his very foundation not yet stable?!!"
"And you truly believe the Li family's petty schemes can actually change anything?"
"Get out of my way," he roared, "or you will die without a doubt!"
Upon hearing this, though still in a weakened state, Ye Xiu simply gave a faint smile. "Do you know," he asked calmly, "why I chose to break through a fourth-grade lightning tribulation?"
Qu Yang frowned.
He had only to listen as Ye Xiu continued, "I spent many years in Azure Cloud Region, and alongside the Li family, I have faced a great many things. We believed the invasion of the Wu Clan was an irreversible catastrophe. We thought that without the aid of the Azure Dynasty, we would never be able to return to our homeland. And yet, we succeeded."
"I once believed that those at the Divinity Transformation realm were invincible. And yet, at the Azure Cloud border city, together with the Li family, I helped to repel three Wu Clan elders."
"I thought that Venerable Tian Xing was invincible. And yet, this time, from within the crucible of this lightning tribulation, I have seen..."
He lowered his gaze, his sight piercing through the roiling, dark clouds, and he saw them—the group from Azure Cloud Region, standing firm upon the ground below!
By this point, they had already driven off or slain all the Tian Xing avatars on the ground.
Just as they had done in Azure Cloud Region after repelling the Wu Clan, they quietly began to clear the battlefield, retrieving the bodies of their fallen friends.
As if sensing Ye Xiu's gaze upon them, the members of the Azure Cloud group all raised their heads to meet it.
A piercingly cold wind howled through the sky, whipping Ye Xiu's long hair about his face. A profound silence fell over them all; even Qu Yang was momentarily still.
After a long moment, Ye Xiu finally smiled at Qu Yang.
"From my time with the Li family, I learned a very important lesson," he said. "Every single one of us must first acknowledge that we are but ants, especially when faced with an enemy as terrifying to the absolute extreme as yourselves."
"Yet, we are willing to try, willing to embrace death to find new life, even with these bodies of ants, until that day comes when we can finally face you as equals!"
"And now, I shall see for myself if I am truly capable of being..."
"...an ant that shakes a great tree!"
Daoist Shanchen listened to every single word, and with each one Ye Xiu spoke, the resolve in his own gaze hardened!
As Ye Xiu's final word fell, a continuous roar echoed through the heavens. An oppressive might, one belonging solely to the Divinity Transformation stage, descended, causing a fierce gale to tear across the land for 300 miles in every direction!
...
One hour later, within the boundaries of the Imperial Capital, Qu Yang, in a wretched and sorry state, was dragging his battered body, having finally fled back to Lai Teng's official residence.
His complexion was deathly pale, his face utterly devoid of expression.
Lai Teng stood at the entrance, gritting his teeth as he fixed a furious gaze upon Qu Yang, who walked right past him and into the residence.
As he walked past Lai Teng, Qu Yang stiffly turned his head to face him. With a look of profound humiliation on his own face, he spoke in a low, heavy voice, "Lai Teng, I think I finally understand why the Li family deliberately let you go. It is because, among all of us avatars, you are a rare breed of coward. You are ranked third, and now you have received the power of numerous other fallen avatars; in a short time, you ought to be able to make even greater strides from your already lofty position."
"However..."
Qu Yang fell silent for a moment before continuing, "...once a man compromises, he will compromise again and again. Once a man gives in to fear, he will feel fear again and again. If I were you, I would not allow myself to become a burden to our true vessel. I would simply end my own existence, and that would be that."
As his words faded, Qu Yang slowly walked deeper into the residence, found a secluded spot, and sat down cross-legged, his brow deeply furrowed.
Outside the doors, Lai Teng clenched both his fists, his face a mask of bitter resentment and indignant shame.
Within Eternal Sun Prefecture, the numerous Tian Xing avatars who had rushed to Qilin Mountain now stood alongside Lin Wudao, watching the countless puppets scatter and flee in every direction. Without exception, their faces were grim and sullen.
They had heard every word of Ye Xiu's speech on that Mountain!
They were suddenly reminded that many, many years ago, their own true body had been just like the members of the Li family, regarded by all as an insignificant ant, for whom even breaking through to the Golden Core realm was a trial fraught with immense difficulty.
And yet now... every single one of them had become haughty and disdainful of others, and had long since begun to look down upon all the other heroes of this world.
And today, on Qilin Mountain, blood had flowed like a river, the true body of the Sacred Beast Qilin had been stolen, and the treasure vault was left completely bare.
The numerous Tian Xing avatars from Eternal Sun Prefecture had been played for fools by the Li family, sent running about like headless flies. At that Mountain... of the avatars from the Imperial Capital region, next to none remained.
"Hmph."
With a long exhale, Lin Wudao's tense jaw finally relaxed.
It was impossible to know what he had been contemplating, but after letting out that long breath, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips.
"How... interesting," he murmured. "It seems that we have, through our own carelessness, provoked a group of opponents truly worthy of being taken seriously."
...
The Mountain.
Li Wei's figure reappeared on the battlefield. His face was devoid of all expression; he felt not the slightest hint of joy at their victory.
He knew.
He knew that everything that had transpired previously in the Imperial Capital had merely been minor skirmishes.
This time, his family clan had truly given Venerable Tian Xing a taste of defeat, but that by no means signified that they had genuinely crushed their great foe!
As the saying goes, learning from one's mistakes, the Venerable Tian Xing they would face hereafter would be all the more formidable for it!
"However..."
A cold glint appeared in Li Wei's eyes.
At that very same moment, members of the Li family scattered all across the world all came to know of their clan's great victory.
It was as if they could feel the conviction of their Old Ancestor in their very souls.
Without exception, they all raised their heads to gaze towards the heavens, feeling as though they could perceive their Ancestor's gaze and hear his voice reaching out to them from across the firmament.
"Hereafter, you shall witness an even more powerful Li family!"
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