Following the great battle at that Mountain and Li Yaotie's successful breakthrough of the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, the entire Azure Dynasty was once again reminded that there was such a clan as the Li family in Azure Cloud Region.
But time has a way of making people gradually forget, and the Azure Dynasty, for its part, continued to operate in its usual fashion.
[Year 258]
In the blink of an eye, three years went by.
Following his breakthrough, Li Yaotie continued to cultivate at the side of the Heavenly Light Ancestor, dedicating himself to delving deep into the unorthodox arts.
Li Kuanghua and the rest of the group had come out into the open, but it seemed as though they were always being watched. And so, for the sake of convenience and safety, they simply took up residence within the Heavenly Light Sect.
Inspired by Li Yaotie's breakthrough, the clan members scattered all across the world became even more motivated to advance. During this time, none of them initiated any further conflicts with the avatars of Venerable Tian Xing.
Li Wei's figure appeared high in the sky.
He was standing aboard a spirit ark; behind it, nine more spirit arks followed in formation.
They crossed over a vast forest, their speed gradually slowing from a rapid pace as they headed towards the location of Li Yaoqing!
"My Lord," a young man reported, "we have successfully bypassed the unguarded sections of the Endless Forest. Another 30 miles straight ahead lies the Auric Empire."
The one being addressed was Li Kuangren, he who had previously been imprisoned on Qilin Mountain, and he now stood upon the prow of the lead ark as the youth made his report.
And aboard these ten spirit arks were, without exception, all the geniuses who had been rescued from Qilin Mountain on that fateful day!
After they had all escaped from Eternal Sun Prefecture that day, the numerous avatars of Venerable Tian Xing had been like ants on a hot griddle, relentlessly seeking to capture them at every moment.
Within the territories of the Azure Dynasty, they were no longer safe, and their only option was to undertake a long and arduous journey to the Auric Empire.
"Understood."
Li Kuangren responded softly, facing into the wind. He stared ahead, his face a complete blank. Though there was clearly nothing to see but open sky, his gaze remained distant and profound.
Li Wei, who stood at his side, observed Li Kuangren's demeanor, and a flicker of deep concern passed through his eyes.
Five years had now passed since the day he was rescued.
Throughout these five years, whether it was during their initial flight or now that they had finally reached a place of safety, Li Kuangren had remained in this same state, his face perpetually expressionless.
Even upon returning to the Ancestor Space, he had only allowed himself to break down and wail his heart out once at the very beginning; after that, he had hardly spoken another superfluous word.
[Your descendant, Li Kuangren, at the onset of Venerable Tian Xing's invasion of Azure Cloud Region, was among the first to fall into the hands of Lin Wudao. He was forced to witness with his own eyes as the avatars of Venerable Tian Xing slaughtered his kin; he watched as they died, one by one, right before him, while he remained completely powerless to intervene. Trait Acquired: Numb]
[He once screamed until his voice was ragged and his strength was gone; he once wept until tears streamed endlessly down his face, continuing until not a single shred of energy remained. Now, there are few things left in this world that can stir his emotions.]
[Your descendant, Li Kuangren, having been imprisoned by Lin Wudao for several decades, has acquired the Trait: Caged Bird]
[Trait Effect: A "Caged Bird" that has known imprisonment. When facing a confined environment, Fear increases by 50%. In order to never again face such a predicament, Cultivation Speed is permanently increased by 20%.]
Beyond just these traits, everything that had happened in the past was in the process of fundamentally changing Li Kuangren.
It was just that he remained impassive and utterly silent, like a block of unyielding ice. Not even Li Wei knew what this child was truly thinking in the depths of his heart.
"Sigh..."
Li Wei heaved a long sigh. "Li Kuangren ended up like this," he thought, "but among all the other members of the clan, who has truly managed to move on from the tragedy of that year?"
Even he himself, their Old Ancestor, was no different.
"But life must go on," he resolved. "And they—we—must continue to press forward."
...
[Year 262]
The Great Ceremony was now long past, and throughout this year, the members of the Li family continued to strive diligently in their cultivation.
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, has forged a High-Grade Spirit Artifact: the Cloud-Thunder Sword.]
[Effect: Can gather the thunderclouds of Heaven and Earth to summon heavenly lightning.]
[Your descendant, Li Yaoqing, has refined a Rank 6 Spirit Pill: the Tribulation-Crossing Pill.]
[Effect: Can be used to nullify ten percent of a heavenly tribulation's might.]
[Congratulations! Your descendant, Li Xinghuo, has broken through to the False Core stage. Your descendant, Li Xingchen, has broken through to the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.]
His descendants, for their part, continued to cultivate as they always had.
The resources plundered from the Qilin Mountain Lin family had, for the time being, solved the Li family's resource problems; for at least the next hundred years, they would have more than enough resources to use as they saw fit.
However, what had truly captured Li Wei's attention this year was a particular matter that had appeared on the panel before him.
It was an event that had caused the clan members to once again gather together in the Ancestor Space.
[Special Event—A Message from the Venerable Elder Baimei of Azure Mist Mountain]
[Venerable Elder Baimei has never ceased his investigation into Venerable Tian Xing. The Li family's great victory at that Mountain, the rescue of numerous geniuses from Qilin Mountain, and Li Yaotie's breakthrough into a "Nine-Nine" Nascent Soul have all caused him to see a glimmer of hope for defeating Venerable Tian Xing.
He has begun searching for the whereabouts of Tian Xing's main Cave Abode, intending to help the Li family rescue the clan members still imprisoned within.]
"The whereabouts of Tian Xing's Cave Abode?"
Li Wei was unable to suppress the look of joy that spread across his face.
For all these years, they had never ceased searching for the location of Tian Xing's Cave Abode; the thirteen clan members trapped there were in desperate need of rescue. The clansmen had been constantly worried about their safety, after all, that place was deep within Venerable Tian Xing's own territory!
In an instant, Li Wei appeared on Azure Mist Mountain.
...
At this moment, on Azure Mist Mountain, Venerable Elder Baimei had already summoned his "closed-door" disciple, Ah Xiu, as well as Bai Rourou.
Bai Rourou had been cultivating on Azure Mist Mountain for all these years.
This, however, had been a measure born of helplessness; Azure Mist Mountain was located right within Eternal Sun Prefecture, and according to Venerable Elder Baimei himself, his every move was under the surveillance of Venerable Tian Xing, making it impossible for him to send Bai Rourou away safely.
In the present day, Bai Rourou was also cultivating on Azure Mist Mountain. She had long ago reached the critical point for a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, yet for a very long time, she had not attempted to face the corresponding Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.
It was just that...
At the peak of the Golden Core realm, she was already over two hundred years old, considered the prime of life for one at her stage of cultivation, and she had always been of a naturally strong and robust constitution.
And yet now, her head was full of brittle, white hair; her once dark complexion had gradually grown pale, and deep within her eyes, there seemed to burn an inextinguishable fire of rage.
Only Li Wei knew why.
On the day she learned the news of the Li clan's annihilation, Bai Rourou's hair had turned white in a single night.
After all, those who had perished in the clan's destruction were, without exception, all her and Yaotie's descendants. And she had not even been able to leave the confines of Azure Mist Mountain to see those children off on their final journey.
"Master, didn't you say you had found news regarding Tian Xing's Cave Abode? Where exactly is it located?"
Ah Xiu glanced at Bai Rourou, who stood beside her.
So many years had gone by, and all this time, Bai Rourou had remained here, cultivating on the mountain.
She remembered how, when she had first arrived on the mountain, Bai Rourou had been fearless and brimming with vitality.
The Bai Rourou of today, however, seemed just like her own head of white hair, drained of all life and color.
Venerable Tian Xing had, after all, originated from her Master's sect. Having created such a great and terrible evil, it stood to reason that it was their sect's duty to "clean house" and deal with him.
"Do you two truly wish to find Tian Xing's Cave Abode?" Venerable Elder White Brow asked, his gaze fixed not on Ah Xiu, but on Bai Rourou.
Upon hearing his question, Bai Rourou nodded with unwavering resolve. Her children, her descendants, were still trapped within that place!
"In that case," the Elder said, "let us begin."
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