"Pardon my presumption, but how do you and the Demon Lord normally address each other?"
The Heavenly Star Sword Saint's eyes were brimming with the thirst for knowledge.
There was, however, less of a teasing tone now, and more of the posture of an eager student, filled with admiration and the desire to learn.
Li Yaozu said helplessly, "Is this really the time to be talking about such things?"
Within Qilin Mountain, the Tian Xing avatars were like ants on a hot griddle.
The Heavenly Star Sword Saint glanced towards Qilin Mountain, and his expression also grew grave, deciding to investigate the matter further only after the current business was concluded.
The hovering Li Dalong carried the Heaven-Piercing Coffin on his back, while Li Yaozu carried his sword box.
The objects on their backs were one large and one small.
Both men had their arms crossed over their chests as they gazed at everything within Qilin Mountain, their eyes burning with raging fire.
They were truly worthy of being called father and son; even though both were men of over three hundred years, their expressions and postures were perfectly synchronized.
The two of them only exchanged a single glance, and it was as if everything was just as it had been a hundred years ago.
It was just that in these hundred-plus years, they had experienced far, far too much.
Facing Lin Wudao below, they could only bury the many things they had experienced over the years deep in their hearts and focus on the matter at hand.
The Old Ancestor's spirit tablet rose into the air.
"Yaozu, today, we, father and son, will storm this Qilin Mountain together!"
"Yes, Dad."
On the battlefield, a father and son are moving together.
Li Dalong and Li Yaozu had no second words; the two of them immediately began to charge into Qilin Mountain once more, leaving the Heavenly Star Sword Saint hanging in place.
In an instant, Li Yaozu's Primordial Spirit left his body and began circling around Qilin Mountain, searching for an opportunity to penetrate all the spiritual arrays with a single strike.
Li Dalong, meanwhile, once again shouldered the Heaven-Piercing Coffin and violently smashed at the array from the outside.
Although Li Dalong's attacks were simple and unadorned, his Divinity Transformation spiritual power still caused Qilin Mountain to tremble continuously, and an oppressive might radiated out in all directions.
The Heavenly Star Sword Saint was not idle either.
He used a technique to summon two flying swords, which headed off in two different directions.
One was to request aid from the Azure Cloud region.
He didn't know if the Li family's attack on Tian Xing this time would erupt into a full-scale war with the entire Eternal Sun Prefecture, but over a hundred years had passed, and their homeland was no longer what it used to be.
With Region Prince Jiang there, they had no fear of the Eternal Sun Prefecture at all.
The second was to send a message to the Sacred Hall Sword Pavilion, requesting two Divinity Transformation experts as support.
Although they might take a month or so to arrive, it could still prevent disaster before it occurs.
Within Qilin Mountain, the grand array was roaring.
All the Tian Xing avatars could feel it: every so often, Li Dalong was able to destroy one of the spiritual arrays.
Even though the numerous avatars were constantly repairing the formation, it still wasn't fast enough to keep up with the speed of Li Dalong's destruction.
Moreover, outside the array, Li Yaozu's Primordial Spirit was like a hunting falcon staring at its prey, just waiting until it found a method to break through, at which point it could shatter the array with a single strike.
This father and son duo suddenly caused the Tian Xing avatars to feel a heavy, oppressive weight.
The sense of crisis in Lin Wudao's heart grew ever greater.
The Mark of Tian Xing was flashing continuously, and his intuition told him that of this father and son duo, no matter which one, both possessed a hidden trump card that could threaten him.
"Lin Wudao! What should we do now?"
"You had us hide on Qilin Mountain, letting us wait for our other avatars to die so we could become stronger, but their people are growing more and more numerous! Are you actually waiting for the opportune moment to strike, or are you just sitting here waiting to be slaughtered?!!"
"At least give us a plan!"
"..."
The avatars were roaring.
But Lin Wudao was still waiting calmly, his divine soul observing all the other avatars.
Those facing a crisis were far from just them on Qilin Mountain!
The avatars in all the various regions of the Azure Dynasty were being toyed with like playthings; all of them were being forced towards the direction of the Eternal Sun Prefecture!
Lin Wudao could feel it: the Li family of today was like a hand that could blot out the sky and cover the sun, pressing down from the heavens above, bit by bit.
"How could this be? They are merely a small family from the Azure Cloud region! How could they have forced me into such a state?!!"
His plans of over ten thousand years, on this day, seemed as fragile as paper!
In all of Eternal Sun Prefecture, only Qilin Mountain was the safest place.
Every single one of his avatars was being hunted down!
"It's fine," he thought, trying to reassure himself.
"The avatars will also fight with all their might. I just need to wait until I break through to Void Refining, and then everything..."
But scarcely had Lin Wudao's voice fallen.
His lips and teeth had already turned deathly pale. It was not just him; at this moment, every single one of his avatars was stunned for a moment.
For all these years, these avatars of his had been able to have everything go their way.
This was because, whenever they wished, they could perceive what any other avatar was doing.
This powerful intelligence network always brought them peace of mind, and many times, it had also allowed them to turn peril into safety. It also enabled them to act swiftly.
And yet, at this moment...
"How is this possible?!!"
"What happened? I... I can't feel the presence of the other avatars."
"It's a Fate Technique! Someone is using a Fate Technique to interfere with our communication!"
The avatars on Qilin Mountain had looks of utter horror on their faces.
For many years, they had always communicated with each other; the world they could see was different from that of others.
And now, they could only see what was right before their eyes. They could no longer learn any news from the minds of the other avatars.
Lin Wudao, too, could no longer control everything. The Mark of Tian Xing between his brows was growing dim!
"It's her?!!"
His face pale, Lin Wudao slumped into the main seat. He suddenly thought of a person.
That sickly seedling of the Li family.
Many years ago, it was because that Li Yaowen, at the first possible moment, had her clansmen flee for their lives that the Li family even had a chance to escape.
That girl had also decisively scattered her physical form and flown beyond the heavens as a Nascent Soul.
In this lifetime of his, with his thousands of avatars, what kind of person had he not seen? And yet it was still the first time he had ever seen such a decisive woman.
For these past hundred-plus years, there had not been a single day when he wasn't contending with Li Yaowen.
It was also this woman who, every single day, interfered with his divinatory calculations, making him unable to find any trace of the Li family members.
He didn't know from where she had gathered the souls of tens of millions of people, nor did he know from where she had obtained such a vast amount of Qi Luck.
She borrowed the lives and Qi Luck of others, and day and night, she was constantly looking for trouble with him.
It even made him unable to cultivate in peace for over a hundred years.
Lin Wudao had originally thought that Li Yaowen, at most, could only use this method to shield the heavenly secrets, preventing him from divining the existence of the Li family members. But now it seemed...
"In reality, she didn't need to get my Fate Plate from Prince Feiheng. She could have divined my existence on her own. All these years, Li Yaowen has been accumulating Qi Luck, and at the same time, she has also been cultivating. She..."
Lin Wudao suddenly clenched his fist. The tabletop where he slammed his fist turned to dust, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"Bastard!" he roared. "She is using me to cultivate! Using me to help her digest the fates she borrowed from those tens of millions of people all those years ago, as well as all that Qi Luck!"
"By breaking through to Divinity Transformation, she would no longer need to flee. Instead... she could counter-attack! She was waiting for this day."
"What kind of existence have I provoked?!!"
In the midst of his dejection, Lin Wudao nevertheless breathed a sigh of relief.
"But fortunately," he thought, "even with the difficulty of being unable to see what the other avatars are doing, I've still managed to win back a round."
At the last moment, he had seen his avatar far away in the Imperial Capital, bringing him a soon-to-come victory. It was a pity, however, that he could not share in it.
"It's also a good thing that the avatars in all the various regions have already been properly arranged."
"Let's just wait and see who will emerge victorious in the end!"
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