[Special Event—Marriage Alliance with Prince Qian]
[Your descendant, Li Yaozu, spent half a month finding the ugliest woman in Eternal Sun Prefecture and sent her in a wedding procession to Prince Qian. Prince Qian held his grand wedding, and the two families became in-laws, their hatred for each other deepening significantly.]
Merit City.
Inside the main hall, Li Wei watched as Li Dalong and his son, Li Yaozu, sat in attendance.
When the special event appeared on his panel, the corners of Li Wei's mouth curled into a slight smile. Prince Qian may have looked down on the Li family, but they had certainly taught him a harsh lesson!
Prince Qian had underestimated the Li family's current power, and he had also misjudged his own standing in the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
He was nothing more than their puppet; otherwise, he wouldn't have tried to provoke Li Yaozu into attacking, all to force the cultivators of the Duravia Trade Prefecture to join his rebellion.
But even after dealing Prince Qian such a humiliating blow, the Li family members showed no joy.
As the father and son closed their eyes,
they appeared in the Ancestor Space.
The Old Ancestor, shrouded in black mist, sat cross-legged in the center of the vast, star-filled space. After Li Dalong and his son appeared, the figures of Li family members from all across the world began to materialize one by one, each heralded by a flash of white light.
This was a new rule for the Li family. As they were scattered across the world, the Ancestor's Spirit Tablet would light up once a month, signaling the time for them to enter the Ancestor Space.
It was a necessary arrangement; the only downside was that Li Wei now rarely had time to return to the real world.
"Reporting to the Old Ancestor," one said, "this child, serving in the imperial palace, has successfully refined a portion of the Rank 6 Ten Thousand Poisons Body Tempering Elixir. I will offer it to you to sample at the Great Ceremony next year."
"Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor! My brothers, sisters, and I have arrived in the Grand Yu Prefecture! There are so many demonic cultivators here. The Demon Lord says the secret of his birth is hidden in this place!"
"Old Ancestor!" another cried. "King Jue (Prince Jue, the Fourth Prince) is conscripting soldiers, and he's come for the three of us! What should we do?"
"..."
The boisterous scene filled Li Wei's face with gratification.
The clan members, scattered across the world, each had their own achievements. Even the father and son pair, Li Chang'an and Li Xingchen, had made some progress recently.
The clan members, scattered across the world, each had their own achievements. Even the father and son pair, Li Chang'an and Li Xingchen, had made some progress recently.
This father and son duo had always kept a low profile within the clan. Having grown up in the small fishing village, they weren't as close to their kin as the others, and their accomplishments had been the most modest.
But at sea, it was a different story.
Li Xingchen had once again left the family to venture overseas, continuing his journey and gathering a new group of like-minded treasure hunters.
Li Chang'an, on the other hand, had returned to the clan. He was currently serving as the Law Enforcer of Eternal Sun Prefecture, becoming an elegant enforcer of the law and maintaining peace and order throughout the region.
After the clan members had gathered and given their routine reports on their personal status and the situations in their various territories,
Li Dalong and Li Yaozu recounted what had happened at Prince Qian's Mansion.
While the other young women Prince Qian had proposed to marry seemed unconcerned, Li Kuanghua's face was dark with a murderous aura.
He'd wanted to marry practically every notable woman in the Li family, and yet he hadn't mentioned her.
Li Kuanghua secretly resolved that one day, she would bring her master with her to demand a proper explanation.
"Father, Big Brother. We must be wary of Prince Qian," Li Yaowen said. "When you sent that woman to him, if the prince had refused, it would have shown he was nothing special. But instead, he chose to endure the humiliation for the sake of his greater goal, which truly shows the depth of his cunning."
Vigilance filled Li Yaowen's eyes as she said in a solemn voice, "I have observed the celestial phenomena. There is Dragon Qi in the Duravia Trade Prefecture."
"Dragon Qi?"
The expressions of all the Li family members changed. Having cultivated the Arts of Fate, Li Yaowen's divinations were seldom wrong, and she could perceive the workings of Qi.
This Dragon Qi... it was the sign of a future emperor.
Li Dalong nodded slightly.
"That was my thinking as well. I had Yaozu send that woman precisely to probe his intentions.
Prince Qian was right about one thing: one cannot allow another to sleep soundly beside one's own bed. That holds true for him, and does it not hold true for us?"
"Grandfather, you mean…"
Li Yunbing furrowed his brow. "But, Grandfather, if we were to truly go to war with the Duravia Trade Prefecture, our chances of victory would be slim."
From the side, Li Changsheng spoke in a solemn voice. "The Hall of Heavenly Principle has investigated the three great powers of the Duravia Trade Prefecture. It's true that each has its own agenda."
"The Aeternus Sect is, without a doubt, Prince Qian's strongest supporter. The disciples within are already prepared to assist him in his bid to become king.
As for the Perennis Immortal Palace, their Supreme Elder, Daoist Puci, has lived for thirty thousand years and is the most ancient being in the prefecture.
Ten thousand years ago, when he went into seclusion, he promised the Human Emperor that his sect would never intervene unless it faced a crisis of life and death. But today, the Human Emperor no longer has the power to restrain him."
"As for the Perennis Immortal Palace, Palace Master, Fairy Hongxiu. She remains in closed-door cultivation. She is already half a step into the Void Refining realm, and everyone says her fated lifespan is nearing its end.
However, our spies from the Hall of Heavenly Principle have seen her outside in secret, and she shows not the slightest sign of aging.
The people of the Perennis Immortal Palace prefer tranquility and wish only to ascend the path of immortality, but a woman from Prince Qian's own family, Shu Wandong, is a direct disciple there.
Whether Fairy Hongxiu passes away or successfully breaks through, Shu Wandong is destined to be the next Palace Master."
"Then there's the Myriad Dao Immortal Palace. Their old Palace Master, Daoist Ming, has cultivated for twenty thousand years. He doesn't meddle in worldly affairs and is truly a man of pure heart and few desires, the very head of all Daoist powers in the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
But just because he is a man of pure heart and few desires doesn't mean his disciples are. Daoist Ming believes that only through inaction can one achieve immortality, so his disciples are not restrained. The current Palace Master received an official post from the Imperial Dynasty a thousand years ago and takes great pride in it."
"The three great powers have carved up the Duravia Trade Prefecture. If this were the Eternal Sun Prefecture of a century ago, perhaps we could have competed with them; Azure Mist Mountain could have kept them in check."
"But now, aside from our military strength…"
As he spoke, a shadow of gloom fell over the faces of the Li family members.
Even Li Yaowen's expression was grim. They had set the stage for the great chaos in the Azure Dynasty and had thought they had planned for everything.
Eternal Sun Prefecture's strategic position was excellent. The three great powers of the Duravia Trade Prefecture had always been reclusive powers that kept to themselves. Even if Prince Qian harbored ambitions, the Li family could have just sent the Hall of Heavenly Principle to assassinate him.
But the times had changed. The Hall of Heavenly Principle had made several attempts on Prince Qian's life, and none had succeeded. Even when Xian Tong himself—a Divinity Transformation expert—took action, leading two other masters of the same realm to assassinate Prince Qian, they still returned in failure.
"Prince Qian is blessed with deep fortune and Qi Luck. By the time we considered moving against him again…"
"...And then there's Baimei."
Li Yaowen's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly. "For Prince Qian to dare provoke our Li family so brazenly in front of Big Brother, it can only mean he truly has the confidence to back it up."
The expressions of the Li family members turned grim.
Baimei was one of only two Void Refining masters in Eternal Sun Prefecture, but now he's gone over to the Duravia Trade Prefecture. With him, they now have three such masters, and it seems Fairy Hongxiu could achieve her own breakthrough at any moment.
As for the other Void Refining cultivator in Eternal Sun Prefecture, Li Dalong has already gone to invite that reclusive senior three times, but has been turned away at his thatched cottage every time.
"Prince Qian is massing his forces. It seems there is truly no room left for reconciliation between our families."
Li Dalong's voice was low. "His backing is none other than Venerable Elder Baimei and those three great powers. He will spare no effort to win over the three powers. Once he truly has the aid of those great powers under his command, that will be the time Prince Qian marches his army."
"In truth, neither our Eternal Sun Prefecture nor the Duravia Trade Prefecture can afford a major war right now. In these chaotic times, the true victor is the one who manages to survive peacefully until the end."
Xu Cuihua let out a long sigh. "But in an age like this, how can anyone truly keep to themselves?"
Within the Fox Clan, even as the designated heir to the Fox Saint, she had faced countless dangers.
Li Dalong's gaze swept over the children of the Li family.
"Baimei is a sworn enemy of our Li clan," he declared. "I want him dead."
"Prince Qian wants to pull our family into his schemes. The three great powers are the key to this. We'll handle it the cultivator's way."
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