[ Your clan, leading the people of Azure Cloud, launched a swift invasion into the Duravia Trade Prefecture—a land teeming with aristocratic clans and fraught with peril—broke through Prince Qian's Mansion, and captured Prince Qian. ]
[ Special Event—Assault on Prince Qian, Completed ]
[ Obtained a large amount of spoils of war... ]
[ ... ]
[ Your descendant, Li Yunlin, after discussing the Dao with Ming Daozi, has had an epiphany and has broken through to the fifth-tier Divinity Transformation realm. Trait Acquired: Inheritance of the Myriad Dao Immortal Palace. ]
[ In the final moments of Ming Daozi's life, he understood that with his passing, the Myriad Dao Immortal Palace would be reduced to the dust of history. He recalled his final conversation with Li Yunlin and knew that he had never been able to see things clearly. He passed on the Myriad Dao Immortal Palace's techniques, cultivation methods, and his life's comprehensions to Li Yunlin through his last drop of essence blood. ]
[ Spoils of war... ]
...
The incense smoke in the snow drifted away on the wind. Li Wei truly had no heart to look at the words appearing on his panel.
Another two days passed.
All the graves in the cemetery were sealed, and the tombstones were inscribed with names. The mourners slowly departed from the cemetery, but still they lingered outside.
Li Yunlin had already brought out the Skyveil Hall; after the war in the Duravia Trade Prefecture, they still had countless matters to attend to. The black cube floated in the air, still rotating slowly.
The White Qilin glanced at the Skyveil Hall, seeming to notice something. He muttered to himself, "Why does this thing have the aura of that one from the Heavenly Mountains?" He then walked over to Li Dalong.
"Prefecture Lord Li," he said, "Prince Qian has fallen into your hands, and I must now return to report on my mission. When the time comes, you need only send someone to deliver Prince Qian's head."
"Please thank Prince Yu on my behalf," Li Dalong said, bowing quickly. If it hadn't been for the White Qilin, they would never have even had the chance to set foot in the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
The White Qilin nodded slightly and said with profound meaning, "It would have been better if Prefecture Lord Li had addressed him as Emperor Yu. But… that day will come. My master owes your Li family a favor, and that is a heaven-sent fortune for your clan."
The spirit ark from Duskwild Prefecture departed.
The Li family watched their friends from Duskwild Prefecture depart. The ways of the world were truly strange; the Li family served the Human Emperor, yet the one who came to their aid was the rebellious Prince Yu.
Prince Yu was indeed powerful. He had already gained the allegiance of several other prefectures, and in his great war against Dongfang Lianwu, his victories far outnumbered his defeats.
Afterward.
The members of the Li family, the various clans of Azure Cloud, and the sects that now ranked among the most prominent all entered the Skyveil Hall. Even the members of Skynet went inside as well.
This Skyveil Hall was a truly fine spirit object. It contained countless spirit objects of the world and formed its own dimension, much like a Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land, though it could not accommodate living beings.
This 'thing' could shatter into fragments and merge with Li Yunlin's body, at which point the dimension within it would splinter and reorganize. Moreover, its artifact spirit had a violent temper, and the entire space within the Skyveil Hall was filled with rampaging spiritual power.
Within this space that resembled a starry sky, as if they were on level ground, over a thousand people from Azure Cloud were seated according to their status and position, facing the members of the Li family.
From the Li family, Li Dalong, Li Yaozu, Li Yunlin, Li Tianyue, and Li Chang'an were present. The others were either not deeply involved in managing affairs or were too grievously injured and had already returned home to recuperate.
Opposite them sat the heads of Azure Cloud's three great families: Li Yunbing, representing the Jiang family; Feng Chunlin; and... the newly appointed head of the Mi family, Mi Shufeng.
In truth, the former head of the Mi family, Mi Zhunqi, had also returned alive, but his foundation had been damaged. Even with Li Yaoqing's attempts to treat him, the situation was beyond saving.
Mi Zhunqi, that open-minded man who never vied for power, now only had about a hundred years of life left and wanted nothing more than to live out his days in peace and quiet.
Azure Cloud was home to hundreds of sects, large and small, with the six strongest being the Six Great Sects: the Ghost Eye Sect, the Myriad Arts Sect, the Black Tortoise Sect, Longevity Mountain, the Artifact Sect, and the Skyveil Sect.
Ancestor Tianye of the Ghost Eye Sect, with his extraordinary methods, had managed to survive the war.
Ye Xiu of the Myriad Arts Sect, however, had never even entered the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
Ancestor Tiangui of the Black Tortoise Sect had passed away.
The new Sect Master was a young man with a simple and innocent appearance. His name was Xuan Ji, a new genius who had risen within the Black Tortoise Sect over the past three hundred years.
The young man was quite extraordinary. Back in the day, as an ordinary disciple, he had somehow managed to survive the great war of the Wu Clan's invasion while only at the Qi Refining stage.
His fortuitous opportunities were equally remarkable, and he eventually obtained the core inheritance of the Black Tortoise Sect. In every great battle, he dared to fight with everything he had.
During the years the Li family was absent from Azure Cloud, Xuan Ji fought his way across the entire region. He suffered defeats and claimed victories, but he was never discouraged.
When he lost, he would simply go into hiding to cultivate, and when he felt he had grown strong enough to win, he would jump right back out to challenge his opponent once more.
Ancestor Tiangui had once said that Xuan Ji was a natural-born tortoise.
Now, Xuan Ji had already reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage.
The Lord of Longevity Mountain is known as the Heavenly Master, and all others are considered his disciples. At Longevity Mountain, the most accomplished becomes the master.
When a Heavenly Master passes away, the disciples compete in a martial contest. The winner becomes the new Heavenly Master and receives the inheritance left by their predecessor.
The new Heavenly Master was a nineteen-hundred-year-old elder at the Nascent Soul 'Leaving the Body' stage, and also the oldest person on Longevity Mountain.
He had been Heavenly Master Wushou's senior martial brother but had stubbornly refused to contend with him for the title. Now, he had no choice but to take charge of Longevity Mountain and assume the position.
His name was Heavenly Master Jinshou. A Nascent Soul cultivator has a lifespan of two thousand years, and he, at nineteen hundred, looked as if he had one foot in the grave. Yet his gaze was profound and exceptionally wise.
And as for the Artifact Sect?
Years ago, when the Li family was at odds with the other powers of Azure Cloud, they paid a brief, overwhelming visit to the Artifact Sect.
The Sect Master, Jin Yu, a big, burly man with a shaven head, had immediately surrendered to the Li family the moment he saw Xu Cuihua charging over to kill him.
Being an artifact-refining sect, they were of the utmost importance during the war against the Wu Clan.
The Artifact Sect soared in prominence, becoming a major sect through the long years of struggle against the Wu Clan. It attracted many other artifact refiners to join its ranks, and the sect grew stronger step by step.
As for its Sect Master, Jin Yu, after three hundred years, he finally managed to reach the mid-Nascent Soul stage—his own eldest disciple's cultivation was now even higher than his.
And finally, there was Li Yunlin's Skyveil Sect.
Li Yunlin had already become the Grand Elder. The new Sect Master was his personal disciple, a man with the Daoist name Wuyazi.
He was particularly fond of this disciple, simply because Wuyazi was as unlucky as he was—though there were some differences.
Wuyazi had been born into a cultivation family as the son of a concubine, was oppressed by his clansmen, had fallen off a cliff, had his engagement broken off, and was hunted by his enemies... Li Yunlin still remembered how, upon learning of the young man's plight, the Old Ancestor had repeatedly urged him to take Wuyazi as a disciple.
Wuyazi had not disappointed him. Although he was something of an idiot who loved to do foolish things, he was, at his core, a person who respected his master and the Dao.
His innate talent was lacking, but he was blessed with excellent fortuitous opportunities, and he had now reached the half-step Nascent Soul realm.
The three great families, the six great sects, and the hundreds of small and medium-sized clans and sects—the Azure Cloud Region of today was truly a flourishing and diverse period.
But in the end, the Li family was the true master of Azure Cloud.