Chapter 974: Chapter 968: A Secret Struggle
Highsun City’s Li Family Chamber of Commerce.
With the great war in Deston Prefecture currently ongoing, the Li Family Chamber of Commerce was raking in a fortune every day.
Outside the chamber, an endless stream of visitors could be seen, which at one point caused their entire inventory to sell out.
The medicinal pills and Dharma artifacts continuously produced by the Azure Cloud Prefecture’s “Artifact Sect” and “Pill Sect” sold out completely.
Some cultivators, not knowing where they had heard the rumor that the Azure Cloud Prefecture refined “Human Pills,” even approached the shopkeeper seeking a connection to acquire them.
The shopkeeper was a descendant of the merchant lineage from the Imperial Capital.
His cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment realm, yet he had a Nascent Soul realm cultivator protecting him closely, and he enjoyed the backing of the mighty figures in Highsun City.
After finishing his business matters, he hurried to the magnificent top floor of the chamber of commerce to bow and make his report.
Inside the wing room, there was a Spirit Gathering Array, within which sat three people.
Before Li Xinnian’s eyes were Great-Uncle Changsheng, who had been slumbering upon Grandpa Old Tree ever since Xinnian was a child, and Great-Aunt Changyao, who perennially oversaw the Hall of Heavenly Principle · Shadow Division.
Toward this Great-Aunt, Li Xinnian was exceptionally respectful.
The senior members of the clan doted on Great-Aunt Changyao even more than they did on him; even when she caused absolute havoc in the Hall of Heavenly Principle · Shadow Division and beat up all the older seniors there, the clan elders didn’t utter a single word of reprimand.
Great-Aunt possessed a fiery temper, yet her strength was incomparably formidable.
Ever since the battle in the Immortal Domain, she had never once used her archery skills again.
No one knew just how profound her cultivation had become now that she was in the Divinity Transformation realm.
As for Great-Uncle Changsheng, this great-uncle had always been mysterious.
Li Xinnian only knew that his great-uncle had spent the majority of his life lying on the old tree.
Do not be fooled by the fact that Great-Uncle only exuded the aura of the peak Nascent Soul realm; his methods were heaven-defying.
Thinking back to his childhood, it was also this great-uncle who, time and time again, tricked him out of his small personal treasury, which instilled in his heart a degree of vigilance against the people of the world.
“Great-Uncle, Great-Aunt, I went to see Ba Siyu.”
Li Xinnian said respectfully,
“The Deston Prefecture is overseen by the Imperial Protectors, one of the Imperial Capital’s One Hall, One Pavilion, Two Departments, and Four Guards.
Only during times of national peril do the Imperial Protectors descend in person.
The three cities of Deston Prefecture—Dawnspire City, Highsun City, and Sunfall City—are overseen by three mighty Body Integration realm experts of the Imperial Protectors, and Mahayana realm cultivators have also appeared.”
“What kind of person is this Ba Siyu?”
Li Changsheng asked casually.
Back in the day, he had to handle the affairs of the Heavenly Principle Hall even in his sleep.
Now that everything had been handed over to the younger generation, Li Changsheng felt a profound sense of relief.
It was just a pity that at his advanced age, he still had to travel about and exert himself.
Lying here in the Chamber of Commerce with people constantly coming and going all around left him trembling with anxiety; he was currently glancing left and right, figuring out which way to flee should an incident occur.
Li Xinnian replied,
“He carries himself with a magnanimous air, yet is incredibly meticulous.
He appears greedy, yet is lavish with his wealth.
To my eyes, this person’s shrewdness runs incredibly deep; he cannot be trusted.
However, I have already secured an idle city-guarding post for our Azure Cloud Prefecture’s incoming army, meaning they will not have to engage in the brutal slaughter outside.
Ba Siyu gave his promise, which shows he is still extending a fair amount of care toward our Azure Cloud Li family.”
As Li Xinnian respectfully presented the “Dragon and Phoenix Sword” to his Great-Aunt, he said,
“I have probed him. Ba Siyu has some knowledge of the incident at the Shadowfell Prefecture border pass.
He suspects that Min Tiange is scheming for a fortuitous opportunity to reach the Mahayana realm.
Over the past five years, the Wu tribes have invaded the Dynasty and charged into the Central Plains, resulting in countless deaths.
Those people’s spiritual energy has returned to the origin of heaven and earth, and this is exactly where Min Tiange’s opportunity lies.”
“The Wu tribes are not to be underestimated, either.
The Nirvana Sage Elder had scoured the entire Shadowfell Prefecture, turning the land upside down in search of a certain item.
I suspect that his invasion into Shadowfell Prefecture is, in fact, a secret struggle against Min Tiange.
Unwilling to become Min Tiange’s chess piece, he intends to snatch away the opportunity that Min Tiange has spent years plotting to obtain.”
Hearing this, Li Changsheng narrowed his eyes slightly.
Among the world’s cultivators, just how many fed upon the common people?
Back in the day, his maternal grandfather, Feng Qingyang, had this exact idea; Tian Xing did, and so did the old ancestor of the Zhao clan.
Every single one of these people appeared glamorous and honorable on the outside, yet they were worse than the fiends in the Thunder Fire Demon Cave.
“I also ran into Yun Manlou.”
Li Xinnian smiled faintly. “He thinks Ba Siyu can offer him a path to survival, but unfortunately, it is the most agonizing path of survival.”
Silver Wolf Lake.
A shimmering expanse of water, this was the new clan residence the Yun family had acquired after fleeing from the Shadowfell Prefecture.
Although the Yun family did not hold a hereditary Prefecture Lord title, they still produced Prefecture Lords generation after generation.
This was for no other reason than the fact that they had a Void Refinement realm old ancestor in their family who had lived for forty-eight thousand years, thus ensuring the Yun family’s wealth and prosperity for tens of thousands of years.
A pavilion stood in the center of Silver Wolf Lake; it was also the location of the Yun family’s Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.
Relocating this Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land had consumed a massive amount of resources, and its interior was currently in a chaotic state.
Above Silver Wolf Lake, however, stood a lone figure facing the wind.
For a long time, the figure gazed at the Yun family’s Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, long eyelashes fluttering in the breeze.
Soft, delicate hands held a brush, painting the exact scene of everything that lay within the Yun family’s Grotto-Heaven.
“Interesting. Fleeing from the Shadowfell Prefecture, yet the materials used to construct this Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land are old materials.
They must have been dismantled from their original Grotto-Heaven and stored within a spatial ring.
But for a massive project like this, how could it be dismantled in less than three to six months?
Especially since the Wu tribes invaded the Shadowfell Prefecture so suddenly, the Yun family simply wouldn’t have had the time.”
Dongfang Xuan’s lips moved slightly, a flash of disdain in her eyes.
“In other words, he had anticipated the Wu tribes’ invasion.
At least three months before the Wu tribes slaughtered their way into Shadowfell Prefecture, the Yun family had already prepared their escape… Tianyue, what an unjust death.”
At this time, within the Yun family, cultivators had already noticed the anomaly outside the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth from all directions around Silver Wolf Lake had actually vanished without a trace!
In a panic, the members of the Yun family went to seek out their Patriarch, Yun Manlou.
“Patriarch! Above Silver Wolf Lake, a woman of unknown origin is using demonic arts to paint!
She is drawing all the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from our Silver Wolf Lake, treasured land, straight into her painting!
That… that painting of hers is still stealing the spiritual energy from our Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land!”
“Audacious!”
Yun Manlou slammed the table and rose to his feet. With a visual technique swirling in his eyes, he caught sight of the woman above Silver Wolf Lake.
He was initially seething with fury, but when he saw the token of the Azure Cloud Li family hanging at the picturesque woman’s waist, his eyes were instantly overtaken by panic.
He slumped back into his seat in a daze. “What exactly do you want from me? What do you want from me?!!”
A Void Refinement realm expert!
He had a solid grasp of the intelligence regarding the Azure Cloud Li family.
Aside from the two who perished at Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Azure Cloud still had Grand Supreme Pu Ci, the Martial Emperor, and Zhuo Linlin.
Yet he never expected that today, a completely unknown Void Refinement realm cultivator would appear, using demonic arts to plunder the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from his Yun family.
He had fled for years, plagued by anxiety and restlessness for years, terrified of the people of Azure Cloud setting their sights on him.
He originally thought that by obtaining Ba Siyu’s protection, he could finally find peace of mind. But he suddenly realized that if the Li family truly wanted to deal with him, they had plenty of methods!
“Go, go find Bi Shihu. Inform him of the news that the Li family has arrived in Deston Prefecture. I need to discuss matters with him.”
However, as soon as Yun Manlou’s voice faded, the clan elder who had previously acted so tough back in Highsun City swallowed hard.
“Patriarch, what if… what if that demonic woman kills me? That is a Void Refinement realm expert…”
“Would she dare?!! Go quickly!”
As the clan elder was hurried away, Yun Manlou’s chest heaved.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that Dongfang Xuan was smiling at him through the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.
It reminded him of Li Xinnian’s smile that concealed a hidden murderous intent, and the high-spirited laughter of the Li family’s Blood-Robed General returning triumphant time and time again on the battlefield at the Shadowfell Prefecture border pass.
Immediately, he raised his head, hoping that Dongfang Xuan would kill the clan elder.
If she did, he could request Ba Siyu to make a move. Yet, contrary to his expectations, Dongfang Xuan simply continued to paint in tranquil silence.
“The Azure Cloud Li family… is trying to terrify me.
They want me to live in constant, restless anxiety, to spend my days constantly vigilant of the Azure Cloud Li family staring at my back…”
At this moment, Yun Manlou finally understood the Li family’s true intentions. “How vicious… what incredibly vicious hearts you have!!!”
Amidst his panic, Yun Manlou hastily fled back to the clan’s forbidden grounds. He could no longer bear the gazes of the people from Azure Cloud who kept arriving one after another.
They looked at him with the disdain reserved for snakes and rats, looking down upon him from their high and mighty positions, merely toying with him.
Before long, he arrived at the clan’s forbidden grounds. With those gazes no longer on his back, he felt much more at ease.
He muttered with resentful venom, “What did I do wrong? In a battle doomed to fail, did I absolutely have to march to my death alongside you people of the Li family?!?”
Raising his head, he looked into the forbidden grounds.
The spiritual energy here was so dense that it was nearly corporeal.
Ancient trees stood all around, every single one of them serving to obscure the heavenly secrets.
“Manlou, have I not told you? Unless it is a matter of grave importance, do not come and disrupt my cultivation.”
In the center of the ancient trees, an elder sat cross-legged, surrounded in all directions by spiritual materials and medicinal pills!
The medicinal pills and spiritual materials, enough to supply millions of cultivators, completely blanketed the entire ancient forest.
Right in the middle sat this elder, looking like a mummified corpse, his dry, withered hair cascading down his shoulders!
He was the Yun family’s old ancestor—the very one Ba Siyu mentioned, who supposedly still had two thousand years of lifespan remaining.
Yun Manlou stared absentmindedly at the countless medicinal pills and spiritual materials.
His gaze vacant, he murmured, “Old Ancestor, someone is… stealing the spiritual energy of our Grotto-Heaven.”
“I know. The people of the Azure Cloud Li family… they have chased us down after all.”
The voice of the Yun family’s old ancestor was calm.
“Let them be. With Ba Siyu protecting you, what would their Li family dare to do?
Just endure it for a while. Once I attempt my breakthrough to the Body Integration realm, all past grievances will scatter like smoke, and the ones who should be plagued by anxiety will be the Azure Cloud Li family.
You descendants, must also cultivate diligently.
I have passed down the Spirit Plundering Meditation Method; as long as there is enough spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you will be able to glimpse the laws.”
“Do not be stingy with spirit stones and treasures, and do not fear fighting the Wu tribes on this trip to Deston Prefecture.
By obtaining medicinal pills and spiritual materials, you will also find opportunities to break through.
From then on, our Yun family’s days of wealth and prosperity will arrive, and we shall secure a firm place in this world.”
The old ancestor’s voice was as calm as an ancient well. Yun Manlou’s figure was gradually swept out of the forbidden grounds by the old ancestor’s Dharma power.
Yun Manlou, however, still looked to be in a daze.
The spirit stones, spiritual materials, and medicinal pills beneath the old ancestor seemed just like the fallen soldiers and generals of the Shadowfell Prefecture, as well as the cultivators and commoners across the region who had perished at the hands of the Wu tribes.
These were not treasures brimming with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but rather stark, naked flesh and blood.
Outside the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, Dongfang Xuan was still painting.
Like a walking corpse, Yun Manlou trudged back to his room.
He collapsed heavily onto his cultivation spot, and a letter materialized from his spatial ring.
[In three months, the Wu tribe’s Sage Elder will march his forces. They cannot be stopped.]
This letter was clearly so ordinary, yet it seemed as if it were dripping with blood.
He had informed the Old Ancestor of the news, but what he received in return was not the Old Ancestor’s counsel supporting him to fulfill his duties as Prefecture Lord.
Instead, it was an inquiry:
“Have the military supplies sent by the Dynasty this year been utilized? If Shadowfell Prefecture falls, who would go and investigate this matter? And where would they even begin to look?”
“Our Yun family shall ascend to even greater heights!”
The Dharma power in Yun Manlou’s hand transformed into a flame, burning this letter of unknown origins to ashes.
His face twisted, he stared straight at Dongfang Xuan outside the Grotto-Heaven.
“How dare you bully me? How dare you view me as nothing but a snake or a rat?!!”
“Wait until our Yun family produces a Body Integration realm expert, then why would I need to fear your Azure Cloud Li family?
Everyone in this world acts for their own benefit.
Since it was a battle doomed to end in defeat, what was wrong with me seeking profit for my clan?
Once my Old Ancestor breaks through to the Body Integration realm, we will have nothing to fear, even if we face the Nirvana Sage Elder again.
This is the true big picture.”
“If you want to place blame, then go blame Bi Shihu, or go blame Abbess Dairou of the Lotus Ferry Nunnery!”
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