Chapter 978: Chapter 972: Archers Were Expensive
Returning to the chamber of commerce.
Li Changsheng lay on the bed and fell asleep again.
Li Changyao acted more like a female bodyguard. Currently sitting by the table, she had cast a perception-shielding technique around the four corners of the room.
On the table lay a pink longbow and nine arrows, all exuding a powerful aura.
Stroking the “Pew-Pew Pink Bow,” Li Changyao stuck out her tongue.
“These nine arrows are wasted on me. I thought I’d get to shoot them once we reached Deston Prefecture.”
Having arrived in Deston Prefecture.
At the very least, Li Changyao had originally planned to storm the Yun clan and go on a killing spree. However, Xinnian had told her that he would handle the Yun clan himself.
A year had passed, and Li Changyao still didn’t know how Xinnian planned to deal with them. But she didn’t ask, either.
Back in the Azure Cloud Prefecture, Xinnian had managed to resolve so many troubles one by one. If he wanted to deal with the Yun clan personally, he definitely had his reasons.
Coupled with her older brother’s unwavering steadiness as always, Li Changyao found herself with nothing to do.
She immediately looked inward, only to see pale blue flames rising within her Soul Sea.
Her Ice Phoenix Spirit Soul cried out within the Soul Sea, just as restless as Li Changyao herself.
At this moment, Li Wei was observing this restless little girl, Li Changyao, and the nine arrows on her table.
Li Wei felt it would be better for Li Changyao to stay put…
Whenever Li Changyao took action, it was very expensive.
[Your descendant, Li Yaotie, has forged nine Mid-Grade Dharma Treasure arrows for Li Changyao.
They amalgamate eight types of Void Refinement law-attribute magical power: the Five Elements, Ice, Lightning, and Wind.
One “Zhao Bone” arrow, refined from the rib of the Zhao Clan’s Old Ancestor and the Spiritual power that dissipated after his death, has reached the power of a Top-Grade Dharma Treasure.]
[The Pew-Pew Pink Bow, continuously refined over hundreds of years and remelted over a hundred times, has become a Low-Grade Dharma Treasure. Its artifact spirit can be nourished with spiritual fire.]
Archers were expensive… Li Changyao’s nine arrows would be gone once used.
Whether that kid Li Yaotie could forge the exact same arrows using his “Fate-Guided Forging Method” was truly hard to say.
Hundreds of years had passed, and there were only these nine.
“If Changyao uses those two clusters of spiritual fire on herself, she should be able to take things to the next level.”
Li Wei had also received the information Li Changsheng provided.
Just how powerful something like the Human Emperor’s Eye was, Li Wei didn’t know.
He only knew that Li Changsheng’s cultivation realm was cultivated backward.
According to Li Changsheng, cultivating from the Nascent Soul realm back to a mortal would allow a breakthrough to the Divinity Transformation realm.
Cultivating from the Divinity Transformation realm back to a mortal would lead to a breakthrough to the Void Refinement realm…
If he used Spiritual arts more than a certain number of times during this period, his cultivation would be broken.
This was called returning to true simplicity.
[Following Li Changsheng’s guidance, the Heavenly Principle Hall has located two clusters of heaven and earth spiritual fire in Deston Prefecture:
The “Primordial Wood Fire” and the “Myriad Era Earth Core Fire.”]
Just as he was examining whether the Ice Phoenix bloodline within Li Changyao’s body could be elevated to the next level…
Hurried footsteps echoed outside the chamber of commerce, and a group of people marched in furiously.
“Patriarch Li, Lord Ba requests an audience with you!”
…….
Inside the Carefree Cloud.
Li Xinnian stood to the side with a faint smile.
Yun Manlou, his face gloomy, complained to Ba Siyu.
“Lord Ba, ever since the Azure Cloud Li Clan arrived in Highsun City, my Silver Wolf Lake has been in a state of panic.
In just one year’s time, forty-two cultivators who followed my Yun Clan from the Shadowfell Prefecture to settle at Silver Wolf Lake have disappeared!
Furthermore, the Life Tablet of our Yun Clan’s Guest Elder, Han Lingmiao, has completely dissipated its Qi signature.
His talent was unmatched in the world, yet he died such a pitiful and senseless death, and we can’t even find his corpse.”
“I refuse to believe Patriarch Li knows nothing about this!”
Hearing this, Ba Siyu frowned.
Since the people of the Azure Cloud Li Clan arrived, they had lived in peace with the Yun Clan for the past year, and he didn’t want to bother with these trivial matters.
However, if there truly was mutual slaughter occurring under his command, he had to take it seriously.
Forty-two experts—even if they had to die, it would be better for them to die on the battlefield against the Wu tribe.
“Patriarch Li, is there any truth to this?”
Ba Siyu’s gaze was scrutinizing, but Li Xinnian showed not a shred of nervousness.
Maintaining that same smile, he shook his head,
“Lord Ba, the affairs of this world are truly fascinating.
At the Shadowfell Prefecture Border Pass, someone abandoned our clan elder. Our Azure Cloud Li Clan, considering the greater good, swallowed this bitter pill in silence.
But I suddenly feel that the kind-hearted are indeed easily bullied.
Before I could even question Prefecture Lord Yun’s crimes, he has the audacity to falsely accuse me first.”
Ba Siyu’s expression turned peculiar.
Yun Manlou hesitated to speak, but simply couldn’t get the words out.
“When one commits too many guilty deeds, they begin to fear too many people. Unknowingly, they jump at shadows and harbor biased opinions.”
Li Xinnian’s smile gradually faded, but his voice remained incredibly calm.
“Prefecture Lord Yun, I will give you one chance to repeat what you just said.”
His voice was calm, yet it felt like an erupting volcano, causing Yun Manlou’s expression to change drastically.
He had come here in a furious rage precisely because of the panic at Silver Wolf Lake; cultivators were disappearing one after another, and all of them were Divinity Transformation or Nascent Soul experts, or peerless geniuses.
But truly facing Li Xinnian, he unexpectedly lost all his confidence.
Ba Siyu frowned slightly.
Li Xinnian had always been gentle and refined, but today he was brimming with murderous intent, actually daring to threaten Yun Manlou right to his face.
“Prefecture Lord Yun, do you have any evidence?” Ba Siyu asked again, a hint of impatience appearing on his face.
“I…” A sense of crisis inexplicably arose in Yun Manlou’s heart, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
“Within Silver Wolf Lake, there is a Guest Elder of the Azure Cloud Li Clan.
For an entire year, that demonic woman has sucked away the spiritual energy of my Yun Clan’s Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.
We are newcomers here, and only the Azure Cloud Li Clan harbors a grudge against us.
They are the only ones who could have made a move against us!”
“In other words, you have no evidence and are relying entirely on speculation.”
Li Xinnian sneered,
“As for our Azure Cloud Li Clan’s Guest Elder, you claim she absorbed the spiritual energy of your Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land—that’s simply ridiculous.
Senior Dongfang is in the Void Refinement realm and cultivates the Spiritual arts of heaven and earth.
To her, Silver Wolf Lake is a treasured land, an excellent place to observe the laws of heaven and earth.
She was sent by the elders of my Azure Cloud Li Clan. To tell you the truth, if you can occupy Silver Wolf Lake, my Li Clan wants it too.”
“You!” Yun Manlou’s expression changed dramatically.
As they spoke.
Li Xinnian had already noticed the light gleaming in Ba Siyu’s eyes.
“In the eyes of this Ba Siyu, everything can be weighed and measured. It’s exactly as Grandfather said in his letter.”
After pondering this in his heart, Li Xinnian ignored Yun Manlou and continued,
“Lord Ba, on this trip, including the soldiers still en route, my Azure Cloud Prefecture has a total of three hundred thousand troops.
Among them are seniors who fought against the Wu tribe in the past. My Li Clan has brought three Void Refinement experts; the one at Silver Wolf Lake is merely one of them.”
“Three?!!”
Yun Manlou looked as if he had lost his parents.
That demonic woman painting on Silver Wolf Lake was already suppressing the entire Yun Clan so much that they couldn’t lift their heads, assuming their Old Ancestor didn’t emerge.
And the Li Clan had sent three such existences in total!
“Impossible, absolutely impossible!” Yun Manlou was secretly alarmed.
Now that the world was in chaos, even with the help of the Eternal Immortal Sect and their status in the Immortal Suppression Department, the Azure Cloud Prefecture would need at least three Void Refinement experts to stabilize the prefecture.
In other words, this Li Clan, so adept at hiding its strength… had at least six Void Refinement experts!
Looking at Li Xinnian’s unfazed demeanor, these six Void Refinement experts obeyed the Li Clan unconditionally!
Ba Siyu stroked his armrest, glanced at Li Xinnian, then looked at the profusely sweating Yun Manlou.
He already had a plan in mind.
“Patriarch Li, since you are under my command, you don’t need to hide anything.
If affairs like the Shadowfell Prefecture Border Pass happen under my jurisdiction, I will personally take action and exterminate the deserters’ nine generations.”
Ba Siyu laughed.
“I’ve also heard about the matters at Silver Wolf Lake. I wonder which three from your Li Clan have come?
If the Azure Cloud Prefecture has sent out all its Void Refinement experts, and something happens back in the prefecture, wouldn’t I become a sinner through the ages?”
Li Xinnian heard the probing in Ba Siyu’s words.
Ba Siyu was indeed giving the Li Clan convenience; otherwise, with Dongfang Xuan acting recklessly at Silver Wolf Lake, he would have intervened long ago.
He also saw that Ba Siyu was weighing the pros and cons, and sighed inwardly,
“In the eyes of the world, the weak are prey to the strong. Even a mighty figure of the Body Integration realm cannot escape such clichés.”
He immediately replied,
“Lord Ba, please rest assured. The Azure Cloud Prefecture is as secure as a fortress of gold and a moat of boiling water.
In the future, my Heavenly Ancestor Yunlin will personally bring the two seniors to pay you a visit, Lord Ba.”
“Li Yunlin of the Li Clan, the Supreme Elder of the Skyveil Sect?!!”
Even a mighty figure like Ba Siyu couldn’t help but exclaim, “He… he broke through to the Void Refinement realm?”
Even he had heard of Li Yunlin of the Li Clan.
The Li Clan produced geniuses, and this Li Yunlin’s talent was exceptionally outstanding, arguably one of the very few in the current era.
This Li Yunlin had even obtained the inheritance of Ming Daozi. Who was Ming Daozi? He was a true talent for cultivating the Dao.
The Imperial Protectors Guard favored cultivators who were devoted solely to the Dao with a pure heart like his, and had long planned to invite Ming Daozi to join the Imperial Protectors Guard, potentially gaining another Body Integration mighty figure in the future.
But Ming Daozi ultimately stood on the wrong side, was used by Prince Qian, and perished at the hands of Zhuo Linlin.
Ming Daozi’s inheritance thus fell into the hands of Li Yunlin.
Everyone in the world knew that even if the Li Clan’s two Void Refinement experts perished at the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems, Li Yunlin would one day become the Li Clan’s new foundation.
He just hadn’t expected that Li Yunlin would quietly break through to the Void Refinement realm!
“Breaking through to the Void Refinement realm at under a thousand years old, possessing Ming Daozi’s inheritance, and the Top-Grade Dharma Treasure, the Myriad Dao Bell, has also fallen into Li Yunlin’s hands.”
Ba Siyu weighed in his heart,
“Coupled with the inheritances of Tian Xing and the Zhao Clan, all falling upon Li Yunlin, only this could allow him to break through so quickly.
In such chaotic times, as long as he finds the right opportunities, he has a chance to break through to the Body Integration realm within the next millennium.”
Reaching this point in his thoughts, Ba Siyu’s gaze grew cold.
“Yun Manlou, do you have any evidence? Could it be that you’re here just to amuse me?”
“I… I…”
Yun Manlou opened and closed his mouth, looking between Li Xinnian and Ba Siyu, surprisingly at a loss for words.
Ba Siyu said,
“Hmph! Patriarch Li is right. The treasured land of Silver Wolf Lake is merely lent to your Yun Clan for temporary residence; who says others cannot go there?
Over this matter, you forced unwarranted charges onto Patriarch Li’s head.
Considering this is your first offense, I will not hold it against you.”
“Now, get lost!”
Yun Manlou hurriedly took his leave, not daring to stay a moment longer.
But upon reaching the door, Li Xinnian followed closely behind, having returned to his refined appearance. “Prefecture Lord Yun, please wait.”
“Pa… Patriarch Li.” Yun Manlou lowered his head.
Li Xinnian spoke as if chatting about everyday family matters, but his words sent a bone-deep chill through Yun Manlou.
“I was the one who sent our family’s Guest Elder. I just want to watch you act like rats, unable to lift your heads in front of my Li Clan.”
“You…”
Yun Manlou stared blankly, his eyes wide.
Li Xinnian wasn’t afraid to lay his cards on the table.
“I was waiting for you to come and file a complaint.
I want you to know that your position as Prefecture Lord and your Yun Clan mean absolutely nothing in front of my Azure Cloud Li Clan.
It’s too late for repentance regarding what you did at the Shadowfell Prefecture Border Pass. I want you to live in despair.”
“Let me tell you what will happen next. Your people will die one by one.
The people at Silver Wolf Lake will flee one by one; they will betray your Yun Clan, just as you betrayed my clan elder back then.”
“Ba Siyu won’t help you. Your Yun Clan will fight alone, constantly on guard against our Azure Cloud Li Clan.”
“No one will save you. It’s a pity that this time, no matter how cowardly you are, there is nowhere to run. There will no longer be a place for your Yun Clan in this world.”
Seeing Yun Manlou’s face full of terror and dripping with sweat.
Li Xinnian said sinisterly, “Rest assured, you won’t die that quickly. I want you to watch the people around you die one by one—all those who were loyal to you, dying because of you.”
“Of course, you can take a gamble now. You can slit your own throat and gamble on whether I will let your Yun Clan go after you die.”
“But you don’t dare, just as you don’t dare to muster the courage to fight me to the death.”
Having said his piece, Li Xinnian cast a disdainful glance at Yun Manlou, who was already like a walking corpse, and silently turned to leave.
Unfortunately, a coward is a coward; he only dared to watch him leave.
Li Xinnian licked his lips. “The blood of the Yun family is getting sweeter and sweeter.”
—
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