Securing the young man’s storage pouch and stowing the long pole in it, Li Tongya tied it to his waist. Now, he had a storage pouch to use once more.
He did not waste time examining his loot, but instead headed straight for Mount Huaqian. While the three men were exchanging blows in the distant sky, Li Tongya focused on destroying the formation of Mount Huaqian.
Of course, the formation on Mount Huaqian was no longer the same Earth Locking Huaqian Formation that was used long ago. The Ji Family had reformed the grand formation with defensive prowess, one that reflected the peak Embryonic Breathing Realm.
Although Li Tongya managed to make a big hole in it with his sword, the gap quickly healed itself, resealing the formation.
With a series of decisive strikes with his sword, aided by the Lu Family’s simultaneous assault at the foot of the mountain, the formation eventually faltered before shattering.
“CHARGE!”
As chaos quickly ensued at the foot of the mountain, Li Tongya shrouded himself and descended swiftly into the courtyard.
The place lay in disarray, abandoned in haste. A quick scan with his spiritual sense revealed that the inhabitants of the mountain had fled toward its base.
Li Tongya curled his lips and frowned in frustration, discovering that the storerooms had already been cleared out. He surveyed the area from his vantage point in the sky, then quickly located the entrance to a cave dwelling.
Unfortunately, it was guarded by a resilient formation that would only falter if Li Tongya were to use a dozen sword qi.
All of a sudden, he was interrupted by a thunderous noise.
Rumble!
Lu Sisi’s true essence was dispersed and his body was almost coal-black, scorched and burned. He plummeted into the forest, coughing up blood. His condition was extremely critical.
The bald man quickly retreated, bewildered and fearful of such unleashed power.
“What kind of talisman was that?!”
Ji Dengqi did not answer his question, but his complexion was ashen. He swung his saber at the bald man, who quickly evaded his assault.
“That man from the Wan Family...I’m outmatched! I need backup!” Ji Dengqi yelled, panic peeking through his voice.
Li Tongya cursed under his breath as he was forced to give up his exploration of the cave dwelling. He soared into the sky above Mount Huaqian before launching a sword qi directly at Ji Dengqi’s back.
“Wan Family’s remnants!” Ji Dengqi bellowed, his gaze fierce as he turned around and deflected the sword qi with a swift side slash.
Ji Dengqi’s true essence was sharp and powerful, just like his swordplay. Li Tongya parried the blows with his own sword aura but was still forced to move backward despite his strength.
Meanwhile, the bald man’s persistent spellcasting forced Ji Dengqi into a defensive stance, only for Li Tongya to launch another sword qi attack aimed precisely at his enemy.
Caught in a difficult position, Ji Dengqi struggled to fend off attacks from multiple fronts. As the battle wore on for about a quarter of an hour, the cries of the Ji Family’s members gradually dwindled.
In a desperate attempt, Ji Dengqi unleashed a talisman, hoping to turn the tide of the battle in his favor.
“Oh no!”
Li Tongya and the man quickly withdrew.
Thankfully, the talisman’s effect was minimal — producing a few pathetic sparks before finally fizzling out.
Nevertheless, the momentary distraction allowed Ji Dengqi to flee.
“That was a trap!” While the bald man chastised himself for his carelessness, Li Tongya had already given chase to Ji Dengqi.
“Come on, we mustn’t let him escape!” he called out, urging him to follow suit.
Ji Dengqi, after such a prolonged struggle against the bald man and Lu Sisi, found his stamina waning. In his desperation and panic, he had utilized his precious talisman, only for Li Tongya to join the fight.
With his reserves of true essence nearly depleted, Ji Dengqi had no choice but to escape northward.
Ji Dengqi’s escape was abruptly cut short by the jade scepter, compelling him to halt and defend himself.
Lu Sisi, despite his injuries, managed to propel himself through the air again. His bloody legs appeared to have been fractured and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and yet he still gathered the strength to issue a fierce command.
“Don’t let him escape!”
The intervention by the jade scepter allowed Li Tongya’s sword to close in on Ji Dengqi. Faced with his inevitable fate, his eyes darkened as he came to understand the utter bleakness of his situation.
As Li Tongya observed Ji Dengqi’s defiant stance, he deliberately slowed his attack, allowing the bald man to catch up. He held his sword at the ready, fixing his gaze on Ji Dengqi.
With a defiant laugh, Ji Dengqi discarded his storage bag, hurling it far away before turning to face the bald man. The saber in his hands shone with a golden light, its force indicating that Ji Dengqi was channeling all of what was left of his remaining strength into this final stand.
Li Tongya and Lu Sisi exchanged glances, then seized the opportunity to secure the discarded storage pouch with their true essence. The bald man, overwhelmed by Ji Dengqi’s relentless attack, retreated in alarm.
Undeterred, Ji Dengqi pressed on. He raised his long saber, then brought it down on the bald man’s chest with lethal intent.
The bald man sidestepped swiftly to evade the attack just in time, only to see a cold glint of the tip of a sword protruding from Ji Dengqi’s chest.
Ji Dengqi coughed up blood, slowly turning his head around, only to see Li Tongya shaking the blood off his sword before returning it to its sheath.
Ji Dengqi collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud, the ground beneath him turning a crimson red.
The two men cast another two spells on Ji Dengqi, to ensure his death completely.
Lu Sisi, having secured the storage pouch, flew toward the two men in the sky. He had already bandaged his legs and had renewed vigor.
“Who’s coming with me to raid the Ji Family’s stronghold on Mount Huazhong?” he asked cheerily.
“You two may proceed without me. I’ll search Mount Huaqian,” Li Tongya replied with a sigh, looking as though his enthusiasm had waned.
The valuable items like Spirit Stones and spirit items were mostly in Ji Dengqi’s storage pouch, which Lu Sisi now possessed. Although Lu Sisi was physically further away from Ji Dengqi at that moment, he still managed to snatch away the storage pouch.
Mount Huazhong was the Ji Family’s ancestral ground. Since Lu Sisi had taken a Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath to equally divide any treasures that he finds, Li Tongya was naturally not interested in going there. He would much rather explore the cave dwelling on Mount Huaqian.
The man by the surname An nodded, then departed with Lu Sisi. Li Tongya then made his way back to Mount Huaqian.
The situation on Mount Huaqian was a mess, with cries and pleas for help echoing around him. Approaching the cave, he found the entrance to be guarded by members of the Lu Family who acknowledged him as a senior as a show of respect, having witnessed his earlier combat alongside Lu Sisi.
Li Tongya gave them a brief nod before spending about a quarter of an hour breaching the protective formation of the cave dwelling. He ventured inside, which made the members of the Lu Family exchange uncertain glances with each other, ultimately choosing to remain outside the cave dwelling.
Upon entering the cave dwelling, Li Tongya was greeted by the sight of a bubbling spring, its waters clear and inviting. His spiritual sense quickly discovered several jade stones within its depths, which he promptly retrieved and secured.
Putting away the jade stones, Li Tongya pushed open a stone door, which led to a room with a tea table and several stone stools arranged around it.
On the table rested two jade bottles of different sizes.
The smaller one contained a Jade Sprout Pill, which Li Tongya pocketed with ease, but the big jade bottle was far too big for his storage.
Li Tongya assessed its contents with his spiritual sense and found it to contain a type of spiritual qi of heaven and earth. It was of such rarity and preciousness that Li Tongya decided to secure the bottle to his waist directly.
The room held little else of value. There were also several heartfelt letters from Ji Dengqi’s sister, which Ji Dengqi had carefully placed under a few wooden slips. The most recent letter was dated five years ago.
“Hmm... so the young master of Golden Tang Gate goes by the name Situ Yi...”
As Li Tongya finished reading the letters, the frown on his face gradually gave way to surprise.
“The Azure Pond Sect has been increasingly active in recent times. We must remain vigilant. Should Mount Yue venture eastward to encroach upon our territory, we must not engage them in direct conflict. The great shaman has been biding his time for a century, waiting for someone capable of unifying the northern foothills... this individual is intended to be offered as a sacrifice! We must never be the ones to end his life. The wrath of a cultivator of the Purple Mansion Realm is beyond our means to withstand...”
A chill ran down Li Tongya’s spine as he quietly put the letters into his storage pouch.
"It all makes sense now... Jianixi’s eastward assaults against Mount Lijing, the unexplained silence following the northern incursion into Golden Tang Gate’s territories, and us being told to endure... It seems the great shaman is willing to pay any price to facilitate the invasions by Mount Yue’s factions, all to shield Jianixi! Such a cold, calculated plan!”
“Sweeping through the tribes to forge the first unified power in the northern foothills of Mount Yue in a century, only to offer their leader as a sacrifice... How malevolent! I wonder what chaos would ensue in the northern foothills following Jianixi’s death?”
Feeling as though a shadow had been cast over him, Li Tongya lifted his gaze to stare at the ceiling of the stone room. It was as if he could visualize an immense hand manipulating events from afar, moving chess pieces across a grand board laid out across the rugged landscape and under the expansive sky.