Waves surged across the Reef Sea as a massive ship sailed through the air. At its bow stood a black-robed youth with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
An elderly man with graying hair and sharply raised brows stood amidships with a fierce expression. He was adorned in gold and jade from head to toe, with radiant dharma light flowing over him. It was a clear sign that he was a direct descendant of the Chi Family.
Guest cultivators stood in two rows on either side, each clad in dazzling spirit armor. Each dharma artifact in their hands was more ornate than the last. Some were wielding axes or sabers, while others had spears or staves. Three stood to the left and three to the right, none with a cultivation lower than mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm.
Such a grand display is clearly arranged just for Li Xizhi!
In the center, Chi Buhua was well into his years, his hair gone gray. Surrounded by Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, he wore a faintly anxious look, occasionally casting glances over the sea before finally speaking in a deep voice, "Why has he still not arrived?"
"Be at ease, Senior!" Li Yuanqin chuckled lightly and said offhandedly, "There’s more than enough time. The monk Ning Hejing sent may be formidable, but Li Xizhi cultivates the Heavenly Glow Dao, it won’t be so easy for him to lose his life."
Chi Buhua glanced at the black-robed youth, at last revealing a trace of satisfaction, and said with a nod, "We misjudged you earlier. You deserve much credit in this matter!"
Chi Buhua held considerable status, so Li Yuanqin merely responded politely. Chi Zhihu was rash, domineering, and often ruined matters. While Chi Fubo outwardly respected him as a senior, in truth he disapproved and rather disliked him.
On the other hand, Chi Buhua was Chi Fubo’s trusted aide, and both steady in conduct and the strongest cultivator in the Chi Family. Thus he understood these matters well.
The old man raised his brows slightly and said leisurely, "The Lingu Family is entangled with the Southern Sea demonic unrest; Si Tongyi has been kept on Green Pine Island by Ning Hejing; and the entire Si Family is under our watch. Li Xizhi has truly been abandoned!"
Chi Fubo’s abilities were far from weak. He had kept the forces of several families under surveillance since Si Yuanli went into seclusion. If he had sent Chi Buhua here, he must have been at least ninety percent certain, with ample contingencies, that he could keep the Si Family and Lingu Family completely restrained.
Even so, Chi Fubo had dispatched six peak masters along with the late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator of profound strength, Chi Buhua. Chi Zhihu’s grand formation was laden with hidden mysteries and immense power. Even if there was the slightest chance that Lingu Lanying and Si Tongyi were here, the formation could still suppress all three of them.
Zhihu is completely unaware of this, stepping into the game himself to earn the Si Family’s trust. Now, unless Daoist Master Yuan Xiu personally comes here, there will be no room left for maneuver! thought Chi Buhua.
The only thing Chi Buhua feared and worried about was that the monk and Chi Zhihu might kill Li Xizhi too soon, leaving him without a shred of face...
The Li Family still has considerable ties to the Purple Mansion Realm. Killing Li Xizhi would likely require appeasing many with heavy concessions. It would be better to capture him alive and force Si Yuanli to back down... pondered Chi Buhua.
By now, Chi Buhua was no longer worried that Yuan Xiu would actually take action, he thought, The Daoist Master must have tacitly agreed to aim at the Li Family; this is meant to test something. Otherwise, things would never have reached such a passive state. Even if he steps in to save Li Xizhi, he will have lost all face!
Even taking ten thousand steps back, if Li Xizhi were truly saved... he’d merely return home. Could the Daoist Master really kill the likes of us?
All signs pointed to the outcome being set in stone. Ning Hejing’s scheme was crude, but it was only because Chi Fubo chose to turn the plan to his own advantage that he had agreed to act. Otherwise, why would he bother?
The old man pondered in silence, while Li Yuanqin stood respectfully to the side, his mind turning over entirely different thoughts, Chi Fubo truly wants Chi Zhihu dead...
Chi Buhua knew part of the truth but not the whole. This direct descendant junior of his was no gentle soul, Chi Fubo had long since tampered with the formation so that once it was activated, one could enter but not leave. He had even sent away the Taiyu Sword and the Glimmering Inquiry Mirror well in advance...
As for the monk Liaokong, Chi Fubo was certain the man would not act wholeheartedly!
Liaokong wants to harm the Li Family, so he will definitely wait to see Li Xizhi kill Chi Zhihu. Even if Li Xizhi refuses, he will help him do it. With that crime on his head, it will be easier to take that Wei Li’s life... Ning Hejing is far too naive!
With all these factors combined, Chi Fubo was eagerly hoping for this uncle of his to die at Li Xizhi’s hands!
It’s simple, if the two merely fight for a while, no matter how the facts are twisted, at most Li Xizhi would be thrown into the tower... But if it rises to the level of life and death, with Chi Zhihu dying at Li Xizhi’s hands, then Li Xizhi will have no defense. And that will be enough to take his life! Only then will it become a sharp sword aimed at the Si Family!
Chi Fubo was undoubtedly the most ruthless and calculating of all the figures in the Chi Family. Though he had never met the monk Liaokong, his grasp of the situation had allowed him to tacitly align their interests!
Li Yuanqin’s thoughts stirred, but he merely folded his arms across his chest in silence.
The Si Family can even push the Li Family away... what exactly are they thinking?
Li Yuanqin’s thoughts darkened, and he could almost see Si Yuanli’s honest and serene face through the shimmering blue water.
Does the Si Family want to bring down the Chi Family and share the Azure Pond Sect with the Li Family and the Lingu?
Most likely not! A sudden realization struck Li Yuanqin, How many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators does the Si Family even have? Only two worth mentioning! And how much longer could Yuan Xiu live?
How many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators does the Li and Lingu Families have? Never mind Li Xizhi, master of Changtian Peak, Li Ximing is in the late-stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm and a rare alchemy genius, while Li Zhouwei is a once-in-a-century Bright Yang prodigy...
The youth’s expression darkened as he followed the line of thought, More importantly... the Li Family has ties with many Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. Li Xuanfeng and Li Qinghong have been urging Si Yuanli to harm the Chi Family, has Si Yuanli not noticed their selfish intent? And Yuan Xiu himself, being used as a pawn, does he feel nothing?
And the Lingu Family? Lingu Lanying may not be a genius, but is she lacking in methods? The Lingu colluded with the Xiukui Purple Mansion Realm cultivator, raising enemies in the Southern Sea to build their own power, and carried the resentment of Jiangnan cultivators along the river to pressure Si Yuanli. How could that not inspire wariness? Is Si Yuanli really aiming for such an Azure Pond Sect?
In Li Yuanqin’s eyes, the seat of power in the Azure Pond Sect was like an immortal throne covered in thorns. The sharpest belonged to the Li Family and the most poisonous to the Lingu Family. With the Si Family’s scant numbers and Yuan Xiu’s dwindling lifespan, once Si Yuanli sat upon it and Yuan Xiu died, who would take over? The Li Family? The Lingu Family?
His vision seemed to rise in an instant. Vaguely, Si Yuanli’s face, so honest it bordered on dull, turned transparent, and behind it appeared the figure of that unsmiling, stern-faced Purple Mansion Realm Daoist Master.
Be it Chi Fubo or Chi Xuxiao, they are both scissors... both axes. They dare not touch the main trunk of the Si Family, so they can only cut away the two poisonous thorns, the Li and Lingu Families on the Si Family’s behalf...
When the Li Family declines and the Lingu Family loses the Southern Sea, all cultivators will tremble. Si Yuanli, feigning compassion, will denounce the Chi Family for oppressing peak masters and harming esteemed families. Then, emerging like a savior, he will replace them.
After that, he will lavish favor upon both families and comfort the various peaks, securing peace from then on! By the time the two families realize something is wrong and grow suspicious, what could they do?
His face remained calm, but his heart was already quaking, So that’s it! I see now!