Once this thought took shape, all the Si Family’s strange actions finally made sense. Yet instead of feeling relief at his sudden understanding, he only felt a bottomless chill.
The thought vanished as quickly as it came. The youth shivered, feeling a chill on his neck, and instinctively touched his throat. Chi Buhua caught him and immediately asked, "What is it?"
What is it? Of course it's to see if my head is still attached... Li Yuanqin cursed inwardly, half afraid that some talisman light might streak over and take his head in an instant.
Outwardly, he only smiled gently as he said, "Thank you for your concern, my lord. I only feel it is a bit cold here."
"Cold..." Chi Buhua laughed heartily, suddenly realizing, and sighed. "The Dragon King of the Reef Sea cultivates the Cold Essence Dao, turning the seabed into a crystalline grotto heaven. It’s naturally a bit cold here. If you fly further ahead, you might even see some icebergs!"
He turned back in a kindly manner, glanced at the people on either side, and said with a smile, "See that? I forgot that Yuanqin is still a Qi Cultivation Realm cultivator, whereas we Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators naturally feel nothing. That was my oversight!"
Within the grand formation, Chi Zhihu was besieging Li Xizhi, intending to frame him for murder. Li Yuanqin’s testimony would be indispensable, and Chi Buhua kept that in mind, Li Yuanqin is, after all, Li Xizhi’s family uncle. He's a key figure. Even if I’m not worried about him recanting, it’s still worth winning him over.
Li Yuanqin replied with a few courteous words, then turned away. After the spirit boat traveled for a few seconds, the talisman in Chi Buhua’s hand suddenly flared and pointed north.
"Found him!" exclaimed Chi Buhua.
He was overjoyed, and quickly steered the spirit boat in a new direction to give chase. Seeing nothing in the distance, the old man activated a perception technique, quickly forming hand seals and pressing his hands to his eyes.
A bright yellow formation appeared, shrouding the sea, and Chi Buhua’s joy grew as he said in a deep voice, "Right ahead!"
Li Yuanqin took it all in, his heart sinking, This old thing may be aged, but his reserves are far too deep. It’s one thing to have cultivated a powerful perception technique, but he even knows a special art to enhance it by covering his eyes...
Such special arts were only used in rare circumstances. For him to have trained in it showed how profound his skills were. Though Li Yuanqin’s cultivation wasn’t high, his knowledge was not shallow. Just a glance made his heart tighten, It seems Chi Zhihu isn’t dead. This old thing is formidable, and with six Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators... even with Liaokong taking action and the grand formation in place, there’s still a chance...
His face remained calm as still water, but anxiety stirred in his heart. When he saw the others leave the boat to enter the formation, Li Yuanqin racked his brains and spoke in a low voice, "Senior, wait!"
At such a sensitive moment, before Chi Buhua could speak, the Chi Family’s guest cultivators at his side narrowed their eyes sharply at Li Yuanqin.
The Chi Family members were always proud, and tolerating Li Yuanqin’s interference was already out of respect for Chi Buhua. How could they let him give orders to seven Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators?
Just as they opened their mouths to curse, the old man quickly stopped them and said gently, "Yuanqin, what is it?"
Chi Buhua was courteous enough, firstly because Li Yuanqin was useful, with a mind deep enough to produce unexpected results, and secondly because in his view, delaying entry into the formation was completely unnecessary.
Even if Li Yuanqin harbors ulterior motives and wishes to save his nephew, he ought to have entered the formation earlier. Dragging things out... will only cost his nephew his life! thought Chi Buhua.
Thus he was more tolerant, while Li Yuanqin only showed a look of doubt and said in a low voice, "Senior, I worry that people from the two families may still be nearby, and second... I fear that since Li Xuanfeng has been to the Great Ning Palace, Li Xizhi might be carrying a Purple Mansion Realm talisman."
"A Purple Mansion Realm talisman?" Chi Buhua was momentarily taken aback and couldn’t help asking, "And what of it?"
"I fear he might use the talisman to escape the formation. If we rush in all at once and he slips away, Heavenly Glow is so swift that we could do nothing but watch." He smoothed over his words and said softly, "Catching him is easy for us. It would be better to leave one person outside, so should he use a Purple Mansion Realm talisman to pass through the formation, they could capture him."
Chi Buhua frowned. Escape talismans from the Purple Mansion Realm were exceedingly rare, capable of traversing formations through the great void. Of the few the Azure Pond Sect possessed, most were in Daoist Master Yuan Xiu’s hands; the rest were split between Sect Master Chi Zhiyun and the late Chi Zhiyan.
Li Xizhi with such a treasure? That seems an overblown concern! The old man grew doubtful, fixing him with a deep stare.
Li Yuanqin paused for a breath, then, seeing his curiosity was indeed piqued, finally said hesitantly, "My lord... in truth, this formation can be entered but not exited... I fear if we all go in, we might fall into a trap!"
A half-concealed truth was all the more enticing. The old man froze and his heart jolted. The aged and experienced Chi Buhua needed only a moment’s thought before reacting in alarm, muttering, "He means to use Zhihu’s life..."
The old man left the sentence unfinished, his face quickly sinking. He drew in a deep breath, lifted his chin, closed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and the wrinkles on his face pressed together like old bark as he said with a sigh, "Then... we wait a while longer."
He waited where he was. It was already silent within the grand formation, save for the occasional flicker of light. It was clear proof that the cultivators inside had already dealt with their opponents.
"Good..." Chi Buhua clenched his jaw like iron, exhaled, and gave his orders coldly, "You stay outside. If anything goes wrong for me inside, I will crush my jade pendant, three of you come in then. The other three should act according to the pendants of those three."
All six acknowledged their orders. Chi Buhua’s aged face shifted slightly as he saw Li Yuanqin standing respectfully nearby, a flicker of doubt crossing his gloomy expression, So by that logic... could this brat be colluding with Li Xizhi, hoping to use this to buy him some room to maneuver...
And where is Liaokong? Since Zhihu has been harmed, the monk should be battling Li Xizhi inside the formation...
He stared at him heavily, a trace of ruthlessness rising in his eyes as he thought, This is a good chance to test him...
Chi Buhua suddenly broke into a smile and shook his head. "As for you, Yuanqin... why not come in with me? You are Li Xizhi’s uncle, it's perfect to persuade him to surrender. It’ll save us the trouble of anyone going in and out!"
Li Yuanqin understood at once, nodded, and cupped his hands, replying, "I shall obey!"
"Good..." Chi Buhua laughed heartily, used his mana to draw him to his side, and, looking at the youth’s calm demeanor, was certain of his judgment. He thought, Since Li Xizhi is of the Li Family, how could he not heed his family uncle’s command? Even if he pretends not to hear, he will still be distracted in order to protect Li Yuanqin. Could he bear the infamy of killing his own family uncle? That’s another weakness to exploit!
Even if his heart is of iron and stone, utterly unmoved, and the two are not colluding, I will simply have three guest cultivators come in. One to watch Li Yuanqin and the other two to help me subdue Li Xizhi. Would that not be effortless? He already has a mortal enemy in Liaokong! Even Li Qinghong can do nothing here, let alone this man!