"Floating Light Gathering!"
But at that critical moment, the old man’s spiritual sense suddenly jolted, Li Xizhi had timed his strike perfectly. A spell struck the green goblet, knocking it out of Chi Buhua’s spiritual awareness.
This was more than just losing a dharma artifact. It caused him to falter for half a step, allowing the whistling golden pagoda to strike him squarely.
Puh...
Chi Buhua’s Dharma robe managed to block the pagoda, but deep as his foundations were, it still forced blood from his mouth and interrupted his spell. Before he could react, both his arms were cleanly blasted apart by Heavenly Glow, dissolving into countless droplets of Pristine Water.
In an instant, the battle had turned sharply against him.
Li Xizhi had long since studied Chi Buhua and knew this elder was advanced in years, highly skilled in spell arts, and a direct descendant of the Chi Family. Protective arts aside, the grade of his spells would certainly surpass Li Xizhi’s own.
Thus, the two Heavenly Glows struck directly at his arms and blasted them into a spray of Pristine Water. This rendered him unable to cast spells for the moment. At that moment, Liaokong’s golden pagoda crashed down, sealing his body in place.
As for Li Yuanqin, he cared not in the slightest who lived or died. He had already bolted far away, clutching his head, and was now curled up at the far end of the formation.
In a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators duel, even without considering the aftermath, the sheer rain of Pristine Water alone was enough to make him suffer a great deal as it drenched him in stinging pain. He pulled five or six talismans from his sleeve in quick succession, but he was already pulled up into the rosy clouds in a flash of multicolored light.
Li Xizhi stood before him, refined and handsome, with relaxed brows and ash-gray eyes. Heavenly Glow flowed over the feathered robe he wore, accentuating his extraordinary bearing. In one hand, he gripped the green goblet tightly; no matter how it shook, the dharma artifact could not escape his grasp.
With his other hand controlling two streams of Heavenly Glow, he looked at Li Yuanqin with a gentle familiarity and said softly, "Little Uncle!"
Li Yuanqin looked rather disheveled. He glanced at him once and only said quietly, "I greet... the Master of Changtian Peak!"
————
Green Pine Island.
Ning Hejing sat quietly in the hall. Before him stood a middle-aged man clad in rattan armor, arms folded across his chest. Two gourds hung at his waist, trembling slightly as if something inside them was struggling.
This man had entered the grand formation and fought his way up to the Immortal Peak. The guest cultivators had either dared not stop him or were subdued in just a few moves. Ning Hejing hadn’t even had time to flee before he was cornered in the hall.
Fei Luoya stood respectfully at the man’s side, the jade talisman in his hand glimmering faintly. It was clearly the key to opening Mount Yue’s grand formation.
Ning Hejing had long known he was not reliable, and had promoted him solely to pass information to Li Yuanqin. Now, he showed no surprise, merely closing his eyes slowly and sighing, "Senior Lingu..."
The man before him was none other than Lingu Rao, who had once entered the Great Ning Palace alongside Li Xuanfeng, bringing two prodigies of the Chi Family with him!
Known as the Raozi Scorpion, Lingu Rao had once stood equal to Tang Shedu and Li Xuanfeng in fame. Though modest in manner and without a particularly loud reputation, he remained a figure far beyond the reach of most even in the current Azure Pond Sect.
It had taken barely over ten exchanges for him to injure Ning Hejing. The Foundation Establishment Realm spirit scorpions within the gourd had already stung him, and now he could only sit in the main seat awaiting death.
"The Lingu Family... colluding with the Lin Family... so that’s how they saved your life... no wonder..." Lingu Rao didn’t so much as move. Knowing he could not escape, black blood welled bit by bit on Ning Hejing’s lips as he said quietly, "Chi Buhua and the others have left the sect... Si Yuanli must have made his move inside as well... sacrificing Li Xizhi... good... very good..."
"Good?" Lingu Rao let out a short laugh and said lightly, "From beginning to end, Liaokong has always been Li Yuanqin’s man. Fei Luoya? You deliberately leaked information, thinking it was Fei Luoya who passed the message? No, it was Liaokong all along. Fei Luoya was only here to keep you from escaping."
"Impossible!" Ning Hejing laughed derisively and said coldly, "He’s a Li, what monk of the Seven Daos would side with them? To willingly become prey that lengthens the lifespan of his peers? Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, make your move!"
"This matter will not see the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators take action." Lingu Rao’s voice lowered slightly. Though this man from Mount Yue had unremarkable features, his gaze was razor-sharp, stabbing straight at the person before him as he replied, "As for why, it is naturally because of a portion of the Merciful One’s Dao lineage from Qinling Temple was left behind by Li Xuanfeng, and a Buddhist cultivator’s treasured artifact."
Ning Hejing exhaled with difficulty, caring nothing for such things anymore. The smiling face of Chi Xuxiao appeared in his mind’s eye, and he spoke softly, "What of the sect master?"
Only then did Lingu Rao recall the Qi Cultivation Realm sect master, and he shook his head in reply, "It has nothing to do with you."
The face of Ning Hejing, always cold and overbearing, finally softened. Lowering his head, he murmured in a tone of plea he had never before used, "The sect master is benevolent and gentle, a friend to all peaks, and has never harmed anyone. Daoist Master Buzi is still away, please, my lord, for his sake... spare his life..."
Lingu Rao repeated, "It has nothing to do with you."
Ning Hejing finally froze like a statue, sinking quietly into the main seat as Fei Luoya stepped toward him. Lingu Rao casually turned away, walking out of the great hall and gazing into the resplendent morning sun.
The golden-red light fell across his face as a heart-rending roar echoed from within the hall, "Chi Fubo! Chi Fubo! Fools, to have trusted a tiger and wolf... fools, to have trusted a tiger and wolf!"
Ning Hejing’s voice, thick with choked hatred, still carried that same domineering, imperious ferocity as it rang from the hall, passing through the open doors and echoing across the peak for a long time.
Lingu Rao paid him no mind, as his gaze stayed fixed on the horizon.
"Si Yuanli..." In truth, Lingu Rao had not coordinated this trip with the Si Family, but now that he had acted, even if Si Yuanli wished to remain still, he would have to make a move. He muttered, "After all, Si Yuanli has been waiting for me to strike..."
The Si Family had remained motionless, leaving the Li and Lingu Families to grow increasingly vulnerable. The Li Family, far away at Moongaze Lake, was beyond the Chi Family’s immediate reach, so only Li Xizhi could be targeted. The Lingu Family, however, was closer. Its power in both the prefecture and at sea had been steadily stripped away, suffering even more.
Si Yuanli, for his part, was happy to watch the Chi Family weaken both houses, while quietly waiting for the slow slice of a dull blade, until the two could endure no more.
Thus, when Li Xizhi, Li Yuanqin, and Liaokong brought down two members of the Chi Family, Lingu Rao seized the opportunity to act. Otherwise, who knew how much longer Si Yuanli would delay?
As it stands, our two houses have become the first to strike and are now deeply involved. Should Suiguan or Buzi bear grudges in the future, the Si Family will not be left alone to stand at the forefront. Whether he moves or not, Si Yuanli holds the winning hand, thought Lingu Rao.
Lingu Rao understood the scheme well. The longer the delay, the greater the loss for both families. It was better to simply fulfill Si Yuanli’s aims early. He pondered, With Purple Mansion Realm cultivators behind you, you naturally sit firmly in the fisherman’s seat, free to direct the game. But thirty years from now... who can say?
Soon, he let the thought go and walked forward with a bright smile. Outside, the morning sun flooded the sky in gold. The middle-aged man’s expression lit up, a look of relieved ease flickering in his eyes as he chuckled softly, "So long as Xiukui stands, my family will remain an evergreen tree."