After a long while, Li Ximing sighed inwardly, Profound Peak Mountain and Shanji Prefecture are no longer things my family can hold on to.
Li Ximing had considered the Purple Smoke Gate's stance, but he had not expected Tinglan to speak of killing Kong Haiying without the slightest hesitation. It was a revelation that truly surprised him.
Tinglan had spoken from the Purple Smoke Gate's perspective earlier, and Li Ximing clearly understood that they had no intention of occupying Shanji. However, they did intend on inviting a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator as a shield and to build goodwill... and his family's presence in the region was, to some extent, obstructing that plan.
Yet his thoughts did not stop at the Purple Smoke Gate. In the next moment, another name surfaced in his mind, Ye Hui!
If the emergence of another Purple Mansion Realm cultivator in Shanji Prefecture was merely an awkward inconvenience for the Li Family that brought them little benefit, it would be nothing short of excellent for Ye Hui, provided he was willing to part with some interests to draw such a figure in.
Ye Hui was a cultivator from the Eastern Sea. If he truly could not take Profound Peak Mountain and chose to abandon it by inviting a friendly Purple Mansion Realm cultivator into Shanji Prefecture instead, Li Ximing's own situation would instantly become precarious. That Purple Mansion Realm cultivator would not only covet Profound Peak Mountain but would likely seek to sever the Kong Family's Dao lineage entirely.
On the other hand, if the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator was invited by Purple Smoke Gate, the Li Family would still have the option of sending the Kong Family back and merging the Profound Peak Gate Dao lineage into another power. But if the cultivator was Ye Hui's ally, there would be no reason to send them back and open hostility would be the only path left.
Ye Hui would then be free of worries. My family, on the other hand, would be too busy facing the threats from the Wilderness to even spare a thought for Jiangbei...
Ye Hui had not yet taken this step for two simple reasons. First, he could not bear to abandon Profound Peak Mountain, and second, he had yet to reach an agreement with Purple Smoke Gate or the Sword Gate. But that did not mean it would never happen.
Has Ye Hui spoken to Tinglan already?! Were her words meant as goodwill, or as a subtle warning after failing to reach an agreement with him?
A chill rose in his heart, No matter what, Shanji Prefecture and Profound Peak Mountain must be dealt with swiftly. But if the mountain gate is to be handled, then the Kong Family's Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators in seclusion must also be handled. Even if it means easing tensions with the Capital Immortal Dao slightly to free up time for pill refinement, at the very least, Kong Haiying must be dealt with!
Changxi had said there were three people in seclusion: the guest cultivator Fu En, his great-grandson Kong Haiying, and the former gate master Kong Tingyun. In truth, Li Ximing could not even confirm whether the one who died back then was indeed Fu En, nor could he be certain that the ones in seclusion within the gate were those individuals.
Even though Li Ximing could understand Changxi's state of mind in his later years of trusting no one, he still felt a wave of weariness and faint anger as he thought, Hiding them here and there makes it impossible to help them. Enough... Since Changxi thought things through to this degree, there's no way he didn't realize Kong Haiying could well determine Profound Peak Gate's survival. I can no longer care what the people of Profound Peak Gate think. If we don't take over Profound Peak Gate soon and use the Immortal Mirror to uncover the truth, then the Profound Peak Gate is not worth preserving at all!
He left the territory of Purple Smoke Gate behind as he headed for home, plans gradually forming in his mind. His figure appeared atop Zhijing Mountain, and Cui Jueyin descended from the heavenly light, standing silently beside him.
Li Ximing gave an order, "Go summon the ones in charge, and bring Quewan as well... Call Chenghui out too. We'll go together."
————
Wilderness.
Dawn was just breaking, and a damp mist spread through the mountains.
Several days had passed since news of Daoist Master Changxi's final decree, yet Kong Guxi still hadn't fully recovered. He had planned to recite incantations until midnight, but lost in thought, he looked up to find that dawn had already arrived.
After changing his robes, he stepped out of the hall, only to find the area deserted. The stone steps had not been swept and were strewn with fallen leaves, making him wonder if everyone had defected to other factions.
After circling around, he finally came across Kong Yu, whose face was flushed red from drinking deep into the night. Kong Guxi saluted him and asked, "Granduncle, where did Qiuyan and the others go?"
Kong Yu had been drinking all night, but even if he wanted to get drunk, he could not. He was still perfectly clear-headed as he replied, "You had locked up Xiaxiang. A group of cultivators from the Capital Immortal Dao has arrived in the Wilderness, likely from Shanji Prefecture. I don't know how chaotic things have gotten, but Qiuyan has taken people to intercept them."
He paused and added with emphasis, "The Li Family people are there too."
Kong Guxi acknowledged this with a sound, then asked about Kong Guli's whereabouts, "Where is elder brother?"
Kong Yu raised his brows and replied, "Lord Chenghui sent someone here, asking for our family's soul lamps and life jades. Your elder brother just took him there."
Kong Guxi fell silent and turned toward the front courtyard. A commotion rose around the stone steps, as large bundles were carried up in several sacks. The gate master of Profound Peak Gate raised his brows and looked over, seeing his elder brother Kong Guli climbing the mountain with Fu Yuezi at his side.
Kong Guli looked lost and despondent, while Fu Yuezi was the same as always, carrying a dharma artifact on his back and waving at him. Kong Guxi went up to greet them, grasping the old man's hand and finding it icy cold.
He asked softly, "I heard Granduncle say... you only just left..."
Kong Guli spoke in a desolate voice, "Yes, I just left. But once the news from a few days ago reached them, the elders in the mountains quickly packed up the soul lamps, life jades, Dao lineage manuals, and other artifacts. They all want to flee here, so of course they were swift about it."
Kong Guxi was at a loss for words. Streams of light streaked endlessly across the sky, and the clamor on the mountain only grew louder. When he took a few steps forward, he saw a group of people descending from the sky. They were led by a golden-eyed man with the bearing of a dragon and tiger, and Kong Guxi felt as though a giant hand had seized his heart.
He hurried forward and said, "Greetings, family head... What brings you here?"
Li Zhouwei, who had always been courteous toward him, nodded and said, "My injuries have improved considerably. By order of the Daoist Master, I've come to take command here in the Wilderness."
Sweat beaded on Kong Guxi's forehead as he nodded repeatedly. Before he could ask anything further, heavenly light flickered before him and the surroundings grew suddenly bright. All around, people lowered their heads and knelt in reverence.
All of a sudden, a Daoist Master clad in white robes embroidered with golden patterns, stood in front of them, surveying them all. The sight frightened Kong Guli into stumbling back several steps, and Kong Guxi started violently before dropping to his knees in obeisance. Whether or not they had seen him before, everyone from Profound Peak Gate knew a Daoist Master when they beheld one. In an instant, no one remained standing on the mountain as waves of respectful voices echoed through the air.
As Kong Guxi knelt, he stole a glance upward and saw that Li Ximing's expression betrayed little emotion. Yet Profound Peak Gate had only just received the ancestral orders concerning Shanji and the mountain gate. The weight of the orders left him trembling with fear as an inexplicable dread rose from within.
He pressed his knees firmly to the ground, and only then did the Daoist Master speak, his voice neither hurried nor wrathful, "Bring me Kong Haiying's soul lamp."
A chill seeped from Kong Guxi's heart all the way down to the soles of his feet. As a gate master, he could not grasp the full intricacies of the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator's struggles or the grand schemes at play, but from the direction of events before and after, he had already sensed too many unfavorable signs.
All he could do was respond with utmost respect, "This junior obeys."