Chen Donghe thanked Li Tongya before being taken down by Li Xuanxuan to take on the Profound Scenery Spiritual Oath. He was meant to also study the cultivation technique, while Li Xuanling excused himself to cultivate as well.
Li Tongya watched the younger generation leave and set down his tea bowl, then stood up to calculate his age. He was nearing fifty and still had some way to go before reaching the seventh heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm.
He could not help but smile bitterly.
"Both the geniuses and the mediocrities end up harmed by others, leaving me—neither exceptional nor terrible, to cultivate arduously... The world is unpredictable and heartless! I might as well dedicate myself more to cultivation..."
With that, he rose on the wind and returned to his cave dwelling to cultivate.
————
Hundreds of miles away from the Li Family, in the midst of mountains and forests, a young man clad in a cloud-patterned robe was fleeing desperately. Wearing a jade crown and ceremonial clothes, he unleashed a pale purple jade bead, creating a radiant purple shield around him as he sped through the sky.
Two Daoists in white robes with flowing beards were in hot pursuit, wielding dharma swords and standing on flying shuttles. They chased after him relentlessly, their dharma artifacts emitting bright silver sword lights that struck the radiant purple shield, causing flashes of unearthly collision.
"Lingyanzi, stop running! It will only add to your suffering... This area is filled with minor families who dare not intervene. Coming here is a death sentence!"
The two pursuers continued pursuing him fervently, preventing him from heading toward the prefecture.
Looking down at the mortals kneeling on the ground below, Lingyanzi felt a surge of despair.
"Where exactly is this Li Family from Lijing?!"
Originating from the Purple Smoke Gate—one of the three sects and seven gates located west of the Golden Tang Gate, he came to Mount Dali for an important task.
Unexpectedly, he encountered these two scoundrels from the Changxiao Gate, who had been doggedly pursuing him for three days and nights, circling the outskirts of Mount Dali from the southern foothills to the northern.
When Lingyanzi finally stumbled upon a family, he shouted for help while dodging attacks, only to learn it was a minor family from the edge of Mushroom Forest Plain and were too fearful to meddle in conflicts among the three sects and seven gates.
They timidly advised, "We are too weak! Please head west, Senior! There, you'll find the Li Family from Lijing... said to be a Sword Immortal clan. They can surely resolve your predicament!"
Frustrated, Lingyanzi cursed three times and continued westward. Now, nearing the lake without any sight of the Li Family, he prayed earnestly.
"May the ancestors of Purple Gate Peak bless me... let not the legacy end with me!"
After his prayer, Lingyanzi reflected upon his current predicament, "If not for this Purple Smoke Spirit Shield, I couldn't have withstood these Changxiao Gate scoundrels for this long... But now, my medicinal pills and talismans are almost running out! If I can't escape soon... I fear today might really be my end."
Consuming his last medicinal pill, Lingyanzi spurred his true essence.
As a large settlement and two mountain peaks finally came into view, he spotted the bright formation ahead, much to his great relief.
Overcome with excitement, he accelerated his pace and called out, "I am Lingyanzi, a disciple of the Purple Smoke Gate, allied with the Azure Pond Sect! I'm being pursued by enemies... I beseech the elders of the Li Family ahead to save me!"
His voice, bolstered by mana, boomed like rolling thunder. It startled the townspeople below who looked up and whispered among themselves in hushed voices.
The door to Li Tongya's cave dwelling was hurriedly knocked on by a frowning Li Xuanxuan, but before he could speak, Lingyanzi's voice came through again.
"I am from the Purple Smoke Gate, allied with the Azure Pond Sect... I beseech the elders of the Li Family ahead to save me!"
Li Tongya's expression turned grim as he cursed inwardly, Why has the strife of the three sects and seven gates found its way here?! Although the Purple Smoke Gate is an ally of the Azure Pond Sect... the Azure Pond Sect is no good either, having harmed my family several times. If we help him, we might be targeted by the three sects and seven gates chasing after him! Yet if we don't, we risk offending both the Azure Pond Sect and the Purple Smoke Gate. What a dilemma...
Li Tongya considered leaving his cave dwelling just as Lingyanzi, under relentless attack from the two, could hardly sustain much longer and shouted out once more in desperation.
"I've heard the Li Family is a Sword Immortal clan with formidable strength... Won't you save me?! I, Lingyanzi, will surely repay you with treasures and techniques!"
Li Tongya's face grew even more displeased as he sighed.
"Fame can indeed be a shield... but also a great burden! This person likely sought help from many families along the way, each passing the buck until it landed with my Li Family. Seeing his dire state, this is one hot potato I don't want to explode in the Li Family's hands."
Looking around, Li Tongya approached the edge of the formation and extended his spiritual sense, discerning that Lingyanzi was at the sixth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm. The other two with dharma swords were at the seventh and sixth heavenly layers respectively, with surging true essence that seemed formidable.
"I am Yuyunzi from the Changxiao Gate! You better not meddle in this... The Azure Pond Sect can't always protect you if you offend the Changxiao Gate! Who knows when your sect might be eradicated? Given the Azure Pond Sect's notorious ruthlessness and lack of loyalty, would they really stand up for a minor family?" one of the two pursuers threatened as he sneered.
Hearing this, Lingyanzi briefly hesitated. However, he did not give up and cried out with urgency once more.
"Do not be deceived by their words! If I fall here, the Purple Smoke Gate will not let this go! If they trace it back here, you too will face the consequences!"
Li Tongya felt a headache coming on already, and he was formulating a plan in his mind.
If I intervene now... scaring off these two will indeed save Lingyanzi, but we might become targets afterward. If we don't save him and the Purple Smoke Gate comes knocking, we're in trouble. Well, it would be best to quietly eliminate these two then! That would be the safest option...
Thus, he rose into the air and exited the formation, revealing himself.
"Greetings to both of you, I'm Li Tongya of the Lijing Li Family!"
Lingyanzi, initially relieved, saw that Li Tongya was only at the sixth heavenly layer of the Qi Cultivation Realm and exclaimed, "Why are you here? Where are your elders?!"
Li Tongya cupped his fist and apologized, "Our elder of the Foundation Establishment Realm isn't here right now... I'm sorry to have disappointed you."
The two from Changxiao Gate laughed heartily upon hearing this, exchanging a glance with each other, sharing the same sinister thoughts.
Since the Li Family's elder is not here...after killing Lingyanzi, we could also take the opportunity to extort them!
Lingyanzi, now pale, raised his treasured bead and cried out in despair.
"Is the Li Family truly so heartless...?"
At his wit's end and engulfed in despair, Lingyanzi was about to fight to his death when he was interrupted by Li Tongya's voice. It was soft and transmitted by mana, resonating lowly in his ear.
Senior, please head toward the lake first. Do your best to shake them off, then return to the forest by the lakeshore. At a corner of the lake, follow the mountain terrain deep inside, where you'll find a mountain topped with a large white banyan tree; we will be waiting for you there to ambush these two. This way, my Li Family need not become enemies with the Changxiao Gate, and you can escape safely... achieving the best of both worlds.
Lingyanzi was overjoyed inside, though his expression remained unchanged. He composed himself and shook his head in feigned sorrow and despair as he flew toward the lake on his shuttle.
The two from Changxiao Gate laughed loudly before nodding at Li Tongya and gave chase on their flying shuttles.
Watching them leave, Li Tongya went down to call out to Li Xuanfeng, who looked bewildered.
Changing his robe and explaining along the way, they rode the wind, flying through the mountains for a quarter of an hour before landing under the large banyan tree.
There, a fox lay drowsily, barely lifting an eye to glance at them as they arrived.
"Oh... a junior has arrived!"
Li Tongya cupped his fist and shared his plan with the fox. He then instructed Li Xuanfeng to hide on the mountain peak opposite them before covering his face with a spirit cloth and moving to stand quietly under the tree, waiting for the three men to arrive.