An Zheyu pressed his forehead on the ground repeatedly, his robes and hair disheveled at this point. Terrified, he whispered weakly, "I... I heard that geniuses possess mystical qualities, and consuming them can inherit some of their abilities... My greed got the better of me, and I..."
Seeing Li Tongya's expressionless face, An Zheyu's eyes lit up as he thought he understood the situation. He exclaimed hurriedly, "There's still some left! There's some left, my lord! I made it into preserved meat... If you'd give me a moment, I..."
He scrambled up eagerly and fumbled around the throne above him, quickly retrieving a gold-embellished jade box. Kneeling before the three, he opened the jade box to reveal dark red, translucent slices.
An Zheyu smiled obsequiously, "This..."
Before An Zheyu could finish his sentence, Li Xuanling had already drawn his long sword in fury and struck with the scabbard, hitting An Zheyu squarely on the jaw. The blow left An Zheyu dazed and bleeding from the mouth, silencing him immediately.
Li Tongya's hand on the hilt of his sword had turned white from gripping it so tightly. Though his expression remained calm, his eyes narrowed with serpent-like menace. His lips trembled for a moment before he bellowed, "Absurd!"
As soon as the word left his mouth, a piercing, buzzing sound filled everyone's ears. An Zheyu screamed in pain as blood trickled from his ears. The long sword, which had always remained sheathed on Li Tongya's back, vibrated violently, causing the swords at Li Xuanling's and Li Xuanxuan's waists to tremble as well.
Clang!
The exquisite jade box spun on the ground, one of its corners even breaking off, causing its dark red, greasy contents to spill out.
Li Tongya, visibly furious and uncharacteristically losing his composure, kicked the jade box away. He then took the Qingche Sword from his back and cradled it, gripping it soothingly until the buzzing ceased. Only then did he speak softly, "Tie him up and wait for An Zheyan to deal with him."
"No, my lord! Please... no! Have mercy!"
An Zheyu knew that falling into An Zheyan's hands would be a fate worse than death. Overwhelmed by fear, he started to shout frantically.
However, as a mere fifth stage Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivator, he was easily subdued when Li Xuanling struck him on his Shenyang Mansion, causing him to collapse limply to the ground.
————
Mount Huazhong fell in an instant. While Li Xuanfeng led his men through the air, Mount Yuting slowly came into view. Its formation glowed brightly, appearing quite sturdy.
Mount Yuting was narrow at the front and wide at the back with weak earth veins, unable to support many cultivators. Its steep and towering terrain was unsuitable for ordinary people. Hence, when the An Family captured Mount Huazhong, they migrated westward, leaving only a few Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators on the mountain. These few cultivators watched the outside world through the formation anxiously.
Li Xuanfeng and his group halted before the formation. He took his Golden Age Longbow, nocked an ebony arrow, and released it toward the formation.
Boom!
A dazzling golden light streaked through the air, striking the formation with a loud explosion, causing the whole forest to shake. The Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators below recoiled immediately in fear. The formation rippled but still managed to withstand the force.
Li Xuanfeng had not expected to break the formation with a single arrow. He nocked another arrow and fired a series of golden arrows that fell like meteors, bombarding the formation and causing constant explosions. The formation flickered slightly. The formation on Mount Huazhong had been reinforced by the Yu Family, whereas the one on Mount Yuting was built by the An Family and was much older and weaker. Inside, the Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators were crying out in a panic.
After a round of intimidation, Li Xuanfeng lowered his bow and stood, glancing at An Zheyan, signaling him. Li Xuanfeng didn't want to destroy the formation, as it was an above-average Qi Cultivation Realm formation that had cost seventy to eighty Spirit Stones to build. If An Zheyan could persuade the cultivators inside to surrender, the Li Family could continue using the formation.
An Zheyan, understanding the signal, stepped forward and shouted, "You blind fools! How dare you block my way?!"
The Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators below clearly recognized An Zheyan, which immediately caused an uproar and sparked disputes among themselves. After more than ten breaths, interrupted by Li Xuanfeng's intimidating arrow, they pushed forward an old man with white hair who shakily approached the edge of the formation.
He then asked tentatively, "Are you... An Zheyan?"
In the past, if someone had dared to address An Zheyan like that, he would have been furious and attacked without hesitation. Now, however, he felt nothing but joy and called out through the formation, "Uncle, if you recognize me, open the formation and let us in."
The old man was indeed An Zheyan's uncle. His talent was poor, and even after all these years, he was only at the third stage of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. Despite this, he was remarkably long-lived at his advanced age of over a hundred years old.
His old face remained calm as he stared directly into An Zheyan's eyes and asked, "What is the Yu Family's response?"
"Yu Yufeng is already dead! Li Tongya has broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, and Mount Huazhong has likely already fallen. Stop resisting!" An Zheyan shouted, his eyes wide.
The Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators below were both shocked and terrified, pushing and shoving as they exclaimed, "Yu Yufeng is dead?! Impossible! A late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator... dead just like that?"
"Why would it be impossible? If Yu Yufeng were not dead, would the Li Family dare to be so bold? Damn it, the main family... it is all the main family's fault..."
Some were already shouting for the old man to open the formation.
The old man listened to the news and let out a soft sigh. He glanced at Li Xuanfeng in the sky, holding his bow readily, and said, "Think carefully... Once this formation is opened, there will be no more An Family. You and I will be at their mercy!"
His voice was stern, but it betrayed his anger and fear.
An Zheyan's expression switched briefly to grief and anger before becoming resolute. He gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle... There is no An Family anymore! An Zheyu is just Yu Mugao's lapdog. Stop deceiving yourself... When Yu Mugao attacked Mount Huazhong, my son had no choice but to commit suicide. The moment An Zheyu took control, An Family was gone. All of it was only our wishful thinking. Aligning with the Li Family at least gives us a chance to live... If the Yu Family takes over, do you think Yu Mugao, that venomous snake, would dare to keep us as external cultivators?"
The white-haired cultivator sighed softly, finally understanding the harsh reality of their predicament. He lightly pressed the formation plate in front of him, and the formation that shielded the mountain trembled slightly before dissolving into specks of white light that drifted away. Cheers erupted from below as the Li Family's armored soldiers and clan troops surged in, swarming the mountain paths like an army of ants.
An Zheyan was overjoyed at the sight, descending from the mountain and carefully retrieving the formation plate. He smiled at the white-haired cultivator and said, "You have done a great job... I will surely report this to the main family on your behalf!"
The other An Family cultivators looked on with a mix of admiration and jealousy. However, the white-haired cultivator remained expressionless. Tears streamed down his face as he said sorrowfully, "I... I can't bear to face our descendants again!"
With that, he drew his sword and said quietly, "I should have died when the Yu Family attacked us... I only stayed alive out of concern for the safety of our main bloodline. Now that you have surrendered to the Li Family, my life is pointless!"
An Zheyan was shocked by his words. Unprepared, he stepped forward quickly, but the white-haired cultivator was faster. In an instant, his white-haired head rolled to the ground, leaving An Zheyan stumbling backward as if he had been scalded.
"Why... why did it have to come to this...?!" he mumbled.
The head bounced twice on the ground, its eyes staring mournfully upward before stopping at the feet of a young man. Li Xuanfeng looked down with a conflicted expression, nodding slightly as he said quietly, "An Zheyan, you should give him a proper burial."
All the excitement An Zheyan had felt upon returning to Mount Yuting vanished, now replaced by exhaustion. He continued to mutter, "Why did it have to come to this..."
Li Xuanfeng raised an eyebrow, his sharp eyes piercing like a sword as he said softly, "The consolidation of influential clans is never a peaceful affair. At your age, you have regained that naive, sheltered mindset! Do you not realize that the five immortal mountains on the southern shore..."
He paused, his mind flashing back to the bloody scene of him when he was just seven years old, crawling through a pile of corpses with a small wooden bow after his father Li Xiangping had disappeared.
Gritting his teeth, his eyes blazed as he continued, "These rugged mountains and whispering forests are watered with the tears of countless heroic talents... Flowing endlessly is the blood and flesh of the six clans!"