"Li Xuanfeng—" Situ Chen was not surprised, but instead filled with hatred as he spat out the name. Raising his twin blades, he charged forward, only to see the older man take one step forward and deliver a palm strike to his protective barrier.
Hm?" Situ Chen was momentarily stunned. A massive force surged forward, sending him and the barrier flying backward like a falling stone, crashing into the ocean's surface with an immense splash.
Before he could recover, he found himself sinking into the sea. Looking up, he saw five streaks of golden light hurtling toward him like shooting stars, growing larger and more menacing as they neared.
The five streaks of golden light struck the same spot on the barrier, one after the other, breaking the ancient talisman's limits. A series of sharp, cracking sounds followed.
Boom!
Pain erupted in Situ Chen's chest. The shield shattered completely, and a fist-sized wound opened between his chest and abdomen. The excruciating pain jolted him back to clarity, "He planned those five arrows long ago, just waiting for me to get here!"
It was too late to do anything. The golden streaks in the sky flashed continuously, denying him even the smallest opportunity to retaliate. His well-honed blade techniques and skills were rendered useless, as he could do nothing but watch the water around him turn red with his own blood.
Struggling to breathe, Situ Chen saw a figure materialize in front of him—a man bathed in golden light. It was Li Xuanfeng, his expression cold and merciless as he stared directly at him.
Driven by fear of death, Situ Chen pleaded desperately, "I have no quarrel with you, Fellow Daoist. Why are you doing this to me?"
Li Xuanfeng ignored him completely. Without answering, he struck Situ Chen's dantian with a single palm, rendering him powerless. Then, with a steely silence, he dragged Situ Chen to a nearby island and bound him to a tree.
Situ Chen was utterly baffled and terrified. He watched as Li Xuanfeng retrieved a short blade from his storage pouch, then began to slowly slice away a piece of flesh from his chest.
Situ Chen howled in agony. Blood dripped from the wound in small crimson beads, but no matter how much he screamed or questioned, Li Xuanfeng's expression remained unchanged. He methodically stripped away the flesh until only the stark white of bone remained, scraping the ribs clean with a ghastly grinding sound, leaving only the rhythmically beating heart visible.
Finally, Li Xuanfeng spoke, "You still do not understand? Situ Mo also wants you dead. If I was not worried about dragging this out and causing complications, you would not have died this easily."
Situ Chen's eyes widened in shock, but before he could process the words, Li Xuanfeng worked quickly. He severed all four of Situ Chen's limbs before finally decapitating him in one clean motion. The severed head rolled across the ground a few times before coming to a halt.
Standing silently on the island, Li Xuanfeng gazed out as volcanic activity rumbled beneath the ocean. The surging heat, stirred by Situ Chen's Immortal Foundation, caused fiery eruptions to break the surface. Calmly, he cleaned up the remains and wiped the blood from his hands, muttering softly, "Xu San, your vengeance is settled. My blade techniques surpass ordinary mortals—his pain was likely beyond compare."
Squinting slightly, Li Xuanfeng seemed dissatisfied. The act of revenge had not granted him peace, but instead deepened his unease. With a flick of his left hand, a tattered piece of armor floated into the air, accompanied by a small storage pouch made of black-red fabric, glowing faintly.
Hovering beside him, a single golden arrow pulsed with spirituality, darting back and forth through the air like a living creature.
Li Xuanfeng examined the arrow. He had crafted three new arrows, bringing his total to eight. This particular arrow, smaller than the rest, had been refined by Merging Fire and the Binding Ring . Its intricate carvings and nimble movements made it exceptionally unique.
He casually retrieved the storage pouch and pulled out a jade talisman given to him by Yuan Su. Attaching the pouch to the talisman to obscure its origin, he sighed lightly, before stepping onto the wind and flying toward the northern horizon.
————
Mount Qingdu.
The scorching sun hung high in the sky. Today's duel between the two sects seemed to favor Yue Cultivating Sect, with its radiant sunlight bathing the mountain in golden hues. Li Yuexiang raised her head, silently staring at the glaring sun above, her face pale, and her lips pressed tightly together.
Her mother had been in seclusion for some time now, and the jade pendant Li Yuexiang had been carrying with her had grown dimmer by the day. She noticed this but found herself powerless to change anything.
The success or failure of Foundation Establishment Realm breakthrough often hinged on a single moment of distraction. Rarely did someone's life force wane gradually like this. The Li Family's foundation was now steadily growing stronger, and Li Yuexiang knew exactly why this was happening.
"Mother cultivates the Clear Dusk Rain , which belongs to the Pristine Water system. The celestial phenomenon during her breakthrough originally aligned with her Dao foundation. But the Dry Fire unleashed by Yue Cultivating Sect directly disrupted it, throwing her spiritual energy into chaos." Li Yuexiang sighed.
If the scorching sun had been sustained, it might not have been as dire. But the sects' back-and-forth power struggle alternated between rain and sun, even affecting Li Xijun atop Mount Yuting. The brightness of the jade pendant fluctuated, and Xiao Guiluan's condition worsened day by day, her life force steadily dwindling.
Li Yuexiang could only watch as the jade pendant in her hands grew dimmer each day. Kneeling before the entrance to the cave dwelling, she felt utterly helpless. When Yue Cultivating Sect gained the upper hand today, and the sun blazed uninterrupted for fourteen hours, the jade pendant finally shattered into powder.
Her pale, jade-like hands cradled the fragments of the pendant, her expression distant and dazed. She kneeled silently on the smooth stone ground, gazing up at the fading sun in the sky, as streaks of green wind and rain began to drift down.
"Mother..." Li Yuexiang didn't even know what expression to wear, nor how to process her mother's death. She silently stood up and approached the stone door before her. After fumbling lightly across its surface, she gently pushed it open.
Creak... creak...
Wisps of pale green mist seeped out through the crack in the door, extinguishing the last bit of hope in Li Yuexiang's heart. The sight confirmed her worst fears—this was no sudden event. Her mother's body had clearly been dissolving for some time.
"Mother..." Li Yuexiang quietly stepped inside the cave dwelling. At its center lay a jade bed, now empty save for a few pieces of emerald-green spirit stone resembling ice, from which faint wisps of pale green mist rose. She struggled to form a seal to contain the stones, leaving the jade bed holding nothing but a single empty black robe.
She vaguely remembered that her mother disliked black. But her father had liked it.
Li Yuexiang felt surprisingly calm. She collected the storage pouch on the table, finding little else. Xiao Guiluan had failed in her breakthrough, so there were hardly any spirit treasures left behind.
After scanning the eerily clean cave dwelling, she finally spotted a wooden talisman about two fingers wide lying on the ground. It was strung with a red cord and adorned with jade beads, as though it had fallen from her mother's person.
Li Yuexiang bent down to pick it up. It was indeed an ordinary wooden talisman, a palm's length long and two fingers wide. On the side facing her, four words had been carved in sharp, decisive strokes, brimming with vitality— Fortunate to meet you.
She gently flipped it over. On the reverse side, the handwriting was delicate, flowing, and feminine, clearly Xiao Guiluan's. It carried a tender grace and read— I have been waiting.[1]
Beyond this, the talisman appeared to be an ordinary piece of wood. It seemed more like a memento exchanged during an intimate moment between husband and wife, something Xiao Guiluan had cherished and kept with her always.
Li Yuexiang pressed it against her chest and carefully stowed it away. She retrieved a jade box to store the emerald-green spirit stones and walked out of the cave dwelling alone. Outside, the sun was still blinding, its searing heat making the trees release faint wisps of smoke.
1. These were the four words that Li Yuanjiao and Xiao Guiluan exchanged during their first meeting on their wedding day in Chapter 290. ☜