The two returned to Qingdu, flinging the two cultivators to the ground. First, they sealed the six senses of the white-robed old Daoist, tossing him aside like a rotting log, then removed the restraints on the black-clad cultivator.
The black-clad cultivator immediately turned over and kowtowed, respectfully saying, "Greetings to the two seniors. I am He Yitao, a cultivator from Xu State, cultivating at Mount Bianyan. With the Buddhist cultivators pushing south, we had no place to stand and were forced to cross into Yue State. If we have caused any offense, I am willing to offer full compensation!"
Li Xijun merely waved his hand and asked, "What is the current situation in Xu State?"
The black-clad cultivator quickly replied, "The Buddhist cultivators swept southward, reaching the southern parts of Xu State. The battles centered around Mount Bianyan, and even the great demonic beast Sanjun of the mountain couldn’t stay out of it. His subordinate demonic generals were captured and eaten, and Sanjun himself fled on the wind to Mount Dali, leaving chaos in his wake..."
"Did the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators or Maha intervene?" Li Xijun asked carefully, and the black-clad youth replied, "I haven’t seen them. Only two of The Merciful Ones were overseeing the battle. The Golden Feather Sect and Azure Pond Sect sent a group of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, but there has been no sign of Maha in the north."
Lowering his eyes respectfully, he quietly observed and said, "Across Xu State, landslides and cracks have appeared everywhere, and strange phenomena abound. I’ve heard a giant boulder, two thousand meters tall, fell in the north. The rivers in the east have dried up, and fish and shrimp in the riverbeds are singing... Events like these are countless."
Li Xijun asked another two questions, then continued, "Which Dao of the Buddhist cultivators is leading the charge?"
He Yitao froze, gritted his teeth in thought for a moment, then said, "I’ve only heard of the Way of Compassion and the Dao of Great Desire.., and also the Way of Emptiness. As for which Dao lineage the two Merciful Ones belong to, I am too low in rank to know."
Li Xijun nodded. Beside him, Li Xuanxuan stroked his beard and asked with concern, "Has there been any sign of the Way of Wrath?"
He Yitao paused for a moment, then said uncertainly, "Your Excellency may not know, but the Way of Wrath once reincarnated. Back then, its physical form was cleaved by the Celestial Moon Li Tongya, and its true form was besieged by the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. Its Dao lineage suffered heavy losses, their inquiries to the law went unanswered. It's rarely seen anymore."
Li Xijun nodded slightly, gave him a glance, then questioned him three more times. He sent a stream of mana into his body and sure enough, the man was a devil cultivator.
Without waiting for him to speak, Li Xijun flipped his hand and tossed him aside, then removed the restraints from the old Daoist. The old man fell to his knees with a thud and said in a trembling voice, "Your Excellency..."
The biting wind and snow around Li Xijun were fierce, but his voice was gentle as he asked, "Old man, where are you from, and why have you come here?"
"I am from Xu State... a rogue cultivator from the Floating Cloud Cave of Mount Xiaoshi..."
He cried sorrowfully, "The five-eyed Merciful One of the Way of Emptiness and several Master Monks descended near Mount Xiaoshi. Sixteen households of us scattered in panic... those who ran slowly slit their own throats... or cut off their limbs, ears, and noses, or leapt off the cliffs...
"I've cultivated for over a hundred years, and only managed to survive by running fast. I escaped from the hands of Master Monk Xu Mu... and ended up in this region."
Li Xijun gripped his sword, frowning as doubts arose in his heart. Before he could speak, the man cried out repeatedly, "Please wait, Your Excellency! Please wait!"
He raised his head slightly, one eye glancing upward to read their expressions. Curling his body inward, he spoke quickly like spilling beads, "My martial uncle has been cultivating by this lake for many years! I came here this time just to seek refuge with him! Please wait, Your Excellency... perhaps we are even allies!"
The old man was well-versed. Upon hearing this, Li Xuanxuan became intrigued and asked, "When was this... and does he have a Dao title?"
Seeing his expression, the old Daoist quickly formed a plan. A flattering smile appeared on his face as he replied, "I am Fu Yuan. My martial uncle's Dao title is Ling Guizi... He broke through the Qi Cultivation Realm about one hundred thirty years ago and came to this lake to seek fortune. I don’t know if he has reached the Foundation Establishment Realm by now..."
Li Xuanxuan found the story odd. His smile faded, and he quietly glanced at him, saying, "I think you've lost your mind, daring to spout nonsense here... A rogue cultivator takes what, sixty years to break through the Qi Cultivation Realm? He came here a hundred and thirty years ago? He’s probably long dead in some forgotten corner.
"Just because someone once cultivated in a place doesn’t make them destined to be there!"
Daoist Fu Yuan was terrified, shaking his head repeatedly as he hurriedly said, "Your Excellency! My martial uncle carries a great fortune with him! He is definitely not ordinary!"
Li Xuanxuan no longer quite believed him and only asked, "What kind of fortune?"
Daoist Fu Yuan couldn’t explain and stammered, "My master was still thinking of my martial uncle on his deathbed, saying our grandmaster passed the fortune to him before he died..."
He couldn't explain it, and what great fortune could a Qi Cultivation Realm rogue cultivator possibly have anyway? Fu Yuan knew this in his heart, and could only keep kowtowing without saying another word.
Li Xuanxuan saw that the man's qi wasn’t particularly impure. For someone from a place like Xu State, it was already rare and precious. He wasn’t planning to make things difficult and was just about to speak.
"Wait..." Li Xijun suddenly stopped him, frowning and shaking his head.
Daoist Fu Yuan grew even more terrified, raising his head in panic, thinking, The old man is kind, but this handsome young man is ruthless.
Li Xijun simply gave him a calm glance and asked softly, "Old man, how did you escape from the Merciful Ones and the Master Monks?"
Daoist Fu Yuan stared blankly at him, as if trying to recall, and after several breaths, he exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear... I’ve completely forgotten!"
Blood seeped from his mouth and nose. With a cry of pain, his body collapsed like a bundle of firewood, hitting the ground with a thud. He was dead without another sound.
Li Xijun stepped back and used mana to flip the body. Daoist Fu Yuan's face was pale and skin cold. With two fingers forming a sword, Li Xijun slit open his abdomen.
Inside was pitch black. His internal organs had vanished, leaving behind only a shriveled, dead maggot.
Li Xuanxuan stood in a daze, while on the other side, Li Zhouwei gripped his halberd thoughtfully. Li Xijun conjured flame between two fingers and gently dropped it onto the empty skin. With a burst of crackling sounds:
Boom...
The dried-up flesh caught fire instantly, flaring brightly for a moment before turning to ash.
Seeing this, He Yitao was terrified to the extreme, tears and snot flowing as he said in a low voice, "I possess nothing of value. Your Excellency would disdain such things. But for the sake of my harmlessness, I beg for my life. I will obey your every command, without a hint of betrayal."
He feared Li Xijun would ask something that would cost him his life on the spot. But the man merely took his storage pouch, examined it for a breath, saw it was full of blood-stained meat and rice, and shook his head.
Before He Yitao could react, a scorching pain bloomed in his chest. Heat surged from his belly and spurted out his nostrils. A halberd had pierced through his chest, its shaft held by the young man.
The demonic fetus he had nurtured in his abdomen immediately awoke. It was a tiny, mouse-like lump of flesh, it wriggled a few times inside him, but before it could burst out or hide, a hand plunged once more into his belly.
Li Zhouwei held the halberd with one hand, stirred around in the belly with the other, fished out the demonic fetus, studied it for two seconds, and casually crushed it.
Though He Yitao was at least an early-stage Qi Cultivation Realm devil cultivator, he had no chance to react. His head was removed in the next instant.