Chimen Difu only had time to spit out a black seal from his chest, but before the billowing black smoke could even unfurl, lightning and fire came crashing down in red and white flashes.
Boom!
Chimen Difu let out a muffled groan and spat two mouthfuls of black blood. He immediately formed a seal, summoning three black skulls. A mere thought shattered the jade pendant at his waist to summon reinforcements.
Even with only half a brain, Chimen Difu knew that using the pendant so hastily meant no one was likely to come. At best, they’d just gather at the entrance to watch the show.
Still... better something than nothing...
Chimen Difu forcefully suppressed his internal injuries and used mana to defend. Suddenly, a flash of rainbow light struck like a venomous snake, coiling twice around his black seal. The dharma artifact felt both heavy and light, as if an enormous hand were yanking it down.
Chimen Difu was an old devil who had refined this seal in his belly for many years. Had he not, the earlier blast of flame and lightning, followed by Heavenly Glow's tug, would have sent it crashing to the ground. Thus, it still hovered mid-air, but it clearly no longer obeyed him properly.
Shhh...
White rain rose from the ground and swept forward with the raging wind. The demon smoke that was forming around him to conceal his form and defend against spells hadn’t even taken shape before it was completely blown away, leaving only a mist of white rain around him.
Danger... With all four attackers striking together, only one thought remained in Chimen Difu’s mind, I can’t delay any longer!
Though he was bitterly frustrated, he immediately realized the four before him were all formidable. The thunder cultivator, in particular, was overwhelmingly powerful and directly countered devil cultivators. If he didn’t act now, he wouldn’t even be able to escape later.
The old devil was exceedingly decisive. He clapped his hands together, and the black shadow in the air flared brightly. His body turned into demonic light in the blink of an eye, and the black seal exploded with a bang before the four’s eyes.
Boom...
A surge of deep black magic light burst forth. Li Qinghong immediately raised her spear in defense, then, without the slightest hesitation, parted her red lips and spat out a white light.
The white light pulsed like a breath, then rapidly expanded. It was none other than the Profound Thunder condensed from Li Qinghong’s thunderpool via the Purple Talisman Origin Light Secret Technique.
This old devil truly is ruthless. He discarded a Foundation Establishment Realm dharma artifact just like that, and who knows how many years’ worth of magic energy it contained... all shattered to buy time.
Now in the late stage of Foundation Establishment Realm, Li Qinghong had three Profound Thunders in her thunderpool. She had already used one during the devil cultivator battle to cover the group's retreat.
Chimen Difu was by no means weak. But ambushed by four cultivators and forced into retreat, the demonic light he unleashed by sacrificing his artifact was indeed formidable.
But it can’t be saved now...
Li Qinghong knew the two behind her were not in great shape. If they had to fend off the attack alone, they’d almost certainly be injured. Since thunder was the bane of devil cultivators, she couldn’t afford to hold back. She unleashed the Profound Thunder just in time to shield the group from the incoming demonic light.
Boom!
The purple-white lightning dropped around them like a waterfall as it collided with the surging black magic light. The impact nearly shattered the entire cave dwelling, and the thunderous noise could no longer be concealed, spreading outward along the flow of water.
Boom!
A second crash echoed. Li Qinghong took a half-step back, but the magic light aimed at the others behind her had already been weakened by eighty percent. As Li Xizhi helped block the remainder, he activated his perception technique and caught sight of a streak of dark-golden light burrowing into the ground.
“What a sophisticated escape spell...” As the demonic light finally faded, Li Quantao’s Water Wall Pearl glowed faintly, sweeping away the thick miasma within the cave.
Yu Yuwei said hoarsely, “Black Radiance Origin-Life Divine Escape... that’s a technique from the Golden Feather Sect... Chimen Difu is definitely hiding something!”
Yu Yuwei had been shielded by the others and thus had energy to spare for observation. He, too, had noticed the streak of black-golden escape light.
The elder, well-versed in heritage and technique, recognized it immediately. Though Li Qinghong and the others were suspicious, they had never planned to pursue him anyway and simply let him escape.
“We shouldn’t linger. Let’s go quickly.”
Li Qinghong swept her sleeve to collect the shattered fragments of the black seal still floating in the air. Then, riding thunder, she soared over the battlefield littered with corpses of slain devil cultivators and led the others into the water vein.
The water vein was now saturated with dark radiance. The deaths of several Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators had greatly altered the area. It had widened several fold from Li Qinghong’s first visit. The black spiritual waters surged, occasionally revealing glowing spirit items.
Once Li Quantao entered the water, his speed noticeably increased. The wide water vein gave him room to maneuver, and activating the Water Wall Pearl raised their speed by another fifty percent. The four shot through the waterway like arrows.
The water vein was deathly silent. The young man felt the atmosphere too oppressive to bear and said, “So many Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators died in this battle, not to mention countless Qi Cultivation Realm cultivators and those in Embryonic Breathing Realm... Surely this will nurture fertile ground once they are buried in the earth and fallen into the veins of the land and water.
“Jiangbei has grown increasingly barren over the past five hundred years. This nourishment could likely support several times more cultivators... and all the storage pouches, dharma artifacts, and spirit items buried in the soil could sustain generations of rogue cultivators.”
Yu Yuwei nodded in agreement as he replied, “As long as the Purple Mansion Realm doesn’t appear in the world to engage in combat, then yes—the more death, the more spiritual energy will be left behind, and the greater chance of nurturing geniuses. I won’t live to see it, but you all might. A hundred years from now, Jiangbei will be full of famous cultivators.”
Spiritual energy surged darkly through the water vein, but its bone-piercing cold was blocked by their mana shields. The silence was deafening.
Yu Yuwei glanced at Li Qinghong and said, “It’s a pity that Daoist Master Donghua once had a miraculous technique for moving through the great void. Once he entered it, no amount of Golden Core Realm cultivators could touch him. That’s why they sealed off the great void and killed him in the physical world. The Purple Mansion Realm intervened to sever the spirit vein—otherwise, Moongaze Lake would be one of the finest treasure lands today.”
He chuckled twice and said, “Come to think of it, Donghua destroyed three sects in that war. One of them was Hongxue Gate, and its young master was Li Ti... If not for that massacre, you, Li Quantao, would now be a core descendant of an immortal sect!”
“What?!”
At those words, not only did Li Xizhi and Li Qinghong look over in astonishment, even Li Quantao was stunned. He stared blankly for a moment and opened his mouth to argue, but suddenly recalled many past events and his father’s behavior. Realization struck him silent.
The Li Ti Yu Yuwei spoke of was Li Encheng’s father, Li Quantao’s own grandfather. A chill slowly spread across Li Quantao’s chest as he began to understand the immense leniency Chi Wei and the Azure Pond Sect had shown his father in certain matters...
“So that’s how it is...”