Mount Qingdu.
The coldest days had passed and the heavy snow began to ease. Though the lake’s ice had yet to thaw, it had grown much thinner. Li Xuanxuan finished drawing a talisman, folded his sleeves, and strolled through the mountain.
He had heard that the northern situation was growing ever more chaotic, but news from their own people was growing scarcer by the day. Li Zhouwei had become busy, and Li Ximing remained in seclusion with no resolution regarding that child’s matter.
Li Xuanxuan deliberated for a moment, then decided to find Li Zhouwei, only to run into him at the temple gate. The young man wore a solemn expression and now stood a full head taller than Li Xuanxuan. Golden light flowed through his eyes, and his face was filled with thought. His black cloak was dusted with slowly melting snow.
“Huang’er... how did it go?” asked Li Xuanxuan.
Li Zhouwei bowed slightly and answered, “A devil cultivator just slipped into Mount Yue and conspired with some remnants of the Western Tan lineage to steal spirit paddies and flee. It has been dealt with. I came right away to report to you.”
Li Xuanxuan nodded. Li Zhouwei raised his hand to shut the temple doors and activated the isolation formation. Only then did worry show on his face as he spoke softly, “My trusted men stationed along the northern river have just returned. They reported rampant demonic smoke spreading southward. It’s spreading so much that even Mount Yan Pass was covered in it. It’s likely been breached by devil cultivators. The situation looks grim.”
Li Xuanxuan let out a long sigh and asked quietly, “Have there been any signs from the family’s life jades?”
Li Xuanxuan was referring to the life jades the core members of the Li Family all nurtured in the ancestral hall. If any faced life-or-death danger within five to ten years, the life jade would show signs.
Li Zhouwei shook his head and reminded him, “Jiangbei is in complete chaos. Even the Maha of the Purple Mansion Realm can’t divine anything anymore. How could mere life jades show anything? Ever since they entered Xu State, their life jades have dulled and no longer reveal their state.”
Li Xuanxuan could only nod. After hesitating a moment, he braced for the worst and asked, “If Mount Yan Pass has truly fallen, and the devil cultivators push all the way to Xu State’s border... how should we respond?”
“We can only watch how the Azure Pond Sect reacts.” Li Zhouwei had clearly considered this and said bluntly, “If their response is quick enough, we might be able to stop the devil cultivators at the Great River, rebuild a defensive line, and reorganize cultivators to resist... but if not...”
His golden eyes flicked northward as he said, one word at a time, “Then we can only defend at the northern shore of Moongaze Lake, where the Fei Family will be the frontline!”
Li Xuanxuan had long sensed it would come to this, but still sighed as he replied, “Earlier, Xijun sent so many family cultivators and spoke of sharing weal and woe... I underestimated it then. But now it seems the devil cultivators are right on our doorstep.”
Li Zhouwei had spoken of the Fei Family with such weight; it was clearly a hint. He thought to himself, If it truly comes to that, and we lose one more battle, we might lose the entire northern shore...
If the Azure Pond Sect withdraws again, their own domain would become the frontlines of a north-south struggle. What then? Win or lose, how would the million mortals living here be dealt with?
The Li Family had managed the southern shores of Moongaze Lake for years. If they lost it, where else could they go? Could they really abandon tens of thousands of acres of spirit fields and several spirit veins to flee to the Eastern Sea?
If it comes to that... How will I ever face my uncles and elders?
The elder raised his tea but didn’t drink, his mind preoccupied with the safety of the younger generation. Meanwhile, Li Zhouwei looked north and said softly, “We must prepare. I’ve already sent several loyal men to investigate further.”
The white ape had only returned to the family with Li Chengliao a few days ago, but Li Zhouwei didn’t plan to send him to scout. Though the ape was strong and could move freely, he had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm. If the white ape was caught by devil cultivators in the north, they’d lose a critical asset...
Li Zhouwei stared solemnly into the distance, golden light flickering in his eyes, and thought to himself, If things really come to this... I can’t delay any longer. I’ll take some pills and enter closed-door cultivation to break through to Foundation Establishment Realm first.
The Li Family understood well that breaking through from Qi Cultivation Realm to Foundation Establishment Realm wasn’t a race. Ideally, they would practice spells until around age forty or fifty before advancing. At the latest, they would advance no later than sixty.
Li Zhouwei cultivated the Radiant Essence Scripture, the highest fifth grade technique in the Li Family’s history. He was also extraordinary from birth. He had been inherently attuned to Bright Yang, so his cultivation speed should have been astonishing.
However, to avoid attracting undue attention with overly dazzling progress, and to ensure steady cultivation by balancing both spell arts and halberd technique, he had deliberately prioritized building a solid foundation rather than advancing too quickly. That was why his pace had slowed.
Yet even with this restraint, his cultivation still surpassed Li Ximing in his youth. He had already reached the mid-stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm before the age of twenty.
Li Zhouwei’s gaze flickered with resolution, but just then, someone approached and handed him a small letter.
He unlocked it with a unique method, glanced over it briefly, waved the messenger away, and said softly, “There’s news from Yu Fuzi of Changxiao Gate.”