Li Zhouwei unfolded the small letter in his hand, read through it line by line, and handed it to Li Xuanxuan. The old man took it and read carefully, stroking his beard as he recited, "Yu Fuzi, birth name Wang Fu, hails from Jiankan Prefecture of Wu State. He has three disciples, one of whom is a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator... That disciple is now nearly a hundred years old. The disciple’s master is Zhou Han of Changxiao Gate, who has been in closed-door cultivation for many years and has not emerged..."
Changxiao Gate had been established fairly recently. Its founder, Chang Xiaozi, was still alive and in his prime, imbuing the sect with the vigor of a newly risen force. Everyone has a Daoist title, and master-disciple relationships often lacked any blood ties.
Li Xuanxuan read halfway through and suddenly felt a headache coming on. He muttered to himself, "Wu State... surname Wang... there shouldn’t be many powerful families left..."
Li Zhouwei nodded and replied, "Wu State once had the Wang Family, a top-tier family, though that was said to be a thousand years ago. Later, chaos broke out in Jiangnan, and the Wang Family declined. But they had been so prominent back then that many powerful cultivators in Wu State still bear the surname Wang."
Jiangnan had long since been split between Wu and Yue, unlike the north where dynasties changed rapidly. The great cultivation sects and aristocratic clans had completely supplanted the imperial families of both nations. Wu and Yue had become mere geographic terms, with no real national rivalry remaining.
Jiangnan's strict information blockade had resulted in only a few century-old families keeping secret records. Thus, even the names of southern dynasties from a thousand years ago had faded from history...
Li Xuanxuan continued reading, "This person cultivates the Lesser Yang attribute, but his Immortal Foundation is unknown... He possesses three dharma artifacts: a bell, a sword, and a pearl. They all have great power... He has remained at the late stage of Foundation Establishment Realm for many years and is exceptionally strong...
"He recently emerged from his cave dwelling after obtaining a treasure and is now stationed at the Eastern Sea’s Xifeng Island on behalf of Changxiao Gate, leading its cultivators to guard against an attack from the Hengzhu Dao Gate..."
There had long been tension between Changxiao Gate and the Hengzhu Dao Gate, and their conflicts had grown increasingly intense in recent years. Now that fighting had become likely, the powerful Yu Fuzi had been deployed.
After reading, Li Xuanxuan furrowed his old brows and muttered, "This matter seems difficult... Qinghong and the others still haven’t found a place to settle. Who knows if they’re wounded... This Yu Fuzi looks troublesome, he has a master and disciples, with a web of complicated ties...
"Let’s wait for now."
Li Zhouwei nodded in reply. "Since we've received word and major changes have occurred on the front, we should have uncle come out of seclusion..."
After all, Li Ximing had only been in seclusion for a month. It was barely long enough to get settled for a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. However, if the situation hadn’t become urgent, Li Zhouwei wouldn’t have disturbed him. Once Li Xuanxuan nodded, he sent someone over.
After a short wait, Li Ximing indeed descended on the wind before the hall. The radiant light around him had yet to fade, bringing a warm breeze into the hall. He asked directly, "How are things at home?"
Li Xuanxuan took his hand and began explaining the northern disturbances, then passed him the letter. After reading it, Li Ximing replied with mixed feelings, "The news from the north is so dire... we may need to wait longer to learn the full picture. Has Zhouwei found out anything about Xifeng Island, and any intelligence on Hengzhu Dao Gate?"
Since the Radiant Sky Stone concerned Li Ximing’s Dao to the Purple Mansion Realm, he took it very seriously. Li Zhouwei had come prepared and answered softly, "Changxiao Gate’s Xifeng Island lies over five hundred kilometers north of Splitreed Island. The island itself is decent, with a chain of scattered reefs forming a powerful grand formation. It’s well defended.
"As for Hengzhu Dao Gate’s Tianzhu Island, it lies over two hundred and fifty kilometers east of Splitreed Island. It's held by Bi Yuzhuang, a late Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. The two sects have already spilled blood multiple times, and relations are quite strained."
Li Ximing nodded quietly. It was the perfect time to get involved, but they couldn’t spare the manpower. He could only say comfortingly, "It’s fine. The man just left for the Eastern Sea, so it’ll be at least four or five years before he can be reassigned. Let’s wait for news from the north first."
Noise rose outside the grand formation. An Siwei quickly stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, Master Monk Kongheng has returned!"
"Bring him up immediately!" said Li Xuanxuan.
Li Xuanxuan grew excited and strode out in a few quick steps. Sure enough, the narrow-eyed monk was standing before the hall. The monk’s aura appeared stable. Though his robes were disheveled, the bronze meditation staff in his hand stood firm, and his expression held a hint of guilt.
"Elder Xuanxuan!" He bowed his head and said softly, "Chengshui Tomb was thrown into chaos. Tang Shedu rebelled... the Immortal Dao suffered greatly..."
As he recounted everything in detail, the three men listened in heavy silence. Kongheng, once a defender of Mount Yan Pass, had also been sent to Chengshui Tomb with the other cultivators. Always low-profile, he had kept his true strength hidden and was assigned alone under Yu Su.
According to the Azure Pond Sect's deployment orders, Yu Su’s group had arrived slightly later than Li Xuanfeng and Tang Shedu. They had moved north from Mount Yan Pass and were expected to face the weakest devil cultivators. They were supposedly the easiest front.
Thus, though the cultivators were the weakest of the three groups, they felt no tension as they marched north in high spirits. This lasted until they witnessed an immortal and a devil cultivator in a chase heading east.
The two were unremarkable, except for the dharma artifact in the devil cultivator’s hand. It shone brilliantly with an ancient, majestic aura which clearly meant that it was no ordinary item. Its power was great, and the devil cultivator was chasing the immortal cultivator across the land.
Yu Su took one look and immediately stopped in his tracks. He was already infamous within the sect for his greed. He had even earned the nickname Brocade Dark Mouse because of his personality, unique Immortal Foundation, and dharma artifact. Though he claimed he was going to help, it was clearly greed at work.
The group had no choice but to adjust course slightly and fly a few more kilometers. Unexpectedly, the devil cultivators seemed to have predicted their path and had set a trap, ambushing them on the way!
"That Yu Su... he was surrounded by five devil heads. The demonic smoke was thick, and the cultivators scattered in all directions. In the end, no one was willing to help him..."
The always inconspicuous Kongheng had roamed far and wide for years, so he was never short on survival techniques. Sensing danger early, he had fled eastward through the demonic smoke and eventually reached Baixiang Valley.
"I had just reached Baixiang Valley when the pursuers arrived... I also saw Yuan Huyuan on the way. He and several Yuan Family members were swallowed by the demonic smoke and he was forced to flee alone. I happened upon him weeping softly."
Li Xuanxuan asked softly, "So you weren’t inside the pass... Has Mount Yan Pass fallen?"
"I’m quite certain that it has fallen..." replied Kongheng.