Inside the Alchemy Furnace Room, with the furnace fire already extinguished, its lingering warmth in the air, several people anxiously awaited Li Rong’s investigative results.
Has a young cultivator aged seventeen or eighteen gone missing from the Li Family recently?
During the wait, Wang Jiu did not inquire further about Li Fengyun’s encounters inside the trial cave, remaining silent instead. The others were mostly uneasy, finding it hard to breathe under the oppressive weight in the air.
Despite Wang Jiu’s commanding tone from the start, those familiar with him believed that given his status and character, he would not speak recklessly on such matters... Yet, the notion of an Upper-Rank Demon General seed too distant from reality. The Immortal Demon War, a piece of mythological history from the Primordial Era, has left scant historical fragnts, and even historians specializing in this field can only deduce ideal models of the "Demon Race" from a few fossil remains.
Today’s cultivators in Xiangzhou can no longer imagine that world-shattering catastrophe, so when Wang Jiu ntioned an Upper-Rank Demon General, everyone couldn’t help but feel a sense of impending doom, like from a nightmare.
A mont later, Li Rong returned breathless and his face sullen.
"Li Xiaoyi of the Li Family in Heaven-Reaching City, spurred by the revelry, went below the sixth level of the trial cave with three fellow cultivators for a ga of courage... claiming to see who could last the longest, proving himself the real man of the Li Family..."
Before he could finish, Lu Xin, incensed, punched a pillar in the Alchemy Furnace Room: "Damn idiot!"
It was the first ti Shen Qingming had seen Lu Xin curse so openly. The Lu family’s well-known young lady now had a face darker than ever, her eyes burning with red flas, like a volcano ready to erupt.
Fortunately, Wang Jiu spoke up in ti, diverting the focus.
"What about that Li Xiaoyi’s strength?"
Li Rong said, "I consulted the branch head of Heaven-Reaching City. According to him, Li Xiaoyi is the second seat of the branch’s Inner Sect, currently 18 years old, at the late stage of the Cloud Surge Realm, skilled in Gold and Water Swordsmanship and Celestial One Talisman Technique, with considerable combat experience—a key nurtured talent of the branch."
Wang Jiu asked again, "And the ones who went to the trial cave with him?"
Li Rong answered, "They were Li Cheng, Li Bo, and Li Daoru, all cultivators of the Li Family from Heaven-Reaching City and Lingshan City, with cultivation realms similar to Li Xiaoyi. After sobering up last night, they said the atmosphere in the trial cave felt wrong, so they returned to the surface. But they all thought Li Xiaoyi, with his superior strength and vanity, was holding out for longer, hence did not co out..."
Hearing this, Wang Jiu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, the situation isn’t too dire."
Lu Xin hurriedly asked, "Not too dire?"
Wang Jiu explained, "Four went in, three ca out, which ans that Upper-Rank Demon General is still severely weakened, unable to subdue all four at once and only managing to possess Li Xiaoyi."
However, Wang Jiu continued, "But after setting up a possession trap using Li Xiaoyi’s body and successfully luring Li Fengyun, it’s hard to say how much his strength will recover... Li Fengyun, when you saw that trap, did you use immortal techniques to heal him?"
Li Fengyun said, "I used two Sword Intent Returning to Origin to inject him with so True Essence."
Wang Jiu imdiately calculated on his fingers, "Considering two immortal techniques from the Peak Stage of the Mountain-Overturning Realm and the True Essence, no wonder it could deploy a parasitic demon seed... Lu Xin, how much dicine did you use to heal him after Li Fengyun returned severely injured?"
Lu Xin quickly took out a list from his sleeve, "All according to the prescription given by Sister Yan."
Wang Jiu glanced at it and started calculating again, this ti not speaking for a long while, making Lu Xin anxious, "Excuse , was the prescription incorrect?"
"The prescription was correct. Without those elixir pills supplenting Li Fengyun’s life force, it’s likely that even though his injuries weren’t fatal, the parasitic demon seed would have severely damaged him. However, on the other hand, with so much spiritual dicine poured in, it stimulated abundant life force... and more than half of it was absorbed by the parasitic demon seed. Judging by a typical Upper-Rank Demon General’s standards, that fellow has probably recovered about ten to twenty percent of his strength."
Lu Xin asked, "Ten to twenty percent strength... Is it serious?"
Wang Jiu said, "Still manageable. Find two cultivators at the Mountain-Overturning Realm, with practical combat experience and who can follow orders well. While that demon general is setting up the demon nest, a swift strike should be enough to eliminate him."
Hearing Wang Jiu say this, Lu Xin was much relieved, "Just two cultivators at the Mountain-Overturning Realm will do? That’s simple..."
But Wang Jiu said, "Not simple at all, at least need soone at Zhao Yan’s level to be effective."
Lu Xin was surprised, "Need soone at Sister Yan’s level? That might require choosing from the Elders."
Wang Jiu said again, "Don’t find those centenarians, who only have the True Essence Realm but lack strong vitality, they’ll only be a burden."
Lu Xin furrowed her brow, "I see... In such a hurry, the number of people I can mobilize is very limited. Sister Yan can count as one, then who else... Ah, right, there’s also Li Jing."
——
The forr Patriarch of the Li Family Mansion, Li Tianya, had three sons in total.
The eldest son, Li Fengyun, the second son, Li Jing, and the youngest, Li Kongcheng. Among these three, Li Fengyun was the most powerful and dazzling. Although his personality was quite eccentric, the heroic feats he accomplished with his sword in his youth truly earned him not insignificant fa.
The third son, Li Kongcheng, was also renowned. Despite now being a plump and timid middle-aged man in front of his wife, in his youth, he was known for his exceptional talent almost equal to Li Fengyun’s and was once considered his best competitor. Although completely dosticated after marrying, he at least married an extraordinarily talented wife, sowhat making up for his shortcomings.
Only the second son, Li Jing, appeared dim and unremarkable under the illustrious renown of his two brothers, seemingly never having done anything world-shaking, living quietly in the mansion year-round, neither showing nor hiding. Had he not fathered a daughter nad Li Wanqing, whose cultivation talent was no less than Li Fengyun’s, he, as Li Tianya’s legitimate son, might have been forgotten by the world.
However, for those living within the Li Family Mansion familiar with the inner workings, the na Li Jing is not to be ignored. Over these years, within the mansion’s internal competition, Li Fengyun’s real opponent was never Li Kongcheng, but Li Jing.
The reason Li Jing has always been unassuming lies in two points. First, he deliberately conducts himself low-key, never doing anything attention-grabbing, intentionally overshadowing his presence beneath the brilliance of his two brothers. Secondly, his quirky nature surpasses even that of his brothers.
He is one of the very few cultivators in the Li Family Mansion who do not practice swordsmanship.
As one of the renowned Seven Great Cultivation Families of Xiangzhou, the Li Family’s collection of Immortal Techniques is extensive. Besides the renowned swordsmanship known far and wide, they have substantial collections of other Immortal Techniques and Divine Techniques. But ultimately, the Li Family reigns supre with swordsmanship, holding a competitive edge in comparison to the other six Cultivation Families. Additionally, the family bloodline naturally holds an affinity for the Sword Dao, so core mbers primarily cultivate swordsmanship, supported by other Immortal Techniques.
Abandoning swordsmanship ans giving up the core advantage as a Li Family cultivator, and Li Jing’s talent in the sword was certainly not weak, at least not inferior to his talent in other Immortal Techniques. Abandoning swordsmanship to switch to Immortal Techniques is truly a puzzling decision.
However, on the other hand, Li Jing has achieved high accomplishnts in Immortal Cultivation. Just the True Essence Realm in the Late Mountain-Overturning Realm was enough for him to tower over his peers, and his achievents in Immortal Techniques had even once been praised by cultivators of Cyan Lotus Academy.
Now that Wang Jiu specified needing two younger Mountain-Overturning Realm cultivators, Lu Xin imdiately thought of him.
Soon after, upon receiving a letter from Lu Xin, Li Jing silently appeared in the Alchemy Furnace Room.
He was a dium-built, rather thin cultivator with dim eyes, and his True Essence fluctuation was faintly discernible, neither entirely restrained like many Great Cultivators nor ostentatiously outward, appearing enigmatic and unpredictable. With his appearance, the temperature inside the Alchemy Furnace Room seed to drop a few degrees.
Lu Xin was used to this peculiarity, knowing Li Jing’s consistently reclusive nature, and was already hard-pressed to expect more from him for showing up after receiving the letter.
Adhering to his usual manner, upon seeing Lu Xin, Li Jing didn’t look at anyone else, just nodded and said, "Is everyone here? Then let’s go."
Lu Xin hurriedly held him back, "Wait, Sister Yan hasn’t arrived yet."
"So slow?" Li Jing visibly beca a bit impatient, "Doesn’t she know the sooner you go, the sooner you return?"
"...This isn’t a picnic, after all, it’s about eradicating the Demon Race, and full preparation is required. Sister Yan went to fetch Spirit Talismans, Elixir Pills, and Magical Treasures; sharpening the axe won’t delay the woodcutting work."
Li Jing furrowed his brow, "Then I’ll go back and wait, call when everyone’s here." Then, without looking back, he turned to leave again.
Lu Xin was helpless, hurriedly stopping him again, saying, "Wait a mont, at least let’s confirm our strategy first."
"...Alright." Li Jing scratched his head, looking helpless, then sat cross-legged on the ground, asking, "Since we’re confirming the strategy, I’ll ask directly: where’s the detailed information on the enemy? Knowing oneself and the enemy is the basic condition. Also, there’s an issue with the team composition. You said in the letter that Zhao Yan and I are only responsible for execution, and there’s soone else for leading and commanding, yet you refuse to identify them. Does this an there’s sothing unspeakable about their identity? How are we supposed to trust their command?"
"..." Lu Xin was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond next.
Li Jing shrugged, "I’ll go back first; call when everyone’s here."
Fortunately, just as Lu Xin was about to admit defeat, Zhao Yan finally entered in a hurry, equipped with a full set of combat gear.
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