"The devil cultivators of Mushroom Forest Plain are scattering in all directions, rarely leaving the Great Formation in ordinary tis for peaceful cultivation."
Li Qinghong, with spear on her back, nodded, swept the area with her Spiritual Sense, and spoke softly:
"Brother, you have reached the Seventh Layer of Qi Cultivation!"
Li Qinghong's innate talent was higher than Li Yuanjiao's, but since Li Yuanjiao obtained the [Cultivating Qi Devouring Spirit], his cultivation speed doubled in a flash, surpassing Li Qinghong.
Li Qinghong was still at the Fifth Layer of Qi Cultivation, while Li Yuanjiao had already reached the Seventh Layer, having received his decree at twenty, now thirty-seven or thirty-eight years of age—almost advancing a layer every two years, the speed was astonishing.
"Indeed."
Li Yuanjiao looked at Li Qinghong's envy, and replied:
"Do not be so disheartened. If a fight truly were to break out, I may not be your match. The 'Purple Thunder Secret Essence Technique' is fierce and unmatched, ancient and mysterious; once you wield [Du Ruo], it truly breaks devil arts and dispels misfortune."
Li Qinghong already harbored suspicions in her heart; her expression slightly strange. First she dismissed the juniors, then pulled Li Yuanjiao aside and said in a low voice:
"Brother! These years as I train with this technique, I grow ever more uneasy. The technique itself wields a power of unknown grade; a Thunder Talisman and a Thunder Curse—both are extraordinary."
She stowed away her spear, took her seat, and murmured:
"Once, when Ning Heyuan from Green Pond Sect fought —he's a direct lineage of Green Pond—and the [Si Yuan Qian Light] in his hand is a sect secret technique, yet it only just barely stabilized my Thunder Talisman."
"Though my cultivation level surpassed his by a notch, affording advantage, it shows the power of this Thunder Talisman. It is a pity, however, that it cannot be cultivated alone, but is one with the 'Purple Thunder Secret Essence Technique.'"
Li Qinghong's eyes brimd with doubt as she pressed:
"Great-uncle once said, nine out of ten great fortunes in this world bring calamity. Thus, I fear in my heart."
Li Yuanjiao nodded silently, and replied:
"That technique was gifted as a reward when great-uncle saved a Ziyan Sect cultivator... It may not be problematic."
"That cultivator claid he'd gotten it from an ancient sect, had never practiced it himself—he's a wayward soul; perhaps he himself does not truly grasp its value."
"Regardless, I'll send a letter to Xizhi, let him inquire within the sect."
The two discussed for a while, then parted ways.
...
At this mont, Xiao Guiluan was riding the wind, flying for two days straight in midair.
Nowadays, with devil cultivators rampant, the roads are far from safe; she detoured through Mushroom Forest Plain instead, dutifully traversing more than a dozen Immortal Mountains of the Yuan Family, then circled over to Xianyou Peak in a great roundabout.
Xianyou Peak was adorned everywhere in white cloth; Xiao Guiluan felt a pang of lancholy, visiting familiar old friends—companions of old now beco Peak Masters, most of them no longer so close to her.
After all, the Xiao Family was now imnse, riven with countless tangled interests and factions. So old friends have sworn to different doors, and no longer dare speak much with her, fearing implication.
Nowadays, Xiao Guitu is the steward cultivator of the Xiao Family, and Xiao Guiluan's status too has risen; where once she had to wait long for an audience, now, with but a soft word of her na, she is admitted to the main peak.
Xiao Guitu wore Golden Armor, playing with a pair of jade rings, seated at the foremost seat in the grand hall atop the main peak. Xiao Guiluan walked over polished jade tiles, bowed low, and finally seized the chance to closely examine her elder brother.
Xiao Guitu looked far more somber now, his cultivation level also at the Sixth Layer of Qi Cultivating. The once cheerful face was plain; yet, seeing his long-absent sister brought a trace of a smile, his tone gentle:
"Rare to see you return ho at all."
The words left Xiao Guiluan in a tight spot; Xiao Guitu ca down two steps, sitting by the angled stone at the stair's edge, and now she saw that his Golden Armor was riddled with fine holes, clearly no longer usable.
Xiao Guitu quietly dismantled his armor and said in a low voice:
"Quite the coincidence—Buzi Perfected Person just left, and now you arrive."
"From the Green Pond Sect? Buzi Perfected Person?"
Xiao Guiluan was shaken with shock; she watched as Xiao Guitu flung the armor plate from his elbow, which hit the floor with a ringing clang, then responded:
"Exactly."
"Since the Patriarch has not returned, he dares behave with such impudence."
Xiao Guiluan simply stared, mind racing. She could not understand why Xiao Guitu, usually so guarded, was revealing everything so plainly; yet he did not notice her reaction, rely continued:
"Li Family must have noticed too. If such events occur at Yu Mountain, it proves the Patriarch is definitely not on the peak. With a Zifu presence, how would they dare travel the Yu Mountain Path?"
"Now, among the Yuan Family, Chen Family, and the twenty-eight vassals under the Xiao Family, all is in turmoil, each dispatching inquiries, pretending to mourn or express condolence. Everyone knows their true intentions."
Xiao Guiluan bowed, listening; Xiao Guitu looked weary and said solemnly:
"The Perfected Person is rely trapped sowhere in the East Sea; Zhang Tianyuan cannot slay him."
He gazed at Xiao Guiluan, as if steeling himself, then slowly descended, speaking earnestly:
"Our Xiao Family has, over all these years, supported your clan well. The Perfected Person raised your nobles from obscurity; Ancestor Yuansi personally attended every matter. Regardless of whether the Li Family has the Da Li Mountain Demon Race at its back, or so Zifu Perfected Person, go to East Sea and offer what aid you can."
'Li Family has Zifu behind them?!'
Xiao Guiluan was startled, and recalled how all in the Li Family worried that Xiao Guitu might stir up trouble; it did not seem as if they had the support of any Zifu. She thought Xiao Guitu must be mistaken, and quickly replied:
"Brother! The Li Family is destitute from top to bottom, barely managing a single Foundation Establishnt, how could they be sheltered by a Zifu Monk... this... this—"
Xiao Guitu shook his head and murmured:
"Just relay my words to Li Yuanjiao."
Xiao Guiluan hesitated, but gritted her teeth and agreed; only then did Xiao Guitu continue:
"I've heard of the matters at Yu Mountain; don't worry, it'll be fine."
Xiao Guiluan felt her brother must be mistaken, speaking so agreeably; she finally relaxed and quietly left.
Xiao Guitu watched her departing figure, silently seated on the jade steps, lost in thought.
Does the Li Family truly have Zifu Monks behind them?
To Xiao Guitu, it was a certainty—at least one Zifu stood behind the Li Family, and not just any Zifu!
In years past, Xiao Guitu always felt it risky to leave the Li Family—the wolf beside them—unchecked, seeing how the Li Family subjugated Shanyue and united the two mountains, witnessing the Tongya Sword's startling prowess, tossing and turning, unable to rest easy.
Yet after Xiao Chuting confronted the Furious Moha incident, borrowing the repute of Li Tongya, unafraid of effects from Divine Skills, intimidating the Zifu at the council, returning ho to sit and ponder, with the Da Li Mountain Demon Race protecting the North Foothills, he swiftly ford his suspicions.
Xiao Guitu sched to bind the Li Family as vassals by marriage alliance; but before there was any stir, Xiao Chuting summoned him to the mountain, and after sharing all her conjectures, Xiao Guitu finally understood:
"No wonder... no wonder the Li Family rose so rapidly in re decades, able to win calmly among myriad family struggles; no wonder both Li Tongya and Li Chijin, arisen from obscurity, managed to reach Foundation Establishnt!"
Turns out the Li Family were the hidden hand of so Zifu! The Li Family's string of teoric achievents was clearly the result of so arcane manipulation of the destiny Divine Skills—perhaps even the Li Family descended from Zifu lineage, concealed in the wild, so all were born prodigies!
Li Mutian is a Foundation Establishnt cultivator, yet is nowhere to be found amid Wu, Yue, and South River—plainly a Zifu machination. On reflection, only two families have truly dealt the Li Family any harm.
Witch Mountain slew Li Xiangping; Green Pond slew Li Chijin.
Both events point straight to two Zifu Perfected Persons at the cusp of Golden Core breakthrough—plainly Zifu Perfected Persons trading blows, interfering with one another!
By this reckoning, the Zifu behind the Li Family gains definition:
Master of fate, hiding in so sect's shadow, bearing enmity with Green Pond Sect, Zifu at least in late stage.
The Zifu behind Li Family did not wish to reveal their presence; nor did the Xiao Family dare make it public, simply assisting the Li Family through the marketplaces, offering covert support from behind the scenes.
Now that Xiao Chuting is trapped, Xiao Guitu has nowhere else to turn for rescue; he rembers how Xiao Chuting and the Li Family's Zifu always cooperated in secret—one leveraging authority, one vanishing from sight—so he must risk everything and appeal to the Li Family for aid.
"Just praying not to offend that Perfected Person... Guiluan is honest in speech, there should be no issue..."
Xiao Guitu could not set his mind at ease. Xiao Chuting had been missing for more than two years, and only from Buzi's mouth did he learn she was trapped by Zhang Tianyuan. That blue-robed Perfected Person gloated; surely Xiao Chuting's situation was grim.
"My clan has severed ties with Green Pond; now our survival depends upon you alone!"
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