Chapter 154

Senior Situ You stood on the large flying shuttle as it flew steadily, his heart feeling both bitter and joyful. Below, the Li Xia Jun was teeming with people, all looking up at them, yet the sight made him feel restless and agitated.

Just like the invasion of the Qingchi Sect decades ago to slaughter mortals and refine magic tools, he was not as rampant and triumphant as his clansman who had invaded the Qingchi Sect back then. Senior Situ You knew that this time it was not a trade, but a demand from the Qingchi Sect. This trip was extremely dangerous, which was why the sect had sent him, the most disregarded illegitimate son of the Embryonic Breath realm.

The Tangjin Gate is called a sect, but in reality, it is merely the hall of the Senior Situ family. The higher the cultivation of a cultivator, the greater the possibility that their descendants will possess spiritual apertures. In the end, sects are inevitably controlled by a single family, like the Chi family of the Qingchi Sect or the Zhang family of the Golden Feather Sect. Outside cultivators who join the sect are ultimately just used by others.

The peak Zifu cultivator of the Tangjin Gate died of old age, and having lost their pillar, his own faction—the pro-Qingchi faction that intermarried with the Qingchi Sect—naturally took power. The clansman Senior Situ Yi, who slaughtered the Wan family, met a miserable end, which made Senior Situ You shudder. He knew that this invasion was deep water; if he encountered it, he probably wouldn't have a good end. At the moment, his heart was also very complicated.

Now that the Tangjin Gate has become a vassal of the Qingchi Sect, the Senior Situ family has received orders to march south and attack the five prefectures of the Qingchi. Although Senior Situ You did not understand what madness had possessed the Qingchi Sect to suddenly start slaughtering the families under its rule, he still obediently accepted the order and led his men south.

"It's simply ridiculous. I am only at Embryonic Breath, yet they want me to lead a few Qi Refining cultivators to plunder Li Xia Jun, which is guarded by a Foundation Establishment family..."

Senior Situ You's mind was in chaos, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, and he muttered:

"I understand! I understand! It seems a Zifu cultivator of the Qingchi Sect is truly about to fall... The Qingchi Sect is afraid..."

"Brother You!"

The Qi Refining cultivator beside him called out. Senior Situ You then came to his senses and hurriedly sacrificed that blood-red long saber. This long saber was a Foundation Establishment-level magic tool, and it already had over a hundred thousand lives on it. After this sacrifice was completed, it would probably be able to contend with the top-ranked magic tools of the Qingchi Sect.

Senior Situ You recited the incantation, and suddenly a large amount of red saber light surged out. Thousands of blood rays moved nimbly in the air, as if they had their own consciousness, falling like birds into the Li Xia Jun below, each seeking mortals to slaughter.

————

"Clan Uncle!!"

Xiao Ruyu looked nervous, cupped his hands toward Xiao Yongling beside him, and said repeatedly:

"Please, strike quickly! There are hundreds of thousands of mortals in Li Xia Jun, as well as thousands of our Xiao family's mortal clansmen... The invaders are only a dozen or so Qi Refining cultivators, how can we let them slaughter them like this..."

"Wait a little longer."

Xiao Yongling shook his head, watching the dozen or so Qi Refining figures above the prefecture city with cold eyes, and whispered:

"It is by no means that simple. I fear the people of the Qingchi Sect are watching from the outside as well. This is to force our Xiao family's Foundation Establishment cultivators to strike, so they can surround and kill us... Chi Wei has only a few years left to live; we must not ruin the Old Ancestor's grand plan!"

Xiao Ruyu's expression froze. Unable to bear it, he whispered:

"Those are hundreds of thousands of mortals... they have supported our Xiao family for generations, how can we, how can we! Just abandon them like this, leaving them for the Tangjin Gate to refine their magic tools!"

"Do I not know that!"

Xiao Yongling seemed somewhat irritable, roared at his junior, and gritted his teeth:

"But our Xiao family has endured for over three hundred years! We finally waited for a heaven-sent talent like Old Ancestor Chuting to break the alliance of the three families and control the entire Li Xia Jun. Now, we are only a dozen years away from breaking away from the Qingchi Sect and becoming a Zifu Immortal Clan. How can we strike rashly!"

"Are you not afraid that Chi Wei is guarding the mountain gate, waiting for us to strike rashly, so he can capture us and force the Old Ancestor to strike, finally ambushing the Zifu that our Xiao family worked so hard to obtain? In the end, the mortals won't be saved, and our Xiao family will be exterminated along with them!"

Xiao Ruyu remained silent. Xiao Yongling glanced at him and said fiercely:

"As long as Chi Wei dies, the Qingchi Sect will no longer have the strength to surround and kill the Old Ancestor. All of this is worth it... To split the land and stand on our own, and after a few decades, take that so-called Milin Prefecture of Wangyue Lake, our Xiao family will have Wangyue Lake and Great Lishan at our backs, and we will have no more worries..."

Xiao Ruyu finally said nothing, watching the sea of blood and hell on earth below the mountain with Xiao Yongling. The cries and screams were isolated by the array. Xiao Ruyu gritted his teeth until they rattled, and after a long while, he said sadly:

"I originally hated the Tangjin Gate and the Qingchi Sect for their baseness, but now looking at our Xiao family... we aren't much cleaner either!"

Xiao Yongling was slightly shaken by these words, looked at him with a complex expression, and said softly:

"If you want to find something clean, you can only look in storybooks; perhaps you might find one or two."

"Do not look at this sun shining brightly; between heaven and earth—there is nothing clean to begin with!"

————

Li Xuanfeng walked out of the cave, the Jin Geng longbow in his hand shining in the sun. Seeing Li Xuansuan coming to greet him, Li Xuanfeng laughed and teased:

"I've been in seclusion for five years, and Big Brother's cultivation hasn't lagged behind either! It looks like you're about to reach the peak of Embryonic Breath!"

"Haha, I cannot compare to you!"

Li Xuansuan had also made rapid progress in these five years, not only achieving the final stage of the six Embryonic Breath cycles but also cultivating his base to the peak of Embryonic Breath. It was not slow at all.

"How is your archery?"

Li Xuansuan asked. Li Xuanfeng smiled and handed over a jade slip, saying loudly:

"This archery technique is called 'Gang String Golden Bow,' profound and mysterious. If one masters it completely, one can at least obtain seven-tenths of my true teachings."

"Good, good."

Li Xuansuan accepted the jade slip like a treasure, carefully placed it in his bosom, prepared to put it in the stone cave together, and said with a smile:

"Sit for a moment, I am going to invite Uncle Zhong now."

Li Xuanfeng nodded slightly. The beard on his lips made him look much more mature. He drank tea in large gulps on the stool, but his heart was restless and uneasy.

"Strange."

Li Xuanfeng put down the teacup, and the image of Jiang Yunu suddenly appeared in his mind, muttering to himself:

"Feng'er!"

Li Tongya landed on the wind in front of the courtyard and walked into the courtyard quickly, his manner relaxed. Li Xuanfeng's eyes lit up, he hurriedly stood up, and cupped his hands:

"Congratulations to Second Uncle for breaking through to the seventh level of Qi Refining!"

Li Tongya's aura had already broken through to the seventh level of Qi Refining, and his true essence was full; clearly, he had broken through a year or two ago. He nodded at him, sat down, took the teacup, and smiled:

"Has your archery improved now?"

"Naturally!"

Li Xuanfeng looked very proud, lifted his longbow, and smiled:

"A few years ago, I only grasped the sharpness of the bow; now I have grasped the intent of the bow. There is no need for arrows; pull the bow and tighten the string, and if I shoot at a rabbit, the rabbit will die of fright; if I shoot at a person, the person's courage will shatter. Mortals and Embryonic Breath cultivators go without saying, even Qi Refining cultivators, if they are struck by my invisible and colorless arrow intent, will probably be filled with panic and lose their focus for a long time. Those with weak wills will vomit blood and burn their hearts, unable to even ride the wind."

"So magical?"

Li Tongya felt that his archery technique was quite strange. He had no research on bows and arrows and could not tell whether Li Xuanfeng's realm was good or bad; he could only test it in actual combat in the future.

Seeing Li Xuanfeng looking around, Li Tongya smiled softly and asked:

"What is it?"

Li Xuanfeng shook his head, organized his language, and whispered:

"This... this... I ask Second Uncle to forgive my sin... I have a lover in the prefecture, but her background is too humble... I have never dared to bring her home. It has been more than ten years now. Today, I thought about bringing her back to continue the family line..."

"Eh."

Li Tongya drank a sip of tea and replied:

"Young people admiring beauty is not a sin. Find an opportunity to bring her back."

Li Xuanfeng was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. He had originally intended to demonstrate his archery to Li Tongya and the others, but now, in high spirits, he bid farewell to Li Tongya and rode the wind to the prefecture to pick up Jiang Yunu.

(End of this chapter)