Chapter 467: The Rain of the Dragon-Walking

Seeing Tang Shedu's long halberd thrusting straight toward Li Yuanjiao's back, Tu Longjian's brows furrowed deeply. He pressed his hands together, his spiritual sense flickering, and that black-red token finally, unwillingly, swept out a gray light, shaking away 【Stop-Gong】.

The black-red token threw 【Stop-Gong】 aside in one breath, a hazy, indistinct radiance rising from top to bottom, and the six patterns on its back brightened slightly.

Tang Shedu stretched out his long arms, and a buzzing sound erupted. His eyes were cold and vicious, and the golden armor on his body lit up with a white light like fire, scorching and dazzling. He shook away the magic treasures of the others, like a god descending to the mortal world, and roared:

"Give me your life!"

Li Yuanjiao, on this side, felt a massive force strike him; he shifted abruptly in mid-air, barely avoiding the vital point.

Li Yuanjiao felt a chill in his lower abdomen, and a bright white light-blade pierced through from his front. Almost simultaneously, sharp golden Qi sprayed out from the light-blade of the long halberd, rushing toward his internal organs.

Li Yuanjiao spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, activated the Crossing-River Turbulent Flow Step to take a few steps, and simultaneously triggered the Blood Escape Technique to distance himself rapidly, clutching a 【Wanling Flower】 in his hand and stuffing it into his mouth.

The flower melted upon entering his mouth, and a cool sensation rose. The golden Qi in his internal organs paused in unison, as if having lost its direction, remaining motionless near the wound, hidden and unreleased.

With the help of the 【Six-Ding Fire-Combining Token】, Li Yuanjiao barely managed to break free from the three-zhang radius around Tang Shedu, but he dared not be the least bit negligent. He clutched his last Foundation Establishment talisman, cast the spell, and a white light shield appeared on his body.

"Damn it!"

Tang Shedu, having failed to kill him in one strike, lost the initiative. Scorching white light flared in his eyes, and his armor also emitted a bright light, drifting and flowing in the air. He was furious, seemingly having used some hidden trump card.

"Clang!"

The long halberd echoed, knocking Tu Longjian's golden hammer away with one strike. He gripped it with both hands, the white-gold long halberd swirled, and he forcibly blocked a golden ray, knocking it away as a golden arrow.

The golden-white light stirred up a wind in the air. The scorching white light in Tang Shedu's eyes dimmed rapidly. Taking advantage of the force of the final strike, he raised the halberd over his shoulder and threw it fiercely.

In the distance, Li Yuanjiao had just conjured the Profound Pattern Spirit Mist, but his heart suddenly felt a chill. The Foundation Establishment protective shield in front of him shattered with a bang, the spirit mist in his hands dissipated, and his magic power felt as if it were shackled by an array, swaying and flowing, as if it would scatter at any moment.

'What a clever spirit treasure!'

Ten zhang behind him, a bright, tiny stream of light flashed—it was the Zifu spirit treasure 【Cloud-Departing】. This spirit treasure had been lying in wait for a long time, actually waiting for him to conjure the spirit mist to hide before striking through his heart.

The power of the Zifu spirit treasure was unleashed; his internal Immortal Foundation suddenly went silent, and his magic power remained motionless like mud, stuck in every part of his body, while the golden Qi at the wound stirred restlessly.

With his magic power shackled by this spirit treasure, he could barely stand on the wind beneath his feet. He finally understood why Tu Longjian had remained listless after taking one sword strike from this spirit treasure; anyone else would have fallen from the clouds long ago.

In the blink of an eye, a thought remained in his mind:

'Fortunately, Yu Muxian is already dead... it is just right to use my life to stop the criticism of the crowd...'

The next moment, the white-gold light pierced through his chest. The two blades of Tang Shedu's long halberd were fully three chi long, and when spread out, they exceeded the width of a human body. His chest was incinerated into nothingness, and everything above his shoulders flew high into the air.

"Boom!"

Tang Shedu had already prepared over a dozen talismans in his sleeves, which he struck out in all directions, covering the sky. He moved forward, reaching Li Yuanjiao's back in two steps, easily retrieved the long halberd, and rode the wind forward.

He did not look back, certain in his heart that this person was doomed. Having taken a heart-piercing strike from 【Cloud-Departing】, he had long been wandering at the gates of hell; it was just a matter of dying sooner or later. Moreover, having had his entire chest carved away, even a Zifu cultivator could not save him.

'This person is dead; at least I can give an account to my Master...'

Just as this thought crossed his mind, a scorching heat rose behind him. Tang Shedu turned his head abruptly and saw a lively expanse of bright fire descending from the sky. Tu Longjian was covered in flames, his hands pressed together, and the anger and hatred in his eyes were almost flowing out.

He cultivated the 'Mother Fire' path; the flames he released were hazy on the outside and bright on the inside, each wandering individually, densely covering the sky. The gray combined fire flowed in the air, and the two fires intertwined, which was terrifying.

But after all, Tu Longjian was half a step behind him, and his other hand still had to cover the wound left by 【Cloud-Departing】 on his abdomen. Tang Shedu just sneered, retreating backward. The hatred in his heart had been greatly released, and for some reason, he actually spoke:

"If it were useful, you would have already acted to save him... it is nothing but the angry fire of incompetence and self-hatred!"

But his stopping gave others an opportunity. Tu Longjian was like a Fire God descending to the world, his eyes looking coldly at him, and he took the opportunity to spit out a bright-colored bead.

A sense of danger rose in Tang Shedu's heart, but he did not have Yu Muxian's genius-level control of spirit opportunities or meticulous spiritual sense analysis; he could only exert all his strength to retreat.

The two chased and fled, flying for several miles. Who would have thought that the six patterns of the 【Six-Ding Fire-Combining Token】 would brighten one by one during the gap between the chase and the flight? That fire bead forcibly shifted dozens of zhang and appeared abruptly in front of him. Tang Shedu's expression changed drastically, and he cried out in horror:

"I..."

He only spat out one word before a violent fire explosion rose from the sky. The bright-inside, hazy-outside radiance swept across, and Tang Shedu fell crookedly into the clouds like a bird with broken wings.

Tu Longjian, having struck out the fire bead, also spat out a mouthful of blood. His hand covering his abdomen was full of blood. He watched quietly as Tang Shedu disappeared, his spiritual sense flickering, and a series of fluctuations came from the token:

"I know you are furious, but you must not chase anymore... you are being too impulsive! If you keep chasing like this, will our plan still be able to proceed!"

Tu Longjian stood in mid-air, the anger in his eyes slowly falling away, transforming into deep desolation. The black-red token jumped, fearing he would be impulsive, and persuaded him repeatedly:

"You have already done your utmost! That person... that Li Yuanjiao just wanted to use his life to ensure Yu Muxian would have no place to be buried! A ruthless man... truly a ruthless man... Damn it... if such a person were in the near-ancient times... perhaps he really could have stirred up great winds and clouds."

"Shut up!"

Tu Longjian snapped at him, his gaze cold:

"I will settle the score with you when we get out!"

Tu Longjian's face was gloomy as he rode the wind back, leaving only the flames slowly dissipating in the air. Beneath the clouds, a bloody light finally rose on Tang Shedu's body, and he disappeared rapidly into the sea of clouds. His armor was faintly black, and his whole body was emitting black smoke. He lowered his head and rode the wind forward, his heart filled with both hatred and shock:

'What is this! He has only been cultivating for a mere few years... it is not impossible that he is another Guo Shentong... If the situation were not wrong, I should have killed him before leaving! Now I have left a hidden danger.'

He looked very disheveled on the surface, but he quickly stabilized his injuries. After all, having cultivated for a hundred years, his various methods were by no means comparable to those young cultivators. He took a medicinal pill and landed on a mountain peak.

Only at this moment did he have time to look up, watching the cyan rainwater in the distance, his heart feeling extremely stifled. He wished the cave heaven before him would never close, and that he could stay in this cave heaven for a lifetime without having to go out.

"It's over... it's over..."

His eyes were vacant, but suddenly they focused. He pulled out his long halberd abruptly, his eyes vicious, and said coldly:

"Who!"

A figure walked slowly out of the clouds in the distance, dressed in a cyan robe, with a cyan flute hanging from his waist, the red rope swaying. The middle-aged man wore a Daoist crown, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at him with a smile:

"【Long-Heaven Halberd】 has a day like this too?"

Tang Shedu's expression changed gradually. He glanced at him and said in a deep voice:

"Shen Xi?"

The cyan-clothed man did not answer him, but drew his long sword, pointing it at Tang Shedu. The feather garment on his body emitted a cyan light, colliding with the white-gold radiance rising from Tang Shedu's body.

The flames in the sky had not yet dissipated, but the light of magic power collision rose again, with great momentum, shaking the clouds and mist away, leaving a large space.

Tu Longjian rode the wind to chase, while Xiao Yongling landed, caught Li Yuanjiao, and searched back and forth with magic power, finding his body piece by piece. Xiao Yongling's face was stained with a few drops of blood, looking somewhat lost.

Li Yuanjiao's body had been torn to pieces. He was barely piecing it together with magic power, but the wound left by 【Cloud-Departing】 was still expanding, threatening to turn his body into blood mist.

Xiao Yongling channeled magic power with one hand and took out medicinal pills with the other. He came from a great clan and was experienced. With just a glance, he understood that Li Yuanjiao could not be saved, but he still fed the pills to Li Yuanjiao.

In the distance, a golden light came from afar. Li Xuanfeng rushed over, both hands covered in blood, white bones exposed, a few fingers dangling, looking as if they had just been reattached.

The trump card in Li Xuanfeng's bow was not comparable to the Green-Chi Sword; it was a trace of power accumulated every time he shot an arrow, nurtured for many years. It was vast and mighty, and shooting it out in one night almost killed Yu Muxian, but the backlash almost crippled his hands.

Ignoring his injuries, he pulled the bow to shoot another arrow to save Li Yuanjiao, almost losing his hands. He took medicine hastily and rushed over, his heart feeling cold, his lips pale.

Although Foundation Establishment cultivators were not comparable to Buddhist cultivators, they were ultimately tenacious in vitality. Li Yuanjiao's eyes blurred, and he vaguely heard Tang Shedu's relieved laughter and Xiao Yongling and Tu Longjian's angry voices.

He only felt his hands were ice-cold, as if he had returned to that afternoon many years ago. Li Yuanjiao was walking down step by step from the moss-covered stone path, and faint light-cyan rainwater was falling from the sky. His hands were also ice-cold.

The current coldness seemed much warmer compared to that, and his hands felt solid; at least he was holding something, enough to hand over to his ancestors.

'This situation was in my calculations, step-by-step deception, borrowing Tu Longjian's power, move-by-move encirclement and ambush of Yu Muxian... I only fear that Great-Uncle will blame me for being unscrupulous and acting too dirtily when he sees me down below.'

The shackling power of the spirit treasure 【Cloud-Departing】 had faded away like the tide. Before his eyes was Li Xuanfeng's blood-stained face, holding his hand, also wet, vaguely touching hard bones.

His vision was gray and dim, his vitality fading, but he was kept alive by the several kinds of pills and drugs he had taken. In his torture, many hallucinations emerged, from his mother Mu Yalu smiling and sitting at the table with him, to Li Yuanxiu reading with him, and from Xiao Guiluan's lovely face in the bridal sedan chair, to the youthful smiling faces of Li Xizhi and Li Yueshang.

The stars in the sky flickered like lamps in the darkness. A cool wind blew, and wet blood dripped onto his face. Before his consciousness faded, he returned to a certain night, the stars before his eyes turned into the lights at the foot of the mountain, and the clouds and mist turned into a slender figure.

Unlike Li Yuanjiao, who always wore black, this person wore a white robe, hung with an elegant cloak, his face young, his eyebrows relaxed, looking much more generous than Li Yuanjiao, watching him quietly with a smile.

Li Yuanjiao only felt a sweetness in his mouth, and his eyes suddenly cleared, interrupting his hallucinations. It must have been the life-sustaining spirit medicine he had taken. He braced himself, and a point of light appeared in his hand, vaguely revealing a small snake circling and dancing.

"Li... Wushao..."

Li Xuanfeng held his hand, biting his teeth tightly. The Li Yuanjiao before his eyes had gradually turned gray-white. The drizzling light-cyan rainwater fell, hitting his armor.

Li Xuanfeng bent down gently. Li Yuanjiao's lips parted and closed, emitting a very light, very hoarse voice:

"Bro... ther..."

Li Yuanjiao's voice was light and quick. It was the first time Li Xuanfeng had heard such a tone from his mouth. His tongue moved vaguely in his mouth for the last time, without saying anything else.

The cyan rain in the cave heaven fell, dripping onto Li Xuanfeng's black-gold armor. The middle-aged man covered his face with his hand, saying nothing. His other hand, with a wound deep enough to see the bone, gently touched his nephew's eyes.

Moon-Watching Lake.

Autumn came very early to Moon-Watching Lake this year, a expanse of vermilion-yellow. Heavy rain fell again on Qingdu Peak, drizzling, passing through the array and falling on the peak, gathering in the stone streams and ditches, flowing down the mountain clearly and brightly.

Every brick and stone of the Li family ancestral hall had been moved intact to Qingdu Mountain. Every bluestone revealed the vicissitudes of time, covered in moss. The six large doors were closed tightly, and the brass on them was somewhat gray.

Li Yueshang, in a white dress, pushed the door gently. The few lamps in the hall flickered slightly, emitting a warm, pale yellow radiance. Li Yueshang bowed familiarly, smelling of incense.

Not many people could come to the Li family ancestral hall. In previous years, there were clan elders who would not allow women to enter, but with Li Qinghong breaking through to Foundation Establishment, these voices slowly disappeared, and there was no more news.

Just as she entered the hall, she saw a person standing in the great hall, standing quietly, saying nothing, as if in deep thought. Only after hearing the movement did he turn around.

"Brother!"

The person before her was none other than Li Xijun. Her brother, who had always been steady and unflappable even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, was somewhat restless for the first time. He nodded slightly at her and asked a few questions casually.

Just in these two sentences, Li Xijun glanced at the head of the hall twice. Beneath the spirit tablets, between the tables, hung a row of jade stones, some bright, some dim, emitting a warm light.

Li Yueshang bowed on the cushion to the side, raised her eyebrows slightly, looked at the rows of spirit tablets above, and muttered silently in her heart:

'Mother has also gone into seclusion to break through... I only hope... Heaven follows human wishes... let there be no unexpected twists and turns.'

Her eyes closed slightly. Just as she bowed down, a very light, very light shattering sound suddenly rang in her ears, along with the friction sound of Li Xijun gripping his sword hilt tightly and his heavy breathing.

"Crack..."

This sound was exceptionally clear in the silent hall. The lamps in the hall dimmed in unison, and Li Yueshang's movements stopped abruptly.

She raised her head. Before her were jade fragments and powder all over the floor. The warm jade stone that Li Xijun had stared at for several months at the very top burst, rolling down with a clatter.

Li Yueshang closed her eyes tightly, tears falling rapidly from the corners of her eyes, rolling down her neck and dripping onto her white clothes. She sniffed, gathered the jade stones on the ground together, and could not help but let out a cry.

"Father..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 468 =====