Chapter 676: Proclaiming the Early Zifu

Just as Li Cheng stepped out of Wushan, a cultivator in black armor approached. He had gray eyes, thin cheeks, a sword at his waist, and a rather gloomy expression. His teeth were clenched, and his gaze was heavy. "Clan Brother!"

The cultivator called out, and Li Cheng nodded.

"Chen Yang, what has happened?"

Chen Yang was now at the late stage of Qi Refining. A gray aura swirled around him; he cultivated the Kan Water method the Li family had obtained years ago, called the *Dui Ice Sea-Expanding Art*. Its grade was unknown, but it was a cut above the *River One-Qi Art*.

The black-armored cultivator said in a low voice:

"A group of people has arrived on the river. They are cultivators from the Floating Cloud Cave of the Three Sects of Mifan at Mount Xiaoshi Mountain. They claim to be here to offer congratulations."

"Congratulations?"

Li Cheng sneered and said in a low voice, "The Three Sects of Mifan at Mount Xiaoshi Mountain spy on the riverbank every single day. Today they move a foot, tomorrow an inch, colluding with demonic cultivators to appear on the north bank... Congratulations? They come with ill intent!"

The gloom on Chen Yang's face was clearly for this reason. His conversation with the envoys of the Three Sects of Mifan had obviously not been pleasant. The young man said in a low voice, "Reporting to you, my lord, the visitors are quite arrogant, yet they are led only by a guest elder at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. They intend to provoke our family to probe our true strength."

Chen Yang was deep in thought and was not a person to be trifled with. He saw through the opponent's scheme at once and bowed.

"The group has not entered the island but is acting aggressively in the air by the lakeside. The Old Master has already gone halfway to deal with them. I ask that you head there quickly, my lord."

Upon hearing that Li Li Xuanxuan had been intercepted by these people, Li Cheng finally changed color. The young man's pupil technique had an ancient air; his eyes were like lacquer, and purple light brewed beneath them. He said in a low voice:

"Let's go!"

Muffled thunder exploded beneath his feet, and his figure transformed into a streak of purple light, shuttling forward as he rushed toward the island.

From far away, he could hear the sound of shouting amplified by magic power, the voice slightly sharp: "How old is the old man! Still managing things at home!"

Li Cheng immediately looked up and saw An Siwei in white standing firm, the long spear behind him already in his hand, standing in a stalemate with the young Daoist in front of him.

Li Li Xuanxuan stood behind An Siwei, frowning, his old face showing some unease.

Li Cheng's anger rose. He arrived like a lightning bolt, landing among the noisy cultivators. The Six Orders swirled, shaking several people back a step. He used his other hand to forcefully plant his long spear, emitting a muffled boom.

"You..."

The young man's expression changed. He waved his hand to dissipate the momentum, looking displeased, and said in a low voice, "Oh... so it is Fellow Daoist Cheng!"

Although this person looked young and his voice was strong, his aura carried the scent of a setting sun. Li Cheng saw at a glance that this person had merely polished his appearance; privately, he was actually an old thing who had luckily broken through only after reaching a hundred years of age, thanks to the changes in the spiritual energy of the Xu State. He said coldly:

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

He pondered secretly in his heart:

"Floating Cloud Cave is not without high-level cultivators; this guy is purely a pawn for probing!"

The Three Sects of Mifan at Mount Xiaoshi Mountain were a sect that rose later on the north bank, just across the river. The three sects all inherited the lineage of Mount Xiaoshi Mountain, shared the same breath and branches, and had the Tangjin Gate as support behind them. Their strength was quite good.

These three sects were typical north-bank sects. They had no fixed orthodoxy and did not need to follow the immortal laws of the Three Sects and Seven Gates. The cultivators in the sect could cultivate immortality, cultivate demonic arts, or cultivate Buddhist arts. They were a mixed bag, and for the past ten years, they had been quite at odds with his family.

He did not recognize this person, but this person recognized him. Li Cheng had gone to the north bank to garrison a few years ago. With his thunder arts and the 【Six Thunder Profound Punishment Orders】, he had beaten several demonic cultivator brothers until they couldn't find their heads. The three sects were shaken and had to replace them with Buddhist cultivators to deal with him.

"Fellow Daoist Cheng... your cultivation has improved again! I am Zai Zai Xingzi, greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

Perhaps this Zai Zai Xingzi knew he was no match for Li Cheng and was on someone else's turf, so his attitude was still quite enthusiastic. He asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "I saw the old senior and asked in a low voice. I had no other intentions."

Li Cheng could hear the sarcasm in his previous words and said coldly:

"What business do you have, Fellow Daoist?"

Zai Zai Xingzi smiled and said, "My Sect Master saw colorful clouds rising together over Moon-Watching Lake, and the sky brightened at the hour of the Rat. It must be that Senior Li Ximing has broken through to the Early Zifu. We are here to offer congratulations! I wonder where the senior is?"

Li Cheng stared at him deeply and said coldly, "What does the business of my family's elder have to do with your Three Sects of Mifan? Please go back the way you came!"

Zai Zai Xingzi frowned and said:

"Fellow Daoist, you are quite impolite. I came to offer congratulations... why can't I see him even once... and the True Person hasn't announced it to the various families..."

He chuckled and answered his own question, "It seems the breakthrough failed... but there was an omen... could it be that your family's elder..."

The Three Sects of Mifan were indeed at odds with the Li family. Zai Zai Xingzi simply refused to enter the formation and stood outside it. His voice was thick and amplified by magic power, echoing endlessly over the lake.

Li Cheng frowned slowly.

The Li family's omen was known to the whole clan. All the families with the surname Wang were guessing it was Li Li Ximing, but they didn't know what it was, and the family kept it a secret. Everyone was already staring at the omen and guessing wildly.

Now that Zai Zai Xingzi said this, none of the families were fools; they guessed the truth to some extent. An Siwei and the others were all slightly stifled. Zai Zai Xingzi sneered:

"It's only been a dozen years and your family's elder has already failed his breakthrough. It seems it was truly too rash! Fellow Daoist Cheng, you know yourself... breaking through to the Early Zifu is not something that happens in a dozen years!"

Li Cheng held the order and did not move.

His family had just had an incident, and Zai Zai Xingzi had boldly rushed up here. Li Cheng immediately had many realizations, and his face sank.

"Floating Cloud Cave has shallow foundations. They couldn't possibly see the origin of the omen, let alone come to ask so confidently. Not to mention the entanglement with the Tangjin Gate behind them. No need to think too much, it's that Situ Mo again..."

He spoke so logically that the Three Sects of Mifan couldn't possibly understand. It must have been Situ Mo pointing the way behind the scenes. The Li family had been plotted against by this person many times years ago. Li Cheng had long since experienced this person's insidiousness and could only exhale secretly.

He said softly:

"The purple flames of my family's Wushan have not yet ceased, and the elder has not yet come out of seclusion... Fellow Daoist Zai Zai Xingzi, if you continue to make trouble here, don't blame my thunder arts for being heartless!"

Li Cheng did not give him time to babble. He blocked his words in one breath, and purple light already appeared on the token in his hand. Zai Zai Xingzi just chuckled.

'I knew long ago that Li Li Zhouwei had gone out to subdue demons! What are you pretending for? Besides the East Sea, where else would this guy dare to go... That white White Qilin is not here, how dare your Li family take the initiative to stir up trouble now?'

After Zai Zai Xingzi finished laughing, he hurriedly put on a terrified look and said in a low voice:

"Fellow Daoist, don't be angry! I was just concerned. So your family's elder has already broken through to the Early Zifu and is in seclusion recuperating... My Sect Master has long prepared a gift for me to send over. Your family must not drive me away!"

As he spoke, his gaze swept over, and he happened to meet Chen Yang behind Li Cheng. He saw that the man's eyes were extremely gloomy, like a bone-scraping knife, cold and poisonous, colliding directly.

Zai Zai Xingzi did not expect a Qi Refining cultivator to dare look at him like this. He was slightly stunned, and his prepared movements stopped. He paid attention to this person and thought secretly:

"What a poisonous gaze. I don't know which junior of the Li family this is. I must find an opportunity to kill him early."

Li Cheng heard the sarcasm in his words and felt a slight chill in his heart:

'It seems the various sects and gates have a considerable degree of certainty... Uncle Li Ximing's breakthrough failed... They came prepared. Blocking them this time... might not mean I can block them next time.'

The Li family actually knew that it was impossible to reach the Early Zifu in terms of time, and they also knew the hope was slim, but the jade talisman in the ancestral hall was still shining, and there was always a glimmer of hope hanging in their hearts.

But more than a decade had passed, and the jade talisman had not been nourished, so it was actually no longer accurate.

"Even if the family head plotted secretly, who could have expected to run into an omen..."

Li Cheng's thought passed in an instant. Zai Zai Xingzi had already sent the jade box up, his hands clasped quite politely, his eyes raised to look at him, his gaze cold.

Everyone's gaze was focused on this jade box. Li Cheng endured his anger and looked up. The jade box looked extraordinary on the outside, and he didn't know what was inside.

"Accept? Or not accept?"

Li Cheng hesitated only slightly, his expression returning to calm, and he prepared to reach out and take it.

'I can only deal with it first!'

Just as he reached out his hand, he noticed that a warm, faintly glowing hand had reached out first to pinch the jade box, picked it up casually, flipped it into that palm, and held it up to the sunlight to examine it closely.

'Hmm?'

Not only was Li Cheng stunned, but even Zai Zai Xingzi was stunned for a moment. The entire great lake was silent, and everyone looked up at the sky in a daze.

Between the two, a man in white-gold Daoist robes appeared abruptly. His features were not outstanding, but they were very upright. His pale golden eyes stared at the jade box, and a dazzling point of heavenly light shone brilliantly between his brows.

Zai Zai Xingzi was coming to the Li family for the first time and had never seen this person. Seeing only the heavenly light between his brows making him unable to open his eyes, he immediately had an epiphany and sneered in his heart:

"Li Li Zhouwei? So he hadn't gone out... So what?"

Before he could react and speak, he heard a slightly excited voice ring in his ears:

"Clan Uncle!"

'Clan Uncle? That's a generation off!'

Zai Zai Xingzi was suddenly in chaos. He stared blankly at the man's face, only to see the man's gaze pass over the jade box, his pale golden pupils projecting calmly onto his own face.

"This True Person has refined a divine ability, and your family brings this to congratulate me? A Qi Refining spiritual object?"

Zai Zai Xingzi's gaze was dull. He vaguely heard the old man behind Li Cheng wail and cry out. After crying for half a syllable, he started laughing again. The ecstasy on Li Cheng's face rapidly magnified in his pupils.

'Ah?'

'Li... Xi... Ming?! True Person?!'

Moon-Watching Lake was silent, save for the old man's loud laughter. Zai Zai Xingzi only felt chaos in his mind. A brilliant heavenly light appeared before his eyes, drilled into his pupils, and flew straight into his brain.

The skin on Zai Zai Xingzi's face seemed to be rolled by a gale, disappearing instantly, revealing his aged, wrinkled face. The horror in his eyes also disappeared. His pupils trembled violently, and his two eyes scrambled to jump out of their sockets, transforming into two large brown cicadas that flapped their wings and flew away.

The old man without eyes looked extremely terrifying. His two arms were like broken porcelain, shattering into a sky full of falling rain. The sun in the sky seemed to be some kind of terrifying magic treasure, causing his whole body to soften instantly. His flesh and blood seemed like cooked, rotten noodles, falling off with a clatter.

That heart jumped out of his abdominal cavity like an unbridled steed, dragging a long string of intestinal tails along with a stomach that looked like a large scorpion.

These things seemed to be just a fantasy for a moment. Everything on Zai Zai Xingzi was restored to its original appearance. His lips trembled twice, and with a bang, he exploded into a sky full of flying stones on the spot.

Li Li Ximing turned his face back.

Zai Zai Xingzi cultivated the Earth Virtue. These gravel stones filling the sky, clattering down, were already Bright Square Stones, like falling rain. Li Li Ximing stood quietly amidst this snow-white falling stone, and splashes rose everywhere on the lake surface.

The next moment, the crowd brought by Zai Zai Xingzi all went weak in the legs. There was no lack of cultivators who had been frightened into fainting, falling into the lake with a splash. The Li family cultivators scrambled to fish them out, used magic power to slap them awake, and pried their heads up to continue looking at the sky.

The purple flames on Mount Wu suddenly thickened. A brilliant heavenly light shot straight into the firmament, rapidly bordering the colorful clouds in the sky, transforming all these colorful clouds into dazzling, eye-piercing clouds. The entire Moon-Gazing Lake was filled with heavenly light, reflected in the mirror-like lake; the sky and the earth were a patch of mottled white.

Li Li Ximing did not speak, yet a vast sound wave spread out in the air, flying into the Great Void and extending to every corner of the Yue State: "The Moon-Gazing Li clan's Zhao Jing, Li Li Ximing, has this day attained the Bright Yang Guo Shentong! I proclaim the Early Zifu Immortal Clan. Three months from now, I shall hold a ritual sacrifice. All fellow Daoists are welcome to come and observe the ceremony!"

This voice was clear and harmonious. Under the blessing of the divine ability, it spread in all directions. Li Li Ximing rode his divine ability, floating on the lake surface, as bits of golden, brilliant light revealed themselves from within the colorful clouds.

"Hum..."

A bright white heavenly gate with intricate patterns towered up from within the colorful clouds. Majestic dragon flags and phoenix carriages, colorful and variegated, wove through them. Precious banners and streamers fluttered and flew. Golden-armored and golden-robed figures, each holding weapons, came across the sky.

Immortal music and mysterious songs hummed and played. This heavenly gate descended bit by bit from the horizon. Almost all the cultivators lost their composure, landing on the ground together to stand and watch.

"The Bright Yang divine ability, 'Visiting the Heavenly Gate'!"

Only now did Li Li Ximing know what a divine ability was! His true body only had purple flames and heavenly light; his entire divine ability lay in this grand 'Visiting the Heavenly Gate'! And the Wei Li were an imperial clan; this divine ability's pomp was truly awe-inspiring...

He stood quietly amidst a patch of heavenly light and immortal music. Many figures had long been standing in the Great Void, and now they revealed themselves one by one. Li Li Ximing nodded with a smile, listening to the various voices rising.

A black-suffused immortal mountain was the first to reveal its form, and a thick, resonant voice came:

"Congratulations to the young friend for breaking through to Early Zifu. Chang Xi, on behalf of the Profound Heaven, offers congratulations. I wish the young friend great success in your divine ability and to refine into a Golden Core in a hundred years!"

Li Li Ximing looked up. Sure enough, a middle-aged man wearing jade on his chest stood on the immortal mountain. With a slight blink, this middle-aged man revealed the aged appearance of white hair, which was quite miraculous.

"Senior, you are too polite!"

He returned the salute to this old senior. In the south, a patch of clouds simply appeared. An old man with a solemn expression stood in the clouds, the gaze he cast over was full of surprise, and even somewhat complex: "I am Si Si Boxiu of the Mount Qingchi... Young friend has broken through to Early Zifu. This old man, on behalf of the Mount Qingchi, offers congratulations. I present the Dahu as a congratulatory gift. I wish the fellow Daoist success in the Five Methods and to ascend to the Fruit Position!"

Sorry, I've kept everyone waiting for a long time. I really didn't intend to ask for leave at this critical juncture.

I made up for it until very late yesterday, so I'm going to catch up on sleep first zzz