Chapter 70

The old man, seemingly confident of victory, leisurely cast a spell, held out a brilliant white light in his left hand, and looked at him with a smile.

Li Xiangping remained silent, took out a pale yellow talisman, slapped it on his body, instantly erected a pure white light shield, turned his head, and ran toward the lake.

The old man wasn't angry. He patted the storage bag at his waist, put away the jade pendant, and followed Li Xiangping with a smile, his small eyes vigilantly watching his every move, secretly thinking:

"Why does it look like the Jade Origin Talisman of the Qingchi Sect? Didn't the two sects reach a tacit understanding long ago? The Qingchi Sect disciples in the area from Wangyue Lake to the Mushroom Forest should have withdrawn long ago."

"No, if they were Qingchi disciples, why would they need to flee? This person is afraid of having some connection with the Qingchi Sect. I must still be cautious and careful not to capsize in the gutter. Let him run first; once he exhausts his magic power, he won't be able to use any talisman treasures or magic tools."

Following Li Xiangping like a ghost, the old man became happier the more he thought about it, almost laughing out loud.

"It's truly heaven helping me. The Qingchi Sect people have retreated, the Tangjin Gate people are taking advantage of the situation in the south, and this kid is blindly running north into the Tangjin Gate's territory. It seems the opportunity is destined to fall into my hands."

The more he thought, the more excited the old man became, recalling the way the immortal mansion's successor had slaughtered everyone hundreds of years ago, and his master's dying words.

The old man was originally a loose cultivator under the Tangjin Gate. When his master's lifespan was nearing its end, he passed a jade pendant to him, touched him when he was only twenty years old, and said:

"During the chaos of the immortal mansion's successor hundreds of years ago, my lineage also participated. This jade pendant was obtained from that person."

"That fierce man had cultivated a divine ability and a physical body of law; his flesh, blood, tendons, and bones were all heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Because of this, he was torn limb from limb by the three sects and seven gates. Loose cultivators like us had no chance to share even a piece of meat, so we had no choice but to use vessels to collect the blood that splashed out during the scramble. Your grandmaster picked up this jade pendant in a rain of blood, and because of it, he suffered heavy injuries and passed away shortly after returning."

At that time, he was still a young Daoist, opening his eyes blankly, listening to his master's faint breathing, and saying weakly:

"Your uncle and I studied it for over a hundred and thirty years and gained some clues. There should be an immortal mansion inheritance in this jade pendant, but it's missing another treasure... You... you can go out and search for it..."

The old man was thinking about this when he saw the person in front suddenly stop, turn his head, and reveal those fierce, hawk-like eyes, staring viciously at him, startling the old man into stopping his steps.

Feeling he had lost some face, the old man sneered:

"Why, have you thought it through?"

Li Xiangping also sneered, revealing a grey-green mirror in his hand. White light flickered on the mirror, and a strong sense of danger rushed toward the old man's face.

"Damn it, he really has something."

The old man let out a strange cry. In an instant, twelve talismans around him rang out, a golden, brilliant shield rose in front of him, and he formed seals with both hands, rapidly injecting magic power into it.

Who would have thought that this sense of danger would vanish in a flash? The old man was stunned, and Li Xiangping had already darted far away like a rabbit.

The old man suddenly realized, cursed viciously, dispersed the magic on his hands, and sneered:

"You have many little tricks."

Stepping lightly with his feet, he closed the distance like a ghost, but saw Li Xiangping reveal the mirror again, shining white light at him.

The sense of danger rushed toward him. The old man, cautious for many years, cast twelve talismans without hesitation, raising a golden, brilliant shield.

"Fool!"

But then he heard a sneer from the front. The old man, despite his good temper after years of cultivation, felt an uncontrollable rage rising. He condensed golden light on his hands, waved away the shield, and was about to cast a spell to kill Li Xiangping.

Who would have thought that just as the shield dispersed, the old man's pupils would reflect a flawless, vast white light.

————

Li Xuanxuan was pacing back and forth in the courtyard in distress. Family Head Li Xiangping had not returned all night, and the people stationed at Li Daokou also claimed they hadn't seen any white light anomalies.

"Originally, we agreed to release the Taiyin Mysterious Light and then retreat home. It shouldn't have taken more than a few hours!"

Looking at the rising dawn, Li Xuanxuan's unease grew stronger, almost forcing him to rush out of the gate to investigate the situation at the Wan family.

The golden light that flashed in the eastern sky last night had extinguished in just a quarter of an hour. Li Xuanxuan stood on the top of Lijing Mountain all night facing the night wind, silently clenching his fists.

"If it's the worst-case scenario."

Li Xuanxuan's eyes were slightly red, and one name after another appeared in his mind.

"Li Yesheng, Li Qiuyang, Chen Erniu..."

Li Tongya was still on Guanyun Peak, Li Xiangping's life or death was unknown, and now the only direct manager of the Li family was thirteen-year-old Li Xuanxuan. Below him, Li Xuanfeng was only seven, and Li Xuanling was only five.

"Young Master!"

A low call woke Li Xuanxuan. When the young man raised his head, his face was already full of smiles, and he said with a gentle smile:

"Uncle Yesheng? What is it?"

"This subordinate searched Meichi Mountain and Lijing Mountain several times, but could not find the Family Head..."

Li Yesheng stroked his beard, lowered his brows, and said in a deep voice.

He had also seen the golden light on the horizon last night and was preparing to report it to Li Xiangping, but after searching back and forth twice, he couldn't find Li Xiangping's figure.

"Uncle had a sudden realization last night and has gone into seclusion to prepare for a breakthrough."

Li Xuanxuan smiled lightly, looking into Li Yesheng's eyes and explaining.

"So that's it!"

Li Yesheng suddenly realized and smiled:

"The Family Head is in seclusion in the backyard of Lijing Mountain this time?"

Li Xuanxuan's heart skipped a beat, but he replied with an unchanged expression:

"Exactly."

Li Yesheng nodded, cleverly changed the subject, reported the village affairs of the past few days to Li Xuanxuan, and took his leave.

Seeing Li Yesheng leave the mountain, Li Xuanxuan slowly sat in the main seat in the courtyard, sitting alone in the empty, vast courtyard, looking at the horizon with a gloomy face.

Down the mountain.

Li Yesheng hurried into the courtyard, took off his outer robe, handed it to the servant who came to meet him, frowned, and shouted:

"Li Xiewen!"

Seeing no response in the courtyard for a long time, Li Yesheng remembered that Li Xiewen had been sent to Li Daokou by Li Xiangping.

Looking at the people surrounding him in the courtyard, Li Yesheng took the teacup handed to him, sat in the main seat in the courtyard, and said in a deep voice:

"Is there any movement from Li Qiuyang?"

"None."

Taking a light sip of tea, Li Yesheng's brows furrowed tightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"Has the Wan family sent anyone to ask for help today?"

"Reporting to the Manager, not yet."

Li Yesheng's expression became heavy. He looked at the people below and whispered in an almost inaudible voice:

"Has the main family... sent anyone to... control the clan soldiers?"

Seeing the people below shaking their heads, Li Yesheng exhaled a long breath, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

"I was overthinking it." ===== CHAPTER 71 =====