Chapter 979

The cold wind was biting, white snow was piled up, and the forest was desolate.

The middle-aged man's face was pale, his robes gathered, his gaze stagnant, standing quietly in the snow, letting the heavy snow cover his clothes. The blizzard in the sky still did not stop, falling layer upon layer.

Before long, a young man came up halfway, his gaze cold. He knelt beside him and bowed:

"Clan Master... that Black Ape has come again... saying it wants to demand this year's blood food."

A sickly flush rose on the middle-aged man's face. He coughed twice, then slowly closed his eyes and answered:

"If it wants it, give it to him..."

"Yes..."

The young man slowly gritted his teeth and agreed. He stood up again, but after taking only a few steps, he was called back by the middle-aged man.

"Li Suining..."

Li Li Suining turned his head, only to see the man open his eyes and say quietly:

"I fear my days are numbered..."

Li Li Suining felt a sourness in his heart. He stepped forward and said in a low voice:

"I only ask Fifth Uncle to rest and heal his wounds in peace. If the True Person were still here... he would certainly not wish to see you belittle your own body..."

"True Person..."

The middle-aged man coughed a few times, a deep hatred appearing in his eyes, and there was even more pain between his brows:

"I am ashamed to be his bloodline. I have neither the divine ability of the Wei King nor the ability to refine elixirs. It is a pity... a pity..."

He paused and said gloomily:

"Li Suining."

Li Li Suining raised his brows, listening to him speak:

"Run for your life."

Li Li Suining fell silent, looking desolately at the heavy snow on the horizon. The middle-aged man muttered:

"You are the only remaining junior in our clan with a decent cultivation base... you are the most promising... Although Li Li Xibeng has some faults, he is not stupid, and you are even smarter than him... You also know that staying here is also death..."

"Now that True Person Ning has also fallen, even a Early Zifu cultivator is like this, let alone us? Staying here, we will die sooner or later. It is better to go out and venture; perhaps there is a glimmer of survival."

The young man remained silent, listening to him say:

"Everyone will die... I understood when that decree came down in those years; everyone will die... The Mingyang bloodline should be severed, otherwise it will surely make them unable to sleep or eat in peace... I, Li Zhouming... I, Li Zhouming, am a bait..."

"Grandfather, Wei King... are the reasons... are what they hate..."

Li Zhouming's face was deathly pale, as if he were already sleepy, but his expression had a sense of confusion, his lips opening and closing:

"Father... brother... heh..."

Li Li Suining remained silent, but his whole body was covered in cold sweat. Looking at the pale middle-aged man before him, seeing him close his eyes as if sleepy, he was shocked and suddenly knelt down, saying urgently:

"Fifth Uncle! Fifth Uncle!"

Blood flowed from the tip of the man's nose. He slowly leaned forward, leaning against his chest, causing Li Li Suining's pupils to dilate to the extreme. This young man, who had always been calm and strong, and had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finally wailed and cried:

"Wanling... Wanling Flower... it is gone... Uncle!"

But he saw the person in his arms breathing weaker and weaker, muttering in a broken voice:

"Old... time... where has the scenery gone..."

"Fifth Uncle!"

The spring cold was biting.

The lamp in the room had long been extinguished, and the cabinets on both sides were wide open, revealing the stacks of Daoist books inside, the handwriting vaguely visible in the dimness.

The pitch-black room was quiet, and one could vaguely hear the slight snoring of the person on the couch, the sound of footsteps outside, and the faint, babbling music coming from further away.

"Sincere... love received... immortal..."

But the footsteps stopped hurriedly, and a child's crisp voice came:

"Brother Ning!"

The voice outside was shadowy. After calling several times, the half-grown boy on the bed turned over, but could not open his eyes, as if trapped in some nightmare, only struggling.

"Creak!"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and a harsh friction sound rang out. The child who walked in looked no more than five or six years old, his face full of joy, shouting:

"Brother Ning!"

Just as the child walked in, the nanny chasing behind rushed over, sweating profusely, her face changing greatly, and she said in a low voice:

"Do not disturb your brother!"

This sound was like a thunderclap, finally breaking the nightmare. The boy opened his eyes in a daze. Seeing all the snow scenes disappear from before his eyes, and Li Zhouming's figure nowhere to be seen, he felt dazed:

'This was a dream... I am not dead yet... I actually dreamed of Uncle Zhouming...'

He was not surprised. Li Zhouming's death had a huge impact on him, and dreaming of it was to be expected. But in his daze, a sense of doubt suddenly burst forth from his heart.

'Canlu Fu... didn't it descend into the Zhu Lu Hai... I am actually able to live...'

'No... ever since I started practicing, how long has it been since I had a dream!'

In just an instant, the boy on the couch immediately flipped up, his eyes suddenly opening, bright as cold stars, full of killing intent, piercing over sharply and coldly:

"Who!"

This look made the nanny feel a chill in her heart, her whole body hair standing on end, and she began to doubt:

"Eldest Young Master... what is wrong with him... could it be that he hates the Master..."

But she still bowed and smiled:

"Eldest Young Master... I disturbed your sleep..."

But as she bowed, Li Li Suining was dazed, his gaze lingering on the doll before him, his pupils dilating rapidly.

"You... Kuan'er..."

He raised his gaze, scanning the furnishings in the room in disbelief, looking at them carefully from beginning to end. A hot blood rushed to his nose, and his expression suddenly converged.

'This is... this is... Li Dongdi Mansion...'

He closed his eyes, appearing sleepy, but was rapidly observing everything around him and the spiritual energy in his body that was ridiculously thin—it was everything he would never forget!

'It is... Tingzhou Wangyue Lake...'

No matter how much torture or how many storms he suffered later, lying awake night after night facing the wind and rain outside the window, he would always remember the time on the lake. When he fell in the Zhu Lu Hai, there was the same scene before his eyes, but it was far from as real as it was today.

"It seems... it is real..."

He neither asked the year nor had any extra surprise. In a moment of daze, he forcibly calmed down and sat up, answering in disbelief:

"Brother came to find me... is there something wrong at home."

The nanny's heart skipped a beat, knowing it could not be hidden. Sure enough, she saw Li Li Suikuan smiling and saying:

"I came to find my brother. I just heard that the Great Aunt from the lake is coming to the shore! I came to find my brother immediately!"

'Great Aunt... that's right... at this time, she is still alive... still a high cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage...'

He stood up in a daze, silent, stumbling a few steps, walking out the door, raising his head bit by bit, breathing the breeze by the lake that made his heart tremble, and looking up at the sky.

There was only one bright sun in the sky.

That Martial Cultivation Star, which was bright day and night and illuminated the earth, had not appeared.

His heartbeat accelerated to its peak in an instant, as if it were about to jump out of his throat, the hot blood coursing through his cheeks and pupils:

'The Great Song has not been established, the Shu throne has not been achieved... it is my fifteenth year... there are still five full years until the first year of Siwu, when the Yang family ascends the throne...'

'This year, the Great True Person has not yet been enfeoffed as the Wei King, the compassion has not yet arrived, and the chaos of Changhe has not yet occurred... Hu Keqing Ding should still be on the lake, and the one surnamed Wang has not yet reached the Early Zifu...'

'My family has not even climbed to the peak, there is no scenery of flowers and brocade, fire cooking oil, there is no miracle of four Early Zifu cultivators in one family in those years—and there is no future of sliding down from the peak... step by step towards decay, and the clan being exterminated in the Southern Frontier...'

'It is not too late... True Person Can Zhaojing will appear on the lake, and has not yet set off for the West Sea. Everything is still not too late...'

Countless thoughts raged in his mind, but were forcibly suppressed by him. The ability to endure wind and snow and cover his thoughts over these years suddenly had an unexpected effect, making him calm down in an instant.

'Must not be exposed... even if the Wei King said... the various peaks have benefited from the light of Mount Li Ji, and have the protection of the 【Fei Qingyi Yuanxin Instrument】, so the various great powers cannot peep... but must never underestimate them...'

Li Li Suining's thinking only lasted for an instant. He turned his head back and smiled:

"This is a great thing!"

Li Li Suikuan pouted, making Li Li Suining's gaze gentle for a moment.

His father died early, that Great Uncle Li Li Chengzao was very incompetent, and most of the Yuanwan branch were mediocre. But things would turn around; the two brothers Li Li Suikuan and Li Li Suining, who could practice, were extremely excellent... Li Li Chengzao could not see his own good, but Li Li Suikuan was very smart and always favored him... After the Battle of Weidu, the second manifestation appeared in the world, and he escaped, but this younger brother died in battle early and remained under that mountain forever.

'The clansmen blamed him a lot because of his ancestors' affairs, and he did not dare to return to the lake, never taking a step back under the mountain...'

In his previous life, only Li Li Chengzao knew that Great Aunt Li Li Minggong was coming, and only let Li Li Suikuan prepare carefully. But this younger brother secretly ran to tell him. Li Li Suining immediately pushed off today's autumn hunt, and only then did he get to see the adult. The two brothers were able to enter the continent together, otherwise they would have been a few days late, and although they might still have been able to see that Second Uncle Li Li Jianglong, they would mostly have missed the opportunity to meet Li Li Ximing.

It was also because Li Li Suikuan was in the middle that he could not care about that idiot Li Li Chengzao later, but that is a later story.

He only smiled:

"Thank you, brother... I just promised a few brothers that I was going to the autumn hunt!"

The boy ignored the nanny on the side, walked forward quickly, took his younger brother's hand, and walked all the way out. When they reached the mansion diagonally opposite, he calculated the time and smiled:

"You go in first. It is not appropriate for me to go in empty-handed. I will come later."

Li Li Suikuan nodded and smiled as he pushed the door and went in. Li Li Suining walked around outside, picked up some melons and fruits, and stared carefully at the sky. It was not until the light of the True Fire arrived in an instant and fell into the courtyard that he knocked on the door:

"Is the adult in the mansion? Li Suining has come to visit!"

He heard the door creak open. The people inside knelt in a row. In the center stood a woman in palace attire, who was beautiful and dignified, gentle and atmospheric. True fire vaguely appeared on her body, and her eyes were full of power, extremely oppressive.

It was Li Li Minggong!

He pretended to be surprised, hurriedly bowed, and said respectfully:

"Greetings, Great Aunt!"

Li Li Minggong nodded at him, her gaze sweeping over the melons and fruits in his hand, and answered:

"So it is the descendant of the Second Brother... is it Li Suining?"

"Yes..."

Li Li Suining saw her and only felt his eyes heat up.

After the Great Song was established, the Li clan had almost no peaceful days. Although the Li family became more and more famous in the world during the long days of fighting, and many people held important positions... but in the end, several adults also fell one after another.

Shu and Song fought for Guyan three times. Li Aunt Xinghan and Li Li Minggong died one after another. The Zhuang clan was wiped out. Li Li Minggong was surrounded by five people, the red fire was vast, burning into the True Fire Solitary Smoke of the desert, and it also burned the Old Adult so that he could no longer bear it, vomiting blood and lying in bed, never having another day to get up.

Li Li Suining only took one look and lowered his head with some excitement. It was still normal. Li Li Minggong withdrew her gaze and said lightly to Li Li Chengzao:

"I will take the two children away."

The middle-aged man on the side had his gaze flicker on him, but he quickly withdrew it. Seeing that he was very excited, he hurriedly said:

"Yes... thank you, Eldest Sister! Thank you, Eldest Sister..."

Li Li Minggong never had a cold face towards her own family. Even if she was extremely disappointed with Li Li Chengzao in her heart, her tone was only cold. She used true fire to support the two children, swept a glance at him, and said:

"You are not young anymore... don't think about tossing around, leave some decency for the juniors."

She rode the fire and went up into the sky. Li Li Suikuan was flying for the first time, both happy and surprised. Li Li Suining was already used to it, but he savored it in his heart:

"In my previous life, I was still ignorant and did not notice it, but now that I hear it like this, Great Aunt obviously knows a lot of things..."

Li Li Minggong did not stop at just one place. She went to several more towns to ensure that all the direct lines could send people to the lake normally, without any intention of oppression or bias. Only then did she take a good number of children and go all the way to the lake.

Li Li Suining lowered his brows slightly, seeing many brothers and sisters from his previous life board the fire one by one, corresponding to them one by one, and realizing that nearly half of the children could not even find their future appearance, having died even earlier, feeling sour in his heart.

He quietly held Li Li Suikuan's hand. His own 【Zhaoguang Gao Xuanzi Array】 had already appeared before his eyes. Looking at the purple-gold mysterious pillars surrounded by immortal mist, infinite hope rose in his heart.

'This life... must be different from the past...'

He thought cautiously:

'Cultivation is too slow... The cultivation in my previous life was too slow. I must have enough cultivation speed so that my words can be valued by the adults, so that I can play a role at the critical moment... so that... I can know the truth behind everything...'

'Opportunity... opportunity... I fear I can only go to the North Sea... but the distance is too far. At least I must reach Foundation Establishment to have the certainty of retreating unscathed!'

He was originally the most outstanding junior of the Suiyu generation, and his fighting and strength were also high. In his previous life, he walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and his calmness and coldness reached another realm, which was why he could painfully witness the decline and destruction of the entire Li family, and finally be reused by Li Zhouming.

'Then before Foundation Establishment... I can only rely on the family. I must never be as humble and confused as I was in my childhood in my previous life. I must fight... I must make the adults change their view of the Yuanwan branch earlier...'

'Must find a way... save Ding Ding Weijian first. With this great general, it will surely be of great benefit to the future pattern!'

His gaze was deep, but he could not perceive the colorful lights intertwined in the Great Void. These colorful lights reflected like water, contrasting with pieces of silver light.

Out of the south bank, there was no array protection. The mysteriousness of the search shuttle quickly hovered behind him, rolling into his mind without any obstruction, reading his memories one by one!

It was not until he sank into the 【Zhaoguang Gao Xuanzi Array】 that there was nothing conspicuous, and this mysteriousness quietly retreated. The many changes in the Great Void gradually returned to plainness and disappeared.

Mount Zhijing Mountain.

The sky was bright, and white flowers were falling.

Two True Persons were sitting opposite each other, one in white and gold, sipping tea without a word, the other in green, hanging a sword, quite dashing.

"Has Simin County also fallen?"

Si Si Yuanli now appeared calm. Hearing the other party ask this, he nodded silently and answered:

"It was your family's Li Jiangliang who stayed behind. Chen Wenyao went all the way east, and he should be going to Lin Hai County."

"Lin Hai County..."

Li Li Ximing pondered:

"The Great Wukui Temple has been closed for many years. Lin Hai County is still governed by various families. Although there are many annexations and several aristocratic families have been pushed out, it is not enough to stop the current Chen Wenyao... It will soon be recovered by the adult."

"Not bad."

Si Si Yuanli nodded:

"If this place is recovered, Ziyan will not be far away. The general framework of the Yue State has already come out. Heng Zhu hid in the blessed land, and some guest officials of the Bi family and a few people with thin bloodlines are governing outside, which will be decided in a snap."

"But if Ziyan is recovered, I fear it will touch the wilderness."

Li Li Ximing saw that he was quite worried, shook his head, and answered:

"No harm..."

Si Si Yuanli nodded secretly and smiled:

"The matter you asked me to inquire about, Daoist friend... after tossing for a few years, there is finally news!"

"Oh?"

Li Li Ximing felt a joy in his heart and asked:

"Is it True Person Zhusheng?"

"Exactly!"

Si Si Yuanli laughed, with a bit of pride, and answered:

"I could never find him in Shahuang. After thinking for a long time, I found him at a friend's place in the North Sea. It turns out he was helping a friend refine talismans... After hearing my words, he was very happy..."

"He also asked me to ask Can Zhaojing... about that 'Red Dust on the Court'..."

The 【Red Dust on the Court】 was difficult to collect. In those years, a copy was given to the Ziyan Sect. Now that there were two copies in hand, it was naturally enough to deal with Zhusheng. Li Li Ximing nodded and asked:

"Does the True Person have any good things?"

Si Si Yuanli hurriedly said:

"He has a way to get a 【Linwu Spirit Molt】 and a Early Zifu spiritual resource of Mingyang 【Next Manifestation White Gold】!"

"What!"

This stunned Li Li Ximing for a moment. This Mingyang spiritual object 【Linwu Spirit Molt】 had a way, and it was widely circulated. It was also one of the first Mingyang Early Zifu spiritual objects that Li Li Ximing and others knew about!

Si Si Yuanli expected him to be pleasantly surprised, and only said:

"This was obtained by a True Person under the North Yao Lady in those years in a Cave Heaven of the Douxuan lineage. In the current world, 【Linwu Spirit Molt】 is used less and less, and it is even more precious than the 【Mingfang Heavenly Stone】 of those years!"

Li Li Ximing had long known about 【Linwu Spirit Molt】, which was more precious than any fire spiritual object! This was definitely in the top three among the materials suitable for refining Mingyang spiritual armor, not to mention the Mingyang Early Zifu spiritual resource 【Next Manifestation White Gold】!

While regretting that the time came late, he happily said:

"Daoist friend Liu, did you say when you can get it in your hands?"

Si Si Yuanli pondered and said in a low voice:

"It will take ten days or half a month at least. He still needs to collect spiritual resources to exchange... When the time comes, I will come to find you personally!"

"No harm, no harm!"

Since it was Mingyang's thing, Li Li Ximing could ask Qize first. At most, he would pay some extra work fees to Dingyangzi. Even if the time was too late, there were plenty of places to use it—Li Li Zhouwei still needed spiritual soldiers!

For a time, he was in a great mood. Si Si Yuanli also felt that he had earned a favor. Both sides were satisfied. Seeing Li Li Ximing take out a jade box from his sleeve and place it in front of him, he said casually:

"【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】, six pills."

Si Si Yuanli was overjoyed, hurriedly opened the jade box, and saw six pills placed neatly inside, emitting a cyan light. It was indeed 【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】!

"Daoist friend's alchemy is truly amazing!"

He naturally knew that Li Li Ximing kept 【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】 for himself. After all, the rules were like this now. It would be difficult for him to refine three pills himself... let alone get six pills now? These alchemists often take things from people, which is considered a mutual benefit.

Li Li Ximing was hopeful and asked:

"This is already the second copy of 【Empty Heart Profound Mulberry】 that you have taken out? It seems you still have some on hand?"

Si Si Yuanli inherited the wealth of the Sima family and could be said to be rich! Now it was the second time he had asked him to refine 【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】—you must know that the raw materials for this elixir are spiritual objects!

"There is really none left this time!"

Si Si Yuanli smiled half-truthfully. Li Li Ximing estimated that there would be business to do in the future, and he was satisfied in his heart. He saw this True Person leave quickly and ride the wind away.

Li Li Ximing shook his sleeve and took out a small jade bottle, which contained 【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】!

He could refine a full eight pills of this elixir at a time. Excluding the six pills given to Si Si Yuanli, he had saved four pills after two times. He took one a few days ago, and there were three left to use.

It was just that he looked at the immortal foundation that was condensing in his Qi sea, and he inevitably felt some regret.

"'World Bright'... is not easy after all."

Li Li Zhouwei had been in seclusion to heal his wounds for five years. Li Li Ximing's 'World Bright' immortal foundation had been cultivated to perfection and pushed to Rising Yang. But even though he had ten thousand expectations in his heart, he failed as expected.

The hope fell through, and Li Li Ximing was not very frustrated. Instead, a doubt that had always made him uneasy in his heart got an answer:

'Even if the immortal foundation fails to be lifted, the mysterious bottle in the heaven and earth where the sun and moon shine together will still have talisman energy falling down to bless the immortal foundation!'

Although he had expected it, when that portion of talisman energy fell on the immortal foundation, he still felt peace in his heart and was overjoyed.

'From now on, I don't have to be tied up!'

It was just a pity for a portion of 【Zhaoche Zhaoche Yuan Qi】. Fortunately, the 【Red Dust on the Court】 of those years was precious, and Senior Tinglan's 【Zhaoche Zhaoche Yuan Qi】 had three portions, which was enough for the time being.

'The Ziyan Sect is blocked, and the Qi can be cut off in the future... Li Zhouwei succeeded in one go. I should not fail to push it three times... This is only the second divine ability. Three failures, if it were on other Early Zifu cultivators, it would be thirty or fifty years in a snap...'

He felt a little uneasy in his heart, but he comforted himself in the end:

"Plus the assistance of 【Empty Sleeve Profound Dao Powder】, the time to condense the immortal foundation is extremely short... At worst, replace the in the heaven and earth where the sun and moon shine together."

No matter what, the matter of spiritual armor could not be delayed. He immediately called out:

"Is Li Minggong still on the lake?"

There was an immediate answer from below, and someone said respectfully:

"Reporting to the True Person... Adult Li Minggong has gone to the lake..."

Li Li Ximing raised his brows.

Those who served on the mountain were all clever, and their status and bloodlines were not low. The man hurriedly said respectfully:

"Reporting to the True Person, in a few days it will be the day for newcomers to enter the continent to practice. The adult should be going to the lakeside to pick up people in advance!"

"Oh?"

Li Li Ximing felt a little emotional and asked:

"Is it the Suiyu generation? Li Minggong has always been dedicated..."

Li Li Minggong had always been responsible for the contact with Baiyang Mountain. One was that her status was heavy enough, and the other was that she was familiar with the other party. Li Li Ximing was too lazy to change people, so he smiled and stood up, placed the jade slip in his hand on the case, and said with interest:

"Just right, let's go take a look."

Characters appearing in this chapter

——

Li Li Ximing 【Early Early Zifu】 【Early Zifu Alchemist】

Si Si Yuanli 【Early Early Zifu】 【Sima Family】

Li Li Minggong 'Zhili Hang' 【Late Foundation Establishment】 【Bo Branch Direct Line】

Li Li Suining 【Bo Branch Direct Line】 【Taisu Blessing (Fake)】