Chapter 988: The Old Man's Reminiscence

"An Xuanxin..."

The main hall was solemn and majestic. Li Li Ximing listened quietly to the report from below. Beside him, Ding Ding Weijian's tone was low and filled with grief as he said quietly:

"Reporting to the True Person, for the past two years, Xuanxin has been by my side, guarding the riverbank. First, to resist the demonic cultivators, and second, to track down the lurking Buddhist cultivators. His contributions have been immense..."

"Today, I had just received orders from Young Master Zhou Fang to go to the dense forest to report, leaving him alone on the mountain to wait... I never imagined he would fall right into the karmic fire."

Li Li Jiangxia, standing below the steps, lowered his brow. A young man in white robes adorned with jade stepped out from behind him. His appearance was somewhat handsome, but his face was covered in tears. He knelt beside Ding Ding Weijian, choking with sobs as he respectfully said:

"My second brother gave his life for the lake; he did not fail the expectations of our elders!"

The An family's lineage was excellent. This man was An Xuanxin's elder brother, An Xuantong. He had achieved Foundation Establishment at almost the same time as his younger brother. Having been by Li Li Jiangxia's side for many years, he was the Third Young Master's most capable assistant.

And this Third Young Master, who had always been known for his forthright and heroic nature, had a gloomy face at this moment, his eyes filled with sorrow.

The wilderness had been managed by Li Li Jiangxia for many years, but the karmic fire had burned it clean, and the losses were extremely heavy. Whether it was the trusted aides he had promoted bit by bit or the forces cultivated by his mother's family, it could be said that everything had fallen in a single day.

The only thing worth rejoicing about was that Li Li Jiangxia had worried his trusted aides would be transferred away by his second brother while he was in seclusion. Except for An Xuanxin, who was with Ding Ding Weijian, An Xuantong, Wan Qi, and others who were Li Li Jiangxia's trusted aides had all returned to the mountain early to go into seclusion, so they were not lost in the wilderness. Otherwise, he, Li Li Jiangxia, would truly have no one left to use!

Similarly, even more painful was Li Li Jiangxia's maternal An clan. Not only was An Xuanxin, the new generation's genius, killed by the karmic fire, but forty percent of the entire An family's connections and old subordinates were in the wilderness... Now, they were reduced to ashes. If it weren't for An Siwei taking quite a few people to the East Sea, it would be even more miserable now!

An Xuantong's heart dripped with blood as he lowered his head and knelt on the ground.

Although Li Li Ximing did not pay much attention to the appointments and removals within the clan, how could he not see such things? If it weren't for Li Li Jiangxia and the An clan having great power in the wilderness, Ding Ding Weijian, as his confidant, would not have stayed in the wilderness, and Li Li Zhouwei would not have let Li Li Jiangliang stay to guard the dense forest under Cui Cui Jueyin's cultivation back then. Of course, this True Person knew in his heart which faction had suffered the heaviest losses. He sighed slightly and replied:

"Rise first."

The two hurriedly stood up. Li Li Ximing looked around and said:

"This fire in the east will not burn for too long. Just wait quietly for now; do not go out..."

He closed his eyes and pondered:

"Ding Weijian... you said... it was Zhou Fang who asked you to go to the dense forest? Where is Zhou Fang?"

Li Li Minggong, standing to the side, stepped forward and respectfully said:

"When the chaos began, the court guards had already gone out to suppress the various peaks and bring back the cultivators from each prefecture. He is responsible for counting the direct descendants of each branch. I will go find him and bring him up."

"No need."

Li Li Ximing remembered something. Back then, it was also in the wilderness that disaster struck. The brothers Li Li Zhoufang and Li Li Zhouyang were originally serving in the wilderness and should have met with a murderous disaster, but because Li Li Zhoufang had an accident before leaving, they avoided it...

'This child has some luck on him... If it weren't for him, Ding Weijian would likely have lost his life too.'

He just suppressed this matter, kept it in his heart, and said softly:

"Although the lake's great array has been activated now and the purple light is roaming, which can protect the cultivators, we cannot let our guard down. Everyone, stay well on the island and send more people out to inquire about news."

"Yes."

Li Li Jianglong stepped forward and respectfully answered. Li Li Ximing turned his head to look at Li Jiangzong:

"Jiangzong, you can take the medicine and go into seclusion. There will be great chaos in the future. If you don't do it now, perhaps there won't be a good spiritual atmosphere later."

"Yes!"

Li Jiangzong answered. Only then did Li Li Ximing cast his gaze on Li Zhouda. He was shocked to find that his cultivation was solid and his thunder pool was thick; he actually had quite a bit of prestige. He praised:

"You are the same. After the middle stage of Foundation Establishment passes and you stabilize your cultivation for two years, come up the mountain to find me."

Li Zhouda had not been prominent in his early years, and no one had thought he would have such prestige today. Li Li Ximing also felt pleasantly surprised, but the Early Zifu realm was obviously impractical, and there was no need to save it. With one talisman pill, he would first raise Li Zhouda to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, which would also be a combat force.

He arranged the matters for several people one by one, took out magic treasures and elixirs to bestow upon them, and then let the people in the hall disperse, leaving only Li Li Xuanxuan behind. Only then did he see Li Li Zhouwei speak:

"The Senior Qingyan Demon King of the West Sea has sent a letter asking for Uncle Grandmaster to go over. Now..."

Li Li Ximing just shook his head:

"I was already hesitant, and now I can't go even more!"

Li Li Zhouwei nodded:

"Uncle Grandmaster went to the East Sea and happened to encounter True Person Zhong Zhong Qian of Chengshuize breaking through to the Early Zifu realm."

"Zhong Zhong Qian..."

Li Li Ximing first raised his eyebrows, then quickly shook his head with some regret. Seeing Li Li Zhouwei looking at Li Li Xuanxuan, he hesitated and comforted:

"Although our family has quite a connection with him, Cheng Yun has defected to the north, and it is hard to say what will happen in the future. Back then, Mount Qingchi ordered our predecessors to use him to enter the cave heaven, but he helped our predecessors in the Da Ning Palace. I remember the Lord mentioning this to me... Perhaps he didn't know he was being used when he was at Foundation Establishment, but since he is at the Early Zifu realm and is now hostile to the south, he likely knows about this matter too."

"Now that our positions are hostile, I'm afraid there is no friendship to speak of in the future, and we might even have to face each other on the battlefield. I will repay this favor, gift him spiritual resources, and consider it settled so that when we fight in the future... we won't owe each other anything."

Li Li Xuanxuan could only nod and sigh. Li Li Ximing looked at him, did not mention the matter of conversion, and only said:

"I went to the East Sea and only brought back one 【Feather Under the Neck】. First, 【Wall-Sinking Water】 is truly scarce, and second, several places in the East Sea have also fallen into chaos. I heard that True Person Miao of Listening Thunder Island and Luo She of Nanshun have conflicted, and there is chaos in several other places. Quite a few markets have been closed."

He shook his head with some emotion and replied:

"It is truly a world of great chaos. I asked Senior Liu about the orthodoxy related to the array, and put aside my pride to ask him for some inheritance of the array path. Fortunately, Senior Liu did not disappoint people; he has always been generous and immediately took out the things."

"According to him... regarding the array path, the first is the 'Tang Liang Silver' of 'Ku Jin' in his hands. Although this cultivation method is good, it is not suitable for cultivation, and even if one wants to cultivate it, there is no Qi... But he has a precious 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Divine Scroll】 in his hands, the 'Ju Nan Heng' of 'Si Tian'."

"As for other orthodoxies that are helpful to the array path, there are two more from 'Si Tian': 'Listening to the Awakening Stars' and 'Divine Cloth Order', one 'Reaching the Wanted Brilliance' from 'Shang Yi', and one 'Xiao Jin', which is now extinct. Even the one of 'Wu Tu', those are not things we can covet..."

Li Li Ximing put down the cup in his hand, his divine ability moved faintly, and he ordered:

"Call Li Suining up."

The person outside the hall walked down quickly. Li Li Xuanxuan said sternly:

"Minghuang! I asked someone! This child's ability to form arrays by reading books is by no means inferior to your Uncle Grandmaster's talent for alchemy back then. He is a rare genius!"

Li Li Zhouwei was thoughtful, but saw Li Li Ximing smile and say:

"We are all our own people. Why should Grandfather save face for me? Do I have the ability to form alchemy by reading books? He was in hardship by the lake and could still be like this. Ning Wan was only so-so back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made a special trip to the East Sea for him!"

Not long after, a person came, paid respects outside the main hall, and a slightly excited, trembling voice came:

"Junior Li Suining, pays respects to the two True Persons!"

"Come up!"

Li Li Ximing lowered his brow slightly.

The youth pushed the door and entered. Seeing the sky light vaguely, he did not dare to raise his head. He walked all the way to the steps and bowed again, his forehead sticking to the ground. Only when he got close did he hear the old man's kind voice:

"Rise."

Li Li Suining only felt his arm lighten. It turned out the old man had already stood up and pulled him up. Only then did Li Li Suining raise his eyebrows to look. He saw the old man in front of him in ink-blue clothes, his hair gray. Although he was old, his eyes were still spirited, smiling and staring at him.

Li Li Suining had not met him many times in his previous life, but every time they met, the old man would always help him up, and his sleeves would become heavy as some elixir resources fell in. Later, Li Li Xuanxuan was in poor health and did not show his face much. It was only heard that he returned to Mount Lijing the day before he passed away. Li Li Suining was outside and did not even see him for the last time.

"He is a rare good child!"

"Hmm."

This voice was gentle and heavy. It was Li Li Ximing on the stage, which immediately made Li Li Suining turn his face.

The light in the main hall rippled. The dazzling sky light behind the main seat spilled down. The True Person in white-gold attire sat on the main seat, the bright light between his eyebrows eye-catching, like a god.

Standing beside him was a young man, tall, wearing black-gold gorgeous clothes, turning his side towards him. Those powerful hands were steadily holding a teapot, and the clear tea was slowly poured into the cup, making a fine sound.

Li Li Suining had not seen him for many years. His heart was shaken, and he was so excited that he wanted to cry. He lowered his eyebrows:

'King Wei!'

The young man in front of him was the white White Qilin of the human world, the feudal lord who killed from Jiangbei to the Dai land—and also the only king in the world who could make the divine abilities of the north and south retreat, worthy of being an emperor...

These titles were not enough to make Li Li Suining like this. The Li family at that time was already used to it, used to the days when this King Wei suppressed the north and south and made the three families of Zhixuan, Fengwu, and Zhenghuai bow their heads. Even when the news that the second manifestation of the Wei capital appeared and the sun lost its brilliance returned to the lake, the entire Li family lost their breath, and the people were panicked to an unprecedented degree. It even made the several factions in the clan who were arguing until their faces were red and ears were red lose their souls and cry to each other that night...

How could Li Li Suining, who had walked through those three days of lost brilliance, not be palpitated? He bowed on the ground, and fear rose in his heart:

'Can I really hide it from him!'

"Drip."

The tea was seven-tenths full. The young man put down the pot, his golden eyes turned, somewhat surprised. He took a step forward, his gaze fell on him, but he did not speak.

Li Li Ximing had seen him earliest, but this time he was more familiar with him. He smiled and nodded, took out a stone box from his sleeve, waved his sleeve to open it, revealed three jade slips, placed them gently on the case, and said sternly:

"I went to the East Sea and found three cultivation methods for the family."

"The first is the 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Formula】 obtained from True Person Yuan Bian, which achieves 'Dou Heng Brother Xuan', anciently called 'Ju Nan Heng'. It can calculate positions and situations, determine shifts and change spirits. It is said that if achieved, it is of great benefit to driving array flags."

Li Li Suining heard this and knew in his heart that his previous guess was correct. It was already clear:

'The 【Golden Chapter Upper Tablet Formula】 was sent from the East Sea! In this life, because the True Person went personally, there was no risk of the previous life, and he must have brought back the 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Divine Scroll】. The 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Formula】 is actually the Qi Refining part of the Divine Scroll!'

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately joy and doubt arose:

'Three? One more than the previous life?'

The True Person in front of him said leisurely:

"This second one is also obtained from True Person Yuan Bian, called 【Great Void Dou-Turning Formula】, which achieves 'Divine Cloth Order'. It can calculate mysterious sequences, push and shift the situation, and also serve as a divine position."

... calculate mysterious sequences, push and shift the situation, and also serve as a divine position...

These twelve words made Li Li Suining slightly stagnant. An impulse rose from his heart, making his hair stand on end and his heart palpitate.

"Finally... there is also one 'Reaching the Wanted Brilliance' from 'Shang Yi'. The cultivation method is good, and the spiritual energy is easy to collect, but it still needs to wait for a year or two. It can change the terrain and spiritual veins to form an array, and a 【Awakening Star Monitoring World Formula】 that was originally hidden in the clan. It is an ancient method that can listen to and observe others' words, but unfortunately, the grade is not high."

Li Li Ximing looked at him with a smile, as if asking him, and as if asking the old man beside him and Li Li Zhouwei on the other side:

"You must choose carefully!"

Li Li Zhouwei's gaze swept over, and his heart was already clear:

'Since Uncle Grandmaster took it out, he must have seen the sun and moon shining together in the world. There must be subsequent orthodoxies of these cultivation methods that can be exchanged... Otherwise, it is absolutely impossible to let this child cultivate a third-grade cultivation method...'

The three pondered, but Li Li Ximing's words were heard by Li Li Suining who was kneeling below. He sorted them out clearly, but his mind had already turned to the extreme:

'The time in the previous life was tight. It was enough to be sent to the juniors, not for me...'

'But now the True Person went personally, so there are two extra ones. These two... perhaps they are more helpful to the array path, perhaps they are more suitable for the current Wangyue Lake combined with the situation, but most of them are that True Person Yuan Bian does not have subsequent paths...'

But for him, Li Li Suining, is the subsequent path important? He knew his cultivation speed. Although he delayed a lot of time in the previous life, he was only at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment on the day he fell to the Southern Border... Even if he really had a chance to break through to the Early Zifu realm in this storm, could he really rest assured to go into seclusion?

If he succeeded, it would be helpful to the situation, but it would still be insignificant. Where could he rank in this world? Once he failed, the entire clan would inevitably slide back into the abyss of the previous life!

He did not have much hesitation. He gave up the 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Divine Scroll】, which would have a higher achievement in the future but was actually a fifth-grade one, without hesitation. He raised his head respectfully, his eyes shining:

"Reporting to the True Person, it is a world of change! Junior is willing to cultivate the 【Great Void Dou-Turning Formula】 to have a few more calculation abilities, so as to add a force to the clan!"

Li Li Ximing smiled, his gaze swept to the young man beside him, and Li Li Zhouwei nodded slightly.

"Good."

Li Li Ximing said warmly:

"Let your little uncle take you into the inner array and prepare for seclusion!"

"Yes!"

Li Li Suining's eyes were slightly red. He bowed deeply to the three of them, and then respectfully retreated from the main hall. It was not until his figure disappeared from under the mysterious steps that he heard the old man praise:

"Rare!"

Li Li Ximing smiled and stood up, took out an ink-colored jade slip from his sleeve, handed it to Li Li Xuanxuan, and said:

"This is Senior Liu's 【Mysterious Die Calculation Classic】. It is the achievement of his lifelong array path cultivation. It is unfathomable and extremely precious. Hand it over to Grandfather. Wait for this child to come out of seclusion and give it to him!"

How precious is the lifelong inheritance of a Early Zifu array master? Li Li Xuanxuan hurriedly stood up to take it, put it into his arms carefully. Li Li Zhouwei walked down from the steps at will and smiled:

"Let's keep the 【Star-Alarming Great Granary Divine Scroll】."

This young man and Uncle Grandmaster looked at each other with a tacit understanding, listening to Li Li Ximing's divine ability transmission:

'The one in the pavilion that is of the same Qi as the 【Great Void Dou-Turning Formula】 is called the 【Heavenly Division Cloth Order Divine Scroll】. Go and exchange it for him.'