Such an earth-shattering development caught everyone completely off guard!
At this moment, Li Wei once again focused his attention on Li Yunlin and relayed the news.
"The Tian Xing Abode—it's sealed?!" Li Yunlin's face paled at the news. "Is this because I refined the Tian Xing Tear? Old Ancestor, please forgive my transgression!" Overwhelmed with distress, he immediately dropped to his knees to plead for forgiveness.
Seeing his reaction, Li Wei's expression softened. Although Li Yunlin's inner demon related to the Skyveil Hall had long since been purged, when faced with new trouble, his instinct was still to blame himself first.
[Not caused by you.]
Once Li Wei conveyed this message via the Ancestral Spirit Tablet, Li Yunlin visibly relaxed, as if a great weight had been lifted. Bowing again towards the tablet, he asked, "Old Ancestor, given that the Tian Xing Abode is now sealed, what should be my course of action?"
Seeing Li Yunlin immediately seek guidance, Li Wei frowned slightly. In truth, Li Yunlin had shown outstanding natural talent when he first joined the Skyveil Sect, and his state of mind back then had also been admirable. Yet over the years — and even now — he had grown increasingly hesitant and cautious, constantly second-guessing himself. Even the younger generations were beginning to surpass him. For a long time, he had merely followed the instructions of the clan's senior leaders, showing less and less independent thought.
How different he was from the young man of years past — the one who, within the Skyveil Sect itself, had once dared to kill an enemy right under the eyes of the entire sect! Back then, he had been truly ruthless and decisive.
Pondering for a moment, Li Wei decided against giving Li Yunlin explicit instructions this time. Instead, he silently activated the Ancestral Spirit Tablet.
[Yunlin, within the Tian Xing Abode now, you are the most senior among our kin present. All the others are relying on you.]
Seeing the Old Ancestor's words manifest in the air before him, Li Yunlin stood transfixed for a very long time.
"I am the senior here... the final support for our clan's younger generation trapped inside the Tian Xing Abode..." Li Yunlin murmured, the weight of those words sinking into his heart.
As he fell into deep thought, Nangong Yazhi's voice once again echoed through the Skyveil Hall, this time sharper and more forceful. "Li Yunlin," she called coldly, "Life offers many choices. But sometimes, a single wrong step can leave you with no way to recover."
Hearing this, Li Wei's frown deepened. A realization struck him: for the past half-month, he and Li Yunlin had been completely absorbed in refining the Tian Xing Tear and had only just learned what had been happening outside. In contrast, Nangong Yazhi had almost certainly known about Xu Dingsheng's battle against the seven Nascent Soul cultivators—and the resulting sealing of the Tian Xing Abode—for some time already.
Just moments ago, Li Wei had been pondering the consequences of the Abode being sealed while so many rival cultivators were trapped inside, unable to leave. Now, a chilling thought hit him:
"Cut off from the outside world... they'll have no restraints, no scruples... They'll..."
"Act entirely without restraint!"
Simultaneously, Li Wei and Li Yunlin sharply raised their heads, eyes flashing with cold light!
Outside, Nangong Yazhi's voice could be heard, laced with growing irritation. "You two Elders," she began, "this boy remains stubbornly unenlightened. In that case, we shall..."
This time, however, Nangong Yazhi's words stopped abruptly.
Because.
The Skyveil Hall door was slowly swinging open!
Dressed in white robes, Li Yunlin emerged, floating in mid-air. The Skyveil Hall rapidly shrank at a visible speed, finally settling into his left palm, where it continued to gently spin.
With a tranquil expression, he gazed towards Nangong Yazhi, seated cross-legged roughly a dozen meters away. Stationed behind her were the two Nangong family Nascent Soul Elders. Nangong Yazhi herself appeared momentarily startled by Li Yunlin voluntarily revealing himself.
The great array maintained in the sky by the three Nascent Soul cultivators over the preceding days was primarily designed to contain Li Yunlin, evidently fearing that once he emerged from the Skyveil Hall, he might possess some means of escape.
"After trapping me for days, Nangong Yazhi," Li Yunlin's voice was dangerously soft, "do you truly believe the Li family is so easily bullied?!" Though Li Yunlin's voice was deceptively calm, his eyes – identical to Li Yaozu's in their sharpness – seemed perpetually filled with both arrogance and utter disdain.
"You... you actually dared to emerge?"
Had they managed to breach the Skyveil Hall, Nangong Yazhi would have struck to kill Li Yunlin without hesitation. But now, Li Yunlin had stepped out on his own, his demeanor utterly calm. This unexpected calmness caused a flicker of unease to flash across Nangong Yazhi's face.
Just then, one of the Nangong family Elders burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! You actually dared to show yourself? Good, very good! Everyone knows the Li family isn't easily provoked, but surely you realize — things are different now. Here, inside this sealed Abode, we could kill you, and no one outside would ever know! So..." He grinned wickedly. "Hand over the Tian Xing Tear and that strange spirit artifact of yours. Give them to me, and maybe I'll let you live."
Li Yunlin merely raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Li Yunlin who reacted first, but Nangong Yazhi. Her face turned cold and furious as she shot a piercing glare at the Elder. "What," she demanded icily, "did you just say?"
The Elder sneered. "What do I mean?" he spat. "Nangong Yazhi, outside the Tian Xing Abode, I tolerated your commands — and only out of respect for the Patriarch. But now? The Abode is sealed. Who knows if we'll ever get out? Did you really think you could still order us around? Those treasures Li Yunlin carries — were you planning to keep them all for yourself?"
Another Nangong Elder gave a cold snort and added, "The Patriarch may favor you, Nangong Yazhi, but right now, the treasures you hold should be shared. Hand them over. Whatever we seize from Li Yunlin will be divided equally among us. Do that, and we can still call each other fellow clansmen."
"You..."
Nangong Yazhi's face flushed crimson with fury and disbelief. She had never imagined that the instant Li Yunlin appeared, before he was even dealt with, two Elders from her own clan would turn on her first, intending to fight her for the spoils! For centuries within Eternal Sun Prefecture, she had been the Nangong family's 'Heaven's favored daughter', accustomed to unquestioning obedience from these very clansmen. Such a scene – her own family's Elders openly rebelling against her – was utterly beyond her comprehension.
"'Since it has come to this, Nangong Yazhi, just hand over the storage ring!'"
Instantly, the atmosphere among the three Nangong family Nascent Souls turned hostile, swords drawn and bows bent.
This turn of events was so unexpected that neither Li Wei nor Li Yunlin had anticipated it. Li Wei had actually been preparing to activate the Ancestral Spirit Tablet and have the 'Old Ancestor' make a grand entrance! Who could have predicted that the Nangong family members would instead turn on each other?
The Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth flared around the three Nangong members, visibly clashing against one another; it seemed they could come to blows at any second.
Li Yunlin, however, remained floating, Calm and unfazed in place. Just moments ago, the Nangong family had been focused on killing him; now, ironically, he had become a mere bystander watching a spectacular drama unfold among his would-be attackers.
"The Nangong family of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion..." Li Wei mused, "...through and through merchants, the most dedicated in all of Eternal Sun Prefecture. Greed runs deep in their bloodline's very core. Remove any external restraint, and merchants like these are genuinely capable of anything."
Li Wei sighed softly. However, his thoughts also turned grave. "If three people from the same Nangong clan can descend into such madness against each other," he considered, "then I fear the sealing of this Tian Xing Abode will turn the entire place into utter chaos. Don't forget, there are over ten thousand cultivators trapped in here now, with strengths ranging all the way from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul!"
"Realistically, cultivators like these have all fought and struggled to get where they are. Whose hands among them aren't stained with blood? How many could truly be called virtuous?" he thought grimly. "Imagine locking a horde of criminals inside a small town with absolutely no external oversight – what kind of utter chaos would erupt?"