"All the people you could possibly call upon, none of them can come! You are isolated and without aid, with no helpers left. With just you people from the Li family, here in my Eternal Sun Prefecture, you are nothing but turtles in a jar!"
What he said was no empty boast.
These factions that he had enumerated one by one had all fallen into a predicament!
At this moment.
Within the Heavenly Light Sect, having received a letter from the Li family and having hurriedly returned from the border of the Demon Race's territory, General Wang Jinhu, who had only just arrived at the edge of the Imperial Capital, was currently frowning as he looked at the Sect Master of the Heavenly Light Grotto.
This slightly plump, middle-aged man had once again blocked Wang Jinhu's path.
It was the same old story, still telling Wang Jinhu not to meddle in other people's business.
In the Sacred Hall Sword Pavilion, an elder fiddled with the storage ring worn on his little finger.
He glanced at the message sword that had just arrived from afar and let out a long sigh.
"Ai, a perfectly good Guest Elder who really thinks of himself as something special. How could an Elder of my Sacred Hall Sword Pavilion possibly go out and risk his life for a mere guest member like you?"
The message sword turned to dust, without even giving the other elders a chance to see it.
In the Li family's homeland, the Azure Cloud Region.
Over these hundred-plus years, the number of people who had caused trouble in the Azure Dynasty and came to Azure Cloud to seek refuge was not small.
Among them, Daoist Sacred Fire was the most famous. Everyone knew that an old senior at the Divinity Transformation realm had come to Azure Cloud, but this old senior was also quite low-key and rarely made an appearance.
Today, however, bringing with him the forces he had secretly accumulated over these hundred-plus years, he came to this Jiang Royal Mansion.
Inside the Jiang Royal Mansion, the Azure Cloud Army and even the masters of the Jiang Royal Mansion were all fully prepared. They seemed to be preparing for some great war.
The Divinity Transformation Old Ancestor of the Jiang Royal Mansion was currently seated cross-legged on a cattail cushion. Upon seeing Daoist Sacred Fire arrive, he had already furrowed his brow.
"Daoist Sacred Fire," he asked, "you're not cultivating in your Divine Fire Grotto-Heaven; what are you doing coming to my Jiang Royal Mansion?"
"Senior Jiang Ning," Daoist Sacred Fire replied, "When this Daoist first came to Azure Cloud, you did indeed say that as long as I was willing, there was nowhere in this region I could not go, with the exception of Merit City. I've only come to the Jiang Royal Mansion to reminisce with you. Why must you be so on guard?"
Daoist Sacred Fire had the appearance of an old man and was dressed in a red robe. He glanced at the Primordial Spirit's spiritual signature of the Jiang family's Old Ancestor and saw that it was somewhat weak.
"Senior Jiang," he said, "back then, when you faced that master who came from who-knows-where, you suffered no small injury, did you? Now that a hundred-plus years have passed, how much better has it gotten? You really mustn't go to any other places."
The Jiang family's Old Ancestor was silent for a moment before finally saying in a cold voice, "What benefits did you receive that made you come and block my path? Today, I'll concede that you have the upper hand. How about this: give me half of the benefits you received, and I will genuinely not make a move."
"Well..."
Daoist Sacred Fire's mouth twitched. "That would be excellent."
Within the residence of the Li family's in-laws.
Feng Chunlin had also rendezvoused with Daoist Heavenly Turtle, Old Ancestor Tianye, and others who had come to gather.
Even Chen Qingtian, the Li family's old friend from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion in the Imperial Capital, had come!
They had all received the message from the Heavenly Star Sword Saint: within Qilin Mountain in Eternal Sun Prefecture, their old friends Li Dalong and Li Yaozu had both returned and were currently in a great battle with Tian Xing.
The mystery that had puzzled them for over a hundred years was now being unraveled, bit by bit.
They were unafraid to stand on the same battlefront as the Li family to face that seemingly insurmountable enemy. Hadn't they also made it through time and time again just like this in the past? Every single one of them believed that as long as the people of Azure Cloud worked together with one heart, they could scale any high mountain in the world and break through any obstacle.
It was just that in these hundred-plus years, the Li family had once made the Azure Emperor make a promise in the imperial court, which caused Azure Cloud to gain many, many more cultivators.
While this enhanced the Azure Cloud's combat strength, it also brought in a group of fence-sitters, who could turn traitor at any moment.
On that day at the Azure Cloud border, the one who questioned Li Dalong and spoke of the Li family's various supposed evil deeds, that middle-aged man, Han Qiusheng, who appeared so full of righteous integrity, was just such a person.
It was unknown where he got the brazen nerve, but he had come leading numerous cultivators from factions like the Nangong family of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion from Eternal Sun Prefecture, the True Yang Academy... and had blocked the path of the people from Azure Cloud.
This person wore a cold smile. "Well now, everyone's making such a big fanfare. Where might you be going? I have invited numerous fellow Daoists from Eternal Sun Prefecture here, and they can, in fact, open up trade routes for our Azure Cloud. This is a heaven-sent good thing!"
...
"No one can save you. All of your attempts at rescue have all been accounted for in our calculations."
Outside Solaria City, Qu Yang said with pity, "Your Li family has truly caused us no small amount of trouble, but it's a pity that strength is the greatest truth in this world. You wanted to rely on external forces to destroy us, but that was just wishful thinking.
We have been in Eternal Sun Prefecture for many years. Even if our years of planning have just been exposed, we still have no shortage of friends in this Azure Dynasty who are willing to risk their lives for us."
"The Grand Tutor is observing from the sidelines, the Imperial Preceptor has abandoned us, and you made us lose contact with each other. But we are still fearless. There will still be people who believe we can fight our way out. But as for your Li family..."
"You are nothing but a slightly harder stepping stone. After we have overcome this great calamity, no one will remember your Li family, while we will endure for eternity within the Azure Dynasty!"
"..."
Within the bewildering miasma, it was utterly silent.
Qu Yang, however, knitted his brow. He wanted to see Li Yaoqing's fury; he wanted to hear her roar of indignant unwillingness, but there was nothing!
This made him unable to stop himself from continuing, "You mentioned our five Divinity Transformation experts. Correct, you hold our Fate Plates, so you should be able to see that the remaining two are rushing towards Qilin Mountain. Li Dalong and Li Yaozu think they can kill Lin Wudao, and I, too, believe they possess such a trump card. Unfortunately, this is a game of chess."
"And in this game of chess, you have lost utterly and completely."
Just like Feng Qingyang's game of chess back then, he thought. They have always been decent chess players.
But Li Yaoqing still did not react as Qu Yang had wished.
Her voice remained calm, even tinged with an almost teasing tone.
"Are you trying to play chess with my Fourth Sister... or are you under the delusion that you're contending with the Old Ancestor of the Li family?"
"What?" Qu Yang froze, visibly shaken.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A deafening clap of thunder resounded from the horizon. Qu Yang whipped his head around, eyes wide, staring into the distance as waves of thunderclouds surged from an unknown direction.
In the sky, countless spirit tablets emerged, drifting upward like glowing lanterns in the wind. Wispy soul shadows hovered above them—ancestral spirits, summoned from silence.
And then—
A pair of turbid eyes snapped open.
She had lain dormant for over a century, half-asleep within the haze of drifting souls. But now, she stirred.
On that pale, almost deathly face, a smile slowly surfaced—twisted and uncanny, like something clawing its way up from the mire.
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