Space rippled.
The Grand Tower cultivators had originally used formation arrays to trap Huan Gui.
However, following the Three Thieves, figure after figure stepped into the Void Dimension. The expressions of the Grand Tower cultivators changed drastically.
But they had no time to ponder anything else. Over a hundred cultivators had suddenly appeared.
As the Nine-Tailed Fox trod upon the air and leaped in a circle, a voice rang out—gentle, yet saturated with killing intent.
"Try to leave whole corpses."
This sentence, sounding like the gentle advice of an elder, became the war horn for a life-and-death slaughter!
Outside the Void Dimension, a fragrant breeze drifted through the clouds as someone trod through the void.
It was none other than Consort Ji, the woman Li Tianyi had called "smart."
After retreating, this Imperial Consort had been seized by a sense of foreboding and had immediately concealed her aura.
And indeed, it was just as she had expected.
After the appearance of the Three Thieves, one expert after another revealed themselves.
At this moment, Consort Ji's lovely face was filled with the lingering panic of having narrowly escaped death.
"Void Refining, Void Refining, Void Refining... how are they all Void Refining? Damn you, Azure Cloud Li Clan! Damn you, Li Chang'an! You hide your true strength even deeper than the Grand Tower!"
Sensing from a distance with her Divine Soul, she naturally possessed plenty of intelligence regarding the Imperial Dynasty's rising nobility, the "Azure Cloud Li Clan."
But the difference between what she saw with her own eyes and what she had heard was like the difference between clouds and mud!
That Nine-Tailed Fox must be Li Dalong's wife. Born a peasant woman, she had taken the Fox Sage of the Demon Race as her master and returned at the Divinity Transformation Realm.
But seeing her now, this woman has already reached the Void Refining Realm. And she has learned some kind of supreme charm technique from who knows where—anyone who lays eyes on her becomes completely entranced.
Consort Ji was all too familiar with the second generation of the Li family—Yaoqing and Yaotie.
Li Yaotie, once the top ranker on the Nascent Divinity List, had surprisingly also reached the Void Refining Realm.
He wielded the Heavenly Fire Divine Tree inherited from the Heavenly Light Sect, and his rumored "Unorthodox Artifact Body" appeared even more formidable now that he was in the Void Refining Realm.
As for Li Yaoqing, this Imperial Physician possessed not only extraordinary medical skills, but upon reaching the Void Refining Realm, she wielded some unknown technique with unheard-of power—manifesting the very spirits of Nature, heaven, and earth.
However, Consort Ji was not the least bit surprised that Li Yunlin had reached the Void Refining Realm.
Over the past few centuries, the most outstanding talent was undoubtedly Li Yunlin of the Li family.
Years ago, he had become a Supreme Elder of the Skyveil Sect before he was even five hundred years old—a unique feat in this world.
With his strength alone, he could suppress all the ordinary immortal clans and major sect factions within the entire Azure Cloud Prefecture.
"This man, in particular, possesses an unshakable Dao Heart. He has adopted his father's heavy emphasis on slaughter and received the inheritance of Ming Daozi.
Many busybodies in the Imperial Capital had once speculated that Li Yunlin would inevitably break through to the Void Refining Realm within a thousand years.
It is just that no one expected him to break through so quickly."
"Then there is the Second Prefecture Lord of Azure Cloud, Jiang Chenghuan—he, too, has actually reached the Void Refining Realm!"
"That detestable Li Chang'an! The Azure Cloud Li Clan is clearly so extraordinary, yet whenever he met anyone in the Imperial Capital, he would humble himself by three degrees."
Consort Ji cursed silently, suppressing the terror in her heart. "My identity has been exposed. So be it—what is the point of continuing as a Consort anyway? I only hope to gain the appreciation of the Grand Tower and meet the True Master."
The graceful and noble Consort had just left.
However, unnoticed in the forest below, an inconspicuous tree gradually lost its lush green hue and slowly turned red.
A human face emerged on the trunk; a young man lay upon the branches, while a woman holding a bow leaned against the tree trunk nearby.
"We've let the tiger return to the mountain."
Li Changsheng frowned. Gazing at the formation array left behind in the clouds where Consort Ji had departed—a trap meant to detect pursuers—he laughed.
"As expected of the Void Refining Realm, she is extremely cautious. If Grandpa Old Tree hadn't shielded the Heavenly Secrets, we would have been exposed right then and there."
"Brother."
Li Changyao wiped down the pink longbow in her hand. She was clad in white martial attire, her hair tied back in a single ponytail.
The Hall of Heavenly Principle was truly a place that tempered people; even when Li Changyao's expression was neutral, her phoenix eyes held a distinct chill.
"Even if we hadn't been exposed, we still wouldn't be a match for that woman. You wouldn't even have a chance to get within three meters of her."
"Who intends to fight her to the death? Let's just wait and see where she runs to."
Li Changsheng gave a faint smile.
"All we need to do is cover our tracks. Afterward, people will inevitably figure out that it was the Azure Cloud Li Clan who made the move.
But as for how we did it, how many of us were involved, and exactly how much we gained—that is something we absolutely cannot let anyone know."