The days following the Guardian's awakening were a time of unprecedented goodwill and cooperation between Li Yu and the Asura Demon Clan. The formal trade agreement was struck, but not in the way Mo Jian had initially envisioned. In his boundless gratitude, the Clan Lord had offered terms so one-sided they amounted to a tribute.
It was Kui, summoned via a communication jade for this very purpose, who gently but firmly steered the negotiations. "A partnership built on a debt of gratitude is a fleeting thing, Clan Lord Mo," the portly sovereign had explained with a wise, cheerful smile. "But a partnership built on mutual, sustainable profit? That is a foundation as solid as this old turtle's shell! Let us build a bridge that will last for centuries, not a monument to a single good deed."
And so, a fair price was established for both sides, a long-term agreement that ensured the Asura Demon Clan received a steady supply of high-quality spirit beast flesh while the Deepwater Menagerie gained exclusive access to their unique, volcanically nurtured beasts and herbs. It was a masterpiece of demonic-righteous diplomacy, and it solidified the alliance on the bedrock of good business.
With the pacts signed and the future secure, Li Yu knew his time in the demonic territories was drawing to a close. He spent his final few days walking the obsidian streets, no longer a mysterious healer but a respected friend. He saw Mo Ling one last time before her departure on a clan mission, the fiery demonic prodigy offering him a sincere, respectful bow.
"Guest Elder Li," she had said. "My companion, the Shadow-Stalker Panther… its spirit is stronger than ever. Thank you. I hope your journey home is a peaceful one."
"And I hope your mission is a successful one, Lady Ling," he had replied with a smile.
A week later, on the eve of his planned departure, a grand farewell banquet was held in Li Yu's honor. The mood was festive, a true celebration of their new alliance. It was in the midst of this celebration that a frantic, blood-soaked disciple stumbled into the hall, his armor cracked and his aura in chaos. He fell to one knee before Mo Jian, his voice a ragged gasp.
"Clan Lord! Urgent news! Lady Ling's expedition team… from the Shattered Moon Realm… they were ambushed!"
An icy silence fell over the banquet. Mo Jian shot to his feet, his face a mask of cold fury. "Ambushed? By who? Report!"
"The Wraith Hand Clan, my Lord!" the disciple choked out. "We had just secured the core chamber of the ancient ruin. Lady Ling was about to retrieve the Soul-Nourishing Lotus when they appeared. They sealed the exit and sprung their trap. They… they outnumbered us three to one. Elder Borin sacrificed himself to create an opening for me to escape and deliver this warning."
Mo Jian's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. "The Wraith Hand Clan… those soul-stealing ghouls. To dare attack my daughter…"
"The Shattered Moon Realm?" Li Yu asked quietly, his brow furrowed in thought. He had read about it in the clan's library. It was a small, unstable pocket dimension discovered by the Asura Demon Clan centuries ago.
"Yes," Elder Kaelen explained, his face grim. "It is an ancient, fragile place. The spatial laws are weak, and there is a natural restriction: only those at the Foundation Establishment realm and below can enter. Lady Ling led a team of our most elite disciples on a ten-year cycle expedition to harvest the lotus. It is a crucial ingredient for our clan's most important cultivation pills."
"The Wraith Hand Clan knew this," Mo Jian snarled, his voice a low, dangerous growl. "They knew I, as a Core Formation cultivator, could not enter to protect them. It was a cowardly, perfectly planned assassination." He turned to his other elders, men whose auras were at the middle and upper stages of the Foundation Establishment realm. "Gather the war council! Mobilize the disciples! We will march on their cursed crypt and…"
"My Lord, wait!" the wounded disciple cried out, a look of desperation on his face. "Their forces inside the realm… they are led by the three Wraith Generals, the sons of their Sect Master. All three are at the absolute peak of the Foundation Establishment realm. Our disciples… they are strong, but we have no one who can match a peak expert, let alone three of them. Sending in more disciples will just be sending them to their deaths."
A wave of helpless fury and despair washed over Mo Jian. He was a mighty Clan Lord, a 1st-level Core Formation expert, but he was powerless. His daughter was trapped, facing enemies that his clan's younger generation or the elders could not possibly defeat, and he was forbidden entry by the realm's ancient law. His strongest elders, standing right beside him, were only Foundation Establishment experts themselves and would be walking into a slaughter.
He couldn't risk the lives of so many for his daughter when their chances were also slim. He was a dictator but a dictator that sent everyone to their deaths would soon find himself with a dagger in the back or without anyone to lead.
It was in this moment of absolute, crushing despair that his gaze, almost unconsciously, fell upon Li Yu. It was not a plea. It was not a request. It was the last, desperate hope of a drowning man looking at a passing ship.
He knew what he was about to ask was an imposition of unimaginable proportions. He was about to ask his clan's savior, an honored guest, to walk into a deathtrap for a cause that was not his own.
"Guest Elder Li…" Mo Jian's voice was a hoarse whisper, the words catching in his throat, thick with a father's desperate love and a lord's unbearable shame. "I know I have no right to ask. You have already done more for my clan than we can ever repay. But my daughter…"
Li Yu looked at the desperate Clan Lord, at the grim faces of the elders, and let out a quiet, internal sigh. His plans of returning to his peaceful valley were once again being derailed. But Mo Jian had stood ready to die for him. Mo Ling, for all her pride, was a fierce and honorable young woman. He could not, in good conscience, turn his back on them now.
But there was a problem. A very real, physical problem.
"I will help," Li Yu said, his voice calm, instantly cutting through the tension in the room.
A wave of explosive relief washed over Mo Jian, so powerful he almost staggered. "You will? Guest Elder Li, I…"
"However," Li Yu continued, his brow furrowed, "there is an issue. The realm's restriction. It allows only those at the Foundation Establishment realm and below to enter, correct?"
"Yes," Kaelen confirmed, his own hope faltering as he realized the problem. "That is the iron law of the realm."
Li Yu hesitated. It was not a hesitation of unwillingness, but of genuine uncertainty. This pause, however, was misinterpreted by Mo Jian. The Clan Lord's mind, clouded by desperation, instantly leaped to the most common conclusion in the cultivation world. He thought Li Yu was hesitating because the reward had not been stated.
"I can give you a reward….." Mo Jian said hastily, his pride forgotten in his fear for his daughter. He was going through the rewards in his head when he realized that Li Yu did not even take any reward after he healed their guardian beast. Before he could say anything else.
Li Yu simply held up a hand, "That's not what I meant," silencing him before he could voice any specific. The Clan Lord's assumption was understandable, but it was not the issue. The issue was that he, Li Yu, was a Core Formation expert. His true cultivation level would prevent him from entering the realm.
He had condensed his aura to appear as a 1st-level expert if he fully released his aura and the aura everyone feels currently appears as a 7th-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, but his essence, his very soul, was that of a Core Formation being. A natural, ancient law like a realm restriction would not be fooled by a simple aura suppression technique.
It was at that moment, as he wrestled with this fundamental problem, that a familiar, arrogant voice echoed in the depths of his mind. It was Khaos.
"I can feel your dilemma, boy." the sovereign's voice was laced with a profound, almost pitying, contempt. "You possess the power of a sovereign, tempered by the void itself, and you are worried about a crude, natural restriction meant to keep out common cultivators? The laws of a shattered, half-dead world are like a flimsy wooden fence to me. Do you wish to enter this 'Shattered Moon Realm'?"
'Yes,' Li Yu projected back, a wave of relief washing over him.
"Then you shall enter," Khaos stated with absolute finality. "This king will personally veil your essence. I will wrap your body in a sliver of the void. To the realm's pathetic consciousness, you will not even register. You will be a ghost, a ripple in reality that it cannot perceive. Now, stop hesitating and wasting this king's time with your mortal problems."
The confidence in Khaos's voice was absolute. The problem that had seemed insurmountable was, to him, a triviality.
Li Yu's brief, internal hesitation was over. He looked up at the desperate, expectant face of Mo Jian, who was still trying to think of more valuable treasures to offer.
"Clan Lord," Li Yu said, his voice now firm and clear, cutting through Mo Jian's frantic thoughts. "There is no need for any reward. I will go."