Chapter 516: Action

Chi Zhiyun's voice was stern and sharp, causing Chi Zhiyan to lower his head in silence. Chi Zhiyun paced the jade platform for a while, feeling agitated. Nearby, Ning Hejing, with a somber expression, spoke up:

"Since we've offended him, Li Xizhi has probably already held a grudge. Even if he dies, Li Xuanfeng will surely investigate, and if he finds anything, he'll resent us again."

"Why don't we just finish it in one go, eradicate the Li family completely, dismantle Moon Lake, and deal with Li Xuanfeng too..."

Chi Zhiyun pressed his hand on the jade seat, pondering for a moment. His thick eyebrows were slightly raised, and his clean white robe draped over the silver immortal seat. Still feeling some annoyance, he said in a low voice:

"If we really kill Li Xuanfeng, wouldn't all our previous elaborate efforts be for nothing?! Dismantling Moon Lake sounds good, but once we fall out with the Xiuyue Sect, who will be our vanguard? Who will fend off the Buddhist cultivators advancing from the south?"

"Nineteen of the thirty-six peaks must guard the four seas, six peaks are dispersed in the markets, and the remaining eleven peaks need to consider the Nascent Soul true masters. Only six peaks are usable. Who will we send to resist the demonic and Buddhist cultivators then?"

He spoke faster and faster, appearing quite ruthless. He glanced coldly at Ning Hejing and asked:

"Should I send you?"

Ning Hejing naturally lowered his gaze and shook his head. Although he held considerable power within the sect, his talent was not high; reaching Foundation Establishment had already been a struggle. How could he possibly handle such tasks? He could only shake his head.

Chi Zhiyun then turned and asked Chi Zhiyan:

"Then should I send you?"

Chi Zhiyan also remained silent. He harbored thoughts of reaching the Purple Palace stage and was already busy with cultivation, barely having enough time. How could he step forward to fight to the death? Chi Zhiyun sneered:

"Or should we send some of the family elders? Who can command them? Or perhaps send those brothers out? If they get hurt, not only will they not let it go, but those uncles will also demand a hefty price."

"Or should we send the Yu family? After Yu Yuxie was eaten by the Old Ancestor, the entire Yu family fell apart. Where are the usable people there? Or send the Yuan family? Yuan Tuan and Yuan Chengshuo were harmed by you people!"

"Only the Linggu family in Jiajiang still has some talents, and we could pick one or two from Linhai Commandery... but where would that be enough?!"

Chi Zhiyan was thoroughly humiliated by this barrage of questions, finally left speechless. He could only reply:

"My foolishness... but... please forgive my frankness, how much responsibility do we truly bear for the current situation! Isn't it all the Old Ancestor's..."

Chi Zhiyun glared at him fiercely and replied:

"Unfortunately, Yu Muxian is dead... only Tang Shedu and Yu Su remain..."

To be precise, there weren't many truly useful people within the Azure Pond Sect. The Nascent Soul true masters cultivated in solitude, were stubborn by nature, and formed their own factions; he never dared to deploy them.

Yuan Su had taken control of the Southern Border again. Although it could be recovered by the Ning family within a few years, Chi Zhiyun only found it troublesome. He then asked in a low voice:

"You deliberately sent him to find Yuan Tuan... most likely, there was no way out for him..."

"Whether Li Xizhi is dead or alive, we must provide an explanation. None of the families are blind, especially the Yang family, whose son-in-law was harmed..."

He had a terrible headache and could only wave his hand, saying softly:

"Find a scapegoat..."

The two immediately nodded and hastily withdrew. Only then did Chi Zhiyun slowly sit down, covering his forehead with his hand, eyes tightly closed, seemingly recalling other matters.

"The Dragon Clan has always detested us. Those dragon lord descendants are lurking around Leiyun Temple. How could we act rashly? Zhiyan truly thinks naively... I fear offending the Dragon Lords will only bring disaster upon us!"

Thinking of this, Chi Zhiyun could no longer sit still. He quickly picked up a jade slip from the table, deployed several people from within the sect, and sent them out to search for traces.

***

**Zongquan Island.**

Li Xizhi had been in seclusion for several days. When his spiritual sense sank into his Qi Sea, he saw a sea of rainbow clouds and mist, with colorful lights drifting. Compared to its usual dense, misty appearance, it seemed somewhat thin, indicating that his injuries had not yet healed.

Within this heavy sea of clouds, not only were colorful lights drifting, but also dark blue mists moved through, pushing aside other clouds and condensing into a single mass.

Li Xizhi watched for a long time, realizing something was amiss.

He had originally thought that Dongfang Heyun's magic power, once inside his body, would cause extensive destruction. However, he hadn't expected it only to make him feel cold all over. Using talismanic qi to dissolve and push it out, he quickly cleared most of it, leaving only what remained in his Qi Sea.

This magic power spontaneously gathered, condensing into a mass in his Qi Sea, docilely suspended within the clouds and mist. It was very illusory and could be dispelled by his own magic power alone, let alone with his talismanic qi.

'What does this mean...?'

Li Xizhi had read many Daoist texts. Magic power of this kind, when entering the body, always dispersed, infiltrating the internal organs and causing various damage. It never condensed into a single mass like this.

He looked closely for a moment, experiencing the changes in this magic power. He felt it wasn't an attacking method but rather a perception technique, and soon he began to understand.

'Dongfang Heyun wants to know the situation of Azure Pond...'

Mu Hai, having achieved the Purple Palace stage, was also a descendant of a Dragon Lord, rumored to be the seventh son of the current Dragon Palace monarch. He was by no means an easy person to deal with. How could he have been disgusted by Azure Pond and done nothing in return?

On the surface, he sent Dongfang Heyun to pursue and kill Li Xizhi, not just for the earlier agreement. Covertly, he was taking the opportunity to plant an 'eye' in Azure Pond, intending to use Li Xizhi to discern Azure Pond's movements.

And this unguarded appearance clearly told Li Xizhi:

'A life escaped from the Purple Palace stage is not to be had for free...'

Moreover, by displaying it so openly and clearly as a scouting technique, it would also make Li Xizhi wary and prevent him from casually inviting a Purple Palace expert to examine him. Everything was quite clear.

Li Xizhi, already harmed by the Chi family, immediately fell silent and hesitated.

"The Chi family wants Mu Hai to be their blade, but Mu Hai is one of the best among Purple Palace cultivators; he will certainly retaliate. I'm the one suffering, caught in the middle, unable to offend either side..."

Since Li Xizhi understood the situation, he sighed deeply and dared not casually dispel the ball of qi. He used talismanic qi to suppress the dark blue mass, ensuring he could instantly erase it if a Purple Palace expert were to investigate his Qi Sea.

'With the talisman seed within me, I'm not afraid of being deluded, so there's no real danger.'

He quietly exhaled, troubled. His current situation presented a problem for Li Xizhi; he also carried secrets within him. The talisman seed and talismanic qi in his Qi Sea should not be detectable; otherwise, the situation would have been different long ago.

Putting away his spell, Li Xizhi stood up and stepped out from the stone door.

Li Qinghong had waited only two days on the island, practicing lightning magic, summoning wind and rain to train her spells and shield Li Xizhi's rainbow light anomaly that appeared during his injury recovery. After just three days, the sealed stone door slowly opened.

Since establishing his foundation, Li Xizhi had been blessed by immortal roots, possessing an inherently noble demeanor. His brows and eyes were smoother than in his youth, and he appeared very calm. However, his current pale complexion gave him the air of a sickly young master.

Li Qinghong descended with a streak of lightning and entered the cave dwelling. Li Xizhi first cupped his hands in a salute, then shook the tattered feather robe in his hand, which still bore traces of a palm print on its back. Li Qinghong asked:

"What happened?"

Li Xizhi concisely replied:

"I was harmed by someone within the sect, lured to a forbidden land of the Dragon Clan, and encountered a Purple Palace demonic dragon."

"It turned out he had reservations, unwilling to be a blade for Azure Pond, so he let me return. He left a restriction on me that allows him to observe the surroundings."

Li Qinghong heard his casual account, but the terror of escaping from a Purple Palace expert was imaginable. Hearing his last sentence, she was suddenly startled, realizing that some things could no longer be said. She quickly asked:

"How are your injuries?"

"Fortunately, dissolving the magic power was relatively easy."

Li Xizhi's expression was relatively relaxed as he said gently:

"Originally, it would have remained in my body, hindering healing and damaging my magic power. But now it quickly dissolved away. Although the remaining injuries are severe, they won't affect my cultivation path and can be resolved with time."

Li Qinghong nodded, pondered for a moment, and whispered:

"Was it Chi Zhiyun?"

Li Xizhi shook his head. As his aunt took a seat in the cave dwelling, he replied:

"Aunt, you might not know, but while Chi Zhiyun has some grievances with our family, he values his reputation. As long as his bottom line isn't crossed, he can be quite straightforward and honorable."

"If he truly intended to harm us, how could our family have survived on the lake until now? We would likely have been annihilated long ago under some pretext. As long as he cares about his reputation, he cannot allow people to harm me."

Li Xizhi's pace of speech quickened as he said softly:

"This matter is either due to his carelessness, allowing someone to exploit a loophole, or the Ning family wanting to completely control our family and harm me in the process. The latter isn't too bad to deal with, as Yuan Su doesn't have much lifespan left, and Uncle's reputation is immense, so there's no great harm."

"I'm only afraid it's the former."

Although Li Qinghong was solely focused on cultivation, she was also an astute woman. She frowned and said:

"I'm afraid this incident will provoke Chi Zhiyun to completely eradicate us!"

"I've seen his previous methods; if he truly becomes ruthless, he's far more formidable than Ning Hejing or Chi Zhiyan."

Li Xizhi nodded gravely and said in a deep voice:

"Aunt, I hope you'll come with me to Xuanyue Gate! Senior Kong is an old acquaintance of Father's. With her as a witness, we can avoid this matter and simply say that I never went to Qunyi, and only the Han family went. That way, the harm won't be fully proven, and Chi Zhiyun will be reassured."

Li Xizhi pondered this, but secretly had another consideration:

"I wonder what kind of person True Master Sui Guan is. I fear he'll hear that I escaped from a Purple Palace expert and will come to investigate personally. That would be disastrous!"

Li Xizhi wasn't afraid of the talisman seed within him being discovered; after all, Chi Buzi couldn't detect it back then. It would be acceptable if the internal restriction was discovered, but if it triggered a counterattack from the talisman seed and killed this peak Purple Palace true master, it would likely cause turmoil in Jiangnan.

'Sui Guan is no ordinary person. If Sui Guan dies, Lushui will probably appear immediately, emerge from his grotto-heaven, and drag me home to search for the immortal scroll.'

Li Xizhi silently calculated, becoming more convinced that this had to be done. Li Qinghong pondered briefly and sighed:

"To be harmed and still pretend nothing happened, such is the plight of the weak..."

She nodded in agreement, then ascended with lightning. Li Xizhi, hidden behind her, left the formation with her, crossed the nearby sea, and headed towards Xuanyue Gate.

Both of them traveled at an extremely fast speed using wind manipulation. Just over half a month later, they landed from Xianhu Lake. Li Qinghong descended with lightning towards Xuanyue Mountain Gate in Shanji Commandery, where a pale white radiance shone brightly, and Xuanyue cultivators hurried to and fro.

She had a Xuanyue disciple go forward to inform Kong Tingyun, deliberately saying:

"I heard that my Xizhi is with your esteemed senior. Please inform Kong Tingyun."

Before long, a pale golden stream of light quickly shot out from the mountain. Kong Tingyun, dressed in her usual Xiang-colored gown, approached with great surprise and joy.

"Sister Qinghong!"

Although True Master Chang Xi was not well-known among Purple Palace cultivators, Kong Tingyun was, after all, a descendant of the Purple Palace stage and had consumed many precious elixirs. Her face was even younger than Li Qinghong's, appearing to be in her early twenties. She said warmly:

"Long time no see. What brings you to my place?"

Li Qinghong now appeared even more graceful. Her long hair was tied up as usual, and she said gently:

"I heard Xizhi was with you, Sister, and I was worried, so I came to visit."

Kong Tingyun's ears twitched slightly as she listened to the private magic power transmission. She smiled and said:

"Please, come into the mountain first."

She opened the formation. Li Qinghong waited for a breath before entering and landing on Kong Tingyun's immortal peak. Li Xizhi appeared and respectfully bowed, saying:

"Xizhi thanks Senior."

Kong Tingyun smiled slightly, observing him for a moment, and thought to herself:

"He's more noble in appearance than his father, probably takes after that Xiao family woman."

Although the two families had a deep private bond, she dared not presume, fearing she might invite great trouble upon herself. First, she said:

"Don't be so quick to thank me. Let's talk about the matter first."

***

**Moon Lake.**

Li Xijun patrolled the lake for a full circuit, then gently landed in the town. He saw a gray wind surge towards him, transforming into a human figure before him. Li Wushao cupped his hands and softly replied:

"Reporting, my lord, the Young Master has emerged from seclusion."

Li Xijun nodded slightly, stepped forward, and arrived at the front of the hall. At the very top was Li Chengliao, clad in a long robe, looking down. Li Zhouwei stood with a halberd; he had broken through seclusion in just over half a year and cultivated to the Qi Condensation stage.

Li Xijun glanced at him, calculated his age, and found Li Zhouwei was only thirteen, even younger than An Jingming when he broke through to the Qi Condensation stage back then.

'Ming Huang has the blessing of talismanic pills, giving him an extra layer of power for free. The elixirs and spiritual energy he has aren't comparable to what An Jingming had...'

"But the cultivation method An Jingming practiced... cultivated extremely fast during embryonic breathing. Comparing the two, I wonder how much difference there is."

He pondered for a moment, then entered the hall. Both Li Chengliao and his son looked over. Li Xijun waved his hand:

"No need for formalities."

He didn't say much, only whispered:

"Xizhi is not on Qingsong Island. I also received news that Jin Yu was indeed Yuan Wu, who fell."

As soon as he said this, Li Chengliao showed a hint of a smile, smoothed his robe, and cupped his hands in reply:

"Your nephew will go make arrangements now."

Li Xijun nodded, his thoughts somewhat wandering. One hand rested on the cold scabbard at his waist, the slender sword blade glinting. He stared at the morning light in front of the hall, a persistent unease in his heart:

"It's a critical moment... yet Xizhi isn't in the peak... The people from Azure Pond only said he went to visit the Han family... But going to visit the Han family at this time, could something be wrong?"

Li Xijun secretly weighed the matter, even hesitating about whether to send troops to the East Coast. However, this opportunity was too rare. His family had finally established connections, and delays would only bring more changes.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Li Xijun saw that the town's military forces had already been quietly mobilized. Calculating the timing, he ultimately ascended with the wind and flew towards the sky above the East Coast:

'I can't wait any longer... Uncle wrote that his breakthrough to the Primordial Soul stage is approaching, and there are signs of instability in Jiangnan. He told me to act early...'