Chapter 263: Surprise, Li Weiyi Is Disabled

“Whoosh!”

Li Weiyi was stunned by the sudden assassination attempt, with no time to react. Fortunately, the transcendent scroll he carried automatically activated, erupting with a brilliant protective light. The black-clad assailant's murderous sword strike was ineffective and instead, the attacker was repelled.

“Crack!”

The transcendent scroll exploded, turning into confetti.

“Assassination! Quick... save him...” someone exclaimed.

The ancestral home descended into chaos.

Zuoqiu Ling roared, “How dare you!”

“You're asking for death!”

Li Songgu rushed out from another direction, his brow radiating a lightning-like spiritual glow that illuminated the entire Qizhou City as if it were daytime, displaying the terrifying power of a Saint Spirit Mind Master for the first time in public. Before this, everyone believed he was merely a Mind Master. It was clear that the Patriarch of the Cangli tribe, who had hidden his true abilities his entire life, was genuinely distraught!

Facing a pincer attack from an Everlasting Realm grandmaster and a Saint Spirit Mind Master, the black-clad assailant's battle sword flew through the air, piercing Li Weiyi's ancestral field below his navel, sending him flying and pinning him to the front of the ancestral hall. The sound of the ancestral field shattering echoed clearly throughout the courtyard, heard by everyone. Amid countless screams and roars, the black-clad assailant clasped his hands, formed a hand seal, and performed an escape spell.

“Whoosh!”

Space vibrated, ripples spreading out. The black-clad assailant's figure vanished into thin air.

“Space Escape Art!”

“He can't have gone far, pursue!”

Zuoqiu Ling, Tang Wanzhou, the imperial experts from the court... six or seven figures burst out of the ancestral home, quickly sensing the spatial fluctuations to the east of the city, and all rushed towards the East City Gate. The city's protective array couldn't be fully activated in time; the black-clad assailant crashed straight through the city gate, becoming a streak of light that shot into the sky. The six or seven figures pursued him in unison.

The incident happened so suddenly that many people, still in shock, only now began to react. Martial cultivators from the imperial court and Leixiao Sect rushed into the ancestral hall, intending to check if Li Weiyi was dead and assess his injuries.

“Whoever dares to approach, I will kill!”

Li Songgu was enraged, his brow shining like a blazing sun, repelling the martial cultivators from the imperial court and Leixiao Sect, looking fiercely distrustful of everyone. He pulled out the battle sword impaled below Li Weiyi's navel, picked him up, and immediately rushed out of the ancestral home towards Taoli Mountain.

Zuoqiu Hongting rushed out upon hearing the commotion. After listening to the servants' report, her face instantly turned deathly pale. Ignoring everything else, she immediately hurried to Taoli Mountain.

Shi Liuyu and Shi Jiuzhai's expressions were solemn, their faces extremely grim. Shi Shishi, who had been thrown back, crawled up from the chaotic ground, bleeding from all seven orifices, and lamented miserably, “It's over... Brother Weiyi is finished...”

Shi Jiuzhai patted his shoulder, his heart heavy as if a stone weighed upon it.

Cang Li, Li Ling, Yin Ershisi, Yao Yin, and other members of the Jiuli tribe all rushed towards Taoli Mountain, several of them shedding tears.

Naturally, there were some schadenfreude-filled individuals present, who frowned and feigned distress, saying: “To be pierced through the body by a sword from an expert of that caliber, even if he survives, he's completely crippled. He thought he was at the peak of his life, but joy turned to sorrow.”

“Who dares to spout nonsense? He only had his ancestral field pierced; it can be repaired with spring liquid,” a martial cultivator from the Zuoqiu clan retorted angrily.

Someone sighed, “Spring apertures can be repaired, but his inner world is destroyed, losing its growth potential. Even if a Martial Dao Son of Heaven appears, it won't be able to fully restore it. The ancestral field is crucial for establishing one's dao; Li Weiyi's cultivation will be capped at the Five Seas Realm for the rest of his life.”

“He can use the Wind Mansion to establish his dao,” Tang Wanqiu said.

“Using the Wind Mansion to establish one's dao means it's an inferior root dao seed, and the Dao Seed Realm will be the end of his martial path.”

Many expressed regret, but secretly rejoiced and mocked in their hearts. They had long suspected that Li Weiyi would meet such an end; too many astonishing talents in history had died young. The Jiuli tribe and the Zuoqiu clan had busily arranged this engagement banquet, hoping to bring the "Hidden Dragon" under their command before the return of the transcendent ones. Now, the Hidden Dragon had become a crippled dragon. Zuoqiu Hongting, a young celestial talent with boundless prospects, was now paired with a crippled dragon. Everyone eagerly awaited the upcoming scandal of a broken engagement.

Ge Xiantong immediately departed, escorted by imperial experts. After boarding the carriage, Ge Xiantong still couldn't believe it was real. He asked in a low voice, “To make a move at an engagement banquet is too high-profile. This wasn't arranged by the imperial court, was it?” He couldn't help but suspect this, because the biggest beneficiaries of this assassination were the imperial court and the demon race. The Zuoqiu clan and the Jiuli tribe would inevitably develop animosity over this incident. After all, this was Qizhou City...

The imperial expert, over a hundred years old, said: “Absolutely not. For something of this magnitude, who would dare make a decision without authorization?”

“Then it must be the demon race...”

Ge Xiantong paused, a strange glint appearing in his eyes: “Could it be a scheme orchestrated by the Zuoqiu clan and the Jiuli tribe themselves?”

The imperial expert shook his head: “We witnessed the ancestral field shatter with our own eyes. If the transcendent scroll hadn't blocked that fatal sword strike aimed at his head, Li Weiyi would have been utterly annihilated. Li Songgu was truly enraged; he even exposed his hidden cultivation. Furthermore, the expressions of the Earth Wolf King Army and the Jiuli tribe members, including Li Weiyi himself, couldn't be faked. This favored son of heaven, potentially with a hundred golden meridians, even if he miraculously survived, is completely finished!”

Ge Xiantong felt no joy at a powerful rival being crippled. He sighed, “This era has become much dimmer.”

On the jade chariot pulled by five snow dragons, Tang Wanqiu asked, “Sister, did we just let the assassin escape? That's too suspicious; this is Qizhou City, after all.”

“This person has cultivated the Space Escape Art to the fifth level, and their Earth Evasion Technique is profound. Once they entered the ground, they became untraceable. With such escape abilities, they could break into not just Qizhou City, but even Lingxiao City. Impressive!”

Tang Wanzhou had been in deep thought since getting into the carriage.

Tang Wanqiu said, “Doesn't that mean Li Weiyi's... ancestral field, this inner world, can it possibly be repaired?”

“It can! But a shattered pottery jar, even if repaired, can it compare to an undamaged one? Can it be used to establish one's dao? The greatest mystery of the ancestral field lies in its growth potential, which can expand infinitely. A shattered ancestral field, can it still have growth potential?” Tang Wanzhou then added, “We cannot gloat, nor can we be led by the nose by the incident itself. What we should consider is whether the subsequent impact of this matter can be exploited to gain some benefits for the Snow Sword Tang Court.”

Tang Wanqiu asked, “Should we send people to spread rumors that this was done by the imperial court?”

“A child's strategy! We don't even need to spread it; people will naturally do so, and even then, it won't have much effect,” Tang Wanzhou said.

Tang Wanqiu thought for a moment: “Give the credit for the assassination to the Leixiao Sect? After all, someone at the time detonated thunder-method profound ice, drawing away the experts, which gave the black-clad assailant an opportunity to act.”

“Being able to think of targeting the Leixiao Sect, that counts as a young person's strategy!” Tang Wanzhou's eyes were deep as he continued, “In the Eastern Region, the Dragon Gate is already a target for everyone, leaving only the Leixiao Sect as the strongest. If we can use this as an excuse to cause trouble, the Zuoqiu clan, combined with the Snow Sword Tang Court, advancing eastward, with forces from the north and south pointing directly at the Leixiao Sect, we can surely divide the Eastern Region, gaining considerable profit.”

Tang Wanqiu gave a bitter smile: “Such a significant gain, why is it only considered a young person's strategy?”

“Because at present, the demon race is the primary enemy; humanity absolutely cannot afford to have such an internal war,” Tang Wanzhou said.

Tang Wanqiu said, “Spreading that the demon race assassinated him... seems unnecessary, doesn't it? It's highly probable they actually did it.”

“Build up the momentum and say it was the Snow Sword Tang Court's doing,” Tang Wanzhou said after a moment of contemplation.

Tang Wanqiu was stunned.

“Have you not yet seen the situation clearly? Qilin Zang led all the transcendent ones, fighting from the Southern Region to the Western Region, and then to the Eastern Region. All three regions are now unrecognizable, having suffered heavy losses, with only the Northern Region untouched. How will the imperial court and the people of the three regions view this? The Snow Sword Tang Court is already the strongest among all the righteous armies. Now, it's as if we're being put on a spit to roast, making all of humanity suspect us, guard against us, and ostracize us. The Snow Sword Tang Court needs to suffer a bit, but not truly suffer. Instead, we need to let the world know that someone is framing us. This is just the beginning. For some time to come, self-inflicted damage will be something the Snow Sword Tang Court continuously needs to do. Just like today, who can say that someone isn't intentionally damaging themselves? It's easy to be a sharp force in the world! But when the situation changes, one must also learn to hide their sharpness. Oh, right! Li Weiyi once saved you. Gratitude is always a quality strong individuals must possess; schadenfreude won't lead to greatness. What are you doing sitting in my carriage? Hurry to Taoli Mountain; many eyes are watching.”

Tang Wanqiu was ushered out of the carriage.

Taoli Mountain.

Upon waking, Li Weiyi's first question was, “Did Elder Qin escape?” Three days ago, Elder Qin repeatedly checked the location of his ancestral field, leading Li Weiyi to suspect such an event would occur today. However, he hadn't expected it to happen at the engagement banquet. Too dangerous! With experts from all sides present, if Elder Qin couldn't escape their combined pursuit... the outcome would be unimaginable.

The Masked Lord, wearing a mask, said: “Don't worry! The reason I invited Elder Qin out of seclusion is that his escape abilities are considered unrivaled in the Hidden Sect. Once he enters the ground, even a transcendent master would find it difficult to capture him.”

“My ancestral field... Ah... It hurts so much...” Li Weiyi had naturally heard the sound of his ancestral field shattering earlier and was very worried, fearing that Elder Qin's strike had gone awry, which would mean ruin.

The Masked Lord said, “Elder Qin's mastery of space is very high. That shattering sound was a trick done with the sword. Remember, only you, I, Elder Qin, and the Confucian Dao Old Ancestor of the Zuoqiu clan are privy to this matter. Zuoqiu Ling probably suspects, but don't worry about him. In short, the fewer people who know, the better.”

Li Weiyi was moved, thinking that the Masked Lord and the Confucian Dao Old Ancestor of the Zuoqiu clan had an extraordinarily good relationship, if they could even be invited to act out such a scheme. In his mind, Li Songgu's refined character, and his extreme fondness for studying ancient texts, came to the fore...

“I know you've long guessed my identity. It's fine to tell you: the Old Ancestor of the Confucian Dao in the Zuoqiu clan is something of a half-teacher to me; he can be trusted.” The Masked Lord walked up to Li Weiyi and placed the sword in his hand: “This sword is for you; the act must be complete. A person whose ancestral field is crippled is not truly crippled! When one's fighting spirit is extinguished and their state of mind collapses, that's when they are truly crippled! In a couple of days, find an opportunity to commit suicide.”

Li Weiyi endured the pain and gave a wry smile: “Does it need to be so miserable? I already feel quite miserable, and it hurts a lot...”

“There's no other way. You didn't listen when I advised you not to participate in the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival. Now, if you want to hide your brilliance and deceive everyone, you naturally have to suffer some hardships,” the Masked Lord said.

Li Weiyi nodded gravely: “It just so happens that I need to settle down for a few years and cultivate in seclusion. So, I will conceal my talents and stay in Bogu for a while.”