Chapter 337
Chapter 337
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: The Clan's Mercy and the Yang Heir's Visit
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Li Qianyun woke up to find herself lying on a sickbed, with a clan elder diagnosing her injuries for her.
"Uncle Xiaogan!"
She hurriedly rose, her heart aching with pain, nearly unable to stand steady.
She had been wounded in her heart and lungs by Li Tianqing's sword qi, thin as a strand of hair. If not for her profound cultivation allowing her to control the flow of her qi and blood, the blood in her heart orifice would have soon poured into her lungs, killing her on the spot.
"Qianyun, no need for formalities."
Li Xiaogan specialized in medicine and was a renowned imperial physician. He had treated high officials and nobles in the western capital before resigning to practice at home, tending to the Li family's members. Every Li clansman might not know the clan lord, but none could be ignorant of Li Xiaogan.
Li Xiaogan smiled.
"You've been injured in your heart and lungs. Without proper treatment, it will leave serious hidden dangers. The next time you fight someone with all your strength, the injury will flare up. You must nurse this wound properly."
Only then did Li Qianyun notice that there were other sickbeds in the room, occupied by Li Dazhi and the others.
Their injuries were even heavier than hers. At that moment, many lay on their beds, groaning softly from the pain.
"Uncle Xiaogan, why are you here?"
Li Qianyun asked.
Li Xiaogan smiled.
"I've been here all along. When you were chasing Li Tianqing, I was watching from afar."
Li Qianyun was slightly stunned, not understanding his meaning.
If Li Xiaogan had been nearby all along, why hadn't he intervened to save them or slay Li Tianqing? After they were defeated by Li Tianqing, shouldn't he have struck down this traitor?
"Not only was I there, but the clan lord was nearby as well."
Li Xiaogan smiled.
"Many from the clan came too. We all watched your battle with Li Tianqing."
Li Qianyun grew even more puzzled.
She watched as Li Xiaogan walked outside, only to see Clan Lord Li Xiaozai and a crowd of clan elders actually present—thirty or fifty people—whispering among themselves, discussing something.
She couldn't help but be startled. Did chasing down Li Tianqing require mobilizing so many Li family experts? And after her failure, why hadn't all these clan powerhouses eliminated Li Tianqing?
"Qianyun is awake."
Li Xiaogan said.
Clan Lord Li Xiaozai's gaze fell upon Li Qianyun. She paid her respects, grief-stricken, and said,
"Qianyun has failed the clan lord's nurturing and dashed your expectations. Please, clan lord, take back the Minor Tribulation Fortune Crossing Art!"
Li Xiaozai shook his head.
"Victory and defeat are commonplace in battle. Why take it to heart? This time, you couldn't overcome him because he observed you in secret for eight days, detecting a flaw in your primordial spirit force field and exploiting it with the smoke and dust. You've cultivated this far without knowing your own weaknesses, but after this battle, you do. From now on, you'll only grow stronger."
The sadness in Li Qianyun's heart eased a bit, but being defeated by Li Tianqing still left her deeply upset.
She had been full of hope, thinking capturing this traitor would be effortless, yet she'd suffered a major defeat. The position of clan lord was now beyond her reach.
Li Xiaozai said,
"This defeat at Li Tianqing's hands shows you do have shortcomings. You must continue to cultivate diligently. Just now, I discussed with the elders, and we've decided to send you to the Realm Above the Boundaries for a time. You now qualify to go there."
Li Qianyun was slightly stunned. She had never heard of the Realm Above the Boundaries.
Li Xiaozai said,
"The Realm Above the Boundaries was forged by the successive ancestors of our Thirteen Houses using their own Void Great Realms, creating a world independent of the yin and yang realms.
From the fall of the True King era to now, over six thousand years, nearly all Return to Void Realm and Great Vehicle Realm existences from the Thirteen Houses have contributed their Void Great Realms before their deaths to bolster it.
Successive ancestors—some live in the underworld, others in the Realm Above the Boundaries.
There, you will receive guidance from those ancestors."
Li Qianyun was overjoyed beyond measure. Guidance from successive ancestors?
If that were true, her cultivation and strength would soar, surpassing her current self by leaps and bounds!
"After you emerge from the Realm Above the Boundaries, do not seek revenge on Li Tianqing. Do not regard him as one of the Li family any longer. From this point, we sever all ties with him."
Li Xiaozai gazed into her eyes and said softly,
"Qianyun, do you understand?"
Li Qianyun hesitated.
"This disciple does not understand, but she will obey the clan lord's command."
Li Xiaozai smiled and waved his hand, signaling her to go prepare.
Li Xiaogan came to Li Xiaozai's side and asked,
"Clan lord, why spare that boy?"
"Sparing him is the result of deep deliberation."
Li Xiaozai gazed at the苍穹 sky and said softly,
"What the Thirteen Houses aim for is a world-shattering feat. We must prepare for both victory and defeat. Either we succeed and restore the True King golden age, or we fail utterly and the clan is exterminated. I must leave a root for the Li family—even if that root is a traitor.
He withdrew his gaze and said,
"Li Tianqing is a genius. Had he not betrayed us, I would have chosen him as the next clan lord. A genius like that betraying the Li family inflicts tremendous harm, so we must eliminate him no matter what. Especially after he defeated Qianyun—he must die. But the Li family now needs a traitor to carry on the bloodline."
Li Xiaogan's mind trembled slightly as he bowed.
A true clan lord plans not for victory first, but for defeat—arranging a fallback for the Li family—that makes him qualified.
Fires streaked across the sky, and great darkness came early again.
Li Xiaozai gazed at the sea of fire blanketing the entire Western Ox Continent, his face etched with worry.
Days grew shorter, nightfall ever earlier, the trend accelerating! The heavenly changes' effects would only intensify!
Could the Thirteen Houses prepare in time to face this cataclysm?
In Huangpo Village, on the yellow earth slope outside the village, Chen Shi cultivated beneath the old willow tree. Nine layers of rosy clouds hung in the sky behind him, illuminating several li around as bright as day.
His primordial spirit sat on the shrine stool in the little temple, its aura growing stronger, the spirit itself slowly expanding. Though night had fallen, he continued cultivating diligently.
These days, night came ever earlier, shortening daylight practice time. Even at night, cultivation was necessary. The people of Huangpo Village hadn't slept either, chatting idly at the village entrance.
Black Pot led Nuannuan in play. The day before last, Hu Feifei had brought the little girl over, and she refused to leave. Life in the county seat felt stifling; she preferred staying in the countryside with Chen Shi and the dog.
Fortunately, Chen Shi's parents adored the girl, treating her like their own daughter. With the couple caring for her, it was far better than with Hu Feifei, that unmarried young lady.
Zhong and Tie Lu, being reincarnations of ghost gods, revealed their true forms at night and went out to devour evils and spirits. For a time, no evils or spirits remained around Huangpo Village—even at night, it was safe.
In the early days, villagers had been wary of Zhong and Tie Lu, but discovering the pair's fierce appearance belied kind hearts, they accepted them.
"The Top Scholar Lord's glow behind his head is getting brighter and brighter."
Old Lady Wuzhu gazed toward the yellow earth slope and said.
Grandma Yuzhu was sewing a shoe sole and laughed.
"He still hasn't taken a wife, the fool."
Old Lady Wuzhu couldn't help laughing.
"No wonder it's getting brighter."
At that moment, a阴风阴风 blew, and three little ghosts emerged from the earth, each carrying a bucket and wearing a small round cap. One had an ox head, one a horse face, none over two feet tall, their steps light and nimble.
One was a little night yaksha. Even the village elders saw these three little ghosts without alarm.
Since the Top Scholar Lord returned, these three appeared nightly, chattering ghostly words, always circling Nuannuan.
"There are more and more oddballs in the village."
Old Lady Wuzhu peered outside the village and said.
"That fishing father and daughter living outside don't seem like good folk either."
Grandma Yuzhu scratched her hair with her needle and said,
"Our Top Scholar Lord doesn't seem like good folk either."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, crisp bell chimes rang out. The villagers of Huangpo Village looked toward the sound and saw three azure birds over ten feet tall striding along the mountain road outside, pulling a carriage toward them.
These azure birds could clearly fly but chose to walk the road.
Halos glowed behind their heads, emitting soft light that illuminated the path.
A noble young lord sat in the carriage, clad in red robes with a green sash at his waist, refined and elegant. Villagers who saw him praised,
"What a handsome fellow."
The carriage reached Huangpo Village. The noble youth spotted Tie Lu, transformed into an ox-headed humanoid monster, and felt a chill. Then Zhong, wreathed in flames, shot from a thatched hut with a whoosh, startling him further.
The three azure birds startled too, unleashing surging, fierce auras skyward. Each manifested a primordial spirit hundreds of zhang tall—bird-headed, human-bodied, bird-footed, wings blotting the sky, floating imposingly.
The noble youth coughed.
"They mean no harm. No need to be so tense."
The three azure birds withdrew their primordial spirits. Zhong and Tie Lu glanced at them, somewhat disappointed.
"Not evils or spirits."
One dashed along the ground, the other flew into the air, off to hunt.
The noble youth drove the carriage forward, nodding lightly to the elders and grannies at the village entrance. They sat unmoving, only their heads turning to follow his carriage.
The noble youth was none other than Yang Bi of Yang Shaohu. He had come specifically to visit Chen Shi.
The earlier reincarnated ghost gods Zhong and Tie Lu hadn't pressured him much, but the stares from these elders and grannies did.
Yang Bi had just shaken off the villagers' gazes when he saw a four- or five-year-old girl riding a large black dog, galloping joyfully from behind, pursued by three bucket-carrying little ghosts. Startled and puzzled, he ordered the three azure birds to pull the carriage to the roadside to make way.
Yang Bi leaned out. Watching Black Pot carry Nuannuan past, he thought,
"Is this a rebel camp?"
Yang Bi continued onward, reaching the base of the yellow earth slope. He saw the new house by the river, where the fishing father and daughter moored their boat.
"Huangpo Village—truly a forbidden land for ghosts and gods."
Yang Bi shook his head and looked up at the old willow on the slope top. Chen Shi's Nine Heavens Light enveloped over ten mu of sky behind him, shining down.
Nuannuan tumbled off the dog's back onto the ground. The two little ghosts cried out in panic and hurried over, but the girl lay in the grass, laughing heartily, flailing her arms and legs happily.
Yang Bi's gaze fell on the little girl as he continued,
"The Twelve Houses will no longer pursue the Qingtian Great Lord. The reincarnated underworld bailiffs like Ox-Head, Horse-Face, Zhong Dao, and the others will also let it slide.
You no longer need to be so wary of me."
Chen Shi smiled.
"I'm not wary."
Yang Bi turned to look down the slope.
Chen Shi looked and saw Chen Tang standing at the base, holding a wooden box.
Chen Shi smiled.
"My father worries for my safety—pure parental affection, perfectly normal."
Yang Bi glanced behind himself. Under the moonlight, immense darkness shrouded the rear of Huangpo Village. In the darkness, a pair of huge eyes stared幽幽 at him.
Chen Shi said gravely,
"Huodou worries for its son's safety—filial piety, also normal."
He hadn't dismissed Chen Tang or Huodou and asked,
"The Thirteen Houses covet the Yama King's throne, scheming for millennia. Why stop the extermination now, Young Lake?"
"You can call me Shaohu, Top Scholar Chen."
Yang Bi said solemnly,
"We no longer need to pursue the Qingtian Great Lord and his cohorts because it's unnecessary.
In the True King era, the underworld was established with the Ten Palace Yama Lords. Nine besides the Qingtian Great Lord have submitted; only he remains at large.
Now, those other nine palaces are all held by the Thirteen Houses."
Chen Shi's mind shook greatly.
The three little ghosts were also stunned.
Yang continued,
"I've emerged this time to consolidate the Thirteen Houses' forces. The first task is to help Judge Wei Ling become the new Yama of the palace, then pass it to Wei Yue.
The matter is settled. Whether we pursue the Qingtian Great Lord is irrelevant. The tide has turned; you cannot resist it."
Chen Shi asked doubtfully,
"If the Thirteen Houses are unstoppable, why come to me, Young Lake?"
Yang's expression turned grave.
"I've come to explain the Thirteen Houses' actions to you, lest you misunderstand."
Chen Shi said,
"I'm all ears."
Yang Bi pondered a moment.
"This matter begins with the True King's Transcending Tribulation and Ascension realms."