Chapter 769 542 Couples

"Lu Sisi..."

Li Xizhi had, of course, heard this name. The internal and external family histories had also mentioned this person. After the elderly man had spoken, Li Xizhi thought to himself:

"Some old affair from years past... why bring it up... it's utterly meaningless... what does Yu Yuwei mean by this..."

Yu Yuwei paused slightly before redirecting the conversation with a laugh:

"It's just idle chat... At that time, my family was unified top to bottom, close to the Ning Family. But now, times have changed, and contact has been severed. I haven't heard anything more about it since I heard that Moon Lake Peak fell into the hands of the Ning Family, so I just casually asked about it."

He clasped his hands together, slowly stepping back before finding a courtyard to continue his cultivation in.

As Li Xizhi considered these words, he too found a small courtyard, settled himself down calmly, and thought:

"Could it be he's warning me not to trust the Ning Family... The affairs between the two families are all reliant on my great-uncle. I have a fair grasp of the situation myself. His reminder seems to be an implicit gesture of goodwill."

He calculated that after the world had changed, with the deaths of Li Tongya and Li Yuanjiao, the friendship between the Xiao Family and the Li Family had faded. As long as the Li Family remained well-behaved and assisted the Xiao Family with managing the west, there would be little interaction, and the Xiao Family had also closed off their mountain, becoming increasingly reclusive over the years.

Subsequently, relations with the Yuan Family cooled after an initial warmth, and as for the severance, growing closer to the Ning and Yang Families, the Li Family's stance gradually shifted to another battlefield. By his estimation, it had only been a hundred years.

"That's how the world is... closeness and distance lead to separation. If I weren't handling the matters of Qing Sui Peak, we might have already fallen out with the Yuan Family."

"Affections are fleeting, human relations empty – like standing upon a needle point."

A faint gloom arose in his heart as he contemplated:

"The Ning Family has been a long-time supporter of the Chi Family for hundreds of years, probably sharing a relationship like the one between Yu Family and ours. And now they have vanished? How could the Chi Family sit idly by? The Chi Family's enmity towards our Li Family must also be related to this matter."

"With Yuan Su gone, the Ning Family has sunken further into decline, now being pushed into some conflict with us... It doesn't look good. For now, it is tolerable, but once the situation becomes critical... trouble is likely to arise,"

As the stars and moon slowly rose in the sky, Li Xizhi sat upright in the courtyard, with dust settling on the windowsill. His eyes shining bright like stars, one hand resting on the stone table, he silently pondered:

"It all rests on my great-uncle. Ning Heyuan's countenance is ever-changing, and Ning Hejing is a trusted agent of the Chi Family. With interests clashing and affections shallow, how could there be longevity?"

...

Xu Country, Yan Mountain Border.

Heading north from Wangyue Lake, crossing the great river, you'd reach Yan Mountain Border, already close to the Tangjin Sect. Looking up, golden hues could faintly be seen in the distant mountains.

Of course, nowadays, the Tangjin Sect had sealed their Mountain Gate tightly, leaving nothing but Tangjin Mountain itself. Li Qinghong, riding atop Thunder Light, flew out from the border gazing at a stretch of gold as billowing demonic smoke rolled in from afar.

Opposite Yan Mountain Border lay the Great Desire Physiognomy and various Devil Cultivators. The border defense line was extensive, one of the most fiercely contested in the Clear Pond defense zone over the past few months. Devil Cultivators had been increasingly restless, probing the defenses.

She had been stationed here for several months, with more and more personnel coming and going for reconnaissance. Kongheng and Li Wushao had been deployed elsewhere and were not by her side.

Amongst the cultivators following Li Qinghong, only Li Minggong and Chen Mufeng were from her own sect. Interestingly, there was an old acquaintance, Fei Tongyu of the Fei Clan, who as Family Head had also been dispatched, standing quietly in a corner, while the rest were a mixture of cultivators from various families.

There was no other reason than the fear of injuries holding them back, not coming to aid when facing death. The large family clans spread along these defensive lines were mixed and separated, compelling each section's defending cultivators to lend support vigorously.

Li Qinghong carefully judged the demonic smoke to the north, which was much more formidable than in previous probes. She then took out the jade ring that had been issued, glowing red all over with only a few spots appearing white.

"Move to central positions within the formation, prepare to meet the enemy!"

She whispered the order, taking out a spear from her Storage Bag. The cultivators hurriedly took positions in the formation, and Li Qinghong, with her gaze fixed, saw more than a dozen figures emerging from the dark smoke.

The Qi Cultivation Demon Cultivators were naturally beneath her concern, but she focused on the couple leading them, both Foundation Establishment level Devil Cultivators. The woman looked gentle and agreeable, with an aura of Foundation Establishment Early Stage, holding a small Brocade Fan in her hand. The man appeared slightly more austere, brandishing a sword, and his cultivation seemed a cut above – probably at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

The couple commanded the demon throng to the front of the formation. The woman shook the white brocade robe she wore and smiled:

"To the fellow Daoist ahead... which of the Clear Pond families do you belong to?"

Li Qinghong watched coldly, not saying a word, but the couple didn't stay idle. Various spells crashed down onto the formation, and it was only then that black-clothed figures emerged, Fetal Breathing Cultivators who had taken a good while to reach the front.

Although the ranks within the formation were lesser in number, they fought back with the support of the formation. In an instant, the sound of booming echoed about. The Foundation Establishment level couple, seeing no reaction from within the formation, thought to themselves:

"Could it be that there are no Foundation Establishment Cultivators inside the formation right now..."

They then brought down their Magic Artifacts, commanding their full force forward, and Li Qinghong naturally couldn't allow this couple to continue their assault. She rode the wind, emerging from the formation.

Seeing her figure, the eyes of the female Devil Cultivator brightened and she retracted her Magic Artifact, calling out:

"Fellow Daoist! Wait a moment!"

Li Qinghong relied on her mana to ride the winds, careful not to reveal her cultivation level and Immortal Foundation as she replied offhandedly:

"Who are you calling Daoist Fellow!"

The man watched her with a cold gaze, but the gentle-appearing Devil Cultivator woman smiled and spoke:

"We are all Daoist fellows of the Demon Sect... Even though our Toaist Lineages differ, the Zifu Golden Core Path was once considered part of the Devil Cultivators... How have we come to a point where we can't address each other as Daoist fellows?"