Read Novel Full Chapter 1159: Chapter 1153: Last Chance
Chapter 1159: Chapter 1153: Last Chance
Inside the Eternal Immortal Sect.
Disciples came and went.
Every time he visited the Eternal Immortal Sect, Li Wei always felt a sense of awe.
Having been neighbors for hundreds of years, Li Wei increasingly felt the Eternal Immortal Sect was extraordinary.
It was also the sect with the strongest Xianxia atmosphere he had ever seen in the entire Imperial Dynasty.
These past few years, the family had accomplished many great deeds on the outside, and the immortal sect was similarly displaying its divine might.
Located by the northeast sea of the Imperial Dynasty, the inland was not peaceful, and neither were the sea regions.
Sea demons from the East Sea invaded, and sects from all over the world dispatched experts to eliminate them; the elders and disciples of the Eternal Immortal Sect were among them.
In a war lasting decades, an Elder led five hundred disciples of the immortal sect on an eastern crusade against the merfolk.
They slaughtered them until a Body Integration realm merperson fled, even barging into the merfolk tribe to seize their heavy treasures.
That year, the so-called Divine Race of the Duskwild Prefecture in the Eastern Frontier clamored arrogantly, causing all the Void Refining, Body Integration, and even Mahayana experts in the world to gather and compete.
Originally, the Eternal Immortal Sect didn’t want to get involved.
Who knew that the cultivators of Duskwild Prefecture would send the Eternal Immortal Sect a pink dress?
Furious, Ancestor Lan took three elders there.
After taking a brief trip and returning, no one knew what happened, but the cultivators of Duskwild Prefecture completely lost their arrogant attitude.
Xu Xian, an inner sect disciple of the Eternal Immortal Sect, was no more than five hundred years old and had only joined the immortal sect nearly three hundred years ago.
Walking the mortal realm, he slew a Void Refining snake demon within the Monster Race territory and swallowed its snake core.
A five-hundred-year-old Void Refining expert, his declaration of “I will not return until I reach Body Integration” greatly shocked the world.
The people of the world said that in the Southern Frontier laid a poisonous snake and a red-crowned crane; the poisonous snake was the Li Clan, and the crane was the Eternal Immortal Sect.
Meanwhile.
Inside this sect, Ancestor Lan was loitering around the courtyard where the Li Clan members were cultivating, refusing to leave.
The immortal-looking old man flicked his sleeve and twirled his teacup, sipping his tea with slow, graceful movements.
Smacking his lips with relish, he nonchalantly said to the few people in front of him,
“The Dao scriptures of the world originate from the Dao Ancestor.
Therefore, there are cultivation methods to guide the people of the world to cultivate immortal qi, elevating even those at the Nascent Soul realm to the status of immortals and gods.”
“The Dao Ancestor opened a path, and thus there came to be many, many paths in the world, forged by our predecessors.
There were those who failed, and there were also those who forged smooth and open paths.
I am one of the latter. I have dabbled in all the Dao lineages of the world, and I know a thing or two about all the Daoist arts.
When it comes to the rules of the world, no one surpasses me.”
“If I were to occupy the Daos of everyone in the world, I’m afraid it would take tens of thousands of years for someone to find a path from the boundless sea of Dao paths.”
Having spoken, he drank his tea again and gently set down the teacup, exuding the perfect demeanor of a transcendent immortal.
After delivering these words, Ancestor Lan’s face was full of intoxication, bathing in the spring breeze that isolated them from the wind and snow outside the sect’s array formation.
“…”
In front of Ancestor Lan, Li Xinghuo was expressionless, Li Zhiheng wore a fake smile, and Li Jianshu’s eyelids drooped.
Only Li Jianning nodded continuously with a grave expression.
Seeing Ancestor Lan acting smug and complacent, looking like he wanted to continue boasting, Li Jianshu shook his head vigorously.
“Senior possesses vast Spiritual power. Please don’t mention it again. This junior… has already taken the Old Ancestor as my master, and cannot learn the methods of others.”
Hearing this, Li Xinghuo and Li Zhiheng nodded in perfect unison.
They had come to the Eternal Immortal Sect over half a year ago.
Stationed in the territory of the immortal sect, if any surrounding foreign enemies dared to enter Azure Cloud Prefecture, they could cut off the opponents’ advance.
Similarly, they could anticipate enemy moves from within the Eternal Immortal Sect, serving as a surprise force.
But regarding their arrival, only Sect Master Duanmu Qi and Ancestor Lan knew.
From that day on, Ancestor Lan would come to boast in front of them whenever he had nothing better to do, wanting to take them in as disciples…
Li Xinghuo gripped the jade slip in his hand and glanced at his clansmen beside him, the corners of his mouth twitching.
He had long heard of a figure like Ancestor Lan, and had heard even more about Li Jianning cultivating 720 dantians after becoming Ancestor Lan’s disciple.
Originally, he had secretly cursed, wondering how there could be such an unreliable person.
Now that this matter had fallen onto his own head, he finally saw it for himself.
Inside the jade slip was a cultivation method tailor-made for him by Ancestor Lan based on what the old man had seen and heard.
[Sacred Manifestation Dao-Guiding Art]
[Grade Unknown. A unified Dharma formula derived from Ancestor Lan’s sudden flash of inspiration. Unperfected.]
[Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Dharmic Avatars transform into one hundred and eight star constellations, guiding the soul into the stars…]
This was still fine, but once it got to the latter part, problems arose.
[Shatter the physical body and soul to enter the Dao. Although the body dies and the Dao perishes, the divine soul remains in the world.
Wait for the eternal glow of ten thousand mortal hearths, use burning incense to ignite the one hundred and eight constellations, and shatter the Dao to open the gate—only then can true Body Integration be achieved.]
How was this a cultivation method? This was asking him to go and die.
Li Zhiheng and Li Jianshu each held a jade slip in their hands as well… If they practiced it, they wouldn’t even know how they died.
“The people of this world are blind,” Ancestor Lan continued profoundly.
“One must know that only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above the rest. True opportunities are only found by seeking life amidst death.”
He paused, letting his words hang in the air.
“You three possess extraordinary aptitude. To have reached such a level of cultivation at your age means your futures are limitless—not a fraction inferior to Xu Xian and Duanmu Yushu of my sect.
Just look at Jianning; under my guidance, he now walks a superior Dao path.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Li Jianshu’s face gradually turned dark.
If it weren’t for the protection of their family’s Old Ancestor, this younger brother of his would have been killed by Ancestor Lan hundreds of times over by now.
As for Xu Xian and Duanmu Yushu, rumor had it that those two would turn and flee the moment they even caught sight of the old man.
Only Li Jianning maintained a respectful expression. “Master guides me with heavenly methods; this disciple is endlessly grateful.”
Seeing that the Li family members remained unmoved, Ancestor Lan didn’t mind either.
He then proceeded to patiently and systematically persuade them a bit more, speaking with extravagant embellishments, before finally smiling,
“I will give you only one chance. I can perfect your cultivation methods for you. If you let this slip by, you will never see such an opportunity again.”
“…”
Silence.
They simply watched him turn to leave.
Ancestor Lan walked to the door without looking back, his tone leisurely as he tossed over his shoulder, “Last chance.”
The group remained perfectly quiet, continuing to stare at his retreating back.
He didn’t break his stride, smoothly disappearing around the corner.
A beat passed. Then, the old man reappeared from behind the wall, his face flushed bright red.
He gnashed his teeth, blew at his beard in frustration, and glared at the silent group before finally letting out a defeated sigh.
“Fine. I’ll come back in a couple of days.”
The few of them wore utterly speechless expressions, yet they did not lack trust in Ancestor Lan.
After all, if a dignified Body Integration expert who had lived near the Azure Cloud Prefecture for hundreds of years truly wanted to harm them, he would have struck long ago.
Aside from being a bit unreliable, the old senior had no other flaws.
After Ancestor Lan left, a Dark Crow flew in.
Not being adept at managing family affairs, Li Jianning went back to his cultivation.
Li Jianshu extracted a wisp of black qi from the Dark Crow’s beak, and the intelligence fell into his hands.
Frowning, he turned to Li Xinghuo and said,
“A message has arrived from the Northern Frontier. Lin Jiu wants you to return to the court immediately after handling your family matters.
He said the Qiu Clan brought disaster upon themselves and cannot blame anyone. No one in the army dares to act presumptuously toward you.”
Hearing this, Li Wei, standing nearby, almost wanted to laugh.
After Li Xinghuo’s breakthrough, the battle in the Northern Frontier had made him famous.
The world now knew that one of the commanders of the Asura Army, Li Xinghuo, was young and had revealed himself to be at the Void Refining realm during battle.
Afterwards, stripping off his armor in the cloudy sky, his tattoos of the one hundred and eight star constellation demonic beasts illuminated the Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain a bright red.
With a single roar from the Bixie Dharmic Avatar (Bixie is a classic mythological creature known to ward off evil) among them, all the Qiu Clan Ice Demons retreated in terror.
Even though a year had passed, the traces of the one hundred and eight-star constellation talisman seals still lingered on the Qiu Clan Immortal Mountain.
To this day, no demonic beast dared to set foot within its radius.
The aura of the Bixie Dharmic Avatar had stubbornly transformed a blood-soaked site of slaughter into an auspicious place of protection.
Now, rumors swirled throughout the Imperial Dynasty and the Northern Frontier, claiming the Grand Tutor was unjust, forcing away an evil-warding demon-suppressor like Li Xinghuo and driving away auspiciousness.
In just a short half-year, aside from sending messages, seven or eight people had come personally to invite Li Xinghuo back to the Northern Frontier.
These people returned empty-handed; they all died.
“What else?”
Li Xinghuo paid no heed. When he did things, he always walked straight ahead without turning back.
Aside from intending to rebel, the Grand Tutor also wanted to deal with their Li Clan.
The fact that Li Xinghuo hadn’t completely severed ties with the Grand Tutor was already showing consideration for their past relationship.
“There’s also news from the Imperial Capital.”
Li Jianshu’s expression was strange.
“The Imperial Preceptor has returned to the court.
From Longleaf Mountain in the Imperial Capital, he brought the entire Min Family and the Emberwing Guards to the North, yet he isn’t helping the Grand Tutor deal with the Monster Race.
Min Youguo issued a decree ordering the cultivators at the Northern Frontier borders to remain vigilant against Monster Race invasions at all times, but in reality, he is secretly confronting the Grand Tutor.”
“Ba Siyu from the Western Frontier, Perfected Qinghe, and Spear Saint Gu Fenghua sent messages back to the Imperial Capital, cursing up a storm…”
Upon hearing this, Li Xinghuo was stunned.
He had been waiting for the people from the Department of Immortal Suppression to arrive so he could head to the Western Frontier and join his elders in fighting the Wu Tribe.
He hadn’t expected more chaos to erupt in the Western Frontier, and couldn’t help but ask, “What happened now?”
“It’s our elders,” Li Jianshu said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
…
[Special Event — Ba Siyu’s Letter]
[Your descendant Li Yunbing, knowing of the matter regarding the Ten Deadly Sins, brazenly headed toward the Wu Tribe in broad daylight.]
[Upon learning of this, Ba Siyu, whose Earth Virtue was tied to the nation’s territory, feared that the Li Clan would rebel and let the Wu Tribe through the border.
In a fit of rage, he sent a message back to the Imperial Dynasty. A single letter shocked the entire court, securing at least ten years of peace for your family.]
“At least ten years?”
Looking at the system notification while wandering around the immortal sect, Li Wei mused that Yunbing was indeed decisive, seeing right through Ba Siyu’s thoughts.
He just hadn’t expected that Ba Siyu, who had wished for the Li Clan’s swift destruction on the Western Frontier battlefield back then, would actually lend them a helping hand now.
Wandering with a heavy heart, he arrived at a certain room.
Suddenly, he saw someone kick and shatter a stone table.
Li Wei recognized the two people inside: one was Han Ju, the dragon qi thief, and the other was Li Chuyuan.
“How did these two end up together?”
Li Wei hurriedly checked Li Chuyuan’s intelligence.
He remembered clearly that there was a traitor in the family who had consumed the ‘Dao Seed’.
Upon closer inspection, he heard a roar.
“Ba Siyu, Gu Fenghua… The war in the Western Frontier isn’t even over, so how can they have the time to meddle in the Li Clan’s affairs?!!” Han Ju was furious beyond words.
He looked miserable, wrapped tightly in a black robe.
As he raged, the hood of the robe fell back, revealing his heavily bandaged head.
Wisps of black qi seeped through the gaps in the bandages.
The aura emanating from this black qi was filled with death and corrosion, indicating that the bandages were no ordinary items either.
His eyes were completely bloodshot.
The Li Clan… the Li Clan deserves a death by a thousand cuts!
No one in the world resented the Li Clan more than he did.
More than half a year had passed, and he still hadn’t forgotten how overjoyed he was when he went to take the Li Clan’s dragon qi.
His ‘Eye-Deceiving Lamp’ had evaded the Bodhisattva’s eyes.
Thinking back on it now, it was entirely a trap set by the Li Clan!
The Li Clan couldn’t deal with him directly, so they had prepared long in advance, tampering with the very first breath of dragon qi from the snake’s transformation into a dragon.
As a result, when he took it back to cultivate, originally intending to absorb the dragon qi, he hadn’t anticipated that it harbored corpse qi undetectable even by the Spirit Soul, along with some unknown aura.
Once tainted by this aura, one would be silently corroded.
But worst of all, he had absorbed it into his Spirit Soul, leading straight to his Void Refining space.
His body and soul were now rotting, leaving him looking neither human nor ghost.
His Void Refining space was severely corrupted, ensuring he would never reach the Body Integration realm in this lifetime.
“Why are you so anxious?”
Li Chuyuan was actually unafraid of a Void Refining expert’s rage, saying calmly,
“The Azure Cloud Li Clan has Ba Siyu vouching for them, making everyone fear them for a short time, but there will always be a time when they can’t be suppressed.”
“How long do I have to wait? I can’t wait any longer!!!”
Han Ju had gone completely mad.
With the hope of Body Integration gone, and unable to purge the first breath of corpse qi from the Nether Dragon, he would remain neither human nor ghost for the rest of his life.
Originally possessing a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, he might not even live for another thousand now.
Seeing Han Ju’s crazed state, Li Chuyuan said nothing and walked out of the courtyard where Han Ju was hiding.
He rolled up his sleeve, looking at the ghost qi on his hand, as well as the arm transplanted from the corpse of a Void Refining cultivator from the Western Frontier.
He felt no surprise or joy at the power within the arm, a power he might not have touched for hundreds or thousands of years otherwise.
“As expected, even if the family is powerful, they ultimately took the wrong path. If I were you, I would hide better. Why end up in today’s predicament?”
Li Chuyuan shook his head.
“The Corpse Stitching Technique… the Master actually knows such a heaven-defying method. I am the only one who can save the Li Clan.
Only when you are driven into a desperate corner, and I bring you to consume the Dao Seed bestowed by the Master, will you understand that you cannot succeed without me.”
“…”
Li Wei stood silently beside Li Chuyuan. “You plague-stricken little brat.”
Watching Li Chuyuan walk away.
Li Wei said faintly, “It seems Min Tiange also wants to take a bite out of my Li Clan. Is the great chaos in the Western Frontier not enough for him?”
“Ten years…”
Beneath his feet, a Yin-Yang Fish diagram appeared, and Li Wei vanished.
On the Yin-Yang Fish diagram, the four elemental rules of Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire sat in their respective positions.
These were the easiest rules for ordinary people to cultivate, accessible even at the Nascent Soul realm.
In just one year, Li Wei had integrated them into the Yin-Yang.
“It should be enough.”
As he departed, a Dao Gate slowly surfaced.
The Yin-Yang Fish diagram grew increasingly grand upon the Dao Gate, and the ancient gate slowly opened a crack.
Outside the Dao Gate, Buddha Qi, Demonic Qi, Ice, Thunder… these rules were slowly condensing.
When he reappeared, he was already at the family’s supreme-grade Dharma Treasure capable of accelerating time, the ‘Myriad Dao Pagoda’.
He sat cross-legged shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Yaotie, who was bathing in the light of the Heavenly Fire Divine Tree.
Outside were clansmen continuously pouring Spirit Stones onto the Divine Bell Pagoda.
Li Yuanshang was dripping with sweat, fiercely commanding the clansmen.
“Smash them! Smash all the Spirit Stones our Merchant Lineage has accumulated over centuries in there!”
“Myriad Dao Pagoda, accelerate the time rules to the absolute maximum for me!”
“Nine times!”
The Myriad Dao Pagoda had nine levels; from the first floor all the way to the top floor, they lit up, illuminating the entirety of Merit City.
—
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