Li Xiangping closed his eyes to sense his surroundings for a moment. His face instantly turned pale, and he gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath.
"Damn it, ten Qi Refinement cultivators? How is anyone supposed to survive this plague? Where did the Ji family get so many Qi Refinement cultivators!"
Inside the mirror, Lu Jiangxian continuously channeled energy to transmit information. Seeing seven auras guarding the central one, he thought to himself
"What a mess. If Li Xiangping hadn't been so incredibly cautious, anyone else rushing in would have died instantly."
Lu Jiangxian breathed a sigh of relief, only to suddenly discover another Qi Refinement aura rising from Moon-Watching Lake.
Li Xiangping closed his eyes once more to investigate. From a distance, he sensed a powerful aura rising from the direction of Moon-Watching Lake, swaying gently in the air as it headed west.
Alarm bells immediately rang in Lu Jiangxian's mind. Feeling an intense sense of familiarity and attraction emanating from that aura, he nearly cursed aloud
"This damn thing is clearly that same aura from Moon-Watching Lake that could repair the Dharma Mirror years ago!"
The Qi Refinement aura's naked greed and malice flashed like a giant red lightbulb within his divine sense. Many thoughts flashed through Lu Jiangxian's mind like lightning.
"This person is definitely coming for me. They must have been lurking in Moon-Watching Lake for at least a dozen years!"
Li Xiangping was also stunned. Seeing that the aura was charging straight toward him like a meteor, his hair stood on end. He slapped a Divine Movement Technique onto his leg and pivoted, sprinting toward the north.
"Who is this person?! How can they target me so precisely from such a distance? Damn it, the Wan family has truly ruined me!"
As he ran frantically, thoughts raced through Li Xiangping's mind.
"This person is approaching through the air; they must be a Qi Refinement cultivator. I absolutely cannot run west toward the Wan family! My death would be a minor matter, but if I lead this person to their home, it would be an unpardonable sin."
"The Dharma Mirror is still in my hands; I must not lose it."
————
Wan Xiaohua looked at Ji Dengqi, who stood quietly outside the formation. Hatred nearly flew from his eyes. Standing beside him was a man wearing a slate-blue silk cloak with a broad forehead and an arrogant expression, who spoke up dissatisfied
"Brother Wan, why hasn't the Li family made a move yet? Didn't we agree to act once the Earth-Locking Huaqian Array rose?"
"Brother Pingyuan, do not be impatient. Let us wait a little longer!"
This man was none other than the newly ascended Qi Refinement cultivator from the Lu family that Li Tongya had seen on Guanyun Peak. The Wan family had paid a heavy price to invite him to assist, determined to kill Ji Dengqi.
Wan Xiaohua gave a bitter smile, doubts growing in his heart. He thought to himself
"Li Xiangping is a clever man. How could he not understand the principle of 'when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'? Once my Wan family is destroyed, the Ji family will be adjacent to the Li and Lu families. Even an idiot like Lu Pingyuan can see that he should help my Wan family hold on for a little longer. Why doesn't Li Xiangping understand this?"
With a deep sigh, Wan Xiaohua's heart grew increasingly uneasy.
After waiting for the duration of another incense stick, Lu Pingyuan stood up cursing. Ignoring Wan Xiaohua's dissuasion, he steered his flying shuttle out of the formation and shouted toward Ji Dengqi below the mountain
"Hey, Ji family Patriarch!"
"You can't break through this turtle shell anyway. What's the use of wasting time surrounding this mountain? My Lu family will protect the Wan family. Get lost immediately, lest we have to fight!"
As soon as he finished speaking, both Wan Xiaohua in the mountains and Ji Dengqi below were speechless. Wan Xiaohua felt a sense of suffocation, thinking viciously
"How can such an idiot reach Qi Refinement?! Truly unfair!"
Ji Dengqi narrowed his eyes, his heart full of disdain, and muttered
"I have more brains in my underwear than this guy."
Having said that, he gripped his blade, preparing to leap forward, only to hear a burst of laughter from the void. As if an invisible curtain had been pulled away, a man in golden robes, surrounded by a group of cultivators, finally revealed himself. Clutching his stomach, he pointed at Lu Pingyuan below and laughed loudly
"Hahaha, how interesting. To think there is someone even more arrogant than this young master."
Inside the formation, Wan Xiaohua looked up at the sky. Seeing the group of cultivators standing in mid-air, his face turned pale, his mind buzzed, and his thoughts went blank.
"One, two, three... eight... Qi Refinement... they are all Qi Refinement... how is this possible!"
He felt an extreme tightness in his chest, nearly spitting out a mouthful of blood. He struggled to call out
"Yuankai! Wan Yuankai!"
Wan Yuankai was also filled with panic. He rushed forward to support the Patriarch, his eyes slightly red, and said in a heavy voice
"Patriarch, Yuankai is here."
Wan Xiaohua took a breath and said coldly
"I fear our Wan family cannot escape catastrophe today. Since Li Xiangping has not appeared, he is likely in grave danger as well."
"Gather all the direct descendants of the family. Once the array is broken, immediately split into groups and head in different directions over the mountain toward the Li and Lu families."
Though his face was pale, Wan Xiaohua's mind was exceptionally clear. He slapped himself hard and said sternly
"No, Ji Dengqi will never let our Wan family off so easily."
"Pass my command: only direct descendants of the third generation who have opened their spiritual apertures and are between seven and fifteen years old may head west. The rest of you and our direct lineage must stay on the mountain. When the array breaks, scatter in all directions. Ji Dengqi will not let our Wan family go until he has slaughtered them all."
"As for the illegitimate descendants..."
As Wan Xiaohua was giving orders, he felt the formation shake violently. Blood rain began to fall from the sky. Lu Pingyuan, having failed to beg for mercy, had been torn to pieces by the golden-robed man in an instant.
The golden-robed man shook his hands and casually scooped up the man's storage bag. He probed it with his divine sense, frowned, and muttered a low curse.
"Poor beggar."
Turning his gaze toward the shimmering Earth-Locking Huaqian Array, the golden-robed man produced a long blade wreathed in crimson flames and smiled
"Let me test the craftsmanship of this Wan Huaqian."
————
Li Xiangping had only been running for a short while when he felt a series of harsh winds. An old man in Taoist robes, riding a flying shuttle, had already slowed to a halt in front of him. The old man lightly flicked his fly-whisk and spoke with a smile
"Fellow Daoist, where are you in such a hurry to go?"
Inside the mirror, Lu Jiangxian stiffened. Feeling waves of attraction emanating from the old man, as if an invisible thread connected him to the man, his heart stirred. He thought to himself
"This person is already in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, appearing to be at the fifth or sixth level. This is trouble."
Li Xiangping gritted his teeth and said in a low voice
"Who are you, and why must you block my path?"
The old man laughed and spoke leisurely
"This old Taoist has guarded Moon-Watching Lake for nearly thirty years. I have finally waited for you, Fellow Daoist."
With a gentle wave of his hand, he produced a pure white jade pendant. The pendant was faintly emitting a white light, and its tail seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, pointing directly at Li Xiangping.
"Fellow Daoist, if you hand over the item, this old Taoist might still leave you with a whole corpse."
(End of Chapter)