Li Yuan left the banquet hall without another word and as the door closed shut behind him, the murmurs coming from within were silenced in an instant.
Outside, the night air was cool, and he felt the last lingering traces of wine leaving his system as he circulated his Qi vigorously inside his body. Finally clearing his mind a bit.
'One Piece and Gojo references. Really?' He thought, not sure whether to cringe or draw amusement from the situation. 'I really need to stop attending banquets like these till I reach Foundation Establishment realm at least. Or gain a better resistance to wine.'
Still, his fight with Qin Long reminded him of the other twin, Qin Ling, and he blushed and became slightly aroused as he thought of what he'd seen in that halo of hers.
When he had glanced above her earlier, expecting nothing more than a trace of grey or pale white, he had been surprised to find that she had a deep and vivid purple halo shining above her head.
It was incredibly large bright as well. Almost matching the brightness of Xu Chen's golden halo in its brightness.
Curious and more than a little intrigued, he had allowed himself a brief look into what that fortune entailed. And that vision had been… something.
In that vision, he never fought Qin Long, and had kept accepting toasts till he became too drunk and had to be escorted back to his room. Once in his room though, he found someone else in his bed. Qin Ling. Completely naked and more than willing to seduce his drunk ass self.
He had no idea how it happened, maybe a pill of some kind, or maybe just fortune at work, but she became pregnant after spending just a single night with him. And unwilling to let his child be born as a bastard, he ended up marrying her.
With that connection to him, Qin Ling's cultivation rose by leaps and bounds, and as for the Qin family, he spared them. Though not before forcing them to hand over the Legendary Gu, as well as a lot of other valuables as punishment for their past actions against Li family.
Then, the vision ended. And maybe it was the look he gave her afterward, but Qin Ling started to seduce him right then and there, something that she hadn't done in that vision. And her seduction attempt likely led to Qin Long's anger, which led to him challenging him in front of everyone.
Having seen that vision, he couldn't bring himself to harm Qin Ling, even indirectly, by killing her brother. And had decided to spare him, though not before injuring him severely enough that he won't be able to fight for the next couple of days.
The next couple of days, where he intended to deal with the Qin family once and for all. In that vision, they had inadvertently become his in-laws and had thus avoided his wrath. But in this reality, they had no such protection.
He still remembered how haggard his father had looked back in the Nine Peak Sect when he gave him the news about the destruction of their family's Spirit Lake, and how his own grandfather had lost most of his lifespan as a result. Not to mention all the Li family members who had died at Qin family's hands over the decades.
Yes, the Qin family needed to be dealt with. And while he was unwilling to annihilate the lower-tier cultivators and the mortals in that clan, the Foundation Establishment elders would have to die.
Which is why he was now headed toward his grandfather's residence. By the time he arrived, the last bit of wine had left his system and he could finally think clearly enough.
The old patriarch had not attended today's banquet. Yesterday, he had done so in order to honour Elder Zi Mo. But today, there was no such reason and he likely did not want to show his dwindling vitality to others even though rumours about his condition had already spread.
Li Yuan knocked once.
"Enter." The voice from inside was steady at least. It no longer held the strength it once did, but he took some consolation in the fact that it wasn't trembling or anything.
He pushed the door open and entered. He saw his grandfather sitting behind a low wooden desk, a brush in hand and ink still wet across parchment. Documents were arranged in careful stacks. And he found himself slightly touched yet equally exasperated by the fact that despite his death hovering over him, the man still worked.
But then again, he would except nothing less from his grandfather, who had spent his life doing his very best to see the Li family rise.
The old man did not stop writing when he entered and stood beside him. In fact, he did not even look up to acknowledge him, making him wait for him to finish his work just as he had all those years ago.
Except, he was no longer the Li Yuan he once was, and had no interest in suffering through such power plays.
A single intent from him, and the brush his grandfather was using was cut in half.
His grandfather stared at the brush for a moment and then finally looked up at him calmly. "It seems rumours about you touching upon Sword Intent were false after all. You are far too good at it to have figured it out just this morning."
"Nice to meet you as well, grandfather." He said sarcastically.
"The cub has grown claws at last." His grandfather said and then gestured for him to sit. But he remained standing, unwilling to play along with his grandfather's usual power plays.
His grandfather paused when he didn't follow his gesture. Then looked up at him with a rare smile that he probably didn't even give to his own children. "You can stand up to my authority. Good. It seems Li family has a future after all."
"I'm not here to play your games, grandfather."
"I can see that." His grandfather said as he finally stood up. And despite his greying hair and the many wrinkles that had formed around his face in the past half a year, his grandfather still stood with a straight back, cutting just as impressive a figure as he did back then.
His grandfather looked at him in the eyes and asked. "Why are you here Yuan'er? I hope you're not here to waste my time?"
He raised an eyebrow at the term 'Yuan'er'. A word of endearment that was used by every other elder in the family but not his grandfather who had always been stern and unyielding. Even now, he could not tell if his grandfather was being sentimental in his old age, or just using the endearing term in order to manipulate him to his own ends.
He would like to hope for the former but he knew his grandfather too well for that. So he simply crossed his arms and remained silent, waiting for his grandfather to drop whatever game he was playing.
His grandfather looked annoyed by his silence. "What? Now that you've finally come to meet your grandfather, you have nothing to say. Has that Sect robbed you of your tongue as well as your filial piety?"
He almost rolled his eyes again. But knowing how things were done in this world, he cupped his hand and bowed. "This grandson has been unfilial and offers his apologies for not coming here to pay my respects to you earlier."
"Pay your respects? Hah!" His grandfather barked out a laughter. "You've paid me your respects by achieving Seventh-stage of Qi Condensation, and learning sword intent at the young age of fourteen. And you've paid me respects by bringing in a golden core expert to shield the family from the upcoming turmoil. If all my descendants paid me such respects instead of simply saying it, then would I still be working at my deathbed?" His grandfather scoffed. "No. You have no need to lower your head in front of me, child."
He stared at his grandfather suspiciously, wondering what the old man was up to now, praising him like this when even his own father probably only received a single word of congratulation upon reaching Foundation Establishment.
"Well? Stop looking at me like a fool and tell me why you're here already. Or are you intent on wasting what little time I've left in this world?" His grandfather asked.
He almost chuckled at those words. It seems like his grandfather's patience only went so far. Even for him.
Knowing his grandfather well, he did not go for any subtlety and spoke up directly. "I want you to ask Uncle Li Tian to declare war on Qin family."
His grandfather's eyes narrowed at those words. "Is that Golden Core elder going to help you, or do you intend to use your Sword intent to deal with those elders of Qin family, like how you dealt with Qin Long?"
He raised an eyebrow again, surprised that his grandfather already knew of what had happened in his Banquet. But then again, that was just like his grandfather, keeping an eye on everything despite the few years he had left to live. The man was never the type to just sit around and wait for death to claim him peacefully.
"You do not need to worry about that. Just do as I've asked of you, and Qin family will be our subordinates before the end of the week." He replied.
His grandfather's eyes narrowed into thin slits this time. "What do you mean by 'become our subordinates'? Do you not intend to remove them stem and root?"
"No." He replied simply, meeting his grandfather's eyes without flinching.
"And why is that?" His grandfather asked in a dangerous tone.
"Such senseless slaughter serves no purpose." He replied. "There's not point in killing them all, when we can simply remove their Foundation Establishment experts, and force the rest to submit to us."
His grandfather stared at him incredulously and then did something he never expected his grandfather to do. He let out a chuckle. Then, his grandfather stared back at him with greater intensity than ever before and asked a simple question.
"Have you gone mad, boy?"
"You will call me Li Yuan, not boy. And no. I'm still in my right state of mind."
"Then explain this… this… this foolishness that I just heard coming out of your mouth." His grandfather said, and then shook his head. "No don't bother. Let me guess what you're thinking. You believe that you're being kind, are you not?"
He stared at his grandfather, not saying anything.
"So kindness it is. Hah!" His grandfather let out a mocking laugh and then spoke derisively. "Kindness! Is it kindness to murder their strong and then force the rest to submit to us. Tell me, Li Yuan. Had that boy Qin Long, killed me, your granduncle, your uncle, and your parents, and forced you and the rest of the clan to submit to the Qin family, then would you have served him loyally, or would you have done everything in your power to plot revenge for your murdered family?"
He stared at his grandfather, remaining silent because he knew what he would do. He would plot revenge.
"Why are you silent? Qin Long spared you. Showed you kindness. Mercy. Should you not fall on your knees and be eternally grateful that he allowed you to live?" His grandfather asked mockingly. "Well, answer me. Why are you silent all of a sudden?"
He contemplated his grandfather's words. Maybe he did not need to kill the Foundation Establishment cultivators, and could simply cripple them. But no. That might not be enough either. Had Qin Long crippled his father and mother, he would still seek revenge.
Not to mention, he also intended to take the Heavenly-Devouring Lakeheart Gu from that Gu mistress. And if he left them alive, then they would undoubtedly release the news to others, and that Gu would become a danger for the Li clan.
No. If he intended to take the Gu, then he could not leave those Foundation Establishment cultivators alive. And he must arrange for Qin Ling to marry into his family as well, forcing his brother to thus serve the Li family loyally as well, because of their relations.
Wait… marriage.
"We could force their women to marry into our family and bind both families through a series of marriages." He said. "If I had a sister and Qin Long had married her. Then, as long as he did not mistreat her, I would've hesitated to act against him. Especially if he had immense might and I had no chance of success myself."
His grandfather's eyes bore into him and after a long moment of silence, he finally gave a single nod. "It seems you're not completely stupid after all. But do you think it'll be enough? That the members of Qin family would not act against us discreetly. Would not assassinate our members, or plot for our demise in the dark? Do you truly believe it'll be enough?"
He was silent once again, unsure of what to answer. He could of course keen an eye on Qin family members and look at their halos to see what they're plotting. But it wasn't like he could remain in his clan forever. Sooner or later, he would have to go back to the Nine Peak Sect. And at that time, if the remnants of Qin family truly plotted against the Li family, then his family might be in danger. Unless…
"Our overwhelming strength will deter any such thoughts from the remnants of Qin family." He said. "The ten Foundation Establishment pills should gain us ten more Foundation Establishment cultivators. With 17 Foundation Establishment combatants, even the current Qin family would not dare go against us, let alone the Qin family remnants."
"Would, should, could. You're placing too much faith on your enemies acting rationally." His grandfather said, looking tired all of a sudden. "You are too kind, child. And refuse the see the darkness in the hearts of other people just because you don't have any such darkness in your own heart. You might think that you're being merciful to your enemies. But you're just being cruel to your own family."
He remained silent, and his grandfather took the time to continue speaking.
"Besides, your maths need some work. Those ten Foundation Establishment pills, would only give us 8 Foundation Establishment cultivators. 9, if we're lucky. And I myself will only live for so long." His grandfather said as he sat down on his chair once again, his body looking exhausted from their talk but his eyes staring at him with the same intensity as before.
"Well… for once, it is you who is in the wrong, grandfather." He said, and brought out dozens of bottles of Heavy Spirit Water from his Spatial Ring before placing them on his grandfather's desk.
His grandfather stared at the immense wealth that had suddenly appeared in front of him and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You must never reveal such wealth to anyone else, Yuan'er. People's hearts are dark and unpredictable. Even your own clan members might prove untrustworthy in the face of such immense wealth. Is that understood?"
"I understand grandfather."
"I hope you do." His grandfather said and placed the bottles within his own spatial ring. Then, he finally tapped his finger on the table, his eyes narrowing in thought. For a long moment, he remained like that, utterly silent, before he finally spoke up again. "Very well."
"Very well what?"
"If you want to me merciful. Then be merciful. But we'll marry their women into our family. And I'll keep an eye on the remnants and eliminate anyone who harbours feelings of revenge in their heart. I could still protect our family for a few years yet. Even if it's from their own foolishness." His grandfather said before finally looking up at him. "I assume you intend to take the Qin Long girl for yourself?"
"No. Her talent does not meet my standards." He said, "Besides, you're wrong."
"Wrong?"
"About you only having a few more years left."
His grandfather stared at him, and his eyes slowly widened before he suddenly whispered. "Don't tell me you have another Lifespan Gu?"
"I don't. But I might be able to get a pill that'll help extend your life for another fifteen years or more."
His grandfather's mouth trembled at his words before he clenched his fists and regained his composure. "A pill like that would be of immense wealth. Worth millions of spirit stones in the market. Where would you even get such a thing?"
He placed a hand on his grandfather's shoulder and spoke gently. "You don't need to worry about that grandfather. You've shouldered the family's burden for such a long time. Now, let your family shoulder some of that burden for you."
His grandfather's eyes became misty as he looked away. Unwilling to show any weakness. "Very well. If that is your intention the so be it. Go now. I'll tell Li Tian to declare war on the Qin family. I assume you intend for the Qin twins to not be harmed?"
"Yes." He said and his grandfather nodded.
"Very well." His grandfather said before he finally stood up once again and looked him in the eyes. "I'm old enough as it is. It's about time the next generation starts to take over. Go now. Go, and do what you need to do to secure our family's future."
He nodded and turned around before striding out of his grandfather's chambers. The night had deepened outside, and he felt a sense of urgency overcome him.
Not long after this, Li family would declare war on the Qin family. And even if Qin Long and Qin Ling are confined, someone else would definitely use a communication jade to inform Qin family of that.
If he wanted to catch the Qin family off guard, then he needed to act swiftly, Which is why he immediately made his way toward the Central Courtyard. A courtyard that traditionally belonged to the clan head, but had recently been vacated in order to house their two distinguished guests. Elder Zi Mo and Rou Lin.
As he arrived at the central, he paused as he noticed a 2nd-tier Formation surrounding the place. A 3-in-1 Formation that offered Defence, Surveillance and Privacy.
To ordinary eyes, it might seem like an unsurmountable wall. A barrier that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be unable to break through. But to him, it looked… clumsy, like crayon art drawn by a child. Full of flaws and inefficiencies.
It reminded him of the first time he had used the Illusory Realm Formation. He had known how to use it, but he hadn't truly understood the essence of it. In hindsight, he was lucky that Shu Wen had no knowledge of Formations, or they would've broken through without any effort.
This formation was created in a similar manner. Elder Zi Mo had a rough idea on how to set the formation, but she didn't understand the deeper intricacies of Formation Crafting. Hence this shoddy work.
The formation plates had been placed correctly, but inefficiently. The flags were aligned in a standard array pattern, wasting nearly 210% of circulating energy. And the privacy layer overlapped unnecessarily with the defensive grid, creating minute turbulence at three nodal points.
With a single tap in the right place, he could unravel the entire Formation. Not that he would. He was not a fool, even if his grandfather would beg to differ. Instead, he extended a thin thread of Qi and tapped the barrier lightly. The formation rippled twice before going still.
A heartbeat later, a powerful divine sense swept over him before it withdrew a moment later. Another moment after that, the barrier parted, and he stepped through, the formation sealing shut behind him at once.
As soon as he had entered the courtyard, the reason for the privacy formation became obvious.
Rou Lin was in the centre of the courtyard, sitting cross-legged within the heart of another array. Moonlight poured down in a pale column, gathered by the Formation around her. The formation then sent all the Moonlight essence it had collected into her body, improving her already rapid cultivation by a dozen fold.
It was a beautiful sight. But once again… amateur craftsmanship.
The conversion efficiency was lacking, and the array leaked subtle currents at its outer edges. With minor adjustments, he could increase its absorption by at least fifty percent, and with a few more flags added to the side, he could increase the amount of essence it collected by twofold.
He filed the corrections away in his mind, intending to fix the formation, or maybe even craft an entire formation from the scratch up as his way of repaying Rou Lin.
For now though, he had come for something else.
He turned and looked to the other side of the courtyard where Elder Zi Mo sat in a similar lotus position. A dozen spirit stones lay arranged around her in a subtle spiral formation as she cultivated quietly.
He glanced at the spirit stones, and his eyes shook as he sensed the gargantuan amount of Qi energy inside each one of them. The energy was so heavy in fact, that just drawing it out of the stones distorted the air from its denseness. And even though he had never seen them before in his life, he recognised them for what they were in an instant.
Top-grade spirit stones. Each one worth at least 10,000 Low-grade spirit stones. And she had over a dozen laid out casually, draining them in order to cultivate.
The disparity in wealth between them was sobering. The entire Li clan would have to work for a few decades to gather that much wealth.
'A Golden Core cultivator truly operats on a different scale.' He thought.
He took a deep breath to calm his mind and then approached her. Her eyes opening as soon as they did. She stared at him in a calm, measuring manner and he cupped his hands and bowed properly.
"Elder Zi Mo. I apologise for disturbing your cultivation. But I have a request." He said, and she made a small gesture for him to continue. "I wish to borrow your flying ship for the night."
"Five million low-grade spirit stones." She said.
He nearly choked at her reply. The entire Flying Ship was probably worth less than a million Spirit Stones. For her to ask for five million, just to let him borrow it for a single night. Was this woman crazy. Why not simply refuse if she had no intention of giving it to him.
He gave her a wry grin and cupped his hands again. "I apologise for disturbing senior's cultivation. I'll leave now."
"Not for the ship." Elder Zi Mo replied before he could leave. "I'm offering Five million for the pill you promised your grandfather."
His blood ran cold at those words as he quickly wondered how she could've known before he came to the most obvious conclusion.
In his haste to meet his grandfather, and with all the complicated emotions afterward, he had forgotten to place a privacy Formation around them.
And with a Golden Core Realm cultivation's immensely powerful divine sense, if she had been keeping an eye on him, then she would obviously learn everything. In fact, if she truly wanted to eavesdrop on him, then he doubted that even a Tier 2 Privacy Formation would be able to block her divine sense. At least not for long.
Still, this was an incredibly huge oversight on his part. And he cursed himself for it. He had truly been far too careless.
He opened his mouth, already calculating how to refuse without offending her and causing the annihilation of his entire clan when she lifted a hand and stopped him from speaking.
"I am not asking for the pill meant for your grandfather. I am not so crass." She said. "If you can acquire another lifespan-extending pill — or any item of equivalent effect — I will pay five million low-grade spirit stones for it. Not only that, but I will also offer my personal protection to your clan, as well as to you during your time within the Nine Peak Sect."
He stilled at those words, his rapidly beating heart finally settling down. This… this was huge. An offer like this could bring great benefits to his clan. Not to mention the offer of the Five million spirit stones.
He considered it carefully and came to an obvious conclusion.
Once he mastered the necessary alchemy tier, producing a second pill would not be difficult at all. Unless, of course, the pill was for a Golden Core or Nascent Soul cultivator. After all, the pill required to be crafted from the Beast Core of similar ranked beast. Which in this case, meant a 3rd or 4th Grade Spirit Beast.
"May I ask," he said carefully, "if this life extending pill is meant for you… or for Peak Mistress Wu Yuechan?"
"Neither." She replied with faint sadness. "It is for my junior sister. Ning Renxue." She looked toward the moonlit sky briefly before continuing. "Sister Renxue was an incredibly talented disciple of the Snow Peak and like a daughter to me. But during one of her excursions in a Small pocket world, she met with an accident that greatly harmed her cultivation. We eventually managed to heal her, but the damage to her meridians remained, and as a result, her cultivation has slowed down greatly."
She gazed into the distance and continued. "Despite that damage, she had reached the ninth stage of Foundation Establishment regardless. One step from the peak. But she is old now and her time is running short. Her vitality has thinned and because of that she cannot push through that final barrier. If nothing is done, and she's unable to breakthrough, then her path as a cultivator would end here."
Li Yuan listened to Elder Zi Mo quietly and found himself touched. Not because of her care for her junior sister, but because she had not directly demanded the pill he intended to give his grandfather when she could've easily done so.
That restraint alone shifted his estimation of her and increased his opinion of her a hundredfold.
"If your junior sister is only at Foundation Establishment," he said after a moment, "then I can obtain such an item for her within a few months."
Zi Mo's gaze sharpened. "You are confident."
"Yes, Elder." He replied, not elaborating anymore.
Zi Mo studied him for several long seconds before she finally nodded. Then, the top-grade spirit stones vanished into her spatial ring before the flying ship emerged from that same spatial ring and came to rest right in front them with a thud.
Zi Mo stepped onto the boarding platform and then turned back to look at him. "Well. What are you waiting for?" She asked.
"Elder—" he began
"Call me Senior Sister Zi Mo." She replied, her eyes curving in a faint smile that stole his breath away for a moment. "And if my junior brother's family faces trouble, it is only fair that I lend a hand."
'Junior brother?' He thought, realising that she meant to strengthen their relationship and quickly cupped his hands respectfully.
"Then I will gladly accept Senior Sister Zi Mo's assistance." He said, and walked behind her, noticing the way her hips swayed from side to side enticingly as she climbed the ship. In fact, he couldn't remember her robes ever being so tight that they clung to her hips like that.
Was she… doing that one purpose?
He shook his head. Of course not. It must've been his imagination. There's no way a Golden Core elder would even think about seducing a Qi Condensation Realm disciple, no matter how impressive that disciple might be.
Still, try as he might, the thought did not leave his mind, and he kept stealing glances at Senior Siser Zi Mo until the ship finally took to the sky and zoomed off into the distance.