"So, it was you?"
Li Yu rose into the air and looked at the wailing old man and Lin Jia, who stood foolishly to one side in a daze. He frowned slightly.
"C-Celestial Venerable, w-we..."
Seeing Li Yu approach, Lin Jia shrank back in fright and stammered.
"You were the Li Family's backup plan? So that was it."
Li Yu had already understood the whole story. This had undoubtedly been the Li Family's doing. They had used the Source Ore to incite Yanhsia Grotto-heaven into dealing with Li Yu. Without realizing it, the people of Yanhsia Grotto-heaven had been used as weapons by the Li Family.
A mere mortal had toyed with a group of cultivators. The head of the Li Family was truly no simple man.
Li Yu sneered. Since they had provoked him, no matter how clever they were, there was only one road ahead: death.
"You were played by the Li Family."
Li Yu glanced at the old man and Lin Jia, then shook his head. "The Li Family merely wanted to use you against me. An entire sect was led around by the nose over such a tiny bit of profit. You really are idiots."
Li Yu sighed, ignored the two of them, turned, and flew toward the small town on a streak of light.
"Yes! We really are idiots!"
The old man's face was bitter. "This lesson has been painful enough. Fortunately, the Celestial Venerable did not destroy Yanhsia Grotto-heaven in a fit of rage. What a blessing!"
"The Li Family?"
The old man looked toward the small town and clenched his fists tightly. "How dare they use us as weapons? This old man will wipe out their entire family!"
"Let's go!"
A streak of light shot into the sky as the old man took Lin Jia and flew toward the small town.
By then, Li Yu had already returned to the town.
"Hm? This is..."
Seeing the collapsed door of the shop and the disorderly tables, chairs, and benches inside, Li Yu's brows jumped as fury surged within him.
"Was this the Li Family's doing? Did they kidnap Old Jiang and Little Tingting? They really are courting death!"
Li Yu turned toward the Li Family estate, his eyes icy cold. "They truly stop at nothing. What a fine method. Unfortunately, such tricks are meaningless against me."
A streak of light shot up, and Li Yu's figure instantly landed before the Li Family's gates.
Boom!
With a sweep of his sleeve, a tremendous gust of wind surged forth and blasted the vermilion gates of the Li Family estate away.
"Who is it?"
"How dare you!"
"Courting death!"
Startled cries and furious roars rang out from the Li Family estate as a group of burly, vicious-looking men armed with weapons charged out.
"Kid, you're courting dea—"
"Get lost!"
Before the guards could finish speaking, Li Yu roared and swept his sleeve. A powerful gust of wind sent them all flying.
"Who dares cause trouble at my Li Family?"
A sallow-faced middle-aged man charged over angrily with a group of guards.
"Ah..."
The moment he clearly saw Li Yu's face, the sallow-faced man let out a strange cry, turned, and ran, leaving a squad of guards standing there staring at one another.
"Hmph!"
Li Yu swept his hand again, sending the guards blocking his path flying before continuing onward.
At this moment, everyone from the Li Family rushed out.
The Li Family head led two young men in their twenties, followed by a large group of armed guards, surrounding Li Yu completely.
"It's you?"
The Li Family head stared at Li Yu in astonishment. "You're actually not dead? You didn't go to the eastern mountain? You're one lucky kid. But you still dared to come to my door seeking death?"
The Li Family head waved toward the two young cultivators beside him. "Third, Fifth, kill him!"
"Yes."
The two young cultivators waved their hands, scattering silver light. Two gleaming silver short blades whistled through the air and slashed down at Li Yu's head.
"Get lost!"
Li Yu widened his eyes and let out a thunderous roar at the two young cultivators.
He drew out a trace of the Heart of the Demon Emperor's power from the system and infused it into that roar. Using the overwhelming might of a Great Emperor here was like using the Dragon Slaying Saber to kill a chicken.
With a single roar, the two incoming silver blades were reduced to powder.
Then the two young cultivators trembled all over before exploding into a rain of blood mist, leaving no corpses behind.
"Ah! You..."
The Li Family head's face went pale with terror.
"Ah! A ghost!"
Seeing this scene, the surrounding guards were scared out of their wits. They dropped their weapons, screamed strangely, and fled in every direction.
"Where are Old Jiang and Little Tingting? Hand them over, and I'll let you die quickly."
Li Yu looked expressionlessly at the Li Family head. Beneath his calm tone lay bone-piercing coldness.
"Old Jiang? Little Tingting?"
The Li Family head's eyes lit up, and confidence immediately filled his heart. "You want the Jiang Family grandfather and granddaughter? Heh heh, kid, they're in my hands. If you don't want them to die, then you'd better—"
"What gave you the confidence to think you could threaten me with this?"
Li Yu sneered disdainfully and flicked his finger. With a sharp pop, the Li Family head exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
"How utterly ignorant."
Li Yu snorted coldly and walked toward the inner courtyard.
"System, indicate the location of the Taiyin Physique."
The system immediately displayed Little Tingting's location within Li Yu's mind.
"Over there?"
Following the direction indicated by the system, Li Yu hurried onward and soon reached the place where Little Tingting and Old Jiang were being held.
It was a very ordinary room.
With a boom, Li Yu kicked the door open.
"Who are you? Who are you?"
A young man around twenty years old held a short blade and watched Li Yu enter with vigilance.
"Big Brother, you came."
Little Tingting was tied to a pillar. When she saw Li Yu enter, she cried out in delight.
"Benefactor, be careful. He is a cultivator."
When Old Jiang saw Li Yu enter, he was delighted at first, but immediately began worrying for Li Yu.
"Kid, so it was you! Take another step forward, and I'll kill them."
The young man pressed the short blade in his hand against Little Tingting's neck and shouted fiercely at Li Yu.
"That's all you've got?"
Li Yu snorted. "Did you think I wouldn't have considered this? Did you think I wouldn't know you might use them to threaten me?"
With a snap, Li Yu flicked his fingers.
Brilliant golden radiance instantly lit up.
Brilliant golden light enveloped Little Tingting and Old Jiang, condensing into suits of glittering golden armor around them.
"This..."
The young man's expression changed. He viciously slashed at Little Tingting with his short blade, but the golden light blocked it completely. He could not harm her in the slightest.
Clang!
Li Yu brushed a hand across his waist, and the Soul-Shaking Bell rang with a clear, melodious chime.
The young man's face stiffened, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
That chime from the Soul-Shaking Bell directly shattered his soul.
"The Li Family has been destroyed. You are safe now."
Li Yu waved his hand to undo the ropes binding them, then led Old Jiang and Little Tingting out of the room.
Whoosh!
A streak of light landed on the ground, revealing Lin Jia and the old man from Yanhsia Grotto-heaven.
"You personally took action?"
Seeing the Li Family estate in complete chaos, the old man looked at Li Yu in astonishment. What had the Li Family done to deserve this? They had actually troubled the Celestial Venerable into acting personally.
"Yes."
Li Yu nodded and pointed at Old Jiang and Little Tingting. "Their surname is Jiang. You will look after them from now on, until their family comes to find them."
"Yes!"
The old man bowed to accept the order, though enormous waves surged in his heart. Their surname was Jiang? Among all those in the world bearing that surname, the only Jiang Family worthy of being specifically mentioned by the Celestial Venerable was surely that famed Jiang Family.
The old man suddenly felt fortunate. If these two truly came from that Jiang Family, and Yanhsia Grotto-heaven had become involved in this matter, then the sect's destruction might have been just around the corner.
"Old Jiang, Little Tingting. With the people of Yanhsia Grotto-heaven looking after you, you are safe now. I must leave."
Li Yu smiled at Old Jiang and Little Tingting.
"You're leaving?"
Tears rolled from Little Tingting's eyes. "Big Brother, are you leaving? Then... who will comb your hair?"
"Uh..."
Li Yu choked for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.
Little Tingting truly was adorable, truly... all right, he could not keep thinking about it.
"I'm leaving."
Li Yu waved his hand. A streak of light shot into the sky, and he vanished beyond the horizon.
"Big Brother, how could you just leave? I still wanted to comb your hair?"
Little Tingting pursed her lips as tears rolled down from her eyes one drop at a time.
"..."
Lin Jia and the old man from Yanhsia Grotto-heaven were speechless for a long while.
Combing the Celestial Venerable's hair? I want such a good thing too!