Don't Meet Again

Wang Li squinted slightly as he looked at the brilliant lights, his eyebrows arching upwards before falling back down.

A flicker of disgust and disdain crossed his face before it returned to calm.

He stood with his hands behind his back, still and silent at the edge of the cliff.

The night wind billowed his robes, making them rustle.

The lights had initially approached rapidly, but their speed slowed as they neared the isolated peak. Finally, when they were still several miles away from the peak, only a single point of light continued to approach slowly.

This approaching point of light exuded caution. As its chilling aura sliced through the night, it initially felt like a massive ironclad ship sailing through the air. However, as it drew closer to the cliff where Wang Li stood, its ferocious true form was revealed: a colossal, dark-gold Dharma Sword.

This dark-gold Dharma Sword was over two zhang wide and more than ten zhang long, with a thickness of over one zhang. Its entire body exuded a sense of being as heavy as a mountain.

Its blade was incredibly smooth, and the starlight shimmered on its surface, flowing along the blade like water.

Yet, on this massive sword, only two cultivators stood.

The middle-aged cultivator at the forefront, positioned in the center of the sword, wore a dark-gold garment adorned with numerous small dark-gold sword runes. His eyebrows slanted sharply towards his temples, and his features were regular. His eyes flickered as if sharp sword light was about to pierce through at any moment, exuding an inexplicable pressure.

Behind him stood a young cultivator in a white garment. This young cultivator had a handsome face and a tall, slender build. His white garment was adorned with flowing cloud patterns.

He stood beside the stern-faced middle-aged cultivator, quiet and humble.

Wang Li showed no surprise when he saw the middle-aged cultivator. However, upon seeing the young cultivator in the white garment, a barely perceptible bitter smile touched the corner of his lips before he quickly returned to his usual demeanor.

The middle-aged cultivator on the dark-gold giant sword saw that Wang Li seemed to have no intention of greeting them first, and a hint of displeasure immediately appeared on his face. He had been piloting the flying sword, intending to land the tip on the edge of the cliff and step onto the natural stone platform. However, with Wang Li standing there with his hands behind his back, he had a premonition that even if his giant sword approached, Wang Li wouldn't move aside for him.

Thus, he slightly altered the course of his giant sword, approaching from the side.

"Senior Sister has set up a magic array."

But at this very moment, Wang Li's voice suddenly rang out, "Uncle-Master Hengyuan, the magic array Senior Sister set up definitely won't withstand the power of your Giant Hao Sword Qi. But if her carefully arranged array is damaged by your sword Qi, and she jumps onto your sword to self-detonate her Golden Core, I might not be able to suppress her. That's because the magic tools I've been using recently to suppress her self-detonation of her Golden Core are almost all used up."

The middle-aged cultivator, whom he addressed as Uncle-Master Hengyuan, froze. The dark-gold giant sword also stopped dead in the air.

Looking at Wang Li, who was neither servile nor overbearing, he even had a premonition that Wang Li had already guessed their intentions. Yet, for some reason, Wang Li's attitude made him feel unable to even lash out.

He remained silent for a breath before looking at Wang Li and saying in the most level tone possible, "I heard that you took advantage of Huayang Sect's Old Ancestor Tong Hui's tribulation to snatch his Yin Thunder Umbrella, and then went to Blackwater Market to sell it directly, exchanging it for a Purity Returning Spirit Pill and several million spirit sand."

Wang Li looked calmly at the middle-aged cultivator and replied, "That's roughly correct, but it's incorrect to say we snatched the Yin Thunder Umbrella from Old Ancestor Tong Hui. The Yin Thunder Umbrella was ultimately gifted to us by Old Ancestor Tong Hui."

The middle-aged cultivator couldn't help but frown, his voice turning slightly cold, "Let's talk about how it happened, but the facts I heard are that you first seized the opportunity to take the Yin Thunder Umbrella, then used words to corner him, and then forced Old Ancestor Tong Hui to threaten self-detonation of his Golden Core before you obtained the Yin Thunder Umbrella."

"Uncle-Master Hengyuan, you are smarter than me, so you naturally have better judgment," Wang Li said earnestly. "If you heard the full story, you should know that at that time, my Senior Sister self-detonated her Golden Core, but I suppressed it the moment she did. The Yin Thunder Umbrella is ultimately Old Ancestor Tong Hui's possession. If he didn't want to give it to us, his Nascent Soul had already formed. Even if he couldn't deal with me while I was suppressing Senior Sister's self-detonation, he would have had enough time to escape and settle the score with us later. But not only did he bestow the Yin Thunder Umbrella upon us, but even when my Senior Sister spoke rudely, he also generously gifted us a decent artifact refining technique. This only shows that Old Ancestor Tong Hui was in an extremely good mood. By making these promises to us in front of so many cultivators under such circumstances, he naturally wouldn't hold a grudge or take it out on the Profound Heaven Sect in the future. I also know that you, Uncle-Master Hengyuan, are worried that my Senior Sister and I might bring disaster upon the Profound Heaven Sect, but that won't be the case."

Although the middle-aged cultivator's expression didn't change, he was inwardly very surprised. He looked at Wang Li and shook his head, saying, "Even if I believe what you say is true, and even if Old Ancestor Tong Hui is particularly fond of you and Lü Shenliang, it's a fact that you've angered the other cultivators of the Huayang Sect. It's true that given Old Ancestor Tong Hui's status, since he said those words himself, he naturally won't deal with you anymore. But those Huayang Sect cultivators are the real trouble for the future."

"If it truly leads to future trouble, then my Senior Sister and I will bear it all," Wang Li nodded and said calmly. "After all, they are also well aware that my Senior Sister and I only cultivate in this isolated peak within the Profound Heaven Sect and have no connection with the other peaks. If they believe we have taken advantage of them, they won't target the other peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect, as the other peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect have not benefited from this."

The middle-aged cultivator was instantly choked with anger.

In truth, with things having reached this point, his primary mission in coming to this isolated peak was to get Wang Li to hand over some of the benefits. After all, a single Purity Returning Spirit Pill and five million spirit sand were not a small amount for the Profound Heaven Sect.

But Wang Li had directly blocked all the words he was about to say, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Master."

At this moment, the young cultivator behind him bowed slightly and addressed him respectfully, "Could I speak with Junior Brother Wang Li alone?"

The middle-aged cultivator's gaze flickered slightly, and his expression softened a little. "Alright."

The young cultivator in the white robe moved, like a white feather caught by the wind, and gently landed not far from Wang Li's side.

The middle-aged cultivator on the dark-gold giant sword seemed unwilling to look at Wang Li any longer. He indifferently turned around, and the dark-gold giant sword retreated into the night behind them.

When the giant sword had become small even in the darkness, the young cultivator in the white robe, who remained motionless, looked at Wang Li with a hint of emotion and smiled slightly, saying softly, "Junior Brother Wang Li, how many years has it been since we last met?"

"I can't recall," Wang Li also smiled slightly. "Perhaps over a decade."

The young cultivator in the white robe looked at Wang Li silently for a moment, then sighed softly, "We've ultimately become strangers... Back then, among that group of fellow disciples, you and I were the closest."

Wang Li nodded. "That was indeed the case back then."

The young cultivator in the white robe's eyes showed a hint of inexplicable emotion again. "Junior Brother, even if we were just fellow disciples, I must remind you that if you wish to get through this safely, you and Senior Sister Lü will still have to give up some of the benefits you've obtained. The Sect Master and the others have their limits of tolerance. Of course, they had to be wary of Senior Sister Lü self-detonating her Golden Core and taking them with her before. But it's different now. As far as I know, the Sect Master has reached the sixth level of Golden Core cultivation, and he has obtained a piece of Azure Wood Exotic Source that has merged into his Profound Heaven Sword Qi. It shouldn't be long before, even if Senior Sister Lü wants to self-detonate her Golden Core and take him with her, he will have sufficient means to protect himself."

"Thank you for your kind reminder, Senior Brother," Wang Li said, his expression remaining calm, like a still pool of autumn water, showing no change. "However, Senior Brother, do you remember when I entered the isolated peak?"

The young cultivator in the white robe paused slightly and pondered, "Fifteen years ago?"

Wang Li chuckled, his smile inexplicably bright. He didn't state the exact time but said, "It was when I was below the First Level of Qi Refining, not yet at the Second Level."

The young cultivator in the white robe lowered his head slightly. He understood Wang Li's meaning.

At that time, Wang Li was as weak as a true ant, yet he had come to this isolated peak then.

The young cultivator in the white robe turned around.

He took a deep breath, looked at the not-too-distant peaks of the Profound Heaven Sect, and slowly exhaled, "Junior Brother, I am already at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining. At most next year, I should be able to attempt Foundation Establishment. You should understand that if you were willing to bow your head, your cultivation progress would not be inferior to mine."

Wang Li smiled. "I am also at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining."

The young cultivator in the white robe was stunned.

He truly didn't understand what Wang Li meant by that statement.

Was there anything to be proud of for someone at the Sixth Level of Qi Refining in front of someone at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining?

Moreover, he had noticed Wang Li's face was somewhat unusually pale earlier, as if his spiritual sense had suffered a severe shock. Could it be that Wang Li's spiritual sense had also become abnormal from staying in the isolated peak with Lü Shenliang for too long?

Wang Li's smile faded at this moment.

He was silent for a moment, then said softly but earnestly, "Senior Brother Chen, you won't be coming to Lone Peak anymore."

The young cultivator in white was stunned and instinctively asked, "Why?"

"We have some history, and it would be unpleasant to pretend with each other. If you come over, I won't spare you, which would be even more unpleasant."

Wang Li didn't look at him, his gaze fixed on the Profound Heaven Sect peaks in the distance, their spiritual lights shining brighter and brighter in the night. "So, let's not meet again from now on."

The young cultivator in white heard this quiet yet decisive statement. His breathing grew heavy, and he was unable to speak.

He heard Wang Li softly add, "If you come again, I'm afraid Senior Sister will act."