Personal Ties

Suppressed beneath the Evil Suppressing Pagoda, Li Qi is attempting to break free.

Although every flaw in this thing was clearly visible to him, and it looked like a sturdy tower of blocks that seemed capable of withstanding great impacts, he could make it collapse on its own if just a few of the bell's supporting pillars were removed.

This is why one should not reveal their origins. Li Qi possessed the Polaris Golden Core Method in his mind, which directly led to his thorough understanding of the Cultivation Method of Mount Luofu.

Even so, this is actually forcing the other party to continue taking action.

After all, if you're already under suppression, there's no danger. If you still think about breaking free, then you're just being tactless.

But he didn't care, because he had already handed over the Betrothal Letter. Although there was no betrothal gift, he could make up for it later, since he had come in a hurry this time.

Li Qi is a smart man.

This has been personally certified by many great shamans of Wushen Mountain.

When he forced his way into the half-dead Mount Luofu, he had already figured out the ins and outs of the matter, but those were just his own guesses.

However, when he braved countless attacks to reach the cave abode and saw Shen Shuibi, everything became clear.

He rarely looked at Shen Shuibi with his True Knowledge Dao Charm, as it would be very awkward and inappropriate.

Li Qi is the kind of person who, even if he has X-ray vision glasses, will not use them except when absolutely necessary.

But this time, due to the urgency of the situation, he focused intently on observing the other party with his True Knowledge Dao Charm, and then combined what he observed with his own conjecture.

This allowed him to directly understand the whole picture of the event and to know where his the Unseen came from.

Shen Shuibi's true spirit is aging.

Just like my own.

Although it sounds pretentious, her true spirit had only aged for a little over two years, which translates to about ten years in human terms.

However, she shouldn't age; lifespan is not a natural concept for them.

Generally speaking, the more robust the ship, the less impact passengers experience, meaning they age more slowly.

The principle behind extending lifespan during the eighth and ninth ranks is to slow down the aging process of the true spirit by reinforcing the ship. In the past year, the spirit only ages for half a year, thus doubling its lifespan.

But Shen Shuibi's situation was the opposite.

Her ship was basically half sunk, and after two years, she had aged ten years!

If this trend continues, a hundred years from now, she will... die of old age?

Unacceptable!

Is this why Li Qi came here?

Even if it means turning against Mount Luofu, he has to bring Shen Shuibi back.

However, to Li Qi's surprise, the evil-suppressing pagoda was breached from the outside when he had only cracked half of it!

Flames descended from the sky, crashing to the ground like meteors, shattering the pagoda and landing beside Li Qi.

Before Li Qi could speak, he kicked him directly in the stomach again.

With a loud bang, he was kicked away, flying hundreds of meters like a cannonball, smashing through several rocks before finally stopping.

But Yang Ning continued relentlessly.

Her original long black hair burst into flames, turning into a dazzling golden-red, and then she rushed towards Li Qi at an extremely fast speed once again.

Li Qi, who was kicked away, felt dizzy and couldn't speak. The intense pain only made him groan, clutch his stomach, and curl up like a shrimp, convulsing continuously.

This kick was far more devastating than the previous attack from the Evil Suppressing Pagoda!

However, Yang Ning had no intention of letting him rest.

He is indeed a genius. At the eighth rank, he broke through the blockade of several seventh-rank soldiers, even though they were all old, weak, sick, or disabled. But to be able to persist for a quarter of an hour and still manage to rush out twenty miles is already an extremely outrageous achievement.

But it didn't work.

Yang Ning's injuries had not yet healed, but with the help of Wushen Mountain, she had recovered to the fifth rank.

She could kill Li Qi in the blink of an eye.

But this power is built upon the 'blessing' of Wushen Mountain.

If Wushen Mountain hadn't given her a great sun and allowed her to slowly recover in her grotto-heaven, she would probably be no better off than Shen Shuibi now, and wouldn't be able to defeat this young master at all.

That is why Shen Shuibi absolutely refused to accept the 'favor' of Wushen Mountain like she did.

That's why things have developed to this point.

Therefore, Yang Ning was extremely angry.

He was angry at Li Qi for coming to his door, and also angry at himself.

She hated herself, feeling utterly useless, unable to solve these problems, and leaving Shen Shuibi facing the possibility of dying of old age.

Shen Shuibi said there are still a hundred years left, so we can slowly figure out a solution.

But it's only a mere hundred years.

However, she was also furious at what the young master of Wushen Mountain had done.

This complex feeling quickly condensed into anger in Yang Ning's heart.

But what good is anger, no matter how intense?

She didn't even dare to kill Li Qi.

She wanted to burn this lecherous man to ashes, but she knew he had her figured out all along.

As long as he retains his identity as the Prince of Wushen Mountain, there is absolutely no way he could kill him.

Yang Ning now deeply understands the meaning of a certain sentence.

All anger stems from one's own powerlessness.

He was filled with resentment, yet he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Because they are now living under someone else's roof, even though the other party has humiliated them like this, they still can't do anything. In fact, because of their kick, they will have to apologize to the other party later.

This is so...

Humble.

I really want to kill him...

Her fingers trembled, but she finally stopped the killing, grabbed the helpless man lying on the ground by the throat, and lifted him up.

Yang Ning gritted her teeth and spat out each word clearly. "Wushen Mountain... what brings you here?"

"Cough cough cough... Hiccup!" Li Qi coughed and gagged.

His stomach was churning violently; he had been badly beaten.

However, Li Qi had already prepared himself mentally. He knew that his actions were like disturbing a frightened bird, and being kicked was already a light punishment.

He was prepared for serious injury, which shows that Yang Ning held back.

After all, circumstances are beyond our control.

Yang Ning is very good at fighting, but what good is being good at fighting?

To survive in this world, you need influence.

With Wushen Mountain positioned behind Li Qi, even if it was Li Qi's fault, it wasn't Yang Ning's place to attack.

The punishment afterward should also be left to Wushen Mountain.

You, Mount Luofu, have no right to touch me.

This is also why Li Qi dared to risk his life.

I'm willing to risk my life, are you willing to take it?

I wouldn't dare.

Li Qi valued his life and planned everything carefully before taking action.

"Ahem, Miss Yang, do you still remember me? Back in the Baiyue Lu Kingdom, I was the Great Diviner I summoned." Li Qi wiped his face and then managed to say these words.

He didn't call her "senior," after all, she was Shen Shuibi's sister.

"Yes, I remember you. I didn't expect you had this intention back then? I actually risked my life to protect you back then. I really regret it." Yang Ning's face was cold as she grabbed Li Qi by the throat and flew up.

Her long, golden-red hair became increasingly shiny, and even began to turn white.

Li Qi's neck and trachea were completely blocked. Although breathing was not necessary for him, he couldn't speak at all. Helpless, he could only try to make a sound by vibrating his belly with air.

Fortunately, he succeeded.

"Yang Ning! I have a way to save Miss Shen!" he shouted, struggling.

Yang Ning frowned upon hearing this.

Then, she threw Li Qi down.

Li Qi fell directly down, but immediately controlled the clouds to levitate in mid-air before finally landing safely.

But then Yang Ning waved his hand, and suddenly layers of restrictions appeared all around.

The essence of fire condensed and formed into a long star, its purple light shining down, its crimson light illuminating the southern pavilion.

The star has three gates, from which emerge three sharp points, each point radiating light three hundred feet high. Guarding these three gates, it wields crimson light amidst flying clouds.

Li Qi was trapped inside and discovered that all his senses about the outside world had been blocked!

Then, Yang Ning landed in front of him, high above him.

Actually... it's not that high.

She was much shorter than Li Qi, only reaching Li Qi chest, but her aura only made people feel that she was superior.

She was clearly the one looking up to others, yet she acted as if Li Qi was a head shorter than her.

"You just said you could save Shen Shuibi, what do you know?" Yang Ning asked, squinting her eyes. However, the flames constantly emanating from her hair revealed that she was not at peace.

She's so easy to recognize. She had ordinary black hair when she first appeared, then it turned golden-red, and now it's so shiny it's almost white.

"I know Mount Luofu is in a dilemma right now, and I can also see Shen Shuibi's physical condition," Li Qi said immediately. "It's not difficult to heal her injuries, it's just that Mount Luofu can't do it right now."

"Ultimately, the problem is that you don't want to incur too much karma, so she stubbornly refuses to get treatment."

It's a very simple truth: it's not that it can't be cured, it's just that there's no money for treatment.

Ultimately, there's only one problem.

The current Mount Luofu has lost all its cultural heritage and is unable to repay these debts.

It's poverty.

"I will arrange for someone to treat her," Li Qi said immediately.

Yang Ning's eyes fell in disappointment.

Her hair had turned into ordinary long black hair. She shook her head and said, "I thought you had some profound theories, but they are just childish words. You can wait here. I can't kill you, but what you did today will surely be severely punished by your sect. Stay here and wait for the people from Wushen Mountain to come and take you away."

In her opinion, Li Qi had just said something meaningless.

He himself is the young master of Wushen Mountain, and his master is the great shaman of Wushen Mountain. In the end, how could the things they bring out not be related to the karma of Wushen Mountain?

This is what Mount Luofu is most worried about right now.

Wushen Mountain is likely to gradually pressure them, constantly creating unexpected events to force Mount Luofu into difficult choices time and time again, forcing them to reach out again and again.

In the end, the karmic debts are too heavy to repay.

Then the only option is to sell the Great Dao Opportunity of the Sun Moon True Lead Cauldron.

Who knows if Wushen Mountain would do that?

Who knew... that Shen Shuibi's injuries weren't caused by Wushen Mountain's intentions?

Even if we assume that Li Qi comes up with a perfect solution here.

However, no one in Mount Luofu dared to believe anything he said.

Because every time someone reaches out to Wushen Mountain for help, they are creating a karmic debt that must be repaid.

If you keep bestowing favors until you can't repay them and have no way to repay them, then Mount Luofu will only have the Great Dao Opportunity.

This is the only way to repay it.

Moreover, with such a grand scheme and extensive foreshadowing, who wouldn't be afraid?

Can anyone explain whether what's happening now is an accident or a deliberate scheme by Wushen Mountain to force Mount Luofu to continue borrowing money?

If there is indeed a powerful divination mastermind behind it all, then Mount Luofu has walked right into a trap.

But did Li Qi not know these things?

He certainly knew this, and he had already thought of a solution: a way to gain the trust of Mount Luofu.

Li Qi bowed and said calmly, "The cost of healing her soul is not on my account, nor on my master's account, but on the Honglu Temple of the Tang Kingdom. Given the karmic connection between Mount Luofu and the Tang Kingdom, I presume there is no need to repay it?"

Yang Ning suddenly turned around and stared at Li Qi!

"Honglu" originally means loudly preaching praises and guiding rituals.

Honglu Temple was the Tang Kingdom's institution in charge of ceremonial matters concerning foreign guests, and it was one of the nine temples.

One Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was appointed, of the Subordinate Third Rank.

The two junior ministers Subordinate Fourth Rank.

"How did you get in touch with the people from the Honglu Temple? How did you make the connection? And how did you get them to pay this bill?" Yang Ning walked back and shouted.

However, his tone was not harsh; it wasn't a demanding question, but rather a slip of the tongue in surprise.

"How can I make contact? I am about to go to the Tang Kingdom to study as a hostage and become a student at the Imperial Academy. How do you think I can make contact? I have already consulted beforehand. This is the document between the Tang Kingdom and me."

"I specifically asked if I could come along with my wife, and the Vice Minister of the Honglu Temple replied that it was possible."

"I then asked, if my wife and I were to fall ill, would it be possible to request treatment from the Tang Kingdom? The Vice Minister of the Honglu Temple replied, 'Yes.'"

"All of these are documented in official form!"

Li Qi pulled out the official document from the Honglu Temple, and spoke with a resounding voice!

This was the solution he had racked his brains to come up with.

Yes, there is no reconciliation between Mount Luofu and Wushen Mountain; only time can heal the rift between them.

Why not just bring in a third party?

The wisdom of Shaman lies entirely in this.

Everyone felt that Mount Luofu and the Tang Kingdom had a blood feud, and Wushen Mountain and the Tang Kingdom also seemed to be irreconcilable, so their power could not be borrowed and their wool could not be taken advantage of.

Absurd! How could borrowing power be so inconvenient?!

The Tang Kingdom prides itself on being a superior celestial nation. The items needed to heal the injuries of a fifth-rank cultivator are nothing to them. What difference would it make if they were given them?

Li Qi was a hostage from Wushen Mountain.

Li Qi took out the official documents for the exchange and said, "Everything else has been resolved; we're just waiting for Miss Shen's agreement."

Yang Ning retorted bluntly, "Isn't this blackmail? If she doesn't agree, are you going to force her?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Qi smiled.

These people still don't understand why he dared to risk his life to rush in.

Why?

Because Li Qi knows Shen Shuibi very well.

He knew that Rabbit was actually quite indecisive, and even Yang Ning in front of him was the same; these two sisters were exactly the same in terms of having their own opinions.

Without Lady Luofu in charge, you two are completely lost and helpless. Even if they reached the fifth rank, they wouldn't be able to stand up and lead the mountain.

They are still afraid, and even unable to make a decision.

For example, between Wushen Mountain and Mount Luofu, the weak rabbit was unable to make any decisions and could only suffer in silence.

It's silly, but also cute.

And now, Shen Shuibi has arrived.

Will she refuse?

Sorry, but Li Qi, who served as Shen Shuibi's external brain for more than two years, can say with certainty...

She absolutely will not

Just then, Shen Shuibi finally arrived.

Meanwhile, in the Outer Heaven of Wushen Mountain.

In the void, the three great sects sat together with Zhu Fengdan, with a small square table in front of them and several cups of tea on it.

There was still air around, as if the rules had been altered.

Authentic Penglai Immortal Tea is placed on top, with wisps of white smoke rising and the aroma of tea filling the air.

Da Zong sipped his tea, squinted, and said, "Zhu Fengdan, you owe us a favor for helping you cover this up for the Ranked Shaman this time."

"You owe me! Damn it, you're making such a big deal out of nothing."

Please vote. Tomorrow's combined two -Great Chapter will end directly, and we'll move on to the Tang Kingdom. However, I'll have an overload day, and there will be no update the day after tomorrow. (A)

Normal update, (B)