Li Jiusheng was furious when he heard this. What did the Wang Family Members take the disciples of Shangqing Palace for? They wanted Shangqing Palace disciples to scout the way, sacrifice themselves, and serve as the Wang Family Members' cannon fodder?
"The ancestors of those Wang Family Members were nothing more than a stupid bear raised beside our sect's grandmaster. Now they dared to bite the hand that fed them. Their bear claws should be chopped off!" Li Jiusheng said coldly, his eyes icy with murderous intent. This was the first time he had been so enraged.
When he had been at his lowest, it was Master who had taken him in and brought him to Shangqing Palace, where he had lived for seventy years.
Over the years, although his cultivation talent had been lacking, Shangqing Palace had never despised him. Instead, it had allowed him to retire in the Scripture Repository Pavilion. Li Jiusheng had long regarded Shangqing Palace as his home. Now that the Wang Family Members had bullied their way to his doorstep, how could he not be angry?
"Senior Brother, calm down for now. The Wang Family has an ancestor. We still need to endure a little longer," Li Qingshan sighed and advised.
Li Jiusheng frowned. "Has the Wang Family's ancestor come?"
"I don't know. But even if he hasn't, we can't tear all pretenses with the Wang Family for now. I flatly rejected their demand, and the Wang Family Members did not bring it up again. Instead, they personally went to investigate the ruins. It seems they place great importance on this place," Li Qingshan said.
"You should reach the Ancestor Realm sooner. With your strength, once you enter the Ancestor Realm, even if the Wang Family has an ancestor, he can be slain. Those traitors who bite the hand that fed them still dared to jump around? Chop off their bear heads and boil them into soup!" Li Jiusheng said coldly.
Li Qingshan agreed wholeheartedly. He was holding back a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it, so he could only silently endure and turn it into motivation to break through to the Ancestor Realm.
Seeing how furious Li Jiusheng was, Li Qingshan changed the subject. "Senior Brother, I've received some news that should interest you."
"What news?" Li Jiusheng asked curiously.
"The disturbance caused by these ruins, coupled with the news I spread, has thrown the entire cultivation world into an uproar. People from all major factions have arrived. Rumor has it that many old Venerables who had been in secluded cultivation have emerged to fight over that Grandmaster Pure Land. Not only that, some ancestors have quietly arrived as well. A sect on good terms with Shangqing Palace secretly sent word that Emperor Wu of Zhou from the Luochuan Sect has also come down the mountain and arrived here in secret," Li Qingshan said.
"What?" Li Jiusheng was greatly shocked. He even forgot his anger at the Wang Family Members and said tensely, "Didn't that strike from the Thousand-Year Sword God of the Old Land sever his ancestor foundation again? He should be in seclusion, repairing his ancestor foundation."
"His physical body is indeed in seclusion, but his primordial spirit has possessed an elderly Venerable from the Luochuan Sect and come here," Li Qingshan said.
"That can be done?" Li Jiusheng was dumbfounded.
Li Qingshan nodded. "An ancestor's primordial spirit is immensely powerful. Possessing a Venerable on the verge of dying from old age is very easy. If that dying Venerable is willing, it becomes even easier. With a Venerable's body and an ancestor's primordial spirit, the power wielded would far surpass that of an ordinary Venerable at the peak. Though it would not be as formidable as an ancestor, it would still be enough to run rampant."
"Emperor Wu of Zhou is after that Grandmaster Pure Land!" Li Jiusheng said decisively.
Grandmaster Pure Land was the Buddhist Sect's term. The Daoist term was Inner Scenery, which was an ancestor foundation.
Li Qingshan nodded. "Yes. Emperor Wu of Zhou's ancestor foundation has been severed three times in succession and can no longer bear the strain. Repairing it would be extraordinarily difficult, and even if it were repaired, it would remain fragile afterward. That is why he has set his sights on the Grandmaster Pure Land in these ruins. Since his physical body cannot leave seclusion, he sent his primordial spirit here through possession. He has kept it quiet, not daring to make it public for fear that his old enemies might notice and destroy his ancestor primordial spirit. If that happened, he would truly fall from the Ancestor Realm."
"How did you learn of something so secret?" Li Jiusheng asked.
"Someone from Zixia Holy Land sent me word. Zixia Holy Land's previous Sect Master, Holy Son, and Holy Maiden were all slain by Emperor Wu of Zhou. The two sides are sworn enemies. Zixia Holy Land has been infiltrating the Luochuan Sect all along, and this news came from an internal spy," Li Qingshan immediately transmitted to Li Jiusheng.
"Zixia Holy Land told you this because they hope you will destroy Emperor Wu of Zhou's primordial spirit?" Li Jiusheng guessed.
"That should be the case. After Emperor Wu of Zhou heavily wounded Zixia Holy Land, it grew increasingly weak, and its disciples were dwindling. They have no way to deal with Emperor Wu of Zhou's primordial spirit, so they could only tell me," Li Qingshan nodded.
"Are you confident?" Li Jiusheng asked solemnly.
Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back and walked above the waterfall beneath the moonlight. The thunderous roar concealed his voice, making it seem as though he had said nothing, yet Li Jiusheng clearly heard one sentence: "Within the Venerable Realm, I slay all!"
Li Jiusheng smiled in satisfaction. Hearing such utterly arrogant words was truly satisfying. His passing two peerless sword arts to Li Qingshan had not been in vain. With the support of those two sword arts, Li Qingshan had gone very far within the Venerable Realm.
"Find Emperor Wu of Zhou. Destroy his primordial spirit and make him fall from the Ancestor Realm," Li Jiusheng said coldly.
Li Qingshan clasped his fists and replied just as coldly, "As you command!"
Li Qingshan left, departing with Li Jiusheng's order.
Under the moonlight, Li Jiusheng sat cross-legged atop the Scripture Repository Pavilion, meditating. Little Fox lay curled up on his lap, yawning.
From time to time, energy fluctuations appeared in the night sky. Because Li Jiusheng had visualized the Earth Store's Original Vows Sutra, his consciousness had grown powerful and his five senses had become keen, allowing him to catch traces others could not.
"More experts have arrived today. Some of their auras even make my consciousness feel fear. They must be above the Venerable Realm. These ruins have caused quite a commotion," Li Jiusheng said softly, with no intention of exploring them.
Ancestors had already made a move. Even Emperor Wu of Zhou had possessed the body of a sect elder with his primordial spirit just to come here. That showed how deep the waters ran.
For a Grandmaster to explore them was no different from courting death.
Even though Li Jiusheng was no ordinary Grandmaster and possessed combat power comparable to a Great Grandmaster, it was still courting death.
"This carnival of ruin exploration only gives Venerables any hope of participating. Everyone else is merely a spectator, or even a stepping stone," Li Jiusheng understood clearly. Once the exploration began, no one knew how many people would die.
Li Qingshan understood this as well, which was why he had issued orders restraining the disciples and forbidding any disciple or elder from approaching those ruins.
Shangqing Palace, the closest sect, was the quietest regarding these ruins. It even seemed eager to avoid them, leaving many people bewildered.
As Li Jiusheng pondered in silence, his Grandmaster domain suddenly detected someone sneaking toward the Scripture Repository Pavilion.
"Someone else has come to steal secret manuals?" Li Jiusheng raised a brow and sneered inwardly. Those two brothers in black would no longer be lonely.
He covered himself with his Grandmaster domain, concealing his aura as he quietly observed.
The Scripture Repository Pavilion stood silently in the night. Many places were unlit, hidden in darkness and unattended.
The next moment, four people arrived together. Under cover of night, they slipped into the grounds of the Scripture Repository Pavilion.
They were talking among themselves.
"Big Brother, Shangqing Palace has declined for so many years. What's there to sneak around and steal? Our Wang Family ancestor is in his prime. In my opinion, we should simply take over Shangqing Palace. Wouldn't all these secret manuals belong to our Wang Family then?"
"Be careful. Didn't Shangqing Palace produce an ancestor some time ago?"
"Ancestor, my ass. He hasn't even shown his shadow. My grandfather said outright that Shangqing Palace is just putting on a show to fool the world. There is no ancestor at all."
"If Shangqing Palace has no ancestor, then it is a lamb waiting for slaughter. That Sect Master Li Qingshan even rejected our proposal to have Shangqing Palace disciples scout the terrain for our Wang Family's younger generation. That would be Shangqing Palace's honor, yet they still think they are some top-tier sect. They are practically living in a dream."
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