Heavenly Being

[Heavenly Vision]

[3. Your Master went against the usual approach. Rather than fleeing, she took the initiative to use her divine ability to infiltrate the Li clan. In the end, you successfully evaded the Foundation-Building Heavenly Being's search.]

The future of certain death had changed!

Zhang Yuan had already tried every method he could think of to change the future, yet none had succeeded.

And yet a single casual remark from Xiao Yuanjun had altered that predetermined future. How had she done it?

What was the principle behind it?

Zhang Yuan abruptly looked up at Xiao Yuanjun, his eyes full of astonishment.

Seeing him look over, Xiao Yuanjun assumed he wanted to know her plan, so she slowly began to explain.

"Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings are unfathomably powerful. Even though I have reached tenth-turn qi refinement and can already be considered at half-step foundation establishment, I am absolutely no match for one."

"And it is not merely a matter of being outmatched. Even evading a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being's gaze is fraught with difficulty."

At this point, Xiao Yuanjun smiled confidently. "Therefore, rather than fleeing, we should hide in the darkness beneath the lamp. We will enter Cloud Province City and infiltrate the Li clan directly. That way, we will surely fool their Foundation-Building Heavenly Being!"

It was no profound stratagem, merely the simplest trick of hiding in the darkness beneath the lamp.

With the Li clan head's only son dead, who would ever expect the killer not to run away, but instead sneak right into the Li clan itself?

Of course, easy as it sounded, carrying it out would be extremely risky. Once discovered, they would be walking straight into the net.

The plan was far from cautious. An ordinary person might have hesitated, but Zhang Yuan, who knew a corner of the future, nodded at once.

"An excellent plan, Master!" Zhang Yuan said earnestly.

Xiao Yuanjun gave an inscrutable smile and nodded in satisfaction.

Zhang Yuan's decisiveness was very much to her liking.

My luck is good. It seems I can pass the disciple trial smoothly. Becoming a Heavenly Being is within reach.

Cloud Province City, the ancestral hall of the Li Residence.

"Second Uncle, why did you call us over so late?"

A somewhat devil-may-care young man walked into the ancestral hall, munching on an apple.

There were few people inside. Including the young man who had just arrived, there were five in all, of varying ages.

"Jieyan, you are here. Your cousin was killed outside the city..." said the haggard-looking middle-aged man standing in the center.

He was Li Houcheng, the current head of the Li clan.

The young man called Jieyan froze briefly. Looking farther into the ancestral hall, he discovered that Li Jiehua's soul tablet had indeed shattered.

Li Jiehua was dead—and outside Cloud Province City, no less?

"My condolences, Second Uncle. Do you know who killed Jiehua? I will avenge him!" Li Jieyan put away his apple and spoke gravely.

"We do not know exactly who it was, but it was likely a Perfected Being of the Gang Sha Path who commands a divine ability. Otherwise, my son would not have been denied even the time to react. Do not act rashly, Jieyan," Li Houcheng said.

A person who reached the utmost heights could commune with heaven.

Thus, those at foundation establishment on the Gang Sha Path were honored as "Heavenly Beings," while those in the qi refinement realm were called "Perfected Beings."

"That does make things troublesome. But Second Uncle, all three of my life-bound divine abilities have now manifested. I can certainly avenge Jiehua and wash away this blood debt," Li Jieyan said.

Li Houcheng nodded slightly, but did not agree. Instead, he said, "Jieyan, your talent is considerable, but you are a rare golden core seed of our Eastern Bian Li clan. You must not act recklessly."

"Furthermore, the killer dared to provoke our Li clan. We must strike them dead with thunderous force! Only then can we cow those petty villains!"

"Your Third Uncle has already decided to go personally."

Li Jieyan looked toward one of the others in the ancestral hall.

A young man with a stern face and a slight furrow between his brows.

His Third Uncle, Li Houjin, was only a year younger than his Second Uncle, yet looked about the same age as him.

He was one of only two Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings in their branch!

His Daoist name was [Zhenjue].

Thinking of this, Li Jieyan could not help feeling envious.

For no other reason than that Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings no longer needed to worry about their lifespan. Third Uncle Li Houjin's unchanged appearance was proof!

As for himself, although he had reached the ninth layer of qi refining, he still needed to pass all three trials before attaining foundation establishment. The gap between them was like a heavenly chasm.

Li Jieyan sighed inwardly, warning himself not to reach for heights beyond his grasp, then said, "Ordinary people say the dead cannot return to life, but the Little Ancestor is still with the clan. Second Uncle, why not visit Sun-Moon Cliff? Perhaps..."

"Well... Jieyan has a point. Once your Third Uncle kills the culprit, I will visit the Little Ancestor at Sun-Moon Cliff." Li Houcheng nodded.

"Third Brother, there is no time to lose."

Li Houjin nodded indifferently, took one step, and instantly vanished from the Li clan's ancestral hall.

"Master, can this really hide us from a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being's gaze?"

"Do not worry. This divine ability of mine can conceal heaven's secrets, erase karma, and hide our forms. Even if a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being looks our way, we will have at least five breaths to react."

"Just stay hidden."

Xiao Yuanjun smiled.

Her third life-bound divine ability, [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace], was incomparably wondrous. It worked even against Foundation-Building Heavenly Beings.

At midnight, outside the walls of Cloud Province City.

Crouched beneath Xiao Yuanjun's voluminous Daoist Robe, Zhang Yuan's mouth twitched. "I understand the reasoning, but do I really have to hide like this...?"

Although Xiao Yuanjun wore clothes beneath her Daoist Robe, and thick ones at that, it still felt rather strange.

"Those who accomplish great things do not fuss over trifles. All right, stop talking. The Li clan's Foundation-Building Heavenly Being has arrived." Xiao Yuanjun chuckled, then her tone turned solemn as she looked up at the sky.

With his life at stake, Zhang Yuan could afford no carelessness. He immediately fell silent, then peered curiously upward through a gap in the Daoist Robe lifted by the wind.

A speck of heavenly light suddenly appeared in the dark sky, then grew larger and larger, gradually tearing apart the long night and taking the form of a stern man in a dark blue robe, standing high above Cloud Province City.

With the man's appearance, everything outside Cloud Province City fell still. The torrential winter rain froze in midair, and the plants stirred by the cold wind ceased to move.

At that moment, all things fell soundless, and heaven and earth lay silent.

Li Houjin's eyes were calm. He first glanced at the place where Li Jiehua had died, then swept his gaze toward the ruined temple.

That gaze from a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being was like a blazing sun, as though it would unravel every thread of cause and effect in the long night, leaving nothing anywhere to hide.

At that very moment.

Looking into the air, Zhang Yuan felt dizzy, his consciousness gradually growing muddled and indistinct. An invisible pressure bore down on his chest and all his internal organs, as though that figure in the sky was not someone mortal eyes could look upon directly.

Without Xiao Yuanjun's protection, he feared that one more glance at the man would make him drop dead on the spot.

Was this a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being of the sha ingestion gang devoration path?

Merely appearing and sweeping his gaze across the surroundings could influence heaven and earth. No wonder they were called "Heavenly Beings."

"His name is Li Houjin, one of the Heavenly Beings of the Eastern Bian Li clan. His Daoist name is [Zhenjue]."

"Mm... stop looking for now. Keep looking and someone is going to die. Let us hurry into the city first."

Xiao Yuanjun was in fine shape, nowhere near as wretched as Zhang Yuan.

Fortunately, Celestial Zhenjue had not looked their way. Otherwise, judging by the daoist attainment he had just displayed, even if [Severing Past and Present, Leaving No Trace] worked, it would hold for no more than a single breath before they were discovered.