The Ancestor Who Revived the Li Clan

The next morning, the sun shone brightly.

Li Houcheng came alone to the outskirts of Cloud Province City.

Though called the outskirts, the mountains behind Cloud Province City had, in fact, all been claimed by the Li clan and were private property of the Eastern Bian Li Clan.

An Outer Dao Golden Core could ride the wind.

Li Houcheng did not ride the wind, however. Instead, he walked step by step toward Sun-Moon Mountain, the tallest of the peaks.

Upon reaching its foot, Li Houcheng looked up. The current patriarch of the Eastern Bian Li Clan was filled with dread and apprehension.

Sun-Moon Mountain towered into the clouds, its peaks majestic. Even in the bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month, it remained lush and green, a place of extraordinary splendor. The nearby villages even spread rumors that an immortal lived there, though no one had ever seen one.

Li Houcheng knew that the immortal on Sun-Moon Mountain was indeed only a rumor. Its true resident was the ancestor who had revived his Eastern Bian Li Clan.

He was also the Eastern Bian Li Clan's only Golden Core True Lord in several generations.

Whether Li Houcheng could remain patriarch was a matter of a single word from the True Lord.

"A fifty-ninth-generation descendant of the Li clan has come to beg forgiveness."

Li Houcheng took a deep breath and lowered his head as he spoke.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

Just as Li Houcheng grew increasingly nervous, a thunderous voice rang down from the summit.

"Granted."

Li Houcheng relaxed slightly. When he raised his head again, his surroundings had already changed.

Sun-Moon Cliff, at the summit of Sun-Moon Mountain.

A young figure who looked like a girl, dressed in loose robes, sat upright beside a stone table at the cliff's edge, brewing tea.

"Greetings, Little Ancestor." Li Houcheng cupped his hands respectfully.

The youthful figure before him was none other than the Eastern Bian Li Clan's renowned ancestor of resurgence, [True Lord Huitian Yanshi]—Li Huixi.

Although he was the ancestor who had revived the clan, every Li descendant had to address him as "Little Ancestor," never "Old Ancestor."

The reason was that this ancestor had cultivated for only four hundred and ninety-nine years. He was younger than some of the clan's elderly Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even belonged to a generation below Li Houcheng's. Given all that, calling him Old Ancestor was plainly inappropriate.

Most importantly, however, the Little Ancestor did not want it. Otherwise, no one in the Li clan would have objected to calling him Old Ancestor, nor would they have dared. In the cultivation world, after all, cultivation realm reigned supreme.

"You have come to beg forgiveness. What crime have you committed?" Li Huixi asked calmly.

"Little Ancestor, last night, villains killed my son outside the city and scattered his soul into oblivion. Then they infiltrated the estate, stole the [Stolen-Life Baleful Intent], and fled. Earthly baleful force is precious. As patriarch, I cannot shirk responsibility for its loss."

Li Houcheng gave an honest account, not daring to utter a single lie.

"Useless fool," Li Huixi said.

His voice was utterly calm, yet it placed tremendous pressure on Li Houcheng.

"Please punish me, Little Ancestor." Li Houcheng immediately dropped to one knee.

"The [Stolen-Life Baleful Intent]... I recall it was with Zhongshuang, was it not? Was Zhongshuang injured?" Li Huixi asked.

"My daughter was not injured, and the [Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper] is still in Zhongshuang's possession. Those villains did not take it," Li Houcheng hurriedly replied.

"Mm." Li Huixi sipped his tea. "Do you have any clues to their identities?"

"The strongest among them is only at Qi Refinement, yet they can conceal heaven's secrets and erase karma. The clan's Heavenly Beings gained nothing from their divinations. I suspect other..." Li Houcheng did not finish.

For the past few generations, the Eastern Bian Li Clan had suffered a gap between the old and the new. Aside from the Little Ancestor attaining Golden Core five hundred years ago, no other Golden Core True Lord had emerged.

Now that the clan had finally produced a few golden core seeds, he suspected that other aristocratic clans stood behind this incident, quite possibly one of the Five Surnames and Seven Houses.

Without a powerful faction supporting them, even the strongest Qi Refinement Realm cultivator could not escape the gaze of a Foundation-Building Heavenly Being.

Li Huixi lightly tapped the stone table with his slender fingers.

A long while passed.

Li Huixi said, "No other aristocratic clan was involved. As long as I remain, not a single aristocratic clan will dare strike at Li descendants from the shadows."

Li Houcheng was puzzled.

If it was not another aristocratic clan, who else would dare offend his Eastern Bian Li Clan? Surely it could not really have been two rogue cultivators with no regard for their lives.

Truth be told, Li Houcheng was not the only one with that question. Even Li Huixi was somewhat puzzled.

Li Huixi swept his palm over the half-empty teacup.

The tea shifted, and two figures traveling along a road appeared within the cup.

The figures in the cup were none other than Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun.

"This person..."

Li Huixi narrowed his eyes, passing directly over Xiao Yuanjun to scrutinize Zhang Yuan.

Oh, he has a karmic connection to the [Supreme Unity Heavenly Dipper]. It seems he supplied the immortal spiritual root used to refine it.

Come to think of it, he also has a karmic connection with me.

With a single glance, Li Huixi understood the entire chain of causes and consequences.

The items exchanged for the immortal spiritual root had been unequal in value to begin with. Then Li Jiehua had stolen them, causing Li Houcheng's branch of the family to suffer a backlash from the fortune that this person from the Outer Heavens carried with him. They had only themselves to blame.

"Little Ancestor, I am willing to send men to capture these two villains! We will recover the [Stolen-Life Baleful Intent] without fail," Li Houcheng volunteered.

Li Huixi glanced at the direction Zhang Yuan was traveling.

The Bian Kingdom's Capital City.

"You need not concern yourself with this matter anymore," Li Huixi said mildly.

"Yes."

Li Houcheng nodded. Since the Little Ancestor had told him to leave it alone, the matter must already be settled. He no longer needed to worry.

"Forfeit six months of your stipend as punishment. Tomorrow, summon Li Houjin and Li Zhongshuang to accompany me to the capital. You may leave," Li Huixi said.

Li Houcheng agreed. Knowing that his position as patriarch was secure, he felt the great stone weighing on his heart fall away.

However, there was still one matter he had not mentioned.

"Little Ancestor, Jiehua died at those villains' hands. I dare to beg you to revive him, so that father and son may be reunited," Li Houcheng said quietly after a moment's hesitation.

Li Jiehua's soul tablet had shattered, clearly indicating that his soul had scattered into oblivion. With not even a soul remaining, there was plainly no possibility of resurrection.

That was true for others.

For the ancestor who had revived the Eastern Bian Li Clan, [True Lord Huitian Yanshi], it was merely a matter of moving a finger.

"Li Jiehua's death was an inevitable consequence of karma. If he lives, Li Zhongshuang will die instead. Are you certain you wish to revive Li Jiehua?" Li Huixi asked rather than refusing outright.

Reviving Li Jiehua was simple. He need only travel upstream through time and fish Li Jiehua out. But that was not without a price; karma would come pursuing him on its own.

"Well... my son was a wastrel. He is not worth your effort, Little Ancestor, and certainly cannot compare with Zhongshuang," Li Houcheng said decisively.

Li Zhongshuang enjoyed the Little Ancestor's favor. How could that useless Li Jiehua's life compare with Zhongshuang's? If he was dead, so be it.

"Little Ancestor, there are still important clan affairs to attend to. I shall take my leave."

Li Houcheng departed.

Li Huixi raised his eyes toward the southwest.

Meanwhile, after traveling for an entire day, Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yuanjun finally arrived outside the Bian Kingdom's Capital City.

"Master, are you certain no one is pursuing us?"

"Yes, yes, yes. How many times have I told you? There really is no one pursuing us. Zhang Yuan, this paranoia of yours needs treatment."

"But..."

Zhang Yuan's brows were tightly furrowed.

At some point, he had begun to feel a persistent sense of foreboding.

Yet there were no Li clan pursuers behind them. Could he really be too paranoid?