Nine Heavens Peak.
A faint sound of footsteps, now distant, now close, came from outside the pavilion.
Inside, Li Tianji lay on the bed, thoroughly alert. He raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
With a flick of his finger, he sent out a beam of divine light, wiping the traces of calamity from the floor until nothing remained.
Creak!
Just then, the pavilion door was pushed open.
"Tianji, your big brother is back."
Li Cangtian's voice rang out from outside the door.
"Brother, come in!"
Summoning all his strength, Li Tianji answered in a weak voice.
But when he looked toward the door, he discovered that the person entering was not his brother.
It was a rather unfamiliar-looking youth in red.
His brother, Li Cangtian, followed obediently behind the youth, his expression utterly respectful.
"You..."
The instant Li Tianji saw Li Xunyuan's face clearly, his mind went blank, as though thunder from eternity had exploded in his sea of consciousness!
His heart of fate and karma and Karma Bloodline both went into a frenzy, as if they had been pumped full of chicken blood.
He had the illusion that he was submitting to the other person!
It was like a minister meeting his emperor!
All of it stemmed from the youth in red!
So alike!
He really looks so alike!
This youth... was an exact match for the person in his memories of his dream.
Their intangible bearing and forms gradually overlapped, and the youth looked like a smaller version of that man.
Li Tianji was a clever man. From the way his brother, Li Cangtian, stood half a step behind the youth in red, he had already anticipated a certain outcome.
Before leaving, his brother had said he would challenge the eight holy sons and the divine son.
Now it seemed that his brother, who had always been invincible among those in the same realm, had lost!
Li Tianji knew all eight of the Li Lineage's other holy sons.
But the beautiful youth in red before him, untainted by the mortal world and like an immortal banished from heaven, was not among them.
Putting Li Cangtian's current attitude together with the fragmented images in his memories, Li Tianji had little difficulty guessing the youth's identity.
"Li Tianji greets the divine son. I am ill, however, so forgive me for being unable to rise and pay my respects. I hope the divine son will not take offense!"
Li Tianji struggled to get out of bed, but the lower half of his body was already paralyzed, and he could barely move at all.
He could only remain on the bed and cup his hands in salute to Li Xunyuan.
"There's no need for ceremony."
Li Xunyuan smiled and waved a hand.
Golden immortal radiance flowed through his eyes. With a mere glance at Li Tianji, he knew the root of the problem.
The Heavenly Dao had sent down a Calamity Curse, locking the Life Wheel in Li Tianji's body and leaving him with a lifespan of only ten short years.
Ten years was enough for the Calamity Curse to completely erode his Life Wheel. When that happened, he would surely die!
The ninth ring on Li Tianji's Life Wheel had nearly been eroded away, and he did not have long left.
The Life Wheel, as its name suggested, was the source of life in the human body.
The number of rings on a Life Wheel represented the number of years a cultivator could live.
That was only a rough estimate. In practice, multiple factors had to be considered together.
At the same time, an attribute panel appeared before him.
[Name: Li Tianji] [Bloodline: Calamity Taboo Bloodline (unlikely to live past ten)] [Realm: peak of the Life Palace Realm (opened nine Life Palaces)] [Physique: Fate and Karma Physique] [Divine abilities: divining heavenly secrets, foreseeing the future, turning misfortune into fortune...] [Aptitude: unlimited future achievements (comes into his own after age ten)] [Evaluation: first in loyalty, the greatest support of all ages!]
"Two Supremes in one family. That's a textbook protagonist template!"
Reading the description on the system panel, Li Xunyuan marveled at it while also complaining that God was a girl-commonly known as the heavens being unfair!
His achievements after age ten would be unlimited, but he was unlikely to live past ten.
What kind of runaround is this?
"I can treat the curse on you, but my chances aren't very high."
Li Xunyuan pulled over a stool and sat down. Looking Li Tianji over, he smiled and said, "Only ten out of ten."
Ten out of ten!
Hearing that, Li Tianji's body trembled violently. Breathing rapidly, he stared at Li Xunyuan, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force of his grip.
Beside him, Li Cangtian's mighty frame also trembled. He bowed excitedly and said, "Cangtian begs the divine son to save my younger brother."
"If you need my bloodline or my Blue Heaven Bone, please take them!"
Li Cangtian added, his tone firm and without the slightest hesitation.
As long as he could save his brother, he would not shrink back even if it meant using his own life as a bridge!
The blood, bones, and vital blood of a Heavenly Hegemon Body could all be used as great medicines in the mortal world, with divine powers to prolong life, extend lifespans, and heal injuries.
"Divine son, Tianji will never forget your kindness as long as he lives, though I have no way to repay you!"
After his initial excitement, Li Tianji quickly regained his composure.
For millions of years, no one had been able to break the Calamity Curse of the Fate and Karma Physique.
It had outlasted heaven knew how many generations of Karma Divine Physiques.
Li Tianji took Li Xunyuan's words as nothing more than an attempt to comfort him.
Hum!
Just then, Li Tianji took four black-and-white keys from his robes and said, "These are Three Lives Emperor Keys. There are four in all, two yin and two yang. They are the keys to opening the Three Lives Emperor Tomb. Today, I give them to you, divine son!"
He knew he did not have long to live and wanted to do as much as possible to build a good relationship for Li Cangtian, so he would not be ostracized while following the divine son in the future.
"The Three Lives Emperor Tomb?"
Beside him, Li Cangtian's gaze sharpened, and he was deeply shocked.
Above the Quasi-Emperor Realm stood Great Emperors, who bore the mandate of heaven.
Figures of that level transcended all things, reigned over the world, and ruled vast star domains. They were truly supreme existences!
The value of four keys that could open a Great Emperor's tomb was immeasurable!
"Divine son, my brother isn't a bad person at heart. He can do any dirty or difficult work, so I hope you can look after him a little in the lineage."
Li Tianji placed the four Three Lives Emperor Keys in Li Xunyuan's hand and pleaded in a faint voice.
By dirty and difficult work, he actually meant that people the divine son could not conveniently kill and dark matters he could not conveniently handle could all be left to Li Cangtian.
He was not trying to hold morality over him; Li Tianji knew he had no standing to do so.
He was simply doing everything he could to secure Li Cangtian a little standing.
More and more people would surely follow the divine son in the future, and he did not want his brother to be the one ignored and abandoned.
"It seems you don't believe me."
Hearing Li Tianji's words, Li Xunyuan took the Three Lives Emperor Keys and shook his head with a faint smile.
"Very well, it's better to act directly. After all, I can't go back on what I promised your brother."
With that, Li Xunyuan reached out and took Li Tianji's hand, immediately activating the Miraculous Healing Hands divine ability.
A rich breath of longevity roared out of Li Xunyuan's body and swept across the entire Nine Heavens Peak in an instant.
Li Tianji was forced to close his eyes. With complete concentration and no distractions, he refined the Law of Longevity pouring into his body.
The boundless, surging vitality quickly brought color back to his pale face.
The deeply entrenched power of calamity also gradually melted and crumbled beneath the Law of Longevity.
Bathed in life essence, Li Tianji's depleted body regained its vitality.
The power of calamity within him was now completely eradicated.
The death curse of the Fate and Karma Physique, which had defied all treatment for a million years, from ancient times to the present, was broken as well!