Your Grandson Has a Way to Make the Lineage Great Again

Ten days earlier, True Person Yuhong had received a plea for help from an ally. Crimson Firmament Mountain, which also belonged to the Three Yang Dao Lineage, had come under attack.

Crimson Firmament Mountain was a newly established Purple Mansion immortal sect with a weak foundation. After a week of appeals for aid, only True Person Yuhong had come to its assistance.

For one thing, Crimson Firmament Mountain belonged to the Great Yang Dao Lineage. Like the Bright Yang Dao Lineage that True Person Yuhong cultivated, it was one of the Three Yang, and the two were naturally close.

For another, True Person Yuhong knew he had little lifespan left, and Crimson Firmament Mountain was a newly established Purple Mansion power nearby. He had wanted to lend a hand and forge a good relationship for the future.

That battle had been no easy fight. The attackers were two veteran Purple Mansion cultivators, one in the open and one in the shadows, working together with practiced cunning.

Only after Yuhong had played three trump cards in succession had he and True Person Zhaohuan managed to drive them back. True Person Zhaohuan had personally escorted him out of the mountain gate, bowing repeatedly in thanks. His words had been heartfelt, and he had nearly wept.

Yuhong had merely given a slight nod and set out for home without lingering for even a few pleasantries.

He had discovered that Li Chenwei's soul jade at his waist had shattered. It had not broken because Li Chenwei had fallen; Li Chenwei had crushed it himself to bring him rushing to his aid.

He had understood that something must have happened to the Thawing Ice Bright Jade at the Lesser Cold River.

Without stopping to heal his wounds, Yuhong had crossed the Great Void. On the way, two Purple Mansion True Persons had watched him like tigers eyeing their prey, but in the end, both had been cowed by his readiness to drag them down with him. Neither had tried to stop him.

After all, everyone knew that the Bright Yang Dao Lineage cultivated by this True Person with three Divine Abilities excelled at killing. With his lifespan nearly exhausted, no one wanted to provoke him.

True Person Yuhong had not dared pause for a moment, but in the end, he had arrived a step too late.

Li Chenwei had fled south, only to be surrounded and blocked by six Immortal Foundation cultivators.

With no other choice, he had feigned surrender and lured the six to a hidden array his Lineage had set up nearby. There he had turned the tables, killing one and severely wounding two.

In the end, their numbers had been too much for him. Li Chenwei had been butchered and dismembered, and two Immortal Foundation cultivators had thrown him into a Law Artifact, using his Qi and Blood to search for the Thawing Ice Bright Jade.

By the time True Person Yuhong arrived, Li Chenwei was already on his last breath.

At the sight, Yuhong said nothing. He merely raised a hand.

Two flames of bright yang light descended from the heavens without a sound. The two Immortal Foundation cultivators did not even have time to scream before they were reduced to ash, their souls burned away without a trace.

He landed beside the remains and personally gathered up Li Chenwei's broken body, piece by piece. The wounds still bore the traces of the brutal methods inflicted on him while he lived: soul-searching, bone-stripping, marrow-extraction. They had stopped at nothing.

Fortunately, his true spirit remained, and there was still a sliver of hope for his survival.

The whole affair was exceedingly strange. Everything had come together at just the right time. The probe at Crimson Firmament Mountain had been perfectly judged, both warning the newly risen Purple Mansion cultivator True Person Zhaohuan and testing True Person Yuhong's current condition.

Upon learning that Yuhong was still strong, the Devil Cultivators at the Lesser Cold River had quickly scattered. Only two Immortal Foundation cultivators had stubbornly refused to leave.

How could that escape Yuhong's notice? He had long since seen that the two were afflicted by a life-bound Divine Ability. They had been left here merely as offerings from the person behind the scenes, for him to vent his anger on.

Yuhong did not spare them another glance. He followed the lingering Qi signature of the Mysterious Shell Breath-Stabilizing Disc and eventually stopped outside a cave.

Inside were only two low-level Qi Ingestion Stage cultivators. The moment they saw Yuhong, they collapsed to the ground, unable even to beg for mercy.

He could not be bothered with words. He cast a Divine Ability and read all their memories from the past three days.

When he saw Li Zhengjun vanish into thin air with the Storage Bag, True Person Yuhong's face darkened.

"Vanished into thin air. A Purple Mansion cultivator must have intervened."

But when Yuhong examined the Great Void nearby, he found no trace of it having been opened.

That was very strange. Yuhong searched the surrounding area again and found nothing. As he wondered over it, a figure suddenly appeared in the cave below.

It was his grandson, Li Zhengjun!

True Person Yuhong immediately summoned the Law Treasure Great Sun Radiant World-Suppressing Mystic Stele. The true words on the stele transformed into a barrier of golden light, sealing off all the Great Void within dozens of miles.

Then he manifested his dharma form and annihilated everything within the Law Treasure's reach, leaving only Li Zhengjun.

Yuhong's anger surged. Ever since he had emerged from his last seclusion to heal his wounds, rumors that the Li Household's patriarch was about to fall had spread like wildfire through the Chu Kingdom.

With people deliberately or unwittingly fanning the flames, the Chu Kingdom's cultivators had tacitly kept probing him.

They all wanted to see whether this old True Person with three Divine Abilities had lost the majesty he once possessed.

The Li Household ruled three mountains, a river, and a pass. It was a choice piece of meat.

Cultivation resources in the Chu Kingdom were limited. If cultivators wanted to advance, they could only seize other people's territory.

Although Yuhong truly had little lifespan left, he was no feeble old man in his twilight years. He dared not show the slightest fear. Instead, the more he fought, the fiercer he became, putting on the appearance of a madman.

If anyone dared provoke the Li Household, Yuhong would surely retaliate in a frenzy. Only by doing so could he temporarily keep others' malicious designs at bay.

And now, a Purple Mansion True Person had personally entered the fray, stooping to seize a Purple Mansion spiritual object and even coercing a junior of his household.

True Person Yuhong forced down his anger and shouted:

"Which fellow Daoist is here? How dare you coerce a descendant of my Li Household? Why not show yourself?"

His voice echoed through the domain, but no one answered.

True Person Yuhong swept the area carefully, yet found nothing amiss.

Just then, Li Zhengjun's voice rose from below.

"Your grandson Li Zhengjun respectfully welcomes the True Person!"

True Person Yuhong fixed his gaze on him. The boy was completely unharmed and held a jade box in both hands.

It was the Thawing Ice Bright Jade!

Yuhong drew the spiritual object into his palm and swept it with his Divine Sense. Only after confirming it was genuine did he calm down a little.

He had spent a full thirty years and invested countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures to nurture this one Frozen Water spiritual object, which could raise the chance of reaching the Purple Mansion by five percent.

Seeing that it was safe, he finally spoke.

"Zhengjun, raise your head."

Li Zhengjun lifted his face as told. The next instant, the cave and night sky before him abruptly vanished, replaced by an immortal court hall so magnificent it took his breath away.

Seventy-two tiers of jade steps rose one above another, built entirely of white jade. Each step was more than several zhang wide.

Twelve enormous pillars reaching to the heavens stood along either side of the hall. Lifelike golden dragons coiled around them, their eyes cast downward, as majestic as living creatures.

At the center of the domed ceiling, a blazing sun hung suspended. Its light was not dazzling, yet it illuminated every minute detail of the hall.

Li Zhengjun was kneeling below the very first jade step at the bottom.

He was as tiny as a speck of dust, kneeling on the hall's golden-lit tiles, even his shadow pressed as thin as a cicada's wing.

Li Zhengjun raised his head involuntarily and looked up the seventy-two tiers of jade steps. At last, at their end, he saw a figure seated high upon a dragon throne.

True Person Yuhong sat upright in the center of the throne, clad in black-and-gold robes and wearing a crown with twelve strands of beads. His face was imposing without anger.

From his lofty seat, he looked down at the tiny figure at the foot of the jade steps, his gaze as indifferent as if he were looking at an ant.

This was no illusion. It was his life-bound Divine Ability, Entering the Bright Hall!

All who entered the Bright Hall were suppressed by an emperor's might.

The one wielding this Divine Ability could discern cause and effect, distinguish truth from falsehood, and trace the past. Let alone a mere Fetal Breath cultivator-even a Purple Mansion cultivator of the same stage would surely be suppressed by this towering immortal court upon entering the hall.

"There was no possession, soul capture, or illusion, and no one coerced you from the side, yet you vanished into thin air. After you vanished, even your memories could not be read. Zhengjun, how did you do it?"

Nothing could hide from Yuhong, except that after Li Zhengjun crossed over to the Great Scarlet Realm, all the images disappeared.

The Divine Ability withdrew, and the immortal hall, enormous pillars, golden dragons, and jade steps receded like the tide.

Li Zhengjun swayed, nearly losing his footing.

His grandfather had held back. Had he unleashed it fully, Li Zhengjun would likely have ended up like the two Qi Ingestion cultivators beside him, reduced to a dried corpse.

Purple Mansion True Persons are terrifying indeed!

Li Zhengjun steadied his mind and spoke.

"True Person, is my uncle all right?"

Yuhong paused. He had not expected that, after narrowly escaping death and being questioned under one of his Divine Abilities, the boy's first question would be about that.

"That group of Devil Cultivators dismembered him. Fortunately, his true spirit remains, and I have stabilized it with a secret technique, but things do not look good..."

Li Zhengjun sighed, then said:

"True Person, this is no place to talk. Could we return to the Lineage's Purple Mansion grand array? Your grandson has an important matter to report."

Yuhong narrowed his eyes slightly. Without a word, he waved a hand and drew Li Zhengjun into his sleeve.

He withdrew his Law Treasure and stepped into the Great Void. As soon as he appeared, a mocking laugh rang out in the empty space.

"Yuhong, have you found the Thawing Ice Bright Jade? If not, I still have plenty of Frozen Water spiritual objects that I could let you use in the meantime, fellow Daoist."

Two figures were standing in the Great Void, watching.

The speaker wore a great crimson robe. Firelight flickered around him, making his face look especially dreadful.

He was exceedingly ugly, his features so twisted that he scarcely looked human. He looked more like a moth spirit that had attained the Dao. It was True Person Mingxin.

Beside him stood an old man with kind brows and benevolent eyes, though his clothing was rather peculiar. It resembled some kind of ceremonial robe, covered from top to bottom in obscure runes.

Li Zhengjun could not see clearly from within the sleeve. He only heard his grandfather say coldly:

"There's no need for True Person Mingxin to trouble himself."

True Person Mingxin laughed aloud, the sound grating, like the buzz of wings rubbing together.

"It's already a great stroke of luck that you managed to hold the Lesser Cold River. In the future, fellow Daoist Yuhong, you had best not go wandering off so casually. Just look after your own little patch of land. Oh, right..."

He changed the subject, his tone laden with meaning.

"In some time, the Radiant Bright Blessed Land will open. I advise you to be careful, fellow Daoist Yuhong. Don't lose another pillar of your household."

True Person Yuhong acted as though he had not heard and gave no answer, but Li Zhengjun could clearly sense the anger the True Person was suppressing inside his sleeve.

"The Radiant Bright Blessed Land belongs to our Three Yang Dao Lineage. How we deal with it is not for your Lingering Fire Dao Lineage to dictate."

With that, he swept his sleeve and departed.

Only after he had left did the kindly old man speak in a low voice.

"Fellow Daoist Mingxin, are we simply going to let Yuhong have his way? If he really did hold on to the Thawing Ice Bright Jade, it's possible the Li Household could produce another Purple Mansion cultivator."

True Person Mingxin sneered, ugly wrinkles bunching up on his mothlike face.

"Let's wait a little longer. Yuhong did hold on to the spiritual object, that much is true. But among the younger generation of his Li Household, is there anyone left who can even touch the threshold of the Purple Mansion? No matter how great Li Chenxun's talent for Frozen Water, the Li Household is not a Frozen Water Dao Lineage. What help can it offer him? Besides, Li Chenxun is merely bait pushed into the open to draw the attention of the other households. The Li Household must have a hidden genius behind the scenes."

The old man nodded in strong agreement.

"You're quite right, fellow Daoist. Yuhong is a shrewd schemer, and with the lesson of the An Household before him, how could he expose his entire Lineage's hope? Besides Li Chenxun, the Li Household must have another move in reserve."

True Person Mingxin's expression betrayed nothing as he stared in the direction Yuhong had gone and spoke coldly.

"After this battle, Yuhong will surely have misgivings and no longer dare compete with us for the immortal opportunity in the Radiant Bright Blessed Land. That will let us completely cut off his household's Bright Yang Dao Path. Only by severing Bright Yang will the Li Household truly cease to be a threat."

He paused, a glimmer flashing through his compound eyes in the firelight.

"Now that the Three Yang are in decline, sooner or later, Yuhong's old bones will come over to our side. When that time comes, won't the Bright Yang Cultivation Method be ours for the taking?"

With that, the two departed as well.

White Jade Mountain.

The entire mountain gleamed white. Countless veins of jade marrow had formed naturally within its rocks, growing harder than gold and iron over ten thousand years. With Yuhong having attained the Dao here, jade had emerged, adding further spiritual vitality.

Yuhong had established his sect on this mountain and laid down a Purple Mansion grand array using jade marrow as its foundation.

The grand array descended from the peak like an invisible waterfall, isolating the Great Void and blocking Divine Sense. Even a Purple Mansion True Person coming in person could forget about breaking in without a sound.

True Person Yuhong passed through layer after layer of restrictions and landed before Chongming Hall at the heart of the grand array.

This was the main hall where he cultivated daily, and the safest place on all of White Jade Mountain.

He released Li Zhengjun from his sleeve and returned to the seat of honor before speaking.

"Go on."

Li Zhengjun patted his Storage Bag, took out the Jade Wave Turtle, and presented it to Yuhong.

"Please take a look, True Person."

Yuhong's gaze fell on the Demon Beast's corpse. He had lived for four hundred and seventy years and traveled through many kingdoms, seeing nearly every Demon Beast and spiritual object with a name in the seven kingdoms of the Chu lands.

But he did not recognize this turtle. It was not only the creature's species; he had also never seen the Qi cultivation method this Demon Beast practiced.

He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"This creature is certainly not native to the Chu lands. Even in the seven nearby kingdoms, there is no exotic beast with Spiritual Qi fluctuations like these."

Hearing this, Li Zhengjun felt more certain. He abruptly changed the subject and asked a deeply disrespectful question.

"May I ask how many years of lifespan you have left, True Person?"

The moment he spoke, the hall fell deathly silent. Lifespan had become a taboo subject that the Li Household would not discuss.

For everyone knew that True Person Yuhong had little lifespan left.

The hall fell deathly silent, as though something were about to erupt.

Had any Li Household cultivator been present, Li Zhengjun's deeply disrespectful words would surely have frightened them unconscious.

Yuhong did not answer. He simply looked at Li Zhengjun.

There was no anger or sorrow in that gaze, only a suffocating stillness, as though he were waiting-waiting for this outrageously bold grandson to give him a reason for asking that question.

Just then, Li Zhengjun spoke again.

"Your grandson has a way to make the Lineage great again."

"To let our Li Household produce another Purple Mansion cultivator within a few decades, or even... several Purple Mansion cultivators!"

Yuhong, on the verge of exploding with rage, barely managed to suppress his surging Qi. He spoke slowly.

"Let's hear it."

He did not believe Li Zhengjun at all. He had tried nearly every method he could think of.

The Li Household was beset by enemies on all sides. Forget restoring the Lineage's former glory; even holding on to its dignity was difficult.

But True Person Yuhong's patience had reached its limit. If the boy could not give him a satisfactory answer, he would give him a taste of the household's discipline.

Yet in the next moment, before Yuhong could receive Li Zhengjun's answer, the boy vanished into thin air!

True Person Yuhong's eyes suddenly widened.

Under the seal of the Purple Mansion grand array, the Great Void throughout Chongming Hall was impregnable. Without his will, not even a wisp of Spiritual Qi could escape.

Yet his grandson had vanished into thin air, right under his nose!

Not even a trace of his presence remained, as though he had never existed in the hall at all!

Yuhong sprang to his feet. Even a Purple Mansion True Person who had lived over four hundred years was shaken to the core by this sight.

"This... how is this possible?!"