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墨書 Inktalez
Ten days later, Yun Jiuzi and Li Hong would meet in the Southern Wilderness.
A full thirteen years! Since that night when the Demon Sect invaded the Nine Li Sect, Yun Jiuzi entered the Array Hall, and now it has been thirteen years without a face-to-face meeting between the two.
Li Hong's eyes burned with emotion; he had countless words to say but only managed to utter four brief ones: "It's good to be back."
Yun Jiuzi gazed at Li Hong and briefly recounted his experiences since their separation. He then smiled and said, "I want to enter seclusion."
"Follow me." Without hesitation, Li Hong settled Yun Jiuzi into the Ancient Celestial Field Temple and handed him a large bottle of Fire Origin Pills.
Yun Jiuzi shook the bottle of pills, listening to the crisp sound of them rolling inside, and sighed, "It's been a long time. It's a pity that True Microbe and the others will never hear this world's most beautiful sound again. Sigh..." Yun Jiuzi sighed deeply once more, and when he looked at Li Hong, he couldn't help but smile. He waved kindly at Li Hong, signaling that he was about to begin, then assumed a meditative posture and closed his eyes.
Li Hong secured the door to the secret chamber and set up several Spirit Talismans before slowly walking towards the first floor with his hands behind his back, feeling a deep sense of melancholy.
After being trapped for over ten years, Yun Jiuzi was the one in the Array Hall in the best condition! After all, he had not been poisoned initially and had not expended a great deal of energy to force out toxins. However, things were still not optimistic. The Array Hall lacked Li Fire Aura; for thirteen years, all energy consumed had been from his own cultivation base, which could not be replenished at all. As a result, Yun Jiuzi's cultivation had not only stagnated but regressed; he was now left with only about fifty percent of his power. This was precisely why Yun Jiuzi was eager to enter seclusion as soon as he arrived. It was easy to imagine that the situation for True Microbe and the others remaining in the Array Hall must be even more dire.
Although Yun Jiuzi had not mentioned it or knew it himself, Li Hong could still guess the fate of True Microbe and Yueyangzi. He couldn't help but feel some blame toward their stubbornness. However, death was paramount, so it was indeed inconvenient to say much more.
Thinking of this, Li Hong sighed; that warm home, that Nine Li Cave Heaven which felt like a paradise upon entering, had now become just a memory. All people and things were forever changed—those who died were gone, those who scattered had dispersed...
Suddenly, Li Hong's heart stirred—Yin Li'er! He had long promised Heavenly Torch to approach Nine Li Cave Heaven once more so that Heavenly Torch could contact her; he had completely forgotten about her! She was still in Nine Li Cave Heaven!
With this thought in mind, a small figure flew out from between his eyebrows and instantly grew larger. Before it landed on the ground, it had completely transformed into Li Hong's likeness, then its surface erupted with Void Flame Armor. The Void Flame Armor emitted a dark red glow in the dim Ancient Celestial Field Temple, clearly outlining the broad chest and strong legs of the avatar. It was indeed an Earth Soul Avatar that had been cultivated to perfection.
Li Hong transmitted a command: "Patrol inside the Ancient Celestial Field Temple. If there are any issues with Yun Jiuzi or Heavenly Soul, you will assist."
The Earth Soul Avatar nodded proudly, raised its chin confidently, and strode past Li Hong's main body into the darkness.
Gazing at his back, Li Hong touched his nose and suddenly felt a strange sensation.
This doppelgänger was completely different from himself. He appeared tall and imposing, looking quite handsome, with a bit of the Ling Yi Zi's charm—cool yet somewhat arrogant. But was he really himself? How could he not recognize another version of himself seen through his own eyes, feeling as if it were a stranger?
Li Hong shook his head with a wry smile, dismissing this absurd thought, and called upon the Spirit of the Hall to teleport himself away.
The water shimmered before him, and moments later, he found himself in the Great Lake Temple Ruins. Before jumping out of the water, Li Hong used his Divine Consciousness to sense the surroundings, confirming that there was truly no one around before heading north.
After flying about fifty miles, he suddenly felt a stir in his heart as Li Hong emerged from a beam of golden light! If an ordinary person were to witness this scene, Li Hong would undoubtedly be adorned with the aura of a deity. At this moment, however, he paid no mind to such thoughts; focusing intently downward, he saw two sneaky White Shadows flying low along the green jungles of the Southern Wilderness, their heads bobbing as if searching for something. Their conversation was clearly audible.
"Strange, they just vanished!"
"What should we do? You and I have left our posts and followed Yun Jiuzi to such a distant Southern Wilderness. When we return, that unreasonable Chu Li will surely find a reason to punish us. Why not just stay here and look around? If we can't find Yun Jiuzi, finding Chu Hong would be good enough. Let's just abandon this place and never return to face their wrath!"
"Exactly! I’ve been so frustrated too. Sigh! Let those people make a fuss; we might as well hide here in peace. With our cultivation levels, as long as we are careful not to be discovered by a large group of Demon Sect lackeys, we should have no problem handling some minor skirmishes."
"Very true!"
Upon hearing this, Li Hong recognized them immediately. He raised his hand to scratch his forehead and couldn't help but laugh. In the next moment, he suddenly appeared before Ling Panzai and Ling Shizi, grinning as he said, "Masters Uncle, it seems you are looking for me?"
Ling Panzai and Ling Shizi were overjoyed at once, pulling Li Hong into a lengthy conversation while harshly cursing Chu Li and Ling Jizi's group. They also asked Li Hong if he had seen Yun Jiuzi. Li Hong chuckled and said little more; instead, he led the two into Temple City to hand them over to Chuxuan before heading north again.
This time there were no delays on the journey. By dusk, the familiar Lüliang Mountains lay beneath him.
From above the clouds, the towering Lüliang did not seem very high. The small valley where his childhood home was located appeared almost minuscule from up there. However, Li Hong knew that as a child, walking from the village to the ridge behind took all his strength just to climb up; it wasn't until later in his youth that he gained enough stamina not to see it as an insurmountable barrier. There was a small white spot in the valley—it was his parents' grave. Kneeling in the clouds, Li Hong respectfully bowed three times towards it before bowing three times towards the Azure Oil Temple near the main peak of Lüliang below him. Finally, he gazed longingly at the Farmstead down below...
Standing for a long time, until the faint melancholy in his heart dissipated, Li Hong began to call out to Heavenly Torch.
"Haha, I'm awake! Stop shouting! You don't know, do you? I've made great progress in my cultivation and learned a Divination Technique, specifically the Dragon Clan Summoning Enhancement. You think you're communicating with me quietly, but it sounds like you're shouting right next to my ear. Tsk tsk, this Dragon Clan Summoning Enhancement really works wonders..."
Heavenly Torch started chattering as soon as he woke up. Li Hong couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time: "Heavenly Torch, do you really consider me part of the Dragon Clan?"
"Of course! Have you forgotten? You received a drop of my Innate Vital Blood along with all the memories of the Dragon Clan. To me, you're just like a dragon. So the Dragon Clan Summoning Enhancement works on you too!"
"Alright, alright, enough boasting. We're in Lüliang; hurry up and summon Yin Li'er."
"What happened in the Nine Li Sect?" Heavenly Torch immediately asked back.
Li Hong smiled wryly; it seemed everyone shared his lack of confidence in the people currently in Nine Li Cave Heaven. He briefly explained what had happened with Yun Jiuzi.
Heavenly Torch pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Li Hong, I have an idea."
It was the first time Li Hong heard Heavenly Torch speak so seriously, which struck him as odd. "Go ahead."
"I've already contacted Yin Li'er and am currently learning about the latest situation in Nine Li Cave Heaven from her. Li Hong, you need to prepare yourself; we may have to destroy the Scripture Repository."
"Why?"
"The Old Demon spends all his time in the Scripture Repository, seemingly searching for some important records. Yin Li'er is worried he might soon find the Six Spirits Salty Ritual. If that happens, all your secrets will no longer be secrets. Therefore, we must find the Six Spirit Salty Ritual before he does and then destroy the entire Scripture Repository. This is Yin Li'er's idea, and it's mine too."
Li Hong raised an eyebrow: "To destroy over ten thousand years of Ancestor heritage and generations of Ancestor's hard work just for my secret? That would be a sin! I absolutely disagree." Seeing that Heavenly Torch wanted to argue further, Li Hong continued, "Listen to me first. The Scripture Repository and its scrolls cannot be destroyed. I'm sure the Old Demon is only interested in records about ascension; he doesn't know about the Six Spirit Salty Ritual. But if we break into the Scripture Repository to seize the Six Spirit Salty Ritual, we will inevitably confront the Old Demon. First of all, we have no chance of winning; secondly, it will expose my whereabouts; thirdly, it puts the Six Spirit Salty Ritual right under the Old Demon's nose. Lastly, destroying the entire Ancestor heritage is simply not worth it."
"Heavenly Torch" rebutted, "But 'Li Hong', one thing you must consider is that if 'Old Demon' transports all the scriptures from the 'Scripture Repository' to the 'Demon Sect' headquarters, not only will the 'Six Spirit Salty Ritual' be lost, but also the 'Li Fire Scripture' and all other ultimate techniques of 'Jiu Li'. The techniques of the 'Immortal Sect' actually share a common origin, and if that happens, all the secrets of the 'Immortal Sect' will be exposed. We must think about the entire 'Immortal Sect'; even if it means sacrificing 'Nine Li Sect', we have no choice. In short, the confidential religious texts in the 'Scripture Repository' absolutely cannot fall into the hands of the 'Demon Sect'. Before 'Old Demon' thinks of moving them, we must act first!"
At this point, "Heavenly Torch" paused, seemingly communicating with "Yin Li'er". After a while, he continued, "'Yin Li'er' said you don't need to take action; she will handle everything. She will do her best to bring out the 'Li Fire Scripture', 'Six Spirit Salty Ritual', and several other crucial scriptures of 'Nine Li Sect'. The rest can only be burned with 'True Fire'. She also mentioned that since you have already mastered most of the 'Divination Technique', you can just transcribe them from memory when you return to 'Temple City'."
Upon hearing this, "Li Hong" understood clearly that "Heavenly Torch" could not have said such things without "Yin Li'er"'s influence. This celestial phoenix not only possessed extraordinary cultivation but also had a meticulous mind. Most critically, even "Old Demon" could not fathom that such a deadly enemy was hidden deep within "Nine Li Sect".
Sometimes, beasts are more trustworthy than humans. "Li Hong" felt even more disdain for "Ling Jizi" and others, asking "Ask the Way", "When do we act?"
"Tomorrow at noon."
"Why noon?"
"'Yin Li'er' said that 'Old Demon' has a peculiar habit; he disappears for an hour every day at noon without a trace, as if this time is particularly unfavorable for him. At other times, especially at midnight, he is most active. Except for noon, he frequently comes in and out of the 'Scripture Repository'. 'Yin Li'er' plans to take advantage of this quirk. An hour is enough for anything!"
With such thorough planning, "Li Hong" had nothing to say but to offer his blessings: "Tell 'Yin Li'er' to be careful and wish her success. I will wait for her at 'Azure Oil Temple'."
"Okay!"
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