Volume One: Youths Meeting in Humble Times Chapter 162: The Path of Faking Death 17

Li Zhonghong looked at Li Yu before him, a renewed sense of confidence in his survival welling up within him. He stared at Li Yu and demanded, "I admit that your growth over all these years has far exceeded my imagination, but matters have reached this point—do you still have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Li Yu sneered and replied, "Until the very last moment is reached, no final verdict can be passed. How can you be so sure I have no other means?"

No sooner had his words fallen than the black Qi permeating the entire grand formation began to spiral upward into the sky, accompanied by bursts of crackling lightning darting and weaving wildly within the array.

This apocalyptic scene left everyone utterly shocked. They realized that the final resort Li Yu spoke of was mutual destruction.

Seeing this, Li Zhonghong’s expression darkened considerably as he hastily said, "As long as you surrender unconditionally, I can take you back to the Li family. Whatever has happened before, the Li family will bear the full responsibility for you. Once back in the clan, you will remain a member of the Li family’s main lineage, with access to even greater resources and higher status than before."

Li Yu looked at him as if he were an idiot and retorted, "I am not a fool. Your words are merely an attempt to dismantle this grand formation or kill me before I can destroy it entirely. As long as I die at your hands, you will be able to extract my true spirit, and then what secrets of mine would remain hidden from you? It is a pity, however, that I too am a scion of the Li family. While I may not know all of your profound techniques, I happen to be intimately familiar with this particular method of yours."

Before his voice had even faded, the grand formation could be visibly seen cracking apart in numerous places. All the black Qi converged in the sky before plummeting downward in a simultaneous assault on everyone below. Realizing that it was no longer possible to capture Li Yu cleanly and completely, Li Zhonghong had no choice but to shout to the others, "Protect yourselves and resist with all your might!"

In truth, even without his command, no one had any desire to listen to his earlier demands of capturing Li Yu alive or striking him down in a single blow.

Li Yu’s strength had already surpassed their expectations, far exceeding anything they could have imagined. Never in their wildest dreams had they expected that Li Yu would master the profound and ineffable Great Dao once wielded by the Daoist Lin. It was simply that the effects produced when Li Yu used it seemed entirely different from when the Daoist Lin had employed it.

Yet, for them at this moment, such subtle differences were not something they could afford to ponder deeply. When mere survival became the pressing issue, all other problems ceased to be problems at all.

Everyone unleashed their full strength and exhausted their deepest reserves, launching counterattacks straight up into the sky. They infused their power into their magical artifacts, then triggered the violent energy turbulence and shockwaves generated by the self-detonation of these treasures, forming a stark and direct collision against the descending torrent of black Qi.

Following a blinding flash of brilliant light, everyone was sent flying backward. The entire grand formation dissolved into nothingness, vanishing as completely as if it had never existed at all.

Li Xiyan possessed the most formidable cultivation among them all, and consequently, he suffered the least amount of damage. After shielding himself, as he was pushed back by the residual shockwave, he immediately cast his gaze toward where Li Yu had been.

However, when he looked over, that space was utterly empty. Li Yu was gone.

At that moment, a sense of trance washed over him, and he could not help asking himself in his heart, "Could he really be dead?"

Li Yan was the second quickest to pick himself up. Unlike Li Xiyan, he immediately hurried over to tend to Elder Li Zhonghong. After hastily checking him over and discovering that the elder was merely suffering from a turbulent rush of blood and had not sustained any severe injuries, having merely fallen unconscious, Li Yan produced a spiritual pill and fed it to him. He then attended to the others nearby, administering simple first aid.

While he was busy with these rudimentary treatments, Li Xiyan recalled that Li Yan had once ventured deep into the heart of the grand formation. He harbored lingering doubts regarding Li Yu, though it was not quite appropriate to ask outright. Instead, he sent a voice transmission to Li Yan, asking, "Is he really dead? I can no longer sense his presence at all."

Li Yan replied via voice transmission as well, "I do not know. He did not tell me. He only said that the grand formation was on the verge of collapse and asked me to lend him a hand in destroying it. Aside from that, he said nothing more."

Li Xiyan continued, "I do not believe he is dead. Given his meticulous scheming, I cannot imagine he would simply perish in his own self-detonation. If he died here, then all his previous plotting would have been utterly meaningless."

Li Yan had not expected Li Xiyan to confide his inner thoughts so candidly. He was momentarily dazed, but quickly regained his composure. After pondering for a moment, he said, "He indeed never explicitly told me whether he would die or not. But I could sense that his state of mind at the time was far from embracing certain doom. Perhaps he has even deeper plans in motion; what his ultimate goal is, however, is simply beyond my ability to know."

After thinking it over, Li Xiyan felt that Li Yan's words made sense. In the current situation, he could not determine whether Li Yu was dead or alive, but since Tianmen Town no longer bore any trace of his aura, at least on the surface, it presented everyone with the definitive outcome of his death for the present moment. And this outcome was advantageous to Li Yu.

As for the others, none of the Li family members had perished. This preserved both Li Yu and the Li family. In both reason and emotion, Li Xiyan felt this was the best possible conclusion.

Just as he was beginning to think the expedition had ended in a less-than-terrible outcome, Li Yan’s voice shattered his illusion. Li Yan said, "Young Master, I fear the Li family still has plenty of trouble awaiting us ahead."

Not understanding, Li Xiyan asked, "What do you mean?"

Li Yan motioned for him to look into the distance. Following the gesture, Li Xiyan’s expression gradually turned unsightly. Within his line of sight, those people who should have perished under Li Zhonghong’s Spirit-Controlling Gu worms were actually all safe and sound, and at this moment, they were walking toward them one by one.

Only then did he comprehend the meaning behind Li Yan’s words. At the same time, he realized that while it was indeed fortunate that the Li family members present had survived, Li Yu had also left all those people from the six major sects, the rogue cultivators, and the City Lord’s Mansion alive as well.

If the Li family members had perished in this calamity, there would at least have been a definitive, if tragic, conclusion. But now that none of them had died, they would inevitably demand an explanation for having been infected with Gu worms and subsequently abandoned by the Li family.

When Li Zhonghong had crushed the mother Gu of the Spirit-Controlling Gu worms earlier, those individuals had indeed fallen into a momentary trance. However, at that very moment, the black Qi infiltrating their bodies had, under Li Yu’s manipulation, devoured a vast majority of the Gu worms inside them. The fraction that remained was only enough to plunge them into a brief period of unconsciousness, accompanied by a minor loss of their true spirits. While this would not cost them their lives, it severely damaged their foundational roots. From then on, unless they encountered some heaven-defying fortune, even recovering their former cultivation realms would be an exceedingly difficult task.

Yet, at that particular moment, they had been incapable of noticing this hidden affliction. This was precisely the brilliance of Li Yu’s design. If they had known immediately that their Dao paths had been ruined by the Li family, their fury would have reached its absolute peak, and there was no telling what desperate actions they might have taken. By sparing them now, Li Yu had granted them a buffer period. Even so, the events that had already transpired were more than enough to give them cause to launch a grievance against the Li family. From Li Yu's perspective, keeping them all alive was the most advantageous outcome for himself.

When they realized they had cheated death, they understood perfectly that at the very last moment, the Li family had made their ruthless choice. The seed of hatred had thus been firmly planted in their hearts.

The moment the grand formation was destroyed, witnessing the sudden light explosion and the people who subsequently appeared, they could no longer suppress the anger boiling within them. Gradually, figures began to stride toward the Li family group.

Leading the charge was Elder Huang of the six major sects. However, she lacked her previous fiery temper; her face was devoid of expression, marked only by silence and profound calmness.

Under her lead, an increasing number of people fell in behind her, marching toward the members of the Li family.

From Li Xiyan’s perspective, he watched as this multitude approached. None of them wore overt expressions of rage; the only thing palpable was the hidden hatred and resentment lurking deep within their gazes.

Although in terms of sheer cultivation, neither Li Xiyan nor Li Yan held these people in high regard, the overwhelming emotions radiating from the crowd were unlike anything they had ever encountered before. Thus, at that instant, a trace of fear stirred within their hearts—a fear unrelated to cultivation levels or strength disparity, born purely from the depths of conscience and morality.

Someone might ask: why didn't Li Xiyan and his companions feel such strong moral constraints regarding the ordinary people of Tianmen Town, yet felt them so acutely toward these cultivators?

The answer was simple: no one holds moral constraints toward ants. A single ladle of boiling water can effortlessly destroy an ant nest, and who would care? But cultivators were different. To them, these were fellow travelers on the Daoist path, recognized as human beings standing on the same plane and height. Naturally, a standard of morality derived from one's own reflection would inevitably arise.

Li Xiyan and Li Yan were merely a microcosm of this mindset. If even they felt this way, the other unconscious individuals would undoubtedly feel it even more intensely once they awoke.

Upon reaching them, Elder Huang stopped, stared at the people on the ground for a brief moment, then shifted her gaze to Li Xiyan. With utter calm, she said, "This trip to Tianmen Town has benefited greatly from the Li family's grace. One day, I shall do my utmost to repay it. I am deeply grateful."

With those words, she turned and left, departing with absolute resolve and nonchalance.

The others behind her followed suit, casting a few harsh threats before slowly dispersing. Naturally, only those belonging to sects within the cultivation world possessing a certain degree of strength dared to utter such parting threats. As for the rogue cultivators and those from the City Lord’s Mansion, only a handful muttered perfunctory remarks before slipping away.

This farce appeared to have drawn to a close, but had it truly ended?

Li Xiyan let out a soft sigh and remarked, "This time, our Li family truly gained nothing of advantage at all!"

Hearing this, Li Yan bantered with him, "What do you mean? Clearly, the biggest winner is you. Though we lost three Dao-realm elders, haven't you been promoted to fill the vacancy as a marquis-level elder?"

Hearing this, Li Xiyan glanced at him with a smile and retorted, "You are no slouch yourself. Once we return, focus wholeheartedly on preparing to break through your realm."

Understanding the underlying implication, Li Yan cupped his fists toward Li Xiyan and smiled, "Many thanks, Young Master!"

At this moment, their subordinate relationship was finally cemented, which also meant Li Yan had secured a layer of protection within the Li family. The Li family appeared prosperous on the surface, yet only they knew how many blades and rivers of blood lay hidden beneath that prosperous facade!