Volume One: Youthful Encounter in Humble Times Chapter 163: Fleeting Freedom

Chapter 163: Brief Freedom

When everyone woke up from the ground, the setting sun was casting its remaining glow across the earth. Among those present, only Li Xiyan and Li Yan remained to keep watch over them.

When Li Zhonghong regained consciousness, he was momentarily dazed. Stunned for a moment, he suddenly remembered Li Yu and anxiously asked, "Where is Li Yu?"

Li Xiyan replied, "The grand array was destroyed, and he vanished into thin air along with it."

This was not the answer Li Zhonghong wanted to hear. If Li Yu was dead, leaving not a single trace behind, then their trip to Tianmen Town could be said to have yielded absolutely nothing!

He shouted hysterically, "Impossible! How could he let himself die like this? I don't believe it."

Li Xiyan remained silent and glanced at Li Yan. Receiving the signal, Li Yan quickly said, "It's true, Elder. His aura has completely vanished from Tianmen Town. If he truly had a way to escape, how could his aura have vanished so thoroughly?"

Still refusing to believe it, Li Zhonghong defended Li Yu, and by extension, himself. "He is well-versed in formations; he must have mastered a teleportation array. I refuse to believe he just died like this."

Li Xiyan sighed and said, "Elder, why must you be this way? His death is an undeniable fact. Even if a teleportation array truly existed, as long as he wasn't dead, his aura would still linger in Tianmen Town. How could the Li family's tracking arts fail to find his aura?"

As long as someone who had once existed in a place was still alive, the Li family's tracking technique could read that person's aura through the spiritual essence of all things in heaven and earth.

This tracking technique was far superior to those of other sects. While other sects could not determine whether a vanished person was dead or alive, the Li family's method could at least ascertain life or death. Furthermore, it could use the true spirits of the universe to locate even the tiniest shred of an aura, and through that trace, pinpoint the person's exact location.

The people from the other five great clans looked at the visibly aged Li Zhonghong, not knowing what to say. They wanted to leave, but to just walk away like this felt somewhat improper. Moreover, Zhang Jingzhong of the five clans still kept his intention of bringing their families into the Li clan firmly in mind.

Naturally, they still needed to manage their businesses in Tianmen Town, but they could not let go of the powerful backing of the Li family either. To them, this served as both a deterrence against external forces and a form of self-protection.

Li Xiyan glanced at the people around him, realizing that no matter what else he wanted to say about Li Yu, this was not the time to express it. He said, "You all go ahead first; we will arrive shortly."

Zhang Jingzhong was an exceptionally shrewd individual; how could he not understand what Li Xiyan's words implied? With this tacit approval, his departure became even more justified.

He assured Li Xiyan that he would arrange everything properly so that when they arrived at the Zhang clan estate, everything would be fully prepared. Li Xiyan calmly accepted their goodwill. Although he was not particularly well-versed in worldly affairs, he could sense the shifting landscape of Tianmen Town and knew that the Li family's upcoming strategies in the town would inevitably involve the five great clans. Establishing connections now would actually be advantageous for them.

After everyone else had left, another elder, Li Zhongmi, said, "Third Brother, I know you wanted to bring that boy Li Xiyu back to the Li family to compensate for the losses from this trip to Tianmen Town. But things have reached this point, and we have no further way to resolve it. Right now, above all else, you cannot afford to have anything happen to you!"

Li Zhongming also chimed in, "Indeed, Third Brother. If something were to happen to you as well, it would truly become a laughingstock for the Li family."

These words completely reignited that faint sliver of survival instinct in Li Zhonghong. To him, nothing surpassed the face and pride of the Li family—even his own life had to be temporarily pushed aside.

"Yes, yes, yes. We cannot let others look down on the Li family. The Li family was born extraordinary, the descendants of immortals. No matter how fallen we become, we are not people that mere humble folks can ridicule and mock." In that instant, a glimmer of light returned to Li Zhonghong's eyes. He looked at Li Xiyan beside him and said, "Let's go back. Let's return."

On the other side, as the heads of the five great clans were walking back, Wang Guan, the head of the Wang clan, asked, "Jngzhong, are we really going to become a vassal family to the Li family? You must know that once we become their vassals, we will be nothing more than servants and subordinates to them."

Zhang Jingzhong replied, "Elder Brother, this is our only way out now. During the opening of the heavenly gate in Tianmen Town this time, our five clans gained not a single advantage; instead, we lost several of our patriarchs. Although our clans still possess hidden foundations that have yet to be revealed, do we truly have enough confidence and strength to deal with the countless external forces about to flood into Tianmen Town?"

Wang Guan lowered his head in thought for a moment, then asked the others, "What about the rest of you? What are your views?"

Chen Yu of the Chen clan spoke up, "Big Brother, I think Fourth Brother is right. If we can attach ourselves to the Li family, we will at least have more confidence when stepping out into the wider world. Now that Tianmen Town has become a realm touched by the Dao, it means the chasm separating us from the outside world has vanished. We can travel normally again. There are so many younger generations growing up; we must let them go out and see the world as well!"

Zhao Yan agreed, "That's right, Big Brother. Third Brother and the others are right. As long as we bind ourselves to the Li family, no matter how powerful the factions are that enter later, they likely won't dare to overly encroach upon our territory and influence."

Wang Guan sighed. "I understand. I just somewhat dislike the idea of becoming someone else's servant and losing the dignity of our ancestors."

Hearing this, Guo Huai said, "Big Brother, we all understand what you're saying, but we must also face reality. Our five clans have laid foundations in Tianmen Town for so many years precisely for the sake of the heavenly gate opening. We thought we could ride this favorable wind straight up to the clouds, but we never expected this outcome. Still, we must look forward. The foundations of the five clans still exist, but compared to those major families, great sects, and powerful factions, we are still far inferior. If we wish to avoid being swallowed by other forces, we must adapt to change and accept transformation. Only then can we secure a chance of survival in this chaotic world."

Hearing all four of his younger brothers urging him to look at the broader picture, the last remaining trace of hesitation in Wang Guan's heart completely dissipated. He smiled and said, "Very well, since you all say so, let us do it. Surviving in this chaotic world is already difficult enough. If we continue to cling to those illusory rules and self-mocking dignity, we will only be swallowed up by the currents of history."

Seeing that Wang Guan had finally figured it out, the other four breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The five great clans shared breath and branch. While minor frictions inevitably occurred in daily interactions, they maintained a united attitude on major matters of principle. They understood that supporting one another was the only way to forge an unbreakable alliance; if there were cracks for others to exploit, they would likely have been replaced by other forces long ago.

Moreover, they were not fools. Tianmen Town definitely harbored other secrets, the heavenly gate being merely one of them. They absolutely could not abandon this place. The heavenly gate had been destroyed, but as long as they could unearth the remaining secrets, their years of cultivation in Tianmen Town would not have been in vain.

This was the iron law jointly established by their founding ancestors when they first arrived here: competition and contests were permitted, but internal strife and division were strictly forbidden.

Over the years, they had indeed lived by this rule. They had done an excellent job, and they believed they would continue to do so in the future.

Yet, were there truly walls without chinks or vulnerabilities?

In this regard, Li Yu believed it, yet maintained a certain degree of doubt. All alliances forged through mutual benefit would ultimately dissolve because of interests!

When that grand array was destroyed, Li Yu and Shen Tang, who had appeared within it, were naturally obliterated by the massive explosive energy of the array.

However, they were not truly dead. Instead, Li Yu had used a heaven-defying technique to swap himself and Shen Tang directly into Youyi Pavilion.

A teleportation array did indeed exist there, but it was not meant to transport them to the outside world; rather, it brought them straight back to Youyi Pavilion.

When he and Chen Yuan parted ways, Li Yu had laid down the eye of a teleportation array at Youyi Pavilion. Later, when he went to find Shen Tang and plunged into the depths of the void, he had planted the other array eye there.

His mastery of array formations had been figured out entirely on his own; the Daoist priest had only taught him the superficial basics. Everything else he had learned bit by bit by studying books on formations.

This teleportation array was extremely unstable and could only be used once. Following its single use, it would shatter completely, leaving not a single trace behind.

Yet, an array just like this was precisely what Li Yu needed.

The magical technique demonstrated by the Daoist priest before his departure was an extremely profound and exquisite substitution art named "Flowers in a Mirror, Moon in the Water."

Its essence lay in the Dao of making the fake indistinguishable from the real. Once cast, the real and the false would undergo a momentary inversion. As the saying goes: when the false is treated as true, the true becomes false; the true and false intertwine, dazzling the observer so that no distinction can be made between them.

At that exact moment, the auras of Li Yu and Shen Tang had been completely transferred to those counterfeit avatars. Every superficial sign of vitality, aura, cultivation level, and even their true spirits were virtually indistinguishable from the real ones.

In the Daoist priest's usage, he would externalize his and Li Yu's true bodies to attend to other matters while leaving their fake selves inside Youyi Pavilion, preventing any clandestine observers from realizing they had ever left.

Furthermore, no trace of their auras would exist in the external environment. Once the true bodies finished their tasks outside, they would vanish from the outside world and return to the fake avatars with unimaginable speed, completing the fusion of true and false.

Whatever gains the true bodies obtained would likewise be brought back with them.

This technique could be described as ever-changing and utterly inscrutable.

After the Daoist priest passed it on, Li Yu comprehended a portion of it—not yet reaching the priest's level of mastery, but enough for him to devise a different application.

Namely, letting his fake avatar endure the attacks there while his true body was safely teleported to Youyi Pavilion. In the end, although the fake body would perish and the true body would suffer some minor injuries, compared to keeping their lives intact, it was entirely worthwhile.

Looking at Shen Tang, he smiled and said, "We have finally gained a brief moment of freedom!"