For over a hundred years, the members of the Li family had rarely gathered together.
From behind them came the sound of whimpering; it was the Tian Xing avatars, naked within the cages carried by the geniuses, as if they were carrying lanterns.
The Li family members appeared one after another on this Qilin Mountain.
Having not seen each other for over a hundred years, they had so many things they wanted to say, yet they discovered that a single glance was already enough.
Li Dalong and Xu Cuihua were nestled closely together.
Li Yaozu patted Li Yaoqing's head, and then they stood shoulder to shoulder.
Beside them was the floating red leaf, from which emanated the aura of Li Yaowen.
And behind them were the living descendants of the Li family, one after another.
Every single one of them was utterly silent, their silence heavy, their gazes fixed deadly upon the Lin Wudao within the great formation.
High above Changyang Prefecture, Nascent Soul after Nascent Soul, Primordial Spirit after Primordial Spirit, were staring at all of this.
Even the great personages in the Imperial Capital were observing from afar.
Perhaps they thought that the Li family should be immensely proud, because after a hundred years, they had finally forced Lin Wudao to cower in his shell and had left a monstrous talent like Tian Xing, one with whom no one would ever wish to become entangled in karma, in such a wretched state.
But that wasn't it at all.
The members of the Li family had weathered a hundred years of wind and frost.
Li Dalong, dragging out a meager existence among the Wu Clan.
Xu Cuihua, separated from her children for over a hundred years.
Li Yaozu, with his broken body, trekking endless miles through the harsh snowy region.
Li Yaoqing, lost and alone for five years.
Li Yaotie, enduring humiliation and carrying a heavy burden in a land fraught with peril.
Li Yaowen, a single wisp of a soul, drifting precariously with the wind and rain...
The thirteen Li family members in the Tian Xing Abode, tormented by their powerlessness and guilt.
Li Yunbing, who fears he must carry a heavy responsibility for the rest of his life under the identity of 'Jiang Chenghuan'.
Li Kuangren, a caged bird for decades.
Li Kuanghua, shouldering the fate of her brothers and sisters, constantly feeling doubly powerless.
Li Xinghuo, alone since childhood, has been forging his own path for five years.
Li Chang'an and Li Xingchen, journeying far to the Spirit Continent, drifting precariously in the wind and rain...
And there was Bai Rourou on Azure Mist Mountain.
Qingyu, bringing crabs amidst the crowd.
And Feng Mi in the Feng Royal Mansion, bitterly waiting for Li Kuangren...
They had nothing to be proud of.
Because the dead were gone.
Without the blood of their enemies, how could the resentful souls of the departed ever be appeased?!!
.....
"And you think," a voice taunted, "that by capturing them alive, you can defeat me?"
On Qilin Mountain, Lin Wudao gazed at everyone from the Li family, as well as those thousand-plus cultivators.
These people wished for nothing more than to drink his blood and eat his flesh. Yet Lin Wudao's expression remained calm.
The fear he had felt within Qilin Mountain actually dissipated in an instant upon seeing these people who hated him to the bone; on the contrary, he felt a heartfelt joy!
That's right.
These people should be glaring at him with such fury, just like the caged birds he had once raised!
However, there was no response.
Those geniuses were still just grasping the cages in their hands, inside which were imprisoned the Tian Xing avatars. And that was enough!
The Li family members were all indifferent, completely unmoved.
They were even very satisfied with Lin Wudo's current arrogance.
"Over two thousand years! I have existed for over two thousand years!"
Lin Wudao's voice rang out across the entirety of Qilin Mountain, and behind him, a ferocious Qilin phantom emerged!
"Roar!"
The Qilin phantom roared as an oppressive might from Heaven and Earth enveloped the entire Qilin Mountain, causing fierce gales to rise.
This oppressive might alone was enough to cause the expressions of the geniuses behind the Li family to change drastically, forcing them to use their spiritual power to resist.
Some were even like they had fallen into a mire, while others went so far as to spit up blood!
Even the members of the Li family narrowed their eyes; this oppressive might from Lin Wudao had surpassed their expectations.
"Do you know why the Mark of Tian Xing is upon my body?"
Lin Wudao had already deployed his Dharma Treasures.
Black armor covered his body; in one hand, he held a floating, round pearl, and in the other, a long saber. His cape whipped in the wind as his cold, arrogant voice rang out.
"Because these avatars... they were all prepared for me! Whether it's Qu Yang, Lai Teng, or any other avatar among them, they exist only for the sake of my existence!"
He seemed almost pitying.
"You have no idea how powerful I am. Do you truly think that by capturing them, you can actually fight against me? From the day the Mark of Tian Xing fell upon my body, the cultivation methods and spiritual techniques practiced by every single one of them, I know them all!"
"The Rules they have comprehended, the Domains they have cultivated—I possess them all!"
"Below the Void Refining realm," he declared, "I am... Invincible!!!"
As his voice faded, the very sky and clouds seemed to change color!
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