The Wu tribes had invaded.
Countless cultivators were fleeing, and the common people of the Shadowfell Prefecture were retreating as well.
Crowds could be seen rushing through the forests, carrying simple bundles.
Yet, amidst the throng, there was a young woman in a yellow skirt carrying a handsome young man on her back.
While such a sight was strange, in this desperate flight for survival, no one paid them any mind.
"This is the Breath Concealment Pill from Second Great-Aunt. Once taken, one becomes indistinguishable from the dead.
We have used a decoy to fake Fei Heng's death and secure his escape. No one will be able to trace him.
"Do not attempt to use Spiritual power to fly. Blend in with the crowd; amongst them, you are like ants—the least conspicuous of all.
You are a Body Cultivator, and with the leaf from the Old Tree, unless they use a specific detection artifact capable of seeing through disguises, no one will be able to detect you."
"Then what about you, Aunt?"
"According to the battle deduction, the odds of victory are seventy percent.
If we win, have Fei Heng return; the Wu Tribe will be unable to invade my Azure Dynasty again for a thousand years.
If we lose, the Old Ancestor will naturally take me away to escape."
"Hehe, Aunt has won battles all her life; this one will surely be a victory."
"..."
The scene of that day's escape replayed in her mind.
Li Kuanghua carried Fei Heng on her back, fleeing alongside the common people.
As she fled, her eyes suddenly went blank.
She felt a sudden palpitation of terror in her heart, followed by numbness as she walked mechanically forward.
On her back, Fei Heng was in a deep sleep, yet his eyelashes trembled.
A single tear slid down from the side of his nose, dripping onto Li Kuanghua's shoulder.
Seeming to sense the dampness on her shoulder, Li Kuanghua halted.
With bloodshot eyes, she set Fei Heng down against a tree.
Staring at the slumbering Crown Prince, her eyes turned crimson; she reached out and strangled him with a death grip.
Within moments, veins bulged on Fei Heng's forehead, and his face flushed beet red.
However, upon turning her head to gaze back in the direction of Shadowfell City, Li Kuanghua lost her strength. She hoisted Fei Heng onto her back once more.
.....
In the Eastern Border, the battlefield was dyed in blood.
Today marked yet another massive clash between the Imperial Army of the East and the Duskwild Prefecture Army; the entire Eastern Border had thoroughly become a chessboard for the struggle between the two sides.
Aboard the Imperial Dynasty's Spirit Boat.
Old General Dongfang Liancheng suddenly sensed a scent of blood rising on the wind, causing him to let out a long sigh.
"Madman Li was not wrong back then. With Tianyue gone, the Eastern Border is now filled entirely with people harboring hidden malice."
As he spoke, a general arrived to deliver a report.
"Reporting to the Old General! The Western Border... the Western Border has fallen!"
"What?!!"
Dongfang Liancheng's face turned ashen in an instant, and his expression darkened further after he inquired about the details of the battle.
The report stated that the Wu Tribe's Sage Elder had slaughtered his way into the Shadowfell Prefecture, and the Crown Prince had fled.
He hurriedly asked, "What of the Blood-Robed General?"
The subordinate shook his head.
"The hidden faction, Lotus Ferry Nunnery, as well as Prefecture Lord Yun Manlou and Marshal Bi Shihu, have all fled. It is presumed that General Li has fled as well."
"They... fled?!!"
Dongfang Liancheng's mind went blank.
"If Tianyue intends to fight, there must be a chance of victory. How could they flee?!!"
The subordinate had never seen the Old General look so desolate, as if he had lost his soul.
He hurriedly said, "Old General, the Wu Tribe broke all conventions and attacked suddenly. Fleeing was a desperate last resort."
But Dongfang Liancheng's face flushed red with rage—that was not what he meant!
Li Tianyue had served under his command for many years.
He knew perfectly well that since Li Tianyue had laid out a battle formation, she surely had preparations made.
The 320,000-strong army of the Eastern Border had followed Li Tianyue there.
Those high-level experts could abandon the Soldiers, but what about Li Tianyue?
"If she were the kind of person to abandon her soldiers and flee, those 320,000 Soldiers would never have followed her in the first place!"
"Everywhere under the heavens is the same. Perhaps back then I shouldn't have... shouldn't have let you go to Shadowfell Prefecture... shouldn't have..."
Dongfang Liancheng raised his head and closed his eyes.
.....
On this day, the members of the Li Clan, who had weathered so many storms together, suddenly felt a tremor in their hearts—no matter where they were located.
In the Netherworld, Li Dalong and his wife, who were meditating cross-legged in a lava cave, exchanged a glance.
Xu Cuihua suddenly clutched her chest, her beautiful eyes filling with an inexplicable sorrow.
She slumped against Li Dalong's chest, only to sense that her husband's soul was trembling violently today as well.
She raised her head slightly, only to find Li Dalong staring blankly, his gaze just as lost as hers.
"Husband, my heart is unsettled..."
"Mn."
Li Dalong nodded stiffly, ultimately letting out a long sigh.
He had experienced this feeling before; he never wanted to experience it again, yet it was something he could never escape.
.....
Deep beneath the earth of the Auric Empire.
The Seven Ironclads were currently concealed in the depths.
They had been fighting for the Empire and the Cultivation Alliance to earn high commissions, aiming to cultivate the Void-Soul Exchanging Dao Technique.
At this moment, the Blood Demon Lord stood before them.
Demonic fire surged around their bodies as they engaged in closed-door cultivation.
Suddenly, they all opened their eyes.
Li Yundou, in particular, lost his usual playful demeanor. He simply clutched his chest tightly.
The members of the Seven Ironclads looked at one another and sighed in unison.
"It is Tianyue."
A look of conflicted struggle appeared on Li Yundou's rugged face.
Many of the children in the clan were the offspring of the seven of them.
The closer the bloodline connection, the clearer their sensation became.
Their children had died one by one; they thought they had grown numb to it, but in the end, the pain in their hearts remained.
The clan members often cursed them for siring children without raising them. But was it truly that they didn't want to raise them?
It was simply that back then, they had succumbed to bedevilment and lost their humanity.
It was simply that so many of their descendants had lost their lives, and the heartache was unspeakable.
.....
Within the Family.
Li Yaotie, who was in the midst of forging iron, left his massive hammer hanging in mid-air, unable to swing it down no matter how hard he tried.
Beside him, his assistant Bai Rourou slumped weakly to the ground.
Inside the world within the Spirit Gathering Cauldron, a figure suddenly appeared.
Li Yaoqing had been feeling unsettled all day, so she had come to this place.
Already filled with worry, seeing Old Third and his wife in such a state caused her expression to darken even further.
"Second Sister... Second Sister..."
Li Yaotie stiffly turned his body around.
Li Yaoqing saw that this grown man, Old Third, was trembling—his lips quivering, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice shaking.
"Second Sister... why do people have to die?"
Li Yaoqing did not know how to answer.
The family was almost entirely comprised of Old Third's children.
With his bloodline now spread far and wide, every year brought news of children losing their lives to various accidents.
The white-haired burying the black-haired—this was simply something all cultivators had to face.
"Let's go, Old Third."
Li Yaoqing pursed her lips. "Big Brother is at the Sword Pavilion and cannot make it back in time. We are going to Shadowfell Prefecture... to bring Tianyue home."