Shadowfell Prefecture.
At this time, the flames of war filled the sky.
Li Yunlin was levitating up from a burning forest space, while cultivators in all directions were retreating.
Within the burning forest, several elders of the Wu tribe glared indignantly at the backs of Li Yunlin and the dynasty's cultivators.
"Another great victory."
Li Yunlin looked around. Besides the soldiers on the ground, Nascent Soul and Divinity Transformation cultivators—who were rare in the secular world—flew back one after another.
Over thirty Void Refinement cultivators flew out from the space, and even in the clouds, the Spear Saint returned, stepping on his long spear.
This was merely one battlefield, which also made Li Yunlin somewhat envious.
"If our clan had such formidable strength back then, we would have charged right into the Divine Bird Tribe."
Muttering under his breath, Li Yunlin levitated up and headed toward the Spear Saint, frowning slightly.
During this battle, he had seen the Spear Saint and the Nirvana Sage Elder exchange blows, but both almighty experts stopped before going too far, clearly on guard against others.
Li Yunlin finally understood why these wars would be fought for hundreds of years once they started.
The Demoness Dairou, back then had fled without even fighting, and then there were Holy Monk Yidian and the True God of the Mountain of Esoteric Stratagems...
He had truly never seen Body Integration realm cultivators fight to the death.
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Li Yunlin said to the Spear Saint, "Senior Gu, we have found traces of the Dusheng Nunnery. Crown Prince Fei Heng is inside."
Having served under the Spear Saint for many years, Li Yunlin also knew some of Spear Saint Gu Fenghua's background.
Both this person and Basi Domain cultivated in the Imperial Capital year-round and belonged to the faction loyal to the Human Emperor, so he wasn't afraid to report this matter to Gu Fenghua.
Even if Gu Fenghua had his own motives, having joined the dynasty's power struggle and wanting to kill Fei Heng, Li Yunlin didn't think it was a big deal.
To him, the clan and the Crown Prince merely had a mutually beneficial relationship.
Attempting to save him was already doing everything humanly possible. Most importantly, he wasn't close to Fei Heng...
"Mhm."
To Li Yunlin's surprise, upon hearing the news, Gu Fenghua didn't have much of a reaction, only nodding slightly.
Seeing the confusion in Li Yunlin's expression, Gu Fenghua, who had just experienced a massive battle, smiled.
"The great war between Shadowfell Prefecture and the Wu tribe takes priority. Reclaiming our dynasty's territory is more important than anything else."
"But he is the Crown Prince."
His original plan to get the Spear Saint involved having fallen through, Li Yunlin felt indignant.
Gu Fenghua only said, "Whatever he is has nothing to do with us.
Since he wants to inherit His Majesty's position, if he cannot even evade this tribulation, then he is unfit to be the Human Emperor. Moreover, I do not want to get involved in this matter."
"Your Li Clan is thinking about this matter too simply.
The Crown Prince's status is incredibly noble, yet when he came to Shadowfell Prefecture back then, he had no experts protecting him. Don't you find that strange?"
Hearing this, Li Yunlin's brows furrowed tightly.
Gu Fenghua continued, "There are many capable people in the Imperial Capital. Take the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, for example.
They masterfully calculate the world, and their influence spreads across every part of the dynasty, yet they haven't made a single divination regarding this.
Then there is Min Tiange. How many people know that he was the one seizing the opportunity in the Shadowfell Prefecture incident, but who dares to interfere?
The Min Clan claims to have severed ties with Min Tiange, but once one's hands are stained with Min Tiange's blood, the feud is forged."
"Have we not thought about the Shadowfell Prefecture incident? We have, but we are unwilling to investigate deeply. The matters behind it are too complex.
Who allowed the Yun Clan, Bi Shihu, and the Dusheng Nunnery to run rampant? Who prevented people from saving the Crown Prince?
Once you know too much, things become difficult to handle."
Li Yunlin sighed inwardly.
Even upon reaching Gu Fenghua's realm, one still had to navigate the ways of the world.
"And do you think no one is watching us?" Gu Fenghua smiled freely.
"You've seen it yourself since coming to Deston Prefecture. Whether it is our human race or the Wu tribe, everyone is trying every possible means to break through.
Perhaps in the shadows, someone is already treating us as fish on a chopping block, intending to use us to aid their cultivation.
One misstep, and we will fall into someone else's trap, reduced to their chess pieces."
"Let alone us, Deston Prefecture is a battlefield, and in truth, with His Majesty in his current physical condition, everywhere in the world has already been reduced to a battlefield."
"If the other party hasn't revealed their trump cards, never attempt to make a move."
"..." Li Yunlin was speechless.
The people of the world would use extreme measures to break through.
Bi Shihu was like this, Yun Hongcai was like this, and wasn't even their Li Clan seeking a method to break through to the Body Integration realm?
Li Yunlin seemed to understand why these Body Integration realm almighty experts always acted timidly when fighting.
It turned out they didn't want to pave the way for others to reap the benefits.
He immediately said sincerely to Gu Fenghua, "Yunlin has been enlightened."
"Mhm."
Gu Fenghua took a deep breath and said cautiously to Li Yunlin,
"I know your Azure Cloud Li Clan harbors resentment, wishing you could tear the deserters of Shadowfell Prefecture into ten thousand pieces.
But the path of the Immortal Dao is long; only by learning to let go can you walk further."
Li Yunlin watched the back of Gu Fenghua as he left, pausing in the clouds for a long time.
Gu Fenghua's words were very indirect.
Although Li Yunlin was dull, he could still hear the hint in Gu Fenghua's words.
It was nothing more than the fact that the Shadowfell Prefecture incident involved massive implications, and ordinary people would be plagued with trouble the moment they touched it.
"Is even Gu Fenghua afraid?"
Li Yunlin muttered.
After the Shadowfell Prefecture incident came out, Chang'an had received teachings from Min Youguo's mouth, telling them to stay calm.
They had finally caught Bi Shihu with great difficulty, and had also found the Dusheng Nunnery.
Yet an almighty expert like Gu Fenghua was also telling them not to look into it any deeper, to just muddle along and let things be.
It seemed that in the eyes of many, many people, since the loved ones of their Azure Cloud Li Clan had lost their lives in someone's plot, they should simply accept the fate of dying as chess pieces.
Li Yunlin was somewhat afraid.
He wasn't afraid of the people laying out the plots, but rather afraid of his own emotions!
"I've really heard enough of this bullshit."
Li Yunlin smiled.
Whether it was Min Youguo or Gu Fenghua, they were all attempting to assimilate their Azure Cloud Li Clan—assimilating them into numbness, until they didn't even dare to have the desire for revenge.
Living too peacefully over these past few centuries had caused the members of their Li Clan to gradually emulate the dynasty's nobles.
Even he, Li Yunlin, had almost developed cowardice toward unknown enemies due to years of comfort.
"To hell with letting go! If anyone in the family dares to let it go, I'll be the first to disagree!"
"Hmph!"
Li Yunlin let out a cold snort. He immediately headed toward Gu Fenghua, asked for a leave of absence for a period of time, and then left.
Watching Li Yunlin's back, Gu Fenghua furrowed his brows.
"He's young and aggressive after all. If the matter were merely a simple vendetta, it would be fine.
But if they dig up some secret, along with the secret of the opportunity in Shadowfell Prefecture, what then?"
"So be it, so be it."
Gu Fenghua shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"My duty is to slaughter the Wu tribe and protect the human race. I only wish your Li Clan good luck."
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