No sooner had the Demon Lord left than another visitor arrived outside the spirit pool. Today seemed to be quite a busy day for visitors.
Clad in armor, Li Xinghuo approached. Seeing that Uncle An had finally awoken from his secluded cultivation, he hurriedly informed him of Li Xingchen's return.
"Why did he come back?" Li Chang'an furrowed his brows, his heart filled with sheer irritation.
First, his son had taken his daughter-in-law out into the world and rarely returned home over the centuries. Second... the Blood Moon had arrived.
The family had deliberately withheld the specific details regarding the Blood Moon, not even mentioning the immortals, entirely to keep him safe overseas.
Everyone knew Li Xingchen loved travel and adventure, and they indulged his temperament.
While the elders often jokingly scolded his unreliable nature, they never interfered behind his back; allowing some children to live freely and unburdened was a good thing, too.
"It's because of that disappointing child, Xinri."
Li Xinghuo let out a bitter laugh and recounted the events in the Central Plains one by one.
Li Chang'an's expression did not improve in the slightest. Even if Xingchen hadn't arrived, with the methods of Kuanghua and the Hall of Heavenly Principles, they could have easily rescued Xinri.
"Never mind." Li Chang'an waved his hand dismissively. "He is free-spirited by nature; there's no persuading him."
"Yes, Uncle An."
Li Xinghuo gave a slight nod, contemplating sending a message to instruct Xinri to find a way to send his eldest brother back out to sea.
But amidst his thoughts, Li Chang'an chuckled.
"In a few days, go find Xingchen. You two brothers haven't seen each other in many years; you should catch up.
And you must make a trip to the Northern Frontier. You have old ties with Lin Jiu, so you'll certainly be able to ask some questions."
Li Xinghuo voiced his compliance.
He could faintly sense that Uncle An was deceiving him.
If he went to see his eldest brother and then headed to the Northern Frontier, how could he possibly come back? Uncle An might even ask the Grand Tutor to bind him securely in the Northern Frontier.
With Azure Cloud Prefecture hovering on the brink of life and death, Uncle An was carving out an escape route for them.
However, this also stirred a thought in Li Xinghuo's mind. There was no need to worry about Xinri in the Central Plains, and Xinjue was far too sharp.
Pondering it over, he figured he should send Zhijing to the Northern Frontier as well, though he'd have to devise a clever scheme to trick that shrewd girl.
Before he could finalize his plan, the uncle and nephew abruptly raised their heads. The City of Merit had received friends from afar.
......
In the family hall, Li Changsheng and Li Chang'an sat in the seats of honor, while Li Xinghuo stood to the side.
The only sound in the hall was the scraping of teacup lids against their brims.
The three guests were all old friends.
They were Gongyang Ju, who had fled after Uncle Rain's attack back then; Zhao Guang of the Immortal Suppression Department; and Wenren Jiuyue of the Wenren family.
Following their initial greetings, up until the tea was served in the hall, they only exchanged glances, without another word spoken.
The Li family members waited for them to speak, but the guests found it difficult to open their mouths.
Ultimately, under the threatening glares of the two mighty figures, Gongyang Ju gritted his teeth and cupped his hands toward Li Chang'an.
"Brother Chang'an..."
But before he could finish, Li Chang'an interjected, "The three of you have endured a weary journey. Did you come by sea, or by land?"
"By... by land," Gongyang Ju lowered his head.
"By land, meaning you passed through the Western Frontier and came from beneath the Blood Moon." Li Chang'an smiled.
"The three of you are quite capable. For us Southern Frontier cultivators to cross the Western Frontier to reach the Central Plains is a journey of near-certain death.
The Blood Moon of the Western Frontier is far worse than poisonous miasma, yet you three actually arrived in the Southern Frontier completely unscathed."
"It seems you are all perfectly clear on what has happened beneath the Blood Moon, as well as the current situation in the Southern Frontier."
Gongyang Ju sighed.
"Then let us speak frankly. Myself and these two lords were sent by Her Majesty the Empress.
Her Majesty's intention is for everyone here to temporarily evacuate Azure Cloud Prefecture."
"Evacuate?" Li Chang'an remained expressionless.
"Correct."
Wenren Jiuyue smiled.
"Her Majesty the Empress's grace is vast and mighty. Mindful of the Li Clan's utmost loyalty to the nation, she sent the three of us to request the Li Clan's withdrawal from Azure Cloud.
Her Majesty has already located a vast expanse of land in the North Sea for the Li Clan to thrive on.
To this end, she is gifting five Tier-3 spirit veins, more than enough to sustain the Li Clan for tens of thousands of years."
Li Chang'an remained speechless.
Seeing this, Zhao Guang, who was familiar with the Li Clan members, urged,
"Perhaps everyone in the Li Clan is unaware of the situation beneath the Blood Moon, so allow me to explain.
Do you know how powerful the three great totems of the Wu Tribe are? Yet, all three great totems have already been swallowed by the Blood Moon.
Even... even the so-called totem faiths of the Moon Dragon Tribe, the Divine Phoenix and the Golden Dragon, have both been imprisoned."
To the side, Li Xinghuo's expression changed.
Having eradicated demons in the Northern Frontier, he knew a bit about the Wu Tribe's situation.
The totem faiths of the Wu Tribe were all absolute top-tier experts of the Wu Tribe.
The Divine Phoenix was actually a phoenix that had been deified through the faith of the Wu Tribe; looking at it now, it should be a half-immortal.
As for the Golden Dragon of the Moon Dragon Tribe, that was a Wu Tribe member who had swallowed an entire golden dragon.
Of the Twelve Totems and Twelve Ancestral Wu, not a single one was simple. Yet two such existences had actually been captured!
Li Chang'an pondered for a long time before finally giving a response, "Alright."
"This..."
The three of them, who had prepared numerous arguments, were stunned.
Li Chang'an continued, "The three of you have read our minds. I wonder, did you bring the Tier-3 spirit veins with you?"
"Brother Chang'an jests. How could we carry something so important on our persons?"
Wenren Jiuyue's expression darkened.
"Once the Li Clan relocates to the North Sea, everything will be delivered. Her Majesty the Empress is a woman of her word."
"Very well, I will relocate immediately."
The three envoys from the Imperial Capital hesitated for a moment, still finding it hard to believe.
They subsequently discussed the details of the relocation in depth before heading out of the city, their hearts full of doubts.
They still couldn't believe Li Chang'an was so agreeable, not asking a single other question.
As soon as the guests stepped out the door, the clansmen exchanged glances.
Li Chang'an took a deep breath and locked eyes with Li Changsheng, who had remained silent the entire time. The two of them shared a smile.
Li Changsheng turned to Li Changyao and said:
"Send the message. Since they are not friends, do not let them walk out of the Southern Frontier."
---
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