Chapter 1167: Resolve And Bearing (II)

Situ Mo's face remained fierce and agitated, his eyes still frantic. The hand forming his next spell art stuttered for a moment from a breath of relief, and even the gray cord slowed.

Li Chenghui took the chance to ride the lightning several steps forward, compelled by Situ Mo's spirit artifact to cross the river.

Boom!

As the broad expanse of the river appeared ahead, the brows of the master of the Golden Tang Gate slowly rose. The gray cord in his hand burst into dazzling light as streams of runes flowed from the mountain-and-river patterns engraved upon it. They gathered in the air into strands of pale golden radiance that descended like silk. Clearly, a wondrous mechanism had been set in motion.

It was not too rare for Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators to wield spirit artifacts in battle. Ning Heyuan of old had been one such example, and he even possessed an ancient spirit artifact. Yet in cultivation, combat proficiency, and the harmony between spirit artifact and Dao lineage, Ning Heyuan was clearly inferior to Situ Mo.

Now, as that mystical power unfolded, Li Chenghui immediately sensed distortion on all sides. It felt as if he were trapped within rolling mountains and winding ravines. The gray cord continued to expand and spread, bringing down streams of pale golden light from the heavens, locking onto him through the vast great void.

Situ Mo was no easy opponent, and at this point there was no choice but to press forward. The Golden Tang Gate master was beginning to feel confident, and was already calculating his next move,

The Mountain-Dimming Peak-Moving Cord must never remain in my hands. Once we reach the lake, Li Zhouwei will not be able to stand by. Even if he truly has shut himself away, Li Xuanxuan will be forced to rouse him.

Once he appears, I'll strike him with the Mountain-Dimming Peak-Moving Cord, brand Li Chenghui with a Purple Mansion Realm talisman, abandon the spirit artifact, and flee!

Situ Mo was certain that as long as the Mountain-Dimming Peak-Moving Cord was no longer in his possession, the scrutiny from the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators upon him would diminish by ninety percent.

As long as I do not flee while carrying the spirit artifact, nor hide within the great formation of the Purple Mansion Realm at Mount Tangdao in the north, but instead head straight for the Eastern Sea, I will surely survive! After all, I can still use this to bait out Li Ximing! As long as I remain useful, I can live!

Situ Mo truly lived up to his reputation as one who had climbed from the status of a concubine's son to the position of sect master. Even in this hopeless situation, he had found a sliver of life.

He no longer feared what Li Chenghui might do; he only stared quietly at the man's back as he thought,

Li Zhouwei will appear sooner or later. When he does, it may not even bring calamity but it will at least save your life. There is no one under heaven who does not cherish their own life, and it is not even his death I seek in exchange.

Situ Mo's gaze remained fixed upon Li Chenghui. Despite the suppression of the spirit artifact and the safeguarding talismans, Li Chenghui knew full well that to stop meant certain death. However, doubt once again stirred within Situ Mo,

But the Li Family binds its descendants with bloodline and ancient morality, and Li Zhouwei is the family head. Who can say if Li Chenghui is not the sort of stubborn fool willing to die rather than yield?

At that thought, he silently hid a cluster of golden needles within his sleeve, infused them with mana, and called out in a chilling voice. "Li Chenghui! If you dare to die, I'll turn and kill Li Minggong instead!"

Li Chenghui's figure was streaking across the river's surface like lightning, but came to an abrupt halt. Situ Mo's cold voice rang out, "Don't think I wouldn't dare. The esteemed Daoist Masters would only call me sensible!"

Li Chenghui's eyes widened slightly, his lacquer-black pupils fixed on his foe. One hand was raised with joined fingers, suspended four centimeters before his chest, while the other extended backward in the same posture, each holding a golden talisman between its fingers.

The talisman before Li Chenghui suddenly flared, blasting out deep azure light that was weighty as stone and as solemn as an ancestral temple. It was none other than the Earth Virtue and Azure Manifestation Dao's Blessing Art!

Meanwhile, the talisman behind him shone with intense black light, shadowy as a forest's shade and as eerie as a shaman's temple. It was Concealment of the Shamanic Talisman Dao.

Shamanic Talisman Dao Golden Talisman!

The stack of Shamanic Talisman Dao golden talismans brought back by Li Xuanfeng from the Great Ning Palace was counted among the Li Family's prized treasures. Several of the Li Family's direct descendants carried them. Li Xijun had once used the Transformation talisman to take on the guise of Guo Hongyao, and now the remaining two kinds had finally found their use.

Once the Earth Virtue Azure Manifestation Blessing Art was activated, it immediately turned into a heavy golden radiance that flowed across his body. The transformation was not drastic, but when paired with the black light of the Shamanic Talisman Dao's Concealment art that surged from Li Chenghui's form, it halted the gray cord suspended above in midair.

Normally, once a spirit artifact locked onto a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator through the great void, escape would be utterly impossible. Yet at this moment, Li Chenghui seemed to vanish from the world, slipping free from the golden radiance and rising aloft upon lightning.

Good! I've shaken it off!

thought Li Chenghui.

Li Chenghui clearly remembered the purpose of the Shamanic Talismans. When Li Xizhi had brought them back, he had explained that the Concealment talisman was derived from the Purple Mansion Realm divine ability known as Untraceable Presence, and its greater function was to evade the Purple Mansion Realm cultivator's divinations.

They can no longer calculate my whereabouts!

Li Chenghui understood perfectly. The current chaos was born from the great families pushing and getting pushed by one another as they fanned the flames. Now, no Purple Mansion Realm cultivator would personally employ a divine ability to trace either Situ Mo or himself.

My family's Purple Mansion Realm cultivator stands in the open, watched by all. None wish for their own family to lose peace for another four hundred years. If they can't divine my next step, that grants me the freedom to act!

Only then did his figure emerge from the golden light. Situ Mo jolted in alarm, but his eyes had already turned golden. He stepped forward as a golden needle shot from his sleeve, scattering countless golden threads of light in all directions.

His reaction was astonishingly swift. The dharma artifact had long been hidden within his sleeve, and the instant Li Chenghui drew his talismans, Situ Mo was already casting his spell, almost in perfect unison.

Li Chenghui's sudden move would have caught any ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator off guard and created a brief opening for escape. But the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators had chosen their blade well. Situ Mo was a man tempered by hatred and hardship, honed too sharp and far too quick.

Clang!

The tens of thousands of beams released by the golden needle extended for several kilometers in an instant, and a crisp sound of impact came from the east.

The sound had yet to echo back when Situ Mo, sensing through the link between his dharma artifacts, twisted his head sharply. His venomous eyes were bloodshot, golden light gathering within them as they shot forward like twin arrows loosed from the string.

A chill spread down Li Chenghui's back.

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to the days of his Qi Cultivation Realm, when he guarded a small island in the Eastern Sea. The waves had been vast and ceaseless, the sunset golden-yellow, and he had held the family history in his hands, able to recite every passage by heart.

Later, when the Golden Bowstring[1] was stationed at the Eastern Sea, he remained on the island and would not emerge. When Situ Chen arrived, he was deceived and slain, unable to return. Upon hearing the news, Cheng[2] looked back and said, 'When my late granduncle still lived, he had long worried over this man, could not rid him, and once spoke a warning that I still remember.'

Liao[3] said, 'I would hear it in full.'

Cheng replied, 'Judging by his resolve and bearing, he will surely become a future calamity!'

1. This should be referring to Li Xuanfeng. ☜

2. Referring to Li Xicheng. ☜

3. Referring to Li Chengliao. ☜