Li Yuande

The events cultivators anticipated most would all unfold on the third and final day of the Dharma Assembly.

At that time, Moonwatch City Lord Song Kaiyang would join several major powers, including the Su Family, to appear in the Mountain Grotto-Heaven. There, they would extend olive branches to the young cultivators who caught their eye.

They would bestow Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines, grant profound talismans and Dharma Treasures, and some might even be fortunate enough to receive personal Dharma instruction from Condensed Origin realm cultivators.

Moreover, at the very end of the Dharma Assembly, a Condensed Origin Spiritual Treasure known as the Dao Comprehension Stone would appear. Rumor claimed this object could help one achieve an Epiphany, allowing them to break through several realms on the spot!

Recalling the first day, even a mere quarter-hour of Dharma demonstration was enough to leave people thoroughly captivated. The personal guidance of high-level Condensed Origin cultivators and the allure of the Dao Comprehension Stone would naturally be irresistible to those in the Qi Gathering realm.

Had time turned back to the beginning of the Dharma Assembly, Yang Lingrui might have been full of anticipation and deep interest.

But now? He could only scoff inwardly.

Having witnessed Su Lingyun's conduct and the current plight of the Li Family, he understood the true faces these superiors hid beneath their disguises.

How could their benefits be so easily taken?

Before one even took a breath, they would have been thoroughly schemed against, dragging their descendants and future generations into the mire.

The Yang Family could not afford such blessings. He would not stay here to play their game.

His mind made up, Yang Lingrui acted immediately.

He first went to the Li Family's detached courtyard to bid farewell to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng completely understood his decision to leave early. Their views were surprisingly aligned; neither believed staying for the final day would bring any good.

"This is for the best," Li Cheng said. "Leaving now will let you avoid the chaotic mix of dragons and snakes outside the city three days from now."

Yang Lingrui nodded. "This trip has been greatly indebted to Brother Li's care. Lingrui and the Yang Family will remember this kindness."

Li Cheng simply smiled without answering. He waved a hand, bidding Yang Lingrui farewell.

He watched Yang Lingrui's back disappear, then sighed and returned indoors.

When he closed the door, however, he suddenly discovered someone sitting in the room.

Li Cheng stared in disbelief for a moment before hurriedly kneeling in obeisance.

"Li Cheng greets the Ancestor!"

On the main seat, an old man looked at Li Cheng with a kind smile. He was none other than the Li Family's Qi Gathering Twelvefold Perfection realm Ancestor, Li Yuande.

"Rise, there is no need for formality," Li Yuande said gently.

Li Cheng stood. Looking at his family's Ancestor, a long-unseen smile appeared on his face.

"You have borne much for the family's affairs. It has been hard on you."

"The Golden Scale Dharma Assembly is of great importance. As a junior of the Li Family, it is only natural for me to consider the family. There is no hardship to speak of. Ancestor's words are too heavy."

Li Cheng thought the Ancestor was referring to the recent matters of the Dharma Assembly, but unexpectedly, the old man spoke again.

"I am not speaking of these past few days. I mean all along. You have worked hard, Li Cheng."

Li Cheng's heart jolted. A premonition struck him, making him tremble.

"It is just a pity," Li Yuande continued, "that the fortunes of our Li Family have now run out."

His tone was utterly calm, as though he were speaking of something entirely unrelated to himself. The lake of his heart lay completely still.

"Ancestor... Ancestor..."

Li Cheng's voice trembled. He collapsed weakly to the ground and buried his head in his hands, sobbing helplessly.

He had known this truth in his heart for a long time. It was only his stubborn obsession that refused to let him surrender.

One was the Ancestor who treated him like a blood grandson. The other was the sister he had grown up with, sharing every secret.

How could he possibly abandon them both?

He had struggled stubbornly, trying every method to muddy the waters surrounding the Li Family in search of a turning point.

But hearing these words from the Ancestor's own mouth, he knew it was truly over.

Seeing him like this, Li Yuande felt a deep ache in his heart. He walked over and gently stroked Li Cheng's hair with a wrinkled palm.

"Child, do not grieve. The Li Family has fallen to this state, and the fault lies entirely with me."

"When I was young, I only knew how to bury my head in cultivation," Li Yuande said slowly. "Whenever the family encountered problems, I was never willing to divert my attention. I always thought that as long as my cultivation deepened and my realm grew higher, those problems would naturally resolve themselves. Because of that, minor conflicts that should have been easily settled rolled on like a snowball, growing larger and larger."

"Later, when my Dao path was severed, I finally woke up, but it was already too late. The family's heart had scattered and fractured. In the end, it fell to a junior like you to mend the pieces. I am truly ashamed."

"The foremost principle of a family's prosperity lies in governing the household. Unfortunately, I possess no talent in that area. The Li Family, placed in my hands, has reached its end."

Li Yuande's steady words settled Li Cheng's state of mind slightly.

He wiped his tears and asked softly, "Ancestor, is the family truly without any hope?"

"The Li Family and I are entirely finished."

Li Yuande paused, his tone shifting. "But you still have hope. And so does Qingwan."

At Li Qingwan's name, light returned to Li Cheng's deadened eyes.

Li Yuande waved his hand, bringing forth an object.

Li Cheng stared at it, his mouth falling open in shock.

It was the corpse of a young man in his twenties. Yet that was not what mattered; the key was that the man's features were ninety percent identical to his own!

"Ancestor, this is...!"

"This is the contingency I prepared for you. The Li Family can perish, but you cannot."

Li Yuande looked at Li Cheng, his eyes filled with profound gratification. "Cheng'er, no matter what happens in the future, remember my words: you must survive. You can swallow your vengeance, you can forsake the blood debts, but you must survive!"

Li Cheng's mind reeled. For a moment, he did not know what to say.

Li Yuande patted his shoulder and smiled. "As for Qingwan, I will personally take action to secure her another fifteen years."

Hearing this, clarity slowly returned to Li Cheng's eyes.

"Ancestor, how can this be done? Qingwan has long been targeted by that person..."

"Heh. More than one faction covets this old life of mine."

Li Yuande smiled calmly. "I have already struck a deal with the Zhuhu Wangchao. I will demonstrate the complete sequence of Qi-Fall Condensed Origin for their imperial descendants, and in return, they will protect Qingwan for fifteen years."

Li Cheng went entirely rigid. Looking at the old man who had always shown him such kindly devotion, two lines of clear tears spilled down his face.

His Ancestor spoke so plainly, but that was Qi-Fall Condensed Origin!

It was a march to his death!

For a Qi Gathering cultivator to attempt the Condensed Origin realm was incredibly perilous. Yet with the Li Family Ancestor's exceptional talent, he had originally possessed a true chance of success.

But during that crucial period, he had been schemed against by Lone Moon Mountain and designated as a Dao Stone for one of their genius disciples. From that day on, he had never dared to take another step forward.

As an independent aristocratic family, the Li Family had originally been more inclined to align with the Sect. Unexpectedly, the other party had not only targeted their Ancestor, but had also laid claim to Li Qingwan.

This was something Li Yuande could never tolerate. Thus, he had cast his lot with the Zhuhu Wangchao.

The so-called Qi-Fall Condensed Origin was simply a failed breakthrough from the Qi Gathering realm into the Condensed Origin realm.

It served as a viewing ceremony for others, but the cost was that Li Yuande had to use his very life to demonstrate the arts.

Before the royal scions of the Zhuhu Wangchao, Li Yuande would attempt to break through from Qi Gathering to Condensed Origin.

He would systematically lay bare every error, flaw, and misstep in the process. After enduring indescribable agony, at the precise moment the Condensed Origin was about to succeed, he would shatter his own Origin Core and allow the True Essence to tear through his body, killing him.

Such an opportunity was terrifyingly rare. Within the borders of the Zhuhu Wangchao, to find a cultivator at Qi Gathering Twelvefold Perfection with the talent for Condensed Origin-someone who possessed the ability and was willing to demonstrate the complete failure process-Li Yuande was the only one.

Observing the entire process would grant immense benefits to the viewers' future attempts at reaching the Condensed Origin realm.

It was precisely for this reason that the Zhuhu Wangchao had agreed to Li Yuande's demands.

However, his life could buy Li Qingwan only fifteen years. After that, everything would depend on the girl's own fate.

The power that had marked her stood even higher than Lone Moon Mountain, possessing a strength equal to the Zhuhu Wangchao itself.

Therefore, even with the Wangchao's intervention, they could only delay the inevitable; they could not grant Li Qingwan absolute protection.

"This is enough. If you live, Qingwan can also live. That is our hope."

Li Yuande looked out the door, his gaze drifting toward the direction Yang Lingrui had gone.

"What do you think of this Yang Family?"

Without hesitation, Li Cheng replied firmly, "They have great potential."

"Good! Excellent!"

A joyful expression surfaced on Li Yuande's face. He praised them repeatedly, then sighed leisurely. "They are all obsessed with fighting over the petty gains of this small pond, unaware that a hidden dragon already dwells in the abyss, waiting only for the wind and clouds to rise. When the carp leaps through the dragon gate, only then will they understand what the true Dao of this world is!"

Li Yuande felt a profound surge of joy. He stepped slowly out of the house and looked up at the bright moon. It was as if he had returned to his youth, filled with a long-lost sense of exhilaration.

"Cheng'er, if the Yang Family encounters hardship in the future, you must lend them a hand."

"The path to Heaven Connecting is arduous and fraught with peril. Since our family's path has been blocked, we shall serve as the foundation stone, paving the way for fellow Daoists who come after."

"In my hundred years of cultivation, I have harbored only one wish: that all cultivators in this realm might cast off the chains of this corrupted wind! That they may gaze upon the bright moon and boundless mountains, travel across the Four Continents and Five Domains, roam freely between heaven and earth, and advance unfettered upon the Great Dao!"

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