Xuanjian Xianzu

Chapter 1358 Accomplice (1+12) Mastercard Sun Minghao Silver Alliance Bonus Chapter 12
As dawn breaks and the earth is gradually bathed in golden light, atop the towering pass, a man clad in black robes greets the rising sun. Beside him stands the Great Master Ziqi, bowing slightly in respect.

With the two passes breached, Li Zhouwei pressed forward. These two passes were extremely dangerous. Once they were passed, the remaining territory would be flat plains. Many areas didn't even have any formations, and even if they did, they would be easily breached with a single encirclement.

Li Zhouwei proceeded steadily and took a full day to gather all the land. When he arrived at [Eye], he could see several mountains and the Xuan City nestled among them.

He stood atop the pass, gazing into the distance. After another day, he used the Cha You probe to delve deeper, looking at the spirit dwelling in the small town. The jade box on the roof beam gleamed, and the talismans inside were constantly changing.

His heart sank slightly, and he turned around seemingly casually, smiling as he said:
"Are there any famous scenic spots or auspicious sites in Chuncheng?"

Yu Xixin cupped his hands and hurriedly said:

"Of course there are many... As the saying goes: every house and every tile is bathed in divine light, every palace and every room receives special favor. Although many are now damaged, they still have various connections. There is the [Eliminating Calamities Palace] where Emperor Liang stayed, the [Responding to Illumination Terrace] which is blessed by the Purple Qi, and even the [Divine Power Village] where Xiao Jin once lived, and the [Literary Yellow Residence] which is illuminated by the Dui Jin..."

Li Zhouwei looked up, appearing quite interested:

"Xiao Jin... Dui Jin... are they those two from this era?"

“Xiao Jin…of course, for so many years, no one has dared to touch his former residence. Only the Wang family has returned. As for Dui Jin, it is not from the Zhang family.”

Since it wasn't Kim Il, this is something worth pondering. Li Zhouwei whispered:

"That one from the Sword Sect?"

Yu Xi sighed and shook his head, saying:
"It was even earlier..."

He carefully straightened his clothes, seemingly organizing his thoughts, and after a long pause, he hesitated before saying:
"As you know, my Yu family is descended from Donghua. Changtang, the disciple of the Qingxuan Dao Master, was my earliest ancestor."

Li Zhouwei looked directly at him and said softly:

“Of course I know… My Li family stands at Wangyue Lake.”

'Looking at the Moonlit Marsh…'

This seemed to touch upon some unspoken understanding between the two. Yu Xixin lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze, and quickly closed them, as if she had sensed something, before replying:

"It is... Wangyue Yunmeng, which was once the Daoist temple of Donghua and the Daoist site of Changtang Zhenjun. At that time, people from all over the world traveled between the north and south, and it was also called [Dongting].

Li Zhouwei paused slightly.

Yu Xi thought to himself:

“Since the King of Wei has come from Jiangnan, he must know that Qingsong Temple has risen and fallen three times. The third time was the Gonghua Dao Gui and Taiyang Dao Tong. The second time was Yanhua... it would not be an exaggeration to call it Donghua. And this Duijin Zhenjun is a person from this temple.”

Li Zhouwei seemed to be deep in thought when he asked:

Do you know his Taoist name?

"This happened a very long time ago, and it involved a struggle for lineage and a battle for the throne. People in the world probably don't know about it... But we, who are in Donghua, have a lineage... This is our family's ancestor whose bloodline can be recorded, so naturally we know!"

"Under the guidance of Yanhua, His Daoist name is..."

Yu Xixin raised her head and murmured:
"Taihong".

Li Zhouwei's expression froze. He raised his head and asked suspiciously:

"How could it be this generation name!"

After all, when the Qingsong Temple rose to prominence for the third time, the True Lords of the Sun Dao lineage were only of the Tai generation. If that's the case, then the so-called Yanhua Dao lineage from so long ago... in principle, couldn't all be of the Tai generation!

Yu Xixin shook her head with a wry smile and said:
"They should have been of the 'Tai' generation, but because Lord Yingze's seniority was too high, the Sun Dao lineage was elevated... The details of the abolition and establishment of Qingsong Temple were kept secret, and many cultivators thought that my ancestors were fellow disciples of the Sun Dao lineage... This caused a lot of trouble, and later no one mentioned it much..."

Li Zhouwei's doubts vanished, but another name suddenly came to mind.

'Taiyuan.'

The words of Prince Ziya in the Great Void still echoed in his ears, and the news that Li Quewan had obtained from the Jin Yi Dao Tong sect was also vivid in his mind. This Prince of Wei soon had doubts:

'If that's the case, could it be that the lineage Taiyuan received was from the same era as this True Lord Taihong?'

Having obtained too little information, he paused for a moment, then quickly abandoned his thoughts and turned his attention to the place itself, saying softly:

"In that case, fellow Daoist must know quite a bit about this [Wenhuang Residence]."

Yu Xixin was taken aback at first, realizing his intention, but then she thought that it was normal for this person to be interested since he was in her own Daoist ancestral land, so she said seriously:

"Although the True Lord cultivates the Metal element, this place possesses the power of Yin and Yang transformation and the interplay of water and fire. For many years, it has enveloped this place, and those high-level cultivators who understand Yin and Yang and possess the supernatural abilities to harmonize water and fire all like to come to [Wenhuang Residence] to cultivate..."

Li Zhouwei raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"Oh? It's a nice place."

Yu Xixin nodded thoughtfully. The colors of the south rushed in, and the two True Immortals landed on the mountain one after the other. The one in the lead was shrouded in the light of Lesser Yin and had a smile on his face. The one behind him was older, but equally joyful. They bowed together and said:
"Greetings, King Wei!"

Li Zhouwei calmed down and said:

"Has Raoshan been captured?"

"It's captured! It's now guarded by Master Sima and His Highness!"

Qiao Wenliu stood up, looking quite pleased, and said:

"Before the two passes were breached, Long Kangyao withdrew on his own. He was quite capable, escorting those Purple Mansion cultivators away, leaving the formation empty. However, that person was stubborn. Even after asking Fellow Daoist Wu to go inside and persuade him, they couldn't convince him. After guarding the city for a while, Fellow Daoist Xun was sent inside. Finally, that local Purple Mansion cultivator, True Person Yu, surrendered the city!"

Upon hearing that the great formation was intact, Li Zhouwei nodded slightly.

In fact, so far, the battle between the two sides has maintained a limited intensity. Apart from the swift victory at Jiaoshan, no other major formation has been easily destroyed, let alone a gateway like Raoshan...

This was certainly due to a lack of unity among the various factions, but it was also something Li Zhouwei intentionally did.

While he was still preparing his men at the second pass, Qiao Wenliu, who had rushed back, recovered from his great joy but couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. He asked:

"In my opinion, with all the cultivators scattered, now is the perfect time to attack... I wonder about the King of Wei's injuries..."

All along the way, only Master Qiao had provided strong support; otherwise, Li Zhouwei would not have entrusted him with the task of dealing with Raoshan. Qiao Wenliu was now much wealthier, so his heart burned even more, yet he still felt it wasn't enough.

More importantly, this guy was extremely pleased to see the powerful families of Gu County fleeing in disarray. However, since he hadn't been humiliated to their faces, he felt like he hadn't gotten enough and was still unsatisfied. As he watched Long Kangyao and the others retreat and time tick by, he couldn't help but get anxious, fearing that Li Zhouwei's injuries hadn't fully healed...

At this moment, I was itching with desire and my face was full of anxiety. I couldn't help but say:
"Although the four borders have been lost, Chuncheng is still Chuncheng. Long Kangyao is cultivating the Flame Fire. General Yang let him go for some reason. This time we can't catch him. It's a big mistake. If we don't hurry, I'm afraid we'll lose him."

In fact, suppressing Gu You did leave him with considerable injuries, but they were by no means serious. After receiving various feedback and taking some medicine, Li Zhouwei had recovered. What made him hesitate at the second level was not his injuries.

'Yang Ruiyi let Long Kangyao go...'

This was within his expectations. After all, Yang Ruiyi's actions were already a result of Li Jiangqian's scheme, and it was impossible for him to truly offend this great master who was ranked among the top in the entire Gu County in terms of both strength and background!
Qiao Wenliu's words were not wrong, and could even be considered wise advice, but Li Zhouwei's concern was not about Chuncheng at all.

'With my army at the city gates, the powerful families can no longer risk sending their own direct descendants. Even if they send other Grand Masters, they will either be killed by me or subdued. It could be a bad thing or a good thing... The troublesome one is... Long Kangyao.'

'This person and Gu You share the same background. Although he's not as stubborn as Gu You, he's quite proud and refuses to bow his head…'

He had a lot to think about.

'Let's devise a plan first. If we can get his help, that would be best. Even if not, we must severely injure him so he can't defend himself and will turn to me to talk about Gu You. After all, this Grand Master He Shui is absolutely not to be killed. We mustn't push Long Kangyao into Qi Lanyan's position...'

'If we are forced to kill Gu You, then Long Kangyao... cannot be spared either...'

Qi Lanyan had a fundamental conflict with him, but Long Kangyao was different. Ultimately, he was still resisting based on his own pride and for the benefit of the entire Gu County.

'Although he is thinking of the interests of Gu County, these Gu County officials may not be thinking of him. If they were to fight to the death, it would be a real problem.'

Holding Gu You in his hand, Li Zhouwei had gained the upper hand. He was reluctant to kill this Great Master Heshui, but Long Kangyao was even more reluctant. Therefore, he was in no hurry and simply said:

“Long Kangyao is even faster. He is highly skilled and renowned. Now that he has returned to Chuncheng, his ability to command various supernatural powers is far superior to Pang Yi’s. If we are too hasty, we may be ambushed by him.”

As he spoke, Yu Xixin, who had been calm and focused all along, finally shook off his sleeve, tilted the black urn in his hand, and the water rushed up into the sky, transforming into a sky full of phenomena!

In an instant, the sky was as vast as the sea, which was the result of Gu You's supernatural power leaking out. This Purple Qi Great Master immediately rolled up his sleeves and poured the female fluid from his other hand into it, constantly suppressing the rising supernatural power fluctuations within.

With this, he was noticeably more relaxed. As he continued to stabilize the supernatural power within, Li Zhouwei looked up at the sky.

'However, in any case... we must first fight Long Kangyao.'

He was well aware of this. Seeing that he had suppressed Gu You, the Great Master Long Kang would definitely suspect his condition. Whether he continued to exert pressure or tried to exchange Gu You for benefits, he had to first have a great battle with the Great Master Hong Huo to demonstrate his own strength.

After all, Yang Ruiyi's decision to let Long Kangyao go back was tantamount to promising not to make a move again. If Li Zhouwei was seriously injured in his battle with Gu You, Long Kangyao would definitely not mind bringing his fellow cultivators out again to fight Li Zhouwei!
Li Zhouwei waited outside the city for two whole days, feigning great momentum but refusing to move forward, all in a scheme to lure the enemy.

'After all, a direct attack is troublesome. Let's feign weakness first... They won't believe if the injury is too severe, and they won't fight if it's too minor... Besides, Long Kangyao is already on guard and won't fall for it, but it's always good to deceive them a little...'

Li Zhouwei's only concern was that Yu Xixin's suppression of Gu You was not easy. If a major battle broke out and he lost his composure, it was highly likely that the Great Master Heshui would escape.

He waited quietly for most of the day, and finally saw the flames on the horizon slowly brighten.
He rose up stepping on the light and casually said:

"I'll go and test him first!"

In an instant, the bright Heavenly Gate shone down over the fertile land, and soldiers in golden armor stood on the clouds, with the intense sunlight pouring down. Almost at the same moment, raging flames lit up the distant mountain peaks!
Without uttering a word, the two great masters began their magical duel in the sky without warning. In an instant, the mountains trembled, fire and light intertwined, and the two colors in the sky repeatedly entangled, causing the faces of the people on the pass to change several times.

"Boom!"

Amidst the blazing sunlight, the laughter of the King of Wei echoed:

"The True Man's body is unwell and has not yet recovered, yet he has moved slightly!"

Long Kangyao returned from the east with some minor injuries and then fought a great battle with Yang Ruiyi. Although the great general of the Song Dynasty did not inflict much damage on him, it still interrupted his recovery time. The combination of the two made him even worse off.

The King of Wei's guess was confirmed; the light from the heavens grew even more intense, but Long Kangyao was not at a disadvantage, and sneered:
"Fellow Daoist's injuries are also quite severe... Without those True Immortals to restrain you, how could you possibly defeat me this time?"

One was immune to all magic, the other was as hard as iron. Li Zhouwei had already seen through his supernatural powers, and Long Kangyao also knew Mingyang's killing move. So the sky darkened, sand and stones flew, and supernatural powers intertwined like a waterfall. The two were unable to defeat each other, which made many people sit cross-legged and observe carefully.

But as the world lost its color, a thin, golden light streaked across the sky and quickly approached the city wall. It then manifested above the wall, and a man in a white-gold Taoist robe stepped out!

Li Ximing!
He rushed here without regard for the slightest loss of his supernatural powers. He had already pushed that female water spiritual artifact to its limit, which made his face slightly pale. As he watched the bright sun and the flames clashing together on the horizon, he was shocked!
He stared at it for a moment, then finally stopped hesitating. While holding up the light, he reached into his sleeve and slowly crushed the jade talisman.

"Boom!"

In an instant, all the light in the sky suddenly converged and exploded amidst the rolling flames. A dense, pitch-black color enveloped the sky, and the dark figure suddenly retreated!

"Ok?"

This was completely unexpected. Even the fire in the sky was stunned. Seeing that several divine powers had already taken off from [Eye] to come and greet them, divine powers also lit up between the counties, and tensions were high!

Long Kangyao frowned. He had achieved his goal of testing the waters. In the end, he waved his hand and retreated into the city on the wind.

Li Zhouwei returned in a blaze of light, his expression unchanged. All eyes turned to Li Ximing, who was dressed in mourning clothes, and they immediately understood why.

'I've heard... that the Li family has a very senior elder, who is this person's own grandfather... who passed away for him... and now the bad news has returned...'

As Li Ximing passed through the crowd, he heard a great deal of sighing and low murmurs of 'condolences'. Tears streamed down his face. Li Zhouwei also dismissed the crowd and entered the main hall within the spirit array with his uncle. He coughed twice, exhaling two puffs of fire, before saying:

"How is it?"

Li Ximing's face was pale, and his attire clearly indicated his death, but he didn't even have time to announce the news. He only lowered his voice and used his supernatural powers to transmit a message, saying:
'There's news from the lake…'

"The people from the grotto are approaching. Jiang Yan has been out of the pass for several days. There has been a disturbance in the Western Palace. The Shu army has mobilized and reached the desert. There is a danger of their formation being broken. Please return immediately."

Li Zhouwei had just sat down when he suddenly sat up straight, his golden eyes staring intently at Li Ximing, his expression changing several times!

Who else could say that!

Li Zhouwei, who was fighting in the north, was calm and composed. He had never looked so pale before. He fell silent for a long time, and finally returned to a cold expression.

His mind was now free of all distractions, and suddenly a sound rang out:

Yang Ruiyi is leaving.

He paced rapidly through the hall, seemingly gleaning a wealth of information from those words and deducing various changes. Looking at his uncle, he said urgently:
"Please, Uncle, go out immediately and invite Wu Miao... no, Yu Xixin in!"

……

"Congratulations, sir!"

"My lord...were so fierce that the King of Wei had no choice but to temporarily retreat..."

Amidst the chorus of voices, Long Kangyao, who had descended from the sky, appeared cold and devoid of any smugness. He glanced around, frowned at the people surrounding him, and said calmly:
"All right!"

The surrounding area immediately fell silent.

Long Kangyao's mood was somewhat indifferent:

'I feigned weakness and managed to fight him to a draw... I don't know how much of it was genuine... but it doesn't matter, Yu Xixin is determined to suppress Gu You, and may not have much strength free up...'

In the brief exchange, the King of Wei was in almost the same condition as he had imagined. He was clearly not as sharp as he had been during the initial battle, but his foundation remained unshaken.

'No wonder he dared to stay outside the city despite being injured!'

Seeing that the situation was not good, Pang Yi simply dismissed all the supernatural powers for him, led him inside, and returned to the lakeside. Fu He was still waiting for him, looking very anxious, and said:
"The Great Master! He..."

Long Kangyao didn't give him a chance to speak, and said coldly:

“Li Zhouwei is not in good condition. I didn’t have to use my full strength to suppress him. With our defenses, we can protect Chuncheng without worry. I’m sorry to trouble your father!”

Long Kangyao's words were resolute and brooked no argument. Fu He, seeing that he couldn't persuade him in a short time, was immediately disappointed. He gritted his teeth and was about to speak again when he heard laughter outside. A man had already rushed over and landed by the lake, cupping his hands and smiling:
"Fellow Daoists, it's been a long time!"

This man was dressed as a Taoist priest, with a very imposing appearance. He had a golden sword hanging at his waist and arrived leisurely, his face full of smiles.

It was Lü An!

The Lü family was also a very influential family. When they appeared, they all politely bowed, but Long Kangyao sat upright in his seat and didn't even glance at him.

There was no other reason than that Lü An's adopted son was a border criminal!

This border criminal master personally controlled the void in the east and helped Li Zhouwei ambush Long Kangyao. Although he did not directly take action, it was still an extremely disgusting thing. If it weren't for this person and this formation, how could Long Kangyao, with his supernatural powers, have retreated in such a sorry state?

The fact that Long Kangyao didn't start cursing at this moment was already a sign of respect for the Lü family!
Lu An was not known for his good temper, but since he was in the wrong at the moment, he could only soften his stance, sigh, and approach, bowing with his hands clasped:
"You unfilial son has offended Your Excellency; Lü An's crime is of the highest order!"

Long Kangyao still had a cold face—in fact, the ancestors of the Lü family and the Long Kang family had a very good relationship. Seeing that the usually arrogant Master Lü was willing to bend down, he felt much relieved, but he was unwilling to give up on the surface and turned his head away from him.

Lu An smiled, took a step, turned to face him, bowed again, and sighed:
"I, Xiao Xiu, apologize to you, sir!"

Few dared to let the Lü family call themselves "Minor Cultivator," and Long Kangyao immediately lost his temper, cursing:

"You old scoundrel, are you trying to kill me?!"

Upon hearing this, Lü An knew that the man's anger had subsided, and replied:
"No...no!"

He sighed:
"Given the situation outside, I wonder how the Great Master intends to handle it?"

"Isn't this all the big trouble your good-for-nothing adopted son caused!"

Long Kangyao cursed, but Fu He suddenly had a bad feeling and his heart grew cold. He realized that this Master Lü was probably here to cause trouble. Before he could say anything, he saw Lü An step forward and whisper:

"The reputation of Gu County is of utmost importance, but is the life of Master Gu any less important? Since it was my rebellious son who made the mistake, I, Lü, am willing to leave the pass alone and go to the west to speak with the King of Wei and do my best to save Master Gu's life..."

Long Kangyao didn't trust Fu He, but given the border incursions before, he no longer trusted the Lü family either. He remained silent, and Fu He immediately spoke:
“Great Master! As I mentioned before, the current situation is due to some supernatural being secretly colluding with outsiders… If you don’t believe me, Great Master, you shouldn’t easily trust others!”

Lu An turned to look at him.

It seemed that only now did this Lu Zhenren notice the cultivator before him. He glanced at him indifferently and said:
"What great prestige! Dare to question the crimes of the Lü family?"

Fu He was secretly alarmed, but he did not back down and said:
"Why did you confess without being asked, Master Lü? I am only concerned for Gu County, but who are you concerned for, Master Lü?"

He wasn't sure if he'd still be able to speak next time Lü An spoke, so he continued:
"Regardless of anything else, Li Zhouwei is determined to set foot on Chuncheng's soil. Once that's the case, there's no room for negotiation. Even if we get Gu Zhenren back, he will still consider it a disgrace to live by surrendering our land!"

Lu An squinted at him but didn't say anything.

Fu He's words were not problematic, but they were also the part that Lu An was most unsure about—while the Lu family cared about Mingyang's relationship, they were unwilling to be branded as ceding territory for the sake of the lobbyist!

Long Kangyao remained silent, but Fu He racked his brains, his eyes fixed on the horizon, watching the light of the Heshui River appear in the sky, and suddenly froze on the spot.

His actions were quite obvious, causing Long Kangyao to look up as well. He frowned slightly as he looked at the confluence of waters in the sky, only to hear Fu He say in a trembling voice:
"Great Master! Senior Gu...I'm afraid...something has happened to him!"

His words were utterly absurd, causing Long Kangyao to frown and sneer:
"You seem to know more about his life than I, Bu Zaotian, do!"

However, he also glanced again at the converging light in the sky, hesitant, but then heard Fu Hebai say:

"My lord, Li Zhouwei is definitely feigning weakness!"

His words, though seemingly disjointed, struck at the heart of the great master's anxieties. Long Kangyao's hesitation and calm demeanor stemmed from his suspicion that Li Zhouwei was bluffing him!
Long Kangyao said calmly:
"How could I not be suspicious? But if we both feign weakness, how can he possibly suppress me?"

Fu He said sadly:
"Has Your Excellency ever considered... how can the mighty Heshui be suppressed? And who would suppress it?"

Long Kangyao glanced at him, the coldness in his expression slowly disappearing, and said:
"It must be Yu Xixin!"

Fu He nodded heavily and said in a low voice:

"When I came out, I received instructions from an elder, who said that the Yang Qi had been formed and that there was a secret method, so suppressing Gu You would not be difficult. Li Zhouwei must be showing weakness! That's why I said... Master Gu has already met with trouble!"

"His hasty return was to lure the Grand Master into a trap. Even if the Grand Master held back, Yu Xixin would suddenly unleash his full power when the battle was in full swing, which would surely severely injure the Grand Master!"

Seeing that he had brought out his father as collateral, Long Kangyao opened his mouth, looked up at the sky, and said:
"If Gu You were dead, there would definitely be a response within the cave, and the world would surely change color. How could there only be this one strange phenomenon? It's just Gu You struggling..."

Fu He said softly:
“The banished Qi”.

He said in a low voice:
"Although Yang Ruiyi is no longer involved, there is still Yang Ruizhao. He is extremely close to the Li family and has that precious cauldron in his possession. It would be easy for him to eliminate the strange phenomena. However, since he cannot eliminate the strange phenomena of the Great Master for the time being, he can only let them leak out repeatedly, pretending to be struggling!"

"It is precisely this banished energy that makes the grotto-heavens unable to discern life and death!"

Lu An raised his eyebrows and said coldly:

"What a joke! The King of Wei values ​​talent..."

"You're wrong, senior!"

Fu He raised his head, his tone calm:
“Mingyang’s cruelty and tyranny are his true nature. Li Zhouwei loves talent, but that’s because he loves people who can be used by him… If Master Gu could be used by him, he would already be standing outside the city. Senior Long Kang will not stay outside for long. He will return to his cave. How could he not take Master Gu with him? And is Master Gu the kind of talent he loves?”

"The White Qilin is bloodthirsty and cruel. How could he bear to kill a Grand Master who cannot be of use to him, in order to preserve his own prestige? He wants to kill not only Master Gu, but also Senior Long Kang! Emperor Wei has already removed his crown and clipped his feathers. How can we not be worried!"