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Chapter 650: Chapter 656: Seated Meditation
The Li family on this side developed vigorously, full of vitality, but the Profound Ice Sect was facing a very unfavorable situation, even a huge crisis erupted!
Because the previous Sect Leader died so suddenly, at that time, the Profound Ice Sect was in complete chaos, only thinking about stabilizing the situation as quickly as possible, with no intention of selecting a new Sect Leader.
Therefore, each Elder carried out their respective duties and focused on their official responsibilities, but there were also some ambitious Elders who took the opportunity to seize some power.
Among them, the Great Elder, Elder Er, and Elder Liu were the most extreme!
Once the Profound Ice Sect had stabilized, the three began to openly and covertly fight each other, hoping to become the Sect Leader.
Even though sitting in that position might not leave much time for cultivation, the status was prestigious, the position exalted, and there were many hidden benefits, such as obtaining resources from the Sect for free.
You see, they were not only representing themselves but also their families and followers behind them.
In most long-established Sects, there is a significant problem: factions abound and family clans are prevalent.
After all, not all Cultivators can achieve Tribulation Transcendence; most have limited talents and might see their path become dim after breaking through to the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stages.
If they cannot advance further, what should they do with the rest of their time? Some find solace in nature, some refine their skills, and others plan to continue their bloodline.
Thus, little by little, families that parasitize the Sects are born! 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑝𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
And because their forebears hold certain positions within the Sects, they grow faster than ordinary-born Cultivators, given the same qualifications.
As time passed, these families grew stronger, controlling more rights, and became tightly intertwined with the Sects. At that point, attempting to remove them would significantly weaken the Sect, ultimately forcing a surrender to their presence.
And the Great Elder, Elder Er, and Elder Liu were from the three most powerful families within the Profound Ice Sect.
Whoever could become the Sect Leader would mean that their family would receive more resource allocation for the next several decades.
To fight for this position, the three, along with their families, caused such disorder within the Profound Ice Sect that it was enveloped in dense smog and chaos!
For instance, to catch Elder Er’s mistakes, the other two would intentionally sabotage efforts, regardless of the losses to the Sect’s interests, as long as it would bring him disgrace.
The three constantly undermined each other, and within just a year, the losses of the Profound Ice Sect were no less than during the invasion by the Devil Race!
In some respects, the losses were even more severe.
That was the loss of territory by the Profound Ice Sect!
The line of defense against the Devil Race retreated again and again, a good hundred miles backwards, and all the borders adjoining the Great Snow Mountain were withdrawn a hundred miles.
The slightly weaker Taixu Devil Race also seized several dozen miles.
It was precisely this dire situation that forced the three to temporarily put aside their internal strife and join forces against the invasion of the Devil Race, which finally halted the continuous retreat of the boundary line.
Unfortunately, this peace was short-lived; as long as the victory for the new Profound Ice Sect Leader was undecided, none of the three families could give up.
And since Bingyun’s failed Tribulation, the Li family’s attention to the Profound Ice Sect remained at a general level, but these messages were still relayed back to Wanxian Island without fail.
At this moment, Zhirui was still in seclusion, naturally unaware of these events, while Li Darong, after seeing them, felt a sense of schadenfreude but also harbored some worries.
Now, with Ancestor Zhirui, a Nascent Soul, holding down the fort, there was no possibility of infighting within the family, but what if, one day, he was no longer there?
Would the Li family also face such events?
Unfortunately, with his limited intelligence, Li Darong couldn’t come up with a good solution to suppress the occurrence of infighting and could only suppress the worry in his heart, waiting to consult with Zhirui after his seclusion ended.
——
On a remote little island.
"Cough cough, it seems I am ultimately fated not to merge with the Great Tao and am about to pass away here."
Li Zhiyue released his two contracted Spirit Beasts and said, "While I still have some strength, I want to spend more time with you."
"Zhiyue..." the Spirit Beast’s tears blurred its vision, and its heart was filled with endless sorrow.
They were not sad because they were going to die with Li Zhiyue, but simply because of her death.
"In my life, the first half was smooth and uneventful, while the latter half was fraught with difficulties,"
Li Zhiyue’s gaze was vacant as she murmured, "The clan had such high hopes for me, yet I repaid them so little. If there is a next life, I will definitely repay this kindness."
"I have wronged you more, you had hundreds of years of life left, yet now you must join me in death. That’s why, before we part, I have prepared a gift for you."
Li Zhiyue severed the Spiritual Souls of the two Spirit Beasts from her own, using her last bit of strength to return them to their original masters.
This was a method of contract dissolution recorded in the "Wanling Sutra," but under normal circumstances, no one would perform it, because it involved cleaving off the Divine Soul Origin!
It was not only excruciatingly painful, but it also led to death within a few breaths!
"This way, you can live on! And be free!"
Before her words had even faded, Li Zhiyue had lost all signs of life.
Meanwhile.
At Wanxian Island, in the back hall of the ancestral shrine.
Crack!
A delicate, crisp sound of fracture suddenly echoed in the large hall where the Life Tokens of all clan members were placed.
The clan member responsible for guarding the Life Tokens was startled and hastily rose to search for the source of the sound, his mood growing heavier the higher his gaze traveled.
Because the higher the placement of the Life Token, the older and more advanced in cultivation the clan member was.
The three highest tokens belonged to Elders Li Zhirui, Jiang Fengwu, and Li Zhixuan, all Nascent Souls.
Beneath them were the Life Tokens of Li Zhiyue, Li Chenghuo, and others.
"Ancestor Zhiyue, she..."
The clansman paused; in fact, when Li Zhiyue returned to the clan, everyone knew she wouldn’t live much longer,
Despite the anticipation, when it really happened, a faint sadness surged in their hearts.
Carefully, he gathered the fragments of the Life Token, wrapped them in silk, placed them on the Jade Plate, and strode quickly and steadily outside.
A moment later, he entered the clan’s grand hall.
"Clan Leader, Ancestor Zhiyue has passed away!"
Li Darong was taken aback, the brush in his hand dropped, staining a hard-calculated bill, but now he could no longer care about that.
"Ah!"
After a long while, Li Darong sighed heavily and said in a deep voice, "Notify all the Elders to send her off."
Since Li Zhiyue had no offspring and it wasn’t appropriate to hold a large funeral, only the Elders could preside over the event.
"Also, Wen Li, go check if Ancestor Rui is still in seclusion."
Li Darong instructed, "If he is, do not disturb him, but if he has left seclusion, inform him of this matter."
Li Wenli, a young clansman with a steady disposition, was highly regarded by Li Darong, who would recommend him as the next Clan Leader if he was able to break through to the Golden Core stage.
"Yes!" Li Wenli left to carry out the task.
