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Chapter 763: Chapter 769: Set Off
"We must not let these worms off the hook!"
Xiaoqing shouted with a vehement aura, "This is the perfect opportunity to warn the other clan members and prevent any more traitors from emerging!"
He had always been hot-tempered, and the only reason he had tolerated so much over the years was for the greater good—but now that Li Zhirui had successfully broken through to Divine Transformation and returned to Wanxian Island, there was no longer any reason for him to continue swallowing his anger.
"But if we simply start beheading people, it will definitely cause panic among the clan members," Da Qing immediately voiced his opinion, preferring to resolve the matter through milder means.
The two of them began to clash, each standing their ground.
During this time, Li Zhirui had not stopped the two, instead frowning in contemplation. After a while, he opened his mouth to ask, "Fengwu, those two Spirit Beasts you’ve contracted, is there any chance they could break through to the fourth order soon?"
"The Dragon Carp has been in closed-door cultivation for quite some time. It shouldn’t be more than a few years before it makes a breakthrough."
As he spoke, Jiang Fengwu understood his intention. "Are you planning to use the Dragon Carp’s Thunder Tribulation as bait to lure the snakes out of their holes?"
"But why go through such trouble? Over the years, we’ve already collected plenty of evidence, and we can take down that group of traitors anytime."
Everyone present looked at him with puzzled eyes, and Li Zhirui’s mouth contorted into a sly smile as he said, "To ensure that external forces can come in time, they will definitely send the message out at the first sign of the Thunder Tribulation forming."
"All we have to do is wait for them to send the message and take control of them instantly! Then deal with those unwitting cultivators."
He was no saint—in the hundreds of years of his life, the number of cultivators who had died at Li Zhirui’s hands was no less than a thousand!
"Jiu, are you planning to take this opportunity to make a move on other forces?"
Da Qing was the first to react and couldn’t help frowning, "Isn’t that too hasty? Offending several Nascent Soul forces all at once, the pressure on the family would be too great."
"Just a warning and collecting some interest," Li Zhirui had no intention to act.
Even though he had achieved Divine Transformation, his combat power was still limited. If he really did take action against the nearby forces, the family’s losses would certainly not be small! Moreover, it would delay his own cultivation, which might not be worth it.
Li Zhirui’s purpose in doing so was mainly to test which Nascent Soul forces were involved, and to coerce them into offering valuable Spiritual Objects to beg for his forgiveness.
"Let’s leave it at that for now; the specifics still need to be discussed," he concluded.
After discussing for several hours, Li Zhirui didn’t hold them up any longer and said, "The journey here has been somewhat tiring for me as well, so everyone can go back."
After returning to the family, Li Zhirui remained reclusive, but this time behind his courtyard doors—quietly waiting and studying the fifth-order Precious Pill recipe he had previously set aside.
His purpose in deducing the recipe for the Precious Pill was simple: to accelerate his own cultivation speed!
And in the cultivation of Divine Transformation, it differed from before. Mana was still important, but to make a breakthrough, one must gather a certain type of Primal Qi from the heavens and earth, merge it with the Spiritual Soul, and ascend to Sun God status, thereby achieving perfection of both body and spirit.
To sunificate the Spiritual Soul was already perilous enough, let alone integrating external substances. So to lower the difficulty, most cultivators would choose Primal Qi corresponding to the Laws they controlled.
This approach would also facilitate a deeper grasp and understanding of Laws, enhancing one’s battle prowess.
Before breaking through Divine Transformation, Li Zhirui was ignorant about it and had no idea where to start with the Pill Recipe, but now that he had become one of its cultivators, he had some rudimentary ideas.
But it wasn’t complete, let alone the rationality of the Pill Recipe.
However, Li Zhirui was not in a rush. He had plenty of life force and enough energy to spend on this pursuit.
And his return had also allowed the likes of Jiang Fengwu to fully calm their minds, only for the real battle to commence.
Quite soon, nearly three years had passed.
One day, a disturbance suddenly came from the peak of the mountain, and the tribulation clouds began to form, one after another.
No sooner had the tribulation clouds appeared than the spies hurriedly transmitted messages to the outside world!
But to their surprise, no sooner had they sent the message than they were captured in the next moment.
"Who are you? How dare you lay hands on me!" the external affairs elder cried out in shock, attempting to draw the attention of other clan members with his shouts and screams.
There were too few of Li Zhirui’s people to capture all the spies at the same time, so they called over Li Wenli and had him arrange trustworthy clan members, waiting for a command to take full control of everyone.
When Li Wenli saw Li Zhirui suddenly appear that day, he was startled because Li Zhirui had concealed his aura, leading Li Wenli to mistakenly believe that his breakthrough had failed. With a look of dejection, Li Wenli comforted him, "Ancestor Rui, with your capabilities you will surely succeed in the Divine Transformation, don’t lose heart because of a temporary failure."
This left Li Zhirui with a wry smile, and he released his aura, explaining, "I have already achieved Divine Transformation!"
"This..."
Li Wenli was struck dumb for a long while, unable to fully articulate his words.
Fortunately, he wasn’t foolish, and he quickly realized that Li Zhirui had made his breakthrough in the outside world; such an unexpected turn of events was sure to catch Profound Ice Sect and other treacherous forces off guard!
"There’s something I need you to handle."
Returning to the matter at hand, both their expressions grew serious.
Without any persuasion needed, Li Wenli nodded and agreed, for as the head of the clan, he couldn’t tolerate the existence of traitors and spies.
Only when he began to take action did he realize just how much the clan had rotted under his watch over the years.
Especially that external affairs elder!
The Li family was generous to their elders, with monthly stipends and various benefits that far exceeded those provided by ordinary Nascent Soul forces.
And yet, despite this, there were still elders who were colluding with the enemy!
If it weren’t for the fact that keeping him alive was of some use, Li Wenli would have dearly loved to slaughter him immediately.
----
The news from Wanxian Island spread quickly in all directions, and it was clear that the forces unwilling to see the Li family produce a Divine Transformation cultivator were not limited to just the Profound Ice Sect and the Devil Race; other powers were also involved.
The news was reported up through the ranks and quickly reached their respective sects.
"The day has finally come!"
"We absolutely cannot allow Li Zhirui to achieve Divine Transformation, otherwise the Extreme Eastern Corner will become entirely the Li family’s territory!"
"Our Profound Ice Sect would have to submit to them!"
"Humans and devils cannot coexist together. Once the Li family has a Divine Transformation cultivator, they will never tolerate a powerful Devil Race nearby. We either have to die or flee!"
If certain smaller factions still hesitated when they ’truly’ had to confront this matter, the Profound Ice Sect and the Devil Race showed no such hesitation, promptly assembling their armies and marching towards Wanxian Island!
