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Chapter 998: Chapter 968: The First Battle
Years passed in the blink of an eye, and more than three years quickly went by.
On this particular day, a Jade Slip sent from the Zhang Family suddenly flew out, and a phantom emerged from it, emitting a faint aura of authority. For a moment, all beings on Mount Wanxian found it hard to breathe.
Only to hear it say: "Within one month, hurry to the Wanxia Sea Domain. Violators will face a bounty from the Cave Abyss Sect!"
After it had disappeared for quite some time, people came back to their senses. Li Hongshi and other senior members of the family looked extremely troubled, yet had no choice but to act immediately.
In Li Hongshi’s worried expression, there was also a hint of concern. The Cave Abyss Sect could project the phantom of an Individual Immortal through the Jade Slip, and that phantom was clearly conscious!
Doesn’t that mean if the Cave Abyss Sect wanted to take action against the Li family, they wouldn’t even need to send cultivators across tens of thousands of miles, toiling for months; they could simply settle the Li family with a single Jade Slip!?
Thinking of this, Li Hongshi almost wished he could immediately throw the Jade Slip out of Mount Wanxian.
But he didn’t dare to do so, fearing that the Mount Wanxian might have left some kind of trick inside it.
Fortunately, there was still a chance to send the Jade Slip away!
The upcoming great battle was the best opportunity. By that time, on the battlefield, pretending to lose it unintentionally wouldn’t pose any threat to the Li family.
Clang Clang Clang—
A deep toll of a bell resounded across Mount Wanxian, Li Hongshi amplified his voice through a Magical Treasure, announcing: "Those who were previously selected by the drawing, be ready. Tomorrow morning, Ancestor Rui will lead the team to depart!"
The Li family had completed their drawing three years ago, and those who had been drawn all wore somber expressions; their vitality seemed to have dwindled.
Because those who were willing had already volunteered, those who were drawn were those wishing to avoid the war, and naturally, they weren’t happy.
Li Hongshi also instructed the Elders to go to the family’s major storerooms to retrieve various Spiritual Objects prepared over the years, organizing them categorically for easy access by those participating in the war.
He then promptly activated a Communication Talisman and sent it to the Spirit Realm, informing Li Zhirui about the Cave Abyss Sect’s conscription.
Li Zhirui, who was in the middle of Alchemy, detected Li Hongshi’s Communication Talisman immediately as he was preparing a Fifth-order Precious Pill, which didn’t require his full attention, allowing him to be instantly aware of the situation outside.
More than an hour later, Li Zhirui finished his alchemy and activated the Communication Talisman.
"Wanxia Sea Domain?"
Li Zhirui’s mind instantly conjured a map of the surrounding sea areas, finding that this sea domain was not far from Mount Wanxian, located directly to the east, a small area featuring numerous bays and straits.
Most importantly, the Sea Clan occupying the Wanxia Sea Domain were the Red-Clawed Thick-Shell Crabs, and from what he could tell, this clan was not very powerful; the highest cultivation level among them was merely Seventh Rank!
Having clarified this, Li Zhirui could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.
If it was only the Seventh Order Sea Clan, the casualties of the Li family might not be as severe as imagined.
Moreover, the Cave Abyss Sect would surely arrange forces to act as the main army attacking the Wanxia Sea Domain; hence, the pressure the Li family had to face would be much less.
"It’s a pity that my cultivation has not recovered; otherwise, I might have been able to try and fight the Seventh Order Sea Clan," Li Zhirui shook his head and sighed.
An uneventful night passed, and the next morning, several huge Cloud Boats hovered in the sky above Mount Wanxian.
Li Zhirui stood at the forefront of the crowd, saying, "Shuo, Feng Peng, Xian Xun, Ming Yao..., I entrust the family to you all."
Li Chengshuo was his request to stay with the family, simply because the Li family currently only had her as a Sixth-order Array Master capable of fully activating the modified Mountain Protection Array.
Before her seclusion, Jiang Fengwu had modified the original Guardian Mountain Array. However, she hadn’t done so herself; instead, she entrusted it to Li Chengshuo and other Array Masters.
Due to the hasty nature, the Mountain Protection Array was not of the Seventh Rank but could be considered a top-tier Sixth-order Formation; nevertheless, the safety of the Li family had greatly improved.
Moreover, Feng Peng was pregnant, which was the first offspring she and Xiaoqing had conceived in nearly a thousand years of being Tao partners; how could Xiaoqing allow her to participate in such a perilous war?
Li Xianxun, Li Mingyao, and others were either recently progressed in cultivation and still lacking in strength, or simply because they hadn’t been drawn, the Li family couldn’t voluntarily increase the number of Lianxu Cultivators.
The higher their cultivation, the more they needed various opportunities and trials to stimulate themselves, thereby speeding up the advancement of their realms. Thus, despite knowing the dangers of the great war, individuals like Da Qing were still very active.
"Do not worry, father/Jiu/Ancestor Rui, we will protect the family!" Li Chengshuo and the others promised.
Even though the Cave Abyss Sect had declared that during the great war, any Immortal Dao Forces taking advantage during the chaos would face pursuit by the entire Immortal Tao,
the vast East Continent was not solely inhabited by cultivators; there were many Devil Beasts as well!
Especially since the Li family was located in the Thousandfold Mountains, which strictly speaking, was the territory of the Devil Race, they were merely encroaching upon it as cultivators.
Furthermore, aside from the Devil Race, who knows if there could be Demon Cultivators in the shadows?
The previous event that contaminated Spirit Vein across the entire East Continent, involving numerous Immortal Dao Forces, had shown just how deeply Demonic Tao was embedded in East Continent!
"Before the great war concludes, the family should try to consolidate its power as much as possible, being vigilant above all."
Before departing, Li Zhirui couldn’t help but reiterate his caution several times.
"Depart!"
Following Li Zhirui’s command, several huge Cloud Boats instantly activated, generating a gust of wind that dispersed all the clouds in the sky, and in a flash, they vanished from everyone’s sight.
