Translator: CinderTL
Under Song Wen's control, the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation carried the three members of the Li Clan away from Qingyi City.
Song Wen remained deeply concerned that Li Tianhe might return.
Although the shadow void posed a threat to Li Tianhe, if the latter possessed a defensive spirit treasure for his divine soul, he could withstand the shadow void's divine sense attack for a brief moment, seizing the opportunity to kill Song Wen.
This was precisely why Song Wen had avoided direct conflict with Li Tianhe.
For the next period, Song Wen moved through various remote areas to prevent Li Tianhe from cornering him with reinforcements.
As for the three members of the Li Clan, whenever their injuries showed signs of healing, Song Wen would deliver another devastating blow, crippling them anew.
Time flowed slowly, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Tianhe reappeared, once again alone.
He gazed at the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation and the three Li Clan members hidden within a dense forest, his tone dripping with mockery.
"Young whelp, you're quite adept at hiding, aren't you? Running to a place with such meager Spiritual Qi."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation spoke, "Senior Li, have you come here alone today just to mock me? What about the robber cultivator who plundered my cultivation cave? Could it be that even after a month, you haven't found a single clue?"
Li Tianhe waved his hand, and a crystal-clear, pillar-shaped object materialized in mid-air, drifting toward the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation focused its gaze and realized the rapidly approaching object was a severed arm, encased in a thick layer of solid ice, seemingly to preserve its spiritual energy.
Using spiritual power, the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation levitated the arm a meter away, its expression puzzled.
"Senior Li, what is the meaning of this?"
Li Tianhe replied, "The owner of this arm should be the robber cultivator you seek."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation scoffed, "Do you think I'm so easily fooled, Senior Li? You bring me a random arm and claim it belongs to the robber cultivator?"
Li Tianhe countered, "I'm not deceiving you. The arm belonged to an early-stage Void Refinement male cultivator who practiced a Water-Attribute Cultivation Art—exactly matching the robber cultivator's description."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation pressed, "If that's the case, why only a severed arm? Where is the rest of him?"
Li Tianhe answered, "He escaped, leaving only his arm behind."
A mocking smile spread across the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation's face.
"Senior, you are a cultivator of the Body Integration Stage, yet you allowed an early-stage Void Refinement junior to escape your grasp! Do you truly expect anyone to believe such a tale?"
Faced with the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation's skepticism, Li Tianhe remained composed, explaining calmly, "Since our last parting, I mobilized the entire Li Clan to investigate those who bear grudges against us, screening for any suspected robber cultivators. We ultimately identified four suspects. Among them, this individual appeared the least likely to be a robber cultivator. Thus, I dispatched only two Void Refinement Stage cultivators to apprehend him. To our surprise, he proved to be the most dangerous of them all, yet he still managed to escape."
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation countered, "We agreed to exchange robber cultivators for the three members of the Li Clan. Now you bring only an arm. What is the meaning of this?"
Li Tianhe replied, "The man's storage ring is on the severed arm. The items he stole from your cultivation cave should be inside. Isn't this sufficient to secure the release of my three clan members?"
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation glanced at the severed arm. Indeed, a storage ring adorned its index finger.
However, what Song Wen had lost—the Nether Fox and four Gu insects—couldn't be stored in a storage ring.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation flicked its finger, releasing a burst of spiritual power that shattered the ice encasing the severed arm. It then reached out and grasped the arm's hand.
On the surface, it appeared the Incarnation was examining the treasures within the storage ring. In reality, it was sensing the residual aura clinging to the severed arm.
After a moment, the Incarnation tucked the storage ring into its robes and stored the arm itself in the storage ring on its finger.
"Senior Li, this man is indeed the robber cultivator. The storage ring contains items he stole from my cultivation cave. However, not being able to kill him myself leaves a bitter taste in my mouth."
Li Tianhe replied, "Youngster, don't be greedy. Now that your treasures have been recovered, you should release my three clan members, shouldn't you?"
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation said, "Of course. I am not one to break my word. But I must ask you to withdraw ten thousand miles and return in fifteen minutes to retrieve them."
Li Tianhe's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Impossible. If I leave, you might kill them while I'm gone. Would I have wasted my efforts for nothing?"
"Senior, you jest," the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation said. "If I were to hand them over so easily, I fear you would strike me down the moment they were in your grasp."
Li Tianhe fixed the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation with a cold stare, then paused in thought before slowly speaking.
"Very well, I'll agree to your terms. But if you dare harm them further, even by a hair's breadth, I'll hunt you down to the Nine Nether Springs and obliterate your divine soul!"
With these words, Li Tianhe slowly retreated, vanishing into the distant horizon.
The Cosmic Transformation Incarnation leaped away, leaving Li Rui and the other two members of the Li Clan lying motionless on the ground.
Roughly a dozen breaths later, Li Tianhe returned.
He scanned the surroundings, finding no trace of the Cosmic Transformation Incarnation. Then, he descended to the three members of the Li Clan, channeled his spiritual power, extracted the Blood Luo Pills from their abdomens, and cleared the blockages in their meridians.
"Thank you, Ancestor," the three members of the Li Clan said in unison.
"Do you know where he went?" Li Tianhe asked.
Li Rui replied, "He fled westward. However, our divine souls have been severely injured. We can only sense within a few miles, so we can't pinpoint his exact destination."
Li Tianhe raised his hand and pointed toward the sky. A black gale materialized from thin air, coalescing into an enormous character for "Li" high above.
Moments later, four figures streaked in from four different directions.
"Greetings, Ancestor," the four cultivators said, bowing respectfully to Li Tianhe.
"Have any of you seen anyone leave?" Li Tianhe asked.
In his eagerness to ambush Song Wen, Li Tianhe had deployed the Li Clan's remaining four Void Refinement Stage cultivators, stationing them in hidden positions around the area to monitor Song Wen's movements.
The four cultivators exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to answer.
Li Tianhe's expression darkened with understanding, a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes.
"He actually escaped!"
One of the female cultivators spoke, her voice tinged with suspicion. "Ancestor, could it be that he never left at all? He might still be hiding somewhere nearby. After all, with all four of us sealing off the exits, it's impossible for him to have slipped past unnoticed."
Li Tianhe's eyes lit up slightly at this suggestion.
If Song Wen could conceal his aura so completely that even a Body Integration Stage cultivator like himself couldn't detect it, then it was indeed possible he had used a "golden cicada shedding its shell" tactic—feigning departure while remaining hidden nearby.
(End of the Chapter)
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