[Your descendants, the Seven Ironclads, after many years in the Tian Xing Cultivator Abode, have cultivated various types of shamanistic techniques and Demonic Dao techniques!]
[For many years, Li Yunbing sent the totems obtained from the border wars to Li Yaotie for forging. These were crafted into seven Wu Clan Totem Demonic Pillars.
Now, in a culmination of their long-accumulated potential, they have all broken through to the Nine-Nine Nascent Soul realm in union!]
Compared to Li Tianyue, the breakthrough for the Seven Ironclads was remarkably easy.
They stood upon their totem pillars, laughing wantonly and allowing the lightning tribulation to crash down upon them. Even when the lightning injured their bodies, they recovered almost instantly.
However, due to the unique characteristics of their bodies, the seven of them only reached the Mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Faintly, one could see scale-like things appearing on their bodies, making them look less like human.
[Your descendants, the Seven Ironclads, having integrated with numerous Wu bones, have had their bodies undergo a mutation. Trait Acquired: Demon-Wu Human Body.]
[Can switch forms at will. The Demon-Wu Body enhances both physical strength and shamanistic techniques.]
...
The Three Thieves, who had once been a huge headache for the Wu Clan and a source of endless trouble for any faction that opposed the Li family, also began their breakthroughs.
Li Tianming had gone mad a long time ago.
"Why are you striking me?! You dare to strike me?!!"
Li Tianming's entire body was wreathed in black Qi. The moment the lightning tribulation struck him, the expressions of the other Li family members changed. They could only watch as, like a madman, he charged directly up into the thunderclouds, intent on settling his accounts with Old Man Heaven...
However, seeing Li Tianming just randomly stabbing deep within the thunderclouds with his dagger, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
[Your descendant, Li Tianming, after many years in the Tian Xing Cultivator Abode, was unable to complete his 'A Kill Per Day' requirement to suppress his innate 'Bad Seed' trait. He has now become thoroughly consumed by madness.]
[Due to being imprisoned by his clansmen for many years, he has acquired the traits: 'Let Me Out', 'Frenzied Desire', 'Killing Machine'...]
[Your descendant Li Tianming is a heaven-sent prodigy. If he were ever allowed to fully indulge his desires, a great demon would be unleashed upon the world. Breakthrough achieved: Nine-Nine Nascent Soul realm!]
These various traits made Li Wei's scalp tingle with dread.
[Trait: A Moment of Clarity]
[Even in the deepest madness, there are moments of calm. When the frenzy recedes, a brief moment of clarity will be restored. Effective for one quarter-hour per day.]
"Old Ancestor, please rest assured. Yaoqing's medical skills are growing ever more superb; one day, she will be able to help Tianming recover." Li Yaowen, as considerate as ever, had instantly perceived the Old Ancestor's worry.
"Good."
Li Wei nodded slightly.
To the side, Li Yaoqing pursed her lips. She had wanted to say that Tianming wasn't sick, just purely wicked, but after seeing her parents glare at her, she decided it was best to hold her tongue.
Li Wei, too, could tell that Li Yaowen was only trying to comfort him.
Tianming's affliction... it truly was beyond cure.
Setting aside the matter of Tianming for the moment, he saw in the distance Li Tianqi, carrying his tortoise shell, also charging towards his own lightning tribulation.
Li Tianqi was always adept at navigating life-or-death crises. In the past, this child had relied on nothing but his tortoise shell and refused all external aid.
Now, however, with the full assistance of the clan, his tribulation too was that of the Nine-Nine.
As for Li Tianyi...
For many years, he had always relied on the assistance of the "Old Grandfathers" within his body to slay his enemies.
As a result, his own intrinsic strength was actually the weakest in the family. By constantly relying on this external power, he had neglected his own cultivation.
His clansmen had warned him about this time and time again, but the boy stubbornly refused to listen.
It was likely that he alone would be unable to pass the Nine-Nine Nascent Soul Tribulation.
However, Li Wei didn't say much. In truth, as long as his clansmen could do what they truly wanted, that was enough.
If Li Tianyi wanted to go dig the graves he wanted to dig, so be it. He would always have his family at his back as support...
However, just as the Li family members turned away.
They saw Li Tianyi slowly set his zither down in mid-air. A single note sounded, and the souls of many seniors came forth on the wind!
The souls of those seniors entered his body, and in that instant, Li Tianyi's entire aura transformed!
He turned. Under the knitted brows of the other Li family members and the somber gazes of Li Wei and Li Yaowen, he looked off towards the distant Qilin Mountain.
In the center of Li Tianyi's brow, a diamond-shaped crystal appeared.
It was the mark that had appeared after the seniors from the Azure Cloud Pavilion of one hundred and thirty thousand years ago possessed his body. With a single pluck of the zither, the red mist surged forward like a wave!
A deep and resonant voice issued from Li Tianyi. "Hahaha! This old man, on behalf of all the masters of Azure Cloud, has come to see the Lord Imperial Preceptor and the Lord Grand Tutor!"
On the ground below.
Everyone was watching the compass-like site of the Li family's lightning tribulations on Qilin Mountain.
The essence Qi of Heaven and Earth was still surging towards the mountain.
Then, as Li Tianyi's deep and resonant voice rang out, they abruptly saw two figures appear outside the red mist!
They were the men who truly stood at the pinnacle of the Azure Dynasty: Imperial Preceptor Min Youguo and Grand Tutor Lin Jiu!
"They... how did they get here?"
Prince Feiheng let out a cold snort. Previously, he had still held a measure of respect for these two "Pillars of the State," but after seeing them allow Tian Xing to run rampant and commit evil, he had secretly grown dissatisfied.
If not for the Li family, he thought, the Tian Xing of today would have long since broken through to the Void Refining realm.
And then, he feared... There would no longer be a "Tian Xing" in the world, only that Old Daoist Baimei on Azure Mist Mountain, and that old Daoist would be even more terrifying than Tian Xing himself!
The Imperial Dynasty was in peril, and it was all thanks to these two.
.....
This time.
Li Tianyi stood bathed in the lightning tribulation. Possessed by the many seniors of Azure Cloud from one hundred and thirty thousand years ago, he stood before the other Li family members, facing the arrival of the two great personages.
These seniors of Azure Cloud seemed to be exceedingly familiar with these two great figures...
Behind him, the Li family members within the red mist exchanged a look. Even the descendants in the midst of their tribulations all gave a slight nod.
Afterward, they bowed in unison towards the two great powers.
"Greetings, Lord Imperial Preceptor, Lord Grand Tutor!"
Those two great lords stopped far outside the lightning tribulation and the red mist, both remaining grimly silent.
They glanced at the numerous Tian Xing avatars pierced through by the Old Tree, and then at Tian Xing himself, who was kneeling on the ground, clutching his head in agony.
The essence Qi of Heaven and Earth still surged as the Li family members frantically siphoned away everything Tian Xing had arranged over the past ten thousand years.
Min Youguo and Lin Jiu both stood with their hands clasped behind their backs.
They then stared gravely at Li Tianyi. It was as if they could see the remnant souls upon his body, and among them, they seemed to recognize familiar figures, causing a flicker of reminiscence to pass through their eyes.
"The old seniors of the Azure Cloud Pavilion," one of them murmured. "I truly never imagined that after one hundred and thirty thousand years, we would still have a day to meet again."
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