"You..." The Martial Emperor was momentarily furious.
The little old man jumped up in mid-air, choking, unable to get half a sentence out.
Back then, the Li family had invited him to come out of seclusion, but he remained unmoved.
It was already pretty good that the Li family wasn't backstabbing him now.
Seeing the predicament in the Martial Emperor's eyes, Li Yaozu also knew this wasn't the time for teasing.
He faced forward and asked with a smile,
"This Fairy, I wonder where you have come from? My Li family failed to learn of a celestial personage like you visiting in time, and we have been negligent toward you, Fairy.
We should be hosting a banquet to welcome you right now; to have allowed this Fairy and my Eternal Sun Prefecture's senior to fight a great battle here... it is truly a sin."
Li Yaozu's words were neither servile nor overbearing, causing Fairy Bai to pause in mid-air.
Seeing again that the bamboo-hat cultivator was not simple, Fairy Bai's fine brows furrowed even more.
In the end, she merely swept her gaze over the three of them one time and turned to depart.
"Huu, she's finally gone."
The Martial Emperor let out a sigh of relief.
But the female cultivator's decisive departure without another word made Li Yaozu and Zhuo Linlin exchange a glance, their eyes filled with nothing but gravity.
Zhuo Linlin's words held a note of anxiety. "It's the silent dog that bites, as they say. I fear the days to come will not be peaceful."
"Mm." Li Yaozu also nodded helplessly.
He looked at the Martial Emperor and smiled, "Senior Martial Emperor, since you have already come out of seclusion, I wonder if you would join us at the Li family for a gathering?"
The Martial Emperor's shifty eyes darted about. He had seen it too—he feared this female cultivator hadn't just come for Su Chen, but for the entire Li family.
If he allowed himself to be roped in by the Li family right now, wouldn't he just be a brainless beast, looking for trouble?
Just as he was about to depart like the female cultivator, Li Yaozu smiled.
"Senior must be suffering from a hidden injury. It's a pity that in a desperate illness, one seeks any remedy.
My second sister, while at the Nascent Soul realm, was already an Imperial Physician in the Imperial Capital.
If you had met my second sister many years ago, I fear the one fleeing today would have been that female cultivator."
"I have long heard that the Eternal Sun Prefecture produced an extraordinary Immortal Clan. If not for this old injury plaguing me, I would have paid a visit many years ago. Now is precisely the right time."
The Martial Emperor spoke with such righteousness at this moment—where was the old man who had just been jumping in fury?
...
[Special Event—Suppressing the Duravia Trade Prefecture Again]
[Your family utilized the matter of Su Chen, causing the Three Great Families and Six Great Sects of Azure Cloud to unite their efforts and come to rescue their disciple.
The major powers of the Eternal Sun Prefecture came along, participating in an operation as subordinate powers of the Li family for the first time.
The various families and sects jointly suppressed the twelve Regions of the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
The unity of the subordinate powers has increased; the Li family's prestige has increased.]
[Family Will acquired: 300]
[Spoils of war obtained: Soul-Refining Silk (Low-Grade Dharma Treasure)]
[Obtained Rank 5 Spirit Object: Sacred Mechanism Stone]
Half a month had passed since the matter in the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
At this time, within Merit City, the members of the Li clan were in the middle of a discussion.
"Tianyi, you kid, your luck is pretty good."
Li Yunbing looked toward Li Tianyi, who was among those seated.
Li Tianyi was startled for a moment. "Second Grand-uncle, how did you know my luck was good recently? There really was a treasure in the Nangong family's great tomb—a supreme-grade spirit artifact, hehe."
"You scoundrel! The Nangong family is a subordinate of our clan. How could you go and rob the Nangong family's immortal great tomb?"
Li Yunlin reprimanded Li Tianyi.
While Li Tianyi was shrinking his neck and taking the scolding, silently cursing himself for not being able to keep a secret, Li Yunlin's storage ring bloomed with golden light.
Golden threads floated in the air within the hall, like a needle and thread, yet they emanated a gentle aura that soothed one's Divine Soul.
"This is?" A look of joy flashed across Li Tianyi's face.
[Low-Grade Dharma Treasure: Soul-Refining Silk]
[This silk protects the Divine Soul. It can also be used to pierce one's own Divine Soul, causing the Divine Soul to solidify and be refined into a second avatar, thereby allowing the Divine Soul to fight alongside the main body.]
"What a treasure!"
As Li Yunbing explained the uses of the Dharma Treasure mentioned by the Old Ancestor one by one, Li Tianyi was even more delighted.
"This kind of rare treasure... where did First Uncle and Second Uncle dig this up?"
"A fortuitous opportunity." Li Yunbing smiled.
"My big brother and I had a competition in the Duravia Trade Prefecture and won against two petty old Daoists.
Those two old things, after some rummaging, pulled out the most useless low-grade Dharma Treasure from their sect."
Li Yunlin also couldn't help but find it exasperating, recalling the smug smile on Daoist Kongxing's face when he took out this Dharma Treasure.
"Using one's own Divine Soul to refine an avatar for battle—that truly is courting death.
The Divine Soul is incredibly fragile; if the physical body is injured, it can still heal, but if the Divine Soul suffers a heavy blow, it's real trouble.
This Soul-Refining Silk's ability to protect the Divine Soul is nothing worth mentioning... but if it's given to Tianyi to use..."
"We've struck it rich!"
Li Tianyi was overjoyed. He took the low-grade Dharma Treasure, the Soul-Refining Silk, and the Talisman of the Thirteen Profound Seals instantly appeared in his hand.
He tossed the Soul-Refining Silk into the yellow talisman, and it proved to be extremely compatible with the Talisman of the Thirteen Profound Seals.
In an instant, it was winding around the talisman, making it look as if it were inlaid with a golden border, appearing even more magnificent.
One aged voice after another came from within the Talisman of the Thirteen Profound Seals, every one of them joyful.
"What a good item! With this silk in hand, it will only take some years for me to refine a silk-body. I'll be able to reach one-third of my peak strength!"
"In just ten years, I can refine my power back to the peak of the Nascent Soul realm!"
"Ah! I'm afraid using this treasure is going to hurt a bit... It's threading a needle right inside my soul-body!"
"..."
It was unknown which senior had tried it out, but an unbearable groan came from within.
Li Tianyi hurriedly retracted the Talisman of the Thirteen Profound Seals into his body, but he couldn't stop the smile on his face.
"Thank you, First Uncle and Second Uncle! Now, when I go into tombs, it will be much easier."
Everyone was all smiles; this Soul-Refining Silk was truly an unexpected joy.
Li Xinnian, sitting in the lowest seat, interrupted everyone's joy.
He asked Li Changyao, "Grand-Aunt, I was wondering about that Peerless Art I sent back—does it have an origin?"
"Mm."
Li Changyao's expression was grave. "I had the people from the Hall of Heavenly Principle investigate it carefully. The name of this Peerless Art is pretty much the same as its origin."
"Peerless Hall?"