Li Wei counted on his fingers, his eyes filled with a beautiful vision of the future.
With the Old Tree leading them, these fellows could form an absolutely peerless army of development.
Just as he was scheming, Su Chen—the knowledgeable and experienced former Hall Master of the Peerless Hall—suddenly flew out over the surface of the Immortal Zhao Clan's lake.
"Something's wrong. There is something strange about this lake!"
Hearing the cry of surprise, Li Wei raised a brow and saw that the family members had already begun inspecting the surface of the lake.
He instantly descended toward the center of the lake.
The water possessed a majestic, crushing pressure, but Li Wei was naturally unrestricted. Upon entering the depths, he let out a surprised sound.
"Huh?"
Within the lake, there was another lake!
The bottom of the lake should have been pitch-black, yet here it was flowing with iridescence and shrouded in a glowing green mist.
[Fourth-Rank Spirit Item: Dao-Pattern Heavy Water]
[When used in battle, it can suppress an enemy's Spiritual power.
Cultivators practicing within it will find their minds tranquil; the Heavy Water simulates the laws of the world, aiding in the cultivation of techniques!
If the injured enter it, they can absorb Spiritual Qi to heal their wounds.
Those below the Golden Core realm cannot enter.
The lower one's cultivation base and endurance, the shorter the time they can withstand cultivating inside.]
"Good stuff!" Li Wei's eyes lit up.
In the past, the first and second layers of the Heaven-Piercing Coffin had been vital training grounds for the family's cultivators.
There, they could engage in endless combat against zombies and Flying Zombies to hone their cultivation methods and techniques.
However, as both the Heaven-Piercing Coffin and the clansmen grew more powerful, the effectiveness of this function had naturally faded.
For years now, the clansmen had relied entirely on their own efforts to cultivate.
Whether it was the "Primordial Spirit Techniques" bestowed by Heaven and Earth or "Earth-Tier Techniques," all were incredibly difficult to master.
Some cultivators at the Divinity Transformation realm, or even the Void Refining realm, might struggle their entire lives without ever cultivating a single one of these techniques to the level of perfection.
But those members of the Zhao clan... after this battle, it became clear that their true strength lay in the overwhelming power of their techniques.
Just look at Yaozu—he was instantly defeated by Zhao Wan with a single move.
Even take Zhao Qingxia: although the man was an absolute beast of a person, one has to admit his command of techniques was formidable.
"I suspect the reason they were able to cultivate to such a level relies entirely on this Dao-Pattern Heavy Water!"
...
According to Li Xinnian, this looting process would take at least a year to completely turn the entire Immortal Zhao Clan upside down.
Li Wei actually hoped it would take even longer; that would only signify just how abundant the Zhao Clan's assets were.
Spirit boats arrived one after another from the Azure Cloud Prefecture.
Cultivators at the Divinity Transformation realm personally escorted the heavy treasures, heading toward the Merit Grotto-Heaven.
Seven days passed.
The battle within the Void Refining Space inside the Immortal Domain was still raging.
However, the blood-stained ground of the Immortal Domain itself had already been scraped clean of flesh and blood.
The various families and common folk of the Azure Cloud Prefecture had a need for fertilizer, after all.
Furthermore, if such a mass of flesh and blood were left unprocessed, aside from potentially causing plagues, it would also breed evil abominations.
Li Wei took a brief glance inside and couldn't help but furrow his brows.
That Void Refining Space was a trap laid by the Immortal Zhao Clan during their siege of the Zhao Clan Ancestor.
It was filled with various formations, and nearly every Dharma Treasure in the Azure Cloud Prefecture had been employed to prevent the Zhao Clan Ancestor from escaping.
Yet, that old geezer was truly formidable.
Even with his mind clouded by various techniques and while being constantly worn down by the Seven Ironclads and the Blood Demon Lord, he was still managing to struggle.
While the battle continued here, visitors arrived from the Imperial Capital.
A spirit boat appeared in the distance; a high-ranking official from the Heavenly Palace had come.
The middle-aged official gazed in horror at the chaotic Spiritual Qi still ravaging the Immortal Domain—the aftermath of the Immortal Zhao Clan's great war—before heading toward the Immortal Grotto-Heaven.
Li Xinnian had already emerged from the Grotto-Heaven to welcome him. "Lord Hu."
This Lord Hu was a key minister close to the Grand Preceptor.
Li Xinnian nodded slightly to the official, took a step forward, and slipped a storage ring into his hand.
His face was beaming with a smile; today, he, Li Xinnian, could finally afford to be generous for once.
In the future, let's see who in this world would dare call him stingy.
"Your Excellency must be the Head of the Li family.
I have long heard that despite being less than two hundred years old, you already shoulder the immense estate of the Azure Cloud Li Clan.
Seeing you now, you are indeed a man of striking talent; dragons and phoenixes among men such as yourself are a rare sight within the Azure Dynasty."
Lord Hu silently pocketed the storage ring and spoke plainly,
"The Lord Grand Preceptor has returned to the imperial court and is burdened with heavy affairs; otherwise, he would certainly have visited in person.
His Venerable Self had long heard of the matters concerning the Immortal Zhao Clan.
The world is indeed not at peace."
Li Xinnian furrowed his brows and handed over yet another storage ring.
"Lord Hu, you serve at the Lord Grand Preceptor's side year-round.
What is His Venerable Self's perspective on this matter?"
"The members of the Li family's Hall of Heavenly Principles blocked cultivators arriving from all directions.
The Lord Grand Preceptor has some misgivings regarding this matter.
And it is not just him; the entire nobility of the Imperial Dynasty now views the Azure Cloud Prefecture with newfound respect."
Hearing this, Li Xinnian narrowed his eyes.
Within those few short words, he had already deciphered the hidden meaning.
In truth, this battle had not escaped the eyes of the many powers within the Azure Dynasty.
This outcome was exactly what they wanted to see.
Hidden World factions often caused chaos in the world, and now the Immortal Zhao Clan had been extinguished within the Azure Cloud Prefecture.
From this point forward, anyone wishing to run wild in the Azure Cloud Prefecture would have to weigh whether they dared to stroke the Li family's tiger whiskers.
As for preventing outsiders from entering... naturally, that was because his elders had long since prepared to monopolize the spoils of the Zhao clan for themselves.
"As expected, the old ginger is spicier."
Li Xinnian raised his eyebrows.
Recalling his nervousness when the war with the Immortal Zhao Clan first began, he felt a twinge of shame.
Perhaps this entire war had long been a chessboard for his elders, with every step they took being a calculated move.
"This lower official has come this time under the orders of the Lord Grand Preceptor to discuss the matter of the Crown Prince."
"...."
The corner of Li Xinnian's mouth twitched.
He had long heard of the romantic entanglement between Crown Prince Sheng and Zhao Wan.
It seemed that Crown Prince Sheng... had gone mad.
---
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