Only after hearing this conversation did I understand why my father, Li Xuanxuan, always mentioned that Li Yuanjiao’s killing nature was too strong. I inhaled silently and asked:

"Who are we going to war with?"

"It’s not necessarily a great war, just an idea for now."

Li Yuanjiao chuckled softly, his eyes fixed warmly on the letter from Eastern Shanyue on the table, and gently said:

"Eastern Shanyue is now also entrenched by nobility, bloated and inept. In those days we needed these nobles to counter Shamo Li, but now that the Tian Family has accomplished its objective, keeping them around means nothing more than their embezzlement of Spiritual Objects and illegal occupation of Spiritual Fields."

He sipped his tea and said in a low voice:

"First are the pests within our clan, and second are the Shanyue nobility. Before the calamity of demons arrives, we must deal with both matters thoroughly to prevent our family from weakening later on and letting these two pests grow unchecked and strong."

————

Xiao Family, Xianyou Peak.

The cold clear pond water rippled slightly, and the Spirit Grass on the shore grew in distorted shapes. Xiao Chuting emerged from The Great Void riding a rainbow, alighting on the azure stone at the peak.

"The Upper Witch’s He Xue is indeed a three-ninth Metal Nature, truly spectacular."

Xiao Chuting stroked his beard, filled with emotion as that golden light shimmered vibrantly in The Great Void for several moments. It alarmed the Zifus across all of Wu and Yue as they marveled at this once-in-a-century phenomenon of Metal Nature dissipating.

"Qing Jifang is still too young, measuring others by his own yardstick, really thinking that all these Zifus would cower in fear of death and submit to his Changhuai Shan."

Thinking of Qing Jifang’s frightened and panicked demeanor when struck solidly by the Upper Witch’s Metal Nature, Xiao Chuting felt quite pleased within himself.

"Jiang Boqing... ever since Duanmu Kui perished, and ’The Answer Under the Mulberry to the Beggar Child’s Quest’ disappeared, he knew he didn’t have much longer to live... but didn’t want to go down without a fight."

Back then, Jiang Boqing stood out of thin air within the Great Void in Li Xia County, his presence akin to the peak of Zifu, terrifying the Zifus of the Green Pond Sect into inaction, watching helplessly as he manipulated everyone like puppets without a single voice raised against him.

Now, looking back, after eking out an existence under the Green Pond Sect for over ten years, forced to damage his own Metal Nature and snatch away the Taoist Foundation, wandering everywhere until he was forced to sacrifice his life, he could only manage to injure a junior severely, which was truly lamentable.

"It was also bad luck that just as Duanmu Kui perished, his life came to an end as well, becoming the target of many, without a chance for reincarnation..."

He took out a white jade fishing rod, placed it atop the azure stone, and was just about to activate his Divine Skills to see if there was anything good recently, when he heard a warm voice beside his ear:

"I respectfully welcome the old ancestor back to the mountain, Yuansi has come to pay respects!"

A look of resignation appeared on Xiao Chuting’s face. Despite trying to avoid it, Xiao Yuansi had managed to wait for him. In a grave voice, he said:

"Come up."

Soon after, Xiao Yuansi arrived clad in white, emanating a scent of elixirs. He had obviously just finished refining a batch of Elixir, and as he landed before Xiao Chuting, he said reverently:

"Yuansi pays his respects to the old ancestor, congratulating the old ancestor on the great achievement of his Divine Skills!"

Seeing his rigid and polite demeanor, Xiao Chuting couldn’t help but laugh quietly, asking:

"Have you come because of Li Tongya’s matter?"

"The old ancestor’s perceptiveness is exceptional, Yuansi is impressed!"

Xiao Yuansi stood respectfully as Xiao Chuting reluctantly put down the white jade fishing rod and said reassuringly, though not in the kindest tone:

"I have done all I could! Li Tongya’s fate has been set, and with various Zifus pushing him to that point, it’s not within my power alone to change it."

So he recounted the entire situation with Furious Moha, and then Xiao Chuting said:

"I have done my utmost to intervene with fate. Since Li Tongya’s fate cannot be changed, the only option is to use him to secure more benefits... Although my Xiao Family and his family share some closeness, it doesn’t warrant offending a host of Zifus and disrupting everyone’s plans over many years."

"Why must it be Li Tongya!"

Xiao Yuansi, after hearing the whole story, felt a tightness in his chest and couldn’t help but ask out loud.

"Why must it be Li Tongya?"

Xiao Chuting scoffed softly and said in a low voice:

"Perhaps it’s because his fate is fragrant and appealing, perhaps it’s because his position is at the boundary between north and south, convenient for manipulation, or perhaps he has long been readied by Moha as Provisions..."

He paused slightly, as if pondering something, with the vision of that day in The Great Void surfacing in his mind, and he silently added:

"Perhaps it’s not about using Li Tongya to lure Furious Moha... but to test the waters with some other presence..."

Xiao Chuting looked at Xiao Yuansi’s silent figure, shook his head, and sighed:

"It’s a pity that Liu Changdie, that fool, has been running east and west, from the east to the west, then from the west to the south, as if he wants to step on every inch of Yue Country’s land, stirring all these fateful connections into complete chaos, leaving nothing clear."

"Counting... there are already a two-digit number of Zifus in Jiangnan who would love to slap him to death. Complaining in the east, cursing in the streets in the west, all seething with anger yet desperately restraining themselves."

Xiao Chuting laughed quietly to himself as if he thought of something amusing, leaving Xiao Yuansi bewildered and unsure about the repeated mentions of Liu Changdie.