"Although the Ji Family and the Kun Family have conflicts, they wouldn’t act so ruthlessly! It must be the work of other forces!" someone speculated.

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and an atmosphere of terror spread throughout the courtyard.

At this moment, a figure rushed over from afar— a middle-aged man with an imposing demeanor, none other than Ji Hongli, the Patriarch of the Ji Family’s branch in Desolate Ancient City, with a Mid-Stage Void Refining cultivation, and Elder Ku’s brother.

"What exactly happened?" Ji Hongli appeared in the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over everyone. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Ji Chen immediately stepped forward to report. After hearing the news and confirming the Soul Lamp, Ji Hongli’s expression changed drastically, his face turning as dark as water could drip from it.

"Such audacity! How dare they target our Ji Family! Send someone to inform the main family at once, and begin investigating this matter immediately!" Ji Hongli ordered sternly.

The crowd responded in unison: "Yes!"

"Who knows the last whereabouts of Kumu?" Ji Hongli scanned the crowd present.

"I know, Elder Ku went after ’Master Li’ to seize the Celestial Puppet Spirit Token..." Ji Yang quickly stepped forward and enthusiastically reported.

"Very well! Dig up all the information on this person. A mere Mid-Stage Nascent Soul shouldn’t be the cause of Elder Ku’s fall; there must be other forces involved." A hint of ferocity flashed in Ji Hongli’s eyes as he instructed.

"Patriarch, here is the detailed information on this person. He is not just any Nascent Soul cultivator; he is an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, quite renowned in Desolate Ancient City. The Kun Family, Profound Celestial Sword Array, Taiyi Sect, and Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion all want to recruit him. Moreover, the Nine Demons Sect has placed a bounty on him at the Celestial Secret Pavilion, valued at five hundred thousand top-grade Spirit Stones." Ji Yang took out a Jade Scroll and respectfully handed it to Ji Hongli, introducing it.

Upon hearing this, Ji Hongli took the Jade Scroll and swiftly browsed the content with his Divine Sense.

"Good, good! That old fool Kumu is truly reckless for provoking such a person. Really... really..." Ji Hongli, after understanding the information about Li Mu, was so furious he couldn’t speak.

...

Kun Ling, from the Kun Family, rushed back to the Post-God Garden of Tianshang Supreme in a hurry.

"Kun Ling, why are you so flustered? Did anything happen to Friend Li?" Tianshang Supreme frowned, putting down his work and looked at Venerable Kun Ling, whose presence was somewhat disordered, in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Venerable Kun Ling forced a bitter smile, not knowing what to say.

"Friend Li is highly skilled, capable of persuading a Tier Seven Cyan Jade Ginseng King, gathering five Five Elements High-tier Demon Beasts, and refining Lifebound Spiritual Treasures for them. He commands the five Demon Beasts as if they were his own arms and could effortlessly set up a Five Elements Grand Array." Venerable Kun Ling took a deep breath, regained his composure, and explained.

"Hmm?" Tianshang Supreme was slightly startled, not understanding his meaning.

However, through Venerable Kun Ling’s description, Tianshang Supreme immediately realized that he would also have quite a hard time against a Five Elements Grand Array set up by five high-tier Five Elements Demon Beasts.

"Kumu has fallen! And fallen at the hands of Friend Li, possibly along with Xueming and Yin Jiong, the two Refining Void Ancestors from the Nine Demons Sect, perhaps they too were his doing. We underestimated this young friend’s capabilities!" Venerable Kun Ling smiled bitterly and said with emotion.

"What! Kumu has fallen!" Tianshang Supreme thought he had misheard and asked for confirmation.

"Yes! The Ji Family has suffered a great loss now!"

Venerable Kun Ling nodded affirmatively, smiling somewhat gleefully.

"How could this be? Why didn’t you intervene? With Kumu dead, he has completely offended the Ji Family. Friend Li has created a huge trouble!" Tianshang Supreme was momentarily dazed, his expression changing dramatically.

"Can’t be stopped, absolutely can’t be stopped. I already spoke to ease the situation. It’s all Kumu, that old bastard’s fault, valuing his Magical Treasure more than his life, probably relying on some life-saving divine technique! Who knew, Friend Li saw through it in an instant, and his body ended up in the mouth of a beast!" Venerable Kun Ling sighed helplessly and explained.

Afterwards, Venerable Kun Ling recounted to him how Li Mu killed Venerable Kumu.

...

After listening to Venerable Kun Ling’s detailed account, Tianshang Supreme was speechless for a long time, never expecting that his lifelong rival, Venerable Kumu, would fall at the hands of a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator. It was utterly absurd!

However, Li Mu killing Venerable Kumu meant he completely offended the Ji Family, hence the thoughts of recruiting him into the Kun Family were now out of the question.