Chapter 508 399 Sobbing_2

"You didn't even bother to transform into something less alarming, making people tense just by looking at you," said Li Qinghong with a sigh. "You just don't look trustworthy, I have to be on my guard when I meet you."

Both Li Yuanjiao and Li Wushao froze, and Li Yuanjiao, looking helplessly at his smiling sister, shook his head:

"You really enjoy teasing me!"

But Li Qinghong grabbed him, clearly excited:

"Come on, let's have a sibling fight!"

Li Yuanjiao nodded, and the two rose into the air. Li Qinghong kept her distance, not in a hurry to draw her spear. A purple thunder spell appeared in her palm, and with a flick of her wrist, the purple light sped towards him.

A blue-gray dragon snake emerged from Li Yuanjiao, vivid and lively, with gnashing teeth and swirling tendrils, it soared with a howl.

"Boom!"

The purple thunder struck the dragon snake, causing it to roar in pain as deep blue droplets of water fell like rain, filling the sky. Meanwhile, Li Yuanjiao advanced with his sword under the protection of his Immortal Foundation.

The Jing Dragon King is quite unique. Apart from its powerful True Yuan, its water control ability could either form a water dragon snake when combined or turn into snakes, shrimps, crabs, turtles, or even weapons like swords and axes when split. Li Yuanjiao didn't have to face the thunder head-on; he simply leapt into action.

Li Yuanjiao had a slight advantage with his Immortal Foundation, but his heart was heavy as if facing a great enemy.

Others might not know his sister. They think by approaching with Thunder Cultivation they could force her to defend and prevent her from casting spells. Li Yuanjiao didn't see it that way; he hadn't seen Li Qinghong's spear technique for years and had no idea what level she had reached by now.

As expected, Li Qinghong just smiled and drew out the Du Ruo Spear. A pale purple thunder shadow appeared, fast as lightning, stabbing viciously at him. The spear shadows took the form of birds, coming in rapid succession.

"Clang!"

Li Yuanjiao drew a cyan and white sword glow, dazzling and bright. Li Qinghong, however, didn't clash with him head-on, instead she shifted into a flicking motion, sidestepping to deflect the force, and whipped her spear back with a heavy blow to the side.

"Damn it! Little sister has studied our family's swordsmanship, she knows the Moon Que Sword Arc all too well!"

Li Qinghong, more gifted in weaponry than Li Yuanjiao, executed her strikes with a combination of thunder dispersing with every move. She retreated several feet away, the pale purple shadow of her spear pressing forward relentlessly.

For many years, Li Qinghong didn't limit herself to Feather Breaker Spear or Swimming Dragon Spear Shadow techniques. Her spear moves were spontaneous, fused into her own style. Knowing that Li Yuanjiao could only astonish for a moment with a sword strike, she immediately closed in.

Li Yuanjiao struggled as his weaknesses were laid bare. He defended only with Sword Qi, while Li Qinghong's spear maneuvers heaped upon each other, each strike heavier than the last, forcing him to keep retreating.

Li Yuanjiao's face was as calm as water, his sword light flowing like water, splitting into three pure white beams of light, sharp and full of Agility.

"Three Phases of Moon Flowing Light!"

These three Sword Qi were solid and profound, with a spirit of their own, roaming through the air spontaneously. Pure white and radiant, they each trailed a stream of light as they advanced. Li Qinghong recognized them and pulled her spear back while turning around, her face lit up with joy:

"Big brother, you've mastered it!"

But Li Yuanjiao didn't respond. Instead, he sheathed his sword and swiftly drew it again, adding another Moon Que Sword Arc. Li Qinghong maneuvered her spear to fend it off, while the three beams of light danced and leaped nimbly, heading straight for her brow and abdomen.

Li Qinghong's eyes suddenly surged with purple light, and her spear erupted with intertwined silver and deep purple lightning. Loud booms filled the air as Li Qinghong swept her spear horizontally, forcefully breaking the sword light in front of her.

Two pure white Sword Qi emerged from within the rising thunder, hopping on her wrist but then abruptly dispersed.

"If we keep fighting, blood will be drawn!"

Li Yuanjiao smiled, and Li Qinghong put away her spear with a sigh, regretfully saying:

"I underestimated the Moon Que Sword Manual! This is a Fifth Grade sword technique, not something that can be solved by brute force over finesse!"

"Don't be modest, Qinghong. You might very well have been able to withstand those two Sword Qi beams."

Li Yuanjiao shook his head:

"I've only recently mastered it, and it's much more powerful. Had you returned a month earlier, I doubt I could have even injured you."

"This time I had the advantage. If you had unleashed your Mysterious Thunder or used the Purple Light Thunder Secret Technique while I was closing in, I would have been at a great disadvantage, likely injured before the battle even started, and there's no way I could have fought against you."

Li Qinghong sheathed her spear and gave a bow, saying warmly:

"In the past, Qinghong could peacefully study secret techniques and learn the spear art because I had my elder brother and Ping protecting our home. Now that Qinghong has reached Foundation Establishment, I can help my brother too!"

"It's good that you have that intention, but there's no rush for the next few years."

Li Yuanjiao looked at her warmly and replied:

"Look into the Blood Toun Fruit on one side, and... spend more time with Brother Ping on the other."

Li Qinghong silently lowered her head and grunted in response, both well aware of the unspoken undercurrent, when someone approached from below and respectfully said:

"To report to the Elder, there's a message from the desert in the west!"

"Uncle?"

Chen Donghe rarely sent messages, and calculating the time, Li Yuanjiao realized it was not yet time for a shipment of Golden Sun Radiant Origin. A sense of foreboding immediately gripped his heart.

Indeed, the person knelt down and responded:

"It's a death notification..."

...

Valley Smoke Temple.

The weather in the desert had always been dry, and Chen Donghe had grown accustomed to it over the past decade or so. He woke up as usual in the early morning and softly called out twice but received no response.

With the eyesight power of a qi cultivator being extremely acute, even the dim light did not prevent him from seeing the emaciated body of an elderly person on the side of the bed, resembling a pile of firewood, utterly lifeless.

The man paused, then fell silent for two breaths.

"Right, it's time to go home."

He packed the desk and items by the wall into his storage bag, picked up Li Jingtian from the bed, and began walking step by step to the outside of the courtyard. The sand was scorching hot on his feet, a sensation Li Jingtian always insisted he carry her over.

"Today's sun is actually mild, such nice weather in the desert is rare, a pity," he mused.

Chen Donghe carried her on his back, thinking that Li Jingtian had originally wanted to wait for this weather to travel north to see the rainier lands. Who would have thought that she would suddenly stop breathing overnight, still dying in the yellow sands?

"Cultivator Donghe!"

Temple Master Bai Yinzi of Valley Smoke Temple personally came to see him off, tears in his eyes, whispering:

"Condolences... take care..."

Chen Donghe's expression remained unchanged; he bade farewell to everyone. The cultivators of Valley Smoke all appeared deeply regretful, some with looks of pity towards him. Chen Donghe, ever the courteous man, interacted with them politely, carrying his wife through the wind.

Traveling across the desert would take several days; halfway through, Chen Donghe had to stop to wipe the dewdrops from his wife's face. Touching her, he found her skin stiff and hard like cowhide, even frosted, which was unsightly.

Li Jingtian had been dead for some time before anyone noticed.

Chen Donghe had gone out at night to gather qi at sunset and missed the time. When he rushed back, he found her clutching the edge of the bedsheet, her expression unsettled, breathless.

'Tian'er...'

Distracted, Chen Donghe found himself at West Screen Mountain, a place where earth veins were sparse and spiritual mechanisms severed. Although clouds and mists swirled overhead, painting thousands of beautiful scenes in the rosy light, it was merely a mundane mountain.

Since it was a mundane mountain, naturally, no one wished to linger. Despite how towering or precipitous West Screen Mountain was, how it single-handedly blocked the water veins from the southeast to create the Valley Smoke Desert, it remained unrecorded.

But Li Jingtian liked it very much.

Chen Donghe, familiar with the path, landed in the mountain center, parting the sparse woods. Atop the mountain, two small black stone platforms were carved, standing out amidst the misty moisture, exceptional and otherworldly. Merely turning his head, he could gaze upon the endless clouds below.

Looking eastward from this spot, not only could he see the whole of Wangyue Lake, but also several renowned Immortal Mountains, with even Lijing and Qingdu faintly visible in the distance.

This was a place Li Jingtian loved to visit, although the journey took days. Chen Donghe didn't always have the time, and each visit would leave her delighted for a long time, as if celebrating a festival.

Chen Donghe placed her on the stone platform, let out a gentle breath, and, fatigue overwhelming him, leaned against the stone wall. He propped her head on his shoulder and gazed silently into the distance, wordless.

The mountain wind howled, lonely and cold; Chen Donghe was strikingly composed, just as when she was alive and didn't speak, neither did he.

Far away, the boundless white clouds, illuminated by the morning glow, slowly turned into a sea of gold and crimson, rolling and billowing into various shapes.

The clouds drew nearer, and the black cliffs began to fade from view in the white mist, engulfing the ghastly pallid corpse and the elderly man within the moist clouds.

"Ugh..."

Amidst the vast and endless mist, a cry emerged.

A cry from an elderly man, staggering, choking, and strident with grief.