Silence.

On Hanyun Peak, the stillness was only broken by the delicate friction of falling snowflakes and the pitter-patter of raindrops, interweaving together as a pale blue light flowed past, filling every pupil.

Yu Mugao’s complexion was as pale as a sheet of paper, silent and speechless.

The scene unfolding before him was shockingly profound—the Yu Family’s inherited treasure, the Foundation Establishment Magical Instrument known as the Jade Smoke Mountain, floated listlessly in mid-air, reverting to its original form and spinning quietly. Yu Xiaogui had ceased his mournful wailing, eyes tightly shut, face ashen as gold leaf.

Between Yu Mugao’s palms shone the brilliance of mana, tirelessly working over the dreadful wound at his father’s waist; the smooth and even injury left by sword qi barely kept his father’s life force intact, his lips trembling, not daring to lift his head.

In the sky, Li Tongya stood with his sword, his gaze sharp as a blade, silent. The Yu Family members below were speechless, and it wasn’t until several moments later that a tinkling sound—the clear and pleasing sound of metal—rang out.

It turned out that a Fetal Breathing Cultivator on the ground had finally broken free from the sword light, panic-stricken, lost their magic artifact; the ordinary people fared even worse, throwing down their weapons and kneeling on the ground, bowing their heads in surrender. Suddenly, noises of disorder and commotion rose, creating chaos.

Li Tongya’s gaze remained calm, quietly swallowing the blood that welled up in his throat, still without moving an inch. This sword strike had also taken its toll on him, but he simply stood there, silently enduring, not daring to show any signs of fatigue.

The oppressive force of Jade Smoke Mountain roiled over his wrist, and his Sea of Qi Acupoint churned incessantly; his cultivation level leaked away as if there was a breach, causing his limbs to stiffen, unable to move.

The mana from Hua Shang’s fruit that had been injected into the Sea of Qi relentlessly clashed with his True Yuan, raising huge waves in the Vast Sea within him. Blood almost spilled from his mouth several times, and Li Tongya’s vision began to blur, feeling unbearably tight in the chest and unable to speak.

Just then, a few strands of light emerged from the bottom of the Qi Sea, and a White Pill bounced out, shining brilliantly with light, casting a bright radiance all over the Sea of Qi Acupoint.

"Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed..."

The light from the Talisman Seed shone brightly, suppressing all the turmoil in the Qi Sea; only after a long while did Li Tongya relax slightly, a flicker of peculiar light flashing in his eyes. He turned the Green Peak around and sheathed his sword.

"Clang!"

The Green Ruler Sword was sheathed and the group of cultivators finally relaxed, looking like they had survived a calamity. Glancing at each other, they then realized that they were sweating profusely and shaken to the core.

Li Tongya’s hair was disheveled, his face handsome as if the sword strike had been something casual. Holding the Green Ruler in his arms, he spoke courteously and gently:

"Considering the face of Yuanwu Peak and Yu Muxian, Tongya will not hold your family accountable for this transgression."

His eyes were bright and clear, devoid of any harshness. Yet, no one from the Yu Family dared to meet his gaze. Li Tongya continued in a gentle voice:

"I ask that your family withdraw your forces."

Yu Mugao cautiously picked up his unconscious father and his gaze swept over Li Tongya’s white robe fluttering in the wind, the pale blue sword light flashing through his mind. He rose on the wind, paused in front of Li Tongya and said:

"Thank you, senior, for showing mercy."

Yu Mugao seemed to have fully digested the shock of what had just occurred, his face still stained with tear marks. He looked deeply at Li Tongya, then whispered softly:

"Leave!"

The Yu Family members, as if pardoned, did not dare to lift their heads and scurried off after him, heading south. Cheers erupted on Hanyun Peak as men and women embraced each other, weeping for joy.

Yu Mugao only looked at his father, Yu Xiaogui, lying pale in his arms until they had left the Fei Clan’s territory. Then he saw Yu Xiaogui open his eyes and say hoarsely:

"What a great idea you had."

Seeing the listless and faintly-breathing Yu Xiaogui, Yu Mugao knew his father’s life hung in the balance and that at the very least, his father’s path as a cultivator was cut short and his days were numbered. He lowered his head silently, without saying a word.

Yu Xiaogui struggled to stand up, brushing away the hand of his eldest son, Yu Mugao, who gave a bitter smile and sighed deeply,

"Li Tongya should only have the strength for one strike, but I dare not gamble anymore!"

His figure appeared desolate and lonely, like a gambler who had lost all his money at the table. The Yu Family members standing nearby shivered silently upon hearing this, exchanging glances before lapsing into a quiet mutual agreement.

————

"What a pity."

Li Tongya’s body was already a chaotic mess inside, barely maintaining balance. Fortunately, the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed shone brilliantly, forcefully helping him maintain his condition.

Li Tongya held his sword and slowly descended, watching the retreating figures of the Yu Family members and muttered,

"Yu Mugao is a major threat to my family, it’s just a pity I no longer have the strength to strike, otherwise, I would have killed him... even if it gave Yuanwu Peak and Yu Muxian a pretext."

He was already at the end of his tether, clinging to life within his Cave Mansion. When Li Yuanjiao reported up, Li Tongya understood that he had no choice but to take action.

"If we ignore the Fei Clan, the Li Family will certainly be next. Once Yu Mugao loses his concerns, coupled with his unpredictable and vicious methods, I fear there will be greater disasters."

Li Tongya left the Cave Mansion, intentionally accumulating his imposing aura, and approached riding on a Jiao-Snake Sea Beast, hoping to intimidate the members of the Yu Family and avoid conflict as much as possible.

He had the advantage of both time and location, and with the celestial phenomena triggered by his cultivation level, he had already deterred everyone. Even Yu Xiaogui was frightened by the renown of his sword’s defeat of Maha and considered retreat.

It was just that Yu Mugao’s loud shout startlingly awoke everyone, prompting Yu Xiaogui to test Li Tongya with a strike. Li Tongya’s cultivation, which would remain stable if undisturbed, collapsed like a river bursting its banks once he acted, dropping drastically.

Li Tongya watched the Yu Family members vanish into the horizon before he withdrew his gaze and looked towards the "Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Great Formation" before him, admiring the intricate patterns without a word.

As the Yu Family members fled in disarray, the Fei Clan members finally breathed a sigh of relief, but just as they thought the dangerous star in the sky had diverted his attention, they all immediately tensed up again, looking at each other uneasily.

Fei Tongxiao’s heart was filled with terror as he stared directly at the young man in the sky with loose black hair, holding a greenish-white longsword. With the "Cloud Gathering Southern Sky Formation" separating the inside from the outside, although he faintly heard some words, he still couldn’t believe it.

"Did the Yu Family members say... this is Li Tongya?"

The young man’s eyes were bright, his features handsome, and his stature was tall and straight. The sword qi in his hand stung Fei Tongxiao’s eyes, and he said with mixed emotions,

"Who is that?"

"Li Yuanyun?... No... Li Yuanyun has no Spirit Aperture... This is really Li Tongya!"

Fei Tongyu had seen Li Tongya from a distance at the Li Family once before, but back when Li Tongya gained some fame, he had already appeared middle-aged, so it also took him a moment to recognize him, guessing,

"Perhaps after Li Tongya defeated Maha with his sword, he obtained some unknown boon? With a significant rise in his cultivation level, he has become young again... It’s not unprecedented in South River."

While the two brothers were at a loss, Li Tongya already began to stir his mana and said warmheartedly,

"Tongya has come to pay his respects. Please open up the formation!"

The two brothers were both stunned, looking at each other for a few moments. They could see the unease in each other’s eyes, and the same question emerged in their minds. In unison, they asked,

"Open it?"

"Or not?"