https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-165-Prelude-to-a-New-Battle-Outside-Li-Part-2-/12586906/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-167-166-Do-As-You-Please-I-Can-Handle-It/12586908/
Chapter 166: Real Men Never Look Back at Explosions
Chapter 166: Real Men Never Look Back at Explosions
Apart from Liang Chen, there were four others.
Lei Jun recognized three of them as disciples of the Li family, and the other was Liang Chen's personal disciple.
Among the three Li disciples, one wore a deep red Daoist robe and was already an ordained disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion named Li Zhusheng. Lei Jun recalled that he was a personal disciple of his fourth grand-uncle, Yao Yuan, from a distant branch of the Li family.
Seeing their search party, Lei Jun immediately thought of the "Celestial Net".
"This area is so desolate. Where could Tang Xiaotang be hiding?" Li Zhusheng scanned the surrounding mountains, his brow furrowed.
Liang Chen, on the other hand, focused on the incense stick in his hand.
As the incense burned, the pale blue smoke rose into the sky, swaying incessantly.
"She shouldn't be too far away. Let's search more carefully."
Liang Chen said, "My master mentioned that this area might contain a blessed grotto filled with pure yang energy. If that's true, it means we're on the right track. What we lack is the exact location."
Li Zhusheng also turned his gaze to the pale blue smoke rising from the incense, "But the incense is already more than half gone..."
The Celestial Net was inherently a precious jade that emanated a wondrous fragrance.
However, to utilize its tracking capabilities, one needed to pair it with specially prepared incense sticks.
The group split up while holding the incense sticks, maintaining their connection to cast a wide net.
The preparation of these incense sticks was no easy task, and after much effort, Li Song and the others had only managed to create a handful.
Moreover, as the incense burned, the wondrous fragrance emitted by the Celestial Net was gradually being consumed.
Once the incense sticks were completely burned, the scent of the Celestial Net would also dissipate.
"So, we must hurry." Liang Chen looked left and right at the surrounding mountains, "If we get a response on our side, our master will immediately know the exact location through the Celestial Net and can arrive here in no time."
The Grand Elder Li Song has personally come to this place... Lei Jun hid nearby, listening quietly.
It seemed that Tang Xiaotang's seclusion had stirred quite a reaction from the Li family.
Their intentions went beyond merely disrupting Tang Xiaotang's seclusion.
It appeared that they were prepared to take more direct action, even resorting to physical means to eliminate this potential yet enormous threat if necessary.
They were willing to take the risk of incurring Xu Yuanzhen's revenge in the future.
If they succeeded, they would only have to face Xu Yuanzhen in the future.
If they failed or did nothing, they would have to face both Xu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiaotang.
Since they were taking a gamble, it was inevitable that a high-achieving elder like Li Song would take matters into his own hands.
Not only was Tang Xiaotang exceptionally talented, but her combat abilities were also formidable.
It was uncertain who would prevail in a direct confrontation.
With Li Hongyu in seclusion and Li Zhengxuan away from the mountain in search of the Celestial Master's Sword, the only high-achieving elders of the Li family were Li Song and Li Ziyang.
For Li Ziyang to have a chance against Tang Xiaotang, he would have to bring the Celestial Master's Robe with him when he left seclusion.
Given the current situation, the Li family seemed to have taken a more conservative approach by not allowing the Celestial Master's Robe to leave the ancestral court of Longhushan so easily.
Naturally, that left only Grand Elder Li Song, who had to support his old bones and come here personally.
Lei Jun became even more cautious in hiding his presence.
Li Song, an elder of the Daoist Sect with the cultivation base of the Eighth Heaven Realm, was also somewhere in these mountains, not too far away.
However, it was uncertain on which side he was located.
For now, as long as they maintained a certain distance, it should be fine.
But if they made a significant commotion, there was a possibility of attracting Li Song's attention.
Among the current group, Li Zhusheng and the others were not a concern. However, Liang Chen was Li Song's proud disciple, renowned alongside Xia Bo and others as one of the pillars of the Celestial Master's Mansion among the elders. He had cultivated to the Sixth Heaven Realm of the Daoist Seal.
Of course, Liang Chen and Li Zhusheng were also wary.
After all, the Tang Xiaotang they were searching for was also a cultivator of the Upper Three Heavens.
"Don't panic. If we do find her, we'll play it by ear."
Liang Chen instructed Li Zhusheng and the others, "If Tang Xiaotang is fully focused on her seclusion, that would be for the best. We'll just need to inform our master.
If she becomes aware of us, let's not say much. Just mention that we happened to pass by and coincidentally met. Remember to keep your minds clear and don't overthink things!"
Li Zhusheng and the others nodded solemnly.
Although they didn't know the full details, they had heard enough to be cautious.
That heavenly gifted girl had an abnormally keen perception of people's intentions.
Otherwise, with her temperament and character, she might have been deceived countless times despite her extraordinary talent.
"Once we find her, everything will be up to our master. We don't need to worry about anything else." Liang Chen reminded the group.
Li Zhusheng pressed his lips together and nodded slightly.
There were some things that Liang Chen didn't need to say, but they all understood.
With the Celestial Net connecting them, Li Song would be exceptionally clear about their situation.
If they revealed their true intentions in front of Tang Xiaotang and angered her to the point of losing their lives, Li Song would also perceive it immediately.
With everyone so close by, even if someone tried to hide their intentions, they couldn't escape Li Song's notice.
In that case, Li Song would rush over immediately.
However, the problem was that the dead couldn't be revived.
If they truly lost their lives, Li Song could only avenge them, but he couldn't bring them back to life.
One had to be cautious and vigilant to protect their own life. Carelessness could be fatal.
"I wonder how the situation is on the north and west sides," someone muttered.
"Let's focus on our side," Liang Chen said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Hidden in the shadows, Lei Jun also nodded slightly.
The net of the Celestial Net was cast wide.
Listening intently, Lei Jun learned that in addition to Liang Chen and Li Zhusheng searching the southern area, they had also dispatched two other teams to cover the northern and western directions.
Judging from this, it seemed more likely that Elder Li Song was stationed to the east, in the Yuxiu Mountain Range.
So, he was the one who drew the short straw?
The luck of the draw was relative to Lei Jun's situation; he had inadvertently stumbled into the eastern sector guarded by Li Song and, due to this coincidence, might find himself in a tricky situation.
But it wasn't a completely hopeless scenario.
Li Song's primary target was still Tang Xiaotang.
However, this development meant that the other three teams had drawn the short straws. Where had this additional danger come from?
Lei Jun's thoughts raced.
The Li family members seemed unaware that another peril was drawing closer to their location.
Fortunately, Liang Chen and Li Zhusheng had good luck on their side.
Out of the three teams spread out like a celestial net, they had chosen the relatively safer southern sector, indicating a stroke of moderate luck that would likely spare them from disaster.
But...
Lei Jun watched Liang Chen and Li Zhusheng quietly.
A bunch of troublemakers...
With the specifics of the timing unknown, everything had to be done swiftly. Lei Jun immediately began his preparations.
"Isn't that place called Dengfeng Ridge?"
Liang Chen surveyed their surroundings and finally gazed towards the south, "Let's go over there and take a look..."
As he spoke, he suddenly fell silent, concentrating and sensing something intently.
Li Zhusheng and the others first examined the incense stick, noticing that the pale blue smoke wavered upwards without any apparent deviation.
"Such a faint pure yang energy, and besides that, there's a hint of a familiar feeling. Could it be..."
Liang Chen was taken aback, turning his head to look north.
He glanced at the Dengfeng Ridge to the south before turning back north, "Is it over there?"
Li Zhusheng said, "Going north, there's a river called Longqing River. Logically, the chances should be slim, right?"
Liang Chen pondered, "Not necessarily, there might be a hidden world at the bottom of the river."
Should they continue south as planned, leaving the north to their fellow disciples, or should they also turn north to investigate?
Liang Chen was a favored disciple of Li Song, so he wasn't concerned about taking credit or glory.
However, the celestial net was most effective when the searchers were closer together, creating a denser web and increasing the chances of finding their target.
Therefore, if they could narrow down the search area, they ought to support their fellow disciples and tighten the net.
The celestial net also consumed a lot of energy, leaving them no choice but to hurry.
With this in mind, Liang Chen made a decision, "Let's go take a look."
Holding the incense stick, he headed north, with Li Zhusheng and the others following suit.
After searching for a moment, Liang Chen's furrowed brows relaxed, only to crease again moments later:
"It truly is pure yang energy, and that other familiar feeling is the aura of the Nine Abyss Earth Fire! But they're both extremely faint..."
Tang Xiaotang's cultivation technique was indeed the fire-based Earth Law Scripture.
The similar aura piqued Liang Chen's interest as it closely resembled their target.
But it was too faint for him to be certain if Tang Xiaotang was in that direction or had merely passed by earlier.
"Let's inform Master and let him decide." Liang Chen made up his mind.
The group of five temporarily stayed in the mountainous area.
Lei Jun took a slightly longer route, but he was rushing towards the south and Dengfeng Ridge with all his might.
He had spent a little extra time to ensure his safety, hoping that he could still avoid the impending danger.
As for the clues that Liang Chen and the others had discovered...
The pure yang energy came from Lei Jun's own spiritual power.
With his Yin-Yang Holy Body, he could maintain a balance between the two forces or shift his focus to one side.
To ensure absolute safety, Lei Jun also borrowed a bit of the power and insight from the heavenly book to generate a small amount of genuine pure yang energy.
It wasn't a large amount, just enough for Liang Chen to detect.
As for the aura of the Nine Abyss Earth Fire, it originated from the first layer of the True One Law Altar.
It wasn't the actual Nine Abyss Earth Fire.
Lei Jun didn't need the real thing, as it might attract Li Song too soon and cause Lei Daoist to be unable to evacuate in time.
Attracting only Liang Chen and the others was enough.
As for what they would encounter, Lei Jun didn't care.
Even if they turned back north promptly, it wouldn't matter.
But for now, it seemed they were heading north.
Hmm, that was fine too, as there was a sixth-grade opportunity there.
Elder Lei Zhongyun was always caring towards his fellow disciples, fostering camaraderie within the sect. Hence, he bestowed upon Elder Liang, Li, and the others an opportunity to share.
This was called sharing blessings.
As for what blessings they would encounter along with the opportunity, it had nothing to do with Lei Jun.
Elder Li Song wouldn't gain anything from sensing the situation promptly either.
Everyone could clearly see that Little Lei Daoist hadn't laid a finger on Elder Liang and the others.
Time passed swiftly, and the traces of the Nine Abyss Earth Fire aura and pure yang energy would soon dissipate and be challenging to retain.
Lei Jun had never been to this place before.
Whatever happened next, he wouldn't know.
"Boom!"
After crossing Dengfeng Ridge, it didn't take long for a deafening explosion to rock the mountains north of the ridge, causing the ground to shake and the mountains to tremble. Lei Jun remained calm and indifferent, devoid of any curiosity, and showed no signs of turning back.
He continued downhill, heading further south along Dengfeng Ridge.
The commotion behind him grew more intense, shaking the earth and mountains with increasing ferocity, forming a chain reaction that spread far and wide.
From the Longqing River in the north to the Yuxiu Mountains in the east, and from the Lu Xi River in the west, where Lei Jun had previously arrived, to Dengfeng Ridge in the south, the area was plunged into chaos, as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was cracking.
(End of Chapter)
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