Chapter 257: Ancestral Blood Invocation
Chapter 257: Ancestral Blood Invocation
The battlefield, once a raging inferno of slaughter, was doused by the torrential rain.
The downpour was relentless. As the Demon Tide's rear was severed by the Sword Rain, the charge faltered, and with the Sword Qi from the City Wall providing support, the previously retreating forces managed to stabilize their position.
The Xia Clan's war banners once again fluttered atop the walls that had been overwhelmed by the demonic flood.
The pressure on the soldiers suddenly eased. After the Demons in front of them were slain, no more Demons came to replace them.
They were stunned, staring in disbelief at the sudden turn of events.
"This, this is..."
"Who is summoning the swords? Who is saving us?!"
"Are we... saved?"
All the troops, including the Noble Families' forces and the hastily conscripted Jianghu sects, stood in awe, gazing at the Defensive Line.
Beyond the Defensive Line, it was like a hellish inferno. Countless strands of Sword Qi pierced through the air, causing the Demons to wail and fall.
The Great Demons of the Three Eternities Realm, with their massive bodies, attempted to flee, but like moths struggling in the rain, they were quickly enveloped by the Sword Rain, plummeting to their doom.
"Who is that..."
At the center of the Defensive Line, Marshal Xia Changkong, who was directing the second line of defense, looked up with a stunned expression.
He saw a young man sitting atop a Crimson Flame Demon, his body enveloped in a visible aura of white mist, directing the Sword Tide above into an endless cascade of Sword Qi.
Beside the young man stood the Patriarch of the Xia Clan and his brother.
"Patriarch, Yuanwu..."
Xia Changkong was momentarily stunned. The Patriarch had come in person, but where was the Lord of Gluttony Valley?
He glanced toward the rear of the Demon Tide, but saw no significant movement.
On the battlefield, only a few Elders of the Gluttony Valley were fleeing in panic, pursued by long strands of Sword Qi.
Soon, one of the Elders, already injured, chose to resist the seemingly weak Sword Qi strand with his Physical Body. However, he was quickly drained of his life force and fell rapidly.
The Demons of Gluttony Valley, known for their brutal bloodthirst and formidable Physical Bodies, were not much weaker than the Dragon Race. They often relied on their Physical Bodies in battle, but against the 1% fatal attribute, they were no different from ordinary Demons.
Li Hao watched as the Demons, struck by the Sword Rain, fell one after another. His expression remained calm and unchanged. When the battlefield was almost completely pacified, he withdrew the Sword Tide.
"Leaving the rest to you two, I'll be on my way."
Li Hao said to Xia Linglong and the other.
They snapped out of their daze, realizing that in just a moment, the millions of Demons on the battlefield had almost all been annihilated!
It was terrifying!
This was the power of the Great Peace Dao Realm, far beyond their imagination.
"General Haotian, you can count on us. We'll clean up and send troops to Qingzhou immediately!"
Xia Linglong, recovering from her shock, quickly assured Li Hao.
Originally, sending troops was a gesture of gratitude, but now, she felt that in the presence of Li Hao, their Xia Clan's forces were of little significance, at most providing aid to the fallen towns and villages of Qingzhou.
After all, though Li Hao's strength was immense, he couldn't possibly cover the entire Qingzhou alone in a short time.
"Very well."
Li Hao nodded, not refusing their offer.
He then gently patted Candlelight Deity's head, signaling it. The deity's flames surged, and its hooves, as thick as those of a Qilin, stepped out, leaving a trail of fire as it galloped away into the distance, leaving the battlefield behind.
On the Defensive Line, numerous generals, clan leaders of the Noble Families, and grandmasters of the Jianghu sects all watched the young man riding the Crimson Flame Demon depart, forever etching this scene into their hearts.
They didn’t know who the young man was, but they knew that the Xia Clan would give them the answers.
……
……
Qingzhou, Qingzhou City.
Once a bustling metropolis, Qingzhou City is now under a city-wide lockdown. Civilians are confined to their homes, and all street vendors have been cleared out to make way for the swift movement of the military.
On all four walls, golden arrays have been activated, while outside the city, a vast Demon Tide gathers.
On the city walls, numerous Li Family soldiers and Qingzhou City’s defenders stand gathered, their expressions grim.
Days of continuous battle have left them mentally and physically exhausted, but no one dares to let their guard down.
Three days ago, through the Li Family’s secret techniques, they received intelligence that most of Qingzhou’s territory had already fallen.
Over a hundred cities and towns have been shattered and occupied by Demons. This Qingzhou is the Li Family’s stronghold, yet it has suffered its heaviest blow in a thousand years.
When the news reached the other surviving cities, many didn’t believe it, thinking it was a mistake. But as refugees from other cities and villages flooded in, they realized that Qingzhou was truly in grave danger.
Centuries of peace have made the majority of Qingzhou’s Commoners lose their clear understanding of the Demons.
Occasionally, when the Demon Suppression Bureau would capture and execute Demons, parading them through the streets, it would attract crowds of curious onlookers.
Now, with the Demons sweeping through, every city is shrouded in unprecedented shadows and fear, with everyone on edge.
Compared to the already war-torn Qingzhou, Qingzhou City itself is besieged on all sides, in imminent danger.
On the city walls, Li Muxiu and Li Xiaoran stand guard, their hair now white, looking decades older than before, with deeper and more numerous wrinkles on their faces.
They have suffered two devastating blows, leaving them heartbroken and dispirited.
More than a month ago, when Li Tianzong’s Heroic Souls dissipated, they went to the Mourning River in a fit of anger but did not act rashly. Instead, they conducted a covert investigation and discovered that the Demon Power gathered outside the Mourning River was far beyond their expectations.
The Dragon Gate and the Holy Palace had mobilized the majority of their forces, with their leaders personally overseeing the operation to kill Li Hao.
They didn’t act rashly but chose to seize the opportunity to attack the Dragon Gate’s stronghold.
It was a rare chance, and the Holy Palace’s stronghold was destroyed by Prince Qing. The Dragon Gate’s stronghold was also left vulnerable.
Through the Heavenly Mechanism Tower, they gathered extensive intelligence, located the Dragon Gate’s den, and reported it to the Emperor. The Li Family and the Imperial Clan then joined forces to destroy it.
It took over a month to break the Dragon Gate’s stronghold. Upon receiving the news, the Dragon Gate Patriarch, enraged, accelerated the plan to attack Qingzhou and directly targeted Qingzhou City.
However, Li Xiaoran and Li Muxiu had already learned that Li Hao had left the Mourning River. They didn’t remain there but returned to Qingzhou in advance.
Anticipating that the Dragon Gate might retaliate against Qingzhou upon learning of the destruction of their stronghold, they returned early to set up defenses. This led to the failure of the Dragon Gate and Holy Palace’s surprise attack on Qingzhou City, which not only failed to breach the city but also exposed their intentions.
After the failure of the Liangzhou plan and the thwarted surprise attack on Qingzhou City, the Dragon Gate and the Holy Palace decided to openly rally the Demons and launch a massive assault on Qingzhou.
Thus, this protracted battle began.
In this battle, both sides have suffered immense losses. After holding out for over a month, Qingzhou ultimately fell.
The Li Family retreated to the defensive line, abandoning most of Qingzhou City, and finally made a stand at Qingzhou City.
The Imperial City's dispatched army was ambushed halfway by another faction of Demons. Not only did they fail to reinforce Qingzhou, but they also suffered heavy losses.
The Demons besieging Qingzhou were not just from the Holy Palace and Dragon Gate. Besides the Void Realm, which still guarded the Outside Mourning River, awaiting the return of their sovereign, other top-tier Demon factions had also joined the fray.
When they sought aid from the Xia Clan in Youzhou, they learned that Gluttony Valley had attacked the Xia Clan. Clearly, this move by Gluttony Valley was to pin down the Xia Clan. Although the Five Great Divine General Manors competed with each other, they also supported one another in times of crisis. The Xia Clan was the closest Divine General Manor to the Li Family.
The attack by Gluttony Valley prevented the Xia Clan from sending reinforcements to Qingzhou, severing another lifeline.
In recent days, all the distress signals sent from Qingzhou to other regions fell into a void, leaving Qingzhou isolated and surrounded by Demons.
This time, the Demons had gathered more power than they did in Liangzhou, seemingly determined to crush Qingzhou and breach its defenses completely.
They had retreated from the border, fighting and retreating all the way, losing their armor and weapons. Now, they had fallen back to Qingzhou City, their last stronghold.
If they were to lose this, only the Divine General Manor would remain, like a small boat in a vast sea, at risk of capsizing at any moment.
Li Xiaoran's expression was grim. After over a month of intense battles, he and Li Muxiu had narrowly escaped death.
The Patriarch of Dragon Gate had revealed his true strength, advancing from the previously recorded Half-Step Dao Realm to the Great Peace Dao Realm.
As for the Palace Master of the Holy Palace, who was originally at the Great Peace Dao Realm, he had been severely wounded in a battle with Prince Qing in Yanbei, falling to the Half-Step Dao Realm and not yet recovered.
If it weren't for Li Muxiu, who was also at the Half-Step Dao Realm and could sustain a Dao Domain to barely hold back the enemy, they would have been defeated long ago.
With his Half-Step Invincible Fist and half-step Dao Domain, Li Muxiu managed to fight the Patriarch of Dragon Gate to a stalemate, significantly slowing down the rapid collapse of Qingzhou. Otherwise, Qingzhou would have fallen a month ago, and Qingzhou City would have been destroyed.
But now, they were in a desperate situation.
"Their target is our Li Family, they want to erase the Divine General Manor's name!"
After over a month of battles, Li Xiaoran had discerned the Demons' true intentions: to wipe out the Li Family, and this was just the first step in their plan to conquer Dayu.
This scheme might have been brewing for decades. From the successive falls of the Nine Sons to the frequent Demon attacks on Li Family territories, everything now seemed to follow a clear pattern and was part of a targeted plan.
Their goal was to sever the Li Family bloodline, leaving them with no successors. If this continued for several decades, the Li Family's main lineage would weaken, and the True Dragon chosen from them would be far inferior to those from other Divine General Manors.
That would be the perfect time to launch an attack on the Li Family.
But now, it seemed the Demons' plan had changed and was being executed ahead of schedule.
Li Muxiu's eyes were deep and somber as he slowly regulated his breathing. Earlier, he had fought the Palace Master of the Holy Palace outside the array, forcing him to retreat, but he himself had also suffered significant exhaustion.
The leaders of these two major factions had taken turns attacking him, leaving him utterly fatigued.
"Still no word from Wuliang Mountain?"
Li Muxiu's face was dark as he glanced westward.
The Demon Tide covered the mountain peak, densely packed, creating immense pressure on those within the city. However, his gaze remained unchanged, piercing through the Demon Tide to look toward the distant horizon.
That was where Wuliang Mountain lay.
The Li Family and Wuliang Mountain had a close relationship. They often offered incense, and Li Qianfeng was still the personal disciple of the Buddhist Master there.
But the plea for help sent to Wuliang Mountain has gone unanswered.
It's unclear whether they didn't receive it or if Wuliang Mountain is also in trouble.
"Notify Tian Gang. I can't hold on much longer. The Li Family has reached the final moment of survival. It's time to call them back."
Li Muxiu withdrew his gaze, knowing that Wuliang Mountain could no longer be relied upon. He took a deep breath, and his eyes became sharp and determined.
Li Xiaoran was momentarily stunned, his expression changing, but he remained silent.
He knew that at this point, it was indeed time for the Li Family to fight to the death.
The former glory has faded, and now it's time to defend that glory and legacy.
If the Ancestral Hall falls, the scattered bloodline will be meaningless.
The thousand-year legacy of the Divine General Manor is not just about bloodline but also about the foundation. Once the foundation is destroyed, even if the bloodline remains, it will be impossible to rise again.
After all, success often depends on timing and opportunity, which cannot be replicated.
"I understand."
Li Xiaoran glanced at his Second Brother, nodded slightly, and then quickly flew toward the city's Divine General Manor.
Soon, he landed in the Divine General Manor like a streak of light.
Inside the manor, in the Mountain and River Courtyard.
Many figures gathered in the hall of the courtyard. The leading figure was tall and imposing, exuding a dignified and stern aura—Li Tiangang.
To his right, a woman in armor sat in a rattan chair, his wife, Ji Qingqing.
Apart from the couple, other Madams from various courtyards, such as He Jianlan, Li Xuanli, and Gao Qingqing, were also present.
However, unlike their former lavish attire, these Madams now wore armor, their faces stern, as if ready to rush into battle at any moment.
"Wuliang Mountain hasn't responded..."
"The Sword Saint from the Southern Sword Hut is also silent..."
The atmosphere in the hall was cold and solemn.
The former connections of the Divine General Manor seemed to have been abruptly severed, with no news at all.
However, apart from these two major forces close to the Li Family, many other factions and sects that had received the Li Family's favors had rushed over. But most of them did not have Fourth Establishment Realm experts, and the Three Eternities Realm was the strongest presence among them.
Now, they desperately needed Ultimate Mastery Realm experts to come to their aid and alleviate the pressure on Li Muxiu.
After all, the Master Son had to face the leaders of two major forces, one of whom was at the peak of the Great Peace Dao Realm, making it an extremely arduous task that could lead to his downfall at any moment.
With a swoosh, Li Xiaoran's figure landed outside the hall. Without pausing, he stepped in, his gaze meeting the somber and anxious faces of the gathered people. He looked directly at Li Tiangang and said:
"Second Brother says to prepare for the ritual, the Ancestral Blood Invocation, to call back all the Li Family bloodlines."
"This battle, if we win, we live; if we lose, the Li Family will be wiped out!"
His eyes were deep and cold: "This is our last chance, and Second Brother is struggling to hold on!"
Hearing Li Xiaoran's words, everyone in the hall was stunned, but they were not overly shocked, only grim-faced.
The fall of Qingzhou and the countless Demons outside Qingzhou City made it clear that this was inevitable.
When the Ancestral Blood Invocation is performed, all Li Family bloodlines will sense the family's peril. This is a call through the bloodline, used only when the Li Family truly faces life or death, and when the thousand-year-old Divine General Manor is in dire straits.
The thousands of years of legacy, with branches and secondary lineages spread throughout the Great Yu Divine Dynasty, is a vast and powerful force. If the Ancestral Blood Invocation is performed, they will all sense it.
(End of Chapter)
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