"Where are you? I'll bring you home, back to our ancestral home. I'll build the finest graves for you, and leave your favorite things as offerings..."
Within the Azure Cloud Pavilion, disciples were dispatched to spread the message in all directions.
Under the cover of night, Xiao Huang'er was still searching through the 'Tower' of human heads. But there were simply too many, some already reduced to a bloody pulp. She couldn't find them. Her body was stained with the blood of her family, and her face was contorted in anguish. Even with her former beauty, she now resembled a malevolent spirit crawled out from the depths of hell.
Finally, she found it. It was the head of her second son, born when she was still young!
"My child, Mother has found you! Hahaha, Mother has found you!"
Like a madwoman, she clutched the head with its terrified eyes wide open and laughed maniacally under the moonlight. "Mother will take you home. Once we find your body, you'll be whole again..."
Then...
Bang!
The head exploded before her eyes.
Xiao Huang'er's initially joyful expression froze, her gaze becoming vacant, like a soulless puppet. She remained in the posture of embracing the head, her body trembling slightly.
Memories surfaced – her second son's smiling face as a child in her arms, the scenes of her playing with him – then shattered, one by one.
The voice of an old woman faintly echoed in her ears:
"Do you now feel the pain of losing loved ones? We can be even more cruel."
This malicious voice reverberated ceaselessly in Xiao Huang'er's ears.
In the distance, Qiuye, witnessing all this, trembled. Even though he had been released as expected, he was terrified!
This 'Tower' of human heads was the Li family's doing!
He had only thought of annihilating the Li family before, but now...
The Li family was far more powerful and ruthless than he had imagined. They were even willing to abandon the family fortune accumulated over the past century. They were now like those with nothing left to lose and, thus, nothing to fear.
He could almost sense the Li family lurking in the surrounding shadows, ready to make him pay an irredeemable price.
Elder Qiuye couldn't deny it; he regretted his actions. He realized he had made the most foolish decision of his life: killing the Li family's Demon King.
He took a deep breath, slowly walked forward, and embraced Xiao Huang'er.
This was his Dao companion, betrothed to him two hundred years ago as a gesture of goodwill between the Azure Cloud Pavilion and the Skyveil Sect due to his exceptional talent. He had risen to his current position with Xiao Huang'er's support. Only he knew how pure and innocent Xiao Huang'er truly was. Even after three hundred years, her time spent cultivating within the sect hadn't matured her mind.
"Huang'er, it's alright. I'll always be by your side. We can cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, and even higher realms. With so many years ahead of us, we can practice dual cultivation techniques, search for elixirs and potions that enhance fertility... we can still have children..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Huang'er had already broken free from his embrace, a crazed smile spreading across her face. She pulled a piece of flesh from her mouth, a remnant from when her second son's head had exploded. "Qiuye," she shrieked, "look! What part of my child is this? It's all your fault! If you hadn't sent me to chase after that pig, none of this would have happened!"
"It's alright, Huang'er. We will have our revenge, we certainly will!"
Elder Qiu Ye quickly embraced Xiao Huang'er. He narrowed his eyes, gazing into the distance, sensing that Xiao Huang'er seemed to have lost her mind. This sent a chill down his spine. But he knew with absolute certainty that the Li family had already set their sights on him. Only by facing them together with Xiao Huang'er could he ensure his own safety.
Bathed in moonlight, the two Dao companions appeared to be a picture of warmth and affection. It was just the 'Tower' of human heads behind them that spoiled such a lovely scene.
...
[Special Event]
[Your family erected a 'Tower' of human heads at the Azure Cloud Pavilion. This news has been spread throughout the Azure Cloud region by the Azure Cloud Pavilion, calling upon the people of the Azure Cloud region to hunt down the Li family's descendants. The Li family members have become public enemies, their notoriety spreading far and wide.]
[Congratulations! Your family has acquired the group trait: Family of Outlaws.]
[Most factions in Azure Cloud region admire the Li family's courage but are also ready to kill any Li family member on sight. Your family members have become outlaws in the Azure Cloud region. Popularity and favorability rating: -99%. When fleeing, speed increases by 20%. When fighting for your lives, combat power increases by 5%.]
"...What the hell are you congratulating me for?"
Looking at the notification on the screen, Li Wei grumbled.
However, becoming outlaws was a fate the Li family had already accepted the moment they placed the 'Tower' at the Azure Cloud Pavilion's doorstep!
The Li family had even conducted various experiments to prepare for this.
With the ancestral tablets in their possession, even cultivators skilled in divination couldn't track down the Li family descendants.
The scattered Li family members were like birds released from their cages, free to soar wherever they pleased.
Li Wei even discovered that this outlaw lifestyle, for individual Li family members, was proving to be a faster path to growth than simply cultivating at the family estate. The only inconvenience was that he had to occasionally use his skills to protect the Li descendants.
As for the Li family estate, Li Wei switched his view to observe it. It was still developing. The Cloudsea Pavilion was managing the Li family estate, but they had entrusted the authority to the people of Green Valley Village. Members of the Azure Cloud Pavilion even went to the Li estate, but Huang Xiujin had only one word for them:
"Scram."
After all, they have the backing of the Black Tortoise Sect.
The entire Azure Cloud region was searching for the Li family.
---
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