231: Deterrence

Li Xiangyun tapped the ground with his toes, his figure soaring into the air like a wave-rider, his dark Daoist robe unfurling in the wind. The spiritual power of a Nascent Soul Pinnacle Stage Cultivator suddenly erupted from his body.

The petals in the spiritual plant garden in the courtyard all fluttered upwards, and the Formation patterns on the bluestone slabs lit up with a faint blue glow, intertwining with the icy mist-like aura around him, perfectly countering Ji Mo's golden radiance.

"Senior has graced my humble abode, I apologize for not greeting you sooner." Li Xiangyun bowed, his gaze sweeping over the Phoenix patterns on the five individuals' robes. He secretly condensed a wisp of ice spiritual power on his fingertip and asked, feigning ignorance, "It's just that the Li Family has never had any dealings with Hidden Families. May I ask why you are seeking my Disciple?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Ji Mo's eyes, and his withered hand tightened slightly.

A few months ago, he heard that Li Xiangyun was merely at the Late Stage Nascent Soul, but now he had reached the Peak. Such a rapid advancement in progress was even faster than the Geniuses in their Family.

He secretly rejoiced that he hadn't listened to the young man's words and acted rashly earlier.

Although the Li Family was weak, if a talented individual like Li Xiangyun was forced to fight to the death, or if he escaped with the Phoenix Bloodline, his potential would surely make him a serious threat to the Ji Family in the future.

"True Monarch's Cultivation advancement is truly impressive, I admire it." Ji Mo shed some of his disdain, his tone becoming more solemn. "I am an Elder of the Ji Family. Twenty-seven years ago, a female infant from our Ji Family was lost, bearing the mark of the Phoenix Bloodline.

Just now, I observed the fiery aura around your Disciple, Li Xiner, which originates from the same Bloodline as our Family. Therefore, I have come specifically to acknowledge her." He raised his hand and conjured a warm jade, within which appeared a golden-red flame light, identical in origin to the sparks at Li Xiner's fingertips. "This is a Bloodline token of the Ji Family. True Monarch will understand with one look."

The young man in the moon-white brocade robe beside him frowned slightly at the sight but did not interject again.

Li Xiangyun looked at the flame light in the jade, then glanced at the bewildered Li Xiner below, already having a plan in mind.

He slowly withdrew his spiritual power, and the icy mist gradually dispersed: "The matter of Bloodline concerns my Disciple's background, allow me to clarify the reasons.

However, since the Ji Family is a great Hidden Family, if it's just about finding a relative, why display a Late-Stage Transformation God Cultivation?" His words carried a hint of probing, also subtly referring to the other party's earlier intimidation.

Ji Mo chuckled at the words and said frankly: "True Monarch is discerning. My actions are, firstly, to prove my identity, and secondly, to show sincerity.

If I truly intended to seize her by force, the spiritual power just now would not have held back." He changed the subject, his gaze sharpening, "But True Monarch should also understand that the Phoenix Bloodline holds extraordinary significance for the Ji Family. If the Li Family insists on obstructing us, even if True Monarch's talent is high, it will be difficult to contend with the Ji Family's Foundation."

"What if I refuse?" Li Xiangyun slowly said, meeting the other's gaze.

His voice was not loud, but it was like a piece of ice dropped into boiling oil, instantly igniting the stagnation in mid-air.

Under his dark Daoist robe, the icy mist that had dissipated around him quietly reformed, turning into fine ice crystals suspended from his sleeves. The Formation patterns on the bluestone slabs lit up again, this time with a sharp edge.

The smile on Ji Mo's face instantly froze, and his brows furrowed under his crane-like hair.

He hadn't expected Li Xiangyun, who had been bowing in greeting just a moment ago, to suddenly turn hostile.

The young man in the moon-white brocade robe beside him changed color dramatically, his fiery aura surging violently, the Phoenix pattern on his robe seeming to struggle to break free from the fabric: "How dare you!"

The people of the Li Family below also lost their composure. A Cultivator watering spiritual plants trembled, spilling spiritual liquid onto the bluestone slabs. An Elder deducing a Formation suddenly stood up, forming hand seals to protect the young child beside him.

Only Li Xiner looked at the confronting figures in mid-air, a sense of closeness mixed with unease churning in her heart, the sparks at her fingertips flickering, unsure which side to look at.

Li Xiangyun, however, seemed to ignore the young man's angry shout, his gaze fixed only on Ji Mo, his tone calm but every word sharp: "Senior Ji said you were here to find a relative, but from beginning to end, you only mentioned 'Phoenix Bloodline' and 'lost female infant,' without a single word about whose daughter my Disciple truly is in the Ji Family?

Why did she end up in the Great Zhou Dynasty twenty-three years ago? Where are her parents now?" He raised his hand and pointed at Li Xiner below, the ice spiritual power adding a touch of coldness to his voice: "You say you're taking her back to the Ji Family for a family reunion, but if it's a family reunion, why is it you, an Elder, who came, and not her closest relatives?

You say you are willing to offer Cultivation Techniques and Nirvana Fruit as gifts, but you are so vague about her background. How can I know if you are taking her away for a life of luxury, or... to be a Cauldron?"

As the last two words left his mouth, the branches and leaves of the ancient cypress in the courtyard trembled violently, and the golden radiance around Ji Mo suddenly became dazzling.

He finally understood that Li Xiangyun's earlier circumvention was not weakness, but rather an attempt to probe his bottom line.

This Nascent Soul Cultivator, seemingly gentle, was in fact as meticulous as ice, having already hidden all his doubts within his polite greetings.

"True Monarch suspects the Ji Family would forcibly seize the Bloodline?" Ji Mo suppressed the shock and anger in his heart, his withered hand clenching in his sleeve. "The Phoenix Bloodline is the Foundation of our Family, how could we do something that would damage our Foundation!"

"Foundation?" Li Xiangyun sneered, and an illusory longsword began to condense in the icy mist. "Although my Li Family is not a great Hidden Family, we have heard of the secret technique of 'blood-devouring Cultivation transmission'.

The purity of my Disciple's Bloodline, I believe, has long been spread within the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can you expect me to trust you?" He changed the subject, his spiritual power suddenly surging, "Today, if you don't explain yourself clearly, let alone the Ji Family, even if a Soul Transformation Cultivator were to arrive personally, if they want to take my Disciple, they will have to ask my Li Xiangyun's ice sword first!"

As his voice fell, the icy mist around him erupted, and the aura of a Nascent Soul Pinnacle Stage Cultivator swept through like a cold tide, actually forcing Ji Mo's Late-Stage Transformation God golden radiance back half an inch.

Seeing this, the panic of the Li Family members below completely faded. The Cultivators in the training ground released their Magic Treasures one after another, and Deng Qi also conjured the Family-protecting Formation Plate.

"Presumptuous!" The young man in the moon-white brocade robe was completely enraged by Li Xiangyun's arrogance. The aura of a Late Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator exploded, and the Phoenix flames around him surged into a ten-foot-high wave of fire, condensing into a phantom Phoenix with flapping wings in the air, rushing directly towards Li Xiangyun's face with scorching heat:

"You are merely a Nascent Soul Cultivator, yet you dare to disrespect the Ji Family. Today, I shall let you know the difference between a great Hidden Family and a mortal!"

Where the phantom Phoenix passed, the air was distorted by the heat, and the petals in the spiritual plant garden below instantly withered.

Li Xiangyun, however, merely watched with cold eyes. As the wave of fire approached, he slowly raised his gaze and casually pressed his left hand forward.

Under his dark sleeve, an extremely faint ice-blue halo quietly spread. Wherever it passed, the surging wave of fire, like spring water encountering a cold current, instantly froze into ice crystal sculptures.

"Law of Ice?!" Ji Mo's pupils constricted, and his withered hand slammed onto his wooden staff, his eyes filled with shock.

Li Xiangyun's fingertip condensed a point of ice-blue light, and with a gentle flick forward, the majestic phantom Phoenix made a "crack" sound, covered in a web-like pattern of cracks, and then shattered into countless ice shards.

Before the young man could react, a vast Law of Ice surged like a tide, instantly entwining his fiery aura, freezing the leaping Phoenix flames layer by layer.

"No~!" The young man was horrified. He could clearly feel that the Phoenix Bloodline flowing within him became sluggish under this coldness, and even his Nascent Soul trembled slightly from the cold.

He desperately urged his spiritual power to struggle, but the Law of Ice, like a persistent parasite, invaded his Meridians along with his spiritual power, instantly extinguishing all his fiery aura, and even his body was encased in a thick layer of ice, falling heavily onto the bluestone slab, unable to move.