Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan-Chapter 2011 - 1474: Rejection (2)

The East Continent and the Northern Domain remained relatively calm; though there were some battles, none of them were large in scale.

After reading all this, Li Zhirui couldn't help but sigh, "Truly, the tree wishes for stillness, but the wind will not cease!"

A world-spanning war was unlikely to break out in the short term, yet these small-scale local conflicts seemed destined to remain entangled and unending.

But to speak honestly, for Li Zhirui, this was actually a good thing.

The more frequent the wars, the faster the death energy, evil qi, and other foul auras would accumulate, thereby shortening the time he needed to wait.

Moreover, with Li Zhirui's strength, he could not possibly stop their slaughter or restore peace to the world, so he might as well act as though he was unaware of these affairs.

He no longer remained in seclusion within his cave mansion; that already held little meaning for him, so he journeyed to the Middle Thousand Worlds newly discovered by his clan, intending to comprehend the Purification Principle of another world to broaden and solidify the foundation of his Great Tao.

After all, it was impossible to simply idle away in the cave mansion, waiting for evil filth to grow and fester, wasn't it?

Who could say how many years that would take to reach the required threshold? During that time, it's impossible for Li Zhirui to simply wait in vain; it was still necessary to go out and find something to do, whether just to pass the time or to assist the clan, both were good outcomes.

And so, he suddenly thought of the newly discovered Middle Thousand World—a completely new world, whose internal laws would surely differ from those Li Zhirui had already mastered.

With his status, he traversed the spatial passage directly, arriving at the clan's base in the Otherworld.

"Ancestor Rui."

At first, they were puzzled—not the agreed-upon time, so why did the clan activate a Secret Technique again? When they saw who had arrived, understanding immediately dawned.

And compared to Ancestor Rui, breaking a few rules hardly mattered.

"No need for excessive courtesy."

Li Zhirui shook his head and said, "Introduce me to this world."

"This realm is called Pan Yun Realm, a Middle Thousand World that had only completed its ascension less than a millennium ago. Therefore, while it's classified as a Middle Thousand World, the native beings' strength has yet to catch up."

Such a circumstance is a once-in-ten-millennia rarity, which is precisely why the clan could establish its footing so quickly and intensify its efforts in hopes of taking this world as soon as possible.

At once, a member of the Earth Immortal Clan began the introduction, recounting the clan's accomplishments over the years. In the end, he sighed and said, "Ancestor Rui, with the Li family's strength in Pan Yun Realm, maintaining the present state is already at our limit. If we wish to expand and conquer farther, we simply don't have enough hands."

As soon as he heard this, Li Zhirui understood his meaning—it was nothing but a request for him to intervene and help break the enemy.

He pondered for a moment, but in the end, he shook his head and refused, "The situation in Pan Yun Realm is quite suited for our people to temper themselves. If I were to intervene, it wouldn't do you any good."

Were Li Zhirui to act, he could certainly resolve any issue in Pan Yun Realm with speed, but why should he do so?

"Very well."

That clansman had expected as much, knowing Li Zhirui would refuse; he merely held on to a fragment of hope before receiving a definite reply.

"I'll find any cave mansion to comprehend the laws. You needn't pay me any mind."

With these words, Li Zhirui vanished from sight.

He was not deceiving them—indeed, he simply found a random cave mansion and began to comprehend the laws of this realm.

Yet as an outsider, the Heavenly Dao instinctively repelled Li Zhirui's Divine Sense, never allowing him contact with the laws at all.

Still, this was hardly a challenge for him. Don't forget, back in the Taixu Illusionary Realm, it was thanks to his mastery of the Purification Principle that he was granted participation in and support from the Heavenly Dao at the brink of destruction.

Now, he could do the same—and so Li Zhirui did precisely that.

Petals of Bai Lian instantly bloomed; the many evil qi and killing aura enshrouding the camp above seemed to have encountered their nemesis, fleeing madly into the distance, while the slower ones were directly purified instead.

With this art, even though Li Zhirui was also an invader, he gained special treatment from the Heavenly Dao, allowing him to do what was impossible at first—comprehend this world's Purification Principle.

Meanwhile, the clansmen, wishing to conquer Pan Yun Realm and make it fodder for the Primal Spirit Realm, as well as the clan's Spirit Lands, truly deployed all their most prized abilities.

The Li family could not hope to conquer Pan Yun Realm relying solely on measures outside the battlefield. Or rather, if they wished to use such means, possessing immense strength themselves was crucial!

Thus, at critical moments, one must still depend upon battle itself.

"Kill!"

To seize Pan Yun Realm as swiftly as possible, for fear that delays breed disaster—in any case, with no Immortal Realm lifeforms yet present, the battlefield was not insurmountable.

Yet, should an Immortal Realm lifeform arise, it would only add turbulence to the war.

And so, with the Li clan's numerous cultivators battling all out, the tide of the battlefield shifted in an instant!

"No! No! We can't retreat!"

Defeat cascaded like a landslide; those indigenous to this realm, fearing a massacre, all frantically abandoned everything and fled for the rear lines with all their might.

But by doing so, they would shatter the formation in the rear, leaving them with no power to resist ever again.

A glorious, overwhelming victory—Li family crushed the resistance, leaving them incapable of challenging Li family's rule any further.

At this point, the Li family had initially taken control of Pan Yun Realm.

To grasp it fully would still require considerable time.

But there was no need for haste—the Li family could gradually consume and absorb this world, making it nourishment for their own growth.

In any case, the secret ritual was already performed, introducing the Primal Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao into Pan Yun Realm. The two Heavenly Dao were simply not on the same level, with Pan Yun Realm's Heavenly Dao utterly outmatched and soon forced into retreat after retreat.

By all appearances, it wouldn't be much longer before Pan Yun Realm's consciousness was fully suppressed.

This change was something Li Zhirui, still pondering the laws, never expected—the clan conquered Pan Yun Realm so swiftly that he hadn't yet comprehended the Purification Principle thoroughly when the Primal Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao arrived.

He could only race against time with the Heavenly Dao now, desperately striving to comprehend the laws.

Why such haste? Mainly, he did not wish to owe Primal Spirit Realm any further karma. If Li Zhirui mastered the laws of Pan Yun Realm itself, then after its assimilation, that karma would naturally dissipate.

If, however, the comprehension occurred in the Primal Spirit Realm, another karmic debt would be incurred.

Still, Li Zhirui overestimated his own speed—his rate of law comprehension did not match the Primal Spirit Realm's Heavenly Dao as it devoured the native Heavenly Dao.

As a result, he still ended up owing further karma in the end.

After the Heavenly Dao was devoured, the Li family could unleash their true strength within Pan Yun Realm, no longer under any suppression whatsoever.

By contrast, the indigenous beings, slow to adapt, found their strength had diminished considerably.

Yet, similarly, this presented them with a broader space to rise anew.

Whether this was good or ill depends only upon one's own perspective.

...

And in the years while Li Zhirui was away from Mount Wanxian, the clan developed with remarkable stability.

Or rather, at the Li family's current scale and power, habit and momentum had taken hold across all aspects.

Barring some unforeseen catastrophe, the clan could function autonomously just as it was.

Yet in the ever-restless Primal Spirit Realm, such circumstances were still highly uncommon; no clan could rely solely on 'momentum' to sustain their growth.

Such as right now!

Buzz!

The sudden activation of the Eight-direction Heavenly Pillar Array made everyone instantly aware that what was about to occur would be extraordinary.

Clan Leader Li Debo responded to the Formation at once, his heart filled with tension and uncertainty, not knowing what would transpire next.

And upon seeing that a Heavenly Immortal held command over the Great Array, he knew at once that this could not be a trivial matter!

"The Immortal Tao and Demonic Tao have formed a temporary alliance. We must launch an assault upon the East Sea to alleviate the pressure Demonic Tao faces from the joint assault of the Sea Clan and Ghost Clan!"

Though only a few dozen words, they stirred up stormy waves in the hearts of countless cultivators.

Enemies of a lifetime, now intending to ally together?!

Beyond that, it was a sense of intense dissatisfaction and rejection.

After all, which faction among the Immortal Tao did not have old grudges and hatreds against the Demonic Tao? How could old resentments just be set aside, and help afforded to them?