Inside the Myriad Dao Pagoda.
Li Yunbing expressionlessly perceived the intelligence transmitted back by his wicked thoughts. "How could this happen... bastards... bastards!"
The sound of smashing and crashing echoed from within the tower.
The passing cultivators of the City of Merit and the family's descendants all hurriedly retreated.
A rumor circulated within the family that descendants passing by the tower would occasionally encounter bizarre occurrences.
For inexplicable reasons, they would run around wildly, shouting things like "High Ancestor Yunbing possesses supreme wisdom!" or "High Ancestor Yunbing is peerless in the world!"
This tower was extremely cursed.
Today, sudden noises from the tower terrified the clansmen, who fled madly for fear of being possessed by evil.
"Pant... pant..."
Li Yunbing panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot, the chains rattling loudly. "How could my plan fail? Damned Xuanyuan Clan!"
After acquiring all the intelligence, he had formulated a complete plan: arrange for the clansmen to infiltrate the major camps within the Blood Moon, after which the Spirit Lord would inevitably surround the trapped Xuanyuan Clan.
At that time, the clansmen would gather all at once to rescue the people of the Xuanyuan Clan. What would the clansmen and children think then?
They would definitely be overwhelmingly impressed by him, praising how he sat within the tower yet strategized thousands of miles away!
Then there was the Xuanyuan Clan. Under such a massive debt of gratitude, they would definitely satisfy his demands.
Then his ultimate plan would succeed.
The Xuanyuan Clan would erect a Longevity Monument for him. Once this matter spread, he would become the most admired man in the entire Azure Cloud Prefecture!
"Old Ancestor, there is still a chance!"
Li Yunbing gritted his teeth, clutching the spirit tablet. "Your child will become the most supreme demon in the world! Hahahaha!"
"..."
Appearing before the spirit tablet and seeing the manic Li Yunbing, Li Wei silently took a few steps back.
He had thought Li Yunbing calling out meant there was some huge secret. Who knew Li Yunbing would be this crazy?
Heaven knows what he had said, but seeing Li Yunbing in such a state, clamoring to become the most supreme demon overlord, Li Wei still felt incredibly worried.
This was too bizarre.
Li Wei suddenly froze for a moment.
In the past, when Yunbing lived in seclusion in the bamboo forest, his 'Childlike Heart' would briefly return. Now, being in the tower also counted as seclusion... could it still be there?
However, seeing Li Yunbing wearing his emotions on his face now, Li Wei actually felt a bit gratified.
In the past, when Yunbing held high positions of authority, he had never shown his true self. At least now, he was very happy.
...
[Year 1050]
Li Wei had been cultivating continuously. Generally, he could learn 1% to 3% of rules from Ancestor Lan per year. Comprehending some rules was actually quite simple.
Over twenty years passed in a flash.
The Southern Frontier no longer held its initial panic toward the Blood Moon, or perhaps they had simply grown used to it.
At the very least, they knew what danger they were facing.
When people are confronted with a crisis, they will exhaust every means to become stronger.
In just over a decade, the number of cultivators and commoners in the Southern Frontier decreased by ten percent.
Most of the time, it was from mutual slaughter. Some cultivators believed the commoners and the weak were a burden, feeding on them and turning into demons.
Initially, many powerful experts still tried to stop this, making examples of some to warn the rest, and issuing strict prohibitions, yet they still could not contain the worsening situation.
The Blood Moon hadn't even arrived, yet the Southern Frontier was already filled with sorrow and wailing from within.
The cultivators had gone mad.
Everywhere, people were elevating their strength, starting with the weak.
They were certain that even if they fled through the Southern Sea, it would still be a nine-deaths-one-life ordeal; the vast oceans were filled with sea demons.
The black markets became flooded with evil arts like 'Human Pills' and 'Soul-Refining Arts'.
Then came the strong. The world's turmoil also affected them.
There was always someone who couldn't withstand the temptation of growing stronger, or perhaps they were unwilling to flee their homeland.
Amidst the panic, there was also the hatred born from mutual slaughter.
The entire Southern Frontier transformed into a massive killing field.
The major factions also gradually stopped interfering. The scope was too large, and... in this maddened slaughter, anomalies always emerged.
They rose abruptly, developing rapidly with extraordinary karmic luck. No one was willing to provoke such enemies for no reason.
At the same time, there were numerous considerations; there were always compelling reasons for the sins they committed, and they were also combat power needed to deal with the Blood Moon.
These kinds of events continually played out across various regions.
Li Wei looked at his current strength. He hadn't made a move in a very long time.
At the same time, his descendants were also exhausting every effort to strengthen themselves in this environment.
[Your descendant Li Yaozu, in the extreme northern snowfields, has passed the Demon Tribe's trial!]
[Within the trial grounds lie countless corpses of the Demon Tribe. After decades of pursuit and escape, Li Yaozu finally broke through obstacle after obstacle and passed through the Demon Tribe's gates.]
[Constantly honing his swordsmanship over the years, but due to the Demon Tribe's sheer power, he rarely had the opportunity to draw his sword.
Instead, amidst the relentless pursuit, he honed an Earth-tier movement technique: Heavenly Sword Fearless Escape.]
"..."
Looking at Li Yaozu's intelligence report, when Li Wei saw the name of the movement technique, the corners of his mouth twitched.
This movement technique was incredibly formidable.
It was a technique where Li Yaozu used his sword qi to wear down incoming sword qi, borrowing the enemy's force to strike back—it could even wear down Dao methods.
Li Wei racked his brains but still couldn't figure it out: Where did Li Yaozu, having fled for decades, get the shameless audacity to come up with such a name???
[Your descendant Li Yaozu unleashes one sword strike for every year he flees.
Deeply aware that missing a single strike would result in being heavily surrounded, Li Yaozu summarized his experience over the years: his Sword Dao is the Dao of finding 'flaws'.
To take a life, a single strike is sufficient; otherwise, he will never draw his sword.]
[Acquired Trait: Hidden Edge. Patience increases by 100%; attack power when drawing the sword increases by 50%.]