"The immortal inside your body..." Li Chang cast a worried glance at Li Xinjue.
"Please rest assured, Grandpa An. Shenyin is very well-behaved. It merely pops out to show off from time to time, causing me to lose some face, but it is nothing major," Li Xinjue replied calmly.
"Hmph!"
Li Chang let out a cold snort, not at Li Xinjue, but at Li Xinghuo, who was still studying the map.
Li Xinghuo was truly a piece of work; he never cared for the son he brought into this world.
Back when Xinjue first coexisted with Shenyin, the Immortal in the Mirror, Li Xinghuo hadn't even bothered to ask about it.
Just look at what a good child Xinjue is! Filial, obedient, and law-abiding.
Even under the threat of the Blood Moon, he would visit his elders one by one to offer them tea during festivals and holidays.
And he also loves cleanliness.
"Uncle Jue, you... you have a fairy inside your body?" Li Zhijing looked at her clan uncle with worry.
Her secluded cultivation had lasted for over a century. Most of the demons within her Heavenly Demon Talisman Seed had been given to her by this very uncle.
Who knew that upon emerging, the entire world would have completely changed.
Many of the family's elders were undergoing terrifying transformations in their efforts to resolve the Blood Moon. Even Uncle Jue had started forming that oddly feminine gesture.
Her grandfather said that even if the family elders wanted to become half-immortals, they would do so only after extensive research.
But the decisions Uncle Jue made were never subjected to anyone else's approval. By the time they realized he was coexisting with the Immortal in the Mirror, it was already too late.
She found it incredibly difficult to imagine how someone as traditional as Uncle Jue would agree to coexist with a fairy, let alone start forming that oddly feminine gesture.
"Don't worry, it's all worth it. It is harmless, just a bit mischievous."
Li Xinjue replied casually. Under Li Zhijing's worried gaze, he turned to Li Chang and asked, "Grandpa An, has something happened?"
Spread across the table were numerous maps and letters.
The map detailed the current extent of the Blood Moon.
It had already swallowed all the territories of the Western Frontier, and subsequently Grandhaven Prefecture and half of Clearpeak Prefecture.
In addition to this, it also encompassed more than half the lands of the three Wu Tribe totems, and even parts of the Demon Race's territory...
The map was marked with a massive number of red circles, indicating the populations of living beings.
In the recently annexed Grandhaven Prefecture and the half of Clearpeak Prefecture alone, there were over two million cultivators.
As for spirit beasts and the like, their numbers were simply innumerable.
It was even more terrifying when it came to the Wu Tribe's territories, as every member of the Wu Tribe was a warrior.
Then there was the vast Western Frontier and Deston Prefecture... a gargantuan number of enemies loomed right before their eyes.
Facing all this, even Li Xinjue had no idea how the Southern Frontier was supposed to cope.
Not to mention the letters delivered to Azure Cloud Prefecture, which were farewell letters from many factions.
In just a few short decades, the death toll from internal strife had reduced their numbers by a tenth, and it was only going to escalate.
"The clan elders have decided to arrange for some of the children to migrate out of the Southern Frontier," Li Chang said calmly.
"Migrate?" Li Xinjue took a deep breath. "I will handle it."
"The Central Plains, the Northern Frontier, the sea regions, and Duskwild Prefecture all require preparation," Li Chang said.
"Your intelligence network is the most comprehensive; our children need to be relocated to safe havens..."
"I understand. I have already thought about this matter. The primary concern is safety, staying far away from war and strife.
Over the years, our clan has acquired certain treasures, as well as the leaves of the Divine Tree, which are enough to shield them from heavenly secrets.
We cannot trust anyone in the outside world; we can only trust ourselves."
Li Xinjue said gravely, "I will arrange for trustworthy, tight-lipped people to secretly construct Grotto-Heaven, ensuring they can at least be self-sufficient.
I will personally eradicate any threatening people or entities in the vicinity of these Grotto-Heavens one by one."
"Good." Li Chang's expression was gentle.
Li Xinjue turned to leave, but then looked back. "Grandpa An, are we..."
"We still have a chance," Li Chang replied, his expression remaining gentle.
Li Xinjue nodded slightly. He had wanted to ask if it wouldn't be better for the entire clan to flee together.
He had been entertaining this idea for years, simply because far too many people in Azure Cloud Prefecture had fled.
Even the Mi family, which had once allied with their clan, had boarded spirit boats and set sail. More than half of the monks in the Great Ming King Temple had run away...
Yet, not a single one of the family elders had decided to run.
They were silently accepting all the changes occurring in the world.
They chose to stand beneath the crashing waves, guarding the tottering doors of their home, attempting to use their very flesh and blood to block the monstrous, apocalyptic tsunami outside.
"Fucking hell."
Li Xinjue stood at the doorway. Behind him were his clansmen, still actively preparing for battle.
He looked up at the sun in the sky and cursed under his breath, sighing as he walked toward the family's Divine Tree.
Before the Divine Tree hung a veil of white mist. Stepping inside, he casually kicked aside the person blocking his path and walked all the way to the end.
At the end of the path lay layers upon layers of seals, and trapped within these seals were furious... immortals!
Three immortals.
These were the immortals their Li Clan had seized over the years by employing various methods to kill half-immortals within the Blood Moon.
"Let me out!"
"Hahaha, so what if you've captured us? You disrespect the immortals, so don't even dream of coexisting with us. When the Blood Moon arrives, that will be the moment we kill you all!"
"You are ultimately nothing but pathetic mortals!"
Inside his body, the Immortal in the Mirror, Shenyin, surveyed these captive immortals.
Noticing Li Xinjue's icy glare, it laughed, "They speak the truth. Your clansmen have decided to fight, but it is nothing more than a dead end.
Even if you kill them, they will simply reappear in the future. No matter how you struggle, you are all nothing more than mere specks in the endless eons of the immortals."
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