Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 1981: Chapter 1459: Disguise_2

In fact, this situation is extremely dangerous, because once the news leaks, it is very likely to attract a fierce assault from other factions.

If it weren’t for Li Zhirui overseeing the family and driving this forward with all his might, Li Xiuyuan and the other elders would never have made such a risky move!

The reason he did this, in fact, was to draw nearby forces to proactively attack the Li family. In this way, the family could defend and leverage their geographical advantage.

But for some reason, even though the family has been secretly spreading the news, up to now, no faction has taken action, as if they’ve seen through his stratagem.

As a result, up to now, quite a few clansmen have already resolved their karma and have been returning to the ancestral grounds one after another.

In this situation, the possibility of the enemy making a move is probably growing smaller and smaller.

”A miscalculation!” At this thought, Li Zhirui couldn’t help but sigh.

”I wonder if Zhixuan is making progress smoothly.”

He didn’t actually regret staying at Mount Wanxian, presiding over the family. From the look of things, he needed to expend merit to resolve his karma.

This was, after all, Li Zhirui’s own decision, and merit didn’t help much with his transcendence. He could totally clear away his owed karma by purifying the evil filth obstructing the world’s ascension.

He was only wondering whether Li Zhixuan’s current actions would fulfill her wishes and allow her to finally transcend.

”Ancestor Rui!”

At this moment, Li Xiuyuan rushed over anxiously and said, ”Just now, a message came from Wanling Island: there are large numbers of Sea Clan gathering outside the Pearl Island Chain. They seem to be preparing to attack the Ten Thousand Spirit Sea Area.”

”So that’s how it is!”

Li Zhirui’s expression cleared as he said, ”No wonder the Cave Abyss Sect hasn’t made a move. Looks like they’re waiting for the Sea Clan’s actions before deciding what to do next.”

Li Xiuyuan was silent for a moment. With such a dire threat before them, their own ancestor was still thinking about something else!

Moreover, if the Cave Abyss Sect and the Sea Clan take action one after the other, it will put the Li family in a perilous situation—one best avoided.

”Ancestor Rui, what should we do now?” Li Xiuyuan had to ask again, reminding him of the current situation.

”Didn’t the family already make the arrangements?”

Li Zhirui retorted, shaking his head. ”With so many clansmen and loose cultivators assembled on the Pearl Island Chain, the arrival of the Sea Clan is just right—many people can resolve their karma in one sweep.”

Even if there are Sea Clan at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, it doesn’t matter. As long as I don’t head to the battlefield myself, all they can do is stand by—they can’t slaughter low-level cultivators.

So in the end, this is their battlefield. Whether or not they win depends entirely on themselves.

”Ancestor Rui...” Li Xiuyuan looked up, surprised. Normally, he would have arranged and orchestrated such battles himself, but this time he seemed to be letting go of everything?

”Go on.”

Li Zhirui didn’t explain, just waved his hand, used mana to send him out of the cave mansion.

Although he wouldn’t be transcending in the short term, no one could predict such things—maybe unexpected events would force him to act earlier than planned.

So while he’s still here, he was letting the younger generation handle more matters. If something went wrong, maybe he could help.

And when reviewing things afterwards, he could use his own experience and insight to guide them.

Li Xiuyuan stood at the door, heart in great turmoil—even more so than when he first heard of the Sea Clan’s impending attack!

Fortunately, he’s smart. Once he calmed down, he understood why Li Zhirui was doing this.

So he didn’t ask Ancestor Rui for help again, nor did he waste time standing there dumbly, but strode off to gather the clansmen and discuss the situation.

After an emergency discussion, they decided to invite former Clan Leader Li Hongshi to the Pearl Island Chain to take charge of the overall situation.

The reasons for choosing him were: first, his cultivation was sufficient—late-stage Earth Immortal, strong enough; second, his status as former clan leader was enough to command the other clansmen; third, his seniority, coupled with his former position, gave him enough prestige to resolve any internal disputes or conflicts among the family.

The other former clan leaders either lacked sufficient cultivation or had already perished or become Daoist, so no one else was more suitable.

”Hongsu Ancestor, we must trouble you with this,” Li Xiuyuan said respectfully.

”To serve the family is as it should be!” Li Hongshi’s weathered face revealed a gentle smile.

He had an understanding of the family’s current circumstances as well. If his strength was needed, he absolutely wouldn’t hesitate in the least!

No time was wasted. Li Xiuyuan produced something akin to a notice of command, and Li Hongshi personally accepted it, summoned a spirit boat, and disappeared swiftly beyond the horizon.

Traveling within Shanhai State, he naturally encountered no danger. After a good half day, he arrived at his destination.

With the command token in hand, he smoothly took over control of the Pearl Island Chain, where tens of thousands of clansmen and more loose cultivators all obeyed his orders!

The first command issued by Li Hongshi was to observe the Sea Clan’s movements and prepare for battle!

The sea monsters of the Sea Clan, watching from a hundred miles across the sea, also noticed the activity of the cultivators on the island chain, but they paid it no real mind.

Because all of this was just a disguise!

Though it looked like the Sea Clan was mobilizing vast numbers of water devils, putting on a great show of preparing to attack the Ten Thousand Spirit Sea Area, in reality, it was all an act.

Of the seemingly tens of thousands—even more—beast tides, the actual water devils were less than a tenth. The rest were all secret technique disguises.

The actual purpose of the Sea Clan’s actions was to concentrate their strength to retake the Western Sea!

Years ago, the Sea Clan had used pure lotus seeds to regain most of the Western Sea from the Demonic Tao, territory that had been lost for years, but they had never fully reclaimed it.

After that, the Demonic Tao used the Hidden Dregs Secret Technique to seize several regions of the sea. And due to the pollution caused by the demon cultivators, the surrounding seawater remained long contaminated by demonic qi.

If it hadn’t been for the purifying power of the lotus seeds, it would have been corrupted by the demonic qi long ago.

There hadn’t been a good opportunity before; even with heavy losses, there was no guarantee of recovering the territory. So the Sea Clan had given up for a while.

But now things were different: the Demonic Tao and Immortal Tao were locked in fierce battle, most demon cultivators had rushed to the front lines—not only was the defensive strength in the Western Sea greatly weakened, but they also couldn’t spare much support to send elsewhere.

And this situation wasn’t just in the Ten Thousand Spirit Sea Area; other nearshore areas were the same. The Sea Clan looked aggressive, but it was all a disguise!

It was just a ruse to attract attention, to confuse others.

But the Li family, the Cave Abyss Sect, and other factions near the East Sea, were all deceived, sending out cultivators and preparing for battle in earnest.

It wasn’t long before they realized something was wrong.

The Sea Clan lingered near for too long, and showed no sign at all of launching an attack.

On the Pearl Island Chain, a clansman curiously asked, ”Hongsu Ancestor, do you think the Sea Clan have some plot we’re unaware of?”

”I can’t figure out what they’re up to either.” Li Hongshi frowned, gazing at the dark beast tide in the distance, his face filled with contemplation.

The clansman continued, ”How about we go on the offensive? With so many clansmen and loose cultivators, even if we leave the protection of the Island Defense Array, we might not lose.”

”We could try attacking. If something feels off, retreat at once. I’ll arrange for clansmen to provide support along the way.” After much consideration, he agreed to the proposal, but grew much more cautious.

”Alright! I’ll go gather the clansmen and have them follow me to probe the Sea Clan.”

With that, Li Guangxing left in high spirits.

In less than an hour, he had rallied a group of clansmen, and together they left the island chain, proactively attacking the Sea Clan!

Of course, they weren’t foolish enough to charge directly at the Sea Clan. Instead, they relied on pill and secret technique powers to attack from afar.

Whoosh—several streaks of spirit light tore through the sky, crashing into the beast tide.