Mysterious mirror hanging high

Chapter 909 Worries

"Young Master, it's cold, you should go back to the courtyard," the Nascent Soul guard advised.

The man did not answer; instead, he looked solemnly toward the distant palace.

Those ghost cultivators who had scattered like birds and beasts breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing that the man was only a Nascent Soul cultivator, but still unwilling to give up, they crowded around again.

One of the cultivators recognized the man and said, "Isn't this Li Huaiyou, the young master of the main branch of the Li family?"

"It's him? That sickly guy?"

One of the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief: "Just a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, his cultivation isn't even as high as mine..."

But when Li Huaiyou’s indifferent gaze swept over, the ghost cultivator felt a chill in his heart for no reason: “What’s going on… this person is a bit strange.”

So he didn't dare linger and left the place muttering to himself.

Li Huaiyou scared away the cultivators lingering around the Li residence with just a glance, yet as if he had done something insignificant, he reached out and caught a falling snowflake, muttering to himself:

"This snow... is heavier than the last time."

The Nascent Soul guard behind him thought he had misheard and corrected him, "Young Master, you may be mistaken. Today's snow is the first snow in our capital. It seems that a noble family in the north of the city lost a retainer who practiced ice-type techniques, which caused the change in the celestial phenomena, making it heavier than the usual first snow."

Li Huaiyou smiled, turned around and returned to the Li residence, passing through layers of courtyards and corridors, and arrived at a mourning hall.

This place was considered the location of the Li family's ancestral temple. The guardians, now transformed into gods, dared not follow any further and stood guard outside the courtyard, allowing Li Huaiyou to enter alone.

Stepping over the threshold, one finds a memorial tablet placed inside the mourning hall, beneath which stands a middle-aged man with his hands at his sides.

“Father,” Li Huaiyou said in a low voice.

This person is none other than Li Siwei, the current head of the Li family.

But then the middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes and glanced at Li Huaiyou: "Is the matter outside the manor resolved?"

"A few petty scoundrels, not worth mentioning."

Upon hearing this, Li Siwei's expression changed, and he complained, "Our ancestor's body is barely cold, and these jackals and tigers have already pounced on him just because they smelled him. The world is truly cold and heartless..."

Li Huaiyou ignored his father's complaints and instead said calmly, "Father, complaining won't solve anything. Besides, it's not just outside the clan that's in turmoil; even within the clan, people are restless. Our main branch is small, and those uncles from the collateral branches who have reached the Nascent Soul stage are all eyeing your position as head of the family."

Hearing this, Li Siwei complained even more vehemently: "It's not that I'm criticizing you... but worry, the main lineage has only one descendant left in your lineage. It's widely believed that you were born with congenital deficiencies, which damaged your foundation, allowing you to barely form a five-aperture nascent soul..."

"But you've clearly formed eight orifices in your nascent soul!"

Li Siwei sighed, "He has clearly achieved the Eight-Aperture Nascent Soul stage, and is a top-tier talent in the entire Divine Cauldron Star. Why does he choose to hide his abilities like this?"

"If you were to display the appearance of having eight orifices, you would likely immediately gain the favor of the Crown Prince, and my Li family..."

"shut up!"

Unexpectedly, Li Huaiyou's expression changed drastically upon hearing this, and he shouted, "Father, Huaiyou's actions have their own profound meaning! Over the years, whether it's the major or minor matters of the family, or the various decisions made to support you in ascending to the position of family head, has Huaiyou ever made a mistake? Why should Father question my decisions!"

"Moreover... Ying Qianjue is mean-spirited, ungrateful, and stubborn; he is by no means a wise ruler! Our ancestor has been loyal to him for tens of thousands of years, and now that he has just passed away, let alone support my Li family, he hasn't even offered a word of concern or care. Has he done so?"

"Very well, taking this opportunity, the Li family can sever ties with the Crown Prince's faction."

Li Siwei said anxiously, "Sever ties with His Highness the Crown Prince? How can that be! The reason our Li family hasn't been divided up yet is precisely because we've used His Highness's name and influence! If even this thin veneer of kinship is lost, then..."

Li Huaiyou narrowed his eyes and said, "Then we'll just find a new backer."

"Who?" Li Siwei asked suspiciously.

“Prince Xian!” Li Huaiyou said, enunciating each word clearly, “The Li family can pledge allegiance to Prince Xian.”

"King Xian? Ying Qianwen?"

Li Siwei frowned and said, "He doesn't have the same extraordinary talent as His Highness the Crown Prince."

“Talent doesn’t mean everything. Although Ying Qianjue’s talent is the best among the younger generation of the imperial family, he has a major flaw in his personality,” Li Huaiyou sighed.

“In the Divine Cauldron Immortal Dynasty, aptitude is everything.” Li Siwei emphasized, “Did the immortals of the Immortal Dynasty not know that Ying Qianjue had personality flaws? Then why did they make him the crown prince? Wasn’t it because he has the appearance of a celestial being!”

"It is said that His Highness the Crown Prince has obtained a great opportunity and fortune from the [Jianghuai Tian] this time, which has widened the gap between him and ordinary princes like Prince Xian. I'm afraid..."

"Hmph." Li Huaiyou snorted coldly: "You won't be able to keep jumping around for many more years, Father. You must listen to me on this important matter concerning the survival of the family."

Although Li Siwei's cultivation level far surpassed that of his son, he seemed to value Li Huaiyou's opinion highly. Upon hearing this, he no longer insisted and said in a low voice:

"Your father... Your father naturally trusts you. In that case, I will entrust you with the task of contacting the Prince of Xian. If you need the support of the clan, just let your father know."

Li Huaiyou nodded, then suddenly pinched the bridge of his nose and said wearily, "Father, you've been keeping vigil for some time now, let me take over."

Li Siwei hesitated for a moment, then finally sighed and said, "Take care of yourself..."

He then left the place.

Only Li Huaiyou remained in the mourning hall. His thin body seemed to be really afraid of the cold. He tightened his white robe and stared blankly at Li Fang's memorial tablet in front of him.

At this moment, Li Huaiyou's mind was filled with countless thoughts, and he secretly pondered:

"Why...why did the ancestor die three thousand years earlier?"

"According to the original history, our ancestor should have encountered the remnants of the Immortal Continent in a secret realm three thousand years later, and was killed by a sword cultivator named Chang Jingsi..."

"In the original history, [Jianghuai Tian] was just an ordinary secret realm, without any so-called Immortal Palace of Laws. Ying Qianjue and his group with the Divine Cauldron should all be safe and sound!"

"Why did our ancestor die there?"

Li Huaiyou looked worried: "Could it be that because I intervened and changed the course of history, many things have changed since then?"

"If that's really the case, then my advantage of foresight will soon disappear!"

That's right, Li Huaiyou has been reborn.

At least from his perspective, he had returned to his childhood with memories of his previous life.

"In my previous life, the Divine Cauldron Immortal Dynasty was destroyed by the remnants of the Immortal Continent, and my Li clan was also caught in the crossfire... In this life, I will never allow such a tragedy to happen again!"

Li Huaiyou's eyes were cold: "In my previous life, I was born with defects and my foundation was damaged, so I could only barely form a five-aperture nascent soul."

"But in this life, with the cultivation experience of the Mahayana realm from the previous life, plus various rare and precious materials to replenish the foundation, I finally formed an eight-aperture nascent soul, which can be considered a proud figure."