After the path was cut off

Chapter 49 Harvest

The light from the Xuanli mirror, like a thunderclap illuminating the dark room, and like a clear spring washing away filth, shone directly on Wang Laoshi's distorted face.

"Ugh—!"

Two overlapping, inhuman, agonizing screams escaped Wang Laoshi's throat, and the twisted peace and violence on his face instantly froze and shattered. He immediately collapsed, lying on the ground, coughing violently, tears and snot streaming down his face.

Xuan Li could no longer bear it.

Manipulating lives and humiliating one's own kind—if this were in the old world of my memories, it would have been a calamity, a thunderbolt from the sky.

If this were in His prime, He would have already searched the heavens and the earth to find such a scourge of a soul, stuffed it into the cycle of reincarnation to make it reincarnate for hundreds of lifetimes, and let it taste all the bitterness of the mortal world!

Unfortunately, the mortal world doesn't care, and now it only has this little bit of spiritual means left.

Extremely frustrated.

While Xuan Li was still feeling depressed, a glimmer of clarity returned to Wang Laoshi's eyes.

Recalling his words and actions just now, he was so frightened that he scrambled to the two men and slammed his head hard against the brick floor!

"Mayor, Immortal Master."

"Those words...were not me...they weren't my intention!"

"I deserve to die! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

As he spoke, he was about to ram his head into the corner of the table.

Li Wangxiang had just given his elder brother a calming pill when he saw this and raised his hand to press down, a gentle spiritual force steadily fixing Wang Laoshi in place.

Wang Laoshi's actions moved Li Wangchuan, and he finally couldn't bear it:

"Wang Laoshi...don't panic, and there's no need to seek death."

"Evil forces and heretics are unpredictable and difficult to guard against; the fault does not lie with you."

"Just remember this—keep everything that just happened to yourself. Don't mention it to anyone, not even your wife and children! Understand?"

Wang Laoshi felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and kowtowed repeatedly:

"Thank you, Mayor! Thank you, Immortal Master, for sparing my life!"

"I understand! I understand! I'd rather die than say it!"

Just then, Li Jingshan strode into the main hall, followed closely by Li Qingfeng and Li Qinghan.

Li Jingshan glanced at the still-dry bloodstains on the ground, then looked at Wang Laoshi, who was like a lump of mud, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"Did you hear everything?" Li Wangxiang asked in a deep voice.

Li Jingshan stepped forward with his hands clasped and bowed calmly: "Uncle, Father. Wang Laoshi is too frightened and his mind is unstable. It might cause trouble if he goes back alone. It would be better if I escorted him."

Li Wangchuan gave Li Jingshan a deep look, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through his overly calm face. After a long pause, he uttered two words:

"Go."

Li Jingshan accepted the order, half-supporting and half-carrying Wang Laoshi, and with a sway of his body, he quickly disappeared into the cold wind before dawn.

After seeing the outsiders off, Li Wangchuan's swaying body finally reached its limit. He raised his hand to refuse the help of others, knowing that he was currently in a state of turmoil, had not slept all night, and might have overthought things. So, he turned to his younger brother beside him and began to speak:

"Wangxiang, what did you discern from the evil cultivator's visit to test you?"

Li Wangxiang already had a guess, but he didn't answer directly. Instead, he turned his gaze to his grandnephew:

"Qingfeng, what do you think?"

Li Qingfeng stepped forward and apologized first:

"Your grandson Qingfeng overheard the elders' conversation that lasted all night. Please punish me."

Li Wangxiang was not surprised.

"It doesn't matter. If I wanted to hide it from you, you wouldn't have heard it anyway."

"Tell me, what did you notice?"

Li Qingfeng was silent for a moment. When he looked up again, his usually calm gaze instantly sharpened:

"Merit"

A slight silence fell over the main hall.

A hint of approval flashed in Li Wangxiang's eyes, and he nodded slightly: "Why is it an achievement? What kind of achievement?"

"My great-uncle once said that this person is seeking gold."

"The way to acquire gold requires not only intention, but also 'achievements' that can support that intention."

"Then, this achievement can only belong to Baixi Town."

Li Qingfeng took a deep breath and continued his deduction:

"If he really wanted to discuss cooperation, he didn't need to tear things apart like this. He mentioned half of his tribe, offered a tenth of their territory, and deliberately uttered the most disgusting and humiliating words..."

"He's not talking, he's forcing me."

Li Qingfeng spoke faster and faster:

He said that people's souls are different; the more emotions one has, the more profound one's soul becomes.

"So he wanted to provoke us to anger, to make Baixi Town hate, and to make the mortals in this town bring out the resentment and anger that had been suppressed for many years."

"Only in this way will those souls be substantial enough to qualify for his monumental achievement of 'seeking gold'!"

Li Wangchuan's blood and qi, which he had just suppressed, surged again because of these words.

Seeing this, Li Wangxiang immediately stepped forward and took his brother's pulse, slowly channeling his pure spiritual energy to regulate his blood and qi.

"Brother, can you see clearly now?"

"What he wants is not compromise, but bloodshed and chaos in Baixi Town."

Li Wangchuan closed his eyes in pain.

"Merit... the intense emotions of mortals can actually become merit for cultivators seeking gold."

He murmured those two words repeatedly, his expression blank and weary, "I can no longer see through this world..."

In that instant, the old man, who had held on all night, seemed to have aged ten years.

"Longing for Home".

Li Wangchuan slowly opened his eyes, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and said, "You decide what to do next. From now on, you don't need to ask my opinion anymore... I'll listen to you."

The main hall remained silent for a long time.

As Li Wangchuan uttered "I'll listen to you," everyone in the hall focused their attention on Li Wangxiang.

As the sun rose, a ray of morning light shone on his eyebrows and eyes, bathing his cheeks in a golden-red hue.

As he slowly stood up, the speck of gold and red fell onto his Taoist robe, making his face appear gloomy.

Li Wangxiang spoke slowly, his voice inexplicably turning cold:

"The heretical cultivators want to throw Baixi Town into chaos."

"Then let it be chaotic."

"But we must retain the ability to stop the chaos at any time."

He looked directly at the younger generation below, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"I will take command of Baixi Town and set up an array here."

"I will offer the Mirror Master as a sacrificial vessel in advance, so that when necessary, the Mirror Master can harvest the souls of Baixi Town."

"Never allow evil practices to obtain it."