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Qingzhou City, in the Divine General Mansion.
The glow of the Ancestral Blood Array had dissipated, and Li Tiangang bade farewell to his ancestors in the ancestral shrine and returned to the Mountain and River Courtyard.
He cast a glance at Li Xiaoran, whose expression was icy, no longer intent on explanations, but instead said,
“Uncle Four, those returning to the Li family to provide reinforcements will need you to receive them. I plan to activate the ancestral secret passage and have them come in through the Huai River.”
“Just make the plans, and I’ll follow orders,” Li Xiaoran said indifferently.
Li Tiangang nodded, then looked around at everyone, ordered someone to bring him a writing brush, and quickly wrote out further plans.
At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the sleepless battlefields of Northern Yan. Looking at his wife, even now, it was she who stood by his side, those eyes still shared the look of life and death together. This caused a slight ripple in his emotions—such a wife, what more could one ask for in life?
“Prepare to open the secret vault. Each of you will take command of fifty thousand elite troops, ready to form ranks and provide assistance at any moment. Each courtyard will receive fifty thousand shares of the Divine Medicine Treasured Blood Pill and ten thousand Dragon Qi Pills…”
In normal times, even direct descendants of the family could only receive single-digit quantities of these divine medicines each year, and those of lower status needed significant contributions to be rewarded. But now, they were given away as if they cost nothing at all.
Centuries of accumulated wealth—which included not only numerous elixirs but also divine weapons and precious armor—were all being poured into this final battle.
“Send secret technique transmissions to every city to activate the secret passages, to guide those returning to the Li family. They should come from underneath the Huai River mountain ranges on the eastern side…”
Li Tiangang spread out the Geomantic Chart of Qingzhou and deployed the reception plans.
To the east of Qingzhou City, peaks sprawled out, and the winding Huai River passed by like a meandering dragon. Much of the water used by the households of Qingzhou City came from this vast river.
Yet, unknown to others, the Li family had long ago developed the Huai River, creating secret passages beneath it. One of their ancestors had envisioned this route to prepare for Qingzhou’s most dangerous moments. It could serve as an escape, and reinforcements from various places could enter Qingzhou City through it.
Now, with demonic forces entrenched outside the city, leaving was impossible. The Dayu Divine Dynasty had not yet fallen, and the Divine General’s headquarters in the great state would not simply capitulate.
As commands were issued one after another, sweat began to bead on Li Tian Gang’s forehead. His expression was solemn, brows furrowed into a frown, but the pressure in his heart lightened ever SO slightly.
Meanwhile, inside Qingzhou City, the Li Family Army sprang into action. The city, including the city defense commander, was of the Li family bloodline. From top to bottom, all the officials in Qingzhou City were members of the Li family. Here, the Li family was supreme, their word was law.
As the commands from the Divine General Mansion were relayed, actions were efficiently carried out. Half of the elite forces were drawn from the armies to receive the precious medicines in the mansion. With the aid of these rare drugs, their fighting strength would greatly increase in a short period, even those in the Fifteen Li Realm could burst forth with power comparable to the Heavenly Human Realm.
Such enhancement naturally came with side effects, but compared to life and death, these were of no concern.
At this moment, large boxes of treasures were moved from the secret vault of the Divine General Mansion. The faces of those from each courtyard were bleak. These were the things accumulated by ancestors over generations, but now they had to be depleted.
“When the bloodline members of the Li family from all places return, it will be time to fight to the death!”
Li Tiangang said in a deep voice.
The return of the many Li family members was primarily to use their bloodline to reconstruct the physical bodies of their ancestors and then, driven by the spirits of those ancestors, to unleash formidable power.
The specific strength would depend on how many of these returning bloodline members there were.
As He Jianlan and others left, taking their respective armies to defend various parts of the city, the Mountain and River Courtyard also became desolate.
Li Tian Gang exchanged a look with Ji Qingqing; the couple did not need to speak to understand each other’s solemnity.
“If only I could reach the Grand Tao of Peace Realm. If I had known this would happen, I should have tried harder and focused more on my cultivation…”
Ji Qingqing spoke in a low voice, her eyes filled with sorrow. As a proud member of the Ji family, had she devoted herself to cultivation within her family, she might have reached the Grand Tao of Peace Realm by her current age.
Had that been the case, combined with the effort of her Uncle Two, Li Muxiu, the situation on the battlefield would have turned drastically.
With their ability to hold back the top forces of the two great demonic factions, the army of Qingzhou City was not inferior to those entrenched demons outside. After all, here lay no fewer than three hundred thousand elite soldiers of the Yuan Camp, the most disciplined warriors of the Li family, capable of fighting ten to one, a match for a three-million-strong army in the same realm!
“Don’t say that; you’ve been working hard enough. It is because you accompanied me in the wars of Northern Yan that you were delayed.”
Li Tian Gang shook his head.
Ji Qingqing glanced at him, biting her lip slightly. Now that they had been driven out of the Ji family, she could no longer ask them for help.
A few days before when Qingzhou City was besieged, she had already made an appearance, using the authority of the Great Wilderness Heaven to deter those demons, preventing them from choosing to attack directly. But the Dragon Gate and Holy Palace were not fools; now was not like the time in Northern Yan. They had come out in full force, and an arrow on the bowstring had to be shot.
The deterrent power of the Ji family from the Great Wilderness Heaven was no longer effective.
After all, this place was beyond the Great Wilderness Heaven. During the time in Northern Yan, besides paying heed to the three tokens of courtesy from the Ji family, the main reason for the Holy Palace to back off was the intervention of a strong Ji family member to assist Ji Qingqing.
“You should rest for now; there’s a tough battle coming up. I’m going to check on their progress.”
Li Tian Gang said to his wife.
Then, stepping out of the Mountain and River Courtyard, he saw several figures rushing toward him as he left the courtyard gate.
“Uncle…”
The ones rushing over were Li Yuanzhao and Li Wushuang, among others. They were startled to run into Li Tian Gang at the entrance. Despite their relationship as uncle and nephew, perhaps due to his imposing presence, there was always a hint of fear in their hearts.