After the path was cut off

The next day. Noon.

A stack of visiting cards lay on Li Wangxiang's desk.

These were all sent from various parts of the sect after Junior Sister spread the word.

Things escalated faster and more dramatically than he had anticipated.

Almost all the top officials in foreign affairs have concluded that the true leader is about to step in.

The General Affairs Hall could not deny it, and the Merit Hall remained silent. This silence, in the eyes of others, became the most terrifying and easily misinterpreted tacit consent.

Thus, each peak sent out invitations, and each lineage tested the waters. What were originally just thoughts churning in the shadows were now brought into the open.

Junior Sister's move has already succeeded.

With the situation now settled, the remaining task is to select the truly capable individuals from among these invitations.

However, these posts are full of twists and turns.

Some words are humble, but every sentence is a test; some are submissive, but there are clearly other plans behind them; and some seem to be just ordinary greetings, but between the lines they reveal unseen causes and effects and interests.

If you were to open each letter one by one and read each sentence until dark, you might not be able to tell who was just testing the waters, who wanted to take advantage of the situation, or who had ulterior motives.

Fortunately-

Li Wangxiang no longer needs to rely solely on his eyes to see.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and the strange sensation that had been dormant for a long time in the depths of his consciousness gently resurfaced.

The next instant, the stack of visiting cards on the table all changed in his eyes.

Each note was tied with a string.

Some were as pale as gossamer threads, some as dark red as weeping blood, and some as deep as ink, fine and dense, extending outwards from the back of the paper, the marks of words, the signature, and even some places he couldn't see at all, reaching out in all directions.

These days, he has gradually figured out how to use these eyes.

In front of the Hall of Mastery, he saw the tendrils reaching outwards from the sect, and thus concluded that the other true disciples were not in the sect.

In the Hall of General Affairs, he saw the gaze of the True Man [Shi Shui] lingering on the Abyss of Rotten Water.

These "lines" are definitely not an illusion.

They always extend from the things themselves, connecting to the people, places, interests, and even things that are deliberately obscured.

Take this letter for example, which is right next to him.

The line was pitch black and extremely long. Following the line, it actually passed through the Tianxuan Sect's mountain gate and stretched into the depths of the distant wilderness.

Li Wangxiang looked at it for a moment, then threw it aside.

He had only been out of his cave for a few days when people outside the sect had already started watching him based on the rumors.

These kinds of posts are best avoided right now.

He doesn't have the time or the resources to deal with it.

Li Wangxiang sifted through the letters one by one, discarding those with messy threads, overly dark colors, or those that clearly revealed malice or underhanded tactics.

In the end, only a few letters remained on the table.

These are the people who are truly involved.

They possess extraordinary skills, powerful peaks, and extensive connections, as well as goals they are determined to achieve.

They came to see him not to seek refuge, nor simply to uncover secrets, but to determine whether Li Wangxiang would actually intervene, and if so, on which side he would stand. They wanted to see if he would become a variable they needed to guard against, win over, or even suppress beforehand.

These are the most interesting people.

Because they come with the deepest calculations, they often inadvertently reveal the most of what's going on.

Li Wangxiang read through each of the visiting cards.

The first peak, Gu Chenggang.

The third peak, Duheng.

...

The fifth peak, Qin Xiuyuan.

...

The seventh peak, Gu Xiangyang.

Li Wangxiang's gaze paused slightly upon seeing the name.

Among these posts, Gu Xiangyang was the only person he recognized.

He had only seen this name the day before while looking through the Foundation Establishment disciples' files. Peak early Foundation Establishment stage, outer disciple of the Seventh Peak.

Reaching this point in a place like the Seventh Peak is no easy feat.

Li Wangxiang looked down at the blue-patterned paper and suddenly remembered many old stories.

When he was a child, he was often beaten by Gu Xiangyang.

At that time, he had just left his elder brother, and his heart was filled with thoughts of his hometown. Apart from his spiritual practice, he would read his family letters over and over again, and he was indifferent to everyone and everything else.

He rarely responds when others speak to him, whether with good intentions or with a hint of mockery.

Young people can hardly bear such cold treatment.

As time went on, gossip increased, and the number of punches and kicks that landed on him also increased.

Gu Xiangyang is one of them.

However, this person is quite different from others.

Others liked to talk about his ordinary background and his family, but Gu Xiangyang never touched on those things. What he talked about most often was:

"To speak to you is to show you respect."

"If you dare look at me like that again, I'll beat you up every time I see you."

Thinking of this, Li Wangxiang felt a vague sense of emotion.

In his letters home, his elder brother frequently corrected his stubbornness. But before he could figure it out himself, he had already mastered the art and continued down that increasingly cold path, never looking back.

Time and life.

He separated Gu Xiangyang's visiting card.

The paper was the most common blue-patterned cloud-patterned stationery, with neat handwriting, humble tone, and a deliberate adherence to rules, showing no trace of the arrogance and restlessness of the former king of the kids.

He looked down and read it, remaining silent for a long time.

Every sentence on the visiting card was flawless, but that's precisely why it felt so unfamiliar.

The boy who used to hold his chin high and never give an inch when speaking in the servants' quarters has now lowered his posture so much.

However, Li Wangxiang felt little joy; instead, he felt a strange unease.

Despite his awkwardness, among all those who sent petitions to see him, Gu Xiangyang was actually the most suitable one.

At least, he recognized the person.

I also know that this person's thoughts when he was young were not entirely bad, but he was too straightforward, too shallow, and too unable to hide them.

Compared to those complete strangers who are full of ulterior motives but pretend to be open and honest, these old acquaintances are actually more likely to be trusted.

One line is enough.

Li Wangxiang pressed the visiting card back onto the table, finally making a decision.

Since we're going to meet someone anyway, let's meet Gu Xiangyang first.

--------------

Gu Xiangyang never expected that Li Wangxiang would meet with him.

When he sent out that invitation, he was just trying his luck and didn't even dare to expect a response.

After all, the two didn't get along very well when they were young.

Even though Li Wangxiang later rose to prominence and became a true disciple, and no one mentioned the old fights and unpleasantness anymore, Gu Xiangyang knew in his heart that old grievances were still old grievances, and they would not be truly wiped clean just because someone was now in a higher position.

So when Xiao Huanshan actually replied, he was first taken aback, and then his heart sank.

Of course, there were surprises.

But after the initial surprise, there was more tension.

He knew he couldn't skip this trip.

The Seventh Peak, being a peak focused on external affairs, is different from the True Transmission Peak.

The lineage at the peak is flawed, and the early stages of Foundation Establishment are practically the end. Further up, the path is severely cut off. Without a special skill, one cannot enter the Twelve Academies, nor can one rely on a master's legacy. When the time comes, most will be sent away from the sect to serve as apprentices in affiliated immortal sects—this is almost the fate of them.

Whether it's the Seventh Peak or the First to Ninth Peaks, which of the disciples on these external affairs peaks doesn't understand this principle?

Therefore, for them, this round in Yunmeng Daze was not about competing for any opportunities or secret treasures.

Instead, it's about fighting for your life.

They strive to establish a foothold where they can set up their own sect and ensure that their cultivation doesn't rot away outside the sect.

Gu Xiangyang and his two fellow disciples from Fengzhong had been preparing for this for many years.

They gradually accumulated immortal skills and built relationships step by step. Even those disciples from the Seventh Peak who also wanted to go out and establish their own sects were slowly united with them.

Originally, things seemed to be going perfectly.

We've pretty much figured out the details of each of the foreign affairs leaders. We know who possesses how much immortal power they have, and who's eyeing which spiritual land. We're just waiting for the hammer to fall on the day of the bidding, then everyone can rely on their own abilities.

But who could have imagined that the true master of the peak would meet such an end?

And it was Li Wangxiang who ended up on the field.

It is said that someone saw him go to the sect's treasury and he had more than 40,000 immortal cultivation points in his hands.

Gu Xiangyang and his Seventh Peak have been planning for so many years, but they have only managed to accumulate a little over four thousand.

How to fight?

Therefore, he had to see Li Wangxiang on this trip.

It's not about rekindling old flames.

It wasn't for any personal gain.

Instead, we need to figure out first which sacred site this true disciple wants to compete for.

Only by understanding this can we change our strategy after the Seventh Peak.

Liu Ruyan and Zhou Mingyuan were unaware of his past grievances with Li Wangxiang, and they only saw this as a great turning point.

Liu Ruyan, in particular, was immediately energized.

That was a true disciple.

They are the golden core seeds nurtured by the sect with all its might, people who sit high on the peaks and never sit down to talk to them, the disciples of the external affairs peaks.

If they could even get in touch with Li Wangxiang, even just to understand his attitude, the Seventh Peak wouldn't be completely on the defensive in this Yunmeng battle.

So, from the moment she received the reply, she gave Gu Xiangyang a whole host of instructions.

How to address someone, how to greet them, what to say first when you meet them, what questions to ask, and what questions to avoid. Your tone should be steady, and your posture humble. You should neither appear timid nor overly fawning.

He explained each point in great detail.

Gu Xiangyang initially managed to listen, but as the conversation progressed, he felt a dull ache in his head.

On the contrary, Zhou Mingyuan barely spoke from beginning to end, simply following quietly to the side, his expression as somber as ever. But Gu Xiangyang could see that the barely suppressed expectation in his eyes was even stronger than that in Liu Ruyan's eyes.

I'm not looking to build a personal relationship.

Instead, he wanted to use this trip to truly assess Li Wangxiang's current capabilities.

This only made Gu Xiangyang feel even more uneasy.

He once again politely declined their offer to see him off.

"No need." He forced a smile. "Little Huanshan is just ahead; it's not like we're going to some dangerous place."

Liu Ruyan wanted to give him a few more words of advice, but seeing that he looked quite uncomfortable, she held back. She simply straightened his sleeves and whispered:

"Senior brother, once you see them, keep them calm."

Zhou Mingyuan just looked at him and said one sentence:

"Don't rush to speak, listen first."

Gu Xiangyang nodded, said nothing more, and headed towards Xiaohuan Mountain alone.