[Your descendant Li Yuanwu was born with multiple Spiritual Roots. None of his Spiritual Roots exceeded 20 points.
With Spiritual Roots below 50 points, breaking through to Foundation Establishment is even more difficult.
The clan's miraculous Elixir and spiritual pills could hardly break this deadlock.]
[In his youth, he coincidentally met the Martial Emperor and caught his first glimpse of the Martial Dao.
The Martial Dao was indistinct and uncertain, yet it was better than a hopeless dead end. He cultivated the Martial Dao for over a hundred years.]
[Entering the mountains, he observed the beasts; at the foot of the mountain, he mimicked the insects.
Within the mountains, he took the beasts as his teachers; in the clouds, he wrestled with eagles.
He learned the strengths of all living creatures and altered his meridians to move like birds and beasts, breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
Yet he glimpsed that the Golden Core had already transcended the mortal realm; how could a mortal step into the realm of Immortals?]
[Subsequently, he tempered his body. In the Ephemeral Grotto-Heaven, he learned the transformations of spiritual beasts; in the ancient tower of the Immortal Martial Cave Heaven, he endured immense pressure to bitterly cultivate the limits of the human body.]
[Your descendant Li Yuanwu has acquired the traits: Martial Artist, Philosopher of the Cultivation World, Ascetic...]
[The Strongest Foundation Establishment Stage in the Mortal Realm]
[...]
[On his deathbed, your descendant Li Yuanwu attempted one final time to use martial arts to break through his realm.
Refusing to believe that the human body was inferior to the Immortal Dao, he still could not find even a single thread of life.]
[His lifespan is exhausted.]
Upon the Spirit Ship, the withered old mortal body stepped on the air and entered the clouds.
The sky full of drifting snow danced along with him.
Li Yuanwu let out a long sigh and ceased his movements.
He slowly reached out his hand; within his palm lay flakes of snow.
These snowflakes were all different, just like the diverse people of this world, and he was merely the most ordinary one among them.
So be it. Let it all be.
"Huu."
Li Yuanwu exhaled the final breath from his chest.
He slowly closed his eyes, falling along with these drifting snowflakes.
Faintly and indistinctly, he saw several figures flying toward him.
It was his two sons and his clansmen.
His two sons would catch him. His clansmen would catch him, walking the path he never had the time to finish on his behalf.
This final trace of a thought allowed Li Yuanwu to peacefully close his eyes.
"Father!!!"
...
The Spirit Ship left the blizzards of the Northern Frontier behind.
What greeted them next was the mild weather of the southeastern region.
The warm sun spilled onto the Spirit Ship.
Li Jianning sat consistently in the spot where Li Yuanwu had sat a few days prior.
He curled up, hugging his calves tightly, his chin resting on his knees.
His gaze was dull and glazed, as if the bitter cold of the Northern Frontier had never left.
Ahead, the clansmen came and went, flying high and low to scout the situation to prevent anyone from harboring malicious intent in these chaotic times.
However, the shouts and calls of the clansmen didn't reach Li Jianning's surroundings in the slightest.
When passing by Li Jianning, the clansmen unconsciously slowed their steps and kept their voices down.
Footsteps sounded from the side.
It was Li Jianshu, who had seen his brother in this state for the past few days.
With bloodshot eyes, he slowly walked to Li Jianning's side and gently leaned against the railing at the edge of the Spirit Ship, exhaling a long breath toward the sky.
Having reached the southeastern region, there was no longer the freezing chill of the Northern Frontier, and his breath did not form a white mist, causing his eyes to lower slightly.
As an older brother, he loved to tease his younger sibling, but at this moment, Li Jianshu didn't say a single word.
He silently leaned to the side, quietly waiting.
Who knew how much time had passed; the moon was silent, and the stars were bright.
Li Jianning's voice seemed deep in the night, yet it didn't feel like it disturbed the tranquility of the long night.
"Father spent his entire life practicing martial arts. Since we were young, he rarely took care of us.
When I was a child, I felt he wasn't like a father at all. Cultivation, what's so great about cultivation? How could it be more important than his own children?"
Li Jianshu remained silent.
Li Jianning remained curled up, staring straight ahead, and smiled.
"Later, Qiukong was murdered by others, and Chuyuan rebelled. Not long after, I went to the Eternal Immortal Sect. Father said I was spineless, and he wasn't wrong at all.
There is something I've never dared tell you all: both my children are gone, and my wife returned to her maiden home in a fit of anger. She said I was a good-for-nothing. I really am spineless."
"When I got to the Eternal Immortal Sect, I cultivated desperately. I cultivated whatever Ancestor Lan told me to. Only then did I understand why Father cultivated like a madman.
Even the most spineless person doesn't want to be looked down upon for their entire life.
We have too many reasons to risk our lives striving to be stronger than others. Let alone our father; he yielded to no one."
Li Jianshu was silent for a long time.
His nose stung. He wanted to say some comforting words, but he couldn't utter a single syllable.
Jianning had two children: Li Chuyuan's father lost his life during an experiential journey, and Qiukong was murdered by the Zhao Clan.
Thus, even Li Chuyuan had developed a rebellious and deviant nature.
Their mother was a mortal who had passed away many years ago.
Taking a deep breath, Li Jianshu forced a smile.
"The old man was stubborn.
Back in Merit City, when he decided to come to the Northern Frontier, when the old man boarded the Spirit Ship, no one was allowed to help him up, otherwise, he would get angry with you.
Perhaps he already knew his physical condition back then. He went with you to kill enemies; that was the last time in his life he displayed his martial arts realm."
"But, Brother..."
Li Jianning suddenly turned around and looked up, lost and helpless.
Those eyes made Li Jianshu not dare to look directly at them.
"We... we don't have a father anymore."
"You still have me, and you have our clansmen."
Li Jianshu quickly turned his back to his younger brother, his voice deep.
"We still have a long road to walk, just like when Father boarded the Spirit Ship to come to the Northern Frontier."
In the night.
A wailing cry echoed on the Spirit Ship.
Li Jianning was being spineless again.
So was Li Jianshu.
In a distant corner, the Li Clan members silently accompanied the two brothers in the darkness.
"Zhiheng," Li Wei murmured to Li Zhiheng, wanting to offer comfort, yet not knowing where to start.
"Old Ancestor, your child understands."
Li Zhiheng's face was pale as he said bitterly, "This was Wu'er's choice."
As his words fell, under the Old Ancestor's gaze, he walked away like a walking corpse.
Walking along, he unknowingly arrived at Li Yuanshang's door, but he didn't dare to walk in.
He could only stand sideways outside the door, watching.
Li Yuanshang held a Spatial Ring in his hands, his eyes vacant.
Inside the Spatial Ring lay his sleeping elder brother.
After his brother passed, his mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.
He conducted business in the Imperial Capital; in the future, when he returned to the Azure Cloud Prefecture to honor the ancestors, after seeing his father, who else would he go see? How was he supposed to go back and explain this to their mother?
In the future, if he suffered grievances in the Imperial Capital, in front of whom could he recklessly vent his frustrations?
He didn't know.
Li Zhiheng quietly walked in.
Li Yuanshang looked up, his face full of bewilderment.
"Father, Father, save Eldest Brother! You have the Heavenly Dao Divine Heart; you must have a way!"
Li Zhiheng sat down and remained silent.
He understood the meaning behind the Old Ancestor calling out to him just now.
The Old Ancestor was afraid that the Heavenly Dao Divine Heart would affect him; the Zhao Clan's old ancestor had once used the Heavenly Dao Divine Heart to resurrect his own clansmen.
But when Wu'er made his resolution, Wu'er similarly forgot that he still had a father, a mother, a younger brother, and children.
"Father, you must have a way!" In his sight, Shang'er had already fallen to his knees before him.
Li Zhiheng covered his heart, shook his head, and murmured,
"It is precisely because I am Wu'er's father that I cannot allow myself to make the decision to block my child's path.
The Wu'er brought back by the Heavenly Dao Divine Heart would not be Wu'er. Nor would he allow himself to possess an irrelevant body. He is Wu'er, my son."
"May my son be at peace."
As soon as he finished speaking, everything before Li Zhiheng's eyes shifted.
He was actually still quietly standing guard outside Li Yuanshang's door, and inside, Li Yuanshang was still staring blankly at the Spatial Ring in his hand.
Li Zhiheng touched his face; his hand was completely wet.