At the southwestern corner of the Star Region's center lay the territory governed by the Li family, which was somewhat larger than that of other saintly sects.
This was because the Li family boasted two saints.
Li Yang and Li Yue, two generations separated by thousands of years, yet together they upheld the entire Li family in the same era.
The Li family's current glory was mainly due to these two.
Unlike other sects that used celestial bodies as their base, the Li family settled directly on the Milky Way, using its power as the foundation of their sect. With two saints controlling the stars, one at the front and one at the rear, they were firmly established.
Atop the Milky Way.
Li Yang gazed at the sky above the universe, a hint of worry on her cold features.
As a saint, she naturally knew about the regression of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, and she herself was once a member of the Fourteen Sons of Vast Sky, having an indelible connection with the Blue Sky Sword Sea.
If the person behind the regression had designs on her, the entire Li family would not escape this karmic connection.
Preparing for the worst was what a saint should consider.
The Milky Way suddenly twisted, and a woman in a light blue dress approached. Her face was also cold, but upon seeing Li Yang, she immediately smiled and called out.
"Aunt Li Yang."
Li Yang returned the smile and asked, "Have you found out why the Milky Way has been trembling these past few days?"
"No," Li Yue shook her head, equally puzzled. She had specifically calculated it a few days ago, but not being specialized in divination, she couldn't figure out the reason.
Li Yang frowned and began to speculate.
"The Milky Way wouldn't tremble without reason. It's likely that someone is plotting against us, involving the concept of karma. So the Milky Way, which is karmically connected to us, is giving us a warning."
"If that's the case, the person behind this plot must be at least a saint-level cultivator, right?"
Upon hearing this, Li Yue's expression also turned serious, her eyes moving as she pondered continuously.
There were only a few saints in the Star Region. Excluding those who couldn't possibly act against them, the purpose became somewhat obvious.
Li Yang and Li Yue exchanged a glance, both having reached an answer in their hearts. They spoke simultaneously.
"Emperor Capital!"
"Qiu Li!"
They had directly accused these two villains.
Li Yang curiously asked, "Why did you guess Qiu Li first?"
Li Yue chuckled and replied, "Because I knew you would guess Emperor Capital first, Aunt. So I added Qiu Li. Those two are notorious troublemakers in the Star Region, and they have grudges with us, so naturally, they're more suspicious!"
Their grudge with Emperor Capital was an old score, dating back ten thousand years when he had just become a quasi-saint. At that time, Emperor Capital was even more arrogant. Although not very bright, he was powerful and boasted about defeating both Li Yang and Li Yue together.
He did fight, but he didn't win. Since then, he had harbored resentment and occasionally sought revenge.
Why suspect Qiu Li as well?
The reason was simple: Qiu Li was the man behind Emperor Capital, also known as Emperor Capital's brain.
Out of every ten misdeeds Emperor Capital committed, five could be attributed to Qiu Li's instigation.
Although there were later rumors that they had parted ways due to unequal profit-sharing, who knew if that was true?
Li Yue made a circle with one hand and rubbed it in the palm of her other hand, sneering.
"Hmph, if it really is those two, I'll have to truly battle with them this time. We've had enough of these small skirmishes. Do they really think the Li family is easy to bully?!"
Li Yang nodded, then frowned and asked, "How did your inquiry with Huang Can go?"
Huang Can was also one of the Fourteen Sons of Vast Sky, on good terms with the Li family. He was one of the seven saints among the Fourteen Sons of Vast Sky and the only saint without a sect.
Li Yue shook her head, "He's used to being independent. He said he wants to avoid the constraints of worldly sects, seeking the great Dao on his own. He's unwilling to have too much contact with the Li family and even more unwilling to participate in conflicts between sects."
"He's got it figured out, living freely," Li Yang sighed, then looked at the universe again. Suddenly, she turned her head and softly asked Li Yue on the Milky Way.
"Is the sect constraining you too much? I know you've never liked these family affairs."
Li Yue was slightly taken aback, then lowered her head and smiled gently.
"There's no question of like or dislike. When the family has matters to attend to, I do it. That's all."
Li Yang laughed heartily and beckoned, "If you want to pursue your own Dao, you can go ahead without worry. The Li family still has me."
"No," Li Yue shook her head, glancing towards the southern part of the Star Region, and added, "There's no great Dao."
In the direction she was looking, if one were to walk to the place of destiny, they would find a Dead Star Region near the ruins adjacent to the Blue Sky Sword Sea.
It was said that there was an old monster there called the Lord of Dead Star.
Li Yue knew him.
But it seemed that she only knew him.
She had actually gone to the Dead Star Region once afterwards, waiting outside for a long time, one year, two years... fifteen years.
She didn't get a single word.
So she never went back again.
But after ten thousand years, why was there still an unforgettable echo in her heart?
Was it emotional turmoil, or the reluctance of the great Dao?
Li Yue wasn't sure why, she only knew that she wanted to see him again, to ask the Lord of Dead Star face to face.
Were they really not friends?
"Achoo!" Chen Xia sneezed unexpectedly, rubbing his nose, looking somewhat puzzled.
"Brother, are you feeling unwell?" Emperor Capital asked with concern nearby.
"How could his body be unwell? It must be a karmic connection," Qiu Li, being more practical, explained the reason.
"Who?" The usually taciturn Chi Yu spoke up, his tone suggesting he was ready to deal with whoever was causing this karmic disturbance.
"I don't know either," Qiu Li shook his head, then gazed at the distant Milky Way and changed the subject.
"I've been thinking, there are only three months left until the Li family's Milky Way rotation day. We should go to the Li family on that day to negotiate with Li Yang. If she's unwilling to join us, we'll prevent her Milky Way from rotating, suffocating the Li family!"
"You really are a villain!" Emperor Capital commented.
"Aren't you the same?" Qiu Li retorted.
Chi Yu remained silent, coolly standing next to Chen Xia, acting as a bodyguard to the leader.
"Then it's decided," Chen Xia nodded and proclaimed loudly.
"Three months from now, we descend upon the Li family. We must lure Li Yang into our team. With one more of the Fourteen Sons of Vast Sky, we increase our chances of successfully regressing the Blue Sky Sword Sea by ten percent."
Chen Xia, the biggest villain of them all, had spoken, and the other three naturally agreed.
Three months was extremely quick for cultivators of their level. When the date arrived,
Four streaks of light shot through the universe.
Descending at extreme speed!