Chapter 349: Chapter 152: Submit as Mortal, Defy to Become Immortal! Mountain and River Immortal, Wuwei Sect Leader, Princess Fuyao...

[Fifteen years ago, you were born in Tongye State, Longxi Prefecture, as the fourth son of Li Shen Yao, who was granted the title ’Duke Tongye,’ but you were of illegitimate birth, born to a maidservant with no foundation.]

[At the same time, just a few hours before you, your half-brother ’Li Shentong’ was born.]

[He was born with innate double pupils, purple lightning crossed on the back of his hand, and when he landed on the ground, all his muscles and bones were fully connected. In this era where martial dao spiritual qi surged like waves, he was certainly a naturally gifted cultivator!]

[Duke Tongye Li Shen Yao, of human descent, practiced early in the world’s first mysterious sect ’Life and Death Mountain and River Sect,’ comprehending the second level of the ’Life and Death Mountain and River Profound Skill,’ reaching the Great Innate level.]

[As the Great Yin Monarch rose to power, sweeping across five states and establishing a foundation, later seizing control of Tongye, he commanded a force of one hundred thousand iron troops, vigorous like dragons and tigers.]

[His legal wife was a woman from an aristocratic family with a ’Half-Demon Bloodline,’ and his eldest son Li Qiankun was shrewd and resourceful, managing the State Mansion, while his second son Li Xuanzong trained under one of the ’Six Pillars of Great Yin,’ the ’Great Yin Martial Saint,’ mastering the art of war and formations.]

[At that time, people spoke of a qilin in the Li Family, one skilled in literature and one in martial arts, both considered to be talents capable of being a king’s right-hand man. When they reached adolescence, the eldest son Li Qiankun began his career, serving as Prefecture Venerable; the second son was even recruited into the Emperor’s Personal Guard, entering the Great Yin Divine Capital, always accompanied wherever he went.]

[According to logic, the Li Family’s offspring would surpass their predecessors, seemingly a foregone conclusion, yet————]

[With the birth of Li Shentong, it seemed that the future of the Li family in Tongye State, one of the great houses of the realm, wouldn’t just stop there.]

[Your father was originally from humble origins, having struggled for decades before achieving the Great Innate level. It wasn’t until martial dao resurged a dozen years ago that he relied on profound skills and resources to advance to the third step, the ’Primordial Pill’ realm, having no remarkable talent to pass down to you.]

[Meanwhile, your three brothers were dazzling and radiant.]

[Naturally, this made you, who seemed ordinary, appear incredibly insignificant.]

[You remained obscure for your first fifteen years, but the Li Family never let you go hungry, and servants and attendants respected you, always referring to you as the ’Fourth Young Master.’]

[Except for your half-brother Li Shentong, who was similar in age to you and always looked down on you, your eldest brother Li Qiankun and second brother Li Xuanzong were usually quite gentle toward you.]

[But all of this was just the superficial ’brotherly friendship.’]

[For fifteen years, since your mediocre achievements in martial dao, your resources had been pitifully scarce.]

[By the time you were twelve or thirteen, you accompanied your father and brothers to the sect to pay respects on the centennial birthday of the ’Mountain and River Immortal,’ setting foot on the world’s first mysterious sect, the ’Life and Death Mountain and River Sect.’]

[That year, the sect leader, whose gaze was as sharp as a blade, effortlessly discerned your fate, revealing that you were born with two significant hurdles, surviving one would allow you to transform your destiny and advance rapidly, and if you could overcome both, you would surely become one of those ’Dharma Seekers’ recorded in the Grotto Heaven scrolls, those who defied destiny.]

[These two hurdles, one at sixteen and another at twenty-eight, both came with great calamities, perhaps a natural disaster or human-made misfortune, but regrettably, throughout history, those with such destinies...]

[Almost ninety-nine percent couldn’t surpass the hurdle at sixteen, let alone at twenty-eight.]

[Approximately two or three decades ago, when spiritual qi seeped out of the pocket world rift, using ancient scrolls and inherited knowledge, the Life and Death Sect Leader, known as ’Mountain and River Immortal’ Zuo Shanhe, took nine years to cultivate from the second step ’Great Innate’ to the peak of the ’Celestial Human Realm’ of the Primordial Pill stage, just one step away from the legendary True Master that hadn’t appeared in three hundred years, patted your shoulder and indicated to your father and brothers that if you one day managed to overcome the destiny at sixteen, you could come pay respects after your transformation, and at that time, he would accept you as a disciple, passing on his true teachings.]

[From then on, you ceased to be a nobody and garnered a little attention from the family.]

[However, as your father delved into numerous ancient texts, he discovered that people with this ’Double Eight Limit’ destiny were recorded but, in nearly three hundred years, since the decline of cultivation, no one had ever overcome this destiny.]

[Furthermore, your aptitude and opportunities were mediocre, with no hope seen in breaking the life and death limits. Additionally, it was rumored that if this destiny were overcome, it might affect the fate of the entire clan, so over time, no one in the clan wished for you to break this fate.]

[Your brother Li Shentong, who was the same age, even sneered and arrogantly said, "Since you’re just a mortal, you should enjoy the immense wealth the Li Clan brings you, leave an heir before sixteen, and die if you must, as befits your name!"]

[And your name...]

[Is Li Shunfan.]

[The Li Clan, an eminent family under heaven, had residences in both Tongye State and Divine Capital.]

[Your eldest brother Li Qiankun and second brother Li Xuanzong held positions as officials and generals in Tongye State, having been dispatched long ago to assist Li Shen Yao in managing the powerful family, expanding its influence.]

[Meanwhile, you and Li Shentong lived in Divine Capital for fifteen years, in peace and quiet, living a carefree life until————]

[This day,]

[In the Northwest Land, within the borders of five states.]

[The Red Eyebrow rebels stirred and gathered in the mountains and forests, under the secret guidance of the Wuwei Sect Leader from the Demon Sect, known for being ’free and unfettered,’ they seized prefectures and counties, causing chaos in the southeastern ’Fuyao’ and ’Changbai’ states.]

[Their leader, known as the ’Heaven-Soaring General’ of the Yellow Dragon Dao, had already cultivated dragon and tiger forms, and now, with the pinnacle of celestial beings not emerging, he could be deemed the utmost pinnacle.]

[With the backing of ’Wuwei’ demonic figures’ guidance, once an unsuccessful scholar suffering from the harsh ’three-six-nine grades’ discrimination, he, in his anger, sought to restore order and establish an equal order for ’demons, half-demons, and humans.’]