Chapter 151: Convening

Li Qi sat in the room, tapping the table while contemplating the situation.

Jin Buhuan's strength was more than a notch below his, but the power of that Jin Qi (Metal Energy) was truly formidable. As long as he unleashed the might of that Jin Qi (Metal Energy), all his defensive measures would be ineffective; all defenses would be like paper.

Even dodging was unlikely; his reaction speed couldn't keep up with the speed of that Jin Qi (Metal Energy) at all.

In short, if Jin Buhuan possessed a mouthful of eighth-grade Jin Qi (Metal Energy), as long as his opponent had no counter-measures, then no matter how many ninth-grade people there were, they would be like straw before him, easily harvested. As long as he activated the Jin Qi (Metal Energy) and walked a circle, all enemies along the way would lose their heads.

This was eighth-grade... even if it wasn't a Cultivator, but just a weapon.

Li Qi prided himself on having few rivals among the ninth-grade, but facing an eighth-grade natural divine weapon, he could only wait for death.

At this moment, it became clear how outrageous Shen Shuibi was.

How did she, with a ninth-grade cultivation, almost kill another eighth-grade being?

However, Jin Buhuan's Jin Qi (Metal Energy) should not be easily activated.

For a ninth-grade Cultivator to activate an eighth-grade natural divine weapon was not a simple matter; his uncontrollable divine body should be one of the side effects.

With the ability of Shaman Dao to observe the flow of Qi (Dao Resonance) in all things in the world, Li Qi could clearly see why Jin Buhuan had to leave maintaining that tiger-headed human form.

Because he couldn't control it.

According to Li Qi's own conjecture, an ordinary ninth-grade Cultivator should find it very difficult to wield an eighth-grade divine weapon. Jin Buhuan was no exception, but he had another trump card: his father was the Green Mountain Mountain God.

Mountain and river spirits, these were all considered Di Qi (Earthly Qi), which was Li Qi's area of expertise. He clearly knew that most Cultivators practicing the divine Dao often had some peculiarities. As a Metal-aligned spirit born from the Green Mountain, a native White Tiger, his child should also inherit some of its characteristics.

As a divine son, Jin Buhuan, by forcibly activating his Metal-aligned spirit characteristics, barely managed to manipulate the eighth-grade Jin Qi (Metal Energy). However, the side effect was an imbalance of the Metal element in his body, with Jin Qi (Metal Energy) overflowing and filling his body.

The imbalance of the Five Elements within his body led to his appearance just now, unable to control his form, and his voice became hoarse, as if he were ill.

That was because the lungs belonged to Metal. When Jin Qi (Metal Energy) became imbalanced and expanded, the lung meridians would also expand, causing him to pant heavily and his voice to have a metallic sound, as was currently the case.

According to Li Qi's understanding, Jin Qi (Metal Energy) accumulates in the lungs, and if the liver wood is affected by evil, excessive Metal will also cause the lungs to become ill.

Jin Buhuan activating the eighth-grade Jin Qi (Metal Energy) would damage his lungs and liver. It seemed he wasn't using it for the first time, so Li Qi could reasonably guess that both his lung meridians and liver had varying degrees of Jin Qi (Metal Energy) damage.

This was his weakness; it should be exploitable.

Also, there was his cultivation method.

Golden Sound...

His cultivation method, he didn't know what Dao Orthodoxy it belonged to, but it cultivated things related to this.

Li Qi knew that to offer sacrifices to the Western White Emperor, who was the Metal Emperor among the Heavenly God, one needed to use golden sound lyrics and play the Shang tone, which also belonged to Metal.

The Shang tone, its sound is like a chime, its will is joy, its meridian is Hand Taiyin, and if it reverses to Yangming, then the Ying and Wei Qi (Dao Resonance) will be blocked, Yin and Yang will be reversed, Yang Qi (Dao Resonance) will strike inwards, and Yin Qi (Dao Resonance) will be injured outwards.

The golden sound was severe and deadly, the Shang tone was violent, harsh winds rattled the stalks, and heavy frost caused the belts to fall. When struck, it resonated through the Heavenly Gate. Therefore, his usual fighting style was to use this severe and violent sound, combined with its Dao Resonance, to shock the mind of the Heavenly Gate, and then suddenly execute a killing tactic.

Then look at his striking method.

Every time he exerted force, he would strike the Jin Qi (Metal Energy) in his hand to match the sound of the pitch pipes.

Was this simulating the Bo Bell?

It is rumored that Ling Lun cast twelve bells to harmonize the golden sound, and the Bo Bell was the first golden sound instrument. Jin Buhuan used a Heavenly God divine weapon to imitate the sound of the Bo Bell, to meet the requirements of his cultivation method, while also having the advantage of sudden attack and killing.

So, what about the weaknesses?

The first weakness was that he couldn't constantly activate the eighth-grade Jin Qi (Metal Energy), because that would damage his cultivation base. Using it too much could even endanger his life.

The second weakness was the inherent weakness of the golden sound itself. It was recorded in books that metallic sounds, if the metal was too hard and could not be melted by fire, then the person would be mute, and the metal itself would be silent.

This meant that metallic objects were originally silent and required processing and casting to produce sound, just like Ling Lun's initial casting of the twelve bells. Without processing, a bell would also be a silent object.

To exert his power, he definitely needed tools. What he held was that mouthful of eighth-grade Jin Qi (Metal Energy), but besides that, he must have other backup items that couldn't be used casually.

If his equipment could be stripped away, then ninety percent of his cultivation would likely be gone, and the remaining ten percent would probably be his voice. He might still be able to fight by producing the Shang tone with his lungs.

He definitely had other protective items on him, but other combat power had to be reduced first before his trump cards could be forced out.

This was the method to physically eliminate Jin Buhuan.

However, to overthrow Jin Buhuan, physical elimination was far from enough.

Jin Buhuan represented Green Mountain's deeply entrenched influence in Qingwu City, and Green Mountain was the iconic landmark of Green Mountain Country, even arguably its true pillar.

The Lu Mountain God, who achieved the sixth-grade Dao, was, according to the White Snake Mountain God, an extremely top-tier existence among sixth-grade beings. Within Green Mountain's territory, he could even contend with fifth-grade beings. At the very least, the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord had no real way to deal with him.

A Metal-aligned spirit, a naturally extraordinary being with immense killing power, and it was said that his Legacy was also extremely profound.

One must know... the Four Symbols of the heavens, which were the four top-tier Heavenly God that divided the sky above, one of them was the White Tiger.

The firmaments of countless outer worlds were all identical. No matter what world one was in, they all shared the same starry sky and had the same Four Symbols of the heavens.

What kind of power was that?

Though both were White Tigers and couldn't be compared at all, it definitely had its own unique trump cards and should not be underestimated.

So, what would be the result of this?

Jin Buhuan's actions within the city had long made him a host of enemies.

At the same time, did Lu Mountain God Jin Chi's actions in Green Mountain Country not also have enemies?

Just speaking of the existence of Qingwu City, did the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord not put in any effort there?

Qingwu City had just taken root on the edge of Green Mountain, precisely on its periphery, making it impossible for the Lu Mountain God to reach over, and it was also strategically located as a commercial and transportation hub.

If this was a coincidence, Li Qi would chop off his own head.

From this, it was clear that the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord had long harbored opinions about the Lu Mountain God, but due to certain matters or strength, he was unwilling and unable to openly break ties.

But Qingwu City and Qingwu Sect should all be his pawns to restrain Green Mountain, this great Dragon.

Li Qi originally didn't want to get involved; he just wanted to finish things and leave. But Jin Buhuan's actions had already touched his bottom line of righteousness, so even if the risk was great, he had to do this.

Unite all forces that can be united.

He, Li Qi, could become a sharp knife for the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord to stab the Lu Mountain God.

Actually, there was an even simpler solution, which was to directly reveal his identity and say that he was the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain.

Once this title was thrown out, both the Green Mountain Kingdom Lord and the Lu Mountain God would definitely change their attitudes immediately.

A mere Jin Buhuan might even directly lose his heir status because of this, and perhaps his head would be brought over to apologize to Li Qi.

But that wouldn't do; it wasn't right.

The Young Master of Shaman God Mountain was just a title; it didn't mean he was truly powerful.

Constantly flaunting the title of Young Master of Shaman God Mountain everywhere could indeed make many people retreat, but it would also attract many who could truly challenge a Young Master to appear.

If he kept claiming to be the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain every day, and then a true existence capable of challenging the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain came looking for trouble, he would then know what it meant to be in a tough spot.

Currently, he had provoked Jin Buhuan. If he grandly declared himself the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, the next one to come might be ten or twenty times stronger than Jin Buhuan.

If one's reputation doesn't match reality, disaster will surely follow.

Before he could truly live up to the name of Shaman God Mountain, no matter what trouble he caused, Li Qi would only bear it himself.

This could also be considered a form of tempering for himself.

If he needed Shaman God Mountain's resources to solve everything, wouldn't he become useless?

These matters were Li Qi's responsibility, and naturally, he should resolve them, rather than interfering whenever something happened and then calling for adults from home to help.

What kind of behavior was that? Wasn't that being utterly useless?

The busybody matters he took on, he had to bear himself.

Even if it might provoke the Green Mountain Mountain God.

But dealing with this matter inherently required settling with the Green Mountain Mountain God.

Finding a way to prevent him from interfering, or ensuring someone could protect himself if he did interfere, this was what Li Qi had to do after overthrowing Jin Buhuan.

"So the policy has been decided. Let's wait for the others to arrive." Li Qi let out a long breath, stood up, and stretched.

Piao Xu had already gone to deliver his message. Those addresses were actually the people who had previously invited Li Qi, attempting to get him to join their faction to resist Jin Buhuan.

These people would become the force to overthrow Jin Buhuan.

Li Qi was responsible for eliminating Jin Buhuan's physical body, while they were responsible for eliminating Jin Buhuan's influence.

"Counting the time, they should be here by now, right?" Li Qi shook his head, muttering to himself.

Just then, Shen Shuibi's voice suddenly came from behind him: "Li Qi!"

"Ah, what's wrong, Shen Guniang?" Li Qi turned around, temporarily casting aside the conspiratorial thoughts swirling in his mind, replacing them with a smile as he looked at Shen Shuibi.

"The Formation here is already done. At least my own safety shouldn't be an issue. It's just that I don't have any treasures to reinforce the Formation... I can only rely on the right time and place." Shen Shuibi walked over, letting out a long breath, her face full of an expression seeking praise.

Li Qi then said: "You've worked hard. Tonight, I'll have Piao Xu prepare an extra meal for you. Use those ingredients from outside; they're all good stuff. Let Piao Xu handle them. I won't compete with you; I'll even show you a trick!"

Saying that, he pointed to the gift carriage outside.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuibi's eyes crinkled in a smile, and she bounced out to choose things.

She had already forgotten what she came to do.

Actually, she had come to complain.

Li Qi was too good at giving orders. He would just open his mouth and ask for impossibly difficult things, but luckily, she understood them all!

Hmph, hmph, this Formation, it's estimated that Yang Ning wouldn't even be able to set it up. With no suppressing Formation items and only ninth-grade cultivation, it was purely set up by skill.

It was a pity Li Qi didn't understand Formation.

If he did understand, he could probably comprehend it as Shen Shuibi hand-crafting a usable CPU out of sand.

The difficulty was so high that it was unbelievable.

Purely relying on runes and guiding the forces of heaven and earth, without a Formation Plate, Formation Flag, or precious Materials, simply creating something from nothing, she completed this kind of Formation that could temporarily withstand an eighth-grade attack. It could truly be called shocking.

Jin Buhuan's mansion also had a Formation of similar grade. Jin Buhuan had bled heavily for it, and the Formation Master he invited had his head held high in the sky. It also cost a huge amount, taking half a year to meticulously ponder and survey, emptying his many years of savings, only then was it set up.

Even so, Jin Buhuan still felt he had made a huge profit, because a Formation capable of directly resisting an eighth-grade expert's attack was truly too rare, and Formation Masters who could create such Formations were also extremely precious.

He didn't know what he would think if he knew that Shen Shuibi needed nothing and hand-crafted these things within a day.

Perhaps he would regret offending Li Qi.

---

Putting those matters aside, soon, one by one, people with concealed whereabouts appeared before Li Qi.

Their methods were numerous and astonishing, leaving Li Qi in awe.

The first to arrive was the tea in Li Qi's hand.

He was still waiting, but the tea in his hand suddenly split into two masses, then flew up, coiling and twisting, bending and folding several times in the air, transforming into a water mirror. From it, a phantom figure was projected, and then the mirror dispersed, and the figure cupped its hands towards Li Qi: "Young Master Li, have you finally decided?"

"The Misty Rain Pavilion's cultivation method is truly profound and mysterious. With such assistance, how could I possibly tolerate this?" Li Qi replied with a smile.

A little later, the bamboo green plant placed in the corner of the nearby inn suddenly sprouted new shoots, bloomed, and bore fruit.

The flowers were as pure as mutton-fat jade and as fine as crane feathers, while the fruits were plump, vibrant pink, and speckled with red and purple.

The fruit split open, revealing a small person within. Though only the size of a thumb, it was neatly dressed and had a handsome appearance.

As soon as it appeared, the little person replied in a clear voice: "Young Master's sudden invitation, Junzhi Pavilion dares not refuse. I just didn't expect that even Misty Rain Pavilion would be here?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a voice suddenly came from the air: "Haha, it's not just the two of you!"

Then, in mid-air, a large character appeared. Upon closer inspection, it was a huge 'Gate' character.

As soon as the 'Gate' character appeared, it was pushed open from within, and a scholar-dressed person walked out, holding an ink brush: "Plum Blossom Study has arrived. Are there any other friends?"

Before long, various methods appeared, and about ten people arrived, all extremely secretive, either concealing themselves, projecting, or teleporting, without being noticed on the way.

As for inside the room, Shen Shuibi's Formation was already complete, making it even harder for the outside world to easily peek in.

If Shen Shuibi hadn't marked the stealth Formation carved on Piao Xu's body and given them the method, then even these people's spells wouldn't have been able to penetrate it at all, and they wouldn't have been able to enter.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Li Qi cupped his hands: "Everyone, without further ado, I'll get straight to the point: Jin Buhuan's death date is tonight."