Chapter 1397: Chapter 1398: Money for a Life
“???”
Li Xiaobai’s words left all the cultivators on-site full of question marks in their minds.
What kind of nonsense is this?
Anyone who betrays you gets a million?
Honestly, a lot of the young cultivators present were starting to feel like they wanted to betray Li Xiaobai on the spot.
Chen Yuan and Long Xue heard this and were equally baffled. At this critical moment, you’re still trying to give people money?
This would only make an already poor household even worse!
But the very next second, Chen Yuan seemed to figure something out. His expression relaxed, and he couldn’t help but clap his hands: “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!”
“Brother Li’s move is truly heroic. This is the grand vision of a true strongman!”
“Anyone who betrays us gets a million, while those loyal to us surely deserve billions. Don’t you agree?”
Chen Yuan glanced around at the numerous experts below.
“Senior Li’s vision is beyond reach. He is truly someone who takes big matters seriously!”
“Absolute admiration!”
The cultivators in the hall also began clapping along. While they had no idea why they were clapping, not joining in the praise felt somewhat out of place since everyone else was doing it.
“I’ll go prepare right away!”
Chen Yuan grinned, delight written all over him like a child from five hundred years ago. It was still the same familiar Brother Li and the same familiar, cheeky antics.
Of course, the million wasn’t about truly gifting those who betrayed him. That money wasn’t ordinary currency—it was known as “life-buying money.”
Knowing you’re being betrayed and still handing over resources? The implications of this would unsettle anyone who witnessed it. It had an air of the ancient tradition of a condemned man’s final feast, letting sects and forces have one good meal before hitting the road.
“That’s it for today, dispersed!”
Li Xiaobai stood to start dismissing them. He could tell that at least half of the cultivators there had strayed hearts. Once they left, they would likely rush back to their sects to report.
The Villian’s Guild was thoroughly infiltrated!
The crowd dispersed.
Only Long Xue remained in the hall.
“My lady, your husband has returned. Do you have some kind of welcome for him?”
Li Xiaobai grinned slyly and chuckled.
“How are you even alive?”
“Why did it take a full five hundred years for you to awaken?”
“Is there truly a way to bring someone back from the dead?”
Long Xue’s eyes were full of doubt as she reached out to touch Li Xiaobai’s face, filled with a sense of unreality.
Five hundred years had passed like this. People’s faiths had crumbled, and yet here he was, inexplicably returning to the human realm at such a crucial juncture. It was truly unbelievable.
“Of course there is. Your husband is not a simple man. Mere Immortal Gods—how could they actually kill me?”
“This time, I’ve come to resolve the Villian’s Guild’s matters, clear out all obstacles, and when this is done, I will ascend to the Upper Realm, confront the Immortal Gods, and give them a thorough sweep.”
Li Xiaobai said this with a smile on his face.
“My lord husband can ascend to the Upper Realm now?”
Long Xue was stunned. Just like before, she still couldn’t sense the slightest cultivation level from him. Even now, as a Saint Realm powerhouse standing at the peak of the Central Origin Realm, she still couldn’t discern anything from Li Xiaobai. It was as if the person standing before her was just an ordinary man. Yet she knew—precisely because of this—that he was all the more terrifying.
The inability to detect any aura from a Saint Realm cultivator was proof enough of his terrifying strength.
“After so many years, of course I can. But before ascending, there’s one matter that must be done.”
Li Xiaobai looked at Long Xue with a meaningful expression and said.
“What matter?”
Long Xue was a bit dazed, not understanding his meaning.
“It’s been five hundred years—I want to check if my wife has gained weight.”
Li Xiaobai laughed heartily and lunged forward, pulling Long Xue into his embrace.
…
Night fell in silence.
The next morning.
Below the Second Peak of the Villian’s Guild, carriages and horses came and went continuously in an endless stream. Numerous Super Sect forces had come to pay their respects. The reason was simple—yesterday, Chen Yuan had delivered one million premium Immortal Stones to their sects and declared it was Li Xiaobai’s intention.
Li Xiaobai’s resurrection after hundreds of years already had the high-ranking members of these sects shaken. But then, to top it off, he even gave them money!
One million premium Immortal Stones was an astronomical sum for ordinary people—just wealth for a sect—but the key issue was that accepting this money made them uneasy.
What kind of money was this?
Just handing it over without clarification made them restless.
Atop the Second Peak.
Li Xiaobai sat upright in the center, looking at the numerous cultivators below, filled with emotion.
After five hundred years, here he was again. The scenery was as familiar as ever, but the faces of the people had changed.
To play it safe, every Super Sect had sent their oldest and longest-living members. Yet even they found themselves overshadowed by Li Xiaobai, whose status and aura far outstripped their own. For most of them, their only glimpse of him had been from afar during the Immortal Gods War.
“Do you think that’s really Senior Li?”
“What does it matter if he is or isn’t?”
“Five hundred years have passed—can he stir up any waves now?”
“Times have changed. Once upon a time, he was at the top, but now he’s just another Saint Realm cultivator. Strip away his reputation, and he’s just like the rest of us.”
Several cultivators said indifferently.
The younger generation’s finest powerhouse still had admiration for this legendary figure who once saved the Central Origin Realm. But now, with Li Xiaobai truly revived, their hearts were stirred with both reverence and defiance.
When Li Xiaobai was dead, he was a legend, an insurmountable existence. But now that he was back, it felt like destiny gave them the chance—the opportunity to defy and even conquer that legend.
Dead, he’s a myth; alive, he becomes a rival, offering them a chance to challenge and surpass him.
In truth, these days the young elites had grown conceited. They carried unrivaled Divine Might, their cultivation unfathomable. Though they shared the same Saint Realm, they hardly saw themselves as inferior to Li Xiaobao.
The era had changed. They saw Li Xiaobai as nothing but a famed relic. Perhaps in his prime he was a top master, but five hundred years of progress in cultivation techniques, paths, and resources had left today’s generation cutting-edge. Every one of them was a dragon-slayer in their own right.
“High-level conflicts are no concern of ours. What we’ve come for is a chance—to challenge this person revered as a god by the masses, to pull him down from the divine pedestal and use him as a stepping stone to reach even higher!”
One formidable prodigy declared boldly.
Even faced with unstoppable forces like Ma Niubi and Fu Tiantian, who instill despair, Li Xiaobai still gave many the belief that he was a challenge within reach.
If they could press him down—even without defeating someone like Ma Niubi—their fame and feats would still spread across the Central Origin Realm, echoing in songs for generations!
“A true Senior should have the self-awareness to contribute, to shed their fading glory and work hard to improve life for the younger generation—that is what being a true hero is all about!”