Is the One Who Returned Really You?

Scalding spirit spring water spilled over the rim of the cup. Li Guanqi's expression darkened by degrees, though he let the boiling water scald his fingers without flinching. He endured it until Song Yunshu emptied the kettle down to the last drop. Only then did the old man release Song Yunshu's hand. The woman was terrified, her face as pale as paper as she collapsed limp into her chair. The back of the hand that held the kettle was already mottled with purplish-black bruises. In sheer terror, Song Yunshu shifted her gaze back and forth between the two men. The air was thick with an oppressive stillness, for Gu Yong made no attempt to veil his overwhelming pressure. The spirit qi drifting through the air trembled violently as if on the verge of berserk instability, rattling the teaware across the tabletop. Gu Yong lowered his head slightly and spoke without a flicker of emotion. "Guanyun Pavilion will merge into Tianji Pavilion. In return, I will grant you a substantial amount of resources." "It will be more than enough to support your cultivation up to the Mahayana realm." "Oh, and one more thing: leave the Tianji Chart behind. That was an errand I entrusted you with in the first place." Gu Yong's words were as razor-sharp as daggers, casting aside what little friendship had existed between them over all these years without so much as a single mention. Li Guanqi clenched his teeth, blue veins bulging along his forehead. He looked down at his reddened fingers and the tea brimming right at the edge of his cup. Licking his lips, he abruptly hurled the tea straight at the old man! A barrier of primal energy flared in front of Gu Yong, repelling the liquid in an instant. Li Guanqi surged to his feet and kicked the tea table flying with ferocious force! "Fuck your mother!" The teacup shot forth like a cannonball as a withered branch appeared in his hand, lashing out in a savage slash! "World Annihilation!" Rumble! A terrifying boom detonated, and an ominous thundercloud thousands of zhang across coalesced in an instant over the entire Tianji Domain. The next moment, everyone in Tianji Pavilion watched in awe as a horrifying bolt of thunderous sword light burst straight out from the pinnacle of Tianji Tower! In a breath, the entire Tianji Tower was cleaved cleanly in two. Li Guanqi's figure launched outward into the sky, his feet kicking against the void as both his arms instantly completed their draconic transformation! Dark purple dragon scales coated his arms. Gripping the withered branch infused with lightning, his face was as cold as frost. A mocking voice slowly slipped from his lips. "Old bastard, I came here to talk things through with you, and here you are daydreaming at me?" As he spoke, the billowing smoke and dust cleared, revealing Gu Yong clad in hemp robes standing ten zhang away. Lightning ran rampant around Li Guanqi. Raising a hand toward the top of Tianji Tower, he clamped his fingers down in a vicious phantom grip! His features twisted into a ferocious scowl, Li Guanqi hissed, "You want the Tianji Chart? Hah!" Boom! Crack, crack, crack! Wisps of lightning began bleeding from the replica preserved within the barrier atop Tianji Tower, followed immediately by a spiderweb of fine fractures that spread rapidly across the scroll! Li Guanqi's eyes were frigid. His lips parted slightly. "Shatter!" Bang! The hundred-zhang scroll detonated into countless scraps of cloth! That extraordinarily precious replica of the Tianji Chart was destroyed in the blink of an eye! Gu Yong's chest heaved violently as he narrowed his eyes. "You actually left such a hidden measure inside the Tianji Chart back then?" Li Guanqi sneered. "I've grown terrified of being plotted against. With every step forward, I plan several steps ahead, leaving behind contingencies just in case." With that, he tightened his grip, slowly crushing the Tianji jade pendant in his palm to dust. From within, a minuscule array emerged. Pop! The array blew apart. Li Guanqi mocked, "Haven't you been keeping tabs on me all these years as well?" "Since you have no desire for peaceful coexistence, fine by me." "From this day forth, Guanyun Pavilion and Tianji Pavilion are incompatible as fire and water. We'll see who laughs last..." Matters had escalated to this point; both sides had completely torn away all pretense of civility! Even several members of Tianji Pavilion who had once respected and followed Li Guanqi's leadership knitted their brows. None of them had ever expected things to deteriorate into such a state. Song Yunshu, slumped inside the cleaved Tianji Tower, was even more shaken, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. She could not comprehend how Gu Yong and Li Guanqi had fallen out so bitterly. Anyone who saw them together had assumed they were the closest of friends despite the generational divide. Moreover, Gu Yong had offered Li Guanqi tremendous help on many previous occasions. Yet now... Watching Li Guanqi prepare to leave, Gu Yong said in a chilling voice, "Leave the Tianji Chart behind, and I will let you walk away." With his back to Gu Yong, Li Guanqi turned his head slowly, his gaze freezing cold. "And what if I refuse?" Gu Yong narrowed his eyes and threatened, "If you refuse, then do not blame me for taking action." A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Li Guanqi's mouth, and he spoke in a tone laced with suppressed, unspeakable fury. "Gu Yong, have you gone senile with old age?" "Are you that eager to die?" "Others might not know who I am, but do you not know?" He had already begun to sense that something was deeply amiss with Gu Yong... Li Guanqi turned around fully, his muscles taut and primed for a fight to the death. Thunder erupted, the surrounding void shattered, and a terrifying sword intent shot straight into the sky. A blood-red phantom rose behind Li Guanqi, looking down upon all living beings. His long hair whipped wildly in the wind. Narrowing his purely white eyes, Li Guanqi stared dead at Gu Yong and uttered a sentence that left everyone utterly bewildered. "Gu Yong left Tianji Pavilion to break through his realm. Who was it that returned?" Boom! The question slammed like a warhammer into the sea of consciousness of everyone present, leaving their minds buzzing in shock. Mouths hung open all around! Gu Yong narrowed his eyes, his murky gaze dripping with cold murderous intent. Standing a hundred zhang away, Song Yunshu's throat bobbed as she swallowed with difficulty, Li Guanqi's words echoing relentlessly in her mind. Shen Feng kept his head bowed, his pinpoint pupils trembling frantically as an utterly mad suspicion took root uncontrollably in his thoughts. Gu Yong's demeanor remained outwardly steady, though his face had turned frighteningly dark. "The one who returned is Gu Yong. There is no point in saying such things. I know what I am doing." "Li Guanqi, leave the Tianji Chart behind. I harbor no designs on the sword coffin you carry." "Give me the Tianji Chart, and I will let you go." Li Guanqi's aura surged with boundless power, pushing his strength to the very peak. It was undeniably the strongest display of might he had ever mustered since setting foot on the path of cultivation! In his mouth, he held a Spirit Burst Pill, along with a Wild Comprehension Pill capable of temporarily elevating his spirit comprehension rank by three tiers! Li Guanqi probed the thoroughly sealed Tianji Domain; the entire expanse seemed shrouded beneath an exceedingly powerful ancient array. The formidable domain power was not something he could pierce in his current state—not unless he called upon sword spirit possession! Rumble! Li Guanqi said softly, "You must know that my father-in-law and Zhou Yunqing are already on their way." Tucking his hands into his sleeves, Gu Yong answered in an even tone, "Which is why I will not kill you. I only want the Tianji Chart!" "What secret does the Tianji Chart conceal that makes you so obsessed?" Li Guanqi demanded. "To the point that you wouldn't hesitate to make an enemy of me just to obtain it?" Gu Yong made no reply, stating simply, "The time I can grant you is running out. Meng Jiangchu and Zhou Yunqing are almost here." Li Guanqi took a deep breath, retrieved the genuine Tianji Chart, and tossed it to Gu Yong. Catching the chart, Gu Yong visibly relaxed, a hint of relief flickering in his eyes as he raised a hand to tear a rift across the sky. As Li Guanqi stepped inside and his figure began fading into the spatial tear, he cast a complicated look back at Gu Yong. "From this day forth, you go your way and I go mine!" "When we meet again, we will be enemies." Song Yunshu rose, intending to say something, but Gu Yong raised a hand to stop her. The old man looked toward Li Guanqi with a conflicted gaze, uttering not a single word. In that very instant, the Tianji Domain blurred. Clearly, Tianji Pavilion would depart from these mountains once and for all, fading into the dark void as a hidden organization.