Looking at the thirty-odd survivors around him, Li Guanqi's expression dimmed.
Even though he had killed some of the black-robed men, what difference did it make?
Perhaps noticing how grim Li Guanqi looked, Sect Master Lu Kangnian let out a soft sigh.
"Everyone, return to your quarters for now."
"Guanqi, come find me in a little while. First, stabilize your cultivation realm."
"Nanting, stay with him."
At this moment, every elder of the Great Xia Sword Sect wore a terrifyingly dark expression.
Though the entire square was filled with people, not a single disciple dared to even breathe loudly.
Li Guanqi gently set down the corpses he had brought back in his storage ring.
Counting the dead disciples he had recovered, there were eighteen bodies in all!
Most had fallen to the black-robed men; the rest had been killed by the lethal mechanisms inside Dikun City.
A devastating loss!
Ye Feng was promptly carried off by Tu Kui, as his injuries were quite severe. Had he not crossed paths with Li Guanqi, he likely would have died inside.
Li Nanting did not press him with questions along the way, simply escorting him swiftly back to his courtyard residence.
Once inside, the old man tended to his wounds while guiding and smoothing the chaotic flow of Li Guanqi's meridians.
As Li Nanting swabbed the wounds across his back, Li Guanqi clenched his teeth and didn't utter a single sound, yet his body trembled faintly in spite of himself.
Finally, Li Nanting spoke. "Next time, don't throw your life away like this."
Li Guanqi answered softly, "They're all fellow disciples from our sect. I couldn't just stand by and watch them die."
"Besides... it was precisely those people who gave me the courage to risk everything."
The old man said nothing in response. Perhaps in his heart, Li Guanqi was simply far more important than anyone else, no matter what.
For no other reason than that he was Li Guanqi's master.
After bandaging Li Guanqi's wounds, the old man waved his hand, tossing down a formation plate beside him before sitting cross-legged at his back.
A pair of withered yet remarkably warm palms pressed against Li Guanqi's back, channeling origin power to begin clearing the meridians that had become congested.
Looking at the youth covered in sword wounds, a flicker of heartache surfaced in the old man's eyes.
Due to the Scarlet Firmament Pill's backlash, Li Guanqi had no strength left to stabilize his cultivation. Sitting upright, he fell into a deep, heavy slumber.
The old man simply sat there in the courtyard, resting the youth's head upon his lap.
Taking one of Li Guanqi's wrists in hand, he carefully nurtured his meridians.
Pulling out a jade slip, he said softly into it, "Sect Master, we will head over a little later. The boy is exhausted..."
Li Nanting then took out another jade slip and gave an order: "Have someone bring me some spirit salve for scar removal."
When Li Guanqi woke, he found himself still resting his head on the old man's lap.
He hastily sat up. "Master, why didn't you wake me?"
Noticing the robe draped over him, a warm wave flowed through Li Guanqi's chest.
Although origin power now surged abundantly within his body, the backlash from the Scarlet Firmament Pill left him looking thoroughly drained, his entire frame limp and sore.
The old man smiled and said, "Now that you're awake, let me finish bandaging your wounds."
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Li Guanqi replied, "Master, how about I do it myself?"
Li Nanting glared at him and snapped, "Do it your ass! Can you even reach the wounds on your back?"
Faced with that, Li Guanqi could only sit still and let the old man bandage him.
At that moment, however, the old man suddenly furrowed his brows and said softly, "The blood-colored markings on your back—how is it that several of them have disappeared?"
Li Guanqi paused, genuinely baffled. "I don't know... They're gone?"
Seeing his bewildered look, the old man decided not to pursue it.
After all, Li Guanqi's grandfather had always been a figure cloaked in profound mystery.
Even so, Li Nanting sternly admonished him, "I don't know how you suddenly broke through to late Foundation Establishment all at once, but for the next three months, you are forbidden from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Great Circle!"
"Do you hear me?!"
The youth broke into a grin and replied solemnly, "Yes, Master. I will dedicate all my time going forward to stabilizing my cultivation realm and foundation."
Only then did the old man nod in satisfaction. He rose to his feet and said, "Come, follow me to see the Sect Master. This matter... is of immense consequence. So many disciples have died."
That night, within a secret hall, Li Guanqi recounted everything that had occurred after entering the secret realm in meticulous detail.
He also brought out all three puppet soldier pellets he had obtained.
From the twelfth floor, alongside the sword Canglang, were two sets of puppet soldier armor.
And the last was the black puppet soldier pellet from the Thousand Mechanism Formation Plate.
In the end, Li Guanqi even explained in complete clarity how he had wiped out the enemies on the Thousand Mechanism Formation Plate.
Three hours later.
Lu Kangnian closed his eyes in pain, inhaled deeply, and looked at Li Guanqi with a heavy voice. "Guanqi, who do you think could be behind this?"
As the words fell, several figures cloaked in the hall's shadows turned their gazes toward Li Guanqi as well.
After pondering for a long while, Li Guanqi voiced his suspicion.
"Ziyang Palace—Zheng Hao!"
Lu Kangnian and Qin Xian exchanged a look, cold lights instantly flashing in their eyes.
Qin Xian's expression was naturally somber, a disposition etched into him from birth.
"Li Guanqi, why do you suspect him? Explain."
Li Guanqi closed his eyes briefly, then methodically laid out his deductions.
"The first time, when Lin Dong of Tiantu Peak was injured, those men did not look or act like disciples of an immortal sect."
"Their methods were vicious, and they moved with precise intent."
"Back then, I suspected they might have been trying to pry specific information out of Lin Dong."
"Because when I engaged them in battle, they clearly had the opportunity to kill Lin Dong, yet they refrained."
Lu Kangnian's eyes flickered, and he said softly, "Go on."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Li Guanqi continued in a low voice, "Earlier, before I went to unlock the spirit ruins, I clashed with Pang Li, a disciple under Ziyang Palace Elder Zheng Hao."
"That led to the life-or-death arena challenge later on."
"Perhaps from that moment onward, he was already scheming to put an end to my life."
Before he could finish, Qin Xian waved a hand from the high platform to interrupt him.
"This matter has nothing to do with you. The life-or-death arena was an open and honorable challenge."
"Whatever consequences follow, the sect will shoulder them entirely! There is no need for you to take the blame upon yourself."
Li Guanqi pressed his lips together and continued.
"This secret realm was acquired from Ziyang Palace. Thus, I suspect the first group's objective was to discover the roster of our disciples entering the realm."
"Furthermore! That group entered the secret realm before us—of that, I am absolutely certain!"
Saying this, Li Guanqi produced a snow-white umbrella in his hand and said solemnly, "This is the weapon used by one of the black-robed men. However, such intricate mechanical weaponry was most likely obtained inside Dikun City."
"Besides... had they entered after us, the spatial fluctuations of the secret realm could not have gone unchanged."
"If there had been any disturbance, the sect elders stationed outside could not have failed to notice!"
Lu Kangnian nodded slightly, clearly in agreement with Li Guanqi's assessment.
"As for why I say it might be someone from Ziyang Palace—one of the black-robed men explicitly stated that their leader was to sever my head to claim a bounty!"
The youth stood in the center of the hall, his posture straight and poised like a sword.
Gazing directly at the high platform, he said in a calm tone, "I conduct myself honorably, and I firmly believe no one within our own sect wishes to see me dead."
"Among those who possess a motive to do so, I can only think of Zheng Hao. However, I have no evidence..."
"Those black-robed men bore not a single trace of an identifiable clue on their persons."
"Still... I suspect someone possessed the means to command that group of black-robed men."
At this point, Li Guanqi looked up at Lu Kangnian, retrieved a brush, wrote a single sentence on a piece of paper, and passed it up.
On it was written only the final item he had obtained.
Lu Kangnian narrowed his eyes. With a sudden strike of his palm, he shattered the throne beneath him and barked chillingly, "What a Ziyang Palace! What a Zheng Hao!"
"Evidence? Heh... Would I, Lu Kangnian, need to carry evidence to Ziyang Palace to demand an explanation?"
"Where is the Great Xia Sword Sect's Disciplinary Law Enforcer?!"
The old man beside him assumed a stern expression, bowed, and answered in a low, resonant voice, "Qin Xian is here!"
Lu Kangnian turned slowly, glanced at Li Guanqi, and then sent a voice transmission to Qin Xian: "Investigate this."
"See if Zheng Hao has any disciples under him, or if he himself has a need to elevate the quality of a lightning-element spiritual root."
"If there is any suspicion at all, kill him!"
Cold light gleamed in Qin Xian's eyes as he bowed deeply, his voice resolute.
"Understood, Sect Master!"
Chapter 102