Yet Gu Yong had no idea that the moment the spirit glyph was forced out of Shen Feng's body, Li Guanqi had already noticed.
Furthermore...
"Heh, so he saw through the trick?"
Li Guanqi had been sitting in his study, lost in thought for a long time.
The candlelight flickered, and a wisp of blue smoke rose straight from the incense burner before him. After sitting there in silence, Li Guanqi suddenly shook his head with a bitter chuckle.
Drawing out an ancient jade slip, he rubbed his nose and spoke bluntly into it. "Grandpa, Gu Yong snatched the Tianji Chart from me, and lately he's been trying to swallow up my Guanyun Pavilion too.
"Sigh... I know you've been busy lately, but your grandson really is getting pushed around like a dog out here every day...
"I'm not saying this to whine, mind you. Mainly, I just can't beat that old codger. And my sword coffin was snatched away by some Mahayana realm bastard, too.
"Forget it. You're busy anyway, so I'll just rely on myself."
Setting down the jade slip, the corners of Li Guanqi's lips curled slightly.
The reason he had done this was merely to test the waters. If Grandpa could step in and deal with Tianji Pavilion, that would naturally be ideal.
All he wanted now was to raise his strength as quickly as possible. As for this turf war between the two pavilions, he didn't care about it in the slightest; in fact, he felt it was entirely pointless.
Gu Yong was doing this because he had an agenda!
As for himself... the benefits he could obtain were few and far between—nothing more than an unimaginable mountain of wealth.
In the Seventh Domain.
Su Xuan, his face slightly pale, listened to Li Guanqi's voice from the jade slip and couldn't help shaking his head with a wry smile.
He cursed with amused affection, "This little bastard, playing the pity card with me...
"Still... your grandpa really can't spare any hands right now..."
The old man looked up at the terrifying heavenly canopy sealing off the entire Seventh Domain, his expression turning grim to the extreme.
His blood-stained robe was virtually dyed red, the dried blood having turned a dark crimson.
"Phew..."
Putting the jade slip away, the old man once again strode forward over the mountain of corpses and sea of blood beneath his feet.
Four blood-drenched experts followed behind him, each bearing a steely, somber countenance.
Their destination this time was above the Seven Domains!
Only there could they break this sealing canopy, yet it also meant stepping into extreme danger.
Because up there...
The suppression on the immortals above was weaker, allowing them to unleash even greater power.
After putting down the jade slip, Li Guanqi sat stunned for a good while before curling his lip and muttering to himself.
"Even though I knew I wouldn't get any help, I didn't expect him not to say a single word back!"
That being said, Li Guanqi frowned, a sliver of worry flashing deep in his eyes.
He had not heard his grandfather's voice in a very long time, and being out of touch for so long naturally made him anxious.
Moreover, throughout all this time, he had been trying every possible way to establish contact with Pengluo, yet received no response whatsoever.
Still, that was also a good sign.
It meant the other side had not yet breached the space within the sword coffin!!
Meanwhile, inside a mysterious spatial fragment within the Ethereal Immortal Domain.
Zhang Qixuan frowned as he gazed at the sword coffin suspended in the center of the canyon, enveloped in countless strands of bizarre light. "Can this ancient sacrificial altar of yours really do the trick?"
Yu Changbo offered a faint smile as a fingernail-sized fragment of the sword coffin appeared in his hand.
"If there truly are other things hidden inside this sword coffin as you claimed, then our Yu clan's altar can definitely open it!
"However... judging by our current pace, unsealing this sword coffin will take several decades at the very least."
Zhang Qixuan waved a hand dismissively. "Time is of no concern; I can afford to wait."
Glancing sideways at the man, he gave a cold laugh. "Heh, to think you actually never came looking for me. In the end, I had to take action myself."
Yu Changbo's expression turned slightly unnatural, and he replied candidly, "You know as well as I do.
"The Yu clan doesn't belong to me alone. Sometimes... one's hands are tied."
Zhang Qixuan turned slowly. With his back to the altar, he suddenly said,
"Actually... it wouldn't be impossible to make the Yu clan yours alone."
Hearing this, Yu Changbo's pupils instantly shrank to needlepoints!!
He stared fixedly at Zhang Qixuan's back, deep in thought, his eyes flickering with conflicting emotions.
"Whew... Don't speak of such things again."
Zhang Qixuan smiled, not pressing the matter further, and turned to leave.
"Speed things up. You needn't worry about the expended resources; I will bring more next time I come."
Once the man had departed, Yu Changbo turned back to look at the sword coffin resting in the canyon, his brows knitting tightly.
"Just what is hidden inside this sword coffin that Zhang Qixuan would go to such great lengths?
"Persisting even at the risk of being killed!"
Yu Changbo knew that he was now in the same boat as Zhang Qixuan.
He knew very well who stood behind Li Guanqi.
Zhang Qixuan had also placed precautions on the sword coffin specifically to prevent him from secretly prying into its secrets.
With this spatial fragment thoroughly concealed, no one knew what was taking place here.
Not even the members of the Yu clan knew that Zhang Qixuan had entered the domain, nor were they aware of what transpired here.
Yu Changbo's eyes flickered, and he murmured softly, "Without striving and gambling, the Yu clan will never rise!!"
The other clans still had their old ancestors, while only their Yu clan was waning!
Before long... the other clans and factions would certainly make a move against the Yu clan!
The reason Yu Changbo dared to stake everything on this gamble was that he had witnessed the figures standing behind Zhang Qixuan.
That was the most crucial reason why he had resolved to involve himself.
In the study, Li Guanqi stowed away the jade slip and began contemplating another matter.
What would it truly take to thoroughly annex Tianji Pavilion?
Li Guanqi's gaze gradually drifted. After a long while, he suddenly murmured to himself, "Gu Yong dies, Tianji falls!"
As long as Gu Yong lived, Tianji Pavilion would endure!
No matter how many casualties they suffered, he could slowly recover his vitality, regardless of whether Tianji died or not.
Yet once Gu Yong was dead... none of the Four Towers' masters would be able to keep Tianji Pavilion under control!!
Because...
There was one thing only Gu Yong could do.
Nearly all the high-ranking members of Tianji Pavilion had a wisp of their divine souls under Gu Yong's control.
Much like Su You—with Li Guanqi holding his soul lamp, if Li Guanqi wanted him dead, he would die.
The mid-to-high-level members of Tianji Pavilion were the same. If Gu Yong died, no one would be able to control their divine souls and life or death, and the organization would naturally fall apart.
Yet having realized this, Li Guanqi's expression shifted again.
If he could figure this out, could Gu Yong not?
Or rather... was the old man still afraid of the forces backing Li Guanqi, leaving him with no choice but to crush Guanyun Pavilion purely through the clash between the two pavilions?
Whether by ruining Guanyun Pavilion's reputation or attacking other fronts.
As long as Guanyun Pavilion faded into oblivion, that would be enough; Gu Yong didn't necessarily have to kill him.
Li Guanqi sighed, resting both hands on the desk and rubbing his temples to ease a headache.
Just then, an anxious voice transmission rang out beside Li Guanqi's ear!
"Reporting to Pavilion Master, Qianqiusui is suddenly entering seclusion to break through!!"
Whoosh!!
Li Guanqi shot to his feet, sensing trouble. He vanished and reappeared in the grand hall of Yunding Auction House.
Looking at Qianqiusui hovering midair, his brows locked together. He surged forward and swiftly pulled her into his domain!
Surges of potent energy inside the woman's body threatened to burst her apart!!
Yu Hua's voice rang out once more: "I looked into it—there was an issue with the medicinal pills Qianqiusui collected a while ago!
"Upon inspection, none of the pills contained any poison, but... the power inside them was enough to trigger a breakthrough the moment Qianqiusui swallowed them!"
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and cursed inwardly, *Damn it!*
The auction was only days away. Forcing Qianqiusui into a breakthrough right at this juncture was more than enough to throw everything into chaos!
Chapter 1048