Qin Xiao gripped the arms of his chair, staring intently at Li Guanqi. After lingering in silence for a long time, he finally asked, "How much did Baibao Pavilion lend you?"
Li Guanqi shook his head. "Not Baibao Pavilion. Just the Tang family."
"Two billion."
Qin Xiao's eyes flickered. Closing his eyes, he was quiet for a while before asking, "What are your chances?"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly upward as he suddenly recalled a phrase Ye Feng always kept on the tip of his tongue.
He turned and walked toward the door. He still had to make a trip to the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect.
His voice drifted back slowly. "A gamble always comes down to winning or losing—a fifty-fifty split.
"It only depends on whether you can stomach the risk."
Listening to Li Guanqi's words, Qin Wushang could not help but swallow hard. This was the first time he had ever seen anyone dare speak to his father like that.
Li Guanqi departed and made his way to the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect.
Only, arriving at the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect felt more like visiting the home of a close elder.
Not only did Ye Xuan personally escort him to the study, but Ye Bingxin also sat to the side, pouring tea for both of them.
Li Guanqi gave Ye Bingxin a slight nod, thanking her for the tea.
The breathtakingly beautiful Ye Bingxin was also immensely curious about this young man with whom she had had little contact.
Every single feat he had pulled off sounded utterly inconceivable, yet he had accomplished each and every one of them!
Back then, her body had been mysteriously commandeered, causing her to lose consciousness. She was deeply indebted to Li Guanqi; without him, she might have perished long ago.
The very first thing Ye Xuan said upon sitting down was, "I have no money."
Li Guanqi parted his lips, then simply replied, "Then we'll drink tea."
Ye Xuan was amused by his response. Holding up his teacup, he laughed. "You're not going to plead your case a bit more?"
Li Guanqi shrugged. "Uncle Ye, you already said you have no money. What else can I say?"
Ye Xuan gave him a profound look, unable to suppress the curiosity in his heart. "How much did you go ask from the Qin family?"
Li Guanqi did not hide it. "Five billion."
"Five billion?! Did Qin Xiao actually lend it to you?"
Li Guanqi curled his lip. "He refused."
Upon hearing this, a look of realization dawned on Ye Xuan's face. "I knew it. Even for the Qin family, coughing up five billion all at once is a tall order."
Suddenly!
A man's deep, resonant voice rang out in the room!
"I'm in!"
Ripples spread through the void, and a man clad in a black python robe embroidered with gold thread stepped out, shouldering a massive spatial chest.
*Thud!!*
The chest slammed onto the ground, gouging a deep crater into the floor. Qin Xiao planted a foot on top of it, his eyes blazing as he looked at Li Guanqi.
"Hahaha! I was fond of gambling in my youth, but it's been years since I played for stakes this high. Don't let me down, boy!"
Ye Bingxin froze where she sat. Piecing together their earlier conversation, her beautiful eyes darted to the chest beneath Qin Xiao's foot, and she could not help but gulp. "Inside this chest... is five billion high-grade spirit stones?!"
Ye Xuan was dumbfounded as well. Hadn't he just said Qin Xiao refused?
Turning toward the beaming Li Guanqi, Ye Xuan could not help but curse under his breath, "You little bastard, you calculated this outcome all along, didn't you?!"
Qin Xiao was taken aback. He glanced at Ye Xuan, then back at Li Guanqi. "He didn't lend you anything?"
He clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Old Ye, this stingy, cowardly display of yours is truly pathetic."
The corner of Ye Xuan's mouth twitched. "Qin Xiao, this brat opened his mouth and asked for four billion! He's trying to clean out my entire estate!"
Qin Xiao curled his lip and sent a voice transmission: *Compared to entering the Seventh Domain, what does it matter to risk a mere few billion spirit stones on a gamble?*
Although Ye Xuan and Qin Xiao rarely saw eye to eye, their ambition regarding the Seventh Domain was surprisingly aligned.
Ye Xuan gritted his teeth and said in a heavy voice, "Fine! I'm in!"
"I'll have people gather the funds."
Li Guanqi rose, bowed respectfully to the two men, and said solemnly, "This is born of personal friendship. This junior thanks both seniors for thinking so highly of me."
With that, Li Guanqi looked up and grinned. "Since you're both in on the gamble, why not do me another small favor while you're at it?"
Qin Xiao and Ye Xuan said nothing, quietly accepting the jade pendants Li Guanqi handed to them.
Teleportation jade pendants!
Li Guanqi departed from the Misty Immortal Domain, returning soundlessly to Yunding Auction House.
By now, only three days remained until the auction.
Everything concerning the auction was proceeding in an orderly fashion under Tang Wei's arrangements.
Not only did this auction feature the Profound Phantasm Sacred Soul Pill, but it also boasted prized medicinal pills from three top eighth-grade alchemists.
Precious spirit herbs and high-grade spiritual weapons were plentiful as well.
Furthermore... over the years, Guanyun Pavilion had acquired many fragments of blessed realms, and this time they were putting forth three blessed land fragments capable of bolstering a sect or clan's foundational heritage!
The Six Ancients Sacred Sect had even contributed a Dao comprehension stone as an auction item.
All in all, Guanyun Pavilion's promotional campaign for this auction was utterly unprecedented!
Whether to watch the spectacle or to purchase what they needed, countless cultivators from across the Six Domains flooded into Feiyun City.
Amid such a chaotic influx of people, the mounting pressure brought Yu Hua to the brink of collapse.
A staggering volume of intelligence required her vetting, and she also had to monitor the hidden agents of Tianji Pavilion who had slipped into Feiyun City.
Qianqiusui had not yet completed his breakthrough, though it was expected within the next two days.
Xi Yunhuai had gone without rest for days on end.
Yet, when he looked over at the woman in the distance, who was relying on consuming pills to squeeze every last drop of spiritual sense from her mind, he suddenly felt as though he had it far too easy.
Yu Hua was like a machine pushed past its limits. Her foxlike eyes were bloodshot, and hundreds of jade slips hovered densely around her.
Her dry eyes flickered constantly. Almost the instant any jade slip lit up, she had already issued an order.
Even Xi Yunhuai could not help but admire her dedication!
There was only one reason she drove herself so hard: after stumbling several times in the past, Yu Hua no longer trusted anyone else.
Only by gripping every single thread in her own hands could she feel any sense of peace.
Li Guanqi had granted her this trust, and those successive setbacks made her vow never to make another mistake!
Xi Yunhuai walked over, offered her a bottle of spiritual elixir meant to restore spiritual sense, and said in a low voice, "Rest for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
As if she hadn't heard him, Yu Hua took the jade bottle, tilted her head back, and drained it. Smoothing her disheveled hair with slender, fair fingers, she whispered, "No need. Only two days left. The Pavilion Master's plan is reaching its culmination, and I cannot drop the ball."
Xi Yunhuai sighed. Bloodstains now dotted the Guanyun Domain Boundary...
Everyone was on edge, and quite a few people had already buckled under the pressure and withdrawn from Guanyun Pavilion.
Conversely, the mid-level figures who had previously been blackmailed had remained to this day.
Tianji Pavilion's infiltration of Guanyun Pavilion's mid and lower ranks was simply too deep; any resistance from within was nearly negligible.
Over the past two days, the quantity of spirit stones Tang Wei had moved exceeded anything he had ever handled in his entire lifetime!
With bloodshot eyes, Tang Wei faced a situation even more complex than Yu Hua's. He alone had to coordinate the merchant division personnel across the Six Domains to carry out the plan methodically step by step.
Moreover, he had to ensure that Tianji Pavilion noticed none of it.
Tang Wei murmured to himself, "What a brilliant masterstroke to cut the ground right out from under them... If this succeeds, Tianji Pavilion's very foundation will be ruined!"
Chapter 1050