The Revolting Southern Faction!

Li Guanqi's face was as cold as frost. He did not know what role Wanshu truly played within the Xuan clan, nor did he know why the clan had split into northern and southern factions. Yet... He now knew where the Northern faction stood. Whether it was Xuan Zhen or Xuan Lan, Li Guanqi had seen different kinds of desire lurking within their eyes. Fortunately, Meng Wanshu's life-bound jade slip showed no abnormality whatsoever, indicating she was unharmed for now. However... Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. Even if he sought out the Southern faction, he would have to remain vigilant. In his estimation, whether it was the Northern faction or the Southern faction, their ultimate goal was tied to Meng Wanshu! Taking a step forward, Li Guanqi melted into the void, then retrieved an ice-blue jade slip and inquired softly, "Zhao Nan, could you ask your father how much he knows about the Xuan clan's northern and southern factions?" After stowing the jade slip, Li Guanqi also asked Xu Junlin. However, Xu Junlin replied that he could only ask his own father, as he knew little about the Beiming Glaciers himself. Li Guanqi paused in the void for a long time. Soon, the voice of Zhao Nan's father came through the jade slip. "Senior, as far as I know... the Xuan clan's division only began a few years ago. It seems... the root cause was an inheritance of some kind. As for anything beyond that, I am not too sure." Hearing this, Li Guanqi's expression hardened. "An inheritance?! Could it be the Bingqi Realm Lord's inheritance? That shouldn't be... Hasn't that inheritance already merged into one with Wanshu? Could there still be other inheritance fragments out there?!" Li Guanqi gripped the jade slip, his eyes flickering with thought before he asked in a deep voice, "Then does Fellow Daoist know who currently holds power in the Xuan clan's Southern faction? And where is the Southern faction located?" The man's calm voice echoed from the jade slip. "The Southern faction's leader is none other than Xuan Zhen's younger brother, Xuan Zhèn. However..." Li Guanqi frowned slightly, sensing that the man hesitated to speak his mind. Li Guanqi said candidly, "Speak freely." On the other end of the jade slip, the man sighed and spoke frankly. "Senior, take this with a grain of salt; this may just be my personal view. This man Xuan Zhèn... his reputation is rather poor. He is thoroughly selfish and self-serving, more like an outright scoundrel. Yet his strength is definitely not to be underestimated, and his daughter is also a monstrous prodigy. That is how rumors of a dispute over the inheritance began. Xuan Zhen didn't want to yield the inheritance to Xuan Zhèn's daughter, which led to the clan splitting apart." The more Li Guanqi listened, the more something felt off... Why did it seem as though both the Southern and Northern factions had their own hidden agendas and harbored sinister motives? "Understood. Thank you, Fellow Daoist." Then the jade slip glowed faintly, transmitting the Southern faction's general location to Li Guanqi. Looking toward the direction near the Eastern Domain on the map, Li Guanqi did not hesitate for an instant, stepping forward and vanishing on the spot. After another three days, Li Guanqi finally reached the Eastern Domain. Just like the Central Domain, endless pristine white remained the eternal theme of the Beiming Glaciers. The gales here were even fiercer, wailing continuously. The ambient temperature was considerably lower, yet such bitter cold was not worth mentioning before Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. He sensed numerous concealed yet formidable auras perched atop the peaks of the distant mountain range. Li Guanqi simply concealed his form and pressed on, soon arriving at the peak of a glacier that soared into the clouds. Suppressing his aura, Li Guanqi stealthily drew close to this glacier. The invisible barrier was nothing more than a joke in Li Guanqi's eyes; he silently tore open a breach and slipped inside. Yet the moment he stepped inside, Li Guanqi felt a twinge of regret—several exceptionally potent pulses of divine sense swept toward him! If he shifted his position now, the spatial fluctuation would inevitably attract attention. Left with no choice, Li Guanqi remained motionless where he stood, using his powerful divine sense to disguise his presence. Whoosh! Hum! The sweeps of divine sense washed over without discovering Li Guanqi, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief. Watching the disciples patrolling the area, his eyes flickered. Weren't the defenses of this Southern faction led by Xuan Zhèn a bit too formidable? Looking up at the glacial grand hall perched on the summit, Li Guanqi moved toward it without a second thought. The glacial hall stood dozens of zhang tall, looking extraordinarily opulent—more resembling an ice-attribute magic treasure. Li Guanqi crept behind the ice hall, concealing himself within the void interlayer, and cautiously extended his divine sense. Yet he immediately came to a halt. Because the grand hall truly was an extraordinarily precious spatial magic treasure! Which meant even if he probed inside with his divine sense, he wouldn't be able to hear anything! Suddenly, the corners of Li Guanqi's lips curled up slightly as he murmured in his mind, "Sister Sword Spirit, is Pengluo still asleep?" "Yes." "Then what should I do if I want to hear what they're saying inside?" A fair, jade-like hand slowly reached out and tapped a finger against an ice pillar. A silent trace of crimson surged faintly, and to Li Guanqi's surprise, a hole the thickness of a thumb opened in this dharma artifact! Most importantly, this hole seemed completely natural, without disrupting the artifact's properties at all! The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly as he extended his divine sense through the opening. Before he could fully make sense of things, a man's chilling voice suddenly rang out. "No! Merely scouring her memories won't grant us the inheritance. Nothing must go wrong with the latter half of the Bingqi Immortal Art!" Right then, a woman's clear, frigid voice slowly sounded. "We simply need to use the clan's ancient altar, paired with the inversion technique, to extract her soul, flesh, and blood to refine a Dao transmission soul. Even if Meng Wanshu is the one chosen by Bingqi, what of it? The seat of the Ice Lord... can only belong to me, Xuan Ji!!" As the voices inside chattered, Li Guanqi's face turned livid. Xuan Ji... She had to be that monstrous prodigy who had recently emerged in the Southern faction. Now Li Guanqi had essentially pieced together what was going on. In his perception, that woman named Xuan Ji had an exceptionally high spiritual root purity. It happened to be an ice-attribute saint-grade spiritual root, just like Wanshu's. As for the Ice Lord... Li Guanqi had two interpretations: on one hand, it meant obtaining the inheritance to become a peerless powerhouse; on the other hand, obtaining the inheritance to elevate one's root to an ice-attribute divine-grade spiritual root and become the Ice Lord! Soon, a man's low voice drifted out from the pitch-black void. "Xuan Ji is right. Even if Meng Wanshu obtained the inheritance, we have our ways. Since that is the case, prepare for a clan-wide war! A few years have passed since the inheritance trial began, and it should be near its end. It is time." Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. This man's aura was formidable—exceptionally formidable! He had to be Xuan Zhèn. To think his strength was actually comparable to Xuan Zhen's. Suddenly! A furious roar erupted! "Who goes there?! Get out here!" Boom! A massive gap blasted open in the ice hall. Li Guanqi's figure shot backward, yet he still failed to dodge the sonic attack. His sea of consciousness shuddered, and Li Guanqi's face turned slightly pale. Clad in black robes, Li Guanqi simply took a step, flashing into view as he darted away. With a flick of his hand, he casually produced a longsword, slashed open space, and sped away! Yet, as if by accident, he left behind a torn scrap of fabric. And this scrap of cloth... happened to be the one Li Guanqi had kept from earlier, when he had severed Xuan Lan's arm.