Seizing Xuan Lan!

A strand of pure primal energy suddenly flowed into Dugu Chongming's origin spirit, which had been parched for decades. To him, it was like sweet rain after a long drought. He absorbed Li Guanqi's power greedily. During this process, Dugu Chongming was as defenseless as a small child; killing him would have been easier for Li Guanqi than crushing an ant. Yet tears of agitation welled in Dugu Chongming's eyes. Decades of imprisonment in this ice prison had long since broken his spirit and left him utterly disheartened. He had thought he would die here, never imagining he would cross paths with Li Guanqi! Li Guanqi also sensed Dugu Chongming's cultivation at that moment—the man was likely a late Mahayana realm cultivator. Frowning, Li Guanqi asked in a heavy voice, "You said… all of you were here because of Xuan Zhen… and then said you were framed by an enchantress. I don't quite understand." Dugu Chongming froze slightly. As he worked to restore his cultivation realm, he realized that in his current depleted state, even if he recovered to his peak, he would only reach the mid Mahayana realm. His brows drew tight, and he said gravely, "Since you have a grudge against the Xuan clan, there's no way you haven't seen Xuan Ji, that enchantress of theirs!" Hearing this, realization dawned on Li Guanqi. He had nearly forgotten that the man before him had been locked in this dungeon for over seventy years. The division of the Xuan clan had only occurred in recent years; he probably had no idea. Moreover, this ice prison was likely opened very infrequently. If not for that, Xuan Zhen wouldn't have thought to hide his own son here. Li Guanqi summarized the current situation in a few words, leaving Dugu Chongming staring in astonishment. "You're saying… the Xuan clan has split into two factions, and Xuan Zhen had a falling-out with Xuan Zhèn?" Suddenly, the man let out a cold laugh. "Heh, interesting…" "A hypocrite and an outright villain, two brothers turning on each other…" Li Guanqi gave a slight, involuntary nod. Dugu Chongming's assessment of the two was remarkably accurate. With a faint smile, Li Guanqi rose and tossed several high-grade pills to the man, leaving behind two purple gold crystals as well. Standing up, he said, "I'll leave the other cells to your judgment. I'm going to pay that fellow Xuan Lan a visit." Then he paused and chuckled. "By the way, can you break them open?" Dugu Chongming had already risen slowly. A potent pressure erupted from his body, accompanied by a surging, fiery sword intent. Looking slightly awkward, he admitted, "With a sword in hand, certainly. But right now…" Li Guanqi pondered for a moment before tossing over a saber with a backhanded flick—none other than Luo Changqing's Blood Drinker. Shrugging, he said, "I don't have a sword, but I do have a saber you can make do with." Dugu Chongming caught the long saber. After inspecting it for a moment, he exclaimed in admiration, "A fine blade! Where did you get it?" Li Guanqi rubbed his nose. "Stole it." "Time is short. Thirty breaths—who you rescue is entirely up to you." "I have only one condition: those who are freed don't need to help me, but whoever stirs up trouble, I kill!" Dugu Chongming gave a confident grin. "Rest assured. If anyone causes trouble, you won't need to lift a finger—I'll handle them myself!" Before his voice had faded, the man flickered and vanished from where he stood, raising his arm to shatter the ice cell's door in five strikes! Immediately following was a second door, then a third! Li Guanqi walked up to Xuan Lan's ice cell, only to find the man paralyzed with terror. Listening to the sound of cell doors shattering one after another was like hearing death whispering in his ear. When he saw Li Guanqi appear before his door once more, panic seized him. For he knew that the ice prison door, which had seemed utterly indestructible to him, was nothing more than a joke in this man's eyes… And so… terror gripped his entire mind. He had exhausted every trick at his disposal without managing to transmit a single sliver of information outside. Now, deafening rumbles echoed through the world outside, making the ferocity of the battle self-evident. Yet his father had not sent him so much as a whisper. Xuan Lan hadn't survived to this day by being an utter fool. Swallowing hard, he understood with painful clarity just how vast the chasm in strength between him and Li Guanqi truly was. Xuan Lan's eyes darted frantically. Gritting his teeth, the instant Li Guanqi drew his sword and cleaved the door to pieces, he dropped to his knees with a loud thud. As if discarding all pretense, Xuan Lan immediately began knocking his head against the ground—*thud, thud, thud*. Within two or three strikes, he had already battered his forehead bloody. Li Guanqi looked down at the spectacle with cold, indifferent eyes as massive shards of ice tumbled down before him. Those ice blocks were harder than thousand-year dark iron, yet before Li Guanqi, they were as brittle as porcelain. "Li Guanqi, I'm my father's only son! Don't kill me—I'm definitely useful!" "Ah! Right, right, there's also Meng Wanshu! I can take you to find her!!" Li Guanqi stared with disgust at the man groveling on the floor. Xuan Lan had been haughty and arrogant earlier only because he believed Li Guanqi couldn't breach the ice prison's defenses, emboldening him to mock and sneer without fear. Now that the tables had turned, he groveled on his knees, begging for his life without a shred of self-respect. Every single word leaving his mouth was meant to prove just one thing to Li Guanqi: *He was useful!* Li Guanqi gripped the Red Lotus sword. In Xuan Lan's eyes, its crimson glow looked as though it had just been dredged from a pool of blood! The blade… was dripping red! A terrifying murderous intent had nearly solidified, hammering wave after wave against his sea of consciousness and his soul. Xuan Lan's face went deathly pale, blood trailing from his forehead down his cheeks. Li Guanqi sneered, "Oh? Is that so?" Xuan Lan forced a sycophantic smile, leaving his longsword discarded to one side as he knelt on the floor, looking up at Li Guanqi. "Yes, yes, yes! My father dotes on me more than anything!!" "As long as you spare me, he'll agree to whatever you demand!" The smile on Li Guanqi's face turned eerie and inscrutable. Suddenly, he raised his foot and stomped down on the man's shoulder! *Bang!* The solid floor gave way beneath the impact, caving into a shallow crater as the ice fractured. Xuan Lan's cheek was pressed ruthlessly against the ground, his blood-soaked skin sticking tight to the icy stone. The bones in his shoulder groaned under the unbearable pressure with sharp cracks, yet he kept the servile smile plastered across his face, speaking at frantic speed. "Don't kill me… don't… I know where our clan's treasure pavilion is!" "Aside from my father, only I can enter the inheritance domain where Meng Wanshu is held!!" "If you kill me, you'll never be able to get inside!!" *Crack! Crack! Crack!* The sound of splintering bone echoed through the hollow chamber. "Aaagh!" "Ah!! It hurts!!" Hearing that, Li Guanqi crushed Xuan Lan's shoulder under his heel, leaving the entire right arm hanging limp and ruined. Fine beads of cold sweat covered Xuan Lan's forehead. His head remained pinned to the ground as he clutched his shoulder, screaming incessantly in agony. By this point, Dugu Chongming had returned, standing outside the ice cell alongside three unkempt cultivators, watching the scene in silence. Li Guanqi shifted his foot, grinding away Xuan Lan's arm… the forearm… the bones of the hand, bit by bit! The shrill, agonized screams never ceased. Even Dugu Chongming and the others felt a chill run down their spines as they listened. With a flick of Li Guanqi's hand, the wound was sheared smooth as a mirror.