The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly upward as he looked at Gu Li, his eyes brimming with pride and relief.
Had it not been for his Ethereal Dao Body resonating with heaven and earth, not even he would have noticed.
Back when Wen Guyan struck to slay Youming, in the midst of that violent explosion, Gu Li had actually managed to plant several inscribed talismans onto the hem of Wen Guyan's robe.
Who would have guessed they would truly come in handy at a moment like this?
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered with keen light. Stepping over to Gu Li, he murmured softly, "Give me an inscribed talisman that can pull all of you over in an instant."
Gu Li pondered for a moment, then used his finger as a brush, dipping it in the essence blood of a great demon to begin tracing runes.
Yet after merely two strokes, his hand suddenly froze. Turning his head, he flashed a beaming smile at Pengluo.
"Well now... when it comes to spatial abilities among us, Brother Peng is without question the greatest."
Basking in Gu Li's lavish praise, Pengluo grew a little smug. Leaping onto Gu Li's shoulder, he patted his head and curled his lip in smug approval.
"Hah! Wouldn't you know it, you're the one with real discernment!"
"I'm not bragging, but my spatial-traversal abilities right now are slick and utterly peerless!"
The rest of the group looked at Pengluo as though staring at a fool.
Only then did Pengluo realize something seemed off...
"Gu the Sixth—!!!"
"Ah!! Easy... ow... Can't I just squeeze it out myself? You're hurting me..."
"Smack! Speak properly!"
With an ashen face, Gu Li combined Pengluo's spiritual liquid with the great demon's essence blood, finally inscribing a talisman that radiated intense spatial ripples!
Handing the silver-white talisman to Li Guanqi, Gu Li said solemnly, "This talisman is potent enough to disregard the vast majority of barriers, seals, and spatial distances to bring us straight to you via instantaneous teleportation!"
"Next, I'll draw a few more talismans and distribute them to the others."
Li Guanqi nodded, then turned to Ye Feng and said gravely, "Old Ye, I'm leaving Tu Shan in your care. I'll be acting alone shortly, so you stay here."
With that, Li Guanqi drew a wisp of flame power from the woman's body.
With this seal in place, a single thought from Li Guanqi was all it took to obliterate the strength the enemy had planted within Tu Shan.
Having finished this, Li Guanqi said solemnly, "Go on and do whatever you need to do next. Leave the rest... to me!"
Hearing his words, everyone's expressions turned solemn. Suppressing the surging emotions in their hearts, they vanished one after another from the secret chamber.
Once Li Guanqi and Ye Feng were the only ones left in the room, Ye Feng could not help but speak up.
"Boss, isn't this too dangerous?"
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his tone frigid. "This time, he is in the light, and I am in the dark."
"This is the best opportunity to drag him out into the open!"
"If we miss this chance... finding any leverage over him again will be next to impossible."
Indeed...
Li Guanqi intended to strike hard enough to kill the man in a single blow this time!
Having such an enemy lurk around was like a fishbone stuck in his throat, a thorn lodged in his back!
With that said, Li Guanqi patted Ye Feng's shoulder and whispered, "Focus on your recovery. Wait for my summons."
Ye Feng gave a slight nod. As the spatial fluctuations faded away, an inexplicable look appeared in his eyes.
His strength had not yet returned to its peak lately.
After all, the demon spirit had resided within his body for so many years. Although his power had become considerably purer after slaying the demon, the spirit had occupied his soul for far too long, and full recovery would take time.
Looking down at the jade box in his hands, Ye Feng opened it, and the entire secret chamber was instantly suffused with rich medicinal fragrance!
Ye Feng's eyes widened at the box before him. Resting inside was a lustrous, perfectly rounded medicinal pill covered in pill markings.
"The Profound Origin Sacred Soul Pill?"
The corners of his mouth turned upward as an inexplicable warmth flowed through his chest.
It seemed the boss had kept his injuries in mind all along...
Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the quiet chamber, Ye Feng swallowed the pill. His mind could not help but wander back to the sight of Tang Ru desperately deducing through divination.
To integrate with everyone, that chubby guy always worked silently in the background.
It seemed he ought to show him more care from time to time. Brotherhood among companions could not be measured by strength alone.
As long as they kept one another in their hearts, they were the truest of brothers!
Closing his eyes, Ye Feng's aura gradually settled into tranquility. Under the pill's potent efficacy, the hidden ailments lingering within him rapidly began to mend.
Everyone quietly returned to their clones without drawing anyone's attention.
Yet they knew that this was merely the calm before the tempest!
Li Guanqi moved through the void, speeding toward the Daochan Domain.
Pulling out his jade pendant, he softly asked, "Where was the rumored location where the Sect Master was last seen?"
Yu Hua's voice soon came from the jade pendant.
"In the southernmost region of the Daochan Domain, on the outskirts of a shattered secret realm near the vast ocean—a place known as Huangshi Ridge."
Li Guanqi frowned and inquired further, "What was that shattered secret realm about back then?"
Yu Hua quickly flipped through the intelligence reports sent by her subordinates and answered in a deep voice.
"Rumor has it that back then, this shattered secret realm contained numerous magic treasures and cultivation methods of the earth element."
"According to my subordinates' intelligence, it was likely the ruins of an ancient sect—and an exceptionally powerful one during the ancient era, at that."
"Known as the Earth Sun Profound Sect."
Li Guanqi's brow furrowed tightly. He caught the scent of a conspiracy behind this.
How could everything line up so coincidentally?
An earth-attribute sect—such a secret realm would hold tremendous allure for Sect Master Lu.
If the Sect Master had happened to arrive in the Daochan Domain back then and 'coincidentally' learned of this secret realm, he would have investigated it no matter the cost.
To a cultivator with an earth-attribute spiritual root, an ancient sect's ruin realm possessed an almost fatal temptation.
Li Guanqi lowered the jade pendant. By now, he was certain that this secret realm was definitely suspect!
He simply did not know whether Sect Master Lu was still inside. Yet Li Guanqi believed...
even if Lu Kangnian was no longer within the secret realm, the mastermind behind the scenes would have left behind clues for him to find.
Li Guanqi traveled at tremendous speed, arriving in the Daochan Domain just as night fell.
This was largely thanks to Gu Li, whose long-distance teleportation talismans Li Guanqi had in virtually inexhaustible supply.
Checking his bearings on the map, Li Guanqi pressed on without delay toward the southern border.
Buzz!
Huangshi Ridge.
Under the cover of night, Huangshi Ridge presented a landscape of bizarrely jagged rocks. For hundreds of li around, the terrain was identical—devoid of vegetation, with yellow sand blanketing the sky.
Yet in a place with such thin spiritual energy, several thousand cultivators actually resided here.
There was even a small settlement named Huangshi Town.
Beneath the night sky, the town was ablaze with lamplight. Dressed in a black robe, Li Guanqi arrived at the town.
Looking up, he could see a hazy spatial rift stretching over thirty zhang wide hanging high in the sky above.
Chapter 1159