Immortal Incense, Shrine Altar!

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Guanqi took a single step, teleporting directly to the edge of the fissure. Before long, cultivators in the small town spotted Li Guanqi's figure. Seeing him standing at the edge of the fissure, they couldn't help but frown. An elderly man in the Void Refining Realm frowned with displeasure. Teleporting into midair, he barked coldly, "Who is so utterly devoid of manners! The Huangshi Secret Realm opens only once a month! If a trespasser causes the realm to run wild, can you bear the responsibility?" As he spoke, violent surges of primal energy roiled around him. Ready to strike at the slightest provocation, he clearly intended to teach this unruly fellow a proper lesson. Li Guanqi kept his eyes closed and reached his hand into the fissure. Very quickly, he detected Lu Kangnian's presence inside! Hearing the clamor beside his ears, he knitted his brows. "Deaf, are you? Did you not hear this old man's words!" With those words, primal energy surged within the old man. He thrust out a hand, condensing a thirty-meter-wide palm print that crashed toward Li Guanqi. Inside the tavern, the patrons craned their necks to watch, chuckling among themselves. "Tsk, tsk. Over the past two years, Elder Sun has disciplined everyone who broke the rules. Heh, looks like another fool with a death wish today." Li Guanqi's brow furrowed as he cast a cold, indifferent glance at the old man. BOOM! A terrifying pressure so overwhelming that it suffocated everyone erupted like thunder. In an instant, the swirling yellow sands across a hundred li froze suspended in midair. Heaven and earth fell dead silent. Above, winds howled and dark clouds blanketed the firmament as thunder churned ceaselessly. That glowing spiritual palm print was shattered to pieces by nothing more than Li Guanqi's gaze. "Noisy!" A mouthful of blood sprayed from the old man's lips. Unable to withstand the crushing pressure, he plummeted from the sky and crashed into the earth, blasting out a deep crater. Sprawled inside the crater, the old man turned ashen, his entire body trembling uncontrollably with sheer terror. Just when he thought he was about to die, he was shocked to find that the black-robed man had completely ignored the intrinsic seal of the secret realm fragment, tearing it open and stepping right inside! He vaguely recalled that in the past, an expert of the Body Integration Realm had exhausted all his might without shaking the seal in the slightest... Then this man's cultivation... was very likely that of a supreme powerhouse in the Mahayana Realm! Li Guanqi had no interest in wasting time on these so-called experts. With a cold snort, he drew upon his overwhelming might to forcibly breach this spatial seal and stepped inside! Jiuxiao was coiled around Li Guanqi's wrist, while Pengluo concealed himself in the void beside him. Li Guanqi's figure blurred slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived within the domain of this secret realm. Hum! Tremendous pressure instantly saturated the void, causing the entire secret realm to tremble faintly. The space of this domain was not particularly sturdy; Li Guanqi's aura had already begun to exceed the upper limits of what it could endure. Li Guanqi frowned slightly upon sensing that the spatial boundaries of the domain were already showing faint signs of crumbling. Left with no choice, Li Guanqi drew upon his immense power and slowly raised his hand. In an instant, a vast expanse of spatial power spread across the entire seventy-li domain space. In moments, the domain's space was thoroughly reinforced—at least enough to withstand Li Guanqi's pressure for a short time. At the same time, Li Guanqi's divine sense swept across the entire spatial domain in a flash. The domain before his eyes looked no different from the ruins of any ordinary sect. Though grand and majestic in layout, it had still succumbed to the relentless erosion of time, appearing dilapidated and desolate. This poignant reminder of how things remain while people fade filled Li Guanqi with deep emotion. Looking out, broken walls and collapsed halls were everywhere, along with scattered traces of battles fought over the past few years. Li Guanqi frowned. He noticed that most of the secret vaults and treasure chambers in this sect ruin had already been breached. Virtually anything of value had been thoroughly looted, right down to the glazed tiles on the roofs. Yet none of this held any significance in Li Guanqi's eyes, for he had not found Lu Kangnian here! Everything was laid bare under Li Guanqi's divine sense, including secret chambers and underground palaces. Li Guanqi's brow remained tightly furrowed. He was certain he had sensed Lu Kangnian's presence from the outside! Suddenly, Pengluo said in a low voice beside him, "There seems to be a faint spatial fluctuation deeper inside." Li Guanqi's eyes flickered. Following Pengluo's guidance, he immediately shot toward the depths of the sect ruins. Along the way, Li Guanqi saw many grand and imposing sect halls and pavilions. There were also martial arts arenas, spiritual terraces, and more. And yet... such a powerful sect had still vanished into the endless river of time. Li Guanqi raised his hand, and Red Lotus flew into his grasp in an instant, its hilt glowing with crimson light. Meanwhile, back at the Great Xia Sword Sect, everyone appeared to be going about their business, but inside, they were vigilant to the extreme. They were all waiting. Meditating on peaks several mountains apart, Cao Yan and Xiao Chen did not even dare exchange voice transmissions, only stealing casual glances at each other from time to time. Clearly, neither of their hearts was at peace. After all, the enemy they might have to face could well be an expert in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm! Deep within a hidden rear mountain stood a small shrine. Li Guanqi arrived before the shrine in short order. But as soon as he reached the entrance, his brow furrowed. In his perception, the shrine was currently enveloped in a faint, inexplicable golden vapor. Though the shrine had weathered endless years of erosion, this faint aura still lingered. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and looked at the shattered divine statue within the shrine. In the incense burner before the shrine stood a single joss stick, thick as a wrist, with only three finger-widths left unburned. Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, understanding immediately... This was clearly where the ancient sect had offered incense to immortals. Yet this recently lit Shanshui incense... had likely been planted by Lu Kangnian. Li Guanqi asked softly, "Can you open it?" Pengluo spat into his palms, rubbed them together, and said with a scowl, "Who are you looking down on?" With that, Pengluo took a step forward and actually transformed into human form! Looking at Pengluo's handsome face, Li Guanqi was dazed for a moment. This was only the second time he had seen it... but he still couldn't get used to it... Pengluo looked solemn now, appearing rather handsome and far less wretched. A purple pattern at the center of Pengluo's brow shimmered faintly with fluorescent light, and divine runes soon spread across his entire face before he formed hand seals. A dense silver glow wound around him like a flowing stream, making him appear quite sacred. Standing before the entrance of the shrine, Pengluo gently placed both hands against the invisible barrier. Hum! The surrounding void trembled faintly, and Li Guanqi's gaze gradually turned solemn. To his eyes, Pengluo's method was not a forceful breach of this barrier seal, but rather... synchronizing with its frequency! Riiip! A ten-foot opening was torn open. Before Pengluo could say a word, a large hand grabbed him by the collar and pulled him along as they flew inside. The moment Li Guanqi crossed the barrier, heaven and earth inverted; he seemed to have entered an independent domain world. Beneath his feet was a massive altar spanning over thirty zhang across! Sitting cross-legged upon the altar was an all-too-familiar figure—none other than the long-missing Lu Kangnian!