By now, Li Guanqi had recovered most of his primal energy.
The formidable refining power granted by the Divine Punishment technique was enough for him to replenish his primal energy in a short time.
Frowning as he sensed his internal condition, Li Guanqi said in a heavy voice, "You guys head back first. I'm going to follow and check it out."
Ye Feng furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "Big Brother, why don't I come with you?"
Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, "No need. I can go take a look on my own."
Only then did the group part ways. Li Guanqi's brow creased slightly as he stepped forward and vanished from the spot.
Now that they all possessed identity jade slips, they effectively held keys to open the way into the Seventh Domain.
Pursuing Hong Zhi, Li Guanqi hurtled through the void along the residual spatial ripples she had left behind.
Gradually, he discovered that the destination she was heading toward was actually the Ethereal Immortal Domain.
Meanwhile, Ye Feng and the others did not return directly either. Instead, they followed Xiao Chen and Cao Yan to the Mortal Sojourner tavern.
Just as they stepped through the entrance, Ye Feng nearly collided head-on with a woman.
Shifting her footing slightly, Li Qingchan spun around with her back to Ye Feng, deftly bypassing him.
Her silky black hair brushed past his face, and Ye Feng finally caught sight of her appearance.
She had willow-leaf brows over eyes like spring waters, bright eyes and gleaming teeth, and skin smooth as congealed fat.
Her slender neck was held high like a proud swan's, her shoulders level and back slender, tapering to a narrow waist.
Her turning head caught Ye Feng right in the middle of his mesmerized gaze.
A rare flicker of embarrassment flashed in the depths of Ye Feng's eyes.
With an apologetic air, he bowed slightly in greeting.
Li Qingchan glanced at Ye Feng and his long golden hair.
Ye Feng's features no longer carried the profligate air of the fair-skinned scholar he once was.
He looked more like a man who had weathered many storms; his composed, melancholic aura was exceedingly striking.
His entire presence gave off a feeling of profound confidence.
Yet that sharpness was completely reined in, never flaunted.
His face bore a light stubble, and his deep eyes gave the impression of a man carrying many stories.
Cao Yan took in the scene with a faint smirk.
Li Qingchan's bearing was remarkable, but she was not the quiet, delicate type of woman; instead, she carried a hint of fierce valiance.
And while Ye Feng might appear fiercely sharp to an outsider, in the eyes of Cao Yan and Xiao Chen, he was actually an exceptionally gentle person.
The three of them sat down by a window on the ground floor.
After finishing her work, Li Qingchan came over and asked in a gentle voice, "What would you like to drink?"
Xiao Chen was not in high spirits either, and he replied, "Red Dust Brew."
Li Qingchan nodded, then held out her hand.
Xiao Chen scratched his head in mild embarrassment. None of them had stepped forward to kill anyone in the battle, so they did not even have a hundred points...
"Uh, well..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng sighed internally, assuming the two simply did not want to spend money.
Looking up at the woman, he asked softly, "How much is it?"
Brushing back a strand of hair, Li Qingchan said, "Three immortal crystals."
Ye Feng froze on the spot, utterly awkward. Where was he supposed to get immortal crystals?
The purple gold crystals in his storage ring were all meant for cultivation, given to him by Li Guanqi.
Seeming to sense Ye Feng's predicament, Li Qingchan waved her hand, the corners of her mouth curving upward.
"Then put it on credit. Just settle it within a year. But... someone has to take the debt."
"What do you say... whose name should I write?"
Xiao Chen pointed at Ye Feng, while Cao Yan remained silent.
Ye Feng stood up and handed over his jade slip.
"Ye Feng."
Li Qingchan pushed the jade slip back, glanced at him, and smiled. "Ye Feng, is it? I've noted it down. You owe me three immortal crystals."
Ye Feng smiled, nodded, and said softly, "I will pay the debt as soon as possible."
Li Qingchan smiled, glanced across the bustling tavern, and murmured, "As long as there's someone left to pay it back... sooner or later doesn't matter."
With that, she turned to fetch their wine.
Ye Feng closed his eyes and savored the wine in his cup. When he opened them, he was completely astounded.
"This wine..."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he looked toward the woman behind the counter.
Her back was to the counter as she slowly struck through a name on the board behind her.
"Zhou Qingguo, credited three jars of Red Dust Brew."
Zhou Qingguo's name was by no means the first to be crossed out.
On that densely marked board, dozens of names had already been struck through.
Without exception, all of them were cultivators who had owed for their wine and fallen in battle.
Li Qingchan leaned against the counter, staring at the board in prolonged silence.
She whispered softly under her breath, "Have all of you forgotten that you still owe me for your wine...?"
"Lady Li, two jars of Red Dust Brew!"
A burly man whose face was still smeared with blood called out loudly, followed by a female cultivator in a pink robe.
Li Qingchan frowned and said, "Get the hell out and wash clean before coming in."
The moment she spoke, the noisy tavern suddenly fell considerably quieter.
Everyone turned toward the voice and realized the man was someone who had only arrived in the Immortal Burial Realm a few years ago.
His name was Fu Chang, a member of the Hidden Clan, possessing no small strength.
The burly man's smile froze. He felt that Li Qingchan's words had publicly humiliated him.
Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw the female cultivator beside him crossing her arms with an amused look, watching the spectacle.
At that moment, Ye Feng overheard dismissive murmurs beside him.
"Tsk, that Chu Rou from the Ethereal Immortal Domain has only been here for five years, right? Never set foot on the battlefield once, poor as dirt."
"She's toyed with every cultivator who's come in these past few years."
"Heh, isn't that the truth?! This Fu Chang is an idiot, too. But... getting to sleep with her a few times isn't a bad trade for him either."
The man who spoke first sneered. "She's more than a thousand years older than me. I've got no interest."
"Hahaha, the older they are, the more flavor they have!"
"What kind of flavor? Hmm?"
The two did not bother to lower their voices. Chu Rou heard them clearly, yet she could only glare viciously at them.
They were two peak Mahayana cultivators; she could not afford to provoke them.
Fu Chang was also cautious enough to pretend he hadn't heard anything from people he couldn't cross.
"I came here for wine. I'll pay you, and you just bring the wine!"
Toward the end, the man's tone grew hostile, and he glared menacingly at the woman.
Li Qingchan narrowed her eyes, a sudden chill flashing in their depths.
Her left hand drifted instinctively toward the scabbard beneath the counter.
"I said, get the hell out, wipe yourself clean, and then come back in!"
Li Qingchan's voice was completely calm, yet it simmered with suppressed fury.
Those familiar with her knew this was the sign that her temper was about to erupt.
And Li Qingchan, in fact, possessed a hidden identity...
Seeing her reaction, Fu Chang's gaze turned vicious. He lunged forward, reaching straight for Li Qingchan's throat!
A flash of cold light shot through Li Qingchan's eyes, her hand already gripping the scabbard.
Yet at that exact instant, a streak of golden light flashed before everyone's eyes.
The man who had mocked Fu Chang earlier furrowed his brows, a solemn look surfacing in his eyes.
"What incredible speed!"
Whoosh!
Bang!
Ye Feng slammed a fist into the man's wrist.
At the same time, the Nu Sha Sword thrust through the man's forearm, the protruding blade halting flush against his throat.
Fresh blood ran down the blade toward the hilt. Ye Feng crouched slightly, glaring at him like a wild beast sizing up its prey.
"Can't you understand plain words?"
Ye Feng was a man who had walked out of the Purgatory Abyss alive and suppressed demon spirits in the Heavenly Demon Hall by himself for years.
The ruthless glint in his eyes and his icy killing intent sent a tremor of dread through Fu Chang.
His throat bobbing slightly, Fu Chang stepped back half a pace, pulling his neck away from the blade.
The sight turned the woman behind him deathly pale.
The man's wrist had been shattered completely. Backing away in terror, he stared at Ye Feng in silence, snorted coldly, and led the woman out of the tavern.
Li Qingchan looked at Ye Feng and murmured her thanks.
"Thank you."
Only then did Ye Feng notice the sword in her hand. After a moment's thought, he couldn't help but chuckle.
"Seems I meddled in something you had well in hand."
Just as Ye Feng sheathed his blade, Xiao Chen leaned against the windowsill, looking at the two with an ambiguous expression before letting out an eccentric laugh.
"Oh~ Second Brother~ 'Seems I meddled in something you had well in hand~'"
The teasing mimicry rang out, and in an instant, every patron on the ground floor of the Mortal Sojourner burst out repeating the exact same words.
Chapter 1186