Li Guanqi did not follow the others to the sect's main hall, choosing instead to quietly stand guard by Tang Ru's side.
Meng Jiangchu and Gu Changsheng had departed as well, heading straight for the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven. Gu Changsheng had not seen Gu Li in quite some time and was eager to check on how his son was doing. Meng Jiangchu, meanwhile, was waiting for Li Guanqi to finish up; once he returned this time, he planned to make a trip back to the Shenbao Domain to bring Li Guilan over...
*Hum!*
A tremendous, incomparable pressure instantly flooded the void, and Tang Ru snapped his eyes open. Two streaks of golden light shot outward!
Tang Ru rose slowly to his feet, reaching up to tie back his disheveled hair. Turning around, he grinned at Li Guanqi.
Looking at Tang Ru's simple, foolish grin, Li Guanqi still felt somewhat unaccustomed to his new appearance. Yet the more he looked, the more pleasing to the eye Tang Ru's current form seemed.
Reaching out, he handed Tang Ru a set of clothes, which Tang Ru hastily put on.
"Isn't this so much better? Why did you still look so bloated after returning from Yushan's place?"
Tang Ru could hardly conceal the smile on his face, but he shrugged and said, "You saw the move I used just now. If it weren't for that layer of fat bearing the brunt, the price would've been a bit too high."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, finally understanding that Tang Ru's body had not simply gained ordinary fat. Through his daily cultivation, he had stockpiled a mysterious power inside him, transforming his physique into that state.
With a faint smile, Li Guanqi asked softly, "Doesn't that mean you'll have to fatten back up in the future?"
Tang Ru rubbed his nose. "Seems like it."
He looked down at his present appearance, touching his cheeks and facial features with a trace of awe. Seeing this, Li Guanqi simply produced a mirror for him.
Tang Ru stared at his reflection, looking up, down, left, and right in sheer disbelief. He turned his head toward Li Guanqi.
"Am I handsome right now?"
Li Guanqi chuckled. "Handsome! If I took you out for tempering the heart in the mortal realm, girls would probably throw themselves at you!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Then let's go temper our hearts in the mortal realm today!"
"Get lost, who has the time for that?"
"Let's go back and see the others."
When the two returned to the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven, Ye Feng opened his eyes from within the medicine pool and glanced at them.
"Tsk, Fatty Tang, you really pulled off a complete transformation, didn't you?"
Cao Yan teased, "Old Fifth, your Fourth Brother is already considering handing down the title of pretty boy to you."
Xiao Chen rubbed his forehead with a wry smile. "Sigh, maybe you should've stayed fat."
"Hahahahaha!"
The group exchanged looks and burst into hearty laughter.
Right then, however, Li Guanqi suddenly noticed that Gu Li was nowhere to be seen...
"Where's Gu Li?"
No sooner had he spoken than two powerful auras came streaking in from the distance!
A golden streak of light plastered all over with inscribed talismans hurtled through the void. Close behind chased Gu Changsheng, gripping a longsword with a face full of fury!
"You little bastard, stop right there! If I don't hack you to death today, you can be my father instead!"
Everyone was dumbfounded, having no idea what had happened.
Gu Li glanced back and yelled, "Dad! Come on, I was just... testing it out! Who knew you wouldn't be able to handle it... Aaargh! Dad! You're really swinging!"
Seeing Gu Changsheng's bulging abdomen, Li Guanqi could not help swallowing hard.
"This... Old Sixth... couldn't have actually succeeded, could he?"
Not only Li Guanqi, but even Ye Feng, resting against the edge of the medicine pool, felt a wave of cold dread wash over him.
"The Forced Conception Talisman... truly terrifying beyond measure!"
Cao Yan and Xiao Chen shuddered, exchanging a look with a violent shiver.
Tang Ru frowned, forming a one-handed seal inside his sleeve before smiling wryly. "It didn't succeed. Senior Gu's belly... it's just bloated with gas. Though... it seems a wisp of Senior Gu's divine soul was absorbed into his belly by the talisman's power."
Meng Jiangchu had been sitting cross-legged on a boulder beside the medicine pool. Hearing their ambiguous exchange, he furrowed his brow.
"Guanqi, what are you all talking about?"
Li Guanqi summarized what Gu Li had been researching in the briefest words possible.
Upon hearing the explanation, Meng Jiangchu involuntarily clutched his hands over his dantian, an icy chill running down his spine.
"Uh... that Forced Conception Talisman really is terrifying..."
He turned to Li Guanqi, his voice turning somber. "By the way, once we return this time, we will likely face even fiercer attacks and retaliation from the Immortal Realm! During this turmoil across the Six Domains, an immortal has already successfully descended. Going forward, many more upheavals are bound to occur throughout the Six Domains!"
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes slightly; naturally, he had anticipated this as well.
"So... many people who came out this time are planning not to leave the Seventh Domain for a while, right?"
Meng Jiangchu nodded gravely. "Indeed. I plan to return to the Shenbao Domain immediately to fetch your mother-in-law."
Li Guanqi nodded gently, thoughts turning in his mind as he replied softly, "Alright. I'll do my best to arrange everything for the sect on my end."
With that, Li Guanqi looked at Ye Feng, whose injuries were mostly healed by now. Ye Feng caught on instantly, getting up to change into fresh clothes.
"Third Brother, Fourth Brother, you two focus on your cultivation. Cough, of course... if Xiao Chen wants to visit Qing'er, that's fine too, hahaha. Old Fifth, use this time to hurry and consolidate your realm."
The others nodded in agreement, and Meng Jiangchu departed alongside Li Guanqi. The Great Xia Sword Sect now shared a teleportation array connected directly to the Meng family in the Shenbao Domain; Meng Jiangchu stepped into the array and vanished.
Li Guanqi did not head to the sect's main hall either, choosing instead to lead Ye Feng straight out of the sect.
Several hours later.
Atop a dilapidated mountain peak, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng sat side by side, silently drinking wine.
Looking down at Linyan City below, Ye Feng turned to Li Guanqi with mixed emotions. "Big Brother, are you really not going down to take a look?"
Li Guanqi tilted his head back for a swig of wine and said softly, "No need. Things are good just like this."
Hearing that, Ye Feng said no more on the matter. "Slaying an immortal... was the price heavy?"
For a moment, Li Guanqi was at a loss for words.
Although the sword spirit had exerted a portion of her strength, the injury she sustained could hardly even be called minor... The power she possessed today was worlds apart from when they had first met.
Yet when Ye Feng asked about facing an immortal, Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed, his voice laden with solemnity.
"Extremely powerful! So powerful that... if not for my numerous preparations and trump cards, I wouldn't have stood a chance against him!"
Ye Feng's pupils constricted abruptly.
For Li Guanqi to offer such an evaluation meant that an immortal descending without being suppressed by the laws of heaven and earth truly possessed terrifying might!
Ye Feng said coldly, "Hmph! Those bastards show no mercy whatsoever when they descend to the lower realm. Slashing down mortals on a whim... the number of people who died during this turmoil far exceeds a million!"
Li Guanqi nodded, murmuring, "Indeed. That fellow wielded mighty power to literally cleave the entire Qingyun Continent in two, siphoning what looked like the vitality and fortune of the whole continent!"
Suddenly, Ji Yuchuan appeared behind the two of them.
They glanced back as Ji Yuchuan plopped down beside Li Guanqi, took the wine flagon, and tipped his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls.
"Whew... Do you know why I said the consequences of an immortal descending are so severe?"
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, puzzled.
Ji Yuchuan took a deep breath, finally revealing a secret concerning the Six Domains!
"Because... long ago, the Six Domains were originally a single whole!"
"What?! The Six Domains were one whole?"
"*Hiss...* How is that possible! Could it be..."
Ji Yuchuan looked at the two of them and gave a slight nod.
"That's right. The splitting of the Six Domains happened ten thousand years ago when an immortal descended and shattered the continent with his own hands! Back then... the spiritual energy of the Six Domains was nearly depleted, and the death toll exceeded this time by tens of times over! That was... the true catastrophe!"
Chapter 1216