Not a single person spoke after the group returned to the White Jade Tower.
Even Li Guanqi remained silent.
In the past, they had engaged in a few minor clashes with Ye Mohan's small circle.
Back then, the proud and arrogant Ye Mohan had harbored no fear whatsoever of Li Guanqi.
Yet across two consecutive battles, everyone had clearly felt the transformation in Ye Mohan.
He had fallen from his initial pride into a state of hollow, desolate grief.
Of the three brothers who had stood at Ye Mohan's side, only Song Bin had survived the first ordeal, clinging to life on the brink of death.
Ye Mohan had fought desperately to save him.
Yet no one had anticipated that disaster would strike so swiftly. Before he could recover from his grievous wounds, Song Bin had perished.
It felt as though Ye Mohan's very spirit had been shattered by the relentless, crushing blows.
Friction? Hatred?
Here in the Seventh Domain, two parties in conflict might never live to see each other again the very next day.
Had this been the outside world, if Li Guanqi and his companions clashed with someone, they would have been eager to step up and taunt them upon seeing such a sight.
Yet today, witnessing the utterly shattered Ye Mohan, all of them fell silent.
Inside the quiet meditation chamber of the White Jade Tower, everyone kept their silence.
At this moment, Gu Li suddenly looked up and laughed.
"Why is everyone looking so lifeless?"
"All we need to do is cultivate diligently and strive to attain higher realms and greater strength."
"The only thing we can do is bolster our power to ensure that we can survive on this cruel battlefield!"
Li Guanqi's eyes flickered.
He knew that at a time like this, he, as the eldest brother, had to steady everyone's spirits.
"Old Six is right. What we can do... is exert every effort to elevate ourselves!"
Li Guanqi turned to look at Meng Wanshu and said in a deep voice, "Let's go. We'll tend to our wounds inside first!"
Thump!
The instant Meng Wanshu laid eyes upon the sword coffin, her heart shuddered violently.
A mysterious spatial ripple enveloped everyone.
None of them resisted the power, permitting it to draw them into the interior of the sword coffin.
Amidst the boundless, pitch-black void stood an immense plaza.
At the center of the plaza rose a seven-tiered pagoda.
Meng Wanshu gazed in astonishment at the lustrous seven-tiered tower, light swirling across its surface.
After examining it carefully, she murmured under her breath, "An immortal artifact?"
Li Guanqi did not offer much of an explanation, for Meng Wanshu was already aware of the sword spirit's existence.
Yet right at that moment, the figure of the sword spirit quietly coalesced beside Li Guanqi.
The tall woman clasped her hands behind her back, smiling faintly as she looked at the gathering.
However, aside from Li Guanqi, not a single person present could see her.
The sword spirit leaned down and whispered beside Li Guanqi's ear, "She must undergo Spirit Absolution as well."
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched. Inadvertently glancing at her face, he sent a telepathic transmission in a hushed tone. "Are you sure this isn't out of some desire for revenge?"
The sword spirit scoffed. Straightening up, her expression reverted to its aloof, haughty demeanor once more.
She shot a sidelong glance at Li Guanqi, then turned her gaze toward the woman drawing near the Nirvana Pagoda. "You think I'm doing this out of jealousy?"
Li Guanqi wanted to nod, but did not quite dare, choosing to remain silent instead.
The sword spirit cast another glance at him before speaking.
"She currently carries the power of Realm Lord Bingqi. Once she ascends to the Immortal Realm, she will inevitably become a target of covetous desires."
"If anyone were to learn about me through her, everything we have achieved thus far will have been in vain."
Li Guanqi nodded silently. He then flashed over to Meng Wanshu's side and explained his thoughts to her.
Upon hearing this, Meng Wanshu's knitted brows smoothed out, and a radiant smile graced her face.
"It's fine. We have to take precautions in matters like this."
"Don't feel burdened by it. Didn't Ye Feng and the others do the exact same thing?"
Li Guanqi breathed a sigh of relief, having feared that she might overthink it.
In truth, the Spirit Absolution blood threads would not erase their memories of this place.
They would merely protect their souls the moment they sensed that an outsider was attempting to peer into their memories!
Suddenly, over a hundred Spirit Absolution blood threads shot forth from Li Guanqi's glabella!
Seeing this, Li Guanqi's lips twitched uncontrollably.
The Spirit Absolution blood threads directed at Meng Wanshu alone outnumbered those used on the other five combined.
He would sooner be beaten to death than believe the sword spirit harbored no personal bias here...
And yet... he still felt a trace of bewilderment.
After all, Li Guanqi had keenly felt every shred of cold detachment the sword spirit had displayed ever since she severed her emotional threads.
During that period, he had even wondered whether he had done something to offend her.
In the end, it was Pengluo, who was remarkably sensitive to such matters, who told him that the sword spirit had likely severed her own emotional ties.
Consequently, from that point on, the connection between him and the Red Lotus sword had grown even tighter.
Yet now...
Why did he feel that the sword spirit had changed slightly once more?
Perhaps sensing Li Guanqi's puzzled gaze, the sword spirit stood off to the side, looking straight ahead with her hands behind her back as she guided the Spirit Absolution blood threads to merge steadily into Meng Wanshu's body.
*Why... is he staring at me like that?*
As Li Guanqi continued to watch, he was taken aback.
He wasn't sure if it was merely an illusion, but he thought he saw a faint blush tinting the sword spirit's cheeks.
On the surface, however, the sword spirit maintained that same calm, breezy composure, without the slightest ripple in her eyes.
Once the crimson threads dispersed and her task was complete, the sword spirit waved her sleeve and vanished into midair.
Meng Wanshu slowly opened her eyes and found that her memories remained entirely unchanged.
With her current cultivation, she could not even sense the presence of those blood threads.
Yet after vanishing, the sword spirit slowly reassembled her form deep within the distant void.
Looking back toward the figure in the distance, she murmured softly, "Have they... really been through so much together...?"
A complicated look flickered through the sword spirit's beautiful eyes.
She did not understand why such a change had occurred within her.
Even when others had possessed the sword coffin in the past, she had never felt anything like this.
She was a sword spirit that looked down upon all living beings.
She was a sword spirit standing at the very pinnacle of the Immortal Realm.
To her, the passage of ten thousand years was nothing more than the snap of a finger.
Mortals, immortals, the passage of time—none of it held any meaning in her eyes.
For whether it was memories or emotions, all were the most useless burdens on the pursuit of the Grand Dao.
Such attachments were merely stumbling blocks hindering the attainment of ultimate truth.
Thus, upon ascending to the Immortal Realm, many immortals chose to sever their seven emotions and six desires, immersing themselves entirely in the quest for longevity and the Dao.
Yet for reasons she could not grasp, and starting from a time she could not name...
When she opened her eyes to see Li Guanqi—when she watched that young man crawl out of the mire step by step and scale the highest peaks—the heart she had kept sealed for an eternity was inexplicably touched.
She shook her head, a trace of bitterness curling at the corner of her lips.
Suppressing every thought and emotion within her heart, her beautiful eyes once again grew piercing and cold.
She knew that the only thing she could do now was help Li Guanqi raise his strength as quickly as possible!
From the day they met, the fates of this man and this spirit had become inextricably intertwined.
They rose together, and they fell together. And so...
Li Guanqi had to possess sufficient strength before setting foot into the Immortal Realm!
Chapter 1238