While Li Guanqi was still cultivating, he suddenly received a message from Su Xuan.
"You can head out now. For a while... at least three months, no one from the Immortal Realm will be coming down."
Holding the jade slip, Li Guanqi frowned slightly. "Grandpa, how do you know whether anyone will descend from the Immortal Realm? Are you sure no one will come down for three months?"
Inside the Seventh Domain, Su Xuan scratched his head with his pipe and muttered to himself, "Ah-Chen is blocking the doorway himself. With the Immortal Realm's stingy nature, they wouldn't even part with True Immortals, let alone send down Golden Immortals..."
Having muttered his piece, Su Xuan transmitted his voice to Li Guanqi. "Cough, cough... Rest assured, none will descend for at least three months. As for how I know, don't ask. A lot has happened in the Seventh Domain lately anyway. It's time to rest and recuperate."
Li Guanqi nodded and said softly, "Thank you, Grandpa."
Hearing this, the old man couldn't help letting the corners of his mouth curl upward.
Little did Li Guanqi know that just because he had mentioned wanting to take a stroll outside, Emperor Chen, with one sword and alone, would be barring the Immortal Realm in the Sixth Domain for three full months.
Having received a definitive answer, Li Guanqi relayed the news to everyone right away.
Yet...
Looking at the silent crowd before him, Li Guanqi was somewhat caught off guard.
Ye Feng was the first to speak. "Eldest Brother, I still want to focus on cultivating quietly for a while. I won't go out."
Immediately afterward, Xiao Chen, Cao Yan, and the others voiced their stances one by one, each stating they wouldn't be going out either.
Even Meng Wanshu was so immersed in the wondrous effects of the Nirvana Pagoda that she couldn't tear herself away.
Needless to say for Gu Li; he declined straight from inside the pagoda and didn't even bother coming out.
Tang Ru's primal energy fluctuated violently all around him, clearly showing signs of an imminent breakthrough into the middle Mahayana realm. For him, this Nirvana Pagoda truly lived up to its name as a place of rebirth.
Helpless, Li Guanqi sighed and spoke. "All right then. I won't take the sword coffin with me. Just make sure to balance work with rest."
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, then slipped back into the Nirvana Pagoda without another word.
It couldn't be helped—Li Guanqi had simply given them too much of a spur. It instilled a burning sense of urgency in them.
In fact, it wasn't just the few of them; across the entire Immortal Burial Realm, far more cultivators were sparring with one another now! Following the tactical combinations Gu Li and Tang Ru had coordinated earlier, many cultivators who previously had friction put aside their prejudices. After witnessing so many cultivators fall in battle, they had let go of trivial conflicts.
Having cultivated the Dao for thousands of years, what grudge couldn't be resolved?
Lately, the atmosphere of mutual sparring and exchanging pointers had become widespread. For all the cultivators in the Seventh Domain, this was an excellent opportunity to bolster their strength.
After bidding everyone farewell, Li Guanqi left the Seventh Domain.
Stepping out of the Seventh Domain and traversing the boundless expanse of void, Li Guanqi finally arrived in the outside world.
Breathing in the long-missed air of the Six Domains, Li Guanqi closed his eyes and opened his arms, feeling the breeze brush against his face, his state of mind exceptionally serene.
Sensing his surroundings with eyes closed, Li Guanqi realized he happened to be in the Dao Zen Domain. A blurry silhouette suddenly flashed through his mind, and he sighed.
"Might as well go pay a visit..."
Taking out the Guanyun Jade Pendant, Li Guanqi soon obtained the information he wanted. With a flick of his finger, a map manifested in the void. He checked the bearings, then flickered and vanished on the spot.
Soaring above the cloud layer at high speed, Li Guanqi occasionally saw people flying through the air. When these cultivators saw Li Guanqi, they nodded slightly in acknowledgment and greeted him with a smile. Though they did not recognize Li Guanqi and could not even sense his aura, they were certain he was an expert.
Li Guanqi paid them no heed. In barely two shichen, he arrived above a remote mountain range at the edge of the Dao Zen Domain. An old acquaintance of his was here, and he wanted to see how she was doing.
Halfway up the mountain in the deep woods stood a small courtyard. It was not large, inhabited only by an old man and an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
As the evening sun sank in the west, the old man leaned on a cane and stood up, looking utterly furious.
"How many times have I told you! I don't need you looking after me here! You shouldn't be trapped here—least of all with me!"
Clang!
The old man hurled his cane far away.
A woman dressed in plain clothes, whose natural elegance and beauty remained undeniable, had reddened eyes. Looking at the old man's back, she bit her lower lip, her lovely eyes crimson. Without a word, she walked past him into the distance and fetched the cane back.
She felt deeply wronged. A woman who had once been exquisitely groomed now looked noticeably worn and tired.
"Grandfather, don't say that anymore."
The old man's eyes were clouded; his sight was practically gone.
"Eh? What did you say?"
A flash of helplessness showed in her eyes. She had no choice but to lean close to his ear and shout, "I said—never mind."
"Eh? What did you say? Louder, I can't hear you!"
Looking at the stubborn, donkey-headed old man, tears welled in the woman's eyes, her heart aching with grievance.
Just then, as she raised her sleeve to wipe the corner of her eyes, her peripheral vision caught sight of a figure standing by the gate. Almost instinctively, she yanked the old man behind her. A flash of light gleamed in her right hand as a longsword instantly materialized. Her gaze sharpened toward the entrance as she barked in a stern voice, "Who's there!"
Indeed, the woman speaking was none other than Song Yunshu.
And the old man was the former master of Tianji Pavilion, Gu Yong.
Li Guanqi sighed and spoke in a gentle voice. "It is me, Li Guanqi."
Song Yunshu froze for a moment, and only after a long pause did she sheathe her sword. With complicated eyes, she looked toward the entrance. Through the dim light of the courtyard, she finally made out Li Guanqi's appearance clearly. He was as high-spirited as in the past, yet carried a touch more maturity and poise, and a little less youthful rashness.
Song Yunshu wiped away her tears and, with a wave of her sleeve, opened the courtyard gate.
"Why have you come..."
Looking at how drastically Song Yunshu had changed, Li Guanqi felt deeply moved with emotion. In the past, Song Yunshu had been the daughter of the Tianji Pavilion Master—a proud daughter of heaven, pursued and admired by thousands upon thousands of cultivators. Now, she had grown somewhat haggard and worn.
Gu Yong narrowed his dim eyes, trying to make out who had arrived. "Yunshu, who is it?"
The old man's voice was loud, for he no longer knew just how loudly he spoke.
Li Guanqi glanced at Gu Yong, then looked at Song Yunshu. Seeing her nod faintly, he could not help feeling a wave of sorrowful sighs. To think that after he crippled Gu Yong's cultivation back then, even though the man still had a century of lifespan left, his entire body had deteriorated to such a wretched state.
Hearing no response, the old man assumed that an old enemy had come knocking again and rushed anxiously toward the gate! Raising his cane high, he roared in fury, "If an enemy has come, take it out on me! This has nothing to do with my granddaughter—come at me!"
Li Guanqi started slightly, glancing at Song Yunshu, who turned her head to brush away tears, his gaze growing conflicted. With a sigh, Li Guanqi channeled his primal energy to send his voice straight into the old man's ears.
"Elder Gu, it's Guanqi."
Gu Yong's body went instantly rigid, and his hand holding the cane froze in midair.
Chapter 1256