Li Guanqi did not linger, merely inquiring about the sect's recent situation. After learning from Lu Kangnian that all was well of late, he embarked on his journey back to the Seventh Domain.
Along the way, he steadily consolidated his realm while refining the power within his body, spending time contemplating the laws and integrating the strength of the Demon King Physique. Having devoured the Demon King Physique, his progress in refining its origin essence was not especially fast; completely refining that essence for his own use would still take some time.
The lightning bead formed from the lightning spirit circled continuously around his nascent spirit. Not only could this bead accelerate his cultivation, but Li Guanqi had also discovered another function: it was much like the spiritual root lightning spirit he had once used to reshape Li Congxin's physical body. It possessed the ability to store primal energy, capable of pre-storing nearly half of all the primal energy in his body. This was no trivial benefit; at a crucial juncture, it could save his life.
Feeling the surging power within him, Li Guanqi felt a wave of restless excitement. It seemed that before long, he would be able to break through to Tribulation Transcendence.
Soon, he drew near the edge of the void. With a wave of his hand, an identity jade slip floated forth. A curtain of light materialized before him, and with a faint smile, he stepped slowly inside.
The moment he entered, he saw that Ye Feng and Meng Wanshu had already been waiting for him. When the two saw Li Guanqi, both paused in surprise, their eyes filled with utter disbelief. They had never imagined that in the scant three months since Li Guanqi left the Seventh Domain, his aura would undergo such an earth-shaking transformation!
*Swish!*
Ye Feng teleported before Li Guanqi, his eyes shining brightly. Overjoyed, he asked, "Big Brother, did you...?"
Meng Wanshu stood by his side as well, looking Li Guanqi up and down.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and said softly, "What you sense is correct."
At those words, Ye Feng sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. In his perception, Li Guanqi's aura and cultivation realm had indeed changed drastically. If Ye Feng had still been able to gauge the gap between his strength and Li Guanqi's before, now he could no longer perceive it at all. Any attempt to probe Li Guanqi's aura was swallowed whole in an instant. In his eyes, the current Li Guanqi was like a bottomless abyss—utterly unfathomable! That was precisely why he had suspected Li Guanqi had already broken through to half-step Tribulation Transcendence.
Meng Wanshu fixed her beautiful eyes on Li Guanqi and said softly, "Your progress is so fast... Did you run into something while you were out?"
At her words, Ye Feng's expression grew somewhat unnatural. The reason he had come out to greet Li Guanqi was actually connected to this very matter. He had known earlier that Li Guanqi asked Gu Li for sealing inscribed talismans—a staggering three hundred thousand of them in one go. One had to realize how formidable Gu Li's strength was now; even his ordinary inscribed talismans could trap a Mahayana realm cultivator for a prolonged time, to say nothing of such a vast quantity of sealing inscribed talismans. Li Guanqi asking for those talismans was clearly out of fear that someone would escape, intending to seal off an entire spatial realm. From this, it was plain that Li Guanqi's excursion had likely been to hunt down Xun Tian!
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, looked calmly at Ye Feng, and said in a quiet voice, "I killed Xun Tian."
*Boom!*
The words struck Ye Feng's mind like a sledgehammer, leaving him dazed for a long while before he could recover his senses.
Li Guanqi continued, "Li Si'ang died back when Xun Tian fled last time. He was merely... an escape route Xun Tian prepared for himself by manipulating Lu Tian. Li Si'ang suffered possession because Xun Tian coveted his special physique."
Ye Feng bowed his head in silence. Even though he already knew all this, he still felt a pang of self-blame, reproaching himself for failing to protect Li Si'ang. Because of Song Zhi'ang, he had harbored deep affection for Li Si'ang as well.
After a long while, Ye Feng let out a sigh. Things had reached this point, and he knew that dwelling on it was pointless. It was all fate. The enmity between Li Guanqi and Xun Tian could never have been resolved. Throughout Li Guanqi's cultivation journey, he had felt a pressing sense of crisis ever since the Nascent Soul realm, and every single bit of that dread had stemmed from Xun Tian's schemes and manipulations.
Ye Feng raised his head, forcing a strained smile onto his face as he said softly, "Congratulations, Big Brother. You've finally resolved a knot in your heart."
With that, Ye Feng turned away and called back, "I'm going to... have a drink. Don't worry about me, Boss."
Li Guanqi nodded and said nothing more.
After Ye Feng departed, Meng Wanshu stepped up beside Li Guanqi, looking after Ye Feng's retreating back as she said gently, "It seems that during those days in the Heavenly Demon Hall, Ye Feng was on very good terms with Song Zhi'ang."
Li Guanqi nodded. "It's only natural. During their time in the Heavenly Demon Hall, saying the two of them depended on each other to survive wouldn't be an exaggeration. When Ye Feng appeared to be killing people, it was actually Song Zhi'ang doing the deed behind that facade, all to lessen the guilt weighing on Ye Feng's conscience. The infant brought back from that mission back then—both Song Zhi'ang and Ye Feng would have cherished him beyond measure."
At this point, Li Guanqi's voice trailed off into silence.
Meng Wanshu sighed softly. "Let him process these feelings on his own."
"Indeed. Xun Tian... had to die. He knew far too much about me. Alright, let's head back and see the others."
With that, Li Guanqi took Meng Wanshu's hand and returned to the White Jade Tower.
Meanwhile, by the time Li Guanqi returned, Ye Feng had already arrived at the tavern. When Li Qingchan, the tavern's proprietress, looked up, she saw Ye Feng with a troubled expression on his face.
"What happened today? You don't seem in very high spirits."
A touch of bitterness surfaced on Ye Feng's face as he requested quietly, "Could you get me... some strong wine?"
Li Qingchan could tell he was downcast. Nodding, she turned and walked toward the backyard, where she dug up a large jar of wine from beneath the immortal soil and scooped out a flagon. She then set the wine jar before Ye Feng, took out two cups, and filled them to the brim. She asked no questions, merely keeping Ye Feng company in silent drinking.
The fiery wine entered their throats; the dusky-amber liquid, like nectar and jade dew, was thick as syrup. Yet upon drinking, it burned like a streak of fire plunging down the throat into the belly.
"*Cough—hiss!*
"Such fiery wine!!"
Li Qingchan smiled and said with great pride, "Of course. This is my exclusive secret recipe!"
Hearing this, Ye Feng smiled faintly.
"What are you smiling at? Don't believe me?"
"Hahaha, I believe you."
"By the way, is Li Guanqi back?"
"Mm, Big Brother is back."
"Then when is he going to resume the challenges?! I'm still waiting to see him challenge Hong Zhi!"
Ye Feng chuckled without answering. With Li Guanqi's present strength, Hong Zhi was likely no longer a concern. In Ye Feng's eyes, perhaps only Long Hou was qualified to be Li Guanqi's opponent now!
Chapter 1276