Advancement

Watching the two enter the secret chamber, Li Guanqi finally let out a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, after this, Gu Li would properly enter seclusion for a while. Still, this was a good thing. Truth be told, he understood everything... Lately, Gu Li appeared to have developed many remarkable inscribed talismans. He could even assist Tang Ru and aid other cultivators. Yet... none of those inscribed talismans were what Gu Li truly wanted. He simply felt that he ought to help his brothers, or perhaps... that he had to do so. Even though these were not what he wanted, he still did them anyway. This was precisely why Li Guanqi held Gu Li in such high regard. Sometimes, greatness did not lie in doing whatever one felt like doing, but in knowing what one wanted yet recognizing what needed one more. Gu Li was willing to look at the bigger picture for everyone's sake, so as his eldest brother, Li Guanqi could not let him get the short end of the stick! After some thought, Li Guanqi also entered the Nirvana Pagoda. *Bang!* Li Guanqi was suddenly blasted backward, tumbling out to collapse onto the ground, his face full of disbelief. "I'm this fierce?!" Indeed. This time, Li Guanqi had lasted barely a dozen breaths before being beaten back out. The "self" inside the Nirvana Pagoda was a monster that had thoroughly integrated the Demon King Body... It wielded the seven powers with consummate mastery, catching him off guard and handing him a bitter defeat. Li Guanqi grinned. Adjusting his mindset, he stepped inside once more. Meanwhile, Gu Li and Yu Shan underwent an inheritance. After all, the ancient secret technique Yu Shan possessed could only be conveyed to Gu Li through an inheritance. As the secret technique was passed down, Gu Li's eyes sparkled with brilliant light. He marveled more and more at the technique's profound subtlety. Watching the young man before him, eyes slightly shut, surrounded by flickering spiritual halos of countless runes, Yu Shan could not help marveling, "What an absolute monster... "What kind of comprehension and Dao affinity does one need to step into the Dao like this?! "If a fellow like him reaches the Immortal Realm, what will become of the world?" Yu Shan could already envision the scene once Li Guanqi and his brothers, all six of them, ascended to the Immortal Realm. Any single one of them, taken on their own, had the ability to reign supreme! As Gu Li's understanding of the Talisman Dao deepened, violent surges of origin power rippled around him. Yu Shan muttered to himself, "Come to think of it... out of Li Guanqi's brothers, only Tang Ru has just barely stepped into the middle Mahayana realm, right? "How are they cultivating so quickly? "It's as if... they have an abundance of extra time?" Yu Shan truly lived up to his background in intelligence. Even though he had not deliberately monitored Li Guanqi and the others, he had deduced plenty from subtle clues. Particularly whenever Tang Ru, Cao Yan, Xiao Chen, and the rest occasionally dropped by the tavern, their gazes carried that distinct trance-like look and deep sentiment that only came after enduring long periods of secluded cultivation. Yu Shan smiled, holding nothing back as he imparted the ancient secret technique entirely to Gu Li. At this time, the Seventh Domain had fallen into an inexplicably fervent mood. Now that there was no warfare, many cultivators set aside their prejudices to spar with one another. Following Senior Chen Xianzhi's death during his failed attempt to cross the tribulation and break through, many cultivators throughout the Seventh Domain had cleared away old grudges. In their eyes, their sole remaining objective was ascending to the Immortal Realm. In the face of life and death, everything else was insignificant. They simply cast aside past grievances, drinking and sparring together, generously sharing their insights. For a time, countless cultivators traded for cultivation manuals and immortal crystals within the Immortal Burial Pavilion. The Dao platforms in town were even more bustling, with continuous duels and sparring matches. Moreover, inspired by Senior Chen Xianzhi's act of offering his very being to enter the Dao, many cultivators gained enlightenments of their own. After secluding themselves, they touched upon the existence of the barrier of laws, and quite a few even managed to tear through it after making an attempt! The overall strength of the cultivators in the Seventh Domain was rising at a visible rate. Li Guanqi and his companions entered seclusion, Yu Shan departed, and Long Hou mounted his assault on the Tribulation Transcendence Realm. Everything was progressing toward a better future. The tavern was bustling with activity; Li Qingchan had even moved jars of wine from the shop right next to the sparring arenas. The laughter of young toddlers echoed ceaselessly through the town, while children who were slightly older had already begun their cultivation. Many cultivators were glad to offer a pointer or two whenever they could. After all, in this Seventh Domain where prospects seemed so bleak, these children were like seeds of hope. Thus, nearly every child born in the Seventh Domain grew up sheltered and cherished by countless top powerhouses. Time slipped past, and nearly half a month flew by in the blink of an eye. During this period, Emperor Chen returned to the Sixth Domain, while the Four Kings devoted themselves to cultivation. All among the Eight Generals were in seclusion, digesting their recent combat insights. The Eight Generals had been short one member for several years now, yet a replacement had still not been chosen in all that time. For no other reason than this... At present, aside from Li Guanqi, no one was capable of crushing a crowd of Mahayana realm cultivators so decisively as to leave them thoroughly convinced. Yet due to Li Guanqi's own circumstances, he would most likely decline to become one of the Eight Generals. During this period, Li Guanqi had continuously served as a formidable opponent inside the Nirvana Pagoda. Including Meng Wanshu, all six of them took a thorough beating from Li Guanqi. Yet battle maniacs like Ye Feng felt no fatigue whatsoever, challenging Li Guanqi day and night. Precisely because of this, under the Nirvana Pagoda's fifteenfold acceleration of time, everyone's strength grew at a blistering pace. Toward the end, as long as Gu Li paired up with any two others, even Li Guanqi began to find the bouts demanding. It was not just Gu Li—Tang Ru was the same! With Tang Ru joining forces with Ye Feng and Cao Yan, Li Guanqi would also feel strained. It felt as if he were constrained at every turn, his every move calculated down to the smallest detail! When Gu Li and Tang Ru teamed up with Ye Feng, they could hold out against Li Guanqi for quite a long time. From this, one could see just how terrifying Gu Li and Tang Ru's progress had been during this time. Tang Ru's physique had not changed. The sword spirit had found a cultivation technique suited for him, which eliminated the need to use his body to accumulate power against the backlash of the Dao of Divination. However, this method required Tang Ru to constantly keep a portion of power in reserve within his body. Once that reserved power was exhausted, what would be consumed next was his lifespan! Nevertheless, the power he could store this way was comparable to what he had previously gained by trading his girth. Thus, Tang Ru gladly accepted his present spirit and appearance. After all, Tang Ru was now a cultivator at the peak of the middle Mahayana realm; no one wanted to look fat and greasy if they could help it. Having endured this half a month—which amounted to nearly half a year of combat inside the pagoda—Li Guanqi was somewhat fatigued. Finally having some time to rest, Li Guanqi entered secluded cultivation himself. Those six months of battles had granted him many insights as well, and he needed to digest them promptly. And through these roughly six months of combat, Tang Ru was now only half a step away from the late Mahayana realm. As for the others... every single one of them had touched upon the existence of the barrier of laws! Meng Wanshu had even torn through the barrier of laws; after her first attempt, just like Li Guanqi, she had been submerged within the boundless sea of laws, ultimately failing to seize that sliver of vitality. Yet with this experience behind her, Li Guanqi was confident that before long, Meng Wanshu would be able to find that sliver of vitality through their resonance!