If Not a Natural Disaster, Then a Man-Made Calamity!

Li Guanqi did not leave right away. Instead, he shamelessly remained seated beside the old man, savoring the peaceful moment. Grandfather and grandson lay in rocking chairs in the courtyard, swaying gently. Beneath the sky closest to the Immortal Realm, the two chatted idly. Yet as if sharing a tacit understanding, neither said much regarding their own secrets. Even so, Li Guanqi brought up the other mastermind lurking behind the scenes. Regarding Xun Tian, even Su Xuan had not expected the man to have hidden himself so deeply. Su Xuan sat up and carefully scrutinized the Red Lotus sword in his hand. A section just below the sword tip was noticeably distinct, causing Su Xuan's eyes to flicker. He had not imagined he would see a fragment of the sword spirit's true body in the Human Spirit Realm. By all logic, even in the Immortal Realm, such fragments would be fiercely contested treasures. To think the other side had actually used a fragment just to test the waters... Su Xuan's expression turned somber. Passing Red Lotus back to Li Guanqi, he spoke with great gravity: "I'm aware of this now." "Later, I'll have A'Chen keep an eye on whether anyone else is lurking in the Human Spirit Realm." "Be careful yourself as well. After all, there are times when I can't look out for everything." Li Guanqi nodded slightly, stowing Red Lotus back into the sword coffin with a flick of his wrist. At that moment, a faint, ambiguous smile played at the corners of Su Xuan's lips. "Once you finish handling everything for now, I'll take you to the Third Domain." Hearing this, Li Guanqi instantly grew excited. He had long wondered what good things his grandfather had left for him, things that required him to reach the Tribulation Transcendence Realm before he was allowed to go. Li Guanqi insisted on wheedling two jars of fine wine and some healing spiritual liquid out of the old man's hands before finally taking his leave. After Li Guanqi left, Su Xuan could not help but laugh and curse fondly, "Little bastard, still acting like a bandit." With that, Su Xuan lay back in the rocking chair, his face suddenly draining of all color! Deathly pale and visibly frail, he rested against the rocking chair. "Damn it... willing to pay such a price?" "A Ninth-tier Golden Immortal... tsk. Doesn't that hurt?" As he spoke, the old man looked up at the firmament, his face filled with mockery. His heavy eyelids slowly drooped. Deep down, he truly dreaded a certain outcome. If it truly came to that, he didn't know if Li Guanqi could hold out... With a sigh, Su Xuan spoke softly. "A'Chen." *Buzz!* Ling Tianchen's figure slowly materialized. Leaning forward, he whispered, "Realm Lord, I am here." Su Xuan looked deeply at the gray-haired old man before him and murmured, "Do you trust me?" Ling Tianchen smiled. "I do." The corners of Su Xuan's mouth curled slightly; a decision had already been made in his heart! *** After returning to the Realm of Celestial Spirits, Li Guanqi brought everyone back to the White Jade Tower. In the vast secret chamber, several figures lay sprawled across the floor. Then, Li Guanqi took them all directly into the Nirvana Pagoda within the sword coffin's space. Here, they would have plenty of time to recover from their injuries. Finally, Li Guanqi shared his idea with Pengluo and the sword spirit, asking for their input. The sword spirit didn't mind either way, but Pengluo was clearly the type not to let go of the hawk until he saw the rabbit. Helpless, Li Guanqi had no choice but to share some of the spiritual liquid from his grandfather with Pengluo. Pengluo instantly hugged Li Guanqi's thigh and shouted, "As expected of my master! Generous, dashing, graceful as jade bamboo in the wind..." "All right, all right, that's enough." "How long will it take?" Counting on his fingers, Pengluo mumbled, "To forge something this big, even if driven by immortal crystals, it'll take at least a month or so at the fastest." "Besides, the Weapon Pagoda and Array Pagoda can help lay the groundwork." At this point, Pengluo suddenly rubbed his hands together with an embarrassed air. Li Guanqi frowned. "What now? I've already given you plenty." Pengluo chuckled sheepishly. "I mean... uh... could I head out on my own for a while?" Li Guanqi blinked, asking with knitted brows and a hint of concern, "What are you going out on your own for?" Pengluo scratched his head, looking down bashfully. "I was thinking of heading back to the Great Xia Sword Sect to see my son..." "The little guy's sentience just awakened, and I don't know if the Great Xia Sword Sect has enough resources for him." The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched at that, while the sword spirit burst out laughing. Li Guanqi said exasperatedly, "Fine, I'll go back with you." "They'll need some time to recover from their injuries anyway." As they spoke, Xiao Chen suddenly poked his head out of the Nirvana Pagoda. "Brother, I want to go back and see Qing'er too." Li Guanqi chuckled and chided, "Ask your second brother if he agrees." Xiao Chen had guts; he shouted directly toward the third floor: "Second Brother! Second Brother!" Ye Feng, wrapped up like a zongzi, emerged in a foul temper. "What are you yelling for?! What are you yelling for?! I'm not dead yet!" "Heh heh, I want to go back to the Great Xia Sword Sect with Eldest Brother to see Qing'er." Ye Feng curled his lip and snapped, "You want to go back looking like a wreck? Won't Qing'er worry?" "Cultivate properly! Didn't you say you wanted to visit Elder Sun once you're healed?" Xiao Chen considered it and realized he had a point. Scratching his head, he conceded, "Then I won't go, Eldest Brother. I'll wait until my injuries heal." Li Guanqi smiled. He could sense that Xiao Chen's mindset had undergone a tremendous transformation! Especially back when Sun Changlin had prepared to die and entrusted his legacy. In a fury, Xiao Chen had hurled his spear with all his might, saving Sun Changlin from certain death. It was as though Xiao Chen had found the purpose of his cultivation—he finally possessed the strength to protect those he cared about. Sun Changlin's survival held immense significance for Xiao Chen. It moved Li Guanqi deeply as well. In that situation, even Li Guanqi had believed Sun Changlin was doomed. Yet Xiao Chen and Cao Yan had dragged Sun Changlin back from the gates of death. At that moment, Xiao Chen had been magnificent! Having made up his mind, Li Guanqi took Pengluo and Jiuxiao and departed the Seventh Domain. Meng Wanshu was also severely injured and remained in the Nirvana Pagoda recovering alongside Ye Feng and the others. *Buzz!* Just as Li Guanqi stepped out of the domain boundary, he discovered a transmission from Li Guilan. "Guanqi, how is Wanshu? Is she hurt? Are her injuries serious?" Li Guanqi quickly replied to Li Guilan's message, reassuring her. Having taken care of everything, Li Guanqi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Pengluo perched atop Li Guanqi's shoulders, clutching his hair with both hands, eyes squinting happily with upturned lips. *** What Li Guanqi did not know, however, was that the upper echelons of the Great Xia Sword Sect were currently overwhelmed with crisis. Inside Guanyun Pavilion, Yu Hua wore an exceedingly grave expression as her intelligence division feverishly gathered information. Lu Kangnian spoke with a darkened countenance: "Did no one notice anything wrong with the secret realm this time?!" His furious voice echoed through the grand hall. Below, the elders kept their heads bowed, none daring to meet his gaze. Qin Xian said in a heavy voice, "A total of fifty disciples went on this expedition. The leading elder and the guardian consecrators have vanished without a trace." "Not only that, the entire secret realm has disappeared completely..." Lu Kangnian's face was grim to the extreme. What was supposed to be a routine secret realm exploration had turned into this! The secret realm had abruptly shut and vanished without a trace. Fifty disciples, along with the leading elder and consecrators, were completely out of contact. Fortunately, their life-tethered jade slips had not shattered... Lu Kangnian narrowed his eyes, forcibly quelling his racing thoughts to calm himself. "Perhaps... if not a natural disaster, then it is a man-made calamity!" "Trying to threaten me?" Suddenly! A streak of enigmatic light plummeted from the sky, hurtling straight toward the main hall of the Great Xia Sword Sect!