Li Guanqi had no idea what Duan Xian had endured within the heart demon illusion.
In his dark past, there had once been a sliver of light shining through.
Yet within the illusion... all that greeted him was an endless dark abyss!
Demonic hands dragged him downward, sinking him into depths from which he could never pull himself free.
He had experienced the mortal world's greatest malice.
Only in death did he finally understand that this was what an ordinary mortal's life was truly like.
He, too, had struggled desperately just to survive.
Yet mortals like these had once been slaughtered by him at will, all for the sake of a single adage: the strong reign supreme.
After slaying Duan Xian, Li Guanqi's aura fluctuated slightly.
The man's soul was swallowed in an instant by the power within his own body.
Watching the corpse wrapped in endless viscous blood plunge into the void, Li Guanqi felt deeply stirred.
The energy inside Duan Xian had clearly reached some critical threshold.
Those internal organs, charred black as coal, were evidently the price paid for some evil cultivation method.
Looking down at the Ancient Spirit-Burning Ring on his finger, Li Guanqi furrowed his brows slightly, yet decided to keep it.
He had a lingering feeling that this ring was not as simple as he had imagined.
Duan Xian's death also granted Li Guanqi a deeper understanding of the capabilities of the Demon King Physique.
Earlier, on the battlefield of the Seventh Domain, he had employed Heart Demon Control as well.
Yet the effect had not been particularly pronounced.
So much so that he had considered Heart Demon Control somewhat useless.
Yet now it seemed... the Demon King Physique was truly terrifying, far from being as underwhelming as he had thought.
Heart Demon Control had a negligible impact on the souls of cultivators at the level of the Immortal Realm.
For cultivators of the Human Spirit Realm, however, it was virtually lethal.
Cultivating up to this point, anyone would harbor some inner obsessions, for a cultivator had experienced far more of the world's ways and felt them all the more acutely.
Those who had cultivated for a shorter time were even more heavily affected due to an unstable Dao heart.
Except for experts of Long Hou's caliber, almost no one could withstand it.
A man like Long Hou had a mind as solid as bedrock; he knew precisely what he wanted and how to obtain it.
He would never rejoice over unearned gains in an illusion.
Only by taking every step along the path of cultivation oneself could one stand on solid ground.
With a sigh, Li Guanqi took Duan Xian's severed head.
Taking a step forward, he vanished from the spot in an instant.
Half an incense stick later, Li Guanqi appeared in the skies above the Great Xia Sword Sect.
The moment space was torn open, the continuous ringing of countless blades leaving their scabbards filled the air.
Dense throngs of cultivators hovered in the sky above the sect.
The disciples and elders of the Great Xia Sword Sect were all on high alert, as if facing a mortal enemy.
Even the Spirit Fish Clan and the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox Clan had mobilized in full force.
At the head of the crowd, standing beside Wu Bing, was an elder with a solemn gaze—Gu Lie.
When everyone saw clearly that the newcomer was Li Guanqi, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Guanqi raised a hand and said softly, "All right, the matter is settled. Everyone, disperse."
"Disciples of Dan Peak, lend a hand. Open the medicinal pools of the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven, and prepare plenty of spirit elixirs to replenish vital essence and blood."
With that, Li Guanqi tore open the boundary space and handed all the remaining sect disciples over to Sun Miao.
Lu Kangnian did not appear. After all, he was currently in a rather disheveled state, and a sect master still cared about his dignity.
Wu Bing asked with concern in his eyes, "Elder Li, where is the Sect Master?"
Li Guanqi smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, nothing has happened to him. He only suffered severe depletion of primal energy and is meditating right now."
Li Guanqi glanced at the crowd busy repairing the formations and nodded slightly.
Even in his absence, the present Great Xia Sword Sect was well equipped to handle unexpected crises.
Whether it was Wu Bing or Ling Daoyan and the others, they were all capable of taking command.
This set his mind somewhat at ease.
However...
After this incident, he realized that the Great Xia Sword Sect still lacked sufficient means to deter enemies!
Employing a shifting technique to send Lu Kangnian back to his quarters, Li Guanqi stepped onto the void and slowly spread his arms.
In an instant, killing intent flooded the sky, and sword intent of the Sword Po realm surged forth!
Endless lightning power merged with his Sword Po realm sword intent, coalescing into a hundred-zhang sword of lightning.
The lightning sword ascended until it hovered three hundred zhang above the Great Xia Sword Sect!
This sword contained Li Guanqi's full-strength strike.
A full-strength blow of an early Tribulation Transcendence Realm cultivator, infused with the sword intent of the Sword Po realm.
Merely hanging suspended in midair, the spirit sword caused the void for a thousand zhang around it to fracture, entirely unable to bear the pressure of its razor-sharp sword intent.
With that done, Li Guanqi waved his hand. Behind him, lightning converged, condensing into hundreds—thousands—of four-foot lightning swords.
The lightning swords formed the simplest sword formation, blanketing the sect's main peak.
Floating in midair and slowly rotating, the lightning swords swooped up and down, shearing space with rolling claps of thunder.
Seeing this spectacle, the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect were dumbstruck.
*Gulp...* "With this kind of power, slaughtering an ordinary Body Integration Realm cultivator wouldn't even be an issue, right?"
"The point is, the Grand Elder produced thousands of spirit swords in a single move!"
"Who would dare make trouble now? Let's see who dares!"
"No wonder the great clans and sects have such profound foundations. The Grand Elder's move really is... well... more than enough to deter the Six Domains."
Having finished all this, Li Guanqi finally nodded in satisfaction.
Since there was still time, he planned to rework the protections across the three thousand marvelous peaks and eight hundred scenic waters.
With more than half of the sect's treasury depleted, he intended to rummage through his storage rings and throw in anything he had no use for.
As for cultivation manuals and scriptures, of which he had plenty at the Earth rank, he would dump them all into the library pavilion.
Li Guanqi looked at everyone and said softly, "Head to the main hall first. I have a few things to explain."
Hearing this, the crowd hurriedly bowed and gave solemn assents.
Then Li Guanqi took out the Guanyun Jade Pendant and said softly, "Elder Xi, Yu Hua, come to the sect's main hall as well."
***
The main hall of Tianjian Peak, Great Xia Sword Sect.
Li Guanqi's chair was positioned right beside the throne on the high dais.
Sitting in the chair, Li Guanqi looked down at each familiar face, unable to keep from feeling a touch of emotion.
Inside the hall were only the select few who formed the true upper echelon of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Once everyone had arrived, Li Guanqi said softly, "The Sect Master probably hasn't told you yet, but Ye Feng, a few others, and I are currently in the Seventh Domain."
His words caused an immediate uproar!
"So the rumors were true—the Grand Elder really has been in the Seventh Domain all this time!"
"Grand Elder, what kind of place is the Seventh Domain?"
At that question, many wore bewildered expressions, looking toward Li Guanqi with grave silence.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall turned solemn.
Even Xi Yunhuai and Yu Hua frowned slightly. Although the Guanyun Pavilion's intelligence network was formidable now, they still knew very little about the enigmatic Seventh Domain.
Gu Lie was present in the hall this time as well; it was his first time attending a council in the Great Xia Sword Sect's main hall.
The old man looked up at Li Guanqi, a trace of puzzlement in his eyes as well.
Li Guanqi looked around at the assembly, took a deep breath, and laid down a barrier.
"There is much I need to arrange this time, and much I wish to tell you."
"As for what kind of place the Seventh Domain truly is... I will tell you!"
Chapter 1334