What Is Li Qingchan's Motive?

The brothers' strength had all undergone a qualitative leap. Except for Tang Ru, every one of them had reached the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm. This was largely thanks to the Nirvana Pagoda, which completely made up for their lack of cultivation time. Li Guanqi had actually kept a close eye on Ye Feng's movements ever since he left the White Jade Tower. Li Qingchan smiled and fetched wine for everyone, yet only she knew the tangled turmoil in her heart. Ye Feng had already discovered that she wanted to make a move against Li Guanqi, that she harbored murderous intent. If a clash erupted right now, against the strength of their group combined with the present Li Guanqi... Li Qingchan would have no chance of escape whatsoever. Li Guanqi was far too powerful, and his growth rate far exceeded anyone's comprehension. Furthermore, the Seventh Domain was home to the Four Kings and Sovereign Chen. If Ye Feng chose to expose the truth, she would undoubtedly die. As she fetched the wine, Li Qingchan remained on high alert, her heart fraught with anxiety. Ye Feng sat in the corner. Seeing his state, the others did not disturb him. Only Li Guanqi walked over to his side. "Very disappointed?" Ye Feng nodded slightly, clutching his chest as he murmured in a low voice, "Indeed, deeply disappointed... But... I don't understand why she would do this." Li Guanqi patted his shoulder and said softly, "The person... behind her should be the same person behind Lu Wuhen." Ye Feng nodded, his gaze drifting toward the figure bustling in the back kitchen of the wine shop as he whispered, "I guessed as much. There probably aren't many enemies left who would target you now. But I don't understand why someone as strong as her would be threatened, or why she would willingly become a puppet." Hearing this, Li Guanqi frowned slightly as well. He transmitted his voice in a whisper: "Reason dictates that without desire, there are no demands, and without demands, greed cannot take root. A person like Li Qingchan doesn't strike me as having any intense desire or obsession regarding ascending to the Immortal Realm or attaining ultimate power. That part is strange..." Li Qingchan stood behind the counter tidying things up, never once interacting with Li Guanqi and the others. Gu Li also noticed the strange atmosphere. He stood up and called out, "Come on, let's head back to the White Jade Tower for some barbecue and drinks." Cao Yan and Xiao Chen exchanged glances and both rose to their feet. Ye Feng originally didn't want to leave, but Tang Ru spoke up at that moment. "Second Brother, come back with us." Hesitating for a moment, Ye Feng got up and left with the others. Now, in the spacious wine shop, only Li Guanqi and Li Qingchan were left, staring at each other. The woman looked at Li Guanqi with cold indifference. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Clearly, she had guessed that Li Guanqi knew something. Yet when he had used the power of lightning earlier to seal the poison, she had felt a strange sense of relief. Li Guanqi sat in a chair, watching her with a calm gaze. "You can't kill me on your own. But... you shouldn't have hurt Ye Feng. Deep down, he's a sensitive man. You shouldn't have betrayed his feelings for you." Hearing this, Li Qingchan shut her eyes in anguish, her lips pressed tight and her shoulders trembling faintly. Before she knew it, Li Guanqi had walked up to the counter. His eyes fixed intently on her beautiful gaze. "Do you... trust me?" The woman scoffed coldly. "Trust you? I only trust myself!" *Buzz!* A silver-white sigil flared on Li Guanqi's brow, and two silver rings seemed to ignite in his snow-white eyes as he gazed into hers. After a long moment, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his expression turning solemn. Staring intently at Li Qingchan, he sent a deep voice transmission: "When... was a soul contract planted in you?" *Thud!* Li Qingchan collapsed back into a chair, her pupils quivering as she stared at Li Guanqi in sheer disbelief! "You... How could you possibly know that?!" A flicker of panic flitted across her eyes. Li Guanqi spoke slowly. "You've never given me the impression of someone obsessed with pursuing the Great Dao of immortality or breaking through to ascend. In that case, what could compel a Tribulation Transcendence realm mighty figure to willingly do something against her will? Either someone close to you is being coerced, or you were forced with no choice!" The woman looked up at Li Guanqi and asked in a flat voice, "So what? What do you plan to do? Call the Four Kings to arrest me?" The corners of Li Guanqi's lips curved slightly. Looking at Li Qingchan, he asked gently, "Can you tell me who he is?" Li Qingchan shook her head, guard and vigilance still lingering in her eyes. She rose and gripped her sword, fixing Li Guanqi with a resolute glare! "Words are useless. Draw your sword." When she uttered those last three words, she had already resolved to die. Trapped in the Seventh Domain, getting away unscathed was virtually impossible. Yet right at that moment, Li Guanqi spoke softly. "Actually... there's no need for us to reach this point. You and I have no personal enmity; what you've done is merely due to an inescapable contract." Li Qingchan calmed down slightly. She said nothing, waiting for what he would say next. "If I can sever and extract the soul contract from your body, will you stand on our side?" A trace of disappointment flashed in Li Qingchan's eyes. She sneered with a helpless edge to her voice. "And here I thought you had a real solution... This is a soul contract. Severing and extracting it? Easy to say! Even if you have the power to do so, I will be cast aside by them. By then, you won't be able to get anything out of me either." Li Guanqi smiled, tilted his head back to take a sip of wine, and looked at her with lowered eyelids. "While I would certainly love to obtain information about who is behind this from you, that isn't the most important thing. Even if I unbind the contract for you and you cannot help me against the mastermind, it doesn't matter." Li Qingchan furrowed her delicate brows, unable to comprehend why the man before her would say such a thing. "Why?" Li Guanqi sighed and said softly, "Because of Ye Feng." As soon as he spoke, Gu Li appeared at the entrance, having arrived unnoticed. "Eldest Brother, you called for me?" Just as Gu Li finished speaking, Tang Ru also arrived. Tang Ru swept his gaze over the scene, smiled without speaking, and simply stood by, awaiting Li Guanqi's instructions. Li Guanqi looked at Li Qingchan and said gently, "Up until now, neither of them knows anything. I will give you two choices now. First, you and I fight with everything we've got. If I can't beat you, I'll call people over to cripple you. Second, take a chance and trust me once. I'll help you!" Li Qingchan's expression was exceedingly conflicted, her eyes wavering in long silence! From the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of a man's figure in the distance. Ye Feng stood atop a mountain crest hundreds of zhang away, looking into the wine shop through the slit of the door. Separated by hundreds of zhang, their gazes met. Li Qingchan remained silent for a long time before taking a deep breath and slowly lowering her sword. "I'll trust you this once!"