Li Qingchan had clearly realized something long ago.
Nothing could happen by such sheer coincidence.
Ye Feng’s expression remained composed. The brothers all knew that Li Guanqi harbored immense secrets, but none of them would ever breathe a word of it to an outsider.
Li Qingchan recounted her past and everything she had endured to Ye Feng.
She finally let him understand why she had chosen to open a wine shop named Mortal Sojourner in the Immortal Spirit Realm.
It turned out that after arriving in the Immortal Burial Realm, she too had once loved someone.
Yet barely had the two of them come together when the figure in the shadows took notice.
While they were fighting against Immortal Realm cultivators, that mastermind had used the power of the soul contract to forcefully seize control of her body and mind, compelling her to slaughter her lover with her own hands!
When she regained consciousness, there was nothing but bloodstained hands and the man dying in her arms.
Li Qingchan knew it was a warning, a brutal lesson to remind her of her place.
From the moment she accepted his gift, she was destined to be his puppet for life!
Thus, for all these years, Li Qingchan had kept everyone at arm's length.
She cared little about anything, and was all the more resistant to anyone's affections.
Drifting aimlessly, she had no idea what meaning or purpose remained in her life.
Ye Feng fell silent upon hearing this.
He had never imagined she had suffered through so much.
Every single grievance laid bare the agony of having no choice in her fate.
This struck a deep chord within him.
Noticing the distant, reminiscent look in Ye Feng's eyes, Li Qingchan sat beside him without saying a word.
After a long while, Ye Feng began to speak, starting from the day he first met Li Guanqi.
He recounted the blade drawn at the Ziyang inn, the ambush by over a hundred hunting squads in the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons;
how he had eventually felt unable to keep pace with Li Guanqi's strides and chose to depart, stepping into the Abyss of Purgatory;
drawing his sword to rescue people in the He clan square; and ultimately... willingly infiltrating Sha as an undercover agent.
Those years had been the most agonizing period of Ye Feng's life.
Tormented by his conscience day and night, curses had whispered in his ears even as he cultivated.
He understood all too well what it felt like to be trapped without a choice.
A look of heartache surfaced in Li Qingchan's eyes.
Yet when she heard how Li Guanqi and the brothers had thrown themselves relentlessly into cultivation just to bring Ye Feng back, that brotherhood—something she had never known or understood—set her blood boiling!
Through Ye Feng's words, she gained a deeper understanding of the kind of man Li Guanqi was.
He shouldered responsibility, bore heavy burdens, and drew his blade against mighty foes without backing down an inch.
He was someone worthy of everyone's absolute trust and faith.
A man truly deserving of their heartfelt reverence as Eldest Brother.
Their eyes met. The alcohol took hold, flushing both of their cheeks crimson.
Their faces drew nearer until Li Qingchan could feel Ye Feng's scorching breath.
Parting her pearly teeth, her rosy lips opened slightly.
Her gaze hazy, the woman finally cast off the shackles around her heart. Looking at the man before her, she whispered softly,
"Kiss me."
Gazing at the alluring softness in Li Qingchan's eyes, Ye Feng shed his lingering burdens as well and kissed her deeply.
***
Beyond the domain, Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes.
"To set a trap, one needs bait..."
"Given his temperament, though, he won't take the bait easily."
Hearing Li Guanqi's mutterings, Tang Ru and Gu Li exchanged a glance. After a brief silence, Tang Ru spoke up:
"Eldest Brother, do you need my help?"
Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. He had almost forgotten about Tang Ru!
However, this was no place to discuss such matters.
They had already stayed here too long. Feigning drunkenness and loudly shouting drunken congratulations on their breakthroughs, the three staggered back toward the White Jade Tower.
Upon returning to the White Jade Tower, Li Guanqi brought the two directly into the sword coffin space.
A youth was already waiting inside.
Li Guanqi looked at Gu Li with an amused grin and teased, "Who knew you'd sculpt your clone to look so handsome?"
Gu Li looked slightly embarrassed, but his expression quickly turned solemn.
Waving a hand to disperse the clone, he said in a low voice, "The clone's cultivation is still low, but it detected one prying gaze. There were also two very covert gazes, though I'm not certain if they were directed at us."
Li Guanqi gave a silent nod. He had anticipated as much.
After all, with Li Qingchan being such an important pawn, how could the mastermind not leave precautions in place?
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes and murmured softly, "Understood. I'll head back to the first floor first. When Second Brother returns, have him come find me."
The two nodded slightly. Li Guanqi then turned to Tang Ru and said quietly, "Fifth Brother, come with me. Once the two of us work out the details, we'll tell the rest of you."
Gu Li nodded. After sending a transmission to Ye Feng, he returned to the Nirvana Pagoda.
Cao Yan and Xiao Chen were currently stabilizing their cultivation inside the pagoda, while Meng Wanshu had recently shown signs of an impending breakthrough.
It was Tang Ru's first time setting foot on the Nirvana Pagoda's first floor, which belonged to Li Guanqi.
Feeling the surging power of thunder, even he could not help shuddering slightly.
The two found a spot, brought out a table and chairs, and sat down.
Catching each other's eye, they shared a slight smile.
Pouring the wine and filling Tang Ru's cup, Li Guanqi could not help sighing, "It truly has been rare for the two of us brothers to sit down and chat like this."
Tang Ru sighed in agreement. "Indeed. Before meeting you all, I figured reaching the Soul Formation Realm in this lifetime, or getting lucky enough to break through to the Void Refining Realm, would already be the greatest blessing imaginable."
At that, he broke into a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Who would've thought Fatty Tang could come this far?"
Li Guanqi teased, "You brat aren't fat in the least now. Besides, I heard several female cultivators on the battlefields of the second and third domains have their eyes on you."
Tang Ru nearly spat out his wine. Coughing twice, he quickly waved his hands. "Forget it! They're older than my father. I have zero interest..."
Li Guanqi laughed. "Don't you dare say that in front of Second Brother."
Tang Ru darted shifty glances in every direction before muttering, "I'll have to warn that blockhead Xiao Chen about that later."
The two chuckled. Then Tang Ru pulled out his golden abacus, looking solemn as he said, "Eldest Brother, let's hear it."
Seeing this, Li Guanqi took a deep breath, organizing his thoughts and considering how to lay everything out for Tang Ru.
After thinking it over, he felt everything had to begin with Cang Lu!
That Six-Fingered Zither Demon.
The one who had nearly caused him to be executed publicly by He Yuanting on the square.
In short, Li Guanqi held nothing back, except that he substituted the existence of the sword spirit with that of the precious sword coffin space.
In truth, even without spelling everything out, Tang Ru understood that the enemy would never go to such lengths merely over a sword coffin.
Why, Tang Ru already knew that the sword coffin held Red Lotus, and that Li Song carried Yanluo.
Chapter 1348