Has Li Guanqi Sensed Something?

The sword spirit’s lips curled into a faint smile, her expression calm and serene. With a slight touch of wistfulness in her voice, she spoke. "Long ago, I told you that you might face many exceedingly formidable enemies in the future." "They might be immortals who descended to the lower realm, or they might be your original foes." "Do you know why?" Li Guanqi had indeed always wondered about this. The sword spirit turned and looked intently at him. "Because from the moment you ascend, undergoing the baptism of heaven and earth is equivalent to shedding your mortal frame and being completely reborn." "Your aura will undergo an earth-shaking transformation." "When that time comes, given the vastness of the Immortal Realm, finding you will be like searching for a needle in the ocean." Hearing this, Li Guanqi finally saw the light. No wonder they had been searching so frantically throughout the Human Spirit Realm. No matter how vast the Human Spirit Realm was, in the end it was merely a lower spirit realm. If they truly could not find him yet felt threatened, they would simply obliterate the entire realm, just as they had done to the Bingqi Realm. The sword spirit continued, "That is why they are so desperate to stop you." "With your grandfather guarding the boundary between the Human and Immortal Realms, those above cannot obtain any further news." "Yet they have definitely grown suspicious of this spirit realm. Otherwise, they wouldn't have paid such a heavy price in their previous attempts to conquer it." "They even brought in an expert capable of wounding your grandfather." Li Guanqi nodded silently. His gaze drifted slightly, lost in thought. Before long, however, he adjusted his mindset, took a deep breath, and regained his confident composure. "Let's prepare this time and see if we can obliterate him..." In the days that followed, the entire Seventh Domain entered an era of thriving vitality. More and more unfamiliar cultivators joined, and more and more achieved enlightenment and broke through. Among the Eight Generals, Hongzhi, Ji Yuchuan, and Xiang Huaizhi were the first to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Chan Kongzi and Nangong Xuandu were close behind, both preparing for their breakthroughs as well. The gratitude everyone felt toward Li Guanqi was beyond words. During this period, Gu Li practically shut himself inside the Nirvana Pagoda, throwing himself into deep research. Li Guanqi also settled down to cultivate in earnest. Through round after round of fierce combat within the Nirvana Pagoda, his strength rapidly climbed. His Spirit-Devouring Dao Body had now almost completely fused with the Demon King Body, no longer leaking even a shred of demonic qi. Only the domineering power of thunder remained. As time passed, everything seemed just as it had always been. Yet Li Guanqi knew this was merely the calm before the storm. A ripple of spatial fluctuations stirred, and an inscribed talisman appeared in Li Guanqi's hand! The script on the talisman was somewhat peculiar. Though merely the size of a palm, it contained an indescribably profound power. One half was red, the other half black. The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly. After putting away the talisman, he left the Nirvana Pagoda without a sound. The spatial fluctuation in the Seventh Domain drew no one's attention. Meanwhile, a unique identity jade slip appeared out of thin air within Li Guanqi's storage ring. Upon returning to the White Jade Tower, Li Guanqi went straight to the Nirvana Pagoda. After conferring with Gu Li on a few matters, he turned and left again. Li Guanqi headed straight for the top level of the Seventh Domain. "Grandfather, I'm ready on my end." For some reason, Su Xuan looked somewhat weary, but when he saw Li Guanqi arrive, he still squeezed out a faint smile. "Good. Shall I take you to the Third Domain now?" Frowning slightly, Li Guanqi walked up to the old man with deep concern and asked in a low voice, "Grandfather, are you alright?" "Is it because the hidden injury from fighting that opponent last time hasn't healed yet?" With that, Li Guanqi placed his hand on the old man's wrist, sending a surge of pure, powerful origin power into his body. Yet in the old man's body, Li Guanqi's massive origin power was like a clay ox plunging into the sea, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye. It was as though it had never existed at all; the old man's ocean-deep dantian was simply beyond Li Guanqi's current understanding... Even so, he could clearly feel that the old man's internal injuries were far from as simple as they appeared on the surface. Li Guanqi's brow furrowed tightly as he asked the sword spirit in his mind. The sword spirit's voice echoed by his ear, sounding grim. "Your grandfather's injuries this time... will probably be difficult to heal in the Human Spirit Realm." Hearing that, Li Guanqi's heart sank abruptly! Su Xuan, however, reached out a warm palm, stroked his hair, and smiled. "Just a minor injury, don't dwell on it." "It's just as I said before—as long as you haven't ascended, your grandfather can hold on no matter what." Su Xuan said with profound meaning: "Whether the Human Spirit Realm falls into chaos or not is up to me." Only then did Li Guanqi feel somewhat relieved. And yet... Li Guanqi slowly looked up at the old man before him, his gaze conflicted as he softly spoke: "Grandfather." "Hmm?" "Are you... your true body, or an avatar from the upper realm?" Hearing this, Su Xuan burst into hearty laughter, the sound ringing clear and bright. Su Xuan then erected a barrier, cupped Li Guanqi's cheeks in his hands, and smiled with deep affection: "Of course I'm the true body." "It's just that... your grandfather also has an avatar up there." "It's been so many years since I went back; I don't even know what things are like up there now..." Li Guanqi's heart shuddered violently. It was not out of shock that Su Xuan had an avatar in the Immortal Realm, but rather... the one in the Immortal Realm was the avatar! Which meant... no matter how immense the whirlpool of this conspiracy was, the old man was personally braving the danger with his own true body! Out of fear that something might go wrong, his true body had descended to the lower realm... In this era, any immortal descending to the lower realm had to pay an enormous price. And for his grandfather to maintain such a realm and power, the price he had to pay was even more unimaginable! Su Xuan patted his head and said with a smile, "Don't overthink it." "Some things... can wait a bit longer. Focus on raising your strength first." "The Third Domain will be cleared out within three days. You just need to step inside." Li Guanqi nodded, then left the Seventh Domain with a heavy heart full of troubled thoughts. After he departed, Su Xuan's expression gradually darkened. The old man spoke softly, "A'Chen, how many Ascension realm experts are left out there?" Ling Tianchen pondered for a long while before murmuring softly: "Only three remain. One in the Six Domains, one in Piaomiao, and one in the Ancient Clan." "For now, no traces of any other Ascension realm cultivators have been detected." "When experts of this caliber make a move, they either keep it extraordinarily covert, or any action they take will immediately be sensed by me!" Su Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, rubbing his fingers together as he said softly: "Keep an eye on the Third Domain. The mastermind behind this likely holds no ordinary status in the Immortal Realm." "I don't want even the slightest shred of news about Guanqi leaking above." "If that really happens... all the efforts of these ten thousand years will be for naught." The old man narrowed his eyes and gave a slight nod, saying softly: "Rest assured, Elder Su. As long as he dares to appear, I can make sure he stays." Su Xuan waved his hand with a trace of fatigue, then swallowed several pills to suppress the injuries in his body. In the empty Seventh Domain, Su Xuan's quiet murmurs drifted softly into the air. "You brat... what exactly have you noticed...?" "Ever since you embarked on the path of cultivation, you haven't returned to Beiliang City even once!" "The Great Xia Sword Sect is merely a thousand li away from Beiliang City, yet to this day you won't make a single trip back." "You've visited the tombstones of Ning Xiu and Song Zhi'ang several times, yet you never once visit the graves of your sister and your mother." "Could it be... that you've already sensed something?"