Boom!
A pillar of ice soared straight into the clouds!
Terrifying power ripped away the ceiling of the grand hall, and a figure teleported into midair.
The gray-haired elder's eyes gleamed icy blue, his long locks whipping wildly in the wind.
He looked like an enraged lion, radiating an overwhelming, imposing pressure!
Hu Shouqing had never imagined in all his life that while he had been drowning in despair only yesterday, convinced his path had reached its end, today he would already step into the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm and tear through the barrier of laws!
And all of this was simply because of a single young man.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three pillars of fiery light erupted in unison.
The figures of Han Yuan and the other two leaped into the firmament, surging primal energy rippling outward.
The sky full of fiery radiance illuminated a radius of a hundred li as bright as day.
The three men could barely conceal the excitement on their faces. The rich aura of fire laws was like a boundless ocean in which they were submerged, freely comprehending the power of laws.
Li Guanqi looked up at Han Yuan and the others, lost in thought...
Perhaps... when he had time, he really ought to pay a visit to the Pill King Pagoda.
Shiwu's power was practically heaven-defying for alchemists who possessed fire spiritual roots.
Alchemists already possessed powerful divine sense and keener perception. Men like them were even sharper in sensing laws, for when refining pills, they had to monitor every subtle shift in the flames at all times. Throughout the refinement process, the slightest variation in the extracted spirit liquid required them to adjust the flame's intensity.
Thinking of this, Li Guanqi even wondered if he should constantly temper himself with lightning.
Yet on second thought, that was impractical. After all, during pill refinement, the flame's shifts were adjusted according to the state of the spirit liquid within the cauldron. Even if he wanted to train that way, he had nowhere to begin.
A full half an incense stick burned before the three figures high in the sky gradually calmed their auras.
Violent pressure permeated the void; the combined pressure of four half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm masters was no laughing matter. Fortunately, Li Guanqi had set up a barrier with his own hands, preventing any turmoil.
Li Guanqi quietly watched this scene, observing the four elders brim with high spirits, yet unsure of how to sort out his own feelings.
Right then, however, Hu Mingtao—who had also gained considerably within the room—experienced a slight shift in expression and hastily stood up.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi frowned and asked, "What is it?"
An embarrassed look crossed the man's face as he whispered, "Uh... a small issue cropped up. I arranged for the young man you brought to stay in my daughter's cultivation room. It seems there's a bit of a misunderstanding between them."
Li Guanqi smiled, waving his hand to withdraw the barrier as he said softly, "I'll go with you."
The man nodded, and the two flew through the air toward the inner sect at the back mountain of the Ice Lion Sect.
Before long, they spotted a crowd of Ice Lion Sect disciples gathered halfway up one of the peaks, watching the commotion.
With a single glance, Li Guanqi spotted Chen Xiaotian sporting a black eye.
Beside him was a pretty young girl with a fiery figure. The girl had long, icy-blue hair, her face flush with anger. The shoulder of her icy-blue dress had been torn, and she was holding up the strap with one hand.
A ring of Ice Lion Sect disciples had Chen Xiaotian completely surrounded.
Chen Xiaotian faced all the Ice Lion Sect disciples with a calm expression, remaining silent.
"Speak up, pervert! How dare you trespass into my cultivation room to spy on me?! Even if you're a guest of the Ice Lion Sect, I won't let you off!"
The girl's face was flushed, whether from shame or fury.
Hu Mingtao looked somewhat embarrassed. "My daughter is mischievous by nature and rarely cultivates of her own accord. I never expected things would turn out like this."
Li Guanqi waved his hand with a smile and said softly, "It's fine, just a trivial matter. My Dao companion also has an ice spiritual root. If there's an opportunity, I can have her give your daughter some guidance. She is very talented."
Hearing this, Hu Mingtao merely smiled, not taking the offer too seriously. Sometimes, polite pleasantries were best taken with a grain of salt.
Hu Mingtao's daughter was named Hu Mingyue. She was young, close in age to Chen Xiaotian, though two years younger. She was only seventeen now, yet she was already a late Nascent Soul realm cultivator; her talent was formidable indeed.
"Hmph! Where did this punk come from, daring to peep at Mingyue!"
"Exactly! Look at how shabby he is. Even if you fancy Sister Mingyue, you can't act like this!"
Chen Xiaotian calmly listened to the chatter from the surrounding crowd. Compared to them, Chen Xiaotian, who had spent years in Guanyun Pavilion's assassination network, possessed far greater composure. In his eyes, these sect disciples were nothing more than greenhouse flowers. If they were all in the same realm, and if they were all thrown into a mountain wilderness or a secret realm, he had absolute confidence he could slaughter every single one of them by himself.
Right at that moment, someone called out, "The Vice Sect Master is here!"
Seeing him arrive, the disciples bowed in salutation one after another.
Only Hu Mingyue turned around in a huff and whined coaxingly to Hu Mingtao, "Dad! Look at this..."
Hu Mingtao quickly cut her off. "Mingyue! Enough. Stop fooling around."
Hu Mingyue was not foolish. At a glance, she spotted the man whom even her grandfather had to treat with utter deference. The man carried a sword coffin on his back, his fox-like eyes a pure, spotless white.
"Mingyue, you must not stare at Senior so rudely."
Only then did Hu Mingyue realize she had indeed breached propriety. Clutching her torn shoulder strap with her right hand, she bowed. "Junior Hu Mingyue greets Senior."
Li Guanqi waved his hand with a smile, a gentle force lifting her upright. He then rummaged through his storage ring and produced a fairly high-grade robe dress.
"My apologies. There seems to have been some misunderstanding between you and Xiaotian. Consider this robe an apology on his behalf."
The robe shimmered with flowing light, its azure fabric gleaming dazzlingly under the sunlight. The girl's eyes were completely captivated by the robe in Li Guanqi's hand.
Hu Mingtao tried to refuse, but Li Guanqi interrupted him. "It's nothing, just a mere robe. It can serve to protect her."
Hu Mingyue took the robe with one hand and promptly bowed, beaming brightly. "Thank you for the gift, Senior! Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
Hu Mingtao said rather helplessly, "Sigh, this girl..."
Li Guanqi beckoned to Chen Xiaotian. "Xiaotian, that's enough. Let's get ready to leave."
Chen Xiaotian nodded respectfully. As he passed by Hu Mingyue, he said with a hint of apology, "I'm sorry. It was just an instinctive reaction back then. I didn't do it on purpose."
Hearing those words, Hu Mingtao's expression shifted slightly. It was not hard to deduce that Hu Mingyue must have barged in while Chen Xiaotian was deep in closed-door cultivation... The fact that it had not triggered a disaster was pure luck; a cold sweat broke out across Hu Mingtao's back.
Li Guanqi, on the other hand, looked completely unfazed. Seeing that Chen Xiaotian was unhurt, he paid it no mind. As he turned around, even Li Guanqi himself felt that his mindset had changed considerably compared to the past.
Watching Guo Feng and the others fly over, Li Guanqi said softly, "Seniors, I have some business to attend to and must return to the Great Xia Domain. In the meantime, you can stabilize your current cultivation realms. When I return next time, we will set out immediately."
Guo Feng and the others nodded one after another. Hu Shouqing's eyes were full of gratitude, and he was just about to speak when he saw Li Guanqi's expression suddenly shift.
Frowning slightly, Li Guanqi flipped his hand to produce a jade slip, and soon Ye Xuan's voice rang in his ears!
"Guanqi! My daughter has been kidnapped! Can you go check on her for me?! I'm preparing to head back right now!"
Lowering the jade slip, Li Guanqi's expression turned exceedingly grim, cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Ye Bingxin?"
"Who would dare kidnap Ye Bingxin from inside the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect?"
"And what is their purpose? Are they targeting Ye Xuan, or coming after me?"
Li Guanqi turned back to look at the crowd. "Xiaotian, stay at the Ice Lion Sect a while longer. I have a matter to take care of."
Hu Shouqing, Han Yuan, and the others asked in deep voices, "Do you need help?"
Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, "I'll go check it out myself. If I need anything, I will let you know."
Hu Shouqing and Li Guanqi then exchanged transmission jade slips, and Chen Xiaotian was left behind at the Ice Lion Sect.
Li Guanqi tore open the void and vanished in an instant.
Stepping through the void, Li Guanqi furrowed his brows and sent a transmission to Ye Xuan.
Chapter 1391