Just as it had been in the past, the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect remained saturated with dense Yin qi.
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, letting a sliver of his terrifying pressure leak outward.
*Buzz!*
In an instant, thunder stirred between heaven and earth, and a howling gale whipped Li Guanqi’s robes until they snapped loudly in the wind.
Every cultivator within the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect immediately reacted as if facing a mortal foe!
Their reaction was hardly surprising—Li Guanqi’s pressure was simply too overwhelming.
With just his aura alone, he suppressed the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect’s protective barrier so heavily that violent ripples distorted across its surface.
Right then, a white-haired elderly woman whose eyes gleamed with sharp light spoke in a deep voice. "Open the barrier!"
The old woman was short and wore a gentle expression, her face lined with deep crevices and her gaze fathomless.
One look was enough to tell she had weathered countless storms and tribulations of the mortal world.
Her coiffed hair and the ornate dharma robes draped over her frame gave her an air of immense dignity.
"Supreme Sect Master! This person’s identity is unknown, and his pressure is so terrifying! Lowering the barrier so carelessly might be..." a white-haired elder said anxiously, unable to hold back his concern.
Hearing this, the old woman shook her head. Her cloudy eyes shone with brilliant clarity, and she spoke calmly.
"Xuan'er sent me a transmission. This young man is none other than... the Yanluo Sword Venerable!"
The elders were taken aback, struggling to believe their ears.
"Yanluo Sword... Li Guanqi?"
"Him?! How could his aura be so terrifying?"
"I remember when he first arrived in the Misty Immortal Domain, he was merely a Body Integration Realm cultivator..."
The old woman waved her hand, parting a corridor through the defensive barrier, and personally flew forward to greet Li Guanqi.
Seeing this, the elders of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect quickly followed, expressions of respect surfacing on their faces.
When the old woman in ornate robes laid eyes on Li Guanqi, a sharp glint flashed through her gaze.
A profound, penetrating wisdom shone within her weathered eyes.
Bowing low, she spoke in a grave tone. "Leng Qin of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect greets the Yanluo Sword Venerable!"
Before her voice had faded, the elders behind her hurriedly echoed in unison.
"Greetings, Yanluo Sword Venerable!"
"Greetings, Sword Venerable!"
Li Guanqi shifted sideways slightly, avoiding the old woman's bow.
Even though his current realm and strength commanded respect, he still felt uncomfortable receiving a formal bow from an elder.
A gentle force lifted everyone as he said in a low voice, "Seniors, there is no need for such ceremony. I share deep ties with the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect, so let us dispense with the formalities.
"Furthermore, Senior Ye has already departed the Seventh Domain. He should be back before long."
The old woman’s heart jolted in surprise.
After disaster struck, she had contacted Ye Xuan immediately.
Naturally, she was well aware that Ye Xuan could not easily leave the Seventh Domain.
Yet now, Li Guanqi was telling her that Ye Xuan was already free to return!
It seemed this matter had everything to do with Li Guanqi as well.
While her mind raced, Li Guanqi’s voice sounded by her ear.
"Senior Leng, though this is our first meeting, I will skip the pleasantries.
"Could you take me to the quiet chamber where Ye Bingxin was in seclusion?"
The old woman promptly replied, "Of course. Follow me!"
Li Guanqi nodded and flew alongside her.
Along the way, the atmosphere within the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect felt stifling and grim. It appeared the disciples had already learned, to varying degrees, that Ye Bingxin had been abducted.
*Roar!*
Jiuxiao suddenly manifested his true form, throwing back his head in a thunderous roar!
Terrifying dragon might flooded the void, his massive body coiling across the firmament and almost blotting out the entire sky above the sect.
The corner of Li Guanqi’s mouth twitched. He could clearly detect a hint of impatience in Jiuxiao’s roar.
Yet before he could speak, deep, resonant calls of flood dragons began answering in waves from the rear mountains of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect.
Leng Qin only needed a single glance to understand what was happening.
The nature of a true dragon...
A faint smile touched the old woman’s face, and her flight slowed considerably.
Helpless, Li Guanqi said, "Senior Leng, why don't we let Jiuxiao... cough... help guard the sect gates?"
The old woman had no reason to refuse. It was a stroke of fortune she could not have prayed for, so why would she turn it down?
"Haha, that would be wonderful!"
Li Guanqi cast an exasperated glare at Jiuxiao before giving a slight nod.
Having received Li Guanqi’s permission, Jiuxiao excitedly flicked his tail and vanished into the distance like a bolt of lightning.
Jiuxiao was exceedingly powerful now, a tier-nine great demon rare throughout heaven and earth.
If he mingled with the ink flood dragons now, it might very well be enough to help the nine ink flood dragons break through their bottlenecks.
The old woman beamed from ear to ear.
Meanwhile, the disciples of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect looked up at Jiuxiao’s colossal form, murmuring in awe.
"Whoa... Is that a true dragon?"
"*Hiss!* The difference between flood dragons and a true dragon is vast..."
"Hehe, doesn't this mean our sect might soon have even more ink flood dragons?"
Soon, Li Guanqi followed the old woman to the core area of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect.
Passing through mountains and pavilions, Li Guanqi looked at the scene before him with a trace of surprise.
Every corner of the valley was blanketed in blooming flowers, while an interconnected cluster of living quarters and pavilions stood proudly in the center.
The long-absent sunlight bathed the scene, illuminating the valley like a breathtaking painting.
It was clear that Ye Xuan truly doted on his daughter.
The valley brimmed with spiritual energy, housing two whole spiritual veins in this single area alone.
Instead of rushing into the residence, Li Guanqi halted in his tracks, his sea of consciousness humming.
Immediately after, terrifying divine sense surged like crashing waves, blanketing the entire valley in an instant!
*Buzz!*
The sheer terror of that divine sense turned the late Mahayana realm old woman pale beside him.
To her senses, his divine sense felt like a primordial beast of antiquity.
Had he harbored any ill intent, he could have pulverized her sea of consciousness and soul in a single instant!
That feeling of helplessness was like a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator standing before the heavenly tribulation of a Nascent Soul realm breakthrough.
Soon, the terrifying divine sense receded like the tide.
Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes, his expression grave. He teleported directly into the rear courtyard of the pavilion.
With a flick of his hand, a streak of sword qi erupted!
*Boom!*
A deep trench over a hundred feet long instantly split the earth open.
Li Guanqi descended into the fissure, where a high-grade spirit vein vibrant with spiritual energy came into view!
Though it was only a hundred feet long, this vein was dedicated solely to Ye Bingxin’s personal cultivation.
The old woman knitted her brows, unsure why Li Guanqi was doing this.
Shouldn't he have inspected Ye Bingxin's quiet chamber first?
Yet the moment she stepped down into the fissure, her throat tightened as if gripped by an invisible hand!
Splashed across the pristine, snowy spirit vein was stark, shocking blood.
A severed hand lay quietly atop the spirit vein, and faint remnants of formation fluctuations still lingered over the partially collapsed spirit vein.
"Th-this... This is... Bingxin's hand!"
Li Guanqi crouched down and gently placed his palm against the spirit vein. He closed his eyes to sense the surroundings, and his face steadily darkened.
Chapter 1393