Within the pitch-black void, Li Guanqi told the others a few things regarding the Seventh Domain.
When they first learned of the Seventh Domain's true purpose, their hearts all leapt in shock!
None of them had ever imagined that the true purpose of the mysterious Seventh Domain was actually to prevent cultivators of the Immortal Realm from descending into the lower realms...
In other words, the opponents they would face were immortals hailing from the Immortal Realm itself!
That fact alone took them a long time to digest.
Li Guanqi said nothing, allowing them ample time to absorb the revelation.
Afterward, he spoke of the earlier wars fought between the two realms.
When the newcomers heard the staggering casualty figures from those previous battles, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy.
Though Li Guanqi had spoken at length about the Seventh Domain's peerless resources, the price paid for them was equally shocking.
Beyond that, he did not dwell too much on how their predecessors had willingly marched to their deaths. He did not wish for any of them to be driven to such extremes. Yet when it came to the Seventh Domain... many truths were things they had to experience for themselves.
The group journeyed through the void for who knew how long, penetrating to depths far exceeding anything they had ever explored in their ordinary travels.
Eventually, Li Guanqi brought them to a halt and drew forth a jade slip.
As origin power surged into it, the slip emanated a soft, lustrous glow, sending out ripples of wondrous spatial fluctuations.
Amidst the empty void, a luminous gateway roughly ten feet tall suddenly materialized!
Peering through the light, they could already make out a domain space shimmering with celestial spirits.
Bizarre, dazzling ribbons of celestial spirits wove together into a spectacle beyond their wildest dreams!
The Celestial Spirit Mountain Range, formed beneath the sprawling celestial spirits, held a concentration of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy that defied imagination.
Above a small settlement, five colossal towers rose high in the center, standing like pillars propping up the heavens.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and gently broke their reverie.
"Welcome to... the Immortal Burial Realm!"
The moment they stepped inside, an immense worldly pressure bore down upon them.
To their surprise, Gu Li and the others were already there, flying over in high spirits the instant they spotted Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi paused, genuine astonishment flickering in his eyes.
Ye Feng, Cao Yan, Xiao Chen... and Gu Li.
Every single one of them had broken through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm?
Moreover, judging by his aura, Ye the Second appeared to have integrated the spirit fish bone sword. His entire demeanor had undergone a profound shift, even showing signs of touching the bottleneck of the Sword Po realm.
"Big Brother!"
"Big Brother's back!"
"Big Brother."
"Heh heh, Big Brother, guess who's undergoing tribulation right now?"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched, and he looked at Xiao Chen as though looking at a fool. "What do you think? Aside from Fatty Tang, aren't the rest of you standing right here?"
Gu Li burst into boisterous laughter. "Did a bolt of lightning scramble your brains, you bastard?"
Ye Feng suppressed a chuckle as well. Looking at Li Guanqi, he asked softly, "Big Brother, how are the sect and my parents doing?"
Li Guanqi smiled. He had not actually visited them during this return trip, but the Ye and Xiao families were now firmly rooted within the territory of the Great Xia Sword Sect. When his divine sense had swept past, he had seen that they were doing quite well.
Xiao Chen's eyes also burned with eager anticipation as he watched Li Guanqi.
"Alright, alright, stop staring at me like that. Everyone is doing well," Li Guanqi said. "The Xiao family has grown into quite a prominent clan, and Uncle Ye and the others are in high spirits. I went back alone this time, so I didn't disturb them with a visit, but you can both put your minds at ease."
The two nodded and visibly relaxed.
In the distance, heavenly thunder crashed and rolled, filling the newcomers behind Li Guanqi with secret dread. Terrifying pressure suffused the void, yet the local cultivators seemed long accustomed to the sight, sparing only a passing glance before continuing on their way.
High up in the firmament, a massive golden abacus held the line against the tribulation thunder.
Not only that, but what was with those inscribed talismans that measured ten feet across?
Ye Feng's eyes lit up. Flashing over to Zhou Shiyu, he punched him in the shoulder and laughed heartily. "Old Zhou, long time no see!"
Looking at Ye Feng, Zhou Shiyu smiled gently. Meeting a familiar face in a place like this was a comfort, after all. "Indeed, long time no see. You've all advanced your realms so quickly."
Ye Feng chuckled. "Now that you're here, you couldn't advance slowly even if you wanted to..."
With that, Ye Feng pointed toward the tallest spire standing amidst the Four Heavenly King Towers.
"See that? That structure is called the Time Tower. The flow of time inside is five times faster than the outside world."
The moment Ye Feng finished speaking, gasps of disbelief broke out behind him.
"What?! A time-dilating artifact?!"
"Fivefold?!!"
"Doesn't that mean if I concoct pills in there, I can finish a batch in no time at all?"
Han Yuan and the three other alchemists were all at the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm. Hearing about the Time Tower, their eyes turned completely green with excitement!
Li Guanqi gave a brief round of introductions, focusing primarily on Zhou Shiyu and Hu Shouqing, since Tang Ru and Gu Li were largely unfamiliar with Zhou Shiyu.
Afterward, Li Guanqi escorted the group toward the Immortal Burial Pavilion to register their identities.
As for Tang Ru's breakthrough... he was not the least bit worried. With Gu Li around, the trump cards he had left in Gu Li's hands would be more than enough to handle anything.
Boom!
"Big Brother! Let's drink together once I'm done!" Tang Ru bellowed from beneath the heavenly tribulation toward Li Guanqi.
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched, and he shouted back with a curse, "Focus on your tribulation, you bastard! How dare you get distracted? Watch out or the lightning will blast you into ash!"
Zhou Shiyu watched the exchange silently from behind.
Someone whose footsteps he had once been able to follow had now become an insurmountable figure beyond his reach... Yet while the shift dealt him a profound shock, it also ignited an inexplicable urge within him to chase after Li Guanqi and his companions. Lingering inside the Six Ancients Sacred Sect would never have stirred such an ambition within him.
Not only Zhou Shiyu, but even the well-traveled Han Yuan and his peers showered the Celestial Spirit Realm with unending praise.
When they emerged from the Immortal Burial Pavilion, they happened to run into Gu Changsheng stepping out of the Pill King Tower.
"Hahahaha! Old Han! You fellows have finally arrived!"
Seeing Gu Changsheng's ruddy, radiant face, Han Yuan and the others could not help but feel a pang of jealousy.
Li Guanqi left them to their reunion; finding food and lodging was trivial within the Immortal Burial Realm. He glanced toward the distant heavenly tribulation, which was already beginning to fade.
After a moment's thought, he turned and flew toward Celestial Spirit Town.
He had sensed Meng Wanshu's presence and intended to visit his mother-in-law, which would also provide an occasion to summon his father-in-law, Meng Jiangchu, back home.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Mother-in-law, I'm back."
Hearing Li Guanqi's voice, Li Guilan instantly started from her chair and hurried over to unlatch the door.
"Haha, you're back? Come in, come in quickly! I'll stew up some good food tonight."
Stepping across the threshold, Li Guanqi was met by Meng Wanshu's gentle gaze. Her eyes were as soft as still water, searching his face as though trying to read the state of his heart.
Once inside, Li Guilan held a jade slip up to her ear and spoke into it. "Old Meng! Come home for dinner tonight, do you hear me? Our son-in-law is back!"
Watching the woman bustle back and forth across the house, Li Guanqi smiled softly.
Just then, Meng Wanshu took his arm and asked gently, "Did you go home?"
"Mm. I went back and looked around."
"Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine. Quite good, in fact. Going back to see them and talking things through helped me put an old ache to rest."
Yet right at that moment, having had nothing else to occupy his time, Meng Jiangchu unexpectedly returned early.
Chapter 1432