Cao Yan and Xiao Chen had both suffered minor injuries. When Xiao Chen reached out to Tang Ru for healing pills, Ye Feng slapped his hand away.
With a cold face, Ye Feng cast a chilly glance at Tang Ru and said in a frigid voice, "Don't give him any. Let him heal on his own."
Cao Yan took the pills, swallowed them down, and glanced at Xiao Chen without a word.
Naturally, Li Guanqi was not about to stop Ye Feng.
Only Xiao Chen was left completely bewildered.
Li Guanqi surveyed the battlefield. This clash had come swiftly and fiercely, yet the enemy had retreated without the slightest hesitation.
Judging from that, their objective had not been a fight to the death to breach the Human Spirit Realm.
Li Guanqi and Tang Ru exchanged a look, communicating in quiet voice transmissions.
"It seems the Immortal Realm merely wanted to test how much the Immortal Burial Realm has recovered."
"That's right, Boss. That's my thought as well."
Tang Ru's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked back across the void firmament, which had already settled into calm. "Not only the Fourth Domain, but the battlefields in the lower two domains were the same. Few in number, low in cultivation, and the moment things turned against them, they withdrew immediately. Maintaining the immortal spiritual passage they left behind consumes countless resources, yet they never once closed it from start to finish. They clearly had their escape route planned all along."
Li Guanqi nodded. The cultivators from the Immortal Realm were blatantly testing the waters.
Yet the clearer this became, the heavier Li Guanqi's heart grew.
Over this period, between his own recruitment and that of the others, barely twenty-odd cultivators had arrived in the Seventh Domain. Most of them were at the Mahayana realm. Fortunately, they had now broken through to Tribulation Transcendence, so the Fourth Domain's fighting strength was not lacking. This also served as a wake-up call for Li Guanqi: it seemed he could no longer afford to be stingy with Shiwu's power.
Evidently, the Immortal Realm had already amassed considerable strength. Otherwise, they would lack the confidence to probe the Seventh Domain. Had the Seventh Domain proven overwhelmingly powerful, every scout sent down would have met their demise here without any way back.
Yet as Li Guanqi turned around, his figure suddenly froze.
Looking back at the already vanished passage, he narrowed his eyes. "They... do not care about the lives of those sent down in the slightest! In other words... far too many made it back alive this time."
Li Guanqi inhaled deeply. He had miscalculated after all. If none had returned, the Immortal Realm would inevitably have grown wary. But now, more than half of the enemy cultivators across the Second Domain, Third Domain, and Fourth Domain had escaped back. It was not hard to imagine that the Immortal Realm's next assault would come soon.
With a darkened expression, Li Guanqi said solemnly, "Let's head back. The next attack will likely come very soon."
Ye Feng and the others were taken aback at first, but considering Li Guanqi's actions, they quickly deduced the truth.
Li Guanqi led the group back to the White Jade Tower.
Along the way, Xiao Chen leaned in close to Cao Yan and whispered, "Third Brother, why is Second Brother mad at me? I didn't do anything wrong. I even killed one of them!"
Cao Yan was somewhat speechless this time. Rolling his eyes at him, he said in a low voice, "You let yourself be lured into a trap. It looked brave, but it was nothing more than reckless. Never mind your relationship with Ye Qing'er—just among brothers, you're lucky Second Brother didn't beat you up. You're in the Tribulation Transcendence realm now. Don't just grow your cultivation without growing your brain."
Xiao Chen's breath caught, only now realizing why Ye Feng was angry.
Thick-skinned as ever, Xiao Chen promptly rushed over to Ye Feng's side to apologize once he understood. Clinging to Ye Feng's arm, he whispered, "Brother-in-law... look, I really didn't mean to. The blood just rushed to my head. Look, I prepared all these for Qing'er, as well as for Uncle Ye and Aunt Su."
As he spoke, Xiao Chen gingerly took off a storage ring from his hand.
Ye Feng glared at him, then tucked the ring away without leaving a trace. "Never again."
Seeing this, the rest of the group smiled faintly.
Upon arriving at the Second Domain, Li Guanqi happened to catch sight of Zhou Shiyu, who was drenched in blood and supporting an injured old man.
In a flash, Li Guanqi appeared at their side and checked Sun Changlin's injuries. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief. "How are you?"
Zhou Shiyu remained as taciturn as ever, yet his eyes shone with intense light as he looked at Li Guanqi. "I should have come sooner."
He knew that Li Guanqi's battlefield was bound to be even more perilous, yet they had handled it with ease. This was his first time participating in such a war, and the peril he experienced was more brutal than any battle he had ever fought before. To kill, both sides resorted to any means necessary. Fighting for merely the time it took an incense stick to burn had yielded countless insights. Once he digested them, his strength would leap forward tremendously.
Li Guanqi smiled softly, and the others offered warm greetings.
Looking at Zhou Shiyu, Ye Feng could not help but chuckle. "I didn't expect to meet you here. I'm impressed."
Ye Feng spoke with absolute sincerity. Every cultivator who came to the Seventh Domain at this juncture likely knew what they would be facing. Therefore, every single person who chose to come commanded their utmost respect.
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment before speaking gently, "After taking Elder Sun to the Pill King Pagoda, come find us at the Mortal Guest Tavern in town." He then turned toward the old man. "Elder Sun, could you stop risking your life like that? Your injuries from last time haven't even healed."
Sun Changlin chuckled, his pain seeming to vanish instantly. Licking his lips like a greedy child, he said, "Heh, buy me a drink too, will ya?"
Li Guanqi burst out laughing and waved his hand. "Fine, see you in a bit then. We'll head back first."
Zhou Shiyu looked in surprise at the suddenly lively elder. "Elder, weren't you just..."
Wiping the blood from his face, Sun Changlin casually wrapped up his wounds. "How can healing compare to drinking? Hahahaha! Come on, let's go, I'll take you there. Brat Xiao, you haven't visited me lately!"
Xiao Chen scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "Wasn't I busy cultivating and breaking through? Fine, I'll treat you to drinks in a bit, deal?"
After parting ways, the group returned to the White Jade Tower.
The moment they entered the Nirvana Pagoda, Li Guanqi's face darkened.
"Brothers, the situation looks rather grim..."
Hearing this, Meng Wanshu knitted her delicate brows, not understanding why Li Guanqi would say such a thing.
Ye Feng chimed in, "Indeed. The next assault will likely be even fiercer. Who knows how much time we have left."
Cao Yan frowned in silence for a long while before looking up at Li Guanqi. "Eldest Brother, can you still use your previous ability? Ever since you left, many cultivators have gathered inside the Time Pagoda. Quite a few had insights, yet hesitated to speak up out of modesty."
Tang Ru and Gu Li huddled together, discussing how to integrate inscribed talismans with the Fourth Domain's battlefield.
Xiao Chen alone stood there baffled. He recognized every individual word, but putting them together left him completely lost.
After brief thought, Li Guanqi said gravely, "I'll go issue a summons order. Those of you who want to drink, go ahead and drink."
With that, Li Guanqi flashed away, leaving the White Jade Tower.
"All cultivators in the late Mahayana realm, assemble at the Time Pagoda at once!"
Chapter 1439