A long time passed before Li Guanqi walked out of the Nirvana Pagoda, looking refreshed and invigorated.
Having refined the Devouring Void Sacred Flame, and further influenced by his status as Thunder Master, his body was often feverishly hot like a blazing fire.
Meng Wanshu was the Frost Master, whose body ran cold with a preponderance of yin energy.
Thus, after every such encounter, both of their cultivations would see some improvement.
Feeling refreshed and energized, Li Guanqi swept his divine sense outward and paused in slight surprise.
"Where is everyone?"
Meng Wanshu lay completely limp on the second floor of the Nirvana Pagoda.
Her skin was flushed a rosy pink, her cheeks crimson, her body covered in fine beads of sweat, and strands of hair clung to her forehead and face.
She languidly turned over, tugging the quilt up, exposing her snow-white back.
Li Guanqi furrowed his brows slightly, but decided not to dwell on it. Flying through the air, he arrived at Mortal Guest.
The Mortal Guest tavern.
Business at the tavern had not been great lately, as too many people had experienced breakthroughs in cultivation and were in secluded meditation inside the Time Tower.
There were only a scattering of patrons throughout the tavern. Li Qingchan rested her chin in her hand, propped on a table in utter boredom, staring blankly into space.
Seeing Li Guanqi arrive, she smiled.
"What would you like to drink? My treat."
Li Guanqi looked surprised, giving her an exaggerated look.
"Your treat?"
"Since when does our stingy proprietress offer free drinks?"
"Then I have to get something good, haha!"
Li Qingchan smiled and turned toward the back kitchen to fetch the wine.
As Li Guanqi walked into the tavern, a man's hearty voice reached his ears:
"Hahaha, Sword Venerable, why don't you come sit with me?"
Li Guanqi looked over, smiled, and cupped his fists.
"If Big Brother Kong doesn't mind, I'll join you."
The hearty Kong Ming laughed and patted the bench beside him.
"Come, come!"
Kong Ming was the very man who had gifted his treasured immortal pill to Tang Ru back then.
The two of them got along very well in private now.
Moreover, during that earlier major battle, when Li Guanqi told everyone to hide inside the domain, Kong Ming had refused without hesitation.
He believed he could still be of help outside.
Hiding away was simply something he could never bring himself to do.
Thus, Li Guanqi had a great impression of Kong Ming; this hearty man was genuinely a solid fellow.
After sitting down, Li Guanqi teased, "Hey, Big Brother Kong, your cultivation has improved quite a bit lately, hasn't it?"
Kong Ming curled his lip.
"Even if it improved a bit, I still can't hold a candle to you madmen."
Li Guanqi was taken aback.
"Madmen? Ye Feng and the others?"
Just then, Li Qingchan arrived carrying a wine jar and chimed in upon hearing their words:
"Looks like you don't know yet."
"After you returned from the Fifth Domain, Ye Feng and the others went straight to find the Eight Generals."
"They're probably still over there challenging them right now..."
After saying that, the look in Li Qingchan's eyes when she looked at Li Guanqi carried a trace of wariness and awe.
After all, King Xuan himself had openly admitted that Li Guanqi managed to injure him.
So rumors were spreading all over that the Seven Sons of the Mortal Spirit were all stark raving madmen.
Li Guanqi finally understood what was going on and burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahahaha, those guys!"
Slapping open the mud seal, he lifted the jar and took several large gulps.
Standing up with the jar in hand, he chuckled, "I'm going to take a look. Let's catch up later."
However, on his way to the Fourth Domain, Li Guanqi ran into four people:
Qin Wushang, Xu Junlin, Zhou Shiyu, and Ye Mohan!
It had never crossed Li Guanqi's mind that the four of them would band together.
All four wore rather grave expressions.
Yet Li Guanqi tilted his head, sensing something unusual.
The four of them... heheh.
Could this be Long Hou's doing?
After all, Qin Wushang and Xu Junlin were both reserve members for the Eight Generals, while Zhou Shiyu was someone Li Guanqi had personally recruited.
As for Ye Mohan... though he was arrogant and frivolous, he was not bad at heart, and in the past battles, he had fought with ferocious bravery.
Furthermore, Ye Mohan was an exceptionally gifted sword cultivator in the Seventh Domain, currently on the verge of comprehending the Sword Po realm sword intent.
Xu Junlin and Qin Wushang wore smiles, looking at Li Guanqi with beaming expressions.
Qin Wushang was the first to speak.
"Good grief, man. Even inside the Seventh Domain, catching sight of you is really no easy feat."
Xu Junlin's nose twitched, his bright eyes locking onto the wine in Li Guanqi's hand.
"Wine from Mortal Guest?"
Li Guanqi was not stingy; he tossed the wine jar straight toward Xu Junlin.
The throw was swift and fierce, carrying hidden momentum.
Xu Junlin's eyes flashed. Holding his spear with one hand, he tapped the jar, circling the spear tip to catch the wine jar with absolute stability.
Li Guanqi's eyes lit up, and he clapped in praise.
"Beautiful catch."
Xu Junlin tilted his head back, gulping down the fiery brew, then glanced at Li Guanqi with a grin.
"Just a parlor trick. Where are you heading?"
Li Guanqi shrugged and stated candidly, "Those fellows went to the Fourth Domain to challenge the Eight Generals, so I thought I'd go take a look."
Zhou Shiyu felt a jolt of shock at those words, while Qin Wushang rolled his eyes.
"Go look at what? Watch them get beaten to a pulp?"
Li Guanqi chuckled.
"Beaten... that might not be a given."
"You guys looking for me for something?"
Ye Mohan, who had remained silent all this time, stepped forward and spoke with sincere eyes.
"All of us are stuck at our current realms. We wanted to find you... for some sparring and tempering."
Li Guanqi was slightly surprised; he had not expected to become a target of challenge himself.
The suggestion had actually come from Zhou Shiyu.
Not long ago, Long Hou had instructed Xiang Huaizhi to introduce the group to each other.
Early this morning, Zhou Shiyu pointed out: since Li Guanqi had challenged the Eight Generals and fought King Xuan for three days and three nights, why shouldn't they just come directly to Li Guanqi?
The idea resonated with everyone immediately, leading to the scene playing out now.
Li Guanqi's expression remained calm, a faint smile touching the corners of his lips.
"The four of you... are you sure about this?"
The four looked at each other and nodded in unison.
Li Guanqi rolled up his sleeves and casually tore open the domain space with a wave of his hand.
"Come on, then. I hope you guys can take a beating."
"Do you want to make it quick and come at me all at once, or should I beat you one by one?"
Hearing this, Xu Junlin's cheek twitched slightly, and he swallowed hard before muttering softly, "Let's go... one by one..."
Li Guanqi laughed aloud. "Fine by me. Doesn't matter either way."
Qin Wushang licked his lips and stepped into the domain, his voice drifting back:
"I'll go first."
After everyone entered the domain, Li Guanqi stood in place, condensing a spirit sword in his right hand.
Immediately afterward, Li Guanqi's aura began to plummet, finally stabilizing at the peak of the mid Mahayana realm.
Qin Wushang knitted his brows, his face darkening.
"Old Li, aren't you... looking down on me a bit too much?"
Li Guanqi shrugged.
"Your dad is still in the Seventh Domain. If I keep my realm any higher, I'm afraid I'd beat you to death."
Hearing that, a flash of anger crossed Qin Wushang's eyes.
Though he hadn't been in the Seventh Domain for long, he had never been soft when it came to slaying enemies.
He knew Li Guanqi was formidable, but he was at the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm himself—yet Li Guanqi was only holding his cultivation at the peak of the mid Mahayana realm?
What was more, Li Guanqi hadn't even drawn his Red Lotus sword, wielding nothing more than a mere sword of spiritual energy...
Qin Wushang snorted coldly, sword chimes ringing in all directions as he unleashed his full aura!
"You're being far too overconfident!!"
Li Guanqi shook his head and sighed.
"If you want me to raise my realm for you, show me the strength to make me take you seriously."
"Let's be clear upfront: when I strike... I won't be holding anything back."
Chapter 1453