Hearing the young man's words, Li Guanqi merely smiled.
After all, they had saved him and were taking on an extra burden on his account, so grumbling a little was understandable.
Li Guanqi rose to his feet and felt the power inside him gradually unfurling, which brought him some peace of mind.
At least he would not be left completely defenseless.
"Then I will trouble you to lead the way, fellow Daoist."
Stepping out the door, Li Guanqi finally got a clear look at this so-called "sect."
It was merely a thousand-zhang peak, and his perception picked up no more than twenty or thirty people in the entire sect...
Pavilions and grand halls were nowhere to be found, and some of the buildings had clearly fallen into disrepair over the years.
In the middle of the courtyard stood a massive incense burner, curls of blue-green smoke drifting upward.
Every now and then, a youth could be seen walking slowly past.
At the summit, a towering boulder had been ground flat, where several people sat cross-legged in cultivation.
The dense spiritual energy around them swirled into mist-white wisps.
Taking in the scene, Li Guanqi could not help but sigh in wonder.
The spiritual energy in the Immortal Realm was astonishingly dense—several times richer even than in the Seventh Domain.
Cultivators born in the Immortal Realm advanced far faster than those in the lower realms.
Take the young man before him, for instance: with a bone age of just over sixty, he had already broken through to the Mahayana realm.
And that was in a small, obscure sect like this; were it the favored child of some great sect, their cultivation speed would undoubtedly be even faster.
Resources—the Immortal Realm possessed inherently superior resources, something the Spirit Realm could never match under any circumstances.
The peak was not large, and Li Guanqi soon followed the young man into a modest room.
Inside, an old man and a youth sat in meditation.
The young man bowed in salute. "Sect Master."
The elder, clad in a plain gray hemp robe, carried the transcendent air of an immortal Daoist, which gave Li Guanqi a slight start.
*A first-level Mystic Immortal?*
The thought flashed through Li Guanqi's mind.
He then cupped his fists and gave a slight bow.
The elder slowly stirred from his meditation, as did the fair-skinned boy beside him.
When the elder opened his eyes, they possessed a brightness unbefitting someone in the twilight of life, without a trace of cloudiness or yellowing haze.
"Heh heh, awake, young friend?"
Li Guanqi hurriedly said, "Junior is Li Congxin. Thank you, Senior, for stepping in to save me. This debt of gratitude is beyond repaying."
The elder smiled, rose to his feet, waved a hand, and pointed toward a chair nearby.
"Ah, crossing paths is destiny, and it was only a matter of lifting a hand.
"I am Sun Kui, the Sect Master of this Sanyuan Sect. You may just call me Elder Sun."
Before Li Guanqi could reply, the boy behind Sun Kui peeked out with wide, eager eyes, asking Li Guanqi in a timid whisper:
"Big Brother Li... did you come up from below?"
"Xiaowen, mind your manners!"
Sun Kui's expression changed. A question like that was a huge taboo for someone in Li Guanqi's position.
After all, they did not know Li Guanqi's background.
Yet judging by the commotion in the Chiyu Mountain Range earlier and Li Guanqi's aura, he was very likely an ascendant cultivator from a lower realm.
And as far as the Immortal Realm was concerned, most ascendants from lower realms were rounded up and turned into human slaves!
Only in certain exceptional spirit realms would ascendant cultivators be received by designated personnel.
And in almost all those cases, it was because their ancestors wielded considerable influence in the Immortal Realm.
When they first found Li Guanqi, his battered state certainly didn't look like that of someone with a powerful patron.
Li Guanqi merely smiled at the boy's question, offering no elaboration.
Some matters were best left ambiguous.
One should never harbor malicious intent, but one must always remain on guard.
The reason Li Guanqi remained relatively calm was that the storage ring on his finger was still there.
Evidently, after rescuing him, they had not harbored any nefarious designs.
Then again...
It could also be that Li Guanqi lacked even a decent set of robes, dressed plain as day, and seemed like an ascendant from a lower realm.
In the eyes of Immortal Realm cultivators, ascendants from lower realms were usually destitute; after all, resources in the spirit realms were meager.
Even their finest natural spirit herbs were likely inferior in efficacy to the cheapest immortal-grade herbs.
Li Guanqi looked at the boy and smiled gently.
"Then I shall address you as Elder Sun.
"Your grandson possesses remarkable bone structure and natural talent—a dragon among men, truly."
Elder Sun Kui chuckled with evident pride.
"Hahaha, indeed! Xiaowen's bone structure truly makes him fine seed. Alas... our Sanyuan Sect is too small to hold him.
"Besides, he isn't my grandson, hahaha."
Hearing this, a barely perceptible gleam flashed deep within Li Guanqi's eyes.
*Not his grandson?...*
Li Guanqi felt a twinge of doubt.
He had clearly sensed an aura of shared lineage between the two.
Because he carried true dragon essence blood, he was exceptionally sensitive to bloodline auras.
Still, he did not dwell on it; it was also possible they simply practiced the same cultivation method.
Sun Kui looked at Li Guanqi and asked with a smile, "Does my young friend have any acquaintances in the Immortal Realm?"
Li Guanqi was unsure of the other's motive, but after careful consideration, he gave a slight nod.
As for who those acquaintances might be, he did not say.
Seeing Li Guanqi nod, Sun Kui was visibly taken aback, a flicker passing through his eyes.
It seemed the elder was also surprised that he actually knew people in the Immortal Realm.
Sun Kui took a sip of tea with a smile.
"That is good, that is good.
"In that case, young friend, stay for a few more days and heal your wounds before departing."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi promptly bowed.
"Then many thanks, Elder Sun. I do indeed need some quiet rest to recuperate."
At this point, Li Guanqi paused slightly. Looking at the elder with a touch of embarrassment, he asked in a low voice:
"Senior Sun, junior has one more matter I would like to ask about."
Sun Kui replied with a genial chuckle.
"Ask away, young friend."
With that, the elder looked at Li Guanqi with a warm smile.
For reasons unknown, ever since Li Guanqi regained consciousness and the elder laid eyes on him,
he had sensed a faint, intangible air of danger radiating from this young man whose aura was so erratic!
Having lived for so many years, he had never once doubted his own instincts.
Thus, he only wished for both sides to remain at peace with one another. Seeing that Li Guanqi had no intention of lingering and merely wished to ask a few questions, he had no reason to refuse.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi inquired:
"Does Senior know where one might find a cultivation method to guide a breakthrough into the Mystic Immortal realm?"
At those words, the expressions of both the boy and the young man by the door shifted.
Sun Kui could not help a helpless chuckle.
"It seems you truly are an ascendant from a lower realm, young friend, to not even know of the Record of Immortal Induction."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly. As they spoke, the elder raised a hand and produced a blank jade slip. With a flash of spiritual light, he imprinted a passage of text into it and handed it to Li Guanqi.
"The contents of the Record of Immortal Induction are hardly a secret in the Immortal Realm. Consider this a gift to forge good karma between us."
Off to the side, the young man muttered under his breath:
"Really is a lower-realm cultivator, not even knowing about the Record of Immortal Induction...
"Ascending at just the Mahayana realm, he's lucky he wasn't hauled off to mine ores for some sect."
Ignoring the young man's grumbling, Li Guanqi accepted the jade slip with both hands and swept his divine sense over it.
He found that the contents of the jade slip comprised an intricate and obscure incantation.
This, presumably, was the Record of Immortal Induction the elder had mentioned.
Sun Kui smiled and continued:
"This Record of Immortal Induction is the mantra used by cultivators at or above the Mahayana realm to trigger the Mystic Immortal heavenly tribulation.
"However, aside from this, you will also need to learn a first-rank cultivation method suited to the Mystic Immortal realm. Otherwise...
"You will have no way of refining immortal essence beneath the Mystic Immortal tribulation."
Chapter 1564