Private Savings, Three Million?!

The construction of the ruin-opening array went very smoothly; Li Guanqi was merely following an existing pattern. With Pengluo guiding him from the side, the engraving of the array also proceeded without a hitch. After all, he was drawing it based on that shoddy Ruin-Opening Grand Array from Ziyang Palace back then. It was far inferior to the one at the Great Xia Sword Sect. As immortal crystals were embedded into the array, a thread of Spirit Absolution blood was deposited within it. Before infusing the Spirit Absolution blood thread, Li Guanqi had tested the Ruin-Opening Grand Array. Bizarrely enough... No matter how Li Guanqi activated the array, it seemed completely useless, utterly incapable of helping anyone open their ruins. Even Pengluo scratched his head and checked it several times, unable to make sense of it in the end. Yet... once Li Guanqi channeled the sword spirit's power of Spirit Absolution into the array, the array suddenly flared with brilliant light, clearly functional for ruin-opening. Li Guanqi knitted his brows, genuinely unable to figure out where the issue lay. Still, he did not dwell on it. It was just that maintaining this wisp of Spirit Absolution power would likely cost the Lin family an immense amount of resources... For merely three breaths after the array stabilized, ten immortal crystals had already shattered! It was hard to imagine how terrifying the consumption of immortal crystals would be if someone were standing upon this zhang-wide array platform. It would probably require second-grade immortal crystals, or even third-grade immortal crystals, to keep it going. Li Guanqi walked out of the secret chamber, and the moment he exited, he saw three heads peering in. Li Guanqi smiled and said softly, "Fortunately, I did not fail my task. It is ready." The three hurried into the chamber to inspect it. When they saw this profound array, they were all astonished. Yet they could sense an inexplicable aura circulating within the array. It was precisely because of this strand of aura that the array could function. Li Guanqi then stated plainly, "The array is complete. Any disciple entering must not exceed sixteen years of age or the Core Formation realm!" "Once that limit is exceeded, the array will immediately collapse." "So... Uncle Lin, please do not harbor any thoughts of chancing it." Lin Jinting was shaken to his core and nodded repeatedly. "Understood!" "Shengwu, seal off this place completely, then select three seed disciples from the clan and bring them over!" Lin Jinting could already hardly wait to see it. "Don't blame me, young friend. This matter... is simply far too important to our Lin family. I'm just too eager." Li Guanqi smiled, understanding completely, and simply waited. When three naive youths arrived, Li Guanqi was secretly startled. These three clan disciples looked no older than twelve or thirteen, yet they had already reached the mid Core Formation realm! Li Guanqi took a step forward and said softly, "Allow me to help these three open their ruins. Elder Lin may observe from the side to see the key aspects." Hearing this, Lin Changlu nodded with a smile. Then, the timid, youthful lad stepped apprehensively onto the array. Noticing his nervousness, Li Guanqi smiled and consoled him in a gentle voice, "Relax. Just sit cross-legged on it and enter a state of cultivation. When you feel a force guiding you in a moment, don't resist it." Listening to Li Guanqi's gentle voice, the youth gradually relaxed. Sitting cross-legged upon the array platform, he soon entered a cultivation state, his breathing even and peaceful. Li Guanqi nodded slightly; such talent would be considered monstrous in the Spirit Realm. Light surged across the array as an inexplicable force began to spread. At this moment, the three True Immortals unconsciously clenched their fists. Li Guanqi closed his eyes in concentration, using the power of ruins to guide the youth into meditation. A moment later, a pitch-black rift slowly split open between the youth's brows! This sight caused the three True Immortal powerhouses to knit their brows slightly. Immediately following, several flashes of illusory spiritual light flared, and a longsword of primitive design slowly coalesced. After another while, when the spiritual sword fully took shape, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly upward. The diffusing mysterious aura faded away, and the youth slowly opened his eyes. His eyes flickered with a complex light. He knew something had changed within him, but he could not yet discern what it specifically was. Li Guanqi smiled faintly and said, "Congratulations. A fourth-grade Sword Ruins. Cultivate the Dao of the Sword diligently in the future, and you will surely achieve great things." At these words, excitement washed over the faces of Lin Jinting and the other two. They could all sense how powerful that mysterious force was. The second youth was somewhat unfortunate; what he awakened turned out to be an earthenware jar... Seeing this, Lin Shengwu snapped angrily, "You little bastard, how many times have I told you not to steal food?! Look what you've done now—the jar is stuck with you..." He kicked the boy in the rear, and the youth shrank back in fright, not daring to talk back. The third youth actually awakened a fifth-grade saber ruins artifact! This left Li Guanqi rather surprised. After all, the ruins artifact Ye Feng had awakened on his own back then was merely seventh grade! Once the three completed their ruin-opening, the surrounding immortal crystals had already been completely depleted. And those were second-grade immortal crystals replenished by Lin Changlu! Three people, thirty crystals! Yet in Lin Jinting's eyes, such consumption was an absolute bargain. Lin Jinting's face was flushed with excitement as he took Li Guanqi's hand and said solemnly, "Thank you, young friend! Truly, thank you!" With that, Lin Jinting produced a storage ring prepared in advance and handed it to Li Guanqi. "A small token of appreciation. You must accept it, young friend!" "This is from my own private savings, completely separate from the Lin family." Seeing this, Li Guanqi had no choice but to 'reluctantly' accept it. A brief sweep of his divine sense made his throat run completely dry! Inside this ring... were a full thirty thousand second-grade immortal crystals!! Second-grade!! Converted to first-grade immortal crystals, that was a staggering three million immortal crystals!! On top of that, there were thirty bottles of Xuanyuan Pills and thirty bottles of Blood Replenishing Pills. There was also a perfectly round, jade-like pill wafting a rich medicinal fragrance. "Inside is also a Heaven Breaking Pill, which can lend you a hand when you break through to the Heavenly Immortal realm!" Li Guanqi swallowed hard. This deal... was an absolute windfall. After all, this array was about the same as the Ruin-Opening Grand Array of Ziyang Palace back in the day. It was far inferior even to the Ruin Opening Realm Li Guanqi had constructed for the Great Xia Sword Sect in the Spirit Realm... Simply put... its effectiveness was mediocre, and its consumption was enormous... Even so, Li Guanqi had 'stifled his conscience' and refrained from improving the array. He wanted to save that stuff for his own use later on. Just then, Lin Jinting leaned in close to Li Guanqi and transmitted in a low voice, "You mentioned fourth grade, fifth grade... so what grade is Wujiu's?" The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curled slightly as he murmured, "King Grade!" Lin Jinting instantly clenched his fists, eyes shining with excitement as he repeated, "Good, good, good!" To tell the truth, the grade of Lin Wujiu's Sword Ruins was by no means low; it was even on par with the famous saber Guanshi that Qisha had summoned. Yet... all the ruins artifacts of Li Guanqi's brothers were of the Saint Grade!! After bidding farewell to Lin Jinting and the other two, Li Guanqi found Qisha, who had already awakened. Meanwhile, the Lin family had closed its barrier, and Lin Wujiu's cousin, Lin Ruhu, was also on his way back to the family. Four True Immortals joined forces to seal off the Ruin-Opening Grand Array, showing just how much importance the Lin family attached to the matter of opening ruins. When the three returned to Lin Wujiu's courtyard, Qisha uncharacteristically took the initiative to raise his wine cup, looking at Li Guanqi with a solemn expression. "Brother Li, I have no way to repay such immense kindness. Since you treat me as a friend, if you ever need help in the future, don't hesitate to speak up!" "I, Qisha, will not say a second word of refusal!" Watching the two of them, Lin Wujiu's eyes grew somewhat dazed for a moment. Once upon a time, he had been just like Qisha, solitary and aloof, accustomed to keeping to himself. Yet ever since meeting Li Guanqi, he had realized something. He was not born to walk alone; he simply had never met a kindred spirit before.