Seeing this, Han Feng rose as well, his tall frame standing beside Li Guanqi.
"Do you need help?"
Li Guanqi looked at Han Feng with slight surprise. "You heard it all. My friend used to belong to Xutian Palace... You..."
Han Feng's expression did not change in the slightest as he said calmly, "I heard.
"But the only one in Xutian Palace with whom I have a grudge is Liu Xiong!
"Besides..."
A glint of cold killing intent flashed deep within Han Feng's eyes, his voice low and grim. "Now that I have obtained the Soul-Nourishing Nectar, all that remains... is to avenge my daughter's blood debt!!
"Since it is Liu Xiong, I have no reason not to act!"
Li Guanqi nodded silently, not refusing Han Feng's goodwill.
Yet at that moment, the man said something startling.
"You carry the aura of the Death Pool on you!
"Liu Xiong... likely sensed it, which is why he moved against your friend to force you to show yourself!
"Furthermore, he witnessed the two of us joining forces. It cannot be ruled out that he also wants to reclaim the Xutian Stone from my hands."
Li Guanqi's brows lifted. He had not expected Han Feng's mind to be so meticulous.
He himself had not noticed this so-called Death Pool aura at all.
It seemed this was a signature aura unique to the assassins of Xutian Palace!
Yet after waiting several breaths, Han Feng saw that Li Guanqi still made no move, and he frowned slightly.
"What are you still waiting for?"
Li Guanqi closed his eyes to focus his thoughts. Only after a good while did he open them again, taking to the sky with Han Feng.
Wind howled in their ears, clouds racing backward past them.
"I was thinking... how I might completely sever my friend's ties with Xutian Palace!"
With countless thoughts swirling in his mind, Li Guanqi then produced two jade slips.
"Lady Ran, I need to speak with your father about something. Please pass a message for me!"
Ran Qingshuang was startled awake from her cultivation. Hearing Li Guanqi's voice, she frowned slightly.
Nevertheless, she rose and carried the jade slip to find Ran Shiming.
In Li Guanqi's impression, Ran Shiming was someone well-suited for trading benefits, but lacking in sentimental loyalty.
"Haha, little friend, what brings you to me?"
Li Guanqi got straight to the point. "Junior does not know what kind of relationship Uncle Ran maintains with Xutian Palace, but I make bold to ask Senior to step forward and help me request someone from Xutian Palace!"
In a study of the Ran Residence, Ran Shiming sat before a desk, holding the jade slip with a slight frown.
Ran Qingshuang stood to the side, looking puzzled. "Ask Xutian Palace for someone?
"Father... why don't you help him?"
Ran Shiming's brow furrowed tightly, as if he had not heard Ran Qingshuang's words at all. After a long pause, he turned to the young woman beside him and sighed.
"Girl, it is not that your father refuses to help...
"Xutian Palace!! A super sect ranked third in all of the Fuyu Lands.
"They even have Golden Immortal realm patriarchs. You do not even know who it is he wants—how could I possibly help?!"
Barely three breaths had elapsed since Li Guanqi transmitted his message, yet he raised his hand and directly shattered the jade slip in his grip!
Seeing this, Han Feng's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam. "How utterly decisive!"
Li Guanqi then produced another jade slip and said in a heavy voice, "Uncle Lin, can you find someone to pass word to Xutian Palace and secure Qisha's release?
"The Xutian Stone is in my hands. I will return it to them, along with thirty million immortal crystals, so they will let Qisha go once and for all!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a man's composed voice came from the other end.
"Are you certain the Xutian Stone is in your hands?
"Good! I will personally make a trip to the Linluan Realm right now!"
As the voice faded, an older man's voice came through the jade slip, accompanied by Lin Jinting's instructions and orders.
Lin Changlu, the plump elder of the Lin family, took the jade slip and spoke in a deep voice.
"Boy, when it comes to struggles among the lower ranks, the Lin family cannot dispatch a True Immortal. Xutian Palace would view that as a provocation, and the Lin family would face a calamity of total annihilation!
"Therefore, doing this much is the absolute limit of what we can do. During this period, no matter what happens, you can only rely on yourselves. Do you understand?"
Gripping the jade slip, Li Guanqi answered solemnly, "Rest assured, Elder Lin, I know what I am doing.
"Furthermore... if the Xutian Stone and thirty million immortal crystals are not enough, a jar of Soul-Nourishing Nectar can be added!"
At this point... Li Guanqi hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"If that is still not enough, I have one more thing that can serve as a bargaining chip!"
In the grand hall of the Lin family, Lin Changlu froze slightly upon hearing the words from the jade slip.
He glanced at Lin Shengwu and Lin Jinting, then said in a deep voice, "Fine. Leave the rest to your Uncle Lin."
Putting away the jade slip, Han Feng asked curiously, "Who were the people speaking on those two occasions? The latter is actually going to the Linluan Realm to seek out Xutian Palace?"
The underlying implication of his words was that the people of Xutian Palace were not so easy to see; without sufficient stature, one would not even make it past their gates.
Li Guanqi said calmly, "The first was the patriarch of the Ran family in Yongjiang City, though there is no need to dwell on him. We likely will not have much contact in the future.
"The second is the father of another friend of mine—the Lin family... of Qinzhou!!"
Han Feng's breath hitched instantly upon hearing this, his pupils contracting slightly.
Li Guanqi spoke as if it were nothing, yet both of those clans were renowned titans in Qinzhou and Quping Prefecture respectively!
Yongjiang was teeming with sects and clans, but which force dared refuse the Ran family face?
A great True Immortal clan was hardly something others could look down upon.
As for the Lin family of Qinzhou...
One clan, four True Immortals—the undisputed overlords of Qinzhou!!
This fellow's connections... were frankly terrifying.
The two sped through the air, following the location Lin Wujiu had transmitted, hurtling from Quping Prefecture toward the border of Qinzhou.
Along the way, Li Guanqi's expression remained grim. He produced Qisha's jade slip and spoke only three words.
"Wait for us."
Three simple words, yet they seemed to possess immense power.
Fleeing for his life, Qisha heard Li Guanqi's calm voice, and his heart settled down considerably.
It felt as though, as long as he held on until they arrived, he would live!!
Amidst an endless, sprawling mountain range, Qisha was soaked in blood, concealing his presence as he fled.
Behind him, over a dozen dark silhouettes flickered frantically, sweeping toward him in a pincer movement!
Liu Xiong stared at the figure ahead. When he caught sight of the King of Qisha Seal faintly visible on the man's neck, a flash of greed crossed his eyes.
"Qisha! Today you will die without fail!!
"Even if the Heavenly King himself descended, no one could save you!!"
Qisha glanced back, his gaze colliding squarely with Liu Xiong's.
Had this been in the past, he would have relied solely on himself with a single-minded heart.
Because he had no one to rely on.
But now...
Qisha sneered without a word, though the will to survive in his eyes burned fiercer than ever before!
Because he knew that somewhere far away, two friends were coming for him!!
At the Ran Residence, Ran Shiming sat in his chair with a dark expression, slamming his hand down and smashing the jade slip before him to pieces with a loud bang.
"Hmph! Ignorant wretch—how dare he shatter the jade slip?!
"Since he wishes to seek his own death, he cannot blame anyone else.
"It is not even his own concern, yet he is so foolish as to dream of defying Xutian Palace!"
Furious, Ran Shiming flicked his sleeves and stormed out, leaving behind the pale-faced young woman, whose expression shifted continuously.
Ran Qingshuang looked out the window, pursed her lips as she glanced at the jade slip fragments on the table, and rose to leave the Ran Residence!
"Help me look into something..."
Chapter 1684