The cloud boat sped forward with astonishing velocity, the overbearing pressure of its passengers radiating outward without the slightest restraint.
Cultivators across the million-li expanse of the Linluan Realm looked toward the sky in utter astonishment.
"C-Could this be a great sect from the Eight Desolations descending to the lower realms?"
Countless onlookers wondered how exalted the passengers aboard that cloud boat must be.
Flanking it were thirty mighty Golden Immortals standing guard, along with four Immortal Monarchs!
"Wait, no... the emblems on that cloud boat..."
"It looks like the Jiuding Heavenly Palace from the Zhongtian Lands!!"
"*Gulp*... Th-That can't be people from the sovereign sect down from Dihuang Heaven, can it?!"
Many who had traveled to the Zhongtian Lands recognized the sect insignia carved into the vessel, sending stormy waves of shock crashing through their hearts.
The Jiuding Heavenly Palace of the Zhongtian Lands was terrifying enough on its own.
If those aboard were truly from Dihuang Heaven, then matters had escalated far beyond imagination.
"That sword beam pierced straight through Xutian Palace's main peak!"
Everywhere the cloud boat passed, cultivators dropped from the void to stand in salute, paying the respect owed to supreme superiors.
A hundred peaks of Xutian Palace had come crashing down!
Only after catching his breath for a long while did Li Guanqi finally open his eyes.
Yang Qing was at a complete loss for words to describe the turmoil in his chest.
He, too, had recognized the markings upon the vessel!
"Not good... Send word for the Palace Master to return immediately! Hurry!!"
"They are from Jiuding Heavenly Palace! They come with hostile intent!"
Scrambling to her feet, Su Mei turned deathly pale at his words.
If ordinary cultivators were mere ants before Xutian Palace, then set against Jiuding Heavenly Palace, Xutian Palace was the ant—the insignificant mayfly!
The cloud boat moved with incredible speed, closing to within a thousand zhang of Xutian Palace in the blink of an eye.
Inside Xutian Palace, the disciples were thrown into total disarray, while sect elders, peak masters, and guest elders rushed in panic to the central plaza.
Even the usually unflappable First Elder Yang Qing was thoroughly unnerved.
He could not fathom why the mighty sovereign sect Jiuding Heavenly Palace would descend upon this place...
Yet they had unleashed an attack before even arriving. Clearly, they harbored no goodwill!
Still, he could not understand when Xutian Palace had ever provoked such a power.
With the Palace Master still away, he had no choice but to brace himself and fly forward into the air.
Su Mei followed suit, her brow knit tight as she stayed close behind the old man, her expression turning humble and subservient. She understood all too well that these people were far beyond what she or Xutian Palace could ever hope to cross.
In truth... not a single faction in all the Ten Lands dared provoke them.
Every elder and guest elder of Xutian Palace stood solemn upon the plaza, bowing deeply in greeting across the thousand-zhang distance.
Just then, Li Guanqi peered through the gaps in the crowd and caught sight of the cloud boat's bow.
The moment he clearly saw who stood there, he momentarily forgot the agonizing pain wracking his body.
A young woman stood by the vessel's railing, craning her neck in eager anticipation.
A purple-gold hairpin held her hair; her ornaments were sparse, yet every piece was an exquisite immortal artifact unheard of in the outside world.
Her features were delicate, her nose straight and refined, her skin fair as pristine snow. She wore an azure gown shimmering with iridescent light, unimaginably noble and breathtaking.
As her sleeves fluttered, rosy mist and clouds seemed to dance alongside them, every gesture bearing an innate elegance and majestic grace.
Only... perched on her shoulder was a plump white radish.
Pengluo clutched Meng Wanshu's collar with one hand while pumping the Xutian Stone vigorously with the other, babbling and shouting indistinctly as it pointed repeatedly toward the old man standing beside the woman.
Li Guanqi's heart surged with emotion, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
"Wanshu..."
He then sent a soft voice transmission to Lin Jinting.
"Uncle Lin, you can rest easy now."
"This time... the ones dropping to their knees will likely be all of Xutian Palace!!"
Lin Jinting's eyes flickered. He exchanged a stunned glance with Lin Shengwu, both of them reeling with disbelief.
When they had first seen the cloud boat, their minds had spun with apprehension, assuming these were guests of Xutian Palace.
Now, it seemed... this was tied to Li Congxin!!
Meng Wanshu stood on tiptoe at the railing, sweeping her gaze across the grounds below, the gilded tassels of her earrings gleaming with golden light.
Longing brimmed in her expectant eyes. She had spent an entire year in the Nine Emperor Heavens, and only after pleading relentlessly with her master had she been granted permission to descend to the subordinate sect in the Zhongtian Lands among the Ten Lands to train.
Never had she imagined that after descending to the lower realms and traveling by cloud boat for over a month, she would truly run into Li Guanqi!
Her heart thrashed with incomparable excitement; her clasped hands were drenched in nervous sweat.
For a full year, at the end of every night's cultivation, she had ached for him, wondering how he was faring...
She had even mobilized the influence of Jiuding Heavenly Palace to search for everyone, but how could finding a few people in the vast expanse of the Ten Lands ever be easy?
At last, her eyes fell upon the figure lying on the sect plaza.
Li Guanqi propped himself up and smoothed down his disheveled hair. He pulled his robe over his ruined legs, a wry bitterness flitting across his expression, yet his smile remained bright and gentle.
When Meng Wanshu saw the pool of blood beneath Li Guanqi and his feet twisted at grotesquely unnatural angles, that breathtaking, peerlessly exquisite face instantly turned terrifyingly dark.
Her lips pressed tight and trembled faintly, tears welling in eyes as radiant as the stars, while the veins at her temples throbbed violently beneath her skin.
Beside her, Immortal Elder Yu stood with one hand behind his back, noticing her sudden emotional turmoil.
Meng Wanshu's icy voice reached his ears.
"Today... I hope Elder Yu will forgive my conduct!!"
Immortal Elder Yu waved a dismissive hand.
"Wreak all the havoc you wish."
The elder turned his eyes, as clear and pristine as an infant's, toward Li Guanqi.
With his first glance:
*So this is the Saintess's husband from the Spirit Realm?*
With his second glance:
*Hmm?*
*Peak first-layer Heavenly Immortal, exceptionally solid foundation, and quite remarkable sword talent—he is already on the verge of grasping lucid sword intent?*
With his third glance...
*Wait... husband? Wouldn't that mean he only ascended a year ago as well?!*
*A Thunder Lord? And... why does he carry the aura of the Heavenly Dao's recognition?!*
*Could it be that he recently created techniques acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao itself?!*
*Hiss!!*
The more Immortal Elder Yu looked, the graver his gaze became. Stroking his beard, his eyes narrowed to slits as he drew in a sharp breath.
*Hold on, let me get this straight... Heavenly Immortal realm? In just one year, ascending from the Spirit Realm like the Saintess, he broke through into the Heavenly Immortal realm?!*
*In a barren, immortal-qi-starved realm like the Ten Lands, he actually broke through an entire major realm to reach the Heavenly Immortal realm in a single year?!*
The more he thought, the brighter Immortal Elder Yu's eyes shone!
*Such innate talent—isn't it an absolute waste for him to languish in the Ten Lands?!*
*If this boy is brought back to Jiuding Heavenly Palace, he has the caliber of at least a Saint Son! More importantly, he is the Saintess's husband—this talent is simply monstrous!*
One had to remember that when Meng Wanshu ascended, Jiuding Heavenly Palace had literally beaten the elders of two rival sects half to death just to claim her.
Once she arrived in Dihuang Heaven, she had been lavished with every manner of marrow-cleansing and meridian-purging heavenly treasures, allowing her to break through to her current fifth-layer Heavenly Immortal realm in merely a year and change.
Such cultivation speed was unprecedented even among the most brilliant disciples in the history of Jiuding Heavenly Palace!
Yet what about Li Guanqi...?
Chapter 1700