Cold Soul Jade Glaze!

Neither of them truly rested, using every moment to cultivate instead. Li Guanqi had not told the old man about his possession of the Nirvana Pagoda. Sometimes... If Li Nanting knew of things that were too secretive, it might not be for the best. If targeted by someone with ulterior motives, it would be extremely perilous. Thinking of this, Li Guanqi actually inscribed a copy of each jade slip for Lin Wujiu and Qisha and handed them to the old man. "Hm? What are these?" The old man knitted his brows in confusion. Li Guanqi smiled and said, "Just in case. If you ever run into trouble, you can reach out to the two of them." "It's merely a contingency." As he spoke, Li Guanqi took out a good number of inscribed talismans from his storage ring and handed them over. Li Nanting's eyes brightened. He took the talismans as Li Guanqi whispered into his ear. The night passed without words as the two cultivated until dawn. Early the next morning, the cries of street vendors drifted in through the window. Listening to those calls, Li Guanqi suddenly felt a deep sense of familiarity. After both had woken, Li Guanqi pushed open the window, looked at the bustling scene below, and spoke. "Master, want to go downstairs for a stroll?" Li Nanting smiled at his words. The two tidied up briefly, disguised their appearances, and headed downstairs. Drawing no one's attention, they bought a bit of food on the street. Then, the old man and the youth came to a halt simultaneously before a steaming bun stall. After a long silence, Li Guanqi stepped forward and asked the shopkeeper for six large meat buns. The two sat down at a roadside table. Before long, the plump fellow brought over two plates and set them before them. "Enjoy your meal, guests! There's vinegar over there, and chopsticks are on the table, help yourselves." The plump fellow was just about to turn away when he heard Li Guanqi speak softly. "Excuse me, shopkeeper, could you bring one more plate?" The portly man wiped his hands, slung his towel over his shoulder without asking questions, and obligingly placed another plate in front of Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi smiled, nodded, and handed over a few bits of broken silver. Seeing that he had met generous patrons, the plump fellow chuckled, accepted the silver, and voiced his thanks. Li Guanqi picked up his chopsticks, lifted a bun from his own plate, and took another from the old man's plate. After a thought, he placed another of his own buns onto that extra plate, nodding with a faint smile. The old man and the youth sat facing each other in silence, holding their chopsticks as they stared blankly at the empty seat. After a good while, Li Nanting poured a little vinegar into the dish beside it, grabbed a bun, and stuffed it into his mouth. Li Guanqi took a bite of a bun. Juices burst in his mouth, the skin thin and filling generous, rich with the savory aroma of meat. Li Guanqi smiled faintly and swallowed the bun in two or three bites, his eyes slightly red. The old man seated opposite was the same, his voice slightly choked. Only after quite a while did he ask with a tremble, "Can we... ever see them again?" Li Guanqi closed his eyes and whispered, "We should be able to... I left a clone in the Spirit Realm. When the time comes, I will forcibly shatter the immortal-spirit barrier and go down to take a look..." Li Guanqi did not know what price going down to the lower realm would entail, nor what strength it would demand. Yet within the limited time he had, he would definitely raise his cultivation realm as high as possible! No matter what, he wanted to see them one last time. This breakfast was eaten in a subdued mood, leaving them with no desire to stroll further. Yet on the way back to the inn, Li Guanqi's figure suddenly paused, and he told the old man to head back first. Meanwhile, he masked his aura and flashed over to the window outside a seven-story pavilion. Soon... Muffled, secretive voices came from inside the room. "...bsolutely certain!!" "The Myriad-Year Cold Soul Jade Glaze... is right here in Dixiu Bay!!" "Haven't you noticed that cultivators in the six major cities of Dixiu Bay have been increasing lately?" "The Beast Arena is packed with people every day now; plenty of them are waiting." "I also heard... quite a few major factions have their eyes on Dixiu Bay!" Li Guanqi frowned slightly, murmuring inwardly, "Myriad-Year Cold Soul Jade Glaze?" The people inside suddenly went quiet. "Hush! Be careful with this kind of intelligence!" After that, Li Guanqi could hear nothing more. Hesitating for a moment, he extended his divine sense. A divine sense as fine as a strand of silk probed slowly into the room. Inside was a man clad in black robes with pointed ears and monkey-like cheekbones. Opposite him sat an extravagantly dressed young man. He had single eyelids, a flat nose bridge, and a pair of small eyes glinting with shrewd light. The two were shrouded in an azure barrier, making it impossible to hear what they were saying. Li Guanqi cautiously nudged his divine sense toward it. Yet the moment his divine sense made contact with the barrier, the light barrier rippled violently!! "Who's there?!" "After them!!" Bang!!! Two figures smashed through the window instantly and soared into the sky. As their divine senses flared outward, Li Guanqi's heart shuddered! Both of them were cultivators at or above the eighth layer of the Heavenly Immortal Realm! Concealed within the Sumeru Treasure Hall, Li Guanqi frowned slightly and whispered, "Myriad-Year Cold Soul Jade Glaze... what kind of thing is that?" A speck of dust drifted with the wind, floating hundreds of zhang away before coming to rest deep in a gloomy alley. Before long, a young man clad in coarse gray hemp clothes emerged. After returning to the inn and meeting with Li Nanting, Li Guanqi immediately retrieved a jade slip and sent a low-voiced transmission: "Uncle Lin, what is Cold Soul Jade Glaze?" Soon, Lin Jinting's voice came from the other side of the jade slip. "Hm? Why are you asking about that?" "I've only heard people mention it. I'll ask around for more details." Li Guanqi's eyes flickered as he paced back and forth in the room. Though he didn't know what it was, judging by those two men's agitated tone and conduct, it was definitely no ordinary item, and likely some sort of ice-attribute spiritual treasure. He just wondered if it would be useful to his wife... Li Guanqi licked his lips, his eyes gleaming. If he hadn't known, so be it, but now that he did, he would certainly dip his hand in if given the chance! There was no reason to pretend he hadn't heard such news. While Li Guanqi waited for news from Lin Jinting, in the Castellan Estate of another city: Inside the bedchamber, a woman gently patted the infant in her arms, lulling him to sleep with a soft voice. The woman hummed tenderly. After a while, she looked down to find the infant in her arms fast asleep. Dressed in plain white everyday robes, she laid the baby down and removed her hairpin, letting her dark hair cascade down like a waterfall. She walked slowly toward the study. The moment she entered, a handsome middle-aged man rose hastily. "Madam, why didn't you drape something over your shoulders? Nights are chilly in Dixiu Bay." The man was clad in a red-and-gold brocade robe. He got up and draped his outer robe over the woman's shoulders. Smiling, the woman sat down slowly and said softly, "Xiahou, if not for that young man stepping in today, our child and I would have been in grave danger." "It's just a pity that young master wasn't willing to attend the banquet. When we sent someone again later, he had already left." Xiahou Cang looked back at the chubby, spirited little boy on the bed. "Sigh, had I known, I should have gone to invite him in person instead of sending servants..." In the bedchamber's rear courtyard, several cultivators were skinning and dismembering that great demon from earlier today!