By this point, the treasuries of the six cities had long been stripped bare.
Had Chen Ce and Chu Yuan not been in such a frantic rush, they might have noticed that the natal jade slips of the Heavenly Immortal cultivators they had left behind in their cities had already shattered.
Yet such a possibility had never crossed their minds.
Toying with the Cold Soul Jade Glaze in his grasp, the corners of Li Guanqi's lips curled into a slight smile.
"I finally got it..."
He did not dare make direct skin contact with the item.
Even now, the ambient aura leaking from the Cold Soul Jade Glaze was enough to freeze his immortal essence solid!
That alone showed just how terrifying its power truly was.
A grade-three immortal item was indeed extraordinary.
In fact, with the sealed drop of true phoenix essence blood within, Li Guanqi felt it was far beyond merely grade-three.
After slaying Chen Ce, Li Guanqi had slipped off the man's storage ring.
By now, Xiahou Cang and Chu Yuan were reduced to mere skin and bones.
Only the Blood Pacts branding their chests continued to swell, gradually expanding to the size of washbasins.
Both men wore deeply conflicted expressions, their faces ashen as death.
Li Guanqi slowly removed his mask, glanced at Xiahou Cang, and sneered.
"Had you simply been obedient from the start, all I would have taken was the Cold Soul Jade Glaze."
"What a pity..."
"What a pity you entertained too many grand ambitions. Too proud, too unwilling to be my puppet."
"Since that's how it is, I no longer want just half a city—I want all six!"
At these words, Xiahou Cang's gaze spiraled into madness. His sunken eyes in his emaciated face grew bloodshot.
He roared in fury,
"Li Congxin! You... you will die a wretched death!!"
Expressionless, Li Guanqi snapped his fingers.
*Bang!*
A burst of crimson radiance flared from the Blood Pact before violently exploding!
Not a trace of bone or flesh remained.
A formidable mighty cultivator of the True Immortal realm had perished just like that.
Chu Yuan looked up at Li Guanqi, a bitter expression washing over his face.
Perhaps... he should never have cooperated with him in the first place.
A devil. The man was an outright devil!
"Tell me... everything... and... why did Chen Ce... want to kill me...?"
By this point, Chu Yuan was weakened to the absolute extreme, entirely devoid of the strength to fight back.
Yet he still longed to know the whole truth.
He refused to die in the dark.
Li Guanqi smiled, stepped closer, and looked down at the man beneath his feet.
"Simple..."
"The appearance of the Cold Soul Jade Glaze led Lady Yu, who had crossed paths with me before, to seek me out."
"The situation across the six cities might seem intricate, but in truth, it was quite simple."
"Isolate Xiahou Cang and leave him helpless, and he naturally became a chess piece at my disposal."
"With the southwest marriages and the tight bonds between clans, they were misled into believing the balance remained a three-way standoff—two factions confronting each other—which ultimately led to four besieging two."
"The second step was executing Huyan Lie, a fence-sitter who was too difficult to control, and wiping out Beizha."
"Once that unfolded, the situation turned unfavorable for Xialin City, guaranteeing that Xiahou Cang would be far more compliant."
Pacing slowly, Li Guanqi spoke at an unhurried, measured cadence, as though describing an utterly trivial matter.
"As for you and Chen Ce?"
"Heh, two men suspicious by nature—a trivial trick was all it took to drive a wedge between you."
"And the storm that suddenly intensified to hold you back? Naturally, that was my doing as well—the final straw that broke Chen Ce's back!"
Having said his piece, Li Guanqi turned to the man who looked like a desiccated skeleton bearing a colossal Blood Pact, smiling faintly.
"Do you understand your death now?"
Emaciated to the bone and drained of all color, the man stared at Li Guanqi through his disheveled hair.
His eyes were filled with terror and turmoil.
Li Guanqi made it sound effortless, yet every single step had toyed with the human heart and orchestrated mortal nature itself!
"I, Chu Yuan... did not die wronged."
*Bang!*
The body exploded. Li Guanqi retrieved the two storage rings and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He had cleared out the treasuries of all six cities. In grade-one immortal crystals alone, there were a staggering eight hundred million!
Pills, immortal herbs, and natural treasures were beyond count!
The total value exceeded two billion!
Yet just as Li Guanqi was savoring his delight, the entire domain space began to tremble violently.
An incomparably immense pressure descended with crushing force.
A beam of blazing golden flame sword light plummeted from the sky!
Its heat was so scorching that it sheared through the ice sheets here, tearing straight into the domain space by sheer force!
The sweeping sword light stretched over twenty zhang across. Thunder boomed around Li Guanqi as his body turned into a streak of lightning, instantaneously flashing more than a hundred zhang away!
*Rumble—!*
The ground split apart, and vaporized mist billowed in all directions.
Above, stepping through the rent fissure in the domain, a gloomy-faced young man walked slowly into view.
The youth was clad in a magnificent embroidered gold robe. He possessed sharp, chiseled features, sword-like brows, and starry eyes, with a pair of narrow golden pupils that seized the soul.
Li Guanqi's brows twitched, and he muttered under his breath,
"Ye Lingyun? Why is he here?!"
Holding an ornate longsword with a reddish-orange hilt, Ye Lingyun swept a sharp gaze across the area.
When his eyes fell upon the three corpses on the ground, his brow furrowed deeply.
Finally, his gaze locked onto Li Guanqi, who wore the ghost mask.
Behind Li Guanqi, nine dao rings of spiritual charm hovered, some faint and some solid, along with an ethereal pair of massive thunder wings.
"You... you're that guy from the tavern back then!"
With just a single glance, Ye Lingyun recognized Li Guanqi's identity!
Wearing his mask and holding the Xue Ming Sword in its Revelation form, Li Guanqi stepped into the void, meeting the other man's gaze on equal footing.
Li Guanqi had no idea why this person had come, but he knew full well he was no match for the youth before him!
Ye Lingyun narrowed his eyes slightly, terrifying reddish-orange flames surging around him like a blazing sun.
In almost a breath, the youth detected an exceedingly powerful glacial force emanating from Li Guanqi's person.
"Hand over the Cold Soul Jade Glaze."
Ye Lingyun spoke in a tone of unquestionable command.
The robe worn by this youth was at the pinnacle of grade-three immortal garments; its defense was something an ordinary True Immortal could not even breach.
The sword in his hand was no ordinary treasure either, scorching flames coursing across the blade like molten magma.
Looking down haughtily at Li Guanqi, Ye Lingyun spoke with flat calm.
"Give it to me, and I won't kill you."
Hearing that, Li Guanqi let out a sneer.
"You people are so used to looking down from on high. Just because you bark an order, I'm supposed to obey?"
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
Ye Lingyun froze on the spot at Li Guanqi's sneering profanity.
It was as though he could not believe his own ears.
Ye Lingyun's expression darkened by degrees. His long hair fluttered in the wind, his imposing aura pressing down heavily upon Li Guanqi!
Behind him, flaming Nirvana spirit feathers, condensed nearly into solid form, abruptly unfurled!
Staring into Li Guanqi's eyes, he spoke in a low voice,
"Do you... have any idea who I am?"
"Surrender the item, and I'll spare your life. That is already immense mercy!"
Beneath the mask, Li Guanqi's eyes burned with wild battle intent.
He had learned from Lin Wujiu that Ye Lingyun was formidable, possessing both a king-grade physique and a king bone!
Even though an entire major cultivation realm stood between them, there was not the slightest trace of fear in Li Guanqi's gaze.
At worst, it was simply a fight!
If he were expected to obediently surrender the Cold Soul Jade Glaze, a mere True Immortal... still wouldn't cut it!
"Mercy?"
"Heh... Come on then, tell me just how impressive your Ye family is. Let me see how utterly shameless you Ye family members really are."
At these words, Ye Lingyun's face sank completely.
Fixing Li Guanqi with a cold glare, he sneered, "Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit."
"Since you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish!"
Chapter 1758