Heavenly Dao Oath

After Qin Xian departed, Li Guanqi leaned against the stone wall and exchanged a look with the other two. "Hahahahaha!" "Big Head, that fire spirit incantation of yours was seriously impressive." "Second Brother's sword strike was stunning as well." "Of course, Eldest Brother's final strike was what truly shook the soul." The three flattered one another, using the banter to ease the lingering dread in their hearts. Hearing their praise, Li Guanqi could not help but smile wryly. "All right, we need to be more cautious about this sort of thing from now on." Listening to them talk about his final strike, he honestly had no idea what had happened after his body was taken over. By the time he woke, he was already inside this cave. Ye Feng swallowed with some difficulty and spoke up. "Boss, you really don't know about that final strike of yours?" Seeing Li Guanqi shake his head, Ye Feng, having recovered some of his spirits, clamored and insisted on showing him in person. Supported by Ye Feng, Li Guanqi flew into midair and stared blankly at the massive mountain that had been cleanly cleaved in two. With some difficulty, he asked, "I did this?" Cao Yan and Ye Feng nodded like chicks pecking at grain. Cao Yan then described the scene for Li Guanqi in detail. Hearing that he had personally unleashed such a terrifying arc of sword light, Li Guanqi felt his heart tremble even more. "Boss, you have no idea how terrifying your eyes looked back then." "And that strike... it was as effortless as eating or drinking. You just raised your hand and swung..." "Fang Yishan was pinned to the spot, petrified and unable to budge, and died cleanly just like that." Ye Feng gestured with his hands as he spoke. Looking at the cleaved mountain, Li Guanqi leaned against Ye Feng and said with a solemn expression, "Remember this." "No matter what we face in the future, never, ever pin all our hopes of survival on that strike of mine." As Li Guanqi said this, his face was exceptionally solemn, filled with warning. Neither of the other two was a fool. Looking at Li Guanqi's current condition and his critically weak vitality, they could easily infer that the strike had come at an immense cost. They both nodded, indicating they had taken it to heart. The three returned inside the cave to heal their injuries. Fortunately, Qin Xian had brought plenty of healing pills when he came. The bleeding on all three had long since stopped, though the meridians within their bodies had suffered considerable damage. Before entering cultivation, Li Guanqi told both of them to reflect on the battle and summarize their lessons. Inside the silent cave, three figures meditated and tended to their wounds. A night passed in this manner, and the three woke one after another. The moment they awakened, Li Guanqi called them to his side, and each began pointing out his own shortcomings in the previous fight. After hearing them out, Li Guanqi shared his assessment of his own performance as well. The three discussed their respective strengths, their actual power, and how they should respond if they ever encountered such a formidable foe again. After this discussion, all three felt they had gained tremendously. Fighting on the brink of life and death, dancing on the tip of a blade, was the fastest way to grow. Of course, constantly dancing on the edge of death was hardly a good thing. That was why Li Guanqi wanted each of them to review their faults and consider what to do if they ever found themselves in such a situation again, so that they would not repeat the same mistakes in future battles. Li Guanqi also heard from Ye Feng about everything Cao Yan had done after his vitality began to drain. After a long silence, Li Guanqi looked toward Cao Yan and asked in a low voice, "Is there an array formation that can keep a secret?" Cao Yan pondered for a moment and answered softly, "An array formation... there are some, but they are rather impractical." "Instead, a Heavenly Dao oath between cultivators is enough to bind anyone!" Curious, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng asked, "What is a Heavenly Dao oath?" Cao Yan gathered his thoughts and explained in detail. "A Heavenly Dao oath is a form of binding contract sworn between cultivators." "Through unseen channels, such an oath is acknowledged by the Great Dao. The price of breaking it is the complete destruction of one's body and soul!" "To this day, I have never heard of anyone who could break a Heavenly Dao oath." Hearing this, Li Guanqi immediately called out in his heart, "Sword spirit? Are you there?" After waiting for a long time, he received no response from the sword spirit. Pondering for a moment, Li Guanqi spoke up. "In that case..." "You and Ye Feng will each swear an oath." "Next, I will share a secret regarding myself. Since we call each other brothers today, and for the sake of improving our strength, I do not intend to keep it from you." The moment Ye Feng heard it could improve their strength, his eyes shone brightly. "Good, good, good, I'll swear! I'll swear! How do we make this oath?" Cao Yan gave Li Guanqi a deep look. Taking a deep breath, he bit his fingertip and pressed a drop of blood between his brows. Seeing this, Ye Feng copied him to the letter, placing a drop of blood essence between his own brows. Raising his finger toward the sky, Cao Yan said gravely, "I, Cao Yan, swear today upon the Great Dao!" "I will never, to anyone, in any form, reveal the secret that Li Guanqi is about to tell us!" Hearing this, Ye Feng also took on a solemn expression and spoke in a deep voice. "I, Ye Feng, swear today upon the Great Dao!" "I will never, to anyone, in any form, reveal the secret that Li Guanqi is about to tell us!" Hum! The moment their words fell, the drops of blood essence between their brows wriggled slightly and transformed into crimson threads that shot into the sky in an instant! Seated where he was, Li Guanqi felt two indistinct connections take root in the unseen depths of his perception. It was as though a pair of threads had appeared within his sea of consciousness. Though invisible and untouchable, he could clearly perceive which thread belonged to whom. Cao Yan said gravely, "If one of those threads ever breaks, it means someone has violated the oath." Li Guanqi nodded slightly upon hearing this, then looked at the two of them and said softly, "Do not blame me for being cautious. The implications of this matter are simply too vast." "Without doing this, I wouldn't dare trust anyone." He raised his head to look at Ye Feng and asked softly, "Haven't you been wondering all along where I put Senior Brother Zhao Yang?" "And why I didn't let Elder Qin take him away right then, but instead sent a voice transmission telling him to send someone to fetch him in a few days?" Ye Feng scratched his head and admitted candidly, "Exactly... A living, breathing person, and I had no idea what you packed him into." "And since Elder Qin was already here, why didn't you let Zhao Yang out?" Li Guanqi shook his head with a wry smile and said, "This is precisely why I had you two swear a Heavenly Dao oath." "I was afraid even Elder Qin wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would kill the three of us!" With that, he had them open their minds. A mysterious ripple emanated from the cave, and in an instant, the three figures vanished from within. And the moment they disappeared, the stone sword casket transformed into a speck of dust, drifting quietly in midair!