Li Guanqi suppressed the unease in his heart, gradually accepting the reality.
From the moment the sword spirit warned that the cost would be severe, he had already prepared himself mentally. Since it had happened, he had to face it with composure. Any lingering regret at this point was completely useless—regret could never change what was already done.
This was also a lesson his grandfather had taught him, defined by two words: entirely pointless.
It was because of this, after following Su Xuan for a year or two, that Li Guanqi's temperament had gradually grown far more open-minded and cheerful. Yet the suffering he had endured in his childhood had also left him with an unforgiving, vengeful streak.
Opening the storage ring, Li Guanqi found an assortment of miscellaneous items packed inside, but he never spotted what he truly wanted.
He shook his head in disappointment, murmuring softly, "It seems Longevity Pills really are extraordinarily rare..."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt foolish. How could a Longevity Pill—capable of extending a Core Formation cultivator's lifespan by a whole century—possibly turn up in Changfeng Villa?
He did, however, discover a very peculiar bottle of pills.
Beast-Nourishing Pills!
This kind of medicinal pill went back quite some time; its origin likely traced all the way to the Near-Ancient Era. True to their name, Beast-Nourishing Pills were meant for raising spirit beasts. However, pills of this type had exceptionally violent potency, rendering ordinary cultivators unable to consume them. Only spirit beasts endowed with formidable physiques could swallow them down to bolster their raw strength.
After putting the Beast-Nourishing Pills away safely, Li Guanqi picked a direction and shot off through the air.
Along the journey, he constantly studied and refined his movement technique, achieving modest progress. Yet what preoccupied his mind the most was when he would finally comprehend a Sword Dao of his own—a steadfast, unwavering path of the sword!
Though he possessed sword momentum, this momentum was merely drawn forth by his innate martial power and lacked true purpose. While momentum preceded the Dao, his Dao remained shrouded in obscurity.
The tangled thoughts made him irritable and restless, so he simply drew his blade and danced wildly in midair!
His sword momentum flowed like floating clouds and running water, unbound and spontaneous. Gradually, the Red Lotus sword in his grasp moved in perfect harmony with his body, obeying him as effortlessly as his own limbs. As the momentum swept back and forth, the turbulence in Li Guanqi's heart steadily ebbed away.
When he came to a halt, a sudden flash of insight struck his mind. Just as he suspected, he still lacked an overwhelmingly powerful will—or rather, a conviction! Whether he could discover his own Sword Dao would likely depend on the will of Heaven.
Looking at the darkening sky in the distance, Li Guanqi consulted his map and darted in a specific direction.
Before long, a colossal city emerged on the horizon. Looking ahead, the towering city gate alone stood over twenty zhang high. Above the massive portal hung a horizontal plaque inscribed with the name Feiyun City. The three vigorous, sweeping characters held a faint lingering resonance of Sword Dao! Clearly, the person who had carved them possessed truly extraordinary strength.
After paying the city entrance fee, Li Guanqi casually found a quiet, refined inn to settle in. The string of intense battles had left him somewhat exhausted, though his physical injuries were mostly healed. His reason for choosing Feiyun City was that an updated notice on the map mentioned a grand auction scheduled here in two days.
He took inventory of his assets and found he had close to five hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones on him, the bulk of which had been plundered from Changfeng Villa. If he could purchase something here to elevate his strength, he would not hesitate to spend them. After all, spirit stones could only be used for ordinary cultivation; in the heat of a life-and-death clash, there would be no time to use them to recover.
*Swish!*
The figures of Ye Feng and Cao Yan materialized in the room. Both were deathly pale, their expressions dazed, their pupils trembling slightly. They leaned against the edge of the bed, gasping heavily for breath.
After a long while, Cao Yan turned to Ye Feng and asked, "How many times?"
With bloodshot eyes, Ye Feng countered, "How many for you?"
Cao Yan said in a low voice, "Six times. I really couldn't hold out any longer... What about you?"
Ye Feng gritted his teeth and rasped, "Eight times! One more, and I probably would've passed out cold inside."
Cao Yan was startled, his voice rising in alarm. "Eight times?! Are you insane?! No, really... Second Brother, if you keep going like this, aren't you afraid you'll develop a crippling terror of fighting enemies in the future?"
Ye Feng suddenly grinned without saying a word. In his heart, he knew that among the three of them, his innate talent was the lowest. When it came to combat, he even felt his skills fell short of the sheer ferocity in Cao Yan's boxing techniques. It was merely an illusion—he was not truly dying. As long as his mind could endure it, all he could do was push himself to the absolute limit so he wouldn't be left behind by the two of them.
Li Guanqi saw everything, yet he said nothing. Back then, the number of times he died inside the illusion in a single day was several times greater than Ye Feng's! But he wouldn't tell them that, lest he crush their spirits. He understood Ye Feng's thoughts completely, and he considered it a good thing.
"All right. Rest for a bit, then come outside with me."
"You got it, Boss."
"Right away, Brother Li."
Half an hour later, three inconspicuous young men stepped out of the inn, drifting along with the crowd toward the center of the city. There was an auction house here, but it was not the Treasure Pavilion. It was Feiyun City's Yunding Auction House!
When the three arrived at the auction house's entrance, they stood rooted to the spot like country bumpkins, gazing up at the massive structure suspended in midair, completely transfixed.
The colossal, snow-white edifice was decorated with lavish splendor, adorned throughout with masterfully carved reliefs and murals. Gemstones of every color and glowing night pearls accentuated the building's supreme luxury while retaining an understated elegance.
Looking at the auction house before them, Ye Feng asked in slight confusion, "Boss, will this auction house have Longevity Pills?"
Ye Feng had guessed in an instant why Li Guanqi had come here.
Cao Yan fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, "If I could get my hands on a Lifespan Fruit, I could refine one for Big Brother myself."
Ye Feng rolled his eyes and teased, "Give it a rest. Who knows if you're just a half-baked amateur?"
Cao Yan's face flushed crimson, but he couldn't refute him, quietly resolving to prove his skills before the two of them.
Ignoring their bickering, Li Guanqi leaped into the air and landed upon the elevated terrace before Yunding Auction House. The floor tiles of the platform beneath their feet were carved from massive blocks of low-grade spirit stones—no wonder the spiritual energy here was so dense.
Just then, a rather shrill, caustic voice rang out behind Ye Feng.
"Where did these bumpkins crawl out from? You see this young master coming and you don't scramble out of the way?!"
"Keep staring, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Chapter 226