Kill and Leave

Yet the moment Li Guanqi turned to leave, the three behind him dashed in his direction. This annoyed him, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't believe for a second that these three had appeared here by sheer coincidence. Having no desire to meddle in trouble, he simply halted in his tracks. Turning toward the trio, an icy killing intent surged in the depths of his eyes. The thick murderous aura made them falter. The leading man looked up at Li Guanqi and pleaded, "Senior, I beg you! I'll give you all my wealth—please help us!" The two women beside him were also weeping like pear blossoms bathed in rain, begging pitifully. What was more, the least injured woman cast sultry, lingering glances at Li Guanqi. Whether deliberately or not, the silk robe on her shoulder slipped down slightly, revealing fair, delicate skin. Pursing her lips with a pathetic, helpless expression, she said, "As long as... as long as Senior can shelter us for just one night... you... you may do whatever you please with me." As she spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks unbidden, her shoulders trembling softly. Beneath the moonlight, her striking beauty made for an utterly heartbreaking sight. Yet how could Li Guanqi's resolve be so easily swayed? He might let his heart flutter around the lofty sword spirit, or indulge his base desires by listening to tunes in pleasure houses. Yet when faced with unknown trouble, he had always kept it at a respectful distance. Casting a frigid glance over the three, he spoke in a voice devoid of warmth: "Regardless of why you ended up here, I will not help. From this moment on, if any of you dare keep following me, I will kill you!" Seeing his pure white eyes, their hearts seized. That icy voice, laced with palpable murderous intent, sent a shiver straight down their spines. Having spoken his piece, Li Guanqi turned to walk away. The leading man's expression shifted repeatedly. Gritting his teeth, he retrieved the most valuable item from his storage ring and, refusing to heed the warning, took a step forward! *Swoosh!* A glint of purple cold light flashed through the air in an instant! *Thud!* The man's head flew high into the air in an instant, even as his hands still cupped a storage bag. Blood sprayed across the two women's faces, draining the color from their complexions and eliciting piercing shrieks. A faint, ethereal voice drifted into their ears: "I only say things once. Do not test my patience." As the voice faded into the distance, the two women looked at each other, seeing nothing but terror in each other's eyes. Their faces ashen, the two snatched up the storage bag and bolted toward the outside of the mountain range, not even daring to linger and collect their companion's corpse. Concealed in the shadows, Li Guanqi noticed that shortly after they fled, another party arrived in pursuit. This group numbered six in all; two were late Core Formation cultivators, while the rest were also all in the Core Formation realm. Clearly, they were their pursuers and mortal foes. Li Guanqi gave a cold sneer and paid them no further mind, turning and darting toward the edge of the mountains. This incident was merely a minor interlude. The area where he had originally stopped was already close to the territory of fifth-rank demonic beasts in the Purgatory Mountain Range. It was just that the beasts in this particular area had all been slaughtered by him recently. Coupled with the lingering stench of beast blood in the vicinity, not even lighting a fire would have drawn beasts to join the fray. Besides, anyone who dared build a fire in such a place was truly the most terrifying existence in the Purgatory Mountain Range. He hadn't anticipated that it would instead attract fools looking to use him as a shield. In just this short month and a half, he had witnessed plenty of cultivators preying on one another. Scenes of robbery and murder played out nearly every day; not even members of the same hunting party could be trusted. Making his way forward, Li Guanqi felt subtle changes stirring within his dantian. It likely wouldn't be long before he broke through to the Nascent Soul realm. Calculating the days, he realized cultivation made time fly; in the blink of an eye, he was almost seventeen years old. Touching the soft fuzz above his upper lip, he muttered inwardly, *Tsk tsk, stepping into the Nascent Soul realm at seventeen—there probably haven't been many who managed that in the sect's history, right?* Li Guanqi thought to himself with unabashed vanity. "I wonder how Old Ye and Old Cao are doing... Surely they're both fine!" Lost in thought, by the time the sun hung high in the sky, he had already arrived at the outer reaches of the Purgatory Mountain Range. The moment he stepped clear of the mountain range, Li Guanqi couldn't help but let out a long breath. Having spent so long inside the mountains, constantly enduring intense, life-and-death slaughter every day, his body had been stretched taut to its limit. Looking back, beast cries still echoed incessantly from within the dark, looming expanse of the Purgatory Mountain Range. Recalling all he had experienced inside, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of awe toward this terrifying range. Fortunately, the demonic beasts of the forest possessed strong territorial instincts and rarely strayed from their domains. Otherwise, given the massive commotion caused by his battles, had he attracted even a single fifth-rank demonic beast, not even his bones would have remained. Thinking back on it now, he still felt a tremor of lingering fear. After all, he no longer had any lifespan to spare for the sword spirit to intervene on his behalf. Speaking of which, he had been quite fortunate; within the Purgatory Mountain Range, he had gathered nearly all the vital spirit herbs needed to concoct the Longevity Pill. During this time, he had also ransacked several demonic beast dens and unearthed plenty of good treasures. This entire excursion could truly be called an overflowing harvest. First, by a bizarre twist of fate, he had slain a mighty Soul Formation cultivator, and then, thanks to that inheritance jade slip, he had awakened Tyrant Sword sword intent. His realm had become exceptionally consolidated, showing clear signs of breaking through to Nascent Soul. His strength was incomparably greater than when he first entered the forest. Naturally, a large portion of this growth was owed to the sword spirit. Her guidance in cultivation and the way of the sword had been invaluable to him. His chest rose and fell gently as he exhaled a breath of turbid air. Clutching a high-grade spirit stone in hand, Li Guanqi, clad in his black robe, flashed forward. A single stride carried him hundreds of zhang away, leaving only an afterimage behind. His speed had increased by more than thirty percent! Soaring through the air, Li Guanqi closed his eyes and conjured the map within his sea of consciousness, checking for the nearest city. Right now, he only wanted to find a decent tavern and take a comfortable bath. Cultivation required balance—tension followed by relaxation, tempering pride and impatience. Otherwise, so many cultivators wouldn't suffer qi deviation during their practice and stray onto misguided paths. Nor would the major sects design their grounds to be so aesthetically pleasing; those sights existed precisely to help disciples relax their state of mind. Li Guanqi glanced at the sky and gauged the distance. Reaching the nearest city, Nanze City, would take until evening at the earliest, so he simply sped up his pace. At that moment, amidst the clouds, an exquisite cloud boat was sailing swiftly along. Suddenly, a youth dressed in a lavish white robe pointed into the distance, swallowed hard, and wide-eyed, turned to an old man: "G-Grandpa!!!! There's someone... flying as fast as the cloud boat!!"