"Guanqi! Guanqi! What happened to you?!"
"Xiao Ran told me you went to the back mountain cliff!"
"Where are you? Don't do anything rash! If you're dissatisfied with something, tell your master!"
*Creak—*
Li Guanqi pushed open the door with a smile, looking a bit sheepish as he said, "Well... Master, nothing happened. I just went to the back mountain to throw out some trash."
*"Brat! Who are you calling trash?!"*
The smile froze on Li Guanqi's face. He hadn't expected the sword spirit's voice to ring out inside his mind!
The old man flashed to his side at once, channeling origin power into him to examine his condition. Finding nothing amiss—only that his aura was slightly weaker than before—he finally relaxed.
Sensing that his aura had dipped slightly, Li Nanting assumed he had pushed himself too hard in his cultivation.
He could not help cautioning him, "Don't stay so tightly wound during your daily training. The speed of your cultivation since joining the sect is already on par with the core disciples of powerful factions. Cultivation is a long road. Don't be in such a rush."
Li Guanqi smiled and nodded. "I understand, Master."
Only then did Li Nanting truly set his mind at ease. He chuckled softly and said, "If you have nothing to do in the next couple of days, you can head to the Mission Pavilion and take on a task or two. It'll give you a chance to walk around down the mountain and broaden your horizons."
Once the old man left, Li Guanqi let out a sigh of relief. He didn't know what would have happened if his realm had truly collapsed. Master would have been worried sick.
At that moment, the sword spirit's voice slowly sounded in his mind again.
*"Now that our fates are tied together, I will do everything in my power to help you grow stronger. Use your divine sense to perceive the sword casket. There is a special space inside it."*
Li Guanqi's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help asking, "What kind of space? A storage space?"
The sword spirit scoffed. *"A storage space? Aren't you looking down on me a bit too much?"*
Li Guanqi didn't argue with her. With a slight stir of his divine sense, he probed toward the sword casket.
As usual, he couldn't sense what the interior looked like at all, as if his divine sense were completely blocked off. But this time, he detected the space the sword spirit had spoken of.
*Buzz!*
A mysterious ripple surged forth, and Li Guanqi's figure vanished from the room in an instant!
*Thud!*
The sword casket fell onto the green stone tiles with a dull clatter.
Surrounded by flickering spiritual light, Li Guanqi stared down at an ancient, hundred-foot-wide altar beneath his feet, utterly astonished.
"What is this?"
The sword spirit slowly manifested on the altar and said softly, "Try slotting spirit stones into the array."
Li Guanqi looked toward a raised stone slab on the altar, which bore ten grooves. Taking out ten low-grade spirit stones, he placed them inside. Countless mysterious runes instantly surfaced across the slab.
*Buzz—!!*
The pitch-black void trembled faintly as the altar beneath his feet erupted with dazzling silver light. Yet nothing else happened afterward, leaving Li Guanqi baffled.
What was more, the spirit stones on the altar were depleting at a visible rate.
Li Guanqi couldn't help blurting out, "That's it?"
The sword spirit curled her lip. "Right now, the flow of time in this altar space compared to the outside world is at a ratio of two to one."
Li Guanqi's brows furrowed, and he asked cautiously, "Is it... the kind of two-to-one I'm thinking of?"
"Exactly."
"Holy crap!!"
"Th-this... time moves at a different rate?! Is that even possible?!"
The sword spirit looked up toward the altar and murmured, "Why wouldn't it be? However... ten low-grade spirit stones can only sustain it for two hours at most before they're completely drained. A mid-grade spirit stone can keep it going for a day, and a high-grade spirit stone for a month."
Although it pained Li Guanqi to part with his wealth, he understood just how miraculous this was. Merely hearing about it defied belief! Such an ability defied the natural order so completely that no one could ever be allowed to find out!
Immediately after, his face soured as he saw that a fifth of the spirit stones had already been consumed, and he hurriedly pried them out.
"It's amazing, sure... but it burns through spirit stones way too fast."
Seeing his pained expression, the sword spirit rolled her gorgeous eyes and vanished from the altar.
"You still need to cultivate diligently and strive to reach Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. Once you make the breakthrough, you'll be able to wield the first sword in the casket."
Li Guanqi pursed his lips, his mind now entirely consumed with thoughts of making money.
*Whoosh!*
Li Guanqi reappeared in his room. Hoisting the sword casket onto his back, he dashed straight to the cultivation chamber in the rear courtyard.
Once inside, he calculated his remaining wealth and realized he still had plenty of spirit stones. He took out around a hundred of them, lit a finger-thick stick of sandalwood incense in the quiet room, and only then entered the sword casket's space.
The following evening, Li Guanqi's figure flickered back into the quiet room. He looked at the sandalwood incense, which was only half burned down.
A surge of wild excitement washed over him! Time truly flowed differently!
He had cultivated on the altar for two full days, yet only one day had passed in the outside world!
Clenching his fists, Li Guanqi murmured, "This thing is terrifying. I must never let anyone learn of the sword casket's abilities!"
In high spirits, he washed up and prepared to attend a lecture at Tianjin Peak. An elder there was explaining a set of basic sword arts today, and he wanted to listen in.
The moment he stepped out the door, he ran into Yu Sui'an holding a steamed bun. Seeing him, she trotted over to his side.
"Hey! Little Blindie, where are you going? I haven't seen you in days!"
Li Guanqi smiled and ruffled her little head, earning an exasperated glare in return.
"Little Steamed Bun, how do you manage to be so carefree every single day?"
Yu Sui'an furrowed her brow upon hearing that. With utter seriousness, she replied, "Shouldn't I be? Grandfather once told me something."
"What did he say?"
Yu Sui'an clasped her hands behind her back and paced slowly, imitating Li Nanting's mannerisms. Her comical expression made Li Guanqi chuckle, but her next words caught him off guard.
"Though towering waves crash overhead, laugh them away and feel no dread!"
Having delivered the line, Yu Sui'an turned around and asked smugly, "How's that? Did I mimic him well?"
Li Guanqi felt a slight jolt in his chest, finding deep truth in his master's words.
*Indeed. Why should a youth like me go around frowning all the time?* Looking at her, he smiled and said, "For you, eating your steamed buns every day is the greatest happiness of all—what is there to worry about?"
Yu Sui'an scrunched up her face. "There is something!"
"Oh? What could possibly trouble you so much?" Li Guanqi asked, genuinely curious.
To his surprise, Yu Sui'an said with utmost gravity, "Whenever I can't grab a steamed bun in time, I worry myself sick over what else to eat!"
"Hahahaha! Want to come along to Tianjin Peak with me?"
"Yay! Let's go, let's go! I want a piggyback ride!"
One big and one small, the two figures raced toward Tianjin Peak like the wind.
Chapter 31