The elder pondered for a long time before finally nodding solemnly, his voice deep.
"Young friend, I will consider your advice carefully. But relocating the clan... involves a great deal. I cannot give you an answer right now."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly, understanding that the matter was not so simple.
He simply spoke in a quiet voice, "Very well, but I urge you to make up your minds as soon as possible. Someone will likely find this place before long. It would be best to leave here first."
The elder nodded and said in a grave tone, "I understand. Once I return this time, I will have the clansmen prepare to leave immediately."
The two parties clasped their hands in farewell. As they were about to part ways, the elder spoke in a low voice, "Young friend, as for this true dragon of yours... it would be best to conceal it. Otherwise, it will inevitably draw the covetous eyes of those with ill intent."
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and nodded silently. Then, stepping upon the colossal dragon, he tore through the air and took his leave.
Lan Xun stared blankly at Li Guanqi's receding figure, murmuring softly, "He truly is so strong."
The elder nodded and said gently, "Truly worthy of being a dragon among men. All right, let us head back and prepare to pack our things."
The elder behind Yu Bo asked in a low voice, "Are we really going to the Northern Region?"
A look of contemplation crossed the elder's face, and he said softly, "I have not decided yet. Even with the young friend's recommendation, going there would still mean living under someone else's roof. We might as well find a place that is difficult for others to discover and seclude ourselves from the world."
Hearing this, the others nodded in agreement, then transformed into swimming fish and vanished into the river.
In the pitch-black void, the figure of the sword spirit slowly materialized.
With a solemn expression, she said, "I need the bone sword."
Li Guanqi did not say much upon hearing this, simply retrieving the bone sword and handing it to her.
Seeing how readily he gave it over, the sword spirit was slightly surprised. She did not believe Li Guanqi was unaware of the miraculous effects of this bone sword.
"You're just giving it to me like that?"
Li Guanqi shrugged and said softly, "I originally planned to feed this bone sword to the Red Lotus. But if you want it, I'll give it to you."
A warm current flowed through the sword spirit's heart. Silently taking the bone sword, her beautiful eyes shifted slightly as she looked up at Li Guanqi and spoke in a soft voice.
"This bone sword is of great use to me."
She then explained all of the bone sword's functions to Li Guanqi, and said in a deep voice, "I may fall into a deep slumber for a period of time. How long... is uncertain, because I must thoroughly refine this bone sword. So... during this time, you must be careful."
Li Guanqi understood what she was worried about and smiled softly. "Do not worry. It's merely the Mo Family of the Eastern Domain. Refine it in peace."
With the corners of his mouth curving upward, Li Guanqi spoke with immense confidence. He believed that with his current means, even if he encountered an expert of the Soul Formation Realm, he would still be able to escape.
As his words fell, the sword spirit smiled, nodded, and her figure slowly dissolved. The connection between him and the sword spirit broke off at that moment as well.
Just as Li Guanqi sat cross-legged atop Jiuxiao's head, quietly cultivating, the entire Great Xia Domain erupted into an uproar!!
A piece of news that shocked the Great Xia Domain began to spread...
Mo Congyun, the Tyrant Sword ranked sixth on the Tianji Rankings, was dead.
Countless experts possessing Tianji jade pendants retrieved their pendants one after another, and sure enough, they discovered that the Tianji Rankings had already shifted!!
The name of Mo Congyun, originally ranked sixth, had vanished, replaced by Li Guanqi, who had previously been ranked thirteenth!!
This youth who had risen like a comet had climbed all the way to sixth place in just a few short months!!
A truly undisputed heaven-chosen prodigy, a monstrous talent.
When many people saw the Tianji Rankings, they could not help but swallow hard.
A burly man sitting in a tavern gulped with difficulty, his voice hoarse as he spoke. "If I remember correctly, when he was ranked thirteenth before, he was only at the middle Nascent Soul stage, wasn't he? Damn it all, it's only been about a month since then, and he's already at late Nascent Soul??? Since when did advancing through the Nascent Soul realm become so easy??"
Not only him, but everyone else felt their hearts skip a beat upon seeing the realm listed behind Li Guanqi's name.
This was the Nascent Soul stage, after all!!
Advancing one's Nascent Soul and comprehending the cultivation realms could not be achieved simply by piling up pills.
Yet many people also revered Li Guanqi from the bottom of their hearts. Geniuses were always yearned for and admired, especially someone who had started out as an obscure nobody.
Eastern Domain, Lou Gorge!
Deep in the gorge stood an immense estate spanning nearly ten thousand zhang, magnificent and imposing.
Towering buildings stood interconnected, and everywhere were disciples clad in black robes with red-and-white patterns embroidered on their collars.
Yet at this moment, everyone in the estate moved in great haste.
An oppressive atmosphere blanketed the entire estate.
In the deliberation hall.
A short-haired man with resolute features glared with fury, violently slamming a shattered soul lamp onto the table!
The man's eyes were bloodshot, his chilling killing intent practically solidifying, while violent surges of primal energy around him seemed ready to overturn the firmament.
He shot to his feet, a raspy growl tearing from his throat. "Issue a Domain-Wide Kill Order!!! Li Guanqi must be brought before me, no matter what!!!! I want to flay his skin alive, tear his flesh to shreds, and draw out his soul to light a lamp!! Proclaim to the world that anyone who provides clues will uniformly receive three thousand high-grade spirit stones!! Anyone who captures him alive will receive ten thousand high-grade spirit stones, one Soul Formation Pill, and one bottle of Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Milk!! Anyone who kills him will receive ten thousand high-grade spirit stones and one Soul Formation Pill!!"
The corners of the man's eyes seemed on the verge of tearing, his voice biting cold.
These astronomical resources sent a shiver through countless hearts.
Below, many elders exchanged glances, yet in the end, none dared utter a single word of objection.
Mo Zhiyuan was already in a frenzy; no one dared stroke his scales the wrong way right now. Moreover, Mo Zhiyuan was the patriarch of the Mo Family.
The elders below all cupped their hands and chorused in deep voices, "Yes, Patriarch!"
With a dark expression, Mo Zhiyuan slowly turned around, glancing back as he said coldly, "The rewards apply equally to all Mo Family disciples! In addition... investigate where Yun'er went before his death, with whom, and why! I want to know within the time it takes an incense stick to burn!!"
In an instant, the contents of the Domain-Wide Kill Order issued by the Mo Family spread throughout the entire Great Xia Domain!!
Like a gale, this news swept across the Great Xia Domain within an hour!!
Faced with such astronomical rewards, everyone went wild!
Even low-level cultivators grew restless. After all, one didn't even need to fight—merely providing information yielded three thousand high-grade spirit stones. Converted into low-grade spirit stones, that was a staggering thirty million low-grade spirit stones!
If one could truly kill him, that would be a full one hundred million!
Not to mention the priceless Soul Formation Pill, which couldn't be bought for any price on the open market...
For a time, all the experts throughout the Great Xia Domain were driven into a frenzy.
Chapter 349