The Great Xia Sword Sect also received the news immediately.
Lu Kangnian sat upon the raised platform with a grave expression, looking down at the gathered elders and frowning as he spoke in a heavy voice. "Everyone, speak your minds."
Li Nanting's brows were tightly knit. "Before long, the Mo Family will likely come knocking on our doors over this matter!"
Lu Kangnian nodded, exhaling a breath of stale air. "Indeed. That is my thought as well. We must remember that the Eastern Domain Mo Family's ancestor is a Void Refinement realm powerhouse... This will be rather difficult to handle."
At the side, Qin Xian gave a cold snort. "Hmph. A clash between juniors. If their boy gets killed because he lacked skill, they come looking for trouble? If things worked like that, wouldn't the entire Great Xia Domain descend into utter chaos?"
Lu Kangnian's gaze turned sharp, his eyes slightly narrowing. "Be that as it may, the one who died was Mo Zhiyuan's son after all. Hmph! Even a Void Refinement realm powerhouse cannot act recklessly at will. So long as that Mo Qingyu does not step in, what does our sect have to fear from the Mo Family?"
Making up his mind, Lu Kangnian did not dwell any further. He rose to his feet and barked a low command.
"Pass down the order: no one is permitted to reveal Li Guanqi's whereabouts!
"In a moment, gather every disciple's identity jade slip and erase Li Guanqi's aura from the sect-wide tracking arrays within them!
"Furthermore, all disciples assigned to purchase daily supplies outside need not go. Dispatch elders instead. We must guard against agents from the Mo Family!"
At the cloud-piercing summit of Tianjian Peak, a gray-haired, plump old man gently rocked in a rocking chair. His narrowed eyes looked toward the churning white clouds in the distance as he murmured softly, "The little rascal sure knows how to stir up trouble. Stir up all you want, boy."
Lu Kangnian acted with swift efficiency. With a wide wave of his hand, he dismissed the elders and vanished back into his study.
Pacing back and forth in the room, considering various countermeasures, Lu Kangnian drew out a jade slip and spoke in a deep voice. "Old Chu, no one in your Wind Thunder Sect will reveal Guanqi's location, will they?"
Far away at the Wind Thunder Sect, Chu Xingxian was wiping blood from his body. With sharp eyes, he retrieved a jade slip. He, too, had never imagined that so much could happen after Li Guanqi left the Wind Thunder Sect.
Raising the jade slip, he said gravely, "Rest assured, no one in the Wind Thunder Sect could possibly reveal his location. I never left behind any trace of his aura back then."
At this point, the old man paused, his expression shifting repeatedly. Raising the jade slip once more, he asked in a heavy voice, "Old Lu, do you need help? The bounty on this Domain-Wide Kill Order... is far too high. Three guest elders have already vanished from the Wind Thunder Sect, likely heading after that little fellow."
Sitting in his chair, Lu Kangnian narrowed his eyes at these words, his tone turning chillingly cold. "Guest elders of the Wind Thunder Sect? What immense nerve!!"
Chu Xingxian set down the blood-stained cloth and murmured, "Don't worry. This old man has already cleaned those fellows up. But you should warn Li Guanqi to be cautious."
Soon, Lu Kangnian's voice came through the jade slip. "No need to worry. That kid is sharper than anyone."
Lowering the jade slip, Lu Kangnian breathed a slight sigh of relief. The guest elders of the Wind Thunder Sect might have possessed methods to track down Li Guanqi; Chu Xingxian dealing with them personally removed some latent trouble.
Pondering for a long while, Lu Kangnian lightly tapped the empty air, drawing an extraordinarily unique jade slip from a pocket of void space. Taking a deep breath, he held the slip and asked in a low voice, "Will the Mo Family ancestor make a move?"
Before long, a man's mellow, calm voice drifted back through the jade slip.
"Rest assured. If he moves, I kill him."
Lowering the jade slip, Lu Kangnian finally exhaled in relief, the weight hanging over his heart settling at last.
Yet the other party's meaning was crystal clear: the Mo Family ancestor would not intervene with Void Refinement strength, but that did not prevent Soul Formation Realm cultivators from striking. Whether Li Guanqi could escape death and survive depended solely on himself.
At this thought, Lu Kangnian slowly retrieved another jade slip. After a long silence, he spoke gently into it.
"If you cannot hold out, come home."
*Buzz!!*
The fluctuation from the jade slip pierced through the void and vanished.
Back within the sect, Li Nanting sat in his courtyard, looking restless and anxious. At his side, Shen Lan took his hand gently, comforting him. "Don't worry. The Li boy is extraordinarily clever, and his cultivation is formidable now. Ordinary cultivators can do nothing to him."
Though Li Nanting felt gratified, he was far more concerned. "That brat's strength rose so fast—how much bitter suffering must he have endured...?"
With that, after hesitating for a long time, he drew out a jade slip and spoke gruffly into it. "Brat, if you can't hold out, come back! The sect will protect you. Worst comes to worst, we'll just fight it out!"
Within the void.
Sitting cross-legged atop the dragon's head, the youth slowly opened his eyes. In his hands, two jade slips flickered with faint light.
Li Guanqi grinned, picked up his master's jade slip, and sent in a wisp of primal energy. Immediately, the old man's voice sounded in his ears. Hearing the slight reprimand overflowing with care brought immense warmth to the heart of the wandering youth. Holding the slip, he grinned and replied, "Master, rest assured. Your brat can handle it. If I truly can't, I'll come back."
After setting that slip down, he listened to Lu Kangnian's words.
He could not help murmuring to himself, "Last time, it was because of me that so many new graves were added to the Sect Cemetery... This time, let me handle it myself!"
Li Guanqi then raised Lu Kangnian's jade slip, his lips moving. "Very well. Let them come."
Lu Kangnian's voice continued from the jade slip, "By the way, that youth named Cang Lu whom you recommended has already reached the Nascent Soul realm. His strength is improving remarkably fast."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi merely smiled faintly. That fellow had no small talent; it could be considered finding a fine seedling for the sect.
Currently, the overall strength of the Great Xia Sword Sect was surging rapidly, and the number of powerhouses within the sect was constantly rising. It seemed that when the Great Xia Sword Sect reemerged in over a year's time, it would surely shake the entire Great Xia Domain!
Glancing at the Tianji Rankings, he saw that there was no mention of him possessing a colossal dragon. It seemed the Tianji Pavilion was also extending goodwill toward him.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, murmuring softly, "A Domain-Wide Kill Order, is it? Heh. Let's see if enough people come for me to kill!"
With that, he pulled out spirit stones once more and immersed himself in cultivation.
Lou Gorge!
Back inside his study, Mo Zhiyuan smashed everything in the room to smithereens!!
*Crash! Bang! Clatter!!*
The study was left in complete disarray. Mo Zhiyuan's eyes were bloodshot, grief etched into his resolute face. Breathing heavily, the man murmured in a low voice, "Contact the Dark Crows for me. Price is no object!!"
In the shadows of the room's corner, a dark silhouette twisted slowly, and a raspy voice replied.
"Understood."
A shadow's duty was to obey orders unconditionally. Since the patriarch instructed him to contact the Dark Crows, he would simply do as told.
Chapter 350