Who Is the Mysterious Figure?

“Who would do such a thing?” “And... it sounds like their target was me from the very start.” “Cang Lu?” Yet no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Li Guanqi dismissed it. Setting aside the fact that the timing did not line up, with Cang Lu's strength, there was no way he could command a cultivator of the Soul Formation Realm. The fact that Yu Mu hadn't dared to resist could only mean the strength revealed by the other party was far superior to his own—stronger even than Yu Mu after his breakthrough to the Soul Formation Realm! “Just who is it?” “Watching me... for what purpose?” Suddenly! An incomparably powerful soul force erupted from within Li Guanqi! Overwhelming mental power surged forth, knocking Yu Mu unconscious in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, a cold glint flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. His fingers curved like talons and clamped down fiercely atop Yu Mu's skull! Lowering his gaze, he barked in a low voice, “Soul Search!!” Boom! With a slight exertion of force from his right hand, silver threads materialized between his fingers, dragging a translucent soul out from Yu Mu's body. Li Guanqi's face paled slightly. He had not expected the soul-searching technique to be so draining. He could clearly sense the divine sense within his sea of consciousness rapidly depleting. A silver gleam flashed through Li Guanqi's eyes, and he began swiftly flipping through the memories of the mysterious person within Yu Mu's mind. Yet just as he was about to see it... Suddenly! An overwhelming barrage of silver sword rays shot toward him in an instant! The terrifying divine sense attack struck without warning, the force madly overdrawing Yu Mu's own power! Boom! Li Guanqi's expression shifted, and his divine sense crashed down like ocean waves! One spiritual sword after another shattered beneath the crashing waves! Yet the torrential swords of divine sense continued hurtling toward Li Guanqi's sea of consciousness! There were too many... so many that even he could not block them all. Tens of divine sense swords hacked into his Dao platform in succession, cleaving fine cracks into the invisible platform. Li Guanqi's face instantly turned deathly pale, and blood poured from his seven orifices! Finally... Li Guanqi fell to one knee, dazed and disoriented, his gaze unfocused. His chest heaved violently as he lay prostrate in the void, gasping heavily for air! Beads of sweat the size of beans trickled down his cheeks. Only after a long while did he recover slightly. He raised a hand to wipe the blood from his face. He hurriedly retrieved several pills from his storage ring and swallowed them, but they could only slightly stabilize his sea of consciousness. After all, pills capable of truly nourishing the sea of consciousness were far too precious. When Li Guanqi rose to his feet, the world spun around him. He staggered, nearly tumbling into the void. His eyes gradually turned cold. If his divine sense had not reached the strength of the mid Soul Formation Realm, that overwhelming divine sense attack just now would have done far more than merely damage his sea of consciousness. A wave of lingering fear gripped his heart. Narrowing his eyes, his thoughts churned restlessly. “Hmph! To think they even anticipated this step.” “What a calculated scheme!” Li Guanqi glanced back at Yu Mu. The man had not lied. He had said all he could say; as for the identity and purpose of that mysterious figure, Yu Mu wouldn't know even if he were killed. A cold glint flickered in Li Guanqi's eyes, and with a wave of his hand, he shattered the Nascent Soul within Yu Mu's body! Bang! The unconscious Yu Mu was jolted awake by the sudden, excruciating pain! A wretched scream echoed through the void. His eyes grew vacant, and he passed out once more. Li Guanqi dismissed the thunder spear. His head pounded with a splitting ache, as if it were about to burst apart. Riiip! In the somber grand hall, a pitch-black rift tore open once again. Immediately after, Yu Mu—now completely crippled—was hurled out, crashing onto the floor with a dull thud. Veins bulged on Lu Kangnian's hands as he gripped the armrests, yet he suppressed the urge to rise. Turning toward Li Guanqi, his brow furrowed. He could clearly sense Li Guanqi's aura fluctuating violently. Furthermore, Li Guanqi's face was as pale as paper, looking terrible. Narrowing his eyes, Lu Kangnian asked in a deep voice, “What happened?” “Did you... suffer damage to your sea of consciousness?” Li Guanqi glanced around the hall and found nothing unusual with the others. With a touch of caution, he said, “Sect Master, let us speak in the study.” Lu Kangnian rose, nodded, and dismissed the crowd. Li Nanting cast a worried look at Li Guanqi, but he obeyed the sect master's command and left with the others. One of the seven peak masters was gone—the Peak Master of Tianmu Peak had betrayed the sect! This was undoubtedly earth-shattering news. The remaining peak masters had no heart to return to cultivation. Instead, they gathered at Li Nanting's courtyard on Tianlei Peak, every one of them speculating about what had truly happened. Once the crowd had departed, Qin Xian looked down at the unconscious Yu Mu on the floor with conflicted eyes. After all, to him, Yu Mu was a junior. Yet now... Even so, he understood Li Guanqi and Lu Kangnian's actions and choices completely. And as the Disciplinary Law Enforcer of Great Xia Sword Sect, he could never tolerate the existence of someone like Yu Mu! Grabbing Yu Mu by the collar, he teleported halfway down the mountain, and after several flickers, cast him outside the borders of Great Xia Sword Sect. Leaving a wisp of his aura beside him, Qin Xian murmured with sorrowful eyes, “From now on... live out your days as an ordinary mortal...” Inside Lu Kangnian's study. “What? Such a thing happened?” “Why didn't I notice anything at all?” Lu Kangnian exclaimed in shock, having never imagined that another person was pulling the strings behind all of this! Li Guanqi frowned and said, “Their strength is definitely not to be underestimated—at the very least, they are above you and me!” “Yu Mu's divine sense was never particularly strong, and he only recently broke through.” “That's why the divine sense attack was only equivalent to the mid Soul Formation Realm.” “It was only because my divine sense happens to be stronger that I got off with minor injuries.” At this point, Li Guanqi's expression grew increasingly solemn. Looking up at the man before him, he said in a deep voice, “Sect Master, if that is truly the case, this person must be extraordinarily powerful.” “What I can't understand is... if they possess such immense strength, why go through so much trouble if they are truly interested in me?” Lu Kangnian fell into deep thought upon hearing this. After frowning in silence for a long time, he suddenly looked up at Li Guanqi. “Could it be... they wanted to confirm something from you?” Li Guanqi's brow knitted tightly, a pensive look in his eyes. “Hm? Confirm?” Suddenly! As if struck by a realization, Li Guanqi's heart gave a violent jolt, as though seized by an invisible hand. Even his heart skipped a beat! Yet his expression remained calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion. Lu Kangnian noticed nothing amiss. Instead, he looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, “Thank you.” Li Guanqi remained silent. Given what had transpired, Lu Kangnian was surely hurting deeply as well. The two sat in silence for a long while before Lu Kangnian broke it to ask, “Right, what did you mean about Cang Lu?” Li Guanqi's mind was so consumed by thoughts of the mysterious figure that Lu Kangnian had to repeat the question. “Hm? What?” “I asked, what was that about Cang Lu?” Li Guanqi pondered for a moment, then said quietly, “A minor matter. I'll go pay him a visit myself later.” Lu Kangnian nodded and waved a hand gently. “Handle it as you see fit. Go on back for now... I'd like to be alone for a while.” Li Guanqi rose without another word. Before leaving, he simply set several jars of strong wine upon the desk.