Seventy Percent Dead? Half-Dead?

Hearing that, the deacon hurriedly presented a new jade pendant with both hands. Li Guanqi took the pendant and cursed furiously, "You old bastard, are you fucking threatening me?" The old man's voice sounded from the pendant. "It is not a threat. I am merely stating the facts before you. Cang Lu is not affiliated with the Tianji Pavilion, and your master's severe injuries have nothing to do with us. You need the Creation Pill, and the Tianji Pavilion needs someone sufficiently strong to retrieve an item. We each get what we need. Do you agree?" The more Li Guanqi listened, the angrier he grew. He muttered under his breath, "Do you take me for a fool? Cang Lu has nothing to do with you? How could it possibly be such a coincidence! I even suspect my encounter with Cang Lu back then was no accident." As if certain that Li Guanqi had no choice, the old man on the other end spoke calmly, "Someone will explain the details to you tomorrow." *Smash!!!* Li Guanqi hurled the jade pendant, shattering it to pieces. His chest heaved violently. Reaching behind him, he pulled out an ancient, weathered jade slip. "Old man!! Your grandson is being bullied by the Tianji Pavilion! Are you going to do something about it or not?!" The jade slip rippled with faint fluctuations, yet just like before, there was no response. Li Guanqi raised his hand, thought about it for a moment, and ultimately couldn't bring himself to smash this jade slip. Beside him, the deacon buried his head as low as possible. In just this short span, Li Guanqi had already shattered several jade pendants. Tianji jade pendants were exceedingly difficult to craft, and each one cost a full hundred high-grade spirit stones. Li Guanqi asked coldly, "Who is coming to find me tomorrow? You?" The deacon offered a bitter smile. "I'm merely a bottom-tier intelligence agent. How could it possibly be me...?" Li Guanqi gave a slight nod. Though he felt thoroughly vexed, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as there was a way to save his master, it didn't matter if he was being schemed against. He just couldn't fathom why the Tianji Pavilion had gone to such great lengths. Suddenly! The man behind him bowed and murmured softly, "Thank you." Li Guanqi turned to look at him, only to hear the man's quiet voice transmission: "Ning Xiu liked you so much. If she knew you erected a tombstone for her, she would surely be very happy. Thank you for remembering her." With that, the man bowed three times to Li Guanqi. It was as if someone remembering people like them brought him immense comfort. The man left. The moment he stepped forward, it meant he had lost his usefulness as an undercover pawn. Seeing that Li Guanqi's complexion had slightly improved, Lu Kangnian hurriedly asked, "Is there a way?" Li Guanqi nodded silently. Lu Kangnian keenly sensed something and looked at him with concern in his eyes. Li Guanqi looked up, forcing a faint smile, and said softly, "Don't worry, it's fine." He walked into the room, looked at Shen Lan, and gently comforted her. "Martial Mother, don't worry. I've already found a solution. I'll be going out tomorrow, and once I return, Master might even turn this misfortune into a blessing." Shen Lan stood up abruptly, grasping Li Guanqi's hand as tears welled in her eyes. "Guanqi, is that true? Your master... can really be saved?" Seeing Li Guanqi nod, the woman could no longer hold back her tears. Hugging Li Guanqi, she whispered, "Child, you've suffered so much. If it's too dangerous... then forget it." Li Guanqi rubbed the corners of his eyes and said softly, "Martial Mother, I know what I'm doing." With that, Li Guanqi took Sun Miao by the arm and turned to leave. Seeing this, Lu Kangnian followed along and said directly, "Let's talk in my study." The three arrived at the study. Upon hearing Li Guanqi's explanation, Sun Miao immediately furrowed his brow. "The Ancient Creation Pill... Such a thing might exist, but it cannot be said for certain. For a pill that defies the heavens to change fate, the rarity of the heavenly treasures required is simply unimaginable. Whatever the Tianji Pavilion wants you to do, it will definitely be exceptionally dangerous!" Lu Kangnian also chimed in, "Guanqi, do you want to reconsider?" Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, "No need to reconsider. I will definitely go." Lu Kangnian realized something as well, frowning as he murmured, "Isn't this matter a bit too coincidental? How could there be such a coincidence in this world that the Tianji Pavilion just happens to possess the pill needed to heal Old Li?" Lu Kangnian's eyes flashed, and he sent a low voice transmission: "Could it be that they found out about the true dragon at your side?" Li Guanqi's gaze flickered before he said softly, "No. If it were about the true dragon, the Tianji Pavilion would have likely known long ago. Besides, I thought about it on the way here just now, and Cang Lu probably has no connection to the Tianji Pavilion. In fact, I suspect this incident truly has nothing to do with them." Lu Kangnian furrowed his brow even deeper, asking in confusion, "Why?" "It's simple," Li Guanqi analyzed calmly. "If the Tianji Pavilion wanted to use the Creation Pill to make me do something for them, there was no need to make it so complicated—arranging for Cang Lu to meet me without being detected, and then having Cang Lu infiltrate the sect to severely injure Master just to compel me. There was no need. Even without Master being heavily injured, if they had approached me with the Creation Pill, I would have likely agreed." Lu Kangnian nodded, finding great sense in his words. After a long silence, Lu Kangnian stood up and said, "Come, follow me to the Treasure Vault." Sun Miao also rose to take his leave, heading off to help handle the aftermath of the recent chaos. On the way, Lu Kangnian said softly, "No matter what happens, your own safety must come first. You can pick whatever you want from the Treasure Vault. Even if you don't use the ancient treasure longswords, you must take them along this time! I remember you know a sword control technique. Those seven swords... conceal a sword formation within them. Studying it will give you one more method at your disposal." Li Guanqi was taken aback. He hadn't expected that those swords concealed a sword formation! Nodding, the two of them arrived at the Treasure Vault inside Tianjian Peak. Li Guanqi selected several talismans and pills, along with a magic treasure inner lining for defense. So many things had happened recently, as if someone were worried he might leave the Qingyun Continent. Every time he prepared to leave, something would occur. Early the next morning, Li Guanqi received a message from that deacon. Inside was only a single address: *Qingyun Continent, Star-Plucking Crossing!* Li Guanqi rose abruptly and quietly departed the sect alone. Jiuxiao coiled around his wrist as they sped through the void. Yet just as Li Guanqi departed, in a mysterious grand palace far away in an outer domain, an old man seated upon a throne lowered a jade slip with a sharp, chilling gaze. Raising his hand, he muttered, "Go knock the Tianji Pavilion around a bit, damn it. Hit them hard." The space below the old man distorted slightly. A man clad in radiant golden armor and clutching a golden spear looked up with a sharp gaze, dropping to one knee as he answered in a deep voice, "Yes, Domain Lord! Uh... should we disband them entirely? Or kill a few Void Refinement cultivators?" The old man picked his nose, pondered for a moment, and said, "Hmm... beat up all four pavilion masters of the Great Xia Domain for me. Seventy percent dead. That might be a bit too harsh... make it half-dead." Hearing that, the gold-armored man lowered his head slightly and replied solemnly, "Your subordinate obeys!"