Xuan Lin glanced over at Li Guanqi's side, feeling rather bored.
Turning back to Li Guanqi, he flicked a jade slip carved with a fiery red qilin across the space with a backhanded toss.
"I'm from the Shenbao Domain. If you ever have a chance to visit, remember to look me up."
Li Guanqi caught the jade slip and gave Xuan Lin a slight nod. He did not feel strongly about Xuan Lin either way, but accepting a jade slip was harmless—he could simply treat it as making an acquaintance.
Flames flashed beneath Xuan Lin's feet, and he vanished from the spot.
Once Xuan Lin departed, only the few elderly men and Li Guanqi remained in the entire space.
Qi Rongxuan looked at the Tianji Chart, his eyes brimming with wonder, though with his discernment, he could naturally tell that the chart had already recognized a master.
What was more, such a supreme treasure was actually devoid of its Chart Spirit!
As for what had transpired, only Li Guanqi himself likely knew.
The elder took a deep, lingering look at Li Guanqi, yet said nothing about it.
Bowing with cupped hands, he said, "Young Master Li, could you open this space enough for me to contact our Pavilion Master? After all, the current situation differs from what we originally agreed upon. I need to ask for instructions."
Li Guanqi's expression remained calm, showing not the slightest hint of abnormality. With an innocent sigh, he said, "No problem, of course no problem. Sigh... I have no idea what happened either. The Tianji Chart suddenly claimed me as master all on its own, and the Chart Spirit just started foaming at the mouth and dropped dead."
Listening to Li Guanqi's blatant nonsense, Qi Rongxuan's mouth twitched.
Li Guanqi pondered for a moment before adding, "Right, when are the experts from your pavilion arriving? For all we know, the Nether King is already waiting outside to snatch the Tianji Chart. I don't care about anything else—you promised to send people to protect me."
Hearing this, the elder muttered internally, *Black. If you carved this brat's heart out, it would be pitch-black!!*
"Rest assured, Young Master Li. Since the pavilion promised your safety, we will never go back on our word."
Only then did Li Guanqi, half-skeptical, open a seam in the space to allow the elder to reach the outside world.
Yet the moment the elder retrieved his Tianji jade pendant and before he could speak, everyone saw the archaic pendant flashing relentlessly, the light practically fusing into a solid beam.
Everyone stared blankly. Who knew this old man had so much business to attend to? For it to flash like this, how many messages must have been sent to him...?
The three men behind him exchanged glances, all sensing something amiss. Only the sword spirit stood behind Li Guanqi with a faint smile.
Qi Rongxuan was equally bewildered. Before heading out on this mission, he had arranged everything with his subordinates. Why were there suddenly so many transmissions?
*Buzz!*
Channeling his primal energy, he sent it straight into the jade pendant...
"Qi Rongxuan!!! You must under no circumstances offend Li Guanqi!!!"
"Qi Rongxuan, where are you?! Answer me! Do not provoke him!"
"Old Qi... I'm begging you. If you can hear this, do not cross him..."
"Even if he tells you to kneel and lick his toes, you do it!"
"Answer me! I beg of you, answer me... Don't mess with him... Don't you dare provoke him!!!"
An old man's pleading voice, on the verge of tears, echoed through the space.
Qi Rongxuan gulped, his expression frozen wooden. His neck stiff, he turned toward the elders behind him. Trembling fingers pointed at the jade pendant as he said in a parched voice, "Th-this voice... It's... the Head Pavilion Master... of the Great Xia Domain Head Pavilion... isn't it...?"
The elders behind him felt their mouths turn dry as bone. That old man's voice sounded as if he were already weeping...
An elder behind him prompted, "Should we... reply to the Master first?"
Only then did Qi Rongxuan snap out of his stupor. Clearing his throat, he cupped the jade pendant in both hands and bowed, saying, "Pavilion Master Gu, we have just resolved everything here, but there is an unexpected situa—"
*Riiip!*
Li Guanqi snapped his head toward a spot thirty paces away. He felt the space within the Tianji Chart being forcibly torn open from the outside by an overwhelmingly immense force!
Sensing it, the sword spirit merely cast a sideways glance. After a brief hesitation, her figure quietly dissolved.
From within the pitch-black tear, a head drenched in sweat suddenly poked out.
The old man wore a white-cloud robe. His frame was slightly hunched, his cheeks gaunt and lined with deep wrinkles. What sparse hair he possessed clung in greasy, damp strands across his forehead.
His eyes darted across the area, and the moment they landed on Li Guanqi, a brilliant light gleamed within them. Stepping swiftly out of the fissure, he hurried over with a fawning grin, coming to a halt barely three feet from Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi had not even registered how the man crossed the distance—there hadn't been the slightest ripple in space! Even he could not detect a shred of aura from the old man; he seemed like nothing more than an ordinary, frail elder from the mortal realm.
Yet Li Guanqi knew full well that this unassuming old fellow was none other than the Tianji Pavilion Master of the entire Great Xia Domain! His cultivation was unfathomably deep—at the very least, an entity on equal footing with the Nether King!
The elder bowed his torso forward before Li Guanqi, beaming warmly. The look on his face... Even Qi Rongxuan found it... rather... fawning...
Paying no heed to what the others thought, the old man smiled and spoke, "Young Master Li is indeed a striking figure of unmatched talent, a dragon among men. At such an age, young friend, you have already reached the late Soul Formation Realm! Breaking through to Void Refinement is just around the corner! For the Great Xia Sword Sect to foster someone as exceptional as you is truly a blessing for our Great Xia Domain!"
Li Guanqi's brow furrowed slightly, a strange unease rising in his heart. Who had ever seen a mighty Body Integration Realm figure heap praises upon you with such a subservient, flattering smile? Anyone in his shoes would feel uneasy.
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Li Guanqi was about to speak when the elder raised a hand to cut him off.
"I know, young friend. You needn't say a word. What happened with Cang Lu truly had nothing to do with our Tianji Pavilion, but since you had your doubts, I, Gu Yong, must make my stance clear."
Gu Yong pointed at Qi Rongxuan and ordered, "Tomorrow—no, right this instant, arrange for people to deliver three high-grade spirit veins to the Great Xia Sword Sect!"
Qi Rongxuan's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "Th-three? High-grade??? B-but Pavilion Master..."
The old man hopped up and smacked Qi Rongxuan upside the head, scolding in a flustered panic, "Pavilion Master this, Pavilion Master that?! When I tell you to do it, you do it! Where did all these 'buts' come from?! Furthermore, send over cultivation manuals, secret techniques, and rare treasures as well! Treat it as my personal apology to our young friend here!"
Li Guanqi swallowed hard, muttering inwardly, *Three high-grade spirit veins??? Did my grandfather open the Tianji Pavilion or something?*
At that thought, his eyes lit up, and he ventured to probe, "Um... Senior Gu."
"Yes, yes, please, young friend, speak freely!"
"I'd like to ask... for you to do all this... did my grandfather found the Tianji Pavilion?"
The moment Gu Yong heard the words "my grandfather," his knees nearly buckled right then and there. With a face like he was at a funeral, he pleaded, "Young friend, please, don't ask. Consider it this old man begging you: just accept the gifts with an easy mind. If it isn't enough, I can fetch even more. Just... please don't lodge a complaint against me..."
Li Guanqi's lips twitched. He truly hadn't expected that this lofty, revered elder—whose status was separated from his own by heaven and earth—had done all this purely because of the old man from his own family!!!
Chapter 448