Hunting Cang Lu!

Li Guanqi looked at the woman standing before him, her voice brimming with towering wrath, and his heart churned with complicated emotions. To be honest, their first meeting had been far from pleasant. Both of them were uncompromisingly stubborn to the bone. Yet he had never treated her as merely a spirit, and their bond was as much that of master and disciple as it was of close friends. Without either of them realizing it, they had drawn far closer. At the start, the sword spirit had likely thought Li Guanqi would be just like the previous youths who had obtained the sword coffin—arrogant and reckless in their youth, growing conceited after catching only a glimpse of what the sword coffin could do. Yet Li Guanqi... was the first to ever smoothly guide the Red Lotus sword into awakening Apocalypse! All previous successors had managed at most a Soul Release, and even then, none could wield it as an effortless extension of their own limbs like Li Guanqi. It was fair to say that Li Guanqi was Red Lotus's favorite master. And she... had also seen countless possibilities in Li Guanqi, seeing him as the one with the greatest hope of reaching those heights. None of this had anything to do with Su Xuan. She had no need to fear anyone, not even Su Xuan. The sword spirit suddenly turned back to look at Li Guanqi, golden sunlight washing over her back like rolling waves of wheat. The sight made Li Guanqi's heart tremble. In her eyes, he saw anticipation and yearning. Seeing such an ordinary human emotion on her was as jarring and unbelievable as watching a mortal crone butcher a Soul Formation cultivator with a kitchen cleaver. Li Guanqi stood somewhat dazed, suddenly struck by the feeling that... the sword spirit looked far more breathtaking than she ever had before. He drew a deep breath, his eyes burning as he looked at her and said softly, "Trust me. One day, I will make you tell me your true name. "And I will carry that name to go talk some sense into someone." At his words, the corners of the sword spirit's lips curled upward, her gorgeous eyes curving like crescents beneath a moonlit, starry sky. Her bright teeth shone, and her vermilion lips parted softly. "I shall wait for that day. Waiting... for the day you are truly willing to let me tell you my true name. "Until then... Li Guanqi, grow stronger. Keep growing stronger!" Li Guanqi grinned and suddenly asked, "Sister Sword Spirit, is it possible that one day you'll actually possess a physical body?" The sword spirit turned away, her crimson dress blazing like fire beneath the sun. With her hands clasped behind her back, her fair jade feet stepped lightly upon the void. As she twirled, her red dress fluttered like a burst of blooming flame, dazzling and brilliant. She tilted her face upward, her eyes gently closed, her long eyelashes trembling faintly. She seemed to deeply relish the serene warmth of this moment. The sight touched Li Guanqi to his core. It etched itself into his mind like a beautiful painting, lingering long after. Stopping in place, the sword spirit stood in the distance, her voice drifting back laced with a faint touch of complexity. "I will never have a true flesh-and-blood body. "Because... I am a spirit." Her tone was calm, yet carried deeply intertwined emotions—reluctance, confusion, a hint of regret, and a quiet test. Li Guanqi did not understand why, but he silently engraved every word into his memory. He walked alongside the sword spirit in silence. After a time, a playful look crossed her face, and she spoke up. "That Pengluo... isn't simple. Make sure you nurture it properly later. "As for Jiuxiao, you still need to take it out regularly to slaughter archdemons so it keeps its ferocity. "Above all, however, you must consolidate the powers you possess. "I notice you've already begun consciously severing things that don't belong to the sword path. That's very good." Li Guanqi nodded and said softly, "Yes. Other powers might give me significant boosts in the short term, but I still want to be a pure sword cultivator." The sword spirit smiled and nodded. "Exactly. Only by pursuing the ultimate peak of the sword path can you truly comprehend its many stances." As she spoke, she had Li Guanqi unleash all the sword moves at his disposal, standing by to point out flaws, fill in the gaps, and guide his sword path. Li Guanqi conjured a longsword of lightning and began practicing beneath the vault of heaven. This training lasted three full days. During that time, countless powerful cultivators were drawn to the spectacle, gathering a thousand zhang away without daring to take a single step closer. Lost in the sword path, Li Guanqi never noticed their presence. Only when he awoke from that profound state of immersion did he realize the surrounding skies were packed with onlookers. "Ahhh! Senior seems to have awakened!" "Phew... observing for just two days actually loosened my bottleneck!" "What a terrifying sword cultivator! Merely observing and sensing his sword momentum brought me a breakthrough!" The clamor of the crowd reached his ears, and Li Guanqi shook his head helplessly. He had not expected that three days of immersing himself in the insights and experimentation of his sword path would draw such a large audience. Suddenly, the dense crowd bowed toward Li Guanqi in unison! Their movements were orderly and synchronized, yet not a single person spoke. After all, watching his practice without his permission had been rather presumptuous. Yet Li Guanqi had not held it against them upon waking, displaying the broad-minded magnanimity of a true powerhouse. Li Guanqi was momentarily startled. This sensation of being revered was quite peculiar. He cupped his fists toward every direction, and only then did the crowd breathe sighs of relief, voicing their praise. "Senior is truly righteous!" "Thank you, Senior, for the grace of enlightenment today! I am Wu Tian of Dongzhou Valley! If you ever require assistance in the future, Senior, you need only say the word." With that, others began introducing their sects and names one after another, all hoping to establish even the slightest connection with him. Li Guanqi's eyes flickered, and he curled his lip. A flash of lightning sparked beneath his feet, and he vanished on the spot. "Phew... that finally takes care of everything here. "Now then... it's time to settle a few scores once and for all! "You dog bastard, Cang Lu!" *Swish!* A jade slip engraved with the character 'Gu' materialized in his hand. Li Guanqi spoke in a voice like ice. "Find out where Cang Lu is!" In less than a single breath, the jade slip responded. "Taiqing Domain, Fumu Valley." A cold glint flared in Li Guanqi's eyes, and he muttered under his breath, "Taiqing Domain? Hmph! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down and kill you!" Everything that had happened recently had started because of Cang Lu. Li Guanqi suddenly paused. "Taiqing Domain? Isn't Old Ye in the Taiqing Domain?" He then obtained information from the Tianji Pavilion on how to reach the Taiqing Domain. Carefully stowing the jade slip back into his storage ring, Li Guanqi muttered with immense satisfaction, "How wonderful. Asking anything costs nothing. Truly marvelous!" Looking at the map transmitted into the jade slip, he picked a direction, tore open the void, and set off on his journey. Along the way, Li Guanqi held Red Lotus, continuously honing his sword path, while the refinement of the Heavenly Flame Bead proceeded bit by bit. His aura grew increasingly steady, stripped of the instability from his recent breakthrough, and his understanding of the Soul Formation Realm's intrinsic power deepened considerably. After all, with the sword spirit at his side, issues in cultivation were hardly problems at all.