"Why?"
"I didn't think that old woman seemed that strong!" Li Guanqi protested, clearly unconvinced.
The sword spirit paused and turned around, looking back at the defiant young man.
A playful smirk played across her lips as she said softly, "Do you really believe you could have killed her?"
Li Guanqi gave a firm nod. He considered himself formidable enough now that he had at least a seventy percent chance of taking her life.
The sword spirit's beautiful eyes gleamed with teasing amusement. "And what if I told you… that old woman was merely one of her avatars?"
Li Guanqi's eyes widened in shock. "What?! An avatar?!"
Thoroughly satisfied with his reaction, the sword spirit murmured, "Indeed. Though with her level of power, that single avatar is the only one she could manifest."
Li Guanqi's expression gradually grew solemn. Only now did he realize how his mindset had subtly shifted lately.
As his strength grew, his reverence for the truly powerful had begun to slip.
Such carelessness was lethal.
"With your current strength, you certainly have the ability to slay an ordinary cultivator in the early Void Refining Realm," the sword spirit continued. "Yet once an opponent can project their origin into an avatar—or even multiple avatars—you will be powerless. You could even find yourself in mortal peril! Therefore… remember this well. You must never let your guard down, no matter the circumstance!"
Li Guanqi's chest rose and fell slightly. He let out a long breath and replied in a deep voice, "Understood!"
The sword spirit smiled. "Increase your strength as quickly as you can. Soul Formation is nothing more than catching a first glimpse of the Great Dao. Only when you step into the Void Refining Realm have you truly entered the halls of power."
Li Guanqi silently engraved her words into his heart.
***
Not long after Li Guanqi departed, the entirety of Xuanfeng Palace was busy preparing with high tension to receive a truly eminent figure.
Dressed in an opulent gown, Chu Menglan stood at the forefront looking slightly nervous, flanked by all the elders of Xuanfeng Palace behind her.
*Buzz!*
A pitch-black rift tore through the void, and a smiling, white-haired old man stepped slowly out of it.
Seeing his arrival, Chu Menglan quickly stepped forward and bowed in greeting. "Chu Menglan, together with the elders of Xuanfeng Palace, respectfully welcomes Elder Qi!"
Indeed, the newcomer was none other than Qi Rongxuan of the Treasure Pavilion from the Lingxu Continent.
The old man waved his hand with a chuckle and got straight to the point. "I'm already aware of the situation. Let us go check on the young girl first."
Her face full of beaming smiles, the old woman stepped aside to lead him toward the palace interior.
Yet just as they passed through the main hall, the old man abruptly froze in his tracks. A look of confusion crossed his face as he turned toward Chu Menglan, his expression turning solemn.
"Did someone come here earlier?"
The old woman's expression shifted slightly. Assuming he was rebuking them for clashing with an outsider right before his arrival, she forced a laugh and said, "No, no one. It is likely just some lingering sword qi from a disciple practicing earlier."
Qi Rongxuan was not about to buy her nonsense. Turning his gaze to Chu Menglan, he demanded in a heavy voice, "I am asking you—did a young man carrying an enormous sword casket come here?"
Chu Menglan's face turned pale. Seeing the gravity in the old man's eyes, she dared not hide anything. "Yes. Li Guanqi from the Qingyun Continent was here."
Qi Rongxuan pressed urgently, "Where is he now?"
Assuming there was some grudge between the old man and Li Guanqi and terrified that Xuanfeng Palace might be dragged into it, the old woman opened her mouth to explain.
Qi Rongxuan snapped his head toward her. The overwhelming aura of someone long used to holding supreme authority erupted violently as he glared and roared, "Shut up!!"
"Speak! Where is he?! What in the world happened here?! Why did he draw his sword?!"
He had recognized Li Guanqi's sword intent the moment he stepped into the hall. He had witnessed that terrifying sword intent with his own eyes in the ancient ruins just days ago. How could he possibly forget it?
Chu Menglan realized something was terribly amiss and hastily sent a voice transmission, laying out everything that had just occurred without holding back a single detail.
Hands clasped behind his back, the old man narrowed his eyes and glared at the old woman, letting out a cold sneer.
"Fine. Well done, Xuanfeng Palace!"
With that, the old man swept his wide sleeves and turned on his heel to leave!
"Provoking him? You lot… may as well pray for yourselves!"
Qi Rongxuan stormed away in fury, leaving the bewildered elders of Xuanfeng Palace scratching their heads, and Chu Menglan frozen in place with an utterly ghastly expression.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the young man's parting words to ring true so swiftly.
She wracked her brain, unable to fathom why the esteemed Qi Rongxuan of the Tianji Pavilion would fear a youth merely in the Soul Formation Realm.
Suddenly!
Chu Menglan shuddered violently, staring with sheer terror at Qi Rongxuan's departing back!!
If her sources were correct, Qi Rongxuan had also been present in those ancient ruins!
Could it be…
*Did the disappearance of Mingchuan… have something to do with that young man?!*
The old woman hobbled back to her side, her grating voice ringing out once more. "Palace Master, in my opinion, we should just think of a solution ourselves! Outsiders simply can't be trusted!"
*Slash!*
A fiery crimson blade cleaved through the void, and an arm went flying into the air!
Her eyes glacial, Chu Menglan struck the old woman across the face with a ferocious slap.
The terrifying force sent the old woman hurtling several hundred yards through the air.
Chu Menglan's voice rang out like thunder across the heavens and earth. "Effective immediately, your position as First Elder is stripped! You are sentenced to three hundred years of reflection at the Cliff of Reflection!!"
*Swish!*
Using the severed arm, Chu Menglan raised her hand and retrieved a milky-white jade casket.
Taking a deep breath, she exited the pocket space alone.
***
A quarter of an hour later, a dense crowd had gathered before the entrance of an inn.
A woman with a breathtaking figure, dressed in a magnificent gown, appeared at the entrance cradling a jade casket.
Gasps of disbelief immediately rippled through the onlookers.
"Heavens!! Isn't that Chu Menglan, the Palace Master of Xuanfeng Palace?!"
"Why is she here? She looks like she's looking for someone!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than a young man in fine silk beside him scoffed in ridicule. "Looking for someone? Are you out of your mind? Who could possibly warrant the Palace Master of Xuanfeng Palace coming to visit in person?!"
"Then who is she waiting for?"
Inside a private room of the inn, Qi Rongxuan and Li Guanqi were sitting together, sipping tea.
"Young friend, Chu Menglan has arrived. Aren't you going down to see her?"
Li Guanqi pursed his lips, poured a cup of tea for the old man, and said softly, "I gave them my warmest face only to be shown a cold shoulder earlier. I'm in no hurry to go down."
The old man nodded and sighed. "It was merely opening a cross-domain teleportation array. If you had just said the word, this old man would have gladly handled such a trifle for you."
Li Guanqi smiled. "I have thin skin, so I didn't want to trouble you, Elder Qi."
Hearing this, the old man stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "What nonsense are you speaking, young friend? If you talk like that, it means you don't see me as one of your own! Rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter for you. A mere Xuanfeng Palace, yet so utterly blind and ungrateful!"
Standing downstairs, Chu Menglan endured the strange, probing stares of the crowd around her. Finally, she bent her waist in a deep bow and called out with a clear, resonant voice:
"Chu Menglan of Xuanfeng Palace requests an audience with Young Master Li!"
Silence fell. The entire street went dead quiet…
*Gulp…*
"Requests an audience… Just who is this Young Master Li?!"
"Chu Menglan paying a personal visit to someone's door… What kind of terrifying figure must he be?!"
A full ten breaths passed before Li Guanqi's leisurely voice drifted down from above.
"When did you arrive, Palace Master Chu? Come on up, please."
Chu Menglan's expression shifted through several shades of emotion, but in the end, she cradled the jade casket and made her way upstairs.
The moment she walked up, the crowd of onlookers below erupted into a frenzy.
"A man's voice!!! Chu Menglan… going upstairs… in broad daylight… *hiss*…"
"Hush!! Do you have a death wish, you idiot?!"
"Hey, say what you will… but don't tell me you weren't thinking it…"
Chapter 458