Li Guanqi traversed mountains and rivers, encountering many cultivators along the way.
Of course, he also got into a few fights...
As for the reason...
It was invariably because he had looked at someone a second too long and caught their eye. Just like that saber-wielding brute back in Fumu Valley, they would immediately bark, "What are you looking at?!"
This left him somewhat bewildered. Was looking at people really such a taboo in the Taiqing Domain?
Yet after several days, he realized that averting his gaze only made them think he was easy to bully.
So he decided to just look whenever he pleased—hey, if you have a problem with it, I'll beat you up.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Li Guanqi hummed a little tune while keeping Tianji Pavilion's people on the search for Cang Lu's whereabouts.
His divine sense buzzed, conjuring a massive map of the Taiqing Domain before him.
Zooming in on the map, he realized he was already practically on the doorstep of Zhongzhou, the most prosperous region.
And at the very center of Zhongzhou on the map lay a place called Yuntian City.
Its footprint was practically the largest among all the cities Li Guanqi had ever seen!
Even across the vast expanse of Zhongzhou, its territory on the map was exceptionally sprawling.
Compared to Mingchuan's thousand-li expanse, Yuntian City was so immense it could encompass three Mingchuans!
A sharp gleam flashed in Li Guanqi's eyes. Retracting his divine sense, he headed straight for Yuntian City.
A full seven days passed before Li Guanqi finally drew near Yuntian City.
During this time, he had taken Jiuxiao out to hunt down a few greater demons. In these battles, Li Guanqi clearly felt the circulation of primal energy within his body grow significantly smoother.
Looking toward the bustling, gigantic city in the distance, Li Guanqi was truly stunned.
Towering peaks pierced the clouds in an unbroken chain, spaced far apart from one another.
Below, the city sprawled across the entire plain, built around these ring-arranged mountains.
Over thirty peaks formed a vast ring.
And high above these encircling mountains floated a colossal floating city!
Shrouded in drifting mist and clouds, the true Yuntian City loomed indistinctly.
Countless cultivators flying through the air, avian demon beasts, and massive cloud boats came and went.
The dense spiritual energy in the surroundings had already condensed into a thin mist in the air.
Li Guanqi had been in the Taiqing Domain for some time now, yet seeing such a spectacle still stirred a sigh of emotion within him.
"Compared to the Taiqing Domain, the Great Xia Domain is worlds behind in spiritual energy."
Indeed, this also accounted for the vast disparity in cultivators' strength between the two domains.
Cultivators of the Core Formation and Nascent Soul realms could be seen everywhere here. If this were back in the Great Xia Domain...
In the former Great Xia Sword Sect, Core Formation realm cultivators could already hold posts such as consecrated elders.
Here, only top Nascent Soul realm cultivators were likely qualified to teach.
Li Guanqi tossed his flamboyant golden hair and flew through the air toward Yuntian City.
As for the city sprawling below, he had little interest in it.
If he wanted to track someone down, only a place like this floating city would yield results.
*Buzz!*
Passing through an invisible barrier, Li Guanqi could not help feeling a bit curious.
He noticed that this extraordinarily prosperous Yuntian City possessed neither city walls nor gates.
Right then, a squad of black-armored guards approached from the sky ahead.
These guards wore long sabers at their waists, one hand resting on their hilts.
Beneath their pitch-black visors, only pairs of sharp eyes were visible.
Wherever they passed, all cultivators carefully made way for them.
Murmurs suddenly reached Li Guanqi's ears.
"What's going on in Yuntian City lately? Why have the patrolling Black Armor Guards suddenly increased?"
"Tell me about it! They're patrolling practically nonstop, and they're stronger than the previous ones!"
"Could some important figure be visiting Yuntian City soon?"
"Sigh, forget it, let's go. It has nothing to do with us anyway."
Li Guanqi's gaze flickered with an unreadable expression, though he did not dwell on it, flying forward into the city.
Suddenly!
Li Guanqi glanced down behind him, only to discover several massive sects situated on the towering mountains beneath the floating city.
Looking down at those grand, magnificent sects, Li Guanqi could not help longing in his heart.
"When will the Great Xia Sword Sect ever achieve such grandeur..."
Turning around, he stepped into Yuntian City.
The moment he entered, a clamor of noise washed over his ears.
The buildings lining the streets were lavishly decorated, embedded with gemstones of various hues.
Some restaurants and taverns were even inscribed with wondrous arrays that bathed the architecture in brilliant, multicolored radiance.
Li Guanqi's divine sense observed everyone silently, noting the vast number of cultivators in Yuntian City.
From what he knew, the people of the Taiqing Domain tended to have rather hot tempers, yet here they got along quite peacefully.
Of course, that likely had something to do with the Black Armor Guards constantly sweeping across the sky.
In just the span of an incense stick, Li Guanqi sensed quite a few Soul Formation realm auras, some of whom even he could not see through.
Just as he was pondering whether to sit in a tavern or go temper his heart in the mortal realm...
Suddenly!
An aura he could never forget abruptly flared into perception!
*Boom!*
Li Guanqi's aura erupted violently!
A terrifying pressure slammed down, causing countless cultivators within a thousand zhang to drop to their knees with a thud!
The pressure was as heavy as a mountain, crashing brutally upon everyone!
Blood vessels instantly laced Li Guanqi's eyes as he snarled through gritted teeth:
"Cang! Lu!!"
*Thud!*
The bluestone ground instantly blasted open into a deep pit dozens of zhang wide. Buildings along the street collapsed in an instant, throwing cultivators into disarray.
Countless cultivators stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
Li Guanqi circulated his movement technique, his speed rocketing to the absolute peak.
Yet the moment Li Guanqi unleashed his aura, six patrolling squads of Black Armor Guards snapped around in midair.
The squad leader at the front instantly crushed a jade slip!
A furious shout, laced with primal energy, boomed from afar:
"Who dares cause trouble in Yuntian City?!"
"Restrain your pressure and surrender your weapons, and you shall be spared!"
A total of eighteen Black Armor Guards swept in at once.
All eighteen were mighty cultivators of the Soul Formation Realm without exception!
Yet how could Li Guanqi care about any of that now? His figure teleported again and again.
A dark shadow shot into the sky, its speed surging wildly as it madly teleported toward the city exterior.
Li Guanqi was certain: the figure in black before him was Cang Lu!
However, the man's aura was erratic and fleeting, making it impossible to determine his exact cultivation realm.
Seeing him trying to flee, Li Guanqi instantly executed the escape technique Lightning Flash!
The distance between him and Cang Lu shrank to three thousand zhang in a flash.
Li Guanqi stomped fiercely on the void. With a wave of his hand, dark clouds gathered overhead, roaring with thunder.
In an instant, the skies shifted violently as howling gales swept across the area.
Li Guanqi raised one hand toward the sky and swung it down fiercely.
"Spirit Incantation: Thunder Spear!!"
"Sword Prison—Open!!!"
Hundreds upon thousands of thunder spears surged toward Cang Lu's back.
At the same time, the Sword Prison domain expanded madly at lightning speed.
The figure in black hurled several jade pendants behind him, completely blocking the oncoming thunderbolts as the pendants detonated with a roar.
Just as the Sword Prison domain was about to envelop him, the Black Armor Guards converging from all sides intervened together, severing the space!
Seeing the figure in black crush a silver spatial teleportation scroll, Li Guanqi's heart seized with urgency!
Yet the Black Armor Guards were already bearing down upon him!
Chapter 473