That night, He Yuning vomited his guts out, shouting drunkenly that he would never touch wine again.
Li Guanqi stayed by his side, tending to him throughout the night as if looking after a younger brother.
Sitting beside the bed, Li Guanqi brought out a spirit-gathering array, loaded it with spirit stones, and settled his mind, entering a state of cultivation.
Although the Taixuan Sword Sect possessed immense power and countless eyes and ears, he didn't expect them to find any trace of Cang Lu.
If that man were so easily found, Li Guanqi would not have repeatedly probed him in the past without noticing anything amiss.
It had to be said, the guy was one of the most difficult opponents he had ever encountered.
The other was Miao Rongchang, who had stalked him for more than two years.
Li Guanqi sat cross-legged with his hands resting on his knees. With each breath, spirit qi transformed into a stream of white mist, flowing through his mouth into his body.
Under the circulation of his technique, the refinement of spirit qi proceeded at astonishing speed.
Sensing a feeling of swelling in his dantian's Nascent Soul, Li Guanqi nevertheless continued to absorb spirit qi voraciously.
By now, only half of the Nascent Soul's head remained to be transformed into an origin spirit. His three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls had also nearly completed their fusion with it.
Li Guanqi felt a realization stir in his heart: 'No wonder as long as the Nascent Soul is not destroyed, one still has a chance to reshape the physical body.'
'When the origin spirit forms, the physical body empties!'
'That truly isn't an empty saying...'
Once a cultivator stepped into the Void Refining Realm, the physical body was merely an outer shell. However, he did not feel this sensation strongly, because his own blood vitality was overwhelmingly powerful.
Early the next morning, an enormous cyclone abruptly formed in the sky above He Yuning's courtyard.
Spanning hundreds of zhang across, the massive cyclone caused quite a commotion within the Taixuan Sword Sect.
"Strange. Isn't Senior Brother He already at the peak of the Soul Formation Realm? Could his cultivation have progressed even further?"
"That can't be right... Wait, Senior Brother He brought someone back yesterday, didn't he? Carrying a huge sword casket on his back!"
"Really? How come I didn't see him?"
"As expected, anyone who can be friends with Senior Brother He is no ordinary person."
"Nonsense, as if it'd be realistic for someone at the peak of Soul Formation to make friends with a Core Formation cultivator."
More and more disciples gathered to watch, and even several elders of the Taixuan Sword Sect were alerted.
Before long, numerous figures hovered densely in the sky around the courtyard.
At the head of the group, a white-browed elder gazed down at the courtyard, sharp light glinting in his eyes. He could naturally tell that this aura did not belong to He Yuning.
Turning to look at the gathered disciples, his face darkened as he barked, "What are you all crowding around here for? Done with your cultivation? Finished taking on missions down the mountain?"
"Does watching someone else grow stronger make you advance too? Are you all that bored lately?"
Hearing this, the disciples scattered at lightning speed, hurriedly bowing as they took their leave.
"Hehe, yes, yes, Elder Wu is right. We'll go cultivate right away."
"Move, hurry up! Old Wu is mad!"
Watching the disciples flee, the elder's lips curled down slightly, and he chuckled with mock irritation, "A bunch of little brats."
Then, looking down at the sky above the courtyard, he murmured under his breath, "This little fellow is making quite a racket."
With that, he waved his hand, stirring the winds and clouds as a fearsome green barrier instantly enveloped the area for a thousand zhang around! He did this out of concern that a disciple might accidentally intrude and disturb Li Guanqi.
With a flick of his wrist, a palm-sized jade bottle appeared in his hand. A twinge of heartache flashed across his face, but he tossed the bottle all the same, letting it drift down toward the courtyard.
He muttered, "If Yuning brought him back to drink with, then giving away this bit of jade marrow fluid is worth it."
Pop!!
Li Guanqi suddenly sensed an inexplicably potent spiritual liquid floating beside him.
Hesitating for only a moment, his chest rose and fell slightly, and the spiritual liquid was instantly drawn into his body!!
Boom!!!!
The barrier in his heart shattered completely in that instant!!!
Violent primal energy surged relentlessly around Li Guanqi, yet the stray lightning came to a halt right beside the bed, as if meeting an invisible barrier.
Meanwhile, He Yuning was dead asleep on the bed, snoring softly. Scratching his nose clumsily, he continued sprawling in an 'X' shape, completely oblivious to the commotion in the room.
Once inside his body, the spiritual liquid rampaged like a ball of raging fire.
Li Guanqi gave a cold snort, circulating the primal energy within him to instantly suppress it.
The liquid then seeped through his body, surprisingly possessing the power to cleanse his tendons and marrow! However, Li Guanqi rarely took pills in daily life, and with his solid foundation, he had very few impurities in his body.
Instead, it restored the bones that had fractured during previous battles, preventing any hidden afflictions from plaguing him later.
The primal energy roared within him as the Nascent Soul in his dantian completely fused with his divine soul!!
By now, the Nascent Soul inside his dantian had drastically transformed, becoming a golden miniature figure that seemed to hover between illusion and reality. Yet just like him, this little golden figure bore blood-red markings on its body.
Boom!!!
An extraordinarily powerful blast wave swept out in all directions!!
Li Guanqi's aura surged dramatically, shooting straight to the peak of Soul Formation!!
Treading upon lightning, Li Guanqi walked out slowly, looking up at the elder in midair and bowing deeply in sincere gratitude.
"Li Guanqi, elder of the Great Xia Sword Sect, thanks Senior for your kind assistance."
Hearing this, Elder Wu stroked his beard with a smile and nodded slightly. He said softly, "No need for thanks, it was merely lifting a finger. The way I see it, even without this old man's help, this breakthrough wouldn't have troubled you in the least. I merely added a flower to the brocade."
Li Guanqi smiled and said no more, but his gratitude toward the elder was genuine. Looking at the elder, he pondered for a moment, then tossed a storage ring toward him.
"This junior has little of value, but this should at least be presentable."
The elder didn't think much of it at first, but the moment his divine sense probed inside, he froze.
"The pelt of a Three-Tailed Kunwu Wolf?! And it's completely intact?!"
The elder stared at Li Guanqi with utter disbelief. "Did you... kill this?"
Li Guanqi only smiled. The elder fell silent.
Then the elder waved his hand to disperse the surrounding barrier and said gently, "If you need anything while you're in the sect, or want to go anywhere, just let me know. While I may not be anyone of great renown, all matters great and small in both the inner and outer sects fall under my charge."
Li Guanqi grinned and said with a chuckle, "Understood."
Right then, He Yuning groggily woke up and croaked in a hoarse voice, "Water... I need water..."
Helpless, Li Guanqi had to fetch him some water.
Having drunk some water and recovered a bit, He Yuning opened his eyes wide as he took in the ruined mess of his courtyard. Dashing out into the yard in a flash, he looked at the empty pond with a tearful grimace.
"Where are my fish... where are my fish?!"
Li Guanqi said somewhat sheepishly, "Well... I exerted myself a bit too hard during cultivation and couldn't hold back the force. How about I catch a few more for you?"
He Yuning said with tragic indignation, "No! If they weren't raised by me, I don't want them!"
Chapter 482