Feeling the woman's soft body against his chest, Li Guanqi's lips curved slightly into a smile.
He carefully put away Yanluo and somewhat shyly placed his hands against her back.
He had only been bold enough to kiss her so forcefully earlier because he had missed the woman before him for far too long. Yet the moment they met, he had recognized her at once.
Acting so out of line in a surge of overwhelming emotion had been understandable back then. But now... Li Guanqi felt rather embarrassed.
Not to mention that not far away, the elder Li Changqing was glaring fixedly at him, petrified that he might do anything else improper.
The watching cultivators barely dared to breathe.
If they had not witnessed everything with their own eyes today, none of them would have believed a word of it if told by someone else.
A "sinner" who had been imprisoned here by the Taixuan Sword Sect and scheduled for public beheading had actually possessed the unbridled audacity to call the only daughter of the Shenbao Domain Lord his "wife." What was even more unbelievable was that Meng Wanshu had not refuted it in the slightest!
Immediately after that, He Yuanting had abruptly departed, and the condemned Li Guanqi had drawn down the heavenly tribulation of the Void Refining Realm to break through. While his realm was still unsettled, he had slain a mysterious figure—one capable of invoking an immortal's name!
"*Gulp*... This guy... is terrifying."
"Talent like this is truly rare in an entire lifetime."
"Today has been way too surreal. Should I go find a Holy Maiden somewhere and call her 'wife' too? What if I pick one up for free?"
By this time, Meng Wanshu had recovered from her earlier rush of emotion and realized their embrace was hardly appropriate right now.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and whispered softly into her ear, "Want to hold each other a bit longer?"
Feeling Li Guanqi's warm breath against her ear, Meng Wanshu thumped him lightly on the chest. "No way!"
Her face flushing red, Meng Wanshu pulled away like a startled kitten. She awkwardly smoothed her hair, clasped her hands behind her back, and hastily turned away. Once she had turned around, she touched her burning cheeks and looked down, her thoughts unknown.
*Hum!*
Suddenly, a middle-aged man clad in a magnificent blue robe strode forward from the crowd of spectating cultivators.
His body radiated surging pressure, and he advanced a few steps with a tall, upright posture. He first bowed with clasped hands toward Meng Wanshu and Li Changqing, then turned his gaze to Li Guanqi and spoke up:
"I am Geng He, City Lord of Yuntian City. For you to unleash such destruction in my Yuntian City... is hardly appropriate, is it?"
Meng Wanshu's eyes chilled slightly. Stepping sideways, she positioned herself between Li Guanqi and the man.
Looking at him indifferently, she asked, "Oh? And what do you intend to do about it?"
Geng He faltered slightly. Facing Li Guanqi, he could still feel a sense of superiority in status. But facing Meng Wanshu, his arrogant bluster deflated considerably.
Cupping his hands with a polite smile, he said, "Yuntian City is a floating city. A corner of it has now been cleaved away by him, and the grand formation is damaged..."
Meng Wanshu waved her hand dismissively, cutting him off directly. "I'll fix it for you."
"This... Yuntian City has also suffered severe interior damage."
"I'll pay double."
The man's expression turned rather peculiar, but he pressed on: "Many innocent people have also been injured..."
"I take full responsibility."
Li Guanqi was more than happy to let her handle it. Standing behind Meng Wanshu, he smiled faintly and murmured in a low voice, "My wife is so pretty."
Those words immediately earned him a glare from Meng Wanshu.
Many cultivators who knew Meng Wanshu's identity nearly ground their back teeth to dust at the sight. However, there were also cultivators standing further away who still did not know who she was, only guessing she was the holy maiden of some powerful faction.
Someone sneered, "The little girl sure talks big."
"Yuntian City's floating formation has been damaged to such an extent. Even just restoring it would take an unimaginable amount of resources."
"She really dares to make such claims."
Hearing this, the cultivator beside him looked at him as if he were an utter fool.
Pointing toward Meng Wanshu in the distance, he snapped, "Do you even know who she is? Resources? Spirit stones? Formations? Brother, she is the only daughter of the Shenbao Domain Lord!"
"The Shenbao Domain! That is the Shenbao Domain! The sacred realm yearned for by weapon refiners across the Six Domains!"
Meng Wanshu slowly raised her hand. The ice-flower-like storage ring on her finger immediately shone with a soft, lustrous glow.
In an instant, the sky was densely packed with radiant magic treasures!
Beyond that, three ancient treasures of restrained aura hovered before the young woman—a jade bottle, a longsword, and a square seal!
When they laid eyes on those three ancient treasures, a flash of greed appeared in everyone's eyes.
Even among the poorer rogue cultivators of the Void Refining Realm, few possessed an ancient treasure; most still wielded weapons of magic treasure rank. Right now, there were well over a hundred items of magic treasure rank alone hovering in the air!
Even Li Guanqi swallowed hard at the sight of so many magic treasures.
Meng Wanshu merely looked at the man with a calm gaze and said softly, "City Lord Geng, are these... enough?"
Geng He's eyes went wide at the sight of all those treasures. He nodded repeatedly, saying, "Enough, enough, more than enough! This is absolutely enough!"
Li Guanqi curled his lip, feeling a twinge of heartache seeing Geng He move to take those magic treasures and ancient treasures.
Perhaps noticing Li Guanqi's expression, Meng Wanshu glanced back at him, playfully winked, and sent a voice transmission:
*"If you want them, I have plenty more here. Don't ache over them."*
Hearing that, Li Guanqi smiled wryly. Who could have imagined that the crude, burly man from that village back then was actually the Domain Lord of the Shenbao Domain? No wonder he had been so terrified of his grandfather.
Suddenly, a pitch-black spatial rift tore open right beside Li Guanqi.
Immediately afterward, a plump old man with white hair and a white beard hurriedly stepped out from within.
He had a stout build, a brandy nose, thick brows, and large eyes, though his face was filled with panic. The old man wore an exquisite white robe embroidered with the distinct pattern of the Tianji Pavilion!
The moment the old man stepped out, he looked around and spotted Li Guanqi beside Meng Wanshu. In a flash, he appeared at Li Guanqi's side, grabbing him and inspecting him thoroughly from head to toe.
Finally, the old man let out a long breath, his voice tinged with tears. "As long as you're not dead. As long as you're not dead..."
Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu both looked exasperated. Li Guanqi inwardly cursed, *Can't this old man speak with a bit more tact?*
Meanwhile, the onlookers were completely bewildered.
"Who is this old man? I've never seen him before."
"No idea. He doesn't seem to be from Zhongzhou, does he?"
In the distance, Shen Bing and Ji Shaolin exchanged a glance, both seeing gravity in the other's eyes. The old man's strength far surpassed theirs! They could not see through him at all, and they had never even seen such a figure in the Taiqing Domain.
Only then did the old man come to his senses. He hurriedly turned toward Meng Wanshu beside him, bowed in greeting, and looked at Li Guanqi with an apologetic expression as he said quickly, "Pardon me, pardon me! This old man was simply too excited upon seeing that you were safe and sound."
Heaven only knew how worried he had been that something might happen to Li Guanqi before he arrived.
"Allow me to introduce myself. This old man is Chu Jingze, Pavilion Master of the Tianji Pavilion in the Taiqing Domain."
With that, he turned to look at Geng He.
Glancing at the treasures floating in front of Meng Wanshu, Chu Jingze waved his hand gently to sweep them back into place. Tucking his hands into his sleeves, he smiled faintly at Geng He and said bluntly, "Compensating for damages, is it?
"The Tianji Pavilion will cover it. Name whatever price you wish."
Chapter 508