Really Stewed?

Exhaling a long breath of turbid air, Li Guanqi possessed an aura of immense majesty. A hint of melancholy hung between his brows. As for He Yuning... in truth, he had never imagined so much would happen. Turning to the elder beside him, Li Guanqi nodded slightly and asked, "Elder Chu, how did you find out about what was happening here?" Chu Jingze let out a wry chuckle and pointed toward Ye Feng, who stood in the distance at the edge of the thunderous tribulation with his arms crossed over his chest. "It was this little brother of yours. He used a Shadow-Seeking Bee, and the Tianji Pavilion caught wind of it. "Only then did I learn that a barrier had been erected over Zhongzhou—and not merely because Miss Meng had arrived." A sharp gleam flashed deep within Li Guanqi's eyes, and he could not help but murmur under his breath, "It was Old Ye?" The elder continued, "Young Friend Ye Feng is also someone of particular interest to our Tianji Pavilion. Because of you, Young Master Li, we had been searching for his whereabouts all along. "It just so happened that we intercepted the Shadow-Seeking Bee's transmission. That was how I learned such a major incident had occurred." Li Guanqi nodded in silence. He had not expected things to align so serendipitously this time—truth truly was stranger than fiction. Listening at the side, Meng Wanshu felt a lingering chill of apprehension, yet the more she heard, the more disgusted she grew with He Yuanting's actions. Rumble!! Instead of lingering where it was and quietly waiting for the heavenly tribulation to fall, Jiuxiao's massive body soared! It shot straight into the high heavens, facing the thunder head-on and stirring the clouds into turmoil. A terrifying draconic roar echoed through the firmament, baring its fangs brazenly before the world. Fierce and irascible, Jiuxiao proved even more direct than Li Guanqi, opening its cavernous maw to swallow the thunderclouds whole! Seeing the others approach, Ye Feng also let out a quiet breath of relief. The hidden presences lurking all around withdrew into the distance the moment they saw the group. Chu Jingze... an early Body Integration Realm powerhouse, a figure truly standing at the pinnacle of the Six Domains. Peeping from the shadows now would be nothing short of seeking death! Observing Jiuxiao's display, the elder pulled out a wine gourd, took a swig, and narrowed his eyes with sharp brilliance. He turned to give Li Guanqi a deep, meaningful look and said softly, "A true dragon... Rare indeed." Li Guanqi keenly caught the nuance in the elder's words and instantly countered, "'Rare'... not 'impossible'?" The elder merely gave an enigmatic smile and said no more. Soon, though Jiuxiao's tribulation lightning was terrifying beyond measure, it did not prove as arduous as anticipated. Though bathed in blood from head to tail, Jiuxiao's draconic eyes shone brilliantly, its aura soaring with fiery vigor!! Fearsome tribulation lightning coiled about its body, only to be devoured bit by bit. Its coat of scales had long since fully regenerated, crackling with fine arcs of lightning. At last, Jiuxiao's towering form stood proud between heaven and earth, roaring skyward at the vanishing storm. Roar!! Wave after wave of draconic bellows reverberated across a hundred li, and the heavenly tribulation thunderclouds above them gradually dispersed. An immense, overwhelming pressure rolled outward from Jiuxiao. Ye Feng clicked his tongue and looked at Li Guanqi with an aggrieved expression. "I want one too." Li Guanqi punched his shoulder and laughed. "Piss off." Unfazed, Ye Feng stood where he was, watching Li Guanqi suddenly spread his arms. The two embraced tightly, words unnecessary between them. Brotherhood needed no explanation. Ye Feng was certain that if he ever faced mortal peril in the future, even if Li Guanqi knew it meant certain death, he would rush to his rescue without a second thought. Meng Wanshu stood quietly by, watching the scene with a soft smile. It suddenly occurred to her that Li Guanqi, too, had gathered truly wonderful companions around him. Jiuxiao flicked its tail, descending slowly to land before Li Guanqi. Its massive head was larger than Li Guanqi's entire body, yet the dragon squinted its eyes and affectionately nudged against him like a spoiled pet. Looking at the great dragon before him, Li Guanqi raised a hand and gently stroked its head. A glint of cold light flashed in his eyes, suppressed killing intent flitting through his gaze. "Boss, what are we doing now?" Li Guanqi took Meng Wanshu by the hand, leading her as he leapt atop Jiuxiao's head. Standing atop the dragon's brow, Li Guanqi gazed into the distance and said in a heavy voice, "To the Taixuan Sword Sect!" Ye Feng tied up his golden hair with flamboyant flair, shrugged, and said nonchalantly, "Off we go, then. Not like I've got anything better to do." His antics brought an involuntary smile to Meng Wanshu's lips. He was clearly an expert who had crawled his way out of the dead heaps of the Purgatory Abyss, yet there was not an ounce of vicious ferocity about him. Instead, he seemed rather goofy, laced with an untamed, fearless air—an easygoing, uninhibited demeanor. The group mounted the giant dragon and sped toward the mountain peaks of the Taixuan Sword Sect. Watching the great dragon streak past, the spectating cultivators were overcome with boundless emotion. Perhaps everything they had witnessed today was more thrilling than anything they would ever experience in their entire lifetimes. They all began guessing why Li Guanqi was heading to the Taixuan Sword Sect of his own accord. "He's definitely going to see He Yuning! I heard the Taixuan Sword Sect is in complete disarray, and this time He Yuning seems to have turned disaster into a blessing." "Just what is this guy's background? Looking at him now, his backing is terrifying beyond belief!" "Sigh, what a pity we can't follow him to the Taixuan Sword Sect to see for ourselves." At that moment, an old man in the crowd curled his lip and sneered snidely, "I reckon there's another good show coming. That blind man suffered plenty of torture inside that barrier back then." At those words, the crowd around him suddenly remembered. When the barrier had first opened, Li Guanqi's battered and bloody state, the giant dragon whose scales had been forcibly ripped away, and that big white radish chopped clean in two... Along the way, Li Changqing and Chu Jingze chatted animatedly. The two old men hit it off like lifelong friends, practically itching to swear brotherhood on the spot. Li Guanqi suddenly smacked his forehead and looked at Ye Feng. "Where's Pengluo?!" Hearing this, Ye Feng froze slightly. "Uh... you mean that big white radish?" "Yeah! Where is he?!" Ye Feng gave Li Guanqi a very solemn look. "Is he... very important?" Li Guanqi suddenly had a very bad feeling. He nodded and said, "Pretty... important... I guess?" Ye Feng's expression turned exceedingly odd. Slowly, he reached into an empty spatial rift and pulled out an enormous clay pot... The clay pot was pitch-black with a lid on top, and its six small steam holes were venting plumes of straight, hissing steam. From inside came bubbling, glugging sounds accompanied by muffled whines: "Mmh, mmh..." "Well... I thought we hadn't seen each other in so long, and Big Brother saw I was injured and wanted to nourish my body... Ha... haha." Li Guanqi was rendered utterly speechless. He had never imagined Ye Feng had actually stewed Pengluo into soup! Raising his hand, Li Guanqi flicked off the lid, and with a whoosh, a white blur shot straight out! Pengluo was scalding red from top to bottom, draped with wilted vegetable leaves, and his mouth was crammed full of scallions, ginger, and garlic... Fuming with incandescent rage, Pengluo leaped up and aimed a flying kick straight at Ye Feng! Spitting out the aromatics, he bellowed, "Fuck your damn uncle!!!"