The party of five departed directly from the Taixuan Sword Sect, swaggering away in broad daylight.
Their actions delivered a resounding slap to the Taixuan Sword Sect's face.
Yet He Yuanting could say nothing. Or rather...
Before Meng Wanshu and Chu Jingze, he had no standing to resist in the slightest.
He Yuanting was not as magnanimous as one might think; instead, he was rather chauvinistic and cared immensely about saving face.
Inside the great hall, He Yuning lay upon the bed with his eyes tightly shut, a single tear slipping from the corner of his eye.
His consciousness had already returned, and he had heard everything that had just occurred with crystal clarity.
Yet there was nothing he could do.
He thoroughly disliked this aspect of his father's character.
Were it not for this, he would never have chosen to roam the continent at an age when he ought to be familiarizing himself with sect affairs.
After parting with Li Guanqi today, the times they would meet again in his future life would likely be few.
Li Guanqi was of the same character: upright and unyielding, clear-cut in what he loved and hated.
Those who had left the Taixuan Sword Sect were hardly affected. The plump old man said with a chuckle, "Young Master Li, Miss Meng, since the matter here has been settled, this old man shall take his leave.
"There are still many affairs awaiting my attention at the pavilion."
With that, the elder raised his hand, and an ornate storage ring appeared in his palm.
Gleaming with a violet sheen, the storage ring was unmistakably no ordinary item; rings of such quality possessed immense storage space.
Handing the ring to Li Guanqi, he smiled and said, "Young Master Li, this is your rightful share. I happened to bring it along for you."
Meng Wanshu was utterly perplexed, having no idea why the esteemed Pavilion Master of a whole domain's Tianji Pavilion would present Li Guanqi with a storage ring.
Li Guanqi's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. Taking the storage ring with both hands, he smiled and said, "You went to far too much trouble, Elder Chu, delivering it in person.
"It wasn't as if I was in a rush, right? We're all family—there's no need to stand on ceremony."
Though his words carried a hint of polite grumbling, his hands were not slow in the least; even as he spoke, the storage ring was already firmly in his grasp.
Watching this scene, Meng Wanshu could not help covering her mouth and giggling softly.
Li Guanqi's temperament truly had not changed one bit since they were children.
The only thing was... after stepping onto the path of cultivation, he had grown somewhat more decisive and ruthless in his killings.
Yet she had undergone this change as well; after all, such things were inevitable once one embarked on the path of cultivation.
If one's heart was not ruthless, the one who ended up dead might well be oneself.
Sweeping his divine sense inside, he found over eighty thousand mid-grade spirit stones!
The sheer quantity gave even Li Guanqi a fright. Raising an eyebrow, he couldn't help asking, "Is this... just from this recent period?"
The elder nodded with a smile and glanced at Meng Wanshu. Li Guanqi said plainly, "It's fine. You can speak freely."
Only then did Chu Jingze nod slightly and say, "Indeed. This is merely the profit from this recent period. In a while longer, we should be able to perfect the array over there and nurture an array spirit.
"When that time comes, we can return the item to you, Young Master Li."
Li Guanqi smiled so broadly his eyes curved into crescents, and he said at once, "Hahaha, no rush, no rush!"
The elder nodded with a chuckle, then lightly tapped his finger against the void, instantly tearing open a ten-foot rift.
Cupping his hands, he smiled. "This old man shall take his leave first, everyone.
"Fellow Daoist Li, come visit me when you have time."
Li Changqing cupped his hands and laughed. "Then Brother Chu must prepare some fine wine for next time, hahaha!"
After the elder had left, Meng Wanshu said, "Let's go. We'll head to my cloud boat.
"I don't care to stay at the City Lord's Manor in Yuntian City anymore."
Li Guanqi nodded with a smile; because of that City Lord, Meng Wanshu was clearly very displeased.
The cloud boat was moored beside Yuntian City, where many array masters in magnificent white robes were maintaining the formations.
Many of them were busily embedding spirit stones into the cloud boat's propulsion array.
Li Guanqi took just one glance, and his expression turned somewhat peculiar.
Pointing at the spirit stones on the array, he couldn't help asking, "High-grade spirit stones?!"
Meng Wanshu glanced over and said, "Yes. While mid-grade spirit stones are normally used, traveling across domains carries risks of unexpected trouble, so they were swapped out for high-grade ones."
At this, the maiden's lovely eyes darted playfully as she teased, "What? Pained by the cost on my behalf?
"Why don't you cover it for me, then?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Li Guanqi raised his hand and offered the storage ring from earlier.
"Here, take it."
Meng Wanshu showed a look of surprise. Though she did not know how many spirit stones were inside, for a pavilion master and Body Integration Realm mighty figure to deliver it in person, it was bound to be an extraordinarily vast sum no matter what.
Yet Li Guanqi had handed it over without the slightest care.
Meng Wanshu reached out to take the storage ring, wearing a mischievous smile. "Then I'm really taking it, you know?"
Li Guanqi chuckled. "Take it. You're the first person who gets to take advantage of me—if you don't take it, you'll be missing out."
Meng Wanshu took the storage ring, looked down at it, curled her lips, shoved it back into his hand, and turned away, saying, "I don't want it! My father is loaded—there's no need for you to pay for a few spirit stones like this."
Li Guanqi thought about it and realized she was right; her father could casually produce over a hundred magic treasures and several ancient treasures.
Seen that way, Uncle Meng truly did not lack money at all...
Back in the village, who could have guessed?
Every day he had been scolded by Auntie like a chastised grandson, clearly a man utterly terrified of his wife.
How had he suddenly transformed into the Domain Lord of the Shenbao Domain?
Yet when he thought of his own grandfather's identity, he shrugged and felt that it was probably quite normal after all.
The group boarded the cloud boat and went straight to the topmost floor.
Seeing this, Li Changqing tactfully turned and left the hall, even shutting the door behind him.
Jiuxiao, coiled around Li Guanqi's wrist, had slipped into a deep slumber.
Having just broken through, Jiuxiao still needed to refine and assimilate his power.
As for Pengluo... Li Guanqi had long since tossed him into the sword casket.
Sitting across from the two, Ye Feng also felt somewhat awkward. He simply rose and said, "Uh... Boss, Sister-in-law, I'll go out to get some fresh air. You two chat."
With that, paying no mind to their reaction, he bolted out the door like a gust of wind.
Only Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu remained in the room, and the atmosphere instantly grew somewhat charged with romantic tension.
The two sat side by side, neither saying a word.
Li Guanqi sat up ramrod straight, his eyes stealing constant glances at the maiden's flawless profile.
Meng Wanshu's cheeks burned hot, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, at a loss for words.
Her snow-white, delicate shoulders seemed dusted with a faint layer of pink in that moment.
Suddenly!
Both spoke up at the exact same moment.
"You..."
"You..."
Li Guanqi turned to look at Meng Wanshu's pretty face. Their eyes met, and both burst into laughter.
In this moment, it was as if they had returned to those carefree days of the past.
Chapter 514