Meng Wanshu felt a blush rise to her cheeks at his sudden affectionate gesture.
With her hands clasped behind her back, she turned and walked into the cloud boat, tossing over her shoulder as she went, "Humph! Conceited."
Only after she had stepped inside did Li Guanqi slowly walk over to the elderly man.
He bowed respectfully, then straightened with a somber look on his face. "Senior Li, Wanshu... why did she leave home this time?"
Hearing this, Li Changqing's gaze sharpened, his eyes narrowing as he sent a low, solemn voice transmission to Li Guanqi: "Why ask that?"
Li Guanqi shook his head and said softly, "From what I know of Uncle Meng, he wouldn't easily let her travel outside unless it was something of great importance."
Li Changqing hesitated for a moment, but in the end he did not disclose the purpose of their journey.
He merely offered an ambiguous answer: "It is nothing. It has already been resolved."
At this point, the old man added, "The repairs on the cloud boat will be expedited. Once finished, we will set off immediately to return to the Shenbao Domain."
"As for you... Sigh, just do as you see fit."
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and replied softly, "I will come along with you."
Li Changqing gave a silent nod without pressing further.
Perhaps in his eyes, despite the boy's monstrous talent, he was still not as suitable for Meng Wanshu as Xiao Chen.
As Meng Wanshu's Dao protector, Li Changqing had watched her grow day by day ever since the Domain Lord brought her back.
He had even been the one personally guiding her path in cultivation.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and said nothing more.
He had always believed that to truly understand someone, what mattered most was seeing what they did and what they gave, not indulging in superficial chatter or boastful proclamations.
Li Guanqi walked slowly to the ship's gunwale, sat cross-legged upon it, and began to breathe and meditate.
Seeing this, the old man hesitated for a moment before drawing a magnificent white robe crackling with arcs of purple lightning from his storage ring.
This white robe was an ancient treasure–grade dharma artifact!
It could deflect stray attacks from most Void Refining Realm cultivators, and thanks to the unique nature of its materials, it could repair itself as long as it was not damaged too severely.
The Floating Cloud Robe.
Placing the robe gently beside Li Guanqi, the old man turned and went outside the cabin door, quietly keeping watch over everything.
Though anxious to return to the Shenbao Domain, he could only wait while the cloud boat was being repaired.
Meng Wanshu's identity was far too exceptional; staying out in the open was fraught with peril.
Early the next morning, Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
Sitting cross-legged on the deck, his brow furrowed slightly.
Through this night of cultivation, he had gained a clearer understanding of the Void Refining Realm.
Following his breakthrough, his lifespan had extended to five thousand years.
It left him feeling somewhat dazed—the thought that from now on, even if he did nothing at all, he had five thousand long years ahead of him.
It felt somewhat surreal.
He had also gradually brought the power of his origin spirit under control, and his perception of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth had grown several times clearer.
The speed at which he refined spiritual energy was far beyond comparison to the past.
Yet when it came to using the origin spirit to return to the void and craft an avatar, he still felt some reluctance.
He could not shake the feeling that once he formed an avatar through returning to the void, another version of himself would exist under heaven and earth.
That sense of fractured consciousness made him deeply uncomfortable.
To say nothing of dividing out multiple avatars, like Cang Lu and that elder from Qingyang Palace.
With so many avatars, the fracture in the primary consciousness would only be far more severe.
"Sword spirit, do you think I should craft an avatar?"
The sword spirit's voice echoed slowly within his heart lake.
"You can, but it is best to only manifest one."
"Let this avatar experience the sufferings of the mortal world on your behalf, taking a portion of your power to temper itself, travel the world, cultivate, and enter seclusion."
Li Guanqi frowned and murmured, "Why?"
The sword spirit asked softly, "Do you know why the realm above Void Refining is called the Body Integration Realm?"
"I do not."
"Because when you attain the Great Perfection of the Void Refining Realm, your avatars return to the ruins, merging back into one with your true body to reach the state of returning to simplicity and truth."
"When that time comes, one sword strike can sever thousands of Void Refining avatars!"
She paused briefly.
"If you do not manifest an avatar, you will have no way of comprehending the connections and profundities of crafting avatars in the Void Refining Realm."
"How then could you speak of severing ten thousand bodies with a single sword?"
Li Guanqi nodded slightly and murmured, "I understand."
Just then, however, Li Guanqi posed a question that caught even the sword spirit by surprise!
"Sword spirit."
"Hm?"
"In the Void Refining Realm... what does the 'Void' represent?"
The sword spirit, who had been reclining casually on her chair, abruptly stood up and looked toward the space above her, as if her gaze clashed directly with Li Guanqi's.
Her expression shifted slightly; she had not expected Li Guanqi to ponder such a profound and obscure question!
This time, she sat upright, brooding in silence for a long while.
The sword spirit's voice slowly sounded.
"I did not expect you to think of such a profound question right after stepping into this realm."
"In truth, most cultivators nowadays focus solely on accumulating and unleashing power, thinking only of how to bolster their strength through various means."
"Yet they have forgotten the very essence of the Void Refining Realm."
Li Guanqi listened quietly, waiting for her to continue.
"Void Refining, and Sword Ruins."
"The 'Void' of Void Refining is the shift between the void and the substantial."
"Whereas the Sword Ruins and spirit ruins are the manifestation of human will—shifting from ruins to substance, converted through weapons as a medium into formidable, tangible power."
"This is the external manifestation of ruins and substance."
Li Guanqi's eyes shone with sharp brilliance as his consciousness slipped into an ethereal state of enlightenment guided by her words.
In this state, his understanding of the Sword Ruins grew far more profound.
The Sword Ruins was like a mighty core of power. Regardless of which sword he wielded, he could trigger the Soul Release of his blade—and even the second-stage release, Apocalypse—through the Sword Ruins.
Back when he used Shadowless, he had also unlocked its Soul Release!
Thus, the existence of the Sword Ruins would not vanish based on which blade he held; it only influenced how powerful its outward manifestation became.
Just as Red Lotus could withstand the Apocalypse of the Sword Ruins, so too could Yanluo; he was simply not yet familiar enough with the Yanluo Sword to unlock its Apocalypse form.
"Yet the 'Void' of Void Refining is your own power, existing between void and reality!"
"The void represents the insubstantiality of power, a presence beyond touch."
"Like divine sense piercing beneath the surface into deeper layers to perceive the essence and internal changes of all things."
"The void also represents a form of energy, as well as the inner heart, spirit, consciousness, and more..."
"Whenever you truly master the void, your perception of all power will far surpass what it is now."
Li Guanqi did not answer, but several more blood-red lines on his body faded and vanished!
Sensing this, the corners of the sword spirit's lips curled into a faint smile.
"The Ethereal Dao Body... truly terrifying."
Chapter 521