As Li Guanqi and Ye Feng were having a hard time holding back their laughter, Li Guanqi caught the madam's bizarre look and quickly sent her an explanation via voice transmission.
Then, with a grand wave of his hand, Li Guanqi declared, "How about this? This single purple gold crystal is worth three years of pure profit for your Yanxiao Tower anyway. Today, I simply must lay down the Heaven-Severing Heart-Tempering Formation for Brother Xiao! Brother Xiao, take off your outer robe and wait for me in the main hall."
Xiao Chen tore off his outer robe, darted inside like a gust of wind, and obediently took a seat on the elevated stage in the main hall where music and dances were usually performed. He waited with an excited expression for the heart-tempering grand formation Li Guanqi had spoken of.
Watching Li Guanqi speaking in hushed tones with the madam outside, Xiao Chen chuckled foolishly to himself. "He really is quite a nice guy."
Li Guanqi was quietly transmitting his voice to the woman beside him.
"This friend of mine isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. If his family finds out he casually threw away a purple gold crystal, they will definitely cause you trouble. His family is the sacred Xiao clan of the Shenbao Domain; their power is far more terrifying than the four great sects of Yuntian City combined."
The madam nodded frantically in fright, and in the end she actually handed the priceless purple gold crystal right back to Li Guanqi.
With his back to the entrance, Li Guanqi handed the madam a high-grade spirit stone. "Of course, I can't let you suffer a loss, so this high—uh, wait a second. Sorry, grabbed the wrong thing."
With a flick of his wrist, Li Guanqi swapped it out and produced a dozen or so mid-grade spirit stones instead.
The corners of the woman's mouth twitched slightly, yet she kept her expression steady and reached out gratefully to take them.
"Then thank you very much, Young Master Li. I'll go arrange it right away."
With that, she turned around and called out, "Girls, come out!"
Ye Feng, one hand resting on his sword hilt, could not help speaking up. "Boss, isn't that a bit too crooked?"
Without a word, Li Guanqi turned and shoved a storage ring into his hand. Ye Feng's expression instantly turned stern and righteous.
"Crooked? Inconceivable. This is all for his own good."
The two exchanged a grin and turned to walk into the pavilion.
Li Guanqi transmitted his voice: "Close your eyes and focus your mind. Guard the crown of your head, and extend your divine sense outward."
Xiao Chen promptly complied, sitting ramrod straight on the floor with his legs crossed.
Soon, curling wisps of blue smoke wound around the stage, and Xiao Chen's brow furrowed slightly.
*Zheng, zheng—*
At this moment, the entire Yanxiao Tower seemed bathed in a hazy pink hue.
Seductive melodies drifted forth, the soft strains of zithers and lutes flowing into the heart.
Xiao Chen's brow suddenly relaxed, and he murmured with utter conviction, "This must be the preparation before the grand formation activates."
Standing below the stage, Li Guanqi slowly raised his hand to signal that they could begin.
Ye Feng, watching Xiao Chen on the stage, shook his head. "Has nobody ever conned this guy before? It really couldn't have been easy for him to make it to this age."
In his eyes, Xiao Chen was the type who would gladly help count the coins after the boss sold him off.
Next, nearly a hundred women of Yanxiao Tower glided onto the stage from both sides.
Each was clad in nothing more than sheer undergarments draped with a translucent layer of gauze.
Their exquisite curves were enticingly visible.
Xiao Chen had never seen such a spectacle in his life; his heart began racing and his face flushed crimson.
He wanted to speak up and ask Li Guanqi, only to be sharply rebuked by him.
"Don't you dare retract your divine sense! Begin cultivating!"
"Uh... Brother Li... in this situation... keeping my divine sense spread out like this, won't I suffer qi deviation?"
Li Guanqi replied with utmost solemnity, "This is something you must overcome! Only like this can you temper your heart and make your will as solid as stone!"
Li Guanqi's voice rang out with resounding, unshakeable conviction.
Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and began circulating his cultivation art.
Yet right at that moment, the women beside him started getting hands-on...
With a jolt, his cultivation was abruptly cut short, his qi and blood surged in reverse, and blood immediately spurted from his nose.
Ye Feng burst out laughing. "Good lord, who could possibly hold out against that?"
Hearing this, Xiao Chen hurriedly reined in his focus, forcibly suppressing the tremors in his body, and attempted to circulate his technique once more.
Yet the moment he gathered his resolve, a tingling sensation swept through his ear. A courtesan pulled her tongue back with a soft giggle and turned to dance away.
Two streams of nosebleed flowed straight into his mouth.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi waved his hand and turned around. "Slip away, slip away. Let's go."
At this point, the madam spoke up with a troubled expression. "Young Master Li, this... how long should this go on?"
Li Guanqi tilted his head and pondered for a moment.
A mischievous grin curled on his lips. "It ends whenever he can successfully complete a greater heavenly circulation with his cultivation art. For now, start with eight shichen."
With a strange look on her face, the madam nonetheless nodded in agreement.
Once outside, Ye Feng could not help holding a moment of silent pity for Xiao Chen and asked curiously, "Boss, what instructions did you leave?"
Li Guanqi shrugged and grinned wickedly. "I told the madam that as long as they don't take his virginity, she can throw whatever tricks they have at him."
Ye Feng asked with a hint of concern, "You don't think it'll cause this big idiot's cultivation to go awry, do you?"
Li Guanqi replied nonchalantly, "Then that just proves his heart is still unstable... Who told the bastard to eye my woman? Let's give his heart a good tempering."
Ye Feng could not help shivering at his words, feeling he could only pray for Xiao Chen in silence.
Tearing open the flame barrier with a wave of his hand, Ye Feng sensed the formidable might of the fire within and could not help remarking, "A heavenly flame... it really is potent."
As the two flew through the air, Li Guanqi glanced at him sideways and said, "What's there to envy? When you unseal your ghost hand and go all out, would you lose to him?"
Ye Feng's lips curled slightly. His eyes carried an unreadable expression, but he did not say much.
Yet after a long silence, Li Guanqi said softly, "Old Ye."
"Hm?"
"What do you think of the Yinming Profound Flame?"
Ye Feng naturally knew why he was asking and shrugged. "I think leaving it for Big Head is fine. It does match my affinity, but I don't need it."
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. He knew Ye Feng was always thinking of Cao Yan.
"Don't overthink it. I plan to leave the Yinming Profound Flame to you. As for Cao Yan... when the opportunity comes in the future, I'll find another heavenly flame for him. The Purple Dragon Thunder Flame... I have great use for it!"
Ye Feng's expression shifted slightly, his brow furrowing as he said in a low voice, "Boss, I know you want to look out for Big Head and me. But this is a heavenly flame! It would be of immense help to you as well."
Li Guanqi raised a hand to cut him off and said softly, "I have wanted to purge the power of this flame for a long time. After all, I only possess a lightning spiritual root. Even if I used a special technique to absorb the flames into my body and managed to maintain a balance between the two flames, it still demands my energy to nurture and suppress them."
Li Guanqi smiled with easy grace and added softly, "The Yinming Profound Flame suits your current power perfectly; you can completely integrate it into your ghost hand. As for me, all I need to do is rely on my own strength to pursue the pinnacle of the sword Dao! The Purple Dragon Thunder Flame won't be given to Cao Yan for now either, since I can't track him down anyway. Or... if I come across another flame when the chance arises in the future, I can simply prepare one for him then."
Hearing this, Ye Feng said no more, merely grinning broadly.
After the two returned to the cloud boat, they greeted Meng Wanshu and then, under Li Changqing's protection, completed the transfer of the flame's origin!
From then on, an extra tuft of pitch-black flame burned within Ye Feng's ghost hand!
Night fell, yet Li Changqing still saw no sign of Xiao Chen returning, and the repairs on the cloud boat were already complete.
He sent a low voice transmission to Li Guanqi, who was sitting beside Meng Wanshu: "Where did you stash Xiao Chen? It's already been a day and a night—how come he still isn't back? We need to set off for the Shenbao Domain."
Li Guanqi calculated the time, a peculiar look on his face as he replied, "He should... be almost done, right?"
Chapter 523