After several days of rest, Li Guanqi's twelfth-layer realm had completely stabilized.
He continued to cultivate diligently every day, and Li Nanting often told him stories about the cultivation world.
With every different tale he heard, Li Guanqi could not help feeling that the hearts of people in the cultivation world were fraught with treachery.
Li Nanting chuckled and said, "These are just a few of the many things your master experienced in his youth."
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "You don't look old at all, Master."
"Hahaha! Only you have such a sweet mouth, boy. Not old? I... am already two hundred and sixty-seven years old this year. If I were down the mountain, the dirt would have covered me twice over!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi clicked his tongue. "That's true enough."
The old man cuffed the back of his head with a laugh. "You little brat."
Li Nanting tapped his pipe and said softly, "Lately, that little girl Sui'an has grown more and more attached to you."
Li Guanqi rubbed his nose with a grin. "I'm quite fond of the girl. She's so sensible it breaks your heart. Besides, living alone in my courtyard feels empty anyway. Clearing out a room for her to stay with me works out well."
Li Nanting smiled, then suddenly produced an azure jade slip and handed it over. "I see your aura growing steadier by the day; you must have reached a bottleneck. As for why you haven't broken through to Foundation Establishment, I'm sure you have your own plans, and I won't rush you. I heard you've been practicing spirit incantations very earnestly of late, so go fetch something on my behalf."
Li Guanqi took the azure jade slip and noticed a Daoist temple etched upon its surface. "Master, what am I fetching?"
A mysterious smile touched Li Nanting's lips. "A lightning spirit incantation. Head to the Daoist temple on Longhou Ridge and seek out an old fellow named Ling Daoran. Just tell him I sent you."
Li Guanqi asked softly, "Master, you're spending all these favors on me—is it worth it?"
Puff, puff.
Li Nanting drew on his pipe, plumes of blue smoke drifting from his mouth to obscure most of his face. "Worth it! Of course it's worth it! You are my disciple, Li Nanting's disciple. Spending favors on you, how could it not be worth it? Oh, and keep this Foundation Establishment Pill on you at all times just in case."
Li Guanqi did not refuse, accepting both the Foundation Establishment Pill and the jade slip.
He now carried three Foundation Establishment Pills on his person, along with over five hundred low-grade spirit stones and twenty mid-grade spirit stones. Most of those mid-grade spirit stones had come from the Beast Taming Sect master's storage ring.
Li Nanting glanced at his hand. "You'd best avoid flashing that storage ring of yours so openly. Conceal your wealth. Use a storage bag instead; it'll save you plenty of trouble."
Li Guanqi nodded, then made his way down the peak.
Early the next morning, he considered visiting the Treasure Pavilion to purchase a map of the Northern Region. After all, he would be traveling outside far more in the future, and lacking a map would be truly inconvenient.
"What?! An entire map of the Northern Region costs one hundred high-grade spirit stones?! Why don't you just go rob someone!"
Behind the counter, a female disciple covered her mouth and giggled. "Senior Brother Li, I'm afraid you don't realize just how vast the Northern Region of the Qingyun Continent really is. It spans tens of millions of li, and drafting such a map onto a jade slip requires an array master at the Nascent Soul realm just to barely transcribe it. So... a map covering a radius of a million li is more than enough, and that's only five mid-grade spirit stones~"
Recalling the Thunder Dragon egg inside his storage ring, Li Guanqi hesitated, then said, "Can't afford it. Just give me one with a radius of a hundred thousand li."
The female disciple took no offense. Taking the two mid-grade spirit stones from Li Guanqi's hand, she passed him a blue jade slip.
Clutching the jade slip, Li Guanqi walked out of the Treasure Pavilion feeling a deep ache in his purse. Glancing back at the smiling female disciple, he felt as though she were still eyeing his spirit stones.
Extending his divine sense into the slip, a magnificent map instantly unfurled in his mind.
The jade slip meticulously detailed all the geography and major sect forces within a hundred-thousand-li radius centered on the Great Xia Sword Sect. Whenever his divine sense brushed against the name of a sect, all sorts of information surfaced.
"Qixian Sect, renowned for their intricate array of weapons and concealed projectiles. Sect Master Cao Xinghua, peak mid-Nascent Soul stage."
Li Guanqi murmured, "Fascinating. To think they could craft a map in such exquisite detail. What kind of power is this Tianji Pavilion that produces and sells them?"
After putting away the jade slip, Li Guanqi visited the Mission Pavilion.
While browsing through the missions, he happened to spot one regarding dynastic unrest within the Great Xia Sword Sect's sphere of influence. The task was merely to investigate the situation thoroughly, and the contribution points rewarded were modest. But given Li Guanqi's temperament—even a mosquito leg was still meat—he accepted it. After all, the location lay right behind Longhou Ridge, so traveling there would not take long.
Li Guanqi then returned to his courtyard to pack two changes of clothes.
Yu Sui'an poked her little head out from the doorway and asked softly, "Li Guanqi, where are you going?"
"Out on a trip."
"Oh... When are you coming back?"
Li Guanqi stowed the clothes, tousled the little girl's hair, and smiled. "Don't worry, it won't be long. When I get back, I'll bring you some delicious treats."
Yu Sui'an's eyes lit up. Putting her hands on her hips, she declared loudly, "Then I want the tastiest buns from that place! Four of them! No... six!"
Li Guanqi laughed heartily and nodded in agreement. "All right, all right. I'll bring back six of the tastiest meat buns from that place for you."
With that, Li Guanqi carried his sword casket on his back and set off down the mountain alone.
Along the way, many sect disciples stopped of their own accord to bow respectfully to him. Rumors of recent events had leaked from the other peaks, and though people could not tell truth from falsehood, they still held immense respect for this foremost genius of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Li Guanqi checked the map. Minning Dock, the nearest place where he could board a cloud boat, lay a hundred li away. At his current pace, he could reach it in less than an hour. A Foundation Establishment cultivator flying on a sword would take only half an hour to cover that distance.
Having fixed his direction, Li Guanqi pushed off the ground, activating his movement technique to streak southward like a hunting leopard.
Before long, Li Guanqi saw various flying cloud boats darting through the distant sky. A mountain peak standing a full five hundred zhang tall had been carved into an enormous platform. Pavilions rose across the expanse, bustling with countless travelers coming and going.
Seven or eight cloud boats, each several dozen zhang long, were docked around the edges, and the travelers arriving and departing were clearly either wealthy or noble.
Stepping onto the platform, Li Guanqi was immediately captivated by the lively scene. There was only a single wide thoroughfare crossing the platform, but both sides were packed with street vendors. Hawkers cried their wares without pause.
Suddenly, Li Guanqi smiled faintly. His hands clamped down hard on a hand reaching toward his waist.
The immense grip forced a gaunt man to break into a sycophantic grin. "My lord, easy, please! This humble one was blind today. I'll kowtow to you!"
Li Guanqi smiled and released his grip, remarking softly, "Stealing from me? If there's a next time... I'm afraid you won't be needing those hands."
With that, he took the Great Xia Sword Sect jade token from his waist and waved it before the man's eyes.
The man immediately bobbed his head like a pestle pounding garlic, shouting to the crowd, "This lord has sharp eyes—none of you blind fools try anything!"
Turning back with a fawning grin, the man ushered Li Guanqi toward an exceptionally lavish cloud boat.
Li Guanqi did not refuse and boarded directly.
The cloud boat would make a stop at Wangyue City, the nearest city to Longhou Ridge.
Chapter 54