Before the eyes of all the cultivators, three figures were tossed down from the sky like dead dogs.
The four tore open the void and turned to depart, bringing this earth-shattering battle to an end at last.
The firmament was fractured, and the void was collapsed.
The Southern King Realm had been slashed open with a single strike, destined to dissipate between heaven and earth before long.
Southern Heavenly King Cao Zhennan had been slain in public, and the Heavenly Kings of the other three domains, who had joined forces and rushed to the scene, had been beaten like dead dogs as well.
As many as six Void Refining Realm experts had perished, every single one of them a renowned figure within the Xuanmen Domain.
From beginning to end, the Domain Lord of the Xuanmen Domain never made an appearance.
It was not that Zhang Qixuan did not want to show himself, but that he simply could not.
At this moment, no one could locate Zhang Qixuan's whereabouts, leaving his subordinates clueless as to whom they should report the incident involving the Four Heavenly Kings.
For a time, when the cultivators across the entire Xuanmen Domain learned of this news, an uproar erupted everywhere!
Regarding the identities of these people, many were speculating that they were the chosen scions of some hidden faction.
Every single one of them possessed the strength of a Heavenly King!
And naturally, the first person whose identity was discovered was Li Guanqi.
*Whoosh!*
Amidst the pitch-black void, aboard the luxurious cloud-piercing shuttle, everyone gathered around a young man with solemn expressions.
Meng Wanshu withdrew her divine sense and said in a heavy voice, "His injuries are too severe. The meridians in his body are almost completely severed!"
"His spiritual root was extracted. Even if we reclaim it now, integrating and restoring it will be extremely difficult."
"Although his dantian is not damaged... I'm afraid..."
Though she trailed off, everyone understood what she meant.
Even if Cao Yan managed to pull through and keep his life, he would likely never be able to cultivate again.
Li Guanqi's expression turned exceedingly grim. If Cao Yan could no longer cultivate, it would be worse than killing him.
Not to mention that Ye Feng's strength was continuously advancing; if Cao Yan alone were left behind, he would definitely find it impossible to accept.
If Li Guanqi were in his shoes...
With a dark face, Li Guanqi silently helped Cao Yan repair his shattered meridians.
He remained silent without a word, but his actions told everyone that he refused to give up just like this.
Seeing this, Ye Feng also gritted his teeth.
"Do all that is humanly possible and leave the rest to fate!"
"Whether he can cultivate can wait. Let's save his life first."
Meng Wanshu nodded silently. With a wave of her hand, a long ice table materialized before them.
"Lift him onto this first. This ice table will aid in healing his injuries."
As she spoke, she hung a jade-green pendant around Cao Yan's neck.
Instantly, an emerald fluorescence enveloped him.
Meng Wanshu said softly, "I didn't expect this thousand-year glazed tree core pendant would come in handy at a time like this."
The jade-green glow contained an immense vitality, converging at Cao Yan's crown and dantian to protect his fragile origin spirit.
Ever since his spiritual root was extracted, his origin spirit had been steadily weakening.
Pengluo ran out as well. After hesitating for a long while, he still plucked half a leaf from atop his head and slipped it into Cao Yan's mouth.
Li Guanqi glanced down at him, causing Pengluo to instantly clutch his head with both hands, his eyes wary.
Trotting over to the end of the ice table, he scrunched up his face and said, "Don't get any ideas about me! I barely have any leaves left on my head, and these things take forever to grow back."
After following Li Guanqi for so long, Pengluo had practically been giving without ever receiving.
Whenever there was anything good, it only came to him after Jiuxiao had already eaten his fill.
Yet Pengluo had snapped off his own arms plenty of times. Even the last time Meng Wanshu's cold poison flared up, he had gritted his teeth and picked a leaf.
In truth, had it not been for that leaf back then, Meng Wanshu would never have been able to keep her spiritual terrace clear and would have succumbed to unconsciousness long ago.
If she had passed out under those circumstances, the power of the cold poison in her body would likely have erupted with even greater ferocity.
Li Guanqi looked at Pengluo and whispered, "Thank you."
Then he retrieved six or seven bottles of medicinal pills from his storage ring and tossed them all to the little creature.
Clutching the jade bottles in his arms, Pengluo said in disbelief, "For me?! All of them are for me? They're all mine?"
Li Guanqi smiled and nodded. After all, these were just ordinary pills, offering virtually no help for Cao Yan's injuries.
Moreover, with Cao Yan's current condition and realm, he could not ingest any more medicinal pills in the short term anyway.
Meng Wanshu looked at the two and a half leaves remaining on Pengluo's head, thought for a moment, and also produced a jade bottle.
Only, this jade bottle contained something resembling a spiritual liquid.
Pengluo's little nose twitched. The moment he laid eyes on the bottle, his eyes glowed green with excitement.
Without hesitation, Pengluo dropped to the ground and knocked his head repeatedly in gratitude before Meng Wanshu. Only then did he delightedly carry the jade bottle aside and gulp it down.
Before long, the half-leaf on Pengluo's head grew significantly longer.
"*Phew...*"
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, looking up at the three companions beside him.
"Let's treat his external wounds first, then help him comb through his meridians."
"As for how to achieve a flawless integration of his spiritual root... allow me to think of a way."
With those words, Li Guanqi closed his eyes slightly and sank his consciousness into the sword casket space.
A translucent figure slowly materialized. Li Guanqi looked toward the woman leaning against the sword coffin in the distance, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"Sword spirit... is there a way regarding Cao Yan's spiritual root?"
The sword spirit raised her gaze slightly to look at Li Guanqi, her vermilion lips parting as she said, "There is. However, he will have to endure inhuman agony."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi gritted his teeth. He believed that with Cao Yan's fortitude, he could surely pull through!
The sword spirit then flicked her finger, shooting a ray of spiritual light straight between his brows.
After examining the secret method within, Li Guanqi's lips curved slightly, and the stone weighing on his heart finally dropped.
"Thank you."
When he had thought of asking the sword spirit, he had felt extremely uneasy, not knowing whether she would have a solution.
Yet just as Li Guanqi's figure was about to dissipate, the sword spirit's voice sounded slowly.
"You cannot continue advancing your realm this rapidly. You have become a bit impatient."
Li Guanqi nodded silently at her words. He had noticed some issues as well.
At present, he possessed the cultivation of the Void Refining Realm, but had far too little comprehension of the realm itself.
When facing enemies, all he did was rely on raw power to overwhelm them.
"Once this matter is settled, try to enter closed-door cultivation for a period. Besides, your sword dao needs improvement as well."
"Right now, you are like a reckless brute who possesses nothing but brawn."
The sword spirit's tone carried distinct dissatisfaction with Li Guanqi's current sword dao prowess.
In her eyes, Li Guanqi's sword dao should not be merely at this level.
Hearing her words, Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. It seemed that once this matter was resolved, he would be able to learn a great deal from her again.
Li Guanqi hurriedly cupped his fists in a salute, chuckling. "Understood! Once this is over, I'll peacefully cultivate in seclusion."
"I really am still too weak right now. With such mediocre sword dao prowess, I'm practically disgracing you, Sister Sword Spirit."
Chapter 563