Hearing his words, the sword spirit curled her lips. Having stayed with him for so long, she knew exactly what kind of person Li Guanqi was.
Without bothering to reply, she waved her hand and sent him straight out of the spatial barrier.
Li Guanqi slowly opened his eyes and found Ye Feng staring intently at him.
Because Ye Feng knew some of his secrets, he too had been waiting!
"Phew... I found a way, but first we need to locate a place that can relieve pain. Otherwise, I'm afraid the kid won't be able to bear it."
At the side, Xiao Chen had been silently helping Cao Yan smooth out the shattered meridians inside his body. He could tell that both Ye Feng and Li Guanqi were genuinely worried sick about the fellow lying on the ice table. Even when facing the Heavenly Kings of an entire domain, neither of them had shown the slightest fear.
Such brotherly bond filled him with immense envy. Throughout the journey, he had caught himself wondering: if he were in Cao Yan's place, would he have brothers willing to brave any peril just to save him?
The more he thought about it, the more dejected he inevitably felt. Although he had been through a great deal with Li Guanqi and the others this time, he still felt an invisible barrier between himself and the two of them—a barrier that kept him from becoming someone Li Guanqi and Ye Feng could truly open their hearts to.
Ye Feng was still manageable; one could clearly sense the shift in his attitude. But Li Guanqi...
Li Guanqi had actually noticed Xiao Chen's gaze, yet he made no move to bring it up. Because of what had happened with Cang Lu, he remained wary of any new acquaintance. Even so, his impression of Xiao Chen had been shifting bit by bit.
Because... this fellow's sheer foolishness really didn't look like an act.
As for his identity, Li Guanqi harbored no doubts. He had already had someone test him. Were that not the case, how could Long Hou's enlightenment have fallen upon Xiao Chen? Otherwise, Li Guanqi would never have agreed to let Xiao Chen come along to the Xuanmen Domain in the first place.
Hearing Li Guanqi's words, Meng Wanshu pondered for a moment before saying softly, "If it's only a matter of suppressing pain, having me here is enough. While ensuring his dantian, origin spirit, and spiritual terrace remain clear and untainted, I can seal off his five senses."
Li Guanqi's eyes lit up. He nodded and spread his divine sense across the surroundings. Soon enough, he found a natural spiritual spring out in the world!
Buzz!
The cloud-piercing shuttle tore through the void and emerged above a lush mountain range. Thunder flashed beneath Li Guanqi's feet. Spatial power wrapped around the group, teleporting them directly to the edge of a cold pool.
Beneath the eye of this spiritual spring lay a vast deposit of ice crystal stones, leaving the pool water icy cold and brimming with spiritual energy. Meng Wanshu's eyes brightened. Stepping to the edge of the pool, she casually tossed down a palm-sized blue array plate.
Instantly, a boundless wave of spatial power enveloped the area! Within a radius of a hundred zhang, the temperature plummeted drastically!
A gentle glow of ice-blue light radiated from the ten-zhang-wide pool, yet the water did not freeze. Li Guanqi carefully placed Cao Yan into the pool and stepped in right after him.
Ye Feng asked with concern, "Boss, want me to come down and help?"
Even with the Purple Dragon Thunder Flame shielding his meridians, Li Guanqi could not help but shiver. "No need. I can manage on my own."
The others watched Li Guanqi with grave expressions.
Sitting cross-legged in the water, Cao Yan's eyelids twitched faintly. His flesh and skin had long since been restored to their original state. Clad in only a thin undergarment, the trembling of his eyelids showed that he had already regained a sliver of consciousness.
Li Guanqi sent a solemn voice transmission into his mind: "Old Third! Steady your celestial soul. Next, you have to fuse your spiritual root back into place. It's going to hurt like hell... You have to hold on!"
Having just woken, Cao Yan understood the situation at once. Two streams of tears welled up and spilled over his cheeks uncontrollably, and he nodded with all his might.
Li Guanqi took a deep breath. Following the method recorded in the secret technique, he began to reintegrate Cao Yan's spiritual root.
Within the frost barrier, Cao Yan gritted his teeth, doing everything he could to keep from screaming. He bit off a large chunk of his own lip, his teeth coated in blood. His face twisted ferociously as he endured inhuman agony. Yet compared to everything he had suffered over all these years, this physical pain was nothing.
Xiao Chen could hardly bear to watch from the side, feeling deeply uncomfortable all over just looking at him.
Ye Feng pressed his lips together, thinking to himself, *If Big Head had ended up in the Purgatory Abyss back then, he probably would have plunged deeper than anywhere I ever went...*
Time slipped by. Cao Yan, having passed out from the pain, floated quietly on the surface of the pool while the surrounding spiritual energy surged continuously into his body. Meng Wanshu poured several vials of spiritual liquid into the water, each of which would have served as the grand finale at any external auction!
A vibrant azure glow enveloped Cao Yan's form.
Seeing this, Li Guanqi let out a soft breath of relief. It seemed the reintegration of the spiritual root was proceeding smoothly.
Ye Feng exhaled a long breath as well, plopping down onto the ground. "Finally, we can breathe easy. Boss, where are we heading once this is done?"
Meng Wanshu pricked up her ears to listen, and even Xiao Chen leaned closer.
Li Guanqi looked at Cao Yan and pondered for a good while before speaking. "Once this matter is settled, I plan to take Old Third back to the sect!"
He then turned to Meng Wanshu. "Wanshu, come back with me too. It'll be a good chance to meet my master."
Meng Wanshu smiled shyly, giving a gentle nod without refusing.
Hearing that they were returning to the sect, Ye Feng grew a bit excited; it had been far too long since they had last gone back. "Heh, going back for a look sounds great. We've been away for years—who knows how things are at home."
Li Guanqi smiled softly and said no more. Hearing their conversation, Xiao Chen shifted uncomfortably to the side, an awkward look on his face. After all, none of what they were discussing had anything to do with him.
He stood up, dusted off his clothes, and offered a carefree laugh. "Haha, well, since everything's fine now, I suppose I should get ready to head back."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi slowly got to his feet, looked at Xiao Chen, and laughed. "Head back where? Come with us!"
Xiao Chen's face lit up with surprise and delight. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he scratched his head in bashful embarrassment. "Really? I can come along with you guys?"
Li Guanqi nodded with a smile and said gently, "I haven't even properly thanked you for this whole ordeal. Without you, who knows what other complications might have cropped up."
Thousands of words paled before the relief and mutual understanding mirrored in their eyes. Xiao Chen nodded, grinning broadly. "All right! You're actually a pretty good guy after all. Then I won't go back just yet—I'll go check out your sect!"
The three of them exchanged glances, smiles tugging at their lips. Through his innate, endearing honesty, Xiao Chen had earned their genuine acceptance.
Gathering together inside the barrier, they drank wine and ate meat, waiting for Cao Yan in the center of the pool to make a full recovery.
Chapter 564