Song Yunshu looked at Li Guanqi with an amused expression.
Li Guanqi remained calm as ever. Glancing at the woman, he said, "That's enough. Give it to me."
Hearing this, Song Yunshu's expression also turned serious. Looking at Li Guanqi, she said solemnly, "Let's go inside first."
Li Guanqi's brow furrowed. He keenly sensed that Song Yunshu's visit wasn't merely to return the Tianji Chart!
"Come on, let's talk inside."
The three of them entered Xiao Chen's study.
The moment they stepped in, the old man surnamed Tu produced a white jade array plate and tossed it into the air!
Instantly, a profound spatial fluctuation rippled out. The array plate shimmered with light, casting down a milky-white barrier curtain!
Li Guanqi sensed that the entirety of Xiao Chen's study was sealed within an utterly terrifying barrier!
Its strength was far greater than he had anticipated!
Lightly touching the milky-white barrier beside him, Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes.
This barrier was exceedingly formidable; even with an all-out attack, he might not be able to shatter it.
Turning around, Li Guanqi saw Song Yunshu standing before him, holding a scroll in both hands.
With a stir of Li Guanqi's perception, the Tianji Chart instantly transformed into a streak of flowing light and slipped into the space between his brows.
Song Yunshu said in a low voice, "This array plate's barrier can only last for an incense stick's time at most.
"So I'll keep this brief."
*Exhale...*
Taking a deep breath, the woman looked at Li Guanqi and said solemnly, "The Old Pavilion Master is currently in seclusion, preparing for a breakthrough."
Li Guanqi's heart gave a sudden leap. Gu Yong was actually in seclusion seeking a breakthrough right now?
That was the Mahayana realm...
Before he could think any further, Song Yunshu's grave voice rang out again.
"So my reason for seeking you out this time, aside from returning the Tianji Chart, is for another matter."
The previously expressionless Li Guanqi frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"What matter?"
Song Yunshu said in a heavy voice, "During this period, the Old Pavilion Master hopes you can take charge of the Tianji Pavilion in his stead!"
A tempest surged in Li Guanqi's heart!
Gu Yong actually wanted to entrust the Tianji Pavilion into his hands during his seclusion?
Li Guanqi's brows knitted tightly as he cast a glance at the old man behind them.
Seeing that the elder remained silent, resting with closed eyes, Li Guanqi looked straight into Song Yunshu's eyes and narrowed his own.
"Why me?
"From what I know of the Tianji Pavilion, it is a colossal organization.
"Surely there is no shortage of people within the pavilion capable of taking charge?"
This news was too shocking to him. That was the Tianji Pavilion!
The greatest intelligence organization on the surface of the Six Domains. And he was an outsider...
At this point, Li Guanqi paused briefly, an imposing aura of authority radiating from him as he asked in a low voice, "Just what... is your relationship with Senior Gu?"
This inexplicable momentum bore down on Song Yunshu, leaving her somewhat breathless!
Li Guanqi hadn't mobilized a shred of primal energy; this was accomplished purely through a single gaze and a calm sentence.
Song Yunshu possessed only the cultivation of the late-stage Soul Formation Realm. In her eyes, Li Guanqi was currently shrouded in a hazy layer of blood-red mist.
Within that bloody mist, it seemed there lay an endless sea of blood and mountains of corpses!
Behind them, the black-robed elder frowned slightly and gripped his walking stick, intending to rise.
"You only need to say whether you agree or not. As for the rest... there is no need for you to know so much."
With those words, a vast and majestic momentum suddenly surged from the old man's body!
Sensing this extraordinarily powerful aura, Li Guanqi was certain the old man was a mighty cultivator of the Body Integration Realm!
Yet without a change in expression, Li Guanqi turned to glance at the old man, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tilted his head and murmured, "And what if I insist on knowing the reason?"
The moment these words fell, the previously listless elder straightened his back!
The pressure of the two collided in the void, and the desk between them instantly shattered!
*Bang!!*
The entire study fell into shambles.
Outside the barrier, Xiao Chen sat on the mountain peak drinking wine.
Suddenly turning his gaze toward the courtyard, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
"Trying to pick a fight with my big brother?"
*Boom!!*
Debris erupted across the mountain peak as a blood-red spear tore through the void, hurtling toward the barrier at breakneck speed!
*Thud!!!*
The spear pierced half an inch into the barrier in an instant.
The tremendous rebound force immediately sent the spear flying backward.
Xiao Chen caught the spear with one hand, his body dragged back over a hundred zhang by the immense recoil!
The shaft trembled violently, leaving Xiao Chen's palm a bloody mess from the friction.
Just as he was about to unleash his full might, Li Guanqi's voice suddenly echoed by his ear:
"It's fine. No need to act."
Only then did Xiao Chen suppress the surging primal energy within him.
Li Guanqi quietly watched the woman who had stepped between him and the elder.
Song Yunshu glanced back at the old man, signaling him with her eyes not to get agitated, then turned around, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, "The current Tianji Pavilion... is facing huge problems!
"The pavilion elders have formed a faction. They believe that with the emergence of the Ancient Clans, the Six Domains will fall into chaos, and with the Tianji Pavilion's strength, being swallowed up is inevitable.
"'Better to find a way to latch onto a powerful patron right now for mutual benefit.'
"Meanwhile, certain third-generation scions want to seize this opportunity to rise up, using their fathers' names to hollow out the Tianji Pavilion, or even take control of specific branches."
As she reached this point, a trace of exhaustion flashed in Song Yunshu's eyes.
Looking up, her eyes slightly reddened, she gazed at Li Guanqi and said, "I... am the granddaughter of Pavilion Master Gu Yong!"
Li Guanqi's brows arched in shock, a jolt running through his heart!
If he remembered correctly, Gu Yong had only one son, named Gu Ze!
And according to what Meng Jiangchu had told him...
Gu Yong's son and Dao companion were ambushed and killed by enemies twenty years ago...
In other words, the Song Yunshu before him was Gu Ze's daughter!
"Miss! How could you reveal this?!"
Song Yunshu fixed her gaze firmly on Li Guanqi and said in an utterly calm voice, "Since Grandfather sent me to find him and wants to give him the chance to take charge of the Tianji Pavilion, it means he is someone worthy of absolute trust!"
Tu Yongsi's cloudy eyes stared intently at Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi also tilted his head to look at him. In his view, this man was a Dao protector hidden by Song Yunshu's side.
Moreover, the vitality within the old man was waning; it appeared he was not far from his next samsara heavenly tribulation of the Body Integration Realm.
The old man let out a soft sigh, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and slowly sat down.
"Since that's the case, you should have a good talk with him."
With that, the elder closed his eyes slightly as he rested in his chair.
Li Guanqi gave the elder a deep look, then turned toward Song Yunshu and said softly, "I'll think about it."
Tears almost spilled from Song Yunshu's eyes upon hearing this. She had thought Li Guanqi would agree right away, never expecting he would say he needed to consider it.
Sitting in his chair and watching the weeping Song Yunshu, Li Guanqi said calmly, "Crying won't help. You can't be naive enough to think that just because you're beautiful, I'd agree the moment you asked, right?
"This is a scalding potato. If things go wrong... people die."
Chapter 673