As Li Guanqi's helpless voice rang out, everyone in the hall froze on the spot.
Jiang Yi's pupils quivered, his hollow eyes darting frantically across the void as he murmured in disbelief, "The Old Pavilion Master... survived the heavenly tribulation?"
From all directions within the void came an aged chuckle.
"Heh, heh. Just a mid-stage Body Integration cultivator—you won't be dying anytime soon."
A thin, withered elder stepped slowly out of the void, treating the thick azure barrier as if it were nothing at all.
With merely a gentle tap of his finger against the formation barrier, the screen abruptly shattered and collapsed!
Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, the elder was surrounded by showering shards of the destroyed barrier.
A boundless, majestic pressure erupted from him with a thunderous roar!
The terrifying might made the entire Tianji Domain shudder violently, teetering on the verge of collapse!
The stooped elder's eyelids twitched slightly as his half-lidded eyes swept emotionlessly over the people present.
In an instant, four figures collapsed onto the ground with a dull thud, as though struck by a cataclysmic blow!
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Four heaven-reaching square pillars materialized abruptly from the void, instantly pinning all four to the floor!
Flowing light rippled along the square pillars, nearly smashing them into mincemeat!
The elder's soft chanting reached Li Guanqi's ears.
"Spirit Incantation Seventy-Eight: Four-Direction Heaven-Reaching Pillars."
Li Guanqi's heart shook, his brow twitching slightly. From the elder, he could feel only a heavy pressure like an immovable mountain.
Yet he could not detect a shred of aura—it was completely beyond his perception, as if a thin veil of mist blocked his divine sense from penetrating. Even though the elder stood right beside him, he seemed completely merged with heaven and earth, one with the world itself.
Not only did he cast a spirit incantation from the top hundred right from the start, but he did so with effortless indifference. Li Guanqi even suspected the old man did not need to chant at all.
Gu Yong turned to offer Li Guanqi a faint smile, then looked toward Ji Yuchuan and said softly, "You've worked hard."
Ji Yuchuan smiled and bowed respectfully. "Congratulations, Pavilion Master, on successfully breaking through and stepping into the Mahayana Realm!"
A trace of a smile appeared on the elder's calm face, though his eyes turned icy as he looked down at the men pinned below.
With his hands behind his back, his finger hooked lightly, and the ground trembled.
Immediately after, another heaven-reaching square pillar surged straight up from beneath the White Tower into the floor of the Deliberation Hall!
Under the collision of two pillars, the Body Integration Realm powerhouse Yuan Hongyi had paid a steep price to hire was crushed into a bloody paste!
His illusory origin spirit could not escape the elder's grasp either. Gu Yong's withered hand made a slight grasping motion, and with a pop, the origin spirit exploded into nothingness!
Witnessing this, the remaining three trembled to the core of their souls, gripped by the terror of impending death. They all tried to beg for mercy, only to find that even opening their mouths had become an impossible luxury.
Gu Yong walked slowly into their midst, tilting his head slightly toward the ceiling.
With a sigh, he murmured, "How good it would have been if you had just done your duties properly. Why go this far...?"
Before the words faded, the ground began to shake again, far more violently than before.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gu Yong did not give the three of them even a chance to make an excuse.
Three heaven-reaching square pillars instantly pierced through the entire White Tower!
From beginning to end, the elder's expression remained completely calm and detached.
Looking at Ji Yuchuan, he said softly, "Have the Dark Pavilion Guards carry out the purge. It's time for the Tianji Pavilion... to cut out these cancerous tumors."
Ji Yuchuan bowed solemnly. "Ge Yi obeys the order!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Dark Pavilion Guards vanished in an instant.
Left alone with Li Guanqi, the old man smiled. "You did well."
Li Guanqi glanced at Red Lotus with a twinge of heartache, then shrugged. "You really found me a wonderful chore, old senior.
"Still... your granddaughter had an arm cut off. That was my shortcoming."
Gu Yong waved a hand dismissively. "It's just an arm. It's not as though it can't be reattached, and she didn't lose her life.
"To achieve this much is already very good."
With his hands clasped behind his back, Gu Yong let his pressure gently recede until he seemed no different from a kindly old grandfather.
"Come, let's sit for a while at my residence."
Li Guanqi nodded, and the two vanished from the White Tower.
The shambles left behind seemed to have nothing to do with either of them.
Within Gu Yong's courtyard, the elder looked upon his familiar house, feeling for a moment as if a lifetime had passed.
No one knew the life-and-death perils he had undergone, and none of it needed to be spoken to outsiders.
The two sat cross-legged across from each other. The elder lit a stick of premium spirit incense.
Wisps of azure smoke rose, carrying a scent that calmed the heart and focused the mind. The elder brewed a pot of spirit tea with his own hands.
Li Guanqi untied the jade pendant from his waist, placed it in front of the old man, and teased, "This thing was really too hot to handle."
Pouring tea, Gu Yong smiled. "If you don't want to return it, brat... that's fine too."
Li Guanqi curled his lip. "Forget it. It's better to return this thing to you.
"Having that movement technique, the Great Wilderness Roaming Dragon Scripture, is more than enough for me."
With a flick of his hand, Gu Yong took back the jade pendant that symbolized the Pavilion Master, saying softly, "To be honest, if you truly wanted it, I would have given it to you."
Li Guanqi took a sip of the spirit tea. Dense spiritual qi circulated through his entire body, sweeping away all of the day's exhaustion.
With bright eyes, Li Guanqi rubbed his hands together. "Could you spare a bit of these tea leaves for me later?"
Gu Yong burst into hearty laughter, then produced an embroidered emerald silk pouch and handed it over.
"Take it. I don't have much left either. Next time, I'll hunt down some more for you."
Li Guanqi accepted it with a grin, carefully tucking the spirit tea away.
Presenting this to his father-in-law later would surely keep him delighted.
After putting it away, Li Guanqi spoke with a solemn face. "Elder Gu, I'd like to ask you for two people."
Gu Yong's slightly cloudy eyes seemed capable of seeing right through Li Guanqi's thoughts.
Pouring tea, he smiled and asked, "You want Ji Yuchuan?"
Li Guanqi scratched his head with slight embarrassment, yet nodded nonetheless.
"I secretly established an organization called Guanyun Pavilion. I want Ji Yuchuan to help me manage it.
"In addition... I also want Su You from the Yellow Tower. He's very suitable as a middle manager."
Gu Yong's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected the kid's appetite to be so large—asking for two people at once.
"Do you know that I intended to bring Su You into the Dark Pavilion Guards?"
Li Guanqi squeezed his eyes shut, putting on the air of a dead pig that feared no boiling water.
"Just give me a straight answer, old senior—will you give them to me or not?
"I entered the dragon's lair and tiger's den of the Tianji Domain all on my own. My sect was thrown into panic, and my fourth brother's family went into seclusion. I slaved away and racked my brains for over a month.
"When others tripped me up, I had to swallow my anger and endure in silence.
"Unable to pass down orders properly, I even had to secretly alter the Tianji Chart.
"Every single day, I couldn't eat well or sleep well..."
Seeing this, the old man hurriedly raised a hand to cut him off. "All right, all right, enough, enough..."
Li Guanqi looked up. "Then that means you're releasing them!
"Tsk, as expected of a senior of the Mahayana Realm! Such magnanimity! Such vision!"
Gu Yong's face twitched. He wondered... whether he should simply hand the Tianji Pavilion over to this kid altogether.
Then he could abdicate and head straight to the Seventh Domain to live carefree and at ease.
Chapter 696