Standing beside Li Guanqi, Kong Xun watched the scene unfold with a conflicted look in his eyes.
Yet he said nothing more; a decision had already formed in his mind.
The Tian'e Sect... was truly a joke.
Nevertheless, what Pei Shishi had done had indeed intimidated many people.
To avoid humiliating themselves, quite a few cultivators who had previously mocked her were already flying away into the distance.
In particular, several female cultivators who had ridiculed her most fiercely preferred to forgo the Dao Comprehension Platform entirely rather than endure such disgrace.
Clutching his severed wrist, the man finally departed, and the crowd immediately quieted down.
Pei Shishi spoke up several more times during this period, but these people simply considered themselves unlucky and paid the spirit stones rather than give up this opportunity.
The corners of Sun Jie's mouth curled up slightly; Pei Shishi knew how to conduct herself.
Though she was using his status to settle personal grudges, these spirit stones... all went into his own pocket!
Pei Shishi only cared about pure vengeance, and even if the clan found out about it, she alone would take the blame.
Without anyone noticing, Kong Xun had already changed out of his Tian'e Sect robe.
He had put on a white robe just like Li Guanqi's.
Li Guanqi understood what this meant. With a slight shift of his feet, he walked toward the main gate.
As for the young Tian'e Sect disciple, his mind was reeling in shock—it turned out all his attentive devotion over the past few years had been for nothing.
He simply followed alongside Kong Xun and Li Guanqi.
Seeing Kong Xun in different attire, Pei Shishi's eyes narrowed. Li Guanqi's group of three had just received their feather tokens, which had even been significantly discounted thanks to their connection to the Tian'e Sect.
Yet just as they took a few steps forward, a shrill female voice sounded from the side:
"Wait! Stop right there, all of you!"
Li Guanqi frowned, while Kong Xun looked even more displeased.
Turning toward her, Kong Xun asked with a furrowed brow, "Junior Sister Pei, is there anything else?"
Pei Shishi quickly strode up to them. Glaring at Kong Xun, who had discarded his sect robe, she said coldly, "Kong Xun, out of respect, I call you Consecrated Elder Kong...
"What, taking off your sect robe now—do you think my actions today brought shame upon you, Pei Shishi?"
Kong Xun's hands rested loosely at his sides. Standing quietly, he looked at her with calm eyes and said softly, "It has nothing to do with you. Tomorrow I will inform the sect of my resignation from the position of consecrated elder."
Rage surged in Pei Shishi's pretty eyes. She was convinced Kong Xun thought sharing a sect with her was humiliating, which was why he had changed out of his sect robe right in public!
Catching sight of the silent Li Guanqi out of the corner of her eye, a nameless fury flared up within her!
A fellow she had looked down upon the whole way had witnessed her embarrassment from start to finish.
And now Kong Xun was even walking with him!
Pei Shishi turned her glare on Li Guanqi, then turned her head toward Sun Jie. "Brother Jie, I don't know this man, and he's not from our Tian'e Sect!
"His fee... will be tripled!"
Sun Jie frowned. He, too, could not fathom why a Core Formation cultivator was so wealthy.
For such an expensive high-grade Dao Comprehension Platform, he had produced that many spirit stones without batting an eye.
One had to understand that anyone who hadn't previously purchased a token from the Six Ancient Sacred Sect had to buy according to the Sun clan's pricing!
That was a full three thousand high-grade spirit stones!
Sun Jie hesitated. A Core Formation cultivator capable of casually producing three thousand high-grade spirit stones surely had an extraordinary faction behind him.
Not noticing Sun Jie's expression, Pei Shishi continued on her own, "Take back the feather token!"
Li Guanqi looked at her calmly, unable to comprehend why her pride was so fragile.
"Just because you say triple, I have to pay?"
Pei Shishi sneered as countless assumptions filled her mind. "If you're poor, don't pretend to be a wealthy young master!
"If you can't afford it, get lost!"
Beside them, the Tian'e Sect disciple couldn't help but send a voice transmission to Li Guanqi: "Fellow Daoist, if worse comes to worst, don't provoke her. You can come back another time when she isn't here. This Pei Shishi... now that she's a concubine, she's got her head in the clouds!"
Li Guanqi chuckled inwardly. It seemed even the fellow who had once attended to her every whim looked down on her now.
Li Guanqi sneered. "Treating a chicken feather like a commander's warrant, acting as if you've really become a phoenix..."
The moment those words left his mouth, the expressions of all the cultivators waiting outside shifted.
They cast sympathetic looks at Li Guanqi one after another; those words had struck right at Pei Shishi's sorest spot.
Wasn't everything she was doing right now exactly as Li Guanqi had described?
With Pei Shishi's vindictive nature, there was no telling how she would torment him.
Pei Shishi glared darkly at Li Guanqi, hissing, "Good, very good. Refusing face when it's offered...
"Triple won't get you in anymore. Now it's fivefold... no, tenfold!!!"
With his hands clasped behind his back, a playful smile touched the corners of Li Guanqi's lips.
His concealed aura subtly revealed itself, faintly displaying the realm of late Core Formation.
"Oh? Tenfold... Then that's a full thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones...
"I doubt even some Soul Formation cultivators have seen that many spirit stones in their entire lives, have they?
"Are you... deliberately making things difficult for me?"
A mocking sneer spread across Pei Shishi's face. Crossing her arms, she stood beside Sun Jie and said, "That's right, I'm making things difficult for you—so what?
"Do you dare lay a finger on me?"
Li Guanqi chuckled. "I wouldn't dare. How could I...?
"However... what if I do produce these thirty thousand spirit stones?"
Pei Shishi was already certain that it was impossible for Li Guanqi to possess so many spirit stones.
Just looking at the ordinary robe he wore, it wasn't even a magical garment.
What family's elders would let a Core Formation junior carry thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones on them?
They would likely be assassinated before even walking out the front door.
Feeling entirely confident, she said coldly, "If you don't have it, you'll kneel on the ground before everyone and shout that you were wrong!!"
Li Guanqi shook his head, finding the woman before him utterly petty and narrow-minded.
He simply said, "Fair enough. And if I do bring them out?"
Pei Shishi waved her hand dismissively. "Name your condition!"
A sharp glint flashed in the depths of Li Guanqi's eyes, and he gave an odd laugh. "Since you enjoy bootlicking so much, how about you kneel on the ground and lick this gentleman's feet?"
Li Guanqi's finger pointed straight at the young Tian'e Sect disciple, instantly causing everyone's expressions to turn extraordinarily colorful.
Pei Shishi glanced at the young man who had doted on her and catered to her every whim over the past few years. Her face twisted through several shades before she snapped, "Fine! I accept!!"
Li Guanqi grinned. With a wave of his hand, a dense swarm of high-grade spirit stones filled the air, virtually blotting out the sky before the mountain gate!!!
At this sight, everyone swallowed greedily, their eyes bloodshot with avarice.
That vast sea of spirit stones—was it merely thirty thousand?
It was easily more than a hundred thousand!
Beside them, cold sweat broke out all over Sun Jie. He no longer thought Li Guanqi was simply some wealthy cultivator.
He felt... things had spiraled far beyond his control...
Just who was this bewitching, demonic-looking fellow?!
Looking at Pei Shishi, who was frozen in place, Li Guanqi sneered, "Is that enough?"
Pei Shishi's complexion turned dreadful, and her eyes darted uncontrollably toward Sun Jie.
Yet Sun Jie was also drenched in cold sweat, clutching a jade slip and sending voice transmissions frantically!
Li Guanqi turned to the Tian'e Sect disciple. "I haven't asked for your name, Fellow Daoist."
Only then did the youth snap back to his senses, bowing hurriedly in greeting. "This junior is Zhao Nian."
Li Guanqi chuckled. "What are you waiting for? Take off your boots."
In a few swift motions, Zhao Nian kicked off his boots, shattered his socks with a burst of primal energy, and licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Li Guanqi slowly turned around, gazing down at the woman with unvarnished disdain. His voice wasn't loud, yet it shook the very soul:
"Lick."
Chapter 703