That night was far from peaceful in Ziyang Palace. It was said that Elder Zheng Hao flew into a thunderous rage after returning to his hall!
Yet he could not openly vent it, for Old Man Miao had nodded in tacit consent to that duel.
As night fell, the cloud boats of the other five sects arrived at Ziyang Palace one after another: the Qixian Sect, the Ten Thousand Immortals Sword Sect, Qinglong Island, Zhenyue Mountain, and the Zixiao Sword Pavilion.
The other five sects had each brought ten disciples as well, and they were assigned lodgings separately.
The moment the disciples of the Qixian Sect arrived at Ziyang Palace, they asked, "Have the disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect arrived?"
The Ziyang Palace disciple guiding them gave them a peculiar look before replying, "The Great Xia Sword Sect? They arrived yesterday."
The disciples exchanged glances, after which their leader said in a low voice, "Hmph! Is there a blind fellow among the disciples who came?"
Before the Ziyang Palace disciple could speak, another Qixian disciple sneered from behind, "Heh, how long has it been since the Yunmeng Immortal Palace? There's no way that guy could have reached Foundation Establishment by now."
The more the Ziyang Palace disciple listened, the stranger his expression became. He could not help but ask, "Do you have a grudge against that person?"
The slender Qixian disciple leading them snorted coldly. "More than just a grudge! He killed five of our Qixian Sect's Qi Refinement disciples! We will settle this score with him sooner or later!"
Hearing this, the Ziyang Palace disciple nodded, understanding what was going on. But sensing the auras of the men before him, he curled his lip. Seeing how impassioned they were, he recalled the scenes from earlier that day and could not help shuddering.
Out of pity, he said, "He did come. But... I advise you not to think about revenge or anything like that. With just the few of you, there aren't enough of you for him to kill."
With that, the Ziyang Palace disciple pointed toward their assigned quarters, turned, and walked away. As for explaining the reason or caring about the fury in the eyes of the Qixian disciples, he couldn't be bothered.
Was Pang Li truly weak?
If he were weak, he would never have been accepted as a disciple by a palace elder. It was simply that the blind swordsman was too strong—so overwhelmingly strong that everyone felt from the bottom of their hearts that Pang Li wasn't even on the same level. He had only offered a well-intentioned warning; whatever the Qixian disciples thought was none of his concern.
Soon after, people from the other major sects also began inquiring about the Great Xia Sword Sect. Before long, they learned from the Ziyang Palace disciples what had transpired during the day. This completely took the wind out of the sails of those disciples from the other sects who had originally planned to cause trouble.
In particular, recording crystals leaked from Tang Ru clearly showed every scene of Li Guanqi's lethal duel. Tang Ru had originally prepared them in case anyone tried to renege on their bets. Unexpectedly, people offered to buy them, so Tang Ru went all out, purchasing recording crystals in bulk and selling hundreds of copies in a single night.
The disciples of the various sects, previously aggressive and truculent, fell silent upon watching the recordings. The mastery of the sword Li Guanqi demonstrated in the images alone was beyond anything they could counter, let alone his terrifying strength and speed.
Early the next morning, Li Nanting transmitted his voice softly to everyone: "Prepare to head to the Spirit Testing Hall."
By then, Li Guanqi had already bathed and tidied himself. He had spent the night cultivating as usual; though his absorption of spiritual energy was rapid, half had to be shared with the sword spirit. With the stifled anger in his chest dispelled, Li Guanqi had also run through several dozen rounds of his fist form that morning.
Soon, the party of ten flew on their swords behind the old man toward the Spirit Testing Hall.
Along the way, Li Guanqi noticed that Ziyang Palace had an immense number of disciples. By rough estimation, there were at least nearly ten thousand.
"For such a colossal faction, the resources consumed every single day must be beyond measure."
The dense worldly spiritual energy made Li Guanqi keenly feel the gap between the Great Xia Sword Sect and a powerhouse like Ziyang Palace. Yet he did not regret joining the Great Xia Sword Sect in the slightest. Li Nanting, Shen Lan, the Sect Master... Every one of them was fiercely protective of Great Xia Sword Sect disciples.
The group swept past numerous pavilions, crossed towering peaks, and arrived at the rear mountains of Ziyang Palace. There stood an eye-catching, pitch-black hall that looked ancient and weathered by the ages. The hall rose more than a hundred feet high, built and carved entirely from unknown pitch-black stone.
When they touched down, the people from the other five sects had already gathered.
"Hahaha! Old Li, I never expected you to be the one leading the team this time!"
The speaker was none other than the old man who had previously received Shen Lan at Zhenyue Mountain. A faint smile appeared on Li Nanting's face; evidently, he and the old man were old acquaintances, and they exchanged some pleasantries. The old man's gaze also flicked toward Li Guanqi, seemingly intentionally or not.
Just then, Shen Qi came over to Li Guanqi's side, laughing heartily. "Hahaha! Brother Li, Brother Ye! As expected, both of you are here."
Ye Feng chuckled and punched his shoulder. "Yo, recovered from your injuries last time?"
Shen Qi thumped his chest. "Fully healed long ago! And I heard all about yesterday. Brother Li is incredible!"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and asked softly, "Did the other sects cause trouble for you afterward?"
Shen Qi's expression darkened, and he snorted. "They should be thankful my Zhenyue Mountain didn't go looking for trouble with them! Let's hope our spirit ruins hold artifact souls, haha."
Right after, Song Ru, the consecrated elder of Ziyang Palace, arrived at the Spirit Testing Hall. The disciples returned to their respective elders and quietly awaited the hall's opening.
The old man gave the crowd a slight nod, then took out a diamond-shaped black jade pendant and embedded it into the grand doors.
*Buzz!!*
A mysterious ripple pulsed through the air, and the entire Spirit Testing Hall was instantly enveloped in black light. The black light flickered, writhing and dancing like flames.
*Boom!!*
The two massive stone doors slowly creaked open, and Song Ru said softly, "Everyone may enter now."
Testing the spirit ruins was not limited to the six sects; even Ziyang Palace had nearly twenty disciples taking part in the ceremony.
When they stepped inside the hall, Li Guanqi suddenly felt the ambient temperature plummet, waves of chill enveloping him. Next, he saw an altar about ten feet across situated in the center of the hall. The altar stood three feet high and was entirely pitch-black, with an opening among nine stone pillars. Moreover, the altar was completely surrounded by pitch-black pool water.
Immediately after, Song Ru retrieved nine glimmering spirit stones from his storage ring and slotted them into the grooves atop the altar.
*Buzz!!!*
Instantly, the nine stone pillars radiated a mysterious fluctuation, raising a hazy gray barrier. Song Ru spoke softly: "Before stepping onto the altar, one must first pass through the waters of the Dust-Cleansing Pool, standing firm in it for three breaths before taking a position at the center of the altar. Do not worry; testing the spirit ruins poses no danger, so remain calm and composed no matter what occurs."
With that, the old man instructed the waiting Ziyang Palace disciples to begin first.
Chapter 71