Lu Kangnian was now a cultivator of the Void Refining Realm, more than capable of keeping the others in check.
Besides, Tu Zhongqiu and Nangong Qianyan had implicitly made their stance clear to Li Guanqi the previous evening. They had no desire to vie for fame or power, nor did they wish to monopolize the sect's resources; they merely hoped that, within the sect's means, cultivation resources could be allocated to them. Li Guanqi had no reason to refuse such a basic request. He had also subtly hinted that if they were willing to contribute to the sect's development, he would never mistreat them. With the backing of those two, it would be far easier for Lu Kangnian to maintain full control of the situation.
What was more, the elder named Gong Ze had grown very close to Qin Xian and held nothing back when guiding his cultivation. Beholding the flourishing prosperity of the Great Xia Sword Sect, the old man felt immense gratification.
Even so, Li Guanqi did not trust a single one of them!
He trusted only himself!
Therefore... without exception, every single one of them was under Li Guanqi's watchful eye!
Ye Feng's aura had grown noticeably fiercer than before. Tying back his mane of golden hair, he looked at Li Guanqi and said, "Boss, you killed three Meis?"
Cao Yan and Xiao Chen turned their gazes toward Li Guanqi as well upon hearing this.
Li Guanqi frowned at Ye Feng and asked in a low voice, "How do you know about Mei?"
Ye Feng lifted his shirt, revealing several gruesome scars across his waist. "While traveling through the Taiqing Domain this time, I ran into two Chis. Damn, they were ridiculously strong... I took a bit of a beating."
Cao Yan instantly frowned. "Second Brother, you ran into them too?"
Before he even finished speaking, Xiao Chen piped up from the side in surprise, "Third Brother ran into them as well?! I... I ran into them on my way here too."
Li Guanqi paused, momentarily taken aback. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and he let out a cold sneer. "It seems every one of us has been targeted."
Ye Feng shrugged indifferently. "Probably. Regardless, during my travels in the Taiqing Domain, I slaughtered quite a few Abyss Demons. The power of my ghost hand has grown quite a bit stronger."
All of them had a clear understanding of the Sha organization. Before long, the group arrived at the Great Xia Sword Sect's back mountain.
This was still within the territory of the original Great Xia Sword Sect, though outside the boundary realm. Many returned disciples now wanted to claim one of the unique peaks as their cultivation residence, but Lu Kangnian had strictly forbidden all disciples from occupying any of them. As a result, within the Great Xia Sword Sect, only the summit of Yuhu Peak still had a small wooden cabin standing.
Looking at the utterly ordinary peak before him, Li Guanqi felt deeply astonished. Even after sweeping his divine sense back and forth across it, he found nothing unusual about this strange peak.
Taking out the green jade slip, he tossed it toward the mountain before him and poured primal energy into it.
The jade slip released an unprecedentedly violent surge of ripples.
Azure ripples spread out in all directions like water waves, and an ancient, distant aura wafted from within the mountain!
Immediately after, a warped rift about ten feet wide appeared before them.
The space inside the rift twisted incessantly, and amid the shimmering lights, one could almost catch glimpses of a fantastical, bizarre world within.
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. Feeling the dense spiritual energy emanating from within, he chuckled and said, "Let's go, brothers. In we go to cultivate."
Xiao Chen rubbed his hands together; he hadn't expected that coming back would allow him to hitch a ride into a secret realm for cultivation.
Lightning surged around Jiuxiao as his form transformed into a streak of flowing light, coiling around Li Guanqi's wrist.
Pengluo's eyes sparkled as he stared eagerly at the distorted space.
Li Guanqi turned to Pengluo and couldn't help asking curiously, "Can't you sense the hidden space here?"
Pengluo shook his head and said frankly, "There seems to be an inexplicable connection among the three thousand strange peaks that completely conceals them. Without special means, there is no way to open the space here—not even I can do it."
*Hum!*
The group vanished from midair, and the rift closed behind them.
A wave of dizziness washed over Li Guanqi's head, followed by a warm current that seemed to envelop his entire body.
Opening his mind's eye, his divine sense surged outward in every direction like a rising tide.
*Roar!*
A massive gold-armored blue-patterned lizard suddenly lunged toward them!
Spanning a full hundred feet, the giant lizard was covered entirely in golden scales flickering with mystical blue patterns. Its terrifying aura swept toward them with crushing pressure.
Yet none of them moved. It was merely a fifth-rank demonic beast.
Jiuxiao's form manifested in an instant, and a massive dragon claw slammed down, pinning it firmly to the ground!
The earth rumbled and shook as the blue-patterned giant lizard let out a terrified hiss.
Cold light flashed in Jiuxiao's draconic eyes. Snatching up the beast, he shoved it straight into his mouth.
The crunching sound of chewing sent chills down one's spine.
Only then did everyone clearly take in their surroundings.
Spanning a thousand li in radius, the mountain ranges of the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven stretched on continuously. Every towering ancient tree reached several hundred feet into the air. Dense branches blotted out the sky, and mist drifted everywhere through the mountains, saturated with an extraordinarily high concentration of spiritual energy!
Li Guanqi drew a deep breath, and two wisps of white smoke-like spiritual energy flowed through his nostrils into his body.
Cao Yan reached out to brush the space beside him and marveled, "The spiritual energy here is so pure! There are countless spirits and monsters too. Without natural predators, the demonic beasts here breed unchecked... and the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth has nourished countless natural treasures!"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. Extending his divine sense a hundred li away, he discovered a great spot.
It was a naturally formed karst cave.
Pristine white jade marrow stalactites hung suspended from the cave ceiling, and beneath the massive jade marrow, a stone pool thirty feet wide had formed.
Li Guanqi said, "Let's go, brothers. Found a great place."
Turning to Jiuxiao and Pengluo, he chuckled. "You two take it easy on wreaking havoc here, all right?"
Pengluo stuck his rear in the air, poised to dart off, clutching the purple-skinned ginseng in his right hand. Without looking back, he replied, "Got it, got it!"
Jiuxiao spat out a few white bones and bared his fangs.
Li Guanqi paid them no further heed, trusting they knew their limits.
On the way, Ye Feng murmured with some concern, "Boss, we just left like this. Aren't you worried those old bastards will stir up trouble?"
Li Guanqi looked at Ye Feng with a smile. "Do you think the three of them have the guts to do that now?"
Cao Yan tilted his head, thought for a moment, and muttered, "It really seems they don't have the guts, unless they're tired of living."
Xiao Chen's figure moved like the wind, vanishing from the spot as he laughed heartily. "Hahaha! I'm taking the best spot first—see you there!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi and Ye Feng exchanged a look, the corners of their mouths curling into an inscrutable smile.
A moment later.
Xiao Chen crouched in a corner with two black eyes, muttering curses under his breath, his clothes torn to shreds...
Meanwhile, the other three were stripped bare, soaking in the thousand-year jade marrow fluid while chatting and laughing.
Seeing him like that, Li Guanqi couldn't help teasing, "How much longer do you plan to curse us, kid? Get over here already!"
Chapter 742