The Visitor, Li Shenzhi

The party of four set about absorbing the jade marrow essence within the stone pool. Even for cultivators of their realm, the essence of this thousand-year jade marrow fluid was an extraordinarily rare boon. After absorbing it for a mere half an hour, Xiao Chen jumped out, his entire body glowing bright red. "Aaaagh! Can't take it, can't take it anymore! I can't absorb any more!" The moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Chen did not even bother putting on clothes. Bare-bottomed, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began refining the jade marrow power within him. Cao Yan followed soon after, having lasted only an incense stick's worth of time longer than Xiao Chen. Enveloped in burning blue flames, he vaulted out from the stone pool. Ye Feng, his face flushed deep liver-red, was still holding out bitterly. Ghostly energy coiled sinisterly about his arm; he had actually begun refining the power into his ghost hand. Half an hour later. Inside the stone pool, only Li Guanqi remained, frantically refining the essence of the jade marrow. Watching the milky-white fluid gradually swirl and hum, all three turned back in unison to look at Li Guanqi. Their hearts were seized with shock. Sinister black mist was gradually seeping out from Li Guanqi's body, yet his expression remained as calm as still water. Seeing this, Cao Yan could not help cursing under his breath, "Boss is an absolute freak. Just how resilient are his dantian and origin spirit? He's absorbed this much, and he's completely fine." Xiao Chen grumbled alongside him, but Ye Feng's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them. After refining a bit of the energy within him, Ye Feng walked over to Li Guanqi's side. He raised a hand and drew a wisp of that sinister black mist into his grasp, immediately hearing a sizzling hiss as it corroded his skin! Li Guanqi's expression shifted—this was not the origin source of power within an Abyss Demon at all. This was the power of a demon! Evil, frigid, bloodthirsty! All manner of negative emotions relentlessly eroded Ye Feng's mind. Yet he had only touched a tiny wisp of it! Even so, that single sliver was enough to slightly affect his mind. Ye Feng looked with utmost gravity at Li Guanqi, whose skin had darkened considerably, his own complexion turning grim. It was hard to imagine how Li Guanqi had endured this for so long! Earlier, he had even exerted his primal energy to awe Ji Hong and the others. Had it been Ye Feng, using all the primal energy in his body would not have been enough just to suppress this demonic qi. Pulling on his robes, Ye Feng did not even bother refining the power in his body. He turned around and called in a heavy voice, "Third Brother, Fourth Brother, get over here!" Cao Yan suppressed the energy inside him, flashing to Ye Feng's side, and whispered, "What is it, Second Brother?" Xiao Chen finished dressing and quickly joined them as well. Looking at the power surging inside Li Guanqi, Ye Feng said coldly, "Boss has demonic qi left behind by those three Mei-rank assassins inside him. If he tries to refine this demonic qi alone, who knows how long it will take. Let's lend him a hand." Li Guanqi naturally heard their conversation. He hesitated for a moment over whether to let them assist. Upon reflection, however, he allowed them to help. Otherwise, there was no telling how long this demonic qi would torment him. Ever since his injury, all sorts of negative, bloodthirsty emotions had flooded his sea of consciousness without cease, severely draining his mental energy. Hearing Ye Feng's words, Cao Yan and Xiao Chen's expressions shifted slightly. They had assumed Li Guanqi was only somewhat injured, never imagining matters were this severe. Without another word, the two sat cross-legged behind Li Guanqi. Ye Feng slowly pressed his hands against Li Guanqi's back. Another pair of palms gently pressed against Li Guanqi's back as well. In an instant, the temperature within the entire cavern skyrocketed! The Great Sky Rosy Flame, the Yinming Profound Flame, plus Cao Yan's own mutated flame. Guided by Cao Yan, the fiery might of all three began helping Li Guanqi refine the demonic qi in his body. Though Ye Feng was the strongest among the three, Cao Yan's divine sense was the most powerful. Thus, guiding the power of the other two could only be entrusted to him; Ye Feng and Xiao Chen merely needed to cooperate. Gradually, wisps of black smoke were refined and purged from Li Guanqi's body. Li Guanqi trusted them implicitly, opening his mind completely and letting Cao Yan guide the two heavenly flame powers to course through his body. *** While the four were inside the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven, a woman clad in a gorgeous green dress was hurrying back to the Great Xia Sword Sect! In the pitch-black void, the woman's figure was as swift as lightning, her beautiful eyes bright and clear. With a smile playing at the corners of her lips, she appeared exceedingly eager. And this woman in the green dress was none other than Song Zhi'ang, who had left the sect to roam the cultivation world for several years! In just a few short years, Song Zhi'ang's cultivation had actually broken through to the mid Nascent Soul realm. Such speed could never have come from ordinary cultivation alone; clearly, Song Zhi'ang had encountered some serendipitous fortunes over these past few years. *** Inside a room with tightly shut doors, an illusory figure stood with hands clasped behind its back, an overcast look on its face. In the room, Han Chengxian sat in a chair sipping tea. Casting a glance at the restless Tantai Yiting, he said softly, "Fellow Daoist Tantai, you have seen the current situation. Being anxious is useless; you would do better to steady your mindset and lie low. The young people of today... do you really think they will stay in the sect forever?" The illusory figure sneered, hands still behind his back, his narrowed eyes brimming with chilling, murderous intent. In a raspy voice, he murmured, "Are we just supposed to drag things out like this? Humph! Whether it's you or me... neither of us has time left! We can't just keep waiting forever!" At this point, the old man turned toward the door and said in a frigid tone, "Don't tell me you haven't noticed someone monitoring us!" Han Chengxian set down his teacup and straightened the hem of his robes. In a calm voice, he said, "Then we wait. We've only just returned, completely in the dark about everything. It's better to stay quiet for a while, figure things out, and then plan carefully." Hearing this, a sharp gleam flickered in the old man's eyes. He nodded, flicked his sleeves, and turned to leave, murmuring as he departed, "That is all we can do for now." Watching the old man's retreating figure vanish, Han Chengxian sneered. Pouring himself another cup of tea, he murmured under his breath, "Tantai Yiting, it seems your final samsara heavenly tribulation hasn't left you much time. Heh, is this still the same Tantai Yiting who once conquered realms and cowed the multitude of heroes...?" *** Outside the domain boundary of the Great Xia Sword Sect. A white-robed saber cultivator slowly stepped out from the void. Looking upon the magnificent, imposing sight of the sect before him, awe shone in his eyes. "So this is the Great Xia Sword Sect? How grand!" Wuuuum! An old man in brocade robes wearing the vestments of Tianjin Peak glared coldly at the youth outside the domain boundary, demanding in a chilly voice, "Who goes there?" Straightening his white robes with a smile, the youth bowed and said softly, "Li Shenzhi of the Mirror Pavilion, Luoxia Domain. I am an old friend of Senior Li Guanqi, here specifically to offer my congratulations."