Reopening the Ruins!

Immediately afterward, other voices sounded from the jade pendant... "Well, Second Sister is just notifying us again." "I knew it. How could Second Sister ever negotiate... Uh... Brother Long, looks like you'll have to go clean up the mess again." Pressing his palms together, Chankongzi forcefully sealed the abyssal rift before him and marked it. Silver light flickered; before long, someone would come specifically to reinforce the seal, meaning his task was essentially complete. Chankongzi's stern face tightened, and he suddenly spoke up: "Youming, what are you doing?" At the maritime border of the Daochan Domain, Youming's hands danced as threads of blood wove into an immense crimson sealing formation. He cursed under his breath, "I'm sealing it, damn it! What do you want? Screw off! "Why the hell are there so many rifts?! I'm worked half to death, and you won't stop asking questions—ask your mother's ass!" Chankongzi held the jade pendant far away from his ear, a strange expression on his face, but he didn't dare talk back... If you were to ask who among them had been the busiest lately, it was undoubtedly Youming. The man was running around like a firefighter; wherever a blaze broke out, he was the one sent to put it out. The jade pendant fell silent for a moment before Long Hou's voice drifted through: "Carry on, you two. I'll go check on Hong Zhi." Youming's eyes flickered as he watched the barrier gradually seal the rift before him, his face faintly pale. Only when the rift was completely sealed did he collapse onto the broken walls with a heavy sigh, catching his breath. "Bastard, still suspecting me even at a time like this!" *** Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven. Li Guanqi and Ye Feng sat alone on a mountain peak, drinking wine together. Li Guanqi asked softly, "You still haven't finished refining what Long Hou gave you?" Ye Feng scratched his head, tossed his head back for a swig of wine, and chuckled. "I was planning to finish refining it completely over the next couple of days. "Otherwise, I won't ever be able to unlock the second stage of the Sword Ruins." Ye Feng was covered in ferocious scars from head to toe; it was hard to imagine what trials he had endured during his travels outside. His gaze grew distant as he looked into the distance, his voice turning soft. "Boss." "Yeah?" "Catching up to you is exhausting... "My aptitude is mediocre, my comprehension is ordinary, and my cultivation speed is nothing special. "From the first time I left your side, I knew catching up to you wouldn't be easy. "But when I crawled out of the Purgatory Abyss, I really had confidence. Especially back then when I saved you from that square—I felt such a sense of accomplishment." Li Guanqi looked at the weary look on Ye Feng's face, at a loss for words for a moment. Taking another drink, Ye Feng continued, "It isn't just me. Big Head and Xiao Chen are the same. "Xiao Chen has feelings for my sister, Ye Qing'er, but ever since the incident happened, he never came back. "Even now that he's returned, he spends every waking moment cultivating." This was the first time Li Guanqi had ever heard Ye Feng lay his heart bare like this, and he pressed his lips together, unsure of what to say. Looking at him, Ye Feng said quietly, "None of the brothers want to be left behind, but you're just moving too fast... "We have to run until our lungs burst just to try and keep up." Ye Feng lay back on the grass, cradling his head in his hands as he looked up at the firmament, then closed his eyes and murmured, "Sometimes I wonder... Boss... why is the gap between people so massive? "Just hearing about that Sun Tianqi makes me think I'd only have a fifty-fifty shot against him. "And the Sun clan is only a minor family among the Ancient Clans. "There are so many Ancient Clans with tens of thousands of years of heritage. Just how powerful are the younger generations they groom? "I'm tired..." Li Guanqi sat nearby with his back to Ye Feng, unable to find the right words. Talent truly was an insurmountable ceiling that blocked everyone. Ye Feng and the others lacked nothing in mental fortitude compared to anyone else. They worked hard enough, and they were willing to put their lives on the line... Yet even so, he had to admit that the gap between himself and his brothers was growing wider and wider. Li Guanqi said softly, "Go ahead and finish refining what Long Hou gave you. "There's only a little left... I'll protect you while you cultivate." Ye Feng sat up, nodded with a smile, and entered a state of cultivation within breaths. Watching the young man enveloped in surging Yinming Profound Flame as he refined the golden light between his brows, Li Guanqi let out a soft sigh in his heart. *Sword spirit...* "I know what you want to say. "Their talent and aptitude can only be considered superior. Elevating them further... is very difficult! "However, if they can ascend to the Immortal Realm, I could find certain things to help them. "For now... it's very difficult!" The sword spirit's voice rang mercilessly in Li Guanqi's mind. Li Guanqi's expression shifted slightly; he hadn't expected even the sword spirit to be out of options. Seeing him like this, the sword spirit couldn't quite bear it either. Adopting an aloof tone, she said, "If you cultivate diligently and send me more primal energy, I suppose I could scrounge up some cultivation methods and secret scriptures tailored to each of them. "Besides... I think you can ask that man in golden armor for help." Li Guanqi's brows lifted with joy. His own immense strength owed much to the sword techniques the sword spirit had taught him. If Ye Feng and the others could acquire similarly powerful methods and secret manuals, their strength would bound forward! "Uh... you mean asking Long Hou to take on disciples?" The sword spirit shrugged, glanced at Xiao Chen sitting within the stone pool in the distance, and chuckled. "Doesn't that fellow wield a spear? If you ask, that man should agree." Li Guanqi's eyes shone as he made a quiet resolve! He didn't want to find himself standing all alone after ascending to the Immortal Realm; he wanted his brothers to journey alongside him to that magnificent, boundless realm! The sword spirit sat cross-legged beside Li Guanqi with graceful poise, fixing her beautiful eyes on him as she murmured softly, "Once they awaken, when the time is right, I can help them reopen their ruins." Hearing this, Li Guanqi's gaze sharpened, and he blurted out with a slight frown: "The spirit ruins are already closed. Even if you can reopen them, wouldn't that consume a great deal of your origin power?!" The corners of the sword spirit's lips curved upward, and she tilted her head, looking at him with an amused smile. "Rest easy. These little fellows... as long as you wish it, I will help them. "It won't cause me much harm. "Right now, their ruins artifacts are things that chose them, rather than choices they made themselves." The sword spirit looked up slightly, a nostalgic look in her eyes as she murmured: "I can let them... make their own choice among those 'artifacts'. "Artifacts that... once had to look up to me." With those words, the sword spirit glanced at Li Guanqi out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "'They' are also powerful! Truly powerful!" Recovering from his shock after a moment, Li Guanqi sent a low mental transmission: "Is it because of Spirit Absolution?" The sword spirit smiled, tapped her brow, and said softly, "Not because of Spirit Absolution. "Because... between heaven and earth, beneath the nine heavens... I fear I am the only one left who still remembers 'them'. "There is only one chance. Whether Ye Feng and the others can find 'them' depends entirely on the karmic affinity between them." Li Guanqi took a deep breath, looked sideways at the sword spirit whose eyes still held that nostalgic look, and whispered, "Thank you."