Li Guanqi stepped through the teleportation array established between the sect and the Lu clan, arriving in the Lu clan domain.
The moment he entered, he was taken aback once again.
Lu Kangnian stood midair, barking orders left and right as he directed everyone in a frenzy of activity.
"Right, right, pry up all those floor tiles and take them with us!"
"What are you standing around for? Strip every glazed tile off that roof and pack it up!"
"And those pillars over there—send two Soul Formation cultivators to pull them up!"
"Don't leave those spiritual cranes over there either, take them all! Look how starved the poor things are!"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched. The Lu clan domain was by no means small, spanning a good thousand li in breadth.
Its sheer expanse was staggering.
A myriad of rare and precious treasures filled this domain. The scenario they had initially feared—where the Lu clan might make off with the domain's wealth—had never come to pass.
After all, with Nangong Xuandu overseeing matters, had anyone dared to loot the treasures, extermination would not have been an empty threat.
Lu Kangnian soon caught Li Guanqi's aura, and a look of delight flashed across his eyes.
Flitting to his side, he stealthily shoved a storage ring into Li Guanqi's hand and whispered through a voice transmission, "Pocket it. These are all things I secretly set aside for you."
Seeing his conspiratorial demeanor, Li Guanqi could not help but laugh. Mimicking Lu Kangnian's furtive movements, he covertly tucked the ring away.
"By the way, how are those brats doing?"
Li Guanqi offered reassuringly in a low voice, "Rest easy, Sect Master. They are all out of danger for now."
Looking out over the swarming crowd working in full swing, Li Guanqi could not resist asking, "Sect Master, why not just move the entire domain back to the sect? At this rate, it'll take until the year of the monkey to pack it all up."
The corner of Lu Kangnian's mouth twitched, and he cursed under his breath, "You little bastard, are you doing that on purpose? If your old man had the ability to haul away a domain this massive, do you think I wouldn't have done it already?!"
Only then did Li Guanqi realize that with Lu Kangnian's current cultivation and strength, he truly could not budge the Lu clan domain.
"Uh... let me do it, then."
Lu Kangnian's expression softened slightly. "Can you manage it?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly and called out, "All disciples of the Great Xia Sword Sect, hear my command: take the teleportation array and return to the sect at once!"
As his voice rang out, countless disciples halted their tasks and stepped into the teleportation array in succession.
Once everyone had departed, Li Guanqi and Lu Kangnian tore through space and emerged outside the domain.
Li Guanqi slowly closed his eyes as his vast divine sense surged forth like a torrential tide, blanketing the surroundings.
The void trembled, and the immense space of the domain was enveloped in a layer of purple light.
Veins bulged along Li Guanqi's forehead as a terrifying pressure erupted in an instant!
Boom!
Amidst the shuddering void, a glittering silver expanse of space was lifted slowly into the air. Lu Kangnian could not help but smack his lips at the sight.
He, Gong Ze, and Tu Zhongqiu had joined forces earlier, yet they had failed to budge the domain by even a hairsbreadth.
He had not expected that Li Guanqi alone could now haul the entire domain away.
Then Lu Kangnian reflected that Li Guanqi was family anyway. Swelling with pride, he laughed aloud. "Hahaha! Let's go—home!"
With that, the two flew swiftly toward the Northern Region.
Since a domain could not be stowed inside a spatial container, they had no choice but to carry it across the sky.
Along the way, Lu Kangnian asked in a low voice, "Boy, was there something strange about that Lu Wuhen back then? Otherwise, you wouldn't have kept his corpse."
Li Guanqi did not elaborate, but neither did he deny it. "There was a slight issue, but nothing serious. I can handle it."
Lu Kangnian nodded and pressed no further; he had complete faith in Li Guanqi's judgment.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Kangnian added softly, "Right, I'm planning to make Ye Feng and the others honorary elders as well. What do you think?"
Li Guanqi smiled. "I leave it entirely to your discretion, Sect Master. I'm sure they will be thrilled."
"Oh, and Sect Master, I intend to have Xiao Chen move his domain over as well. When the time comes, we can just designate a mountain for them within Great Xia Sword Sect territory."
Lu Kangnian waved his hand in immediate agreement. "Why even bother asking me about such a trivial matter?"
Li Guanqi teased, "Of course I must. I have no desire to become the sect master."
The two exchanged a knowing smile. Upon returning to the Great Xia Sword Sect, they set the domain down behind Tianjian Peak.
Even so, Li Guanqi cautioned, "Sect Master, I'll find some time later to help you refine this domain. After all, it belonged to the Lu clan. It will only be safe to use once it has been fully refined."
Lu Kangnian nodded in firm agreement. Li Guanqi then asked curiously, "Did taking over the Lu clan really go that smoothly?"
At the question, Lu Kangnian pulled Li Guanqi aside with an air of mystery. Joining his index and middle fingers into a sword, he released a wisp of azure sword light.
The terrifying sharpness sent a chill through Li Guanqi's heart. A second later, he realized what had happened.
Li Guanqi smiled. Having settled the domain in place, he was just about to go check on Ye Feng and the others when his heart stirred, his brow furrowing slightly.
He drew out a jade slip and said softly, "Uncle Meng, what is it?"
Meng Jiangchu's voice drifted from the jade slip. "Guanqi, if you aren't busy, come over and see me."
Without a second thought, Li Guanqi agreed. He gave Lu Kangnian a quick word of notice, then stepped over to the teleportation array and departed.
***
Inside a pitch-black hall, a figure clad in blood-red robes reclined on a chair, eyes closed in concentration.
His fingers tapped steadily against the armrest, clearly deep in thought.
"Tsk. Lu Wuhen truly was a waste. To think he could lose even like this."
"Mm... it is time to let this black lotus blossom. Hahaha."
His fingers halted their rhythmic tapping, and he murmured softly, "Did you think this was over? No... everything has only just begun."
As he spoke, a pitch-black ancient bell appeared in the man's palm, densely packed with illusory soul power.
The man rose slowly and set the small black bell onto a shelf behind him.
That shelf was a full hundred zhang high!
A cold voice echoed through the hall. "The next phase of the plan may proceed."
A woman of striking, haughty bearing rose slowly from a pool of black water. Between her brows, a black flower shimmered with an eerie light.
***
The Meng clan domain.
The moment Li Guanqi stepped out of the teleportation array, an inexplicable gravity washed over him.
A faint frost permeated the surrounding air, and the temperature had plummeted.
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, turning toward the back mountain with a flash of concern in his gaze.
He had not expected Meng Wanshu's breakthrough to take so long.
Meng Jiangchu appeared at Li Guanqi's side with a flicker of movement and said softly, "Now that you're here, let's get ready to go."
Keeping pace beside the man, Li Guanqi asked with concern, "Is Wanshu's breakthrough in some kind of danger?"
Meng Jiangchu sighed and shot him an exasperated look. "You have a flaw in your own divine soul—don't you know how dangerous it is? Wanshu's avatar was gravely injured by an assassin from the Sha organization. It's a bit troublesome."
Li Guanqi frowned. "Father-in-law, you possess the Five Yang Ghost Fire. Why fear a mere wisp of death qi?"
Mid-sentence, a realization struck him, and his face instantly darkened.
"Do you mean to say... part of Wanshu's Void Spirit soul was destroyed by that Sha assassin?"
Chapter 824