The figure in red let out a cold snort, turned, and vanished without a trace.
In the vast, empty hall, only Song Zhi'ang remained kneeling on the ground, an unreadable, sharp glint flickering in her eyes.
"Soul-Possession Puppet Technique... A pity it is still missing nearly half."
As for this incident, Song Zhi'ang had not acted on a mere whim.
She had intended to muddy the waters by framing Li Guanqi, yet what she had never expected was that her meager trickery failed to deceive Ye Xuan!
And yet, the moment Li Guanqi looked upon "her," the gravity and undivided focus in his eyes had driven her wild with ecstasy!
"Heh... Hehehe... Haha... Hahahahahaha!"
Manic laughter echoed ceaselessly through the cavernous hall.
This hall was her private bedchamber; ordinarily, only he would ever come here.
Within her quarters, she was entirely alone, yet she felt not the slightest hint of loneliness or desolation.
For she had far, far too much to do.
Song Zhi'ang walked over to the black pool and knelt at its edge, gazing at the human faces churning within the water as if veiled beneath a shroud of cloth.
They struggled to break free from the pool's confines, yet were utterly powerless.
For some reason, a thin mist veiled Song Zhi'ang's eyes, bright and laced with fine webs of crimson veins.
Reaching out a slender hand, she dipped it into the black pool. The black water, formed from fused aggrieved spirits, gnawed ravenously at her fingers.
In the blink of an eye, the flesh was devoured clean, leaving nothing behind but ghastly white bone.
Song Zhi'ang closed her eyes and relished this perverse agony, as though using it to engrave everything into her memory.
Still kneeling by the pool, she tilted her head back slowly. Her skeletal fingers brushed over her slender neck, her skin faintly flushed and her breath turning heavy.
Her body trembled slightly...
Suddenly!
Song Zhi'ang plunged both hands fiercely into the water, seized several aggrieved spirits, and shoved them straight into her mouth!
One, two, ten...
Her primal energy hummed. With every spirit and mouthful of black water she swallowed, her aura grew a fraction stronger.
Madness danced in her eyes, and she murmured in broken whispers, "Li Guanqi... wait for me..."
***
Meanwhile.
Having bid farewell to the others, Meng Jiangchu was preparing to rush back to the Shenbao Domain.
He had already sent someone ahead with the Luan Soul Spiritual Liquid earlier, but with Meng Wanshu on the verge of breaking through, he still could not put his mind at ease.
Looking at Li Guanqi beside him, the man said softly, "Guanqi, don't come with me for now. Head back and settle Gu Li's matters first."
As he spoke, Meng Jiangchu winked and sent a voice transmission: "Gu Changsheng's thigh isn't skinny at all—clinging to it tightly will do you good. Even I have to go to him when I need pills refined."
Li Guanqi understood at once, yet he replied earnestly, "I'll let nature take its course. Once I finish up here, Father-in-law, I will come find you immediately. I'm still rather worried about Wanshu's condition."
Meng Jiangchu laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Worry my ass! Do you really think I'd let my daughter fall into any danger?"
With that, the man took a single stride and departed from the Ethereal Immortal Domain.
Li Guanqi turned around with a smile. "Uncle Gu, then I'll trouble you to accompany me back to the Great Xia Sword Sect. Brother Gu should be waking up right about now."
Gu Changsheng nodded with a smile. He felt that Li Guanqi possessed a good disposition and character, and was genuinely good to Gu Li as well.
What he did not know was that Gu Li had yearned to meet Li Guanqi precisely because he had sworn brotherhood with Li Congxin.
Upon meeting Li Guanqi, Gu Li found his temperament and demeanor easy and pleasant to be around, and was thus eager to be friends with him.
Yet when Li Guanqi was about to suffer grave injury, Gu Li had inexplicably chosen to swap places and absorb that violent assault in his stead.
Because Gu Li knew that with his hoard of inscribed talismans, he would never die no matter what.
He did not know Li Guanqi well enough, however, and could not bear to gamble on whether Li Guanqi would survive.
This had deeply moved Li Guanqi. Such selfless, instinctive devotion was something he had seen only in his closest brothers.
Ye Feng was like a sharp sword at his side; no matter who dared to threaten him, Ye Feng would boldly draw his blade without hesitation!
Cao Yan spoke little, yet when trouble arose, he never wavered. Back in the alley of Changfeng Mountain Villa, Cao Yan had originally intended to keep the peace and endure the provocations. But the moment that fellow struck at Li Guanqi, Cao Yan had channeled his primal energy and charged forward with clenched fists without the slightest hesitation.
As for Xiao Chen, though he was a thoughtless playboy and had once been his romantic rival, he never dropped the ball at critical junctures. Their wagered arena battle had genuinely earned Li Guanqi's respect.
As for Zhou Shiyu... Li Guanqi merely appreciated him; becoming brothers was still a stretch. That came down to Zhou Shiyu's personality: he was plagued by overthinking and weighed far too many concerns before acting. In that regard, he was somewhat like Li Guanqi once was—hesitant, second-guessing himself, and constantly afraid of so many things.
Together, they departed the Ethereal Immortal Domain, following Gu Changsheng across the domains toward the Great Xia Sword Sect.
***
Meanwhile.
Within a mysterious, silent grand hall.
A silhouette sat before a chessboard, holding a game piece in hand without setting it down for a long time.
His eyes, resembling shining stars, stared intently at the pieces upon the board before him.
And one of those pieces was not placed by his hand!
On his chessboard... an extra piece had appeared!
The man paused, the corners of his mouth curling upward as he murmured softly, "Intriguing."
***
Just as Meng Jiangchu stepped into the domain, a terrifyingly immense pressure soared into the sky!
A chilling power of frost swept across the entire realm!
In an instant, the temperature throughout the entire Meng clan domain plunged to a horrifying low.
Ice sealed a thousand li!
Mountains and rivers were draped in a shroud of silvery white; countless demonic beasts within the domain dropped dead on the spot, their stiffened bodies standing frozen where they were.
Meng Jiangchu furrowed his brow and raised a hand, casting a curtain of fire that enveloped the entire mountain peak.
Rumble!
A dense heavenly tribulation thundercloud gathered above, expanding wider and wider. It grew so vast that even Meng Jiangchu felt an inexplicable thrill of dread looking up at it.
Rumble!
As the heavenly tribulation churned and built its fury, faint glimmers of blood-red light seemed to emerge!
Meng Jiangchu's pupils constricted instantly, and he muttered under his breath, "The same heavenly tribulation as Guanqi's..."
Even so, he was not overly worried about Meng Wanshu, for he knew his daughter's strength all too well.
Soon, the entire vault of heaven was dyed a blood-red hue by the heavenly tribulation thundercloud, its ferocity even surpassing that of Li Guanqi's tribulation!
Boom!
The mountain peak shattered, and an elegant figure soared directly toward the sky!
In a flash, the figure vanished into the clouds, and within moments, the thunderclouds churned and boiled as if driven into a frenzy.
A resonant sword chime rang out across the heavens. The earth shook, and mountain peaks shattered.
An ancient sword of translucent ice-blue, embedded with an unknown gem, turned into a streak of light and shot straight into the firmament!
The corners of Meng Jiangchu's mouth turned up slightly as he said softly, "Has the Snow Shadow Sword finally recognized its master...?"
Before his voice could fade, countless ice-blue sword qi crisscrossed and burst outward, freezing the thunderclouds across the heavens in an instant and slicing them into countless fragments!
Chapter 842