Buzz!!!
A scenic, secluded domain.
A massive lake spanned hundreds of li across, surrounded on all sides by lush, green mountains.
The space above the lake rippled faintly, and three figures abruptly manifested.
Swish!!
"Who goes there?!"
Two middle-aged men teleported over, ancient swords of pure white in hand, their expressions stern and vigilant.
Gu Li's eyes gleamed with interest as he scrutinized their faces.
"Gills beneath the jaw, scales covering the face, and bone longswords in hand... Spirit Fish Clan?"
Meng Wanshu was also seeing members of the Spirit Fish Clan for the first time, and a flicker of novelty danced in her beautiful eyes.
When Gu Li named the Spirit Fish Clan, the fluctuations of primal energy from the two men intensified.
Yet the gaze of one of them remained fixed on Li Guanqi.
Though so many years had passed and the youthfulness on his face had long vanished, he still recognized Li Guanqi.
Reaching out to hold back his companion, he scolded him in the unique tongue of the Spirit Fish Clan.
Stowing his longsword with a broad smile, the man bowed respectfully. "Lan Rong, Basi of the Spirit Fish Clan, greets Senior Li."
Li Guanqi knew that "Basi" was what the Spirit Fish Clan called their warriors.
He looked at Lan Rong closely. Studying the man's features, he could not help but recall that woman with purple hair and blue eyes.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "What is your relation to Lan Xun?"
Lan Rong scratched his head in slight embarrassment and chuckled. "Lan Xun is my niece, hahaha! I never expected you to still remember after all these years, my Lord.
"By the way, did you come this time to visit the Divine Dragon and the Sacred Spirit?"
The corner of Li Guanqi's mouth twitched. He could understand the Spirit Fish Clan venerating Jiuxiao as a Divine Dragon. But calling that fellow Pengluo a "Sacred Spirit"—what kind of nonsense was that???
At this very moment, Pengluo was fooling around with Ye Feng and the others. Pengluo had that one great trait: incredible absorption and rapid recovery. Stuffing a mountain of natural treasures into his mouth was all it took to get him bouncing around lively again, refining the energy in his body while drinking with Ye Feng and the rest.
Buzz!!!
The void rippled slightly as more and more members of the Spirit Fish Clan showed themselves.
Nearly three thousand of them appeared, leaving Li Guanqi utterly dumbfounded.
"Wait... when did the Spirit Fish Clan get so many people?"
He remembered that when the Spirit Fish Clan first sought refuge, there had been barely a hundred of them, mostly women and children.
How were there so many now, even if the vast majority were youths?
At that moment, a hale and hearty elderly man slowly walked out from the crowd.
His surging aura made it obvious that he had reached the peak Soul Formation Realm, only half a step away from the Void Refining Realm.
Yu Bo, who had long cast aside his cane, felt immensely fortunate about the choice he had made back then.
The Spirit Fish Clan had been able to recuperate and thrive all these years entirely thanks to the Great Xia Sword Sect's protection.
Excited, the old man stepped forward, then abruptly turned and shouted in a deep voice,
"Kneel!!"
Whoosh!!
A dense crowd of Spirit Fish clansmen dropped to their knees, pressing their hands and foreheads against the surface of the water.
This was the highest form of etiquette the Spirit Fish Clan reserved for a benefactor.
Yu Bo knelt on the water and said solemnly, "Yu Bo, fifty-seventh patriarch of the Spirit Fish Clan, kneels with the entire clan to thank Lord Li for your immense kindness!
"Had Lord Li not been magnanimous and open-hearted enough to take in our Spirit Fish Clan all those years ago, our line would likely have been extinguished long ago. That we can recover our vitality and thrive today is all thanks to your grace, my Lord.
"Today, the Spirit Fish Clan wishes to forge a clan oath with the Great Xia Sword Sect! Never shall we betray you! We shall stand by the Great Xia Sword Sect forever to face all that comes!!"
With those words, a scroll appeared in Yu Bo's hands.
Before Li Guanqi could react, a speck of blue spiritual light drifted out from between the brows of every Spirit Fish clansman and shot into the scroll.
Even the newborn infants were no exception.
Yu Bo smiled. "This is a contract scroll. From this day forth, every newborn child of the Spirit Fish Clan will automatically be bound by this contract upon birth. I hope Lord Li will accept this on behalf of Sect Master Lu!"
Yu Bo's words were brimming with sincerity. Most importantly, Li Guanqi did not see a trace of displeasure on the face of a single Spirit Fish clansman.
Looking at the scroll before him, Li Guanqi suddenly thought back to when Gu Yong had shown him the soul lamps of Tu Yongsi and the others.
This... was their lifeline!!
Li Guanqi did not refuse. Taking a deep breath, he solemnly accepted the scroll with both hands.
"I, Li Guanqi, accept this on behalf of the sect master.
"The Great Xia Sword Sect will never let down any of our allies!"
Seeing Li Guanqi accept the scroll, the Spirit Fish clansmen immediately rose and cheered. Only at this moment did they feel truly accepted by the Great Xia Sword Sect.
In the past, their relationship had felt more like a transaction or mutual exploitation.
Yet Li Guanqi had seen everything the Spirit Fish Clan had done.
Whenever the Great Xia Sword Sect was in danger, the Spirit Fish Clan had unhesitatingly sent their people into the fray, despite their humble strength.
Li Guanqi was blind, but his heart was not.
Meng Wanshu looked at Li Guanqi beside her with dazed, adoring eyes. At times like this, he seemed to radiate a special brilliance in her sight.
Gu Li gritted his teeth, muttering through clenched jaws, "I can't take this. I can't take this at all..."
As he spoke, he fished out a golden inscribed talisman, licked it with his tongue, and slapped it straight onto his forehead.
Li Guanqi was slightly startled at the sight and asked in a low voice, "Brother Gu, what is that talisman for? Why slap it on right now...?"
Gu Li rolled his eyes, pointed at the talisman on his forehead, and snapped, "A seventh-rank Calming Inscribed Talisman!!! To calm my mind!!"
Just as his words fell,
two figures stepped slowly out from the crowd.
A woman in an elegant blue gown emerged, accompanied by a sharp-eyed man.
The man looked somewhat ill at ease, scratching his head without knowing what to say.
The purple-haired, blue-eyed woman tugged at his shoulder instead.
Approaching Li Guanqi, the man took the lead to bow and salute. "Di Cheng of the Spirit Fish Clan greets Elder Li."
Li Guanqi smiled. The woman beside him was Lan Xun, whom he had met once in the past.
And this man was the very same haughty and unyielding Di Cheng from when they had first sought refuge with the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Seeing the handsome young man before her, fair as jade, Lan Xun also fell into a momentary daze. Her eyes went blank for an instant before quickly regaining their original luster.
She bowed to Li Guanqi and said, "Lan Xun greets our benefactor."
Meng Wanshu took in the whole exchange, the corners of her lips curving into a smile, though she remained silent.
Not daring to look back, Li Guanqi nodded somewhat awkwardly, then shot out two wisps of sword qi that hovered before the pair.
"Ahem... Well, congratulations to you two on becoming Dao companions. Consider these two wisps of sword qi a wedding gift."
A gleam of delight flashed in Lan Xun's eyes. Beside her, Di Cheng had long lost his former arrogance in the presence of the current Li Guanqi.
Carefully storing the sword qi away, he bowed respectfully to offer his thanks.
Standing quietly to the side with hands tucked into his sleeves, Yu Bo chuckled softly. "Young Master Li, please, come inside."
The lake beneath their feet parted gently across a hundred zhang.
Flights of steps formed within the rift as currents cascaded down the water walls, and Li Guanqi finally beheld the thriving settlement of the Spirit Fish Clan today.
As well as...
Jiuxiao, coiled in deep slumber within the depths of the palace.
In the Seventh Domain, Youming was fiddling boredly with the array plate in his hands, his fingers carving array patterns as steady as a boulder.
He muttered under his breath, "So bored... Should I go hang out with Li Guanqi? I really want to play with him.
"But... playing around just once almost got me killed. Should I go or not?
"Sister Hong seems to be in secluded cultivation lately, and Brother Long isn't around.
"Go find Huaizhi? Forget it, forget that..."
Chapter 849