"Big Brother!! What happened to you?"
"Sister-in-law, what happened to Big Brother? Didn't you go see Jiuxiao?"
Ye Feng and the others rushed over, full of deep concern.
Xiao Chen was not in the domain at the moment, having run off to Ye Feng's home.
Suddenly, a streak of white light flashed. Pengluo snapped off its own arm and slid down on its knees beside Li Guanqi, crying out in a tearful voice.
"Master!! Master, what's wrong with you?!"
"Get out of the way, let me do it!!"
Pengluo swung its right hand past the crowd, but Ye Feng sliced it off with a stroke of his sword, sneering, "You nearly hit Sister-in-law."
Pengluo gave an awkward cough. Its arm instantly regenerated to its original state, and it bowed subserviently, nodding and scraping. "Cough, cough. Didn't notice, didn't notice!"
Immediately after, Pengluo froze in bewilderment. Holding its severed arm, it stood dazed on the spot and said, "Uh... there's a tremendously powerful medicinal energy inside Master's body. He doesn't need me..."
"Doesn't need me... Damn it, even if he doesn't need me, he has to use me!!"
With that, Pengluo tried to pry open Li Guanqi's mouth to dig out the medicinal pill inside.
Ye Feng yanked it back in exasperation and scolded, "He already has medicinal energy coursing through him. What are you doing?!"
Pengluo waved its hands and flailed its limbs wildly. "How can it be okay if he doesn't need me? I... isn't this the only use I have right now?"
Ye Feng took a deep, long look at Pengluo, a flash of heartache surfacing in his eyes.
He placed Pengluo onto his shoulder and said softly, "Your cultivation realm is no longer low. You can stand shoulder to shoulder with us in battle now.
"Don't think you can only serve as a substitute for medicinal pills.
"Whether it's me, Boss, or the others, in every battle, none of us ever wants to use you."
Cao Yan felt the same way, gazing straight at Pengluo with sincere eyes.
Pengluo lowered its head. Hearing Ye Feng's words, an overwhelming sourness welled up within it, as if something had heavily struck its heart.
Large droplets of tears streamed down uncontrollably.
With its head hung low, its hands rested in front of it at a loss.
*Turns out... I was never just a 'medicinal pill' in their eyes...*
*Ha, I'm so happy...*
*Turns out I never had to fear being worthless, never had to... worry about not being needed...*
Pengluo suddenly turned around, threw its arms around Ye Feng, and wailed at the top of its lungs.
Ye Feng let out a sudden yelp. "Cry if you want to cry, but don't wipe your damn snot all over my hair!! It's sticky and disgusting!!"
Pengluo clutched Ye Feng's hair tightly with both hands, refusing to let go no matter how hard he shook his head.
Seeing this, the others burst into hearty laughter.
Cao Yan looked toward Gu Li, clearly having learned what had happened from Meng Wanshu.
Facing Gu Li, he extended his hand. "Ranked third, Cao Yan."
Somewhat bewildered, Gu Li reached out and shook his hand. Cao Yan did not press him with questions.
"Don't dwell on it too much. Since Big Brother chose to do it, he must have already considered the consequences.
"Besides, he wasn't severely injured. He merely exhausted his divine sense and passed out."
Even with those words, guilt still weighed heavily upon Gu Li's heart.
Cao Yan turned to Meng Wanshu and smiled. "Sister-in-law, take Big Brother back to the detached courtyard on Tianlei Peak first. I'll head over to the Spirit Fish domain to keep an eye on Jiuxiao."
Meng Wanshu nodded, then brought Li Guanqi and Gu Li back to Tianlei Peak.
As soon as they arrived, they were met by Li Nanting and Shen Lan. Seeing the unconscious Li Guanqi, both were startled.
Only after Meng Wanshu explained the situation did they set their minds at ease.
Afterward, Shen Lan held Meng Wanshu's hands and chatted warmly with her like a mother talking to a daughter, while Li Nanting sat by the bedside, smiling in silence.
Gu Li, unable to sit still, paced back and forth in the courtyard in agitation.
After pacing for a long while, Gu Li gritted his teeth, pulled out a jade slip, and said, "Father, I found an apprentice for you! You have to take him whether you want to or not!"
Within the Gu clan domain.
Gu Changsheng, who had just awakened from cultivation, held the jade slip with his mouth twitching.
"Stop fooling around, brat. Your father doesn't have the spare time to take disciples."
Hearing that, Gu Li stated bluntly, "Your son has attained enlightenment! The Immortal Talisman Dao!!"
*Boom!*
The cultivation chamber in the rear mountain residence of the Gu clan blew apart with a deafening roar. Gu Changsheng clutched the jade slip, his chest heaving violently!
His knuckles turned white around the jade slip. He swallowed hard, his trembling eyes still full of disbelief.
"Son... what did you say?
"You truly attained enlightenment?
"You saw the Severed Cliff?!!
"Did you cross it? Hahahahahahaha!!
"Hahahaha!! Heaven bless my Gu clan!!!"
Gu Li held the jade slip far away and replied flatly, "Yeah, I attained it.
"However... my path was granted by Li Guanqi. While in that trance, I injured him, leaving him 'severely' wounded.
"I don't care—you have to take a disciple regardless."
Gu Changsheng frowned deeply. He could not comprehend how a sword cultivator could have extended Gu Li's path!
Nevertheless, since Gu Li said so, it had to be the truth.
"Fine! No matter who they are, your father will take them in!"
Gu Li curled his lip and said sourly, "You want to take them, but who knows if they'd even agree?
"They were born with an intact sea of consciousness, wield the heavenly flame Purple Dragon Thunder Flame, and possess extraordinary alchemy talent no less impressive than my attainments in the talisman Dao.
"They simply haven't met a good teacher. Want to think it over?"
Gu Changsheng was thoroughly dumbfounded. He had assumed Gu Li was trying to dump some cultivator with garbage talent onto him.
He had already prepared himself to accept the disciple regardless of who it was.
"Born with an intact sea of consciousness...
"Bearing the Purple Dragon Thunder Flame, with alchemy attainments no less than my son's... *Hiss*, why do I feel like I'm taking advantage here?
"No, I can't let those other old fogies find out!!"
Clearing his throat, Gu Changsheng feigned an air of profound nonchalance and said, "So what? Heh, it's not like you don't know your father's..."
"Come if you want. If you don't, I'll find someone else."
With that, Gu Li tossed the jade slip straight back into his storage ring.
Gu Changsheng tore through the domain barrier in a frenzy, speeding toward the Great Xia Sword Sect.
"No, no, my disciple is going to be snatched away! Faster!"
Only after completing all this did Gu Li finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly!
Inside the medicinal pool of the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven, Li Song's finger twitched. His eyelids trembled as he struggled to open his eyes.
*Boom!*
From within the unconscious Li Guanqi on the bed, boundless lightning energy suddenly erupted!
The escaping lightning surged forth, carrying destructive power with it.
This force was utterly uncontrollable!
Gu Li had just set foot on the threshold when the shockwave hurled him over a thousand zhang away!
As his body was flung backward, he saw that the entire Tianlei Peak was submerged beneath endless lightning!
*Boom!*
In the next instant, a powerful freezing force erupted, encasing all the spreading lightning in solid ice.
Yet this freezing power lasted for merely three breaths before faint cracking sounds began to spread across the ice.
Lu Kangnian and the others all arrived, their expressions solemn as they looked toward Meng Wanshu and asked in deep voices, "What is happening here?"
Gu Li teleported back, sweeping his hand to unleash tens of thousands of inscribed talismans!
The inscribed talismans shimmered with spiritual light, instantly forming thick layer upon layer of sealing boundaries around Tianlei Peak.
Meng Wanshu displaced all the disciples off Tianlei Peak, exhaling cold mist as she walked toward the room step by step.
Within the massive block of ice, Li Guanqi's body trembled faintly, the power of lightning threatening to shatter the ice and burst forth!
Meng Wanshu placed her hand on the ice, then snapped her head around to look at Li Congxin, who floated in midair, his aura feeble and at merely the Core Formation Realm!
A flash of icy killing intent flickered across Meng Wanshu's eyes.
*His divine soul is defective!!*
Chapter 853