Li Guanqi frowned deeply. No matter how much he called out to the sword spirit in his mind, she gave him no response at all.
He felt utterly baffled. Had...
the sword spirit gotten angry?
He hadn't provoked her, had he?
Why did people always have this bad habit of stopping halfway through their sentences...?
Li Guanqi searched his memories repeatedly for any mention of the Bingqi Domain, but found he had never heard of anything concerning the Bingqi Realm.
Left with no choice, Li Guanqi set the thought aside for now, turning to look solemnly at Meng Wanshu. "Concerning this legacy, have you noticed anything abnormal about it up until now?" he asked in a heavy voice.
Meng Wanshu answered with utmost seriousness, "No, not once."
"It feels... as if the inheritance was simply gifted to me outright."
"There was nothing regarding the original owner's identity, memories, or anything of the sort."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi was also surprised, but he did not believe in free lunches.
Rising to his feet, he looked at Meng Wanshu and said in a grave voice, "Next, you need to open your mind and offer no resistance whatsoever!"
Meng Wanshu evidently guessed part of his intention. Cross-legged atop Jiuxiao's head, she closed her eyes lightly and entered a state of cultivation.
With a grim expression, Li Guanqi walked behind Meng Wanshu and called out in a low voice, "Red Lotus!!"
Silence...
The sword coffin made no movement whatsoever. Red Lotus had actually failed to heed his call.
Inside the sword coffin, Red Lotus crept on tiptoe, crouching meekly beside the sword spirit.
The sword spirit wore a nonchalant expression, glancing down at Red Lotus by her feet. "If you want to go, then go. What are you looking at me for?"
By now, Red Lotus had already developed its own sword spirit. Coupled with the divine travel granted by the senior sword spirit, its comprehension was no less than that of an adult.
It simply sensed that the atmosphere was off, so even with the sword spirit telling it to go, it didn't dare...
Red Lotus chimed faintly, seemingly puzzled as to why the sword spirit was angry.
Annoyed, the sword spirit kicked the hilt of Red Lotus, sending it tumbling straight out.
Red Lotus darted out into the open. The sword tip wobbled toward the sword coffin, as though still baffled, before turning around and flying over to Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi frowned. This was the first time it had taken so long to summon Red Lotus.
Still, he didn't dwell on it. The Sword Ruins between his brows hummed as he commanded in a deep voice:
"Sword Ruins—Open!!!"
"Spirit Absolution!!"
*Boom!!!*
Li Guanqi froze stiffly where he stood. The blood-red threads of Spirit Absolution were suppressed by some unseen power, leaving only a meager few behind, and his lips twitched at the sight.
"Sister Sword Spirit... are you angry?"
The sword spirit's sarcastic voice sounded leisurely:
"Angry? Who, me?"
"Just take good care of your little girlfriend. Those few threads are plenty for you to investigate."
"It makes no difference to me. It's not like I get jealous."
At this point, Li Guanqi would have had to be an utter fool not to realize what was going on.
A complicated look flickered in his eyes, and a sudden headache washed over him. He had no idea how to handle such a situation.
Besides, toward the sword spirit, his feelings truly were nothing more than those for a mentor and friend.
Looking at the few red threads beside him, Li Guanqi took a deep breath and guided their power into Meng Wanshu's body.
The red threads moved through her, carrying an aura of regal supremacy that looked down upon the world, like an emperor on inspection seeking out petty scoundrels.
Yet after making a full circuit, the red threads still discovered nothing amiss.
Only then did Li Guanqi breathe a sigh of relief, confirming that there were no remnant souls or similar threats lurking within Meng Wanshu.
Otherwise, going by the sword spirit's own words, there were few spirits in this world that would not be cowed by her!
As the red threads dissipated, Meng Wanshu opened her eyes and asked softly, "How is it?"
Li Guanqi sat down beside her with a smile. "All clear. I didn't find any hidden dangers."
As for the jumbled memories, Li Guanqi did not take them to heart—they were merely fragmented impressions, after all.
So long as it wasn't a remnant soul attempting possession, everything was fine.
Li Guanqi remarked with a sigh, "No wonder your cultivation advanced so quickly and you've always managed to stay one step ahead of me."
The maiden's eyes rippled with emotion, and she covered her mouth with a light chuckle.
It seemed being able to surpass Li Guanqi in strength brought her immense joy.
"What? Does being held down by me bother you that much?"
Li Guanqi flashed a wicked grin and murmured, "Actually, it feels pretty good."
*Smack.*
Meng Wanshu lightly thumped Li Guanqi's chest, scolding in mock outrage, "Can't you ever be decent for once!"
Their eyes met, ripples of tender warmth drifting between them.
Meng Wanshu unexpectedly leaned in and offered a sweet kiss, both hands resting against Li Guanqi's chest.
Only when their breaths grew ragged and a rosy blush crept up her neck did they part.
After opening their hearts to each other, the distance between them felt closer than ever.
Just as Li Guanqi wanted to take things a step further, Meng Wanshu grasped his misbehaving hand tightly.
Leaning against his chest, she whispered, "From now on, let's not be apart for too long, all right?"
Her voice carried seven parts melancholy and three parts unspoken heartache.
A pang of heartache struck Li Guanqi's chest. He didn't know what made Meng Wanshu say such a thing.
Even so, he nodded in agreement. "All right. From now on, we'll always be together."
Only then did a faint smile finally grace Meng Wanshu's lips.
The reason was actually very simple. After breaking through, Meng Wanshu had heard about many recent events from her father.
Her heart ached. She did not know how Li Guanqi had managed to carry the burden through all those trying times all on his own.
Had Ye Feng and the others not been there, the Great Xia Sword Sect would undoubtedly have lost the arena match of the wager against the Lu clan.
Knowing Li Guanqi's nature, had that happened, he would certainly have drowned in self-blame.
She couldn't help thinking that if only she had been by his side, Li Guanqi's burden would have been a little lighter.
Jiuxiao's draconic eyes gleamed faintly as he carried the two of them to the picturesque peak of a towering mountain.
The clouds lay below the summit, bathed in the setting sun and glowing evening haze, offering a scenery of distinctive charm.
The two leaped down, sitting at the peak to watch the sunset clouds and solitary wild geese while sipping wine and chatting.
Jiuxiao shrank his body down to a smaller size, silently lying beside them with closed eyes, enjoying the moment.
He quietly refined the residual power inside him to thoroughly consolidate his realm at tier seven.
Jiuxiao raised his head, gazing up at the firmament above with flickering eyes, lost in thought.
A hint of sorrow slipped into his gaze.
The higher his cultivation realm grew, the greater his intelligence became.
Things he had never pondered before now welled up in his mind unbidden.
Such as...
why he had appeared in a lower realm so barren of spirit tools.
Meanwhile, Li Guanqi had arrived at a bold speculation regarding the mysterious legacy of the Bingqi Realm's realm lord.
The three thousand lower realms beneath the Immortal Realm were no mere figure of speech. The lord of an entire realm...
The original owner of that inheritance was very likely an expert on the same level as his grandfather!!
Ever since he began coming into contact with the Eight Generals, Li Guanqi had grown increasingly suspicious of his grandfather's true identity.
The Lord of the Six Domains?
Heh, that slovenly old man of his was likely the master of this entire world...
The Lord of the Human Spirit Realm!!!
The Seventh Domain, no matter how one looked at it, possessed power that could utterly crush all other domains.
Even the Ethereal Immortal Domain!!
Chapter 870