I Am Qin Wushang

Meng Wanshu was slightly surprised. She had not expected Li Guanqi to have an acquaintance here in the Ethereal Immortal Domain. "Who is it?" Li Guanqi smiled faintly, pulled out a jade slip, and said softly, "Are you in Qin Imperial City?" Soon, a refined, gentle man's voice came from the jade slip. "You're here?" "Come on over. I'll wait for you in Qin Imperial City." Putting away the jade slip, Li Guanqi got his bearings, took Meng Wanshu by the hand, and sped off toward the east. Neither of them traveled particularly fast along the way, taking the time to observe sights unique to the Ethereal Immortal Domain. In the dense jungle, a grove of man-eating withered trees lashed their branches about, whistling like the wails of vengeful wraiths. There were also vast stretches of gorgeous flowers whose drifting pollen was a lethal poison. The wondrous spectacles filled Meng Wanshu with curiosity. Like a little girl who loved lively novelties, she went over to look closely at whatever caught her eye. Li Guanqi was happy to indulge her and never hurried her. Meng Wanshu plucked a pink flower as large as a lotus leaf and giggled. "Look! What a massive bloom, and so vibrant." Li Guanqi nodded with an affectionate smile in his eyes. Only then did Meng Wanshu remember. She tossed the flower aside and gasped, "Ah! Isn't someone waiting for us?" Li Guanqi chuckled. "No matter. It's just a short wait. We'll simply say… we stopped to admire the scenery along the way and were delayed." Meng Wanshu playfully stuck out her tongue, quickly caught Li Guanqi's hand, and murmured, "Blame it on me being easily distracted." Li Guanqi smiled softly, not minding such a trivial matter in the slightest. The two dashed through the air like a couple of immortals, treading above the cloud layer with an otherworldly grace. Clad in white, Li Guanqi let Meng Wanshu hold his arm, smiling with genuine joy. Her frost-cold demeanor and arrogant, haughty air before outsiders never showed a trace in Li Guanqi's presence. Even in front of Ye Feng and the others, Meng Wanshu would subconsciously put on airs, carrying herself like an authoritative elder sister. Yet before Li Guanqi, she was entirely a gentle, affectionate woman. Along the way, Meng Wanshu could not help but sigh. "The Ethereal Immortal Domain is truly immense." "I wonder what kind of figure could create such a colossal domain. After tens of thousands of years of recuperation, this realm is practically indistinguishable from the world outside." "Though the number of cultivators does not match the outside, it is still an extraordinarily vast population." Li Guanqi nodded in full agreement and said softly, "However, the qualifications required for outsiders to enter the Ethereal Immortal Domain are exceptionally strict." "Besides… it seems the people here dislike appearing in the Six Domains." "Even the various members of the Ancient Clan have very little contact with them." "Still, I always get the impression that the natives of the Ethereal Immortal Domain hold an innate sense of superiority over cultivators from the outside." "As if they were born superior to everyone else." Meng Wanshu smiled. "If one were truly born and raised in the Ethereal Immortal Domain, having such a mindset is likely inevitable, isn't it?" "In a land blessed with such natural spiritual brilliance, any child born here naturally possesses far superior spiritual roots." "On top of that, mundane mortal life scarcely exists here, giving it a stronger touch of the ethereal." Yet Li Guanqi could hear that Meng Wanshu did not feel much attachment to the Ethereal Immortal Domain. Instead, it was the lively warmth of mortal streets and markets that she truly loved. Raised in Fulong Village, Meng Wanshu had longed for the bustling fairs in the town below the mountain since childhood. She loved the clamorous, cheerful atmosphere, the street vendors on all sides, the shouting hawkers, the laughter of running children, and the steaming food stalls. Li Guanqi squeezed her hand and said softly, "Once we finish everything on our plate, I'll take you to stay in a mortal town for a while. How about that?" Meng Wanshu looked at Li Guanqi in disbelief, her brows relaxing as bright light shimmered in her beautiful eyes. Gazing at him, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons as she nodded. "All right." *Whoosh! Whoosh!!* Even at their current speed, it took several hours before the outline of Qin Imperial City came into view. The sheer majesty of the city truly stunned Meng Wanshu. Yet that was not what surprised her most. Li Guanqi also looked helplessly at the scene in the distance. The gates of the colossal Qin Imperial City were shut tight, and numerous cultivators were left standing silently far back, forbidden from drawing near. A man wearing a tailored black brocade robe sat atop a pavilion on the city wall, casually plucking a spiritual fruit beside him and popping it into his mouth. Outside the city gate, over a hundred Black Armor Guards were lined up in neat ranks on both sides. Stretched across the blue paving stones was a silk red carpet over three hundred zhang long, its embroidered patterns extravagant to the extreme, shimmering with a soft glow. Hundreds of cultivators were barred outside the city gates, and every one of them was speculating about who could possibly be arriving at Qin Imperial City. The sheer grandeur of the display was enough to rattle many hearts, to say nothing of the fact that Qin Wushang, the imperial scion of Qin Imperial City, was waiting on the wall to welcome the guest in person! There were quite a few cultivators coming and going around Qin Imperial City, including no shortage of locals. Most of them were at the Nascent Soul realm. Even the teenagers of the clans appeared to be at late Core Formation. Yet there were also experts of the Soul Formation Realm and Void Refining Realm present. An elder in brocade robes murmured in a low voice, "Just what kind of grand figure is coming to warrant imperial scion Qin Wushang welcoming them in person?!" Suddenly, the eyes of Qin Wushang on the wall lit up, and he slowly rose to his feet. A flash of light gleamed beneath his feet as he teleported outside the city gate, hovering in midair and smiling toward the two figures streaking in from the distance. All the cultivators turned to look toward the horizon. Two indistinct silhouettes were blurry one moment and crystal-clear the next. Such terrifying speed sent a shiver through many onlookers. Teleporting to a halt scarcely a zhang away from Qin Wushang, Li Guanqi said with a touch of helplessness, "What's with the massive spectacle?" Qin Wushang smiled faintly. "For you, this is merely the bare minimum of respect." "And this is…?" Li Guanqi curled his lip. "My Dao companion, Meng Wanshu." "Don't tell me you haven't heard about what happened at the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect." Qin Wushang chuckled, making no attempt to deny it. He cupped his fists toward Meng Wanshu. "Qin Wushang." Meng Wanshu returned the courtesy with a smile and said softly, "Meng Wanshu." Qin Wushang looked at Meng Wanshu for a moment with a curious gaze, thoroughly shocked inside. *No wonder…* *She's strong.* Li Guanqi raised two fingers, jabbing them forward playfully. "Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyes out." Qin Wushang raised a palm to block, dodging with a laugh. "Hahaha, easy, easy! I was merely marveling at your lady's formidable strength, that's all." "Come on, let me take you two to my place for a visit." With that, he raised a hand, and the colossal city gates groaned loudly, swinging open solely for the pair! Walking along the red carpet side by side with Li Guanqi, Qin Wushang made casual conversation. "I heard you've been quite close to the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect lately?" Li Guanqi shrugged. "Not really. Jiuxiao's breakthrough was only possible thanks to their ink flood dragon." "Besides… I owe the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect a considerable favor because of it." Qin Wushang smiled and said softly, "By the way, someone is waiting for you at my house." Li Guanqi frowned slightly, completely unable to fathom who could be waiting for him at the Qin residence!