Rumble!
Meng Wanshu took Li Guanqi's hand, sending a gentle strand of primal energy into his body to examine his condition.
Only after finding that he was unharmed did she finally set her mind at ease. Frowning slightly, she raised her hand and dismissed the ice wall hanging in the sky.
Yun Jie's coat had turned sleek and glossy, and her aura had grown distinctly stronger.
Pengluo sat casually upon Li Guanqi's shoulder. Snapping off a joint of his finger, he shoved it into Li Guanqi's mouth.
"Be careful around these Yu clan people in the future. Their ocular techniques... seem to take after the methods of evil cultivators."
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, not saying much.
The multicolored radiance of heaven and earth from Yun Jie's breakthrough was even more abundant than Li Guanqi had anticipated.
The innate talent of the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox clan was by no means weak, yet Li Guanqi could not understand why such a race had ended up as the Yu clan's slaves.
Yun Jie's injuries were mostly healed, and even so, the residual power of Pengluo remaining within her was far from exhausted.
Only now did she truly understand just how powerful the two before her were.
Having broken through, Yun Jie dropped to her knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly against the ground.
"My lord, I beg you to take me with you."
"I don't want to be dragged back..."
As she spoke, the girl suddenly rose to her feet. A look of hatred flashed in her eyes, and she raised her hand, viciously clawing off the slave mark on her cheek!
"A lowly demon like me cannot escape this Ethereal Immortal Domain. That I managed to break free today was entirely thanks to you two lords' assistance."
"I am the last survivor of the Yun branch of the Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes. If you do not despise me, my lords, I am willing to serve you as a beast of burden, as your servant—I only hope my lords will grant this..."
Li Guanqi said nothing more. Raising a hand, he lifted the girl to her feet, cast a vigilant glance around them, and said gravely, "Let's go. We'll leave here first before speaking further."
Meng Wanshu had clearly also noticed several exceptionally stealthy spatial fluctuations rapidly drawing near.
Pengluo caught hold of the group and plunged straight into the void interlayer.
This was the first time Meng Wanshu had ever sensed the existence of the void interlayer.
Pengluo said with immense pride, "This is my specialty! Impressive, isn't it?"
Yet at that moment, he noticed that Li Guanqi's movement art allowed him to traverse the interlayer with complete ease.
Back when Li Guanqi had managed many affairs in the Tianji Pavilion, he had also imparted this special art to the Dark Pavilion Guards.
The Great Void Shadow Breath Concealment Divine Art.
Just as Li Guanqi turned to pass this art on to Meng Wanshu, he saw her close her eyes in quiet concentration. Suddenly, a profound spatial fluctuation radiated from within her.
A shroud of azure radiance enveloped her entirely.
Meng Wanshu released Li Guanqi's hand and began walking freely through the interlayer on her own.
Pengluo stared dumbfoundedly at the two of them. It was supposed to be his unique forte, yet now both of them could do it!
Pouting crossly, Pengluo turned to glance at Yun Jie, who was trembling in fear, and only then let out a breath of relief.
***
Not long after the group departed, waves of terrifying pressure descended.
Yu Cang arrived at the scene leading a host of powerhouses. Seeing the empty riverbank, fury instantly blazed within him.
A man whose face was cold as frost said in a deep voice, "Elder Yu, are you certain the other party is not a local?"
Yu Cang's eyes were completely bloodshot as he said coldly, "I am certain! They are definitely not people of the Ethereal Immortal Domain."
"No cultivator in the Ethereal Immortal Domain would offend our Yu clan over a petty demon!"
"What's more, they didn't seem to know about the Yu clan at all."
The man snorted coldly and said in a harsh tone, "To think cultivators from the Six Domains dare to meddle in our Yu clan's affairs!"
"I'd like to see who had the audacity to pull such a thing!"
With a flick of his hand, he tossed out a green compass. Auspicious light flooded the sky, instantly manifesting the figures of Li Guanqi and the others departing earlier.
The man stared at Li Guanqi's appearance and furrowed his brow, murmuring under his breath, "A blind man?"
Clad in an embroidered brocade robe, the man frowned and turned, ordering, "Investigate this person's background for me!"
"Let's go. Bring Ge Li's corpse back."
Swish!
The fox tail at the man's waist appeared all the more enchanting. A faint crimson tinted his deep eyes, and his pupils bore an eerie, bizarre shape.
Yu Cang nodded, then followed behind the man back to the Yu clan.
Information regarding Li Guanqi was soon compiled in broad strokes, and for a time, the Yu clan's grand hall fell into complete silence.
Standing beside the man, Yu Cang said in a low voice, "Patriarch, the matter regarding the Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes is our Yu clan's secret. It must never leak out!"
"Once the other families learn of this, our Yu clan will inevitably become the target of all!"
The man tapped his fingers lightly against the desk, the dull thuds echoing through the grand hall.
The atmosphere in the hall grew incomparably oppressive and grim.
Seated on both sides, the Yu clan's powerhouses all bore inscrutable expressions.
The outside world believed that the Yu clan's totem was a faith in fox demons and that the beast skins they wore were nothing more than ordinary fire fox pelts.
Yet only the Yu clan knew that their present standing was entirely due to the secret art passed down within their bloodline.
However...
This secret art required the existence of Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes to cultivate, and over the years, the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox had long gone extinct in the outside world.
Only the Yu clan knew what methods to use to locate these demon foxes hidden within spatial fragments.
Records concerning the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox in the outside world were exceptionally scarce.
This man was none other than the Patriarch of the Yu clan, Yu Qingkun!
At the early Mahayana realm, he was currently the clan's primary authority aside from the Yu clan's ancestor.
Yu Qingkun's eyes flickered, the demon fox pelt atop his head glowing with fiery light as he murmured softly, "This matter carries far too many entanglements... The faction backing that Li Guanqi cannot be underestimated."
"Too many people are tied to him, and he has a close relationship with the Qin clan's imperial scion."
Hearing this, everyone in the hall furrowed their brows. For so many years, the Yu clan's secret had never been uncovered by outside eyes.
Who could have foreseen that among the captured Yun branch, all the Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes would combine their power to breach the boundary barrier and send one beast out?
A sudden cold gleam flashed in Yu Qingkun's eyes. In a heavy voice, he said, "This matter cannot simply be dropped."
"The death of our Yu clan's cultivators is a small matter, but the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox is of utmost importance!"
"The reason our Yu clan has been able to establish a firm foothold on the Coast of the Eastern Sea is precisely because of this..."
"Find out where they went. Tail them, and seek an opportunity to strike them down in a single blow!"
At this point, the man's tone grew visibly graver. After a brief pause, his sharp gaze swept across the crowd.
"A Seventh Rank spirit creature, and two at the peak of early Body Integration Realm."
"Not only that Li Guanqi—the woman is the daughter of Meng Jiangchu, Domain Lord of the Shenbao Domain and the Five Yang Ghost Emperor."
"It would be best to dispatch at least three times their numbers to ensure absolute certainty."
"According to the investigation, Li Guanqi has extensive ties to the Seventh Domain, and even knows several of the Eight Generals."
"Since I've said this much, you should already know what must be done, right?"
Yu Cang sneered. "Understood. Pull them up by the roots!"
As the words fell, an aura of slaughter surged throughout the hall.
Meanwhile, traversing the void, Li Guanqi and his companions began inquiring about Yun Jie's circumstances.
Chapter 882