"Why have I never heard of the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox clan in the Six Domains?"
"Why don't they even appear in ancient texts?"
Li Guanqi's voice sounded slowly. Holding Pengluo, Yun Jie slowly lowered her head.
Only after quite a while did she calm her emotions and speak in a soft voice.
"The Fire-Eyed Demon Fox clan rarely shows itself before the world."
"That is why in our race, once any fox reaches adulthood, they must leave the clan alone with their Dao companion."
"It is precisely because of this that the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox lineage has been able to keep its bloodline alive."
Li Guanqi frowned. "Why? Even without a grotto-heaven blessed land full of heavenly treasures and spiritual things, wouldn't you at least be able to stay sheltered within your realm?"
As if recalling some tragic memory, Yun Jie's tears began pattering down.
Her weeping grew louder and louder until she was sobbing uncontrollably, choked with grief.
Seeing this, Pengluo patted the young girl's shoulder, looked at Li Guanqi, and said softly, "Master, let me explain. You surely know about the Spirit Fish Clan back at the Great Xia Sword Sect, right?"
Li Guanqi exchanged a look with Meng Wanshu and nodded. "Of course I know. I was the one who brought the Spirit Fish Clan back to the Great Xia Sword Sect."
With heartache in his eyes, Pengluo looked at Yun Jie and murmured, "Compared to the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox clan, the Spirit Fish Clan is fortunate beyond measure."
Li Guanqi frowned. "Why do you say that?"
Pengluo said softly, "Not every spirit fish bears a bone sword within its body, nor can a bone sword fuse with just any blade. Their ability is really nothing more than icing on the cake."
"But... the Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes are different."
Pengluo looked into the girl's eyes and continued, "The eyes of a Fire-Eyed Demon Fox are called Fire-Eyed Pupils."
"As long as someone gouges out their eyes while they are alive and fuses them into their own body using a secret art, there is a high probability of awakening an ocular technique."
"Though such an ocular technique is not inborn to one's bloodline, it is exceedingly powerful."
"And the stronger the Fire-Eyed Demon Fox, the more formidable its eyes are!!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi drew in a sharp breath of cold air and sighed.
"Possessing a jade ring becomes a crime... So that's how it is."
"Then... your Yun lineage?"
Yun Jie sobbed, "G-gone... none left... I am the only... one. The reason I was able to escape... was because my parents... and uncles... joined forces to send me out."
"The Yu family will never let this rest!!"
"They will definitely try every means to drag me back."
Seeing that Li Guanqi still had some doubts, Pengluo stated bluntly, "Aside from the Yu family, the number of people in the entire Human Spirit Realm who know about the Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes could be counted on one hand!"
"Uh... the one inside doesn't count, of course."
Pengluo reasoned, "So the Yu family fears exposure, and they will stop at nothing to hunt us down!"
Li Guanqi sighed and said softly, "It's fine. Let's make our way to the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect first."
Meng Wanshu nodded as well. Her eyes swept the surroundings warily, and once she was certain no one was around, she retrieved a special cloud shuttle!
The streamlined shuttle was large enough to seat exactly four people. It was dark gold throughout, and its formation was set with a full twelve purple gold crystals.
The group stepped aboard, and the shuttle sped swiftly toward the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect.
Yet not long after they departed, a black-robed elder appeared in the void.
The cyan compass in his hand faintly glowed. Taking out a jade slip, he said in a heavy voice, "They are in the void interlayer and riding a cloud shuttle. At this pace, they should be reaching your area soon."
Inside the cloud shuttle, Yun Jie remained deeply dispirited, curled against the craft in a corner.
She buried her head between her knees, her silent, forlorn appearance tugging at the heartstrings.
Seeing this, a sigh surfaced in Meng Wanshu's eyes; she did not know how to console Yun Jie either.
Pengluo, on the other hand, kept trying to cheer Yun Jie up by her side.
Yet Yun Jie's eyes were filled with sorrow, and she truly was in no mood for it.
At this moment, Yun Jie was terrified that Li Guanqi and the others might cast her aside.
Pengluo comforted her, "Don't worry, my master is wonderful. Back in the Great Xia Domain of the Six Domains, the Spirit Fish Clan has rested and recuperated over the years, and their numbers have multiplied several times over."
Yet Yun Jie replied in a quiet, despondent voice, "I... have no clan members left."
Pengluo froze on the spot, his mouth opening and closing as every word of comfort choked in his throat.
Suddenly!!
Pengluo shot out abruptly, completely bypassing the cloud shuttle's barrier formation.
Closing his eyes to sense their surroundings, he was instantly jolted with alarm!!
Flitting back inside, Pengluo murmured with an unsightly expression, "Master, I think we've been targeted!"
Li Guanqi's brows knitted tightly.
"So fast?"
"Can you tell how many there are? What realms are they?"
Yun Jie's face drained of color, her shoulders trembling slightly, her eyes brimming with sheer terror.
Her fingernails dug into the fur on her knees until the skin broke, yet she didn't even notice, paralyzed by dread.
Li Guanqi stood up and said softly, "Wanshu, put the cloud shuttle away."
Taking out a jade slip, he said in a chilling voice, "Come lend me a hand. Someone is trying to kill me."
The moment his words fell, a terrifically formidable aura abruptly erupted within Qin Imperial City!!
Qin Wushang vaulted into the sky, a frosty sneer on his face.
"Who is seeking death?"
Qin Wushang genuinely could not fathom who could be so suicidal.
Nangong Xuandu had only just left, yet someone was already coming to cause trouble for Li Guanqi?
However, he could sense that Li Guanqi and the others were located extraordinarily far from Qin Imperial City.
Even the spatial fluctuations were difficult to detect, and when he attempted to send another transmission, he found that he could no longer reach Li Guanqi.
"Damn your grandfather, at least give me your spatial coordinates!!"
"Just telling me someone wants to kill you—how am I supposed to know where you are?!"
Having vented, Qin Wushang had no choice but to take out his jade slip and contact others.
Most importantly, he needed to reach the Gu clan; he believed Gu Li, Ye Feng, and the rest surely had special ways of reaching Li Guanqi.
Gu Changsheng shot up from his chair in a flash.
Han Yuan and the others were startled, grumbling peevishly, "What are you doing now?!"
Gu Changsheng dashed out the door in a frenzy, roaring, "Someone's coming after Li Guanqi!! I'm going to find Gu Li!!"
The three old men hastily rose and hurried after him. "What's the use of finding Gu Li?"
Without looking back, Gu Changsheng barked, "That boy Gu Li loves planting spatial teleportation talismans on people!!"
Clang!!
The door was kicked wide open. Gu Li sat cross-legged inside his room, dense patterns of spirit runes inundating the entire courtyard.
Though Gu Changsheng knew it was bad to disturb him at such a time, he had no choice.
If something truly happened to Li Guanqi, he could never bear the responsibility!!
"Gu Li!! Wake up!!"
Gu Li frowned. The spiritual light surrounding him gradually retreated into his sea of consciousness. Opening his eyes, he saw four men standing in the courtyard.
Gu Changsheng stated bluntly, "Li Guanqi is in danger! Qin Wushang told me someone is ambushing him in the Ethereal Immortal Domain!"
Without a second word, Gu Li sprang to his feet and pulled out several inscribed talismans. Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The glowing runes on the talismans began to twist and overlap, amplifying their power exponentially.
Gu Li formed hand seals as the talismans burst into raging flames, causing a warped silver-white light screen to gradually take shape.
Yet right at that moment, a terrifying power that Gu Li could not resist violently shattered the energy of the talisman gate!!
*Spurt!*
Blood sprayed from Gu Li's mouth as a large hand slammed firmly against his back, Gu Changsheng plunging his other hand straight into the light screen!!!
In the pitch-black void, a blazing palm print a full hundred zhang wide instantly formed!!
The scarlet-gold Xuantian Divine Flame struck violently toward the black-robed person who had made a move.
The strike blasted the opponent back several thousand zhang, but the fiery palm print also shattered alongside the collapsing light gate...
Gu Changsheng snorted coldly, his expression grim to the extreme.
"You all right, son?"
Gu Li replied in a frigid tone, "I'm fine!"
"I sensed a trace of it, but I'm not certain! Let's go!!"
Chapter 883