Yu Qingkun watched Li Guanqi battle four Body Integration experts single-handedly, utterly stunned.
He had not expected Li Guanqi to be so powerful despite having only just entered the Body Integration Realm.
Moreover, nearly all the Yu clan members were powerhouses of the second or third stage of spirit enlightenment, possessing a far deeper understanding of primal energy.
Yet even so, they could not break through Li Guanqi's airtight curtain of sword light.
Yu Qingkun's expression shifted. He had to maintain the operation of the ancient array and could not pull away.
He knew how terrifying the forces and connections behind Li Guanqi were.
Because of that, he did not dare dismantle the array to intervene in person.
There would only be one chance to strike, and that strike had to be an instant kill!
Yet as the battle remained locked in a stalemate, light flickered in the depths of Yu Qingkun's eyes.
In truth, when all was said and done, the Yu clan had no profound grudge against Li Guanqi. But if this matter were exposed...
The consequences would be unimaginable!
Yu Qingkun took a deep breath. "All of you, stop!"
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
As the fierce roars faded, the Yu clan members actually took the initiative to halt.
Three of their powerhouses were already severely injured.
One had been wounded by Jiuxiao's dragon claws, while another had taken two successive heavy blows from Pengluo, leaving his crotch a mangled mess of blood and flesh.
The third severely injured man was the Yu clan elder, Yu Cang.
Half of Yu Cang's facial skin had been sliced off earlier, a grudge he still held bitterly.
That was why he had taken the lead in directing the clan's experts to surround and kill Li Guanqi.
Now, the old man's arm had been cleanly severed, his body was covered in sword wounds deep enough to bare bone, and an ear had been sheared away as well.
His face pale, the old man retreated to the side and ringed the perimeter with the others, glaring at Li Guanqi with predatory hostility.
Yu Qingkun reached up and pulled back the black hood covering his head.
Li Guanqi frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing. He did not know what the man meant by this gesture.
Yu Cang was also slightly taken aback, completely unaware of what the patriarch intended.
Pengluo leaped out from the void and stood beside Li Guanqi, scowling.
"What does this old bastard mean? Dropping the act?"
Jiuxiao remained coiled, its dragon eyes staring coldly at everyone.
If not for the need to protect Meng Wanshu, it alone would have been enough to crush several of these mysterious figures.
Li Guanqi took a slow step forward, looking calmly at the black-robed man in the distance.
The man held an archaic, mysterious array plate in each hand.
Golden inscriptions glimmered faintly atop the array plates, radiating waves of a terrifying sealing barrier.
So that was why Gu Li had been unable to break through the Void Realm to reach them earlier...
Li Guanqi gave a faint smile. Seeing the demon fox pelt atop the man's head, he understood what was going on.
Even if the man had not revealed his face, Li Guanqi would have laid this debt squarely at the Yu clan's door.
Li Guanqi stood with sword in hand, the wounds on his body having already stopped bleeding. In truth, he also harbored some doubts.
He did not understand why the Yu clan members had not employed ocular techniques during the clash just now.
Yu Qingkun fixed a sharp gaze on Li Guanqi and said softly, "Li Guanqi, there was never any grudge or intersection between you and me.
"Our Yu clan's experts came today solely to reclaim the slave-race fox demon that belongs to us.
"Are you certain you wish to make an enemy of our Yu clan?
"Over a mere fox demon, why don't you and I make a deal?"
Pengluo flared with rage and raised his hammer to charge forward, but Li Guanqi held him back.
A playful smile touched the corners of Li Guanqi's lips. Wiping the blood from his face, he cast an imperceptible glance toward Jiuxiao.
"Oh? What deal?"
"Let's hear it."
A smile appeared on Yu Qingkun's face, and even his somewhat gloomy demeanor softened slightly.
"As long as you hand that fox demon over to me, I, Yu Qingkun, will present ten million spirit stones with both hands.
"Along with a Heaven-rank secret technique.
"Our past grievances will be wiped clean—after all, you killed two Void Refining Realm cultivators of our Yu clan!"
Hearing this, Li Guanqi remarked casually, "Hmm, sounds like I'm getting the better end of the deal."
Hearing these words, Pengluo panicked at once.
"Master, absolutely do not hand her over! If you hand her over, she's dead!
"It's only ten million spirit stones! I can earn that for you too. Worst comes to worst, I'll just sell myself out more!"
Before his voice had even faded, Jiuxiao suddenly let out an angry roar, opening its maw to unleash a burst of dragon breath right toward Pengluo!
The searing lightning breath scorched a patch of Pengluo's rear, burning him so badly that he wailed in pain.
Jiuxiao shot Pengluo a look of displeasure, as if saying, *How could you doubt Li Guanqi?*
Only then did Pengluo come to his senses, realizing that his assumption had indeed been misguided.
If Li Guanqi feared trouble or had no desire to keep Yun Jie,
he could have ignored her from the very start, or simply handed her over when the Yu clan arrived to avoid stirring up more trouble.
With things having reached this point, how could Li Guanqi possibly agree!
Red Lotus hummed softly in Li Guanqi's grasp, and an icy killing intent began to spread.
"The terms do sound rather tempting. But what if... I refuse?"
Li Guanqi sneered, looking at the man in the distance as he spoke softly.
"There is nothing to discuss. Since your Yu clan dared to strike, you must be prepared to pay the price of total extermination!"
Hearing this, Yu Qingkun's face instantly chilled, and he sneered with cold contempt.
"A shameless creature that refuses face when it's offered. Do you truly believe anyone will seek revenge against our Yu clan if we kill you?
"Do you think our Yu clan is made of soft persimmons?"
With that, Yu Qingkun waved his hand and barked furiously, "Strike! You four, take over controlling the barrier!"
Yu Cang frowned and said in a heavy voice, "Patriarch, relying on us alone, this array can only hold for the time it takes an incense stick to burn at most!"
When the man's cold gaze swept over Jiuxiao and Pengluo, a flicker of greed flashed in his eyes.
Recalling that frost-faced woman, an edge of lewd lust flitted through the depths of Yu Qingkun's eyes!
This fleeting look was caught by Li Guanqi.
In an instant, the aura inside Li Guanqi's body soared to its absolute peak, surging a full thirty percent stronger than before!
Yu Cang's pupils shrank violently. No wonder he had felt Li Guanqi's strength was somewhat weaker than before.
He had assumed his earlier ocular illusion had damaged Li Guanqi's divine sense.
Looking at him now, where was he injured at all?
He was completely fine, and had even held back while besieged by four Body Integration experts!
At this moment, the flame spirit mark on Li Guanqi's forehead flared with blinding light, threatening to shatter at any second!
Seeing this, Pengluo hurriedly cried, "Master! Don't! Don't be impulsive!
"Things haven't reached that point yet!"
Li Guanqi watched the four Body Integration elders take over Yu Qingkun's position, his heart sinking.
A strange, sinister smile curled on Yu Qingkun's lips.
His gaze swept over them as he sneered, "A shameless wretch who refuses face. Since you seek death, I don't mind wiping you out!"
In an instant, an indescribable pressure swept across a hundred li.
Chapter 885