Faint light illuminated the domain.
The shattered domain fragment spanned several tens of li, and before their eyes stood a series of broken, decrepit dungeons.
A foul, putrid stench filled their nostrils. Li Guanqi's foot sank into something soft, and when he looked down, he found the complete pelt of an adult Fire-Eyed Demon Fox.
Yet the pelt had rotted for countless years, turning pitch-black and greasy.
The blue flagstones on the floor had long been stained dark by dried blood, and the slippery, slick sensation beneath his feet was the foul sludge of rotted flesh and runoff.
Looking into the distance, dozens of iron racks fitted with chains stood erect across the expanse.
Hanging from them were more than a dozen desiccated skeletons...
At this sight, a heavy gloom settled over everyone's hearts. They proceeded further inside.
Upon a relatively clean platform, Li Guanqi spotted a jade casket.
The pristine white jade casket looked jarringly conspicuous amidst this desolate, filthy world.
Han Yuan could not hold back a cold sneer. "Utter beasts!"
Yet even now, none of them had figured out why the Yu clan had captured so many fox spirits.
Li Guanqi had already formed a suspicion. Nangong Xuandu raised his hand and opened the jade casket.
More than a dozen pairs of fiery-red eyeballs, luminous as pearls, appeared before everyone's eyes.
Nangong Xuandu took a deep breath, his voice turning bitterly cold. "The Yu clan's ocular techniques were all acquired by absorbing the eyes of these demon foxes!"
"For all these years, the Yu clan's rise seemed suspicious."
"To think such a filthy truth was hidden behind it!"
"In this domain alone, the number of dead fox spirits must be at least ten thousand..."
"There is no telling how many fox spirits the Yu clan butchered over all these years just to harvest their eyes."
A violent tremor shook Li Guanqi's mind. Looking around, dense heaps of demon fox corpses were piled up carelessly like garbage.
Flies swarmed about, feasting on the rotting remains, while the hollow eyes of the corpses stared blankly upward.
No one knew what agony they had endured before death...
Pity welled up uncontrollably within Li Guanqi. He murmured softly, "Pengluo."
"Mm, I'm here, Master."
"Take Yun Jie back to the Great Xia Sword Sect! Conceal her within one of the peaks' isolated domains..."
"All right."
The others clearly understood by now that these demon foxes were somewhat different from ordinary demons, but none showed any interest in exploiting it.
It was nothing more than an unorthodox, depraved method, to say nothing of the slaughter of an entire race required to practice it.
Xiang Huaizhi's chest heaved, a monstrous fury raging within him!
With a flick of his hand, the flames of Chiyang surged violently toward the jade casket atop the high platform.
Li Guanqi's expression shifted, and he shouted, "Wait!"
Xiang Huaizhi frowned at him. "What do you mean by that, brat?"
"Let me tell you, if you're thinking of using these demon fox eyes for anything, I'll be the first to refuse."
"If you dare stray onto these wicked paths, see if Nangong and I don't beat you half to death."
The flames hovered motionless in midair. Left with no choice, Li Guanqi explained the matter of Yun Jie to Xiang Huaizhi.
"These eyes should be able to strengthen that little fox demon's power."
Xiang Huaizhi and Nangong Xuandu exchanged a glance. Nangong Xuandu furrowed his brows.
"Have you considered whether seeing these things might drive her mad?"
Li Guanqi shook his head, sighing softly. "She was kept in these dungeons all along. Everything she should and shouldn't have seen, she already has."
"If she can inherit her clan's legacy of power, it might actually be for the best."
Nangong Xuandu turned and tossed the jade casket to Li Guanqi, saying solemnly, "Exercise caution, and act with discretion!"
Li Guanqi nodded to show he understood. He had no intention of rushing to give these items to Yun Jie right away.
Right then, Pengluo suddenly sensed a spatial pocket deep within this domain, inside which lingered numerous auras!
Li Guanqi paused, gesturing for everyone to wait.
Pengluo emerged and guided them toward the pocket. After venturing inside alone for a short while...
Space tore open, revealing several dozen Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes huddled together inside a cramped void interlayer.
Among them, a noticeably aged fox demon bled from both eyes, his fiery-red pupils gradually fading to an ashen gray.
It seemed this was that particular Fire-Eyed Demon Fox's innate ability.
The remaining fox spirits all possessed extremely feeble auras, their bodies covered in dense wounds.
Some of the foxes had most of their pelts flayed away... and others were missing an eye.
They had managed to flee into this interlayer space only after Nangong Xuandu launched his attack.
The strongest man among them stepped forward. Most of his fiery-red fur had been violently torn off, leaving him mangled with bloody wounds, and his fox tail had been severed...
The man dropped to his knees, prostrating himself on the ground before Li Guanqi. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke in a choked voice.
"I implore our benefactor... to take in our demon fox clan. I am Yun Shan, patriarch of the Yun branch."
"In the name of the patriarch, I am willing to sign a contract with you, so long as you agree to take us in and grant us a place to recuperate and live..."
The man's eye sockets were sunken, leaving behind only two hollow, bloody pits.
A sixth-rank demon, yet all his pride and spirit had been crushed. Among the crowd, Li Guanqi saw Yun Jie, her eyes filled with tears.
Yun Jie was overwhelmed with emotion. Falling to her knees, she knocked her forehead against the ground before them with resounding thuds.
Every strike echoed through the dungeon, splitting the skin between her brows in just two blows.
Following her lead, the remaining clansmen dropped to their knees one after another.
Pengluo looked at Li Guanqi, pleading in his eyes.
This was a rare sight...
Though Pengluo was foul-mouthed and stubborn, he had never begged Li Guanqi for anything.
The others all turned their eyes to Li Guanqi. Xiang Huaizhi said, "Make the decision yourself."
Li Guanqi took a deep breath and said gravely, "Very well. From now on, you will rest and recuperate at the Great Xia Sword Sect."
"We will sign the contract once we return to the sect. Just like the Spirit Fish Clan, you will have your own rights."
"However... you must never betray the sect! Should you violate this pact, I, Li Guanqi, will personally cleanse your clan in blood!"
As he spoke, Li Guanqi produced the Spirit Fish Clan's contract scroll. Yun Shan's expression visibly tightened, and his resolve deepened even further!
For... even after learning they were Fire-Eyed Demon Foxes, this man had still saved his daughter.
Boom!
The flames of Chiyang incinerated the entire domain into nothingness. In that instant, Li Guanqi felt as though the grievances permeating the domain had dissipated considerably.
The dark, bone-chilling coldness within the space vanished like smoke...
Stepping out of the space, Li Guanqi was in low spirits, as the scene had stirred unpleasant memories within him.
Sensing something was amiss, Meng Wanshu took his hand and asked softly, "Are you all right?"
Li Guanqi shook his head, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a breath of stale air before forcing a faint smile.
"I'm fine."
Yet a thought gradually surfaced in his mind.
He... wanted to go back and see how Yun Chuxue was doing.
Not to disrupt her life, but merely to look upon her from afar. That little girl should be nearly seven or eight years old by now, shouldn't she?
Yet the moment the thought appeared, Li Guanqi shook his head...
"Perhaps... it is better not to disturb her."
He had made many enemies by now, and he did not want her to become entangled because of him.
Emerging from the domain, Xiang Huaizhi set the entire Yu clan ablaze!
A torrent of crimson flames spanning myriad zhang rained down from the heavens like divine retribution!
The flames transformed into spiritual swords, crashing onto the earth like a torrential downpour!
Rumble!
Boom! Boom, boom!
Apart from the women, children, and elderly who knew nothing of worldly affairs, not a single person complicit in the atrocities was spared.
In the end, only several dozen survivors of the Yu clan were left, banished to the Daochan Domain.
The Yu clan had been exterminated!
Chapter 891