Li Guanqi bowed respectfully and said in a deep voice, "Sect Master."
Lu Kangnian looked at him with complex emotions, nodding gently as he whispered, "Don't be afraid. I am here!"
Li Guanqi nodded without a word. Lu Kangnian cupped his fists and said solemnly, "Seniors, please come inside."
Keeping himself one pace behind Lu Kangnian, Li Guanqi guided the group toward the sect's grand hall.
When passing Gong Ze and the others, Li Guanqi nodded slightly in greeting.
His eyes swept coldly over Tantai Yiting and his companions. Li Guanqi's steps paused for a moment while the others continued forward.
However, Tantai Yiting, Han Chengxian, and their group were halted.
A flicker of terror flashed through Ji Hong's eyes; he kept his head bowed, not daring to meet Li Guanqi's gaze.
The one-armed Han Chengxian gritted his teeth, yet he lowered his head as well.
Li Guanqi cast an indifferent glance over the three of them, his voice freezing cold. "You three, listen to me very carefully—every single one of you."
"Serve the sect loyally, and I may spare you."
"But if any of you harbors disloyalty, do not blame me for being ruthless. I will sever your heads and hang them above the mountain gate as a warning to all."
Tantai Yiting's breath caught. He suddenly felt as though the youth before him had grown infinitely tall, exuding an unfathomably powerful aura of oppression!
That chilling killing intent wrapped around the three of them.
With his hands behind his back, the youth toyed with a purplish-black miniature pagoda, the shrill shrieks of wronged spirits echoing endlessly in their ears.
Cold sweat drenched the old man's tense forehead. Bowing low, he stammered, "We won't... we definitely won't..."
"Now the three of us are merely consecrated elders without real authority. What could we possibly do?"
"We have already made up our minds to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to serving the sect in exchange for resources, striving to break through as soon as possible."
Li Guanqi did not even finish listening to the old man before turning and walking away.
Pulling out a jade pendant, he said coldly, "Send word: effective immediately, Ji Yuchuan is stripped of his title as Vice Pavilion Master. Anyone who wishes to leave must depart at once."
"In one hour, I will return to the pavilion to convene a meeting. When that time comes, if anyone still tries to leave... I will kill them!"
Those two sentences rang out across the entirety of Guanyun Pavilion.
At once, turmoil erupted within the pavilion. Soon, numerous figures flew out from the domain boundary. Casting deep, lingering looks toward the Great Xia Sword Sect, they turned and departed.
At this moment, Ji Yuchuan was roughly an hour's journey away from the Great Xia Sword Sect.
He still had no idea what had taken place.
Inside the grand hall, the crowd exchanged only a few brief pleasantries before the three Mahayana realm cultivators released their auras to conceal the surroundings from Heaven and Earth.
At this point, aside from Lu Kangnian, Li Guanqi was the only member of the Great Xia Sword Sect remaining in the hall.
Gu Changsheng placed three spiritual lights into Lu Kangnian's hands.
Lu Kangnian nodded, then drew out a jade slip to settle all three of the grotto-heaven blessed lands into the domain boundary.
Next, he handed this jade slip to Meng Jiangchu and the other two so each could inscribe their aura into it.
This way, the moment anyone attempted to breach the barrier by force, the three of them could arrive in a flash!
With all that finished, the three of them turned their gazes toward Li Guanqi in unison.
It was as though they were all waiting for Li Guanqi to explain his next arrangements.
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at the people beside him.
"Next, I need to mass-produce at least one thousand dharma artifacts!"
Meng Jiangchu's brow arched, and he asked in a deep voice, "One thousand? Of what grade? And what is their purpose?"
Li Guanqi turned to Gu Li and asked solemnly, "Gu Li, you have gained enlightenment on the Dao, and you have witnessed demonic qi firsthand. Can you draw runes capable of detecting demonic qi over an area?"
Gu Li's brows knitted tightly as he replied, "I can, but the range will be limited, and it won't be exceptionally accurate."
Suddenly, realization seemed to dawn on him, and he frowned. "Do you mean you want me to inscribe the runes onto dharma artifacts?"
A slight smile curled at the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth as he said softly, "Exactly—inscribed onto dharma artifacts!"
"Not only that, we'll also need Uncle Gu's Xuantian Divine Flame!"
"The Xuantian Divine Flame is supremely unyielding and pure Yang, making it exceptionally sensitive to demonic qi."
"Combined with Gu Li's inscribed talismans and Uncle Meng's dharma artifacts, if they can each cover a radius of a hundred li, that will be enough!"
Meng Jiangchu nodded, pondering for a moment before saying quietly, "If that's the case, their grade doesn't need to be too high. Once the prototype is forged, I'm confident I can produce the rest within three days!"
Entrusting this matter to Meng Jiangchu gave Li Guanqi immense confidence.
Li Guanqi then said, "Uncle Meng, you can take them and set out first. We must shorten the time needed for this as much as possible!"
Meng Jiangchu stood up with a frown. "What about the rest of the plan?"
Li Guanqi's mouth curved slightly as he said in a gentle voice, "I have my own arrangements for the rest. As for the dharma artifacts... I leave them to you, Father."
Hearing that, Meng Jiangchu struggled to suppress a beaming grin before bursting into hearty laughter. He waved his hand and said, "Two days! Two days from now, your father will deliver them to you personally!"
"Wanshu can stay here to keep Guanqi company."
Gu Li stood up and pushed a streak of spiritual light into Li Guanqi's hand, transmitting his voice solemnly: "I brought the thing you asked for."
Li Guanqi gave an imperceptible nod.
Turning to Ye Xuan, he cupped his fists and said respectfully, "Uncle Ye, I may need your help after this."
"For now, there is nothing urgent, but I must trouble you to stay at the Great Xia Sword Sect for a few more days to buy me some time."
Ye Xuan laughed, not minding at all. "Very well. The Great Xia Sword Sect is a place of blessed lands and outstanding people; I can stroll around as I please. Haha!"
Lu Kangnian was naturally thrilled to hear this and could not help smiling. "Senior, please feel entirely at ease. If there is anywhere you wish to visit, I can arrange for someone to accompany you."
Ye Xuan slowly stood up as well. "These three thousand wondrous peaks are indeed impressive. I'll just find a mountain peak to relax on."
With that, Ye Xuan left.
Lu Kangnian placed the jade slip inscribed with the auras of the three experts into Li Guanqi's hand.
Grasping Li Guanqi's hand tightly, he instructed in a heavy voice, "Keep this safe at all costs!"
Li Guanqi swept his divine sense over it; within the jade slip, an immensely complex and vast array pattern was gleaming.
This was a formidable teleportation array capable of disregarding both distance and space!
After all, Meng Jiangchu was a peak rank-eight weapon refiner—such an array was naturally well within his capability.
Ye Xuan strolled casually through the Great Xia Sword Sect, eventually wandering all the way to the Sect Cemetery.
At the entrance, Ling Daoyan stood up and cupped his fists in salute. Ye Xuan's expression turned solemn as he said in a deep voice, "This old man is Ye Xuan. May I enter to have a look?"
Ling Daoyan hesitated for a moment before declining politely. "My apologies. This is the resting place for our sect's loyal and heroic martyrs, not a place open for casual visits."
"Senior is welcome to go anywhere among the Great Xia Sword Sect's three thousand wondrous peaks and eight hundred scenic waters, but not here."
Ye Xuan nodded in complete understanding, yet he asked sincerely, "Could I view it from a distance?"
"This old man harbors no ill intent. I merely wish to see why the Great Xia Sword Sect has endured for more than ten thousand years."
Ling Daoyan took a deep breath and raised his hand, parting the mist veiling the bamboo forest.
Densely packed black tombstones stood across half the mountainside!
Every tombstone was spotless, the water marks from being wiped down with a cloth still clearly visible.
They had not been cleared of dust through the sweeping purge of primal energy!
Before every single tombstone, delicate white flowers stood fresh and vibrant, without a single one wilting!
The inscriptions upon the stones were filled in with gold leaf, clearly etching out the solemn, heroic lives of the deceased and the reasons for their deaths.
Ye Xuan stood dazed on the spot, so deeply moved that tears welled in his eyes.
The man closed his eyes, changed into a black robe, smoothed his garments, and bowed low with cupped fists and a solemn expression!
"Ye Xuan of the Nine Dragons Immortal Sect... offers his deepest respect!"
As he spoke, a ten-zhang azure sword qi rose and enveloped the rear mountain bamboo forest, lingering without fading!
The boundless sword intent kept its sharp edge contained, yet was saturated with killing intent.
This sword qi was comparable to an all-out strike from Ye Xuan!
Now, he willingly bestowed it upon the Great Xia Sword Sect, allowing it to become a guardian sword qi for the sect.
Seeing this, Ling Daoyan straightened his robes and bowed deeply in return with a solemn countenance!
"Mister's righteousness is boundless."
Chapter 906